She couldn’t get her grin under control, but neither could she resist giving him one more shot. “Perhaps we should’ve gone on to San Antonio. It’s not that much farther.”
“It’s a ways yet.”
She figured he knew her protest was feigned. The time to complain would’ve been when he’d suggested stopping early, but she’d just smiled and nodded.
“You realize we’re going to be charged for that honeymoon suite tonight even if we don’t use it,” she told him.
“That’s the least of my concerns.”
“Really. What is your greatest concern?”
“You having fun with this?” He slanted a look at her, taking time out from reading room numbers. The quick grin was as cocky as ever. “I’m a married man now, and I’ve got needs.”
“And these needs are suddenly more pressing than ever before?”
“Yep.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve got a gorgeous negligee I spent big bucks for, and it’s back there in my suitcase.”
“Later.” He stopped, searched his right pants pocket, came up empty, checked the left, frowned and looked at her. “Did I give it to you?”
She pointed at the breast pocket of his shirt.
“Oh.” He withdrew the key, opened the door and she started to step inside.
“Whoa,” he said, catching her arm. “Hold on a minute there, Mrs. Smith.”
Her heart so full that she was aware of nothing and no one but her husband, she allowed herself to be lifted into his arms. Sky blue eyes met chocolate brown and exchanged communication neither person could ever put into words. He swallowed hard, Adam’s apple working, then he stepped over the threshold and kicked the door shut behind them.
*
One month married, and wearing her usual sneakers, Lainie bounced along a rutted road in the red truck. Reed had gone out on horseback, but she knew where he was and that he was on his own today. A bag of freshly baked oatmeal cookies—made by Lainie using Lori’s melt-in-your-mouth recipe—lay next to her. The newly married wife was looking forward to surprising her husband. They could share a light repast, and, well, whatever else happened to happen.
Driving up to a gate, she put the truck in park and jumped out to open it. Halfway to it she spied her very first snake. A bona fide diamondback—no mystery as to why they called it that—and it even had a friend with it.
The nearest one coiled as she backed away with her heart thumping so loudly the snake must’ve heard it. The creature settled down. Lainie kept going until her backside bumped into the cab’s door, then she hopped up into the pickup, made a U-turn and got out of there.
The cookies never got delivered. She went straight home, put her boots on and wore them faithfully thereafter. She even talked herself into liking them. She never mentioned the encounter to Reed, but guessed he’d figured it out for himself. His gaze still occasionally lingered on her feet, now boot-clad, but with a look of amusement instead of a frown.
# # #
Discover other Ebooks by Bobbie O’Keefe at Amazon
Legend In Buckskin
Second Thoughts
Marooned
The House on Copper Street
The Two Most Unlikely
In Print
Family Skeletons
About The Author
Bobbie O’Keefe likes to read as well as write, and she writes the kind of stories she likes to read. Each one of her books has a strong sense of family in it, as well as laughs, and she also throws in suspense and even a touch of mystery here and there.
Visit her at her website
Bobbie O’Keefe
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