by Lucy Evanson
She ran to the master bedroom and threw open the doors to the veranda, letting the cool air wash over her as she stepped outside. Cora went to the edge and looked over; as she did, her heart opened up and she was flooded with relief, with joy, with desire.
It was Nathan. He was atop a beautiful gray horse like she’d never seen before, passing below, and as she watched he turned the horse in a tight circle to approach again. Nathan raised his head, about to shout for her again, when he saw her on the veranda.
“Cora!”
The fears and worries that had filled her only a moment before were swept away in an instant. He was here, like a knight riding to her rescue.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m here for you!” he called, the grin huge on his face. “Why else would I be here?”
“For me? You just divorced me a few hours ago.”
“Cora, that marriage started out under a cloud,” he said. “I never would have forgotten that I married you for money. It wasn’t even a marriage; it was a business contract. But I’m here to fix that.”
Her throat had gone dry, but she managed to say “I’ll be right down to let you in.”
“Don’t you dare,” he said. Nathan dropped down to the ground and looped the horse’s reins around the railing of the porch steps. “I came here to show you the kind of man I am; now you just sit back and watch.” He threw his coat over the saddle, reached into the thick vines that covered the arched trellis, took hold and started to climb.
“Are you crazy?” she asked, though she couldn’t hold back a surprised laugh as he moved up toward her. The trellis creaked and shivered, but did not give way.
“Maybe just a bit,” Nathan said. “I was crazy to let you put a time limit on our marriage, that’s for sure. And I’m absolutely, entirely, one hundred percent crazy about you.”
In only a few seconds, he had reached the top of the trellis, and though Cora reached out to help him over the balcony, it wasn’t needed. Nathan pulled himself easily over the low wall. He was breathing harder from the exertion and he looked at her with such a hunger in his eyes that Cora felt a thrill run through her body.
Nathan approached her and laid his hand against her cheek. His touch was warm and strong; Cora took his hand and pressed it to her lips before he pulled away. The next thing she knew, he had dropped to one knee in front of her.
“Nathan, you don’t have to do that,” she said quietly. She could feel tears welling up, and she took his hands in hers.
“I might not have to, but I want to,” he said. “We did things wrong the first time and I’m not going to make the same mistake again.” He bowed his head to kiss her hands, pressing them to his lips and closing his eyes as if in prayer.
“Cora Rice,” he said as he looked up at her. “I knew there was something special about you the very first time I saw you.”
She felt her cheeks grow warm. “I can’t believe that’s true,” she murmured. “I sure wasn’t at my best that night.”
He shook his head. “You were enchanting. Truly enchanting,” he said. “I couldn’t believe what a strong, brave, and beautiful girl was in front of me at that moment. I was sure that you were like a shooting star—something so precious, so rare, so out of reach.” He paused to kiss her hand again. “Then, the next day I saw you again and I thought, well, this must be a sign.”
“I think it was too,” she said. “I just didn’t know it at the time.”
“Well, to be honest, I didn’t understand things either at the moment,” Nathan said. “We rushed into things so fast I hardly gave two thoughts about it, and I didn’t get things clarified until we were already married and living together.”
“Are things clear now?”
“They sure are,” he said. He cleared his throat and stared at her with those deep, warm eyes; his gaze sent a shiver through her that had nothing to do with the chilly air curling around them. “Cora, I have adored you since the first moment I saw you. I cherished every moment that we had together. And I am here today to tell you that I love you.”
Her breath flew out in a rush, as if she had been struck. His words stung her like drops of rain after a drought, pockmarking the sand when the earth was too dry to receive them. It was almost too much to believe. Cora had learned long ago that those words were for other women. She had heard them many times, of course, but never sincerely. Never from a man who meant it. She felt as if her soul would split open and she was filled with a sensation that was almost terrifyingly unfamiliar. It was joy. “Say that again,” she whispered as the tears filled her eyes.
“I love you,” he said. “I love you, I love you, I love you.” He clenched her hands tightly as her teardrops fell, then reached into his pocket and withdrew a box. A small, square box like she had never seen up close before. “Cora, will you marry me?” he asked, opening it to reveal a ring.
She barely glanced at it as she nodded again and again. She was unable to speak, but no more words were needed. Nathan stood and took her into his arms, holding her trembling body against his.
“I never thought this would happen,” she managed to whisper. “I never thought I would find a man who I…who I would need the way I need you.”
She could feel his body stiffen, and he slowly backed her away so that he could look at her.
“What did you say?”
Cora took a deep breath. There was no denying it anymore—not to him, nor to herself. It was time to speak plainly. “I need you.”
Nathan’s eyes were filled with a look of wonder, surprise, and—for the tiniest moment—shock. A huge smile filled his face as he took her back into his arms and hugged her tightly.
She raised her face to his ear. “And in case you’re wondering, I love you too,” she said quietly, then moved her mouth to his.
As they kissed, Cora’s mind whirled. There was going to be so much to do. They would have a real wedding, in the church. Becky would make her a beautiful snow-white wedding dress and Cora would have her hair done with small flowers woven through. Nathan would use his real name and he would look so handsome in a suit as they stood there before family and honest-to-goodness friends.
At long last, she had proven to herself that she could do just fine on her own. Now it was time to do just fine together.
Epilogue
Cora could feel Nathan shift slightly behind her, and his breath was not as deep as it had been a few minutes ago. He’s going to wake up soon, she thought, and she gently pressed herself to him, loving the feel of his body against hers.
The sun was reaching up over the horizon, throwing soft golden rays onto the walls and bathing the bedroom in light. This was one of her favorite times of day, just laying here watching the sun rise and feeling Nathan warm and close. Even after more than a year of waking up like this, she hadn’t tired of it. She reached behind and pulled his arm around her.
He took a deep breath, then yawned. “Good morning,” he said quietly, then kissed the nape of her neck, lazily running his hand over her tummy.
“Good morning.”
“How did you sleep?”
“Oh, about as well as could be expected, I guess,” she said.
“Who’s working today?”
“Becky wanted the day off for her sister-in-law’s birthday party, so I’m working,” Cora said. “I should get up and get ready.”
“I’ll drive you in, then,” Nathan said. “I don’t want you going by yourself.”
“I’ll be fine. You have the horses to look after.”
“The horses will be all right without me for an hour,” he said. “Besides, the doctor told you to take it easy. You know, I’m beginning to think that this ride everyday isn’t the best thing for you.”
“It’s only twenty minutes,” she said. “And once we open the boutique in Dodgeville next year, then it won’t even be a problem.”
“By next year we won’t need to worry about it anyway,” Nathan said.
“That’s true,”
she said. “I forgot to tell you, I—oh!” She brought her hand to her belly.
“What’s the matter?”
“That was a strong one,” she said, taking his hand and placing it on her tummy. He held it there for only a moment before there was another kick, just as hard.
Nathan laughed. “That’s my boy!”
“You think it’s a boy, but what if it’s a girl?”
“Then I’ll love her just the same,” he said. “But how could I not, when she has a mama like you?”
“I sometimes worry that you’ll love the baby more than you love me.”
He propped himself up on his elbow and looked her in the eye, his brow crinkled as if he were confused at the suggestion. “Never going to happen,” he said, then dropped back down. He put his mouth close to her ear and gently kissed her lobe. “Now how about you let me make you late for work?” He slid his hand across her tummy and pulled her closer; she could feel his hardness against her bottom.
“Again? Wasn’t last night enough?”
He chuckled. “Honey, when I’m old and gray I may end up with a lot of regrets, but making love to my wife too often won’t be one of them.” He kissed her again on the back of the neck and Cora felt a pleasurable shiver. She sat up and pulled off her nightgown, then laid back and let Nathan begin to cover her with kisses.
The shop could wait a few minutes. Right now she had some business to take care of with her husband.
###
Also Available
In Love's Territory
"I won’t be satisfied with only a taste of such sweetness. I must have more."
When Kate Taylor heard those words, she knew that she had found the right man. Edward Carter was smart, successful and wealthy, not to mention so handsome that he took her breath away. He would have been a real catch even back home in Boston, let alone out in the rough-and-wild Territories. She hadn’t expected to meet a man like him out here in the wilderness, but maybe things were going to work out after all.
Sam didn’t think he’d ever forget the first time he saw Kate. Then again, she’d mistaken him for a marauding Sioux and confronted him while wrapped only in a bed sheet. It had a way of sticking in one’s mind. The more he gets to know Kate and her family, who have arrived to take over the estate where Sam works, the more he realizes that she captured his heart without even trying.
When Kate discovers Edward’s dark side—and finds herself rescued by Sam—she has to face up to a choice she never expected to make. One man has nothing left to give. The other is offering everything she ever wanted—or so she thought. She’s without a guide in a brand-new land: the territory of love.
This sweet romance is set in the 1850s and is Book One in the Love's Territory series. Husband on Credit is Book Two.
