The Thorn Bearer
Page 32
She released a shaky breath. “I didn’t think you could.”
He pulled back and hoped he forced every bit of love into his gaze. “If I could change the hurts from your past, I would do it, but I would never change the person you are right now. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known.” He flicked a tear from her cheek with his thumb. “Please forgive me. I’ve been so blind.”
She traced her thumb across his lips. “I forgive you. I…I love you.”
He wrapped his arms around her and rested his cheek against her hair. Her body relaxed into his, so closely he felt her heartbeat against his chest. Right where she should be. Oh, thank you, God.
“And I have something for you.” He reached down into his jacket and drew out a small package wrapped in brown paper. “Actually, it’s for your bracelet.”
Ashleigh looked down at her wrist, her charm bracelet boasting the three charms it had before he left. “More?”
He nodded and took one charm from the paper, placing it in her palm. A gold heart with a small diamond in the center. Her smile softened, knowingly.
“My heart. For you.” He lifted a brow. “If you’ll have it.”
A single tear trailed down her cheek and she held out her wrist for him to fasten the tiny charm. “I’ll treasure it always.”
He thumbed away her tear and took a deep breath before bringing the final charm from the papers. At the time he bought it, he thought it exhibited Ashleigh at her core, but he had no idea how much until he read the letter.
She examined it and looked up at him, a question in her eyes. “A rose?”
He cleared his throat of emotion, touching the silver stem of the charm. “Yes, with thorns. I thought of you when I saw this. No matter what pain came into your life, what thorns pricked and scarred, you bloomed into someone beautiful.”
She stared at the charm, and then she reached to touch his cheek. “Thank you, my dear friend.”
He turned to kiss the inside of her palm and then proceeded to add the charm to her bracelet.
The soft whinny of the horse broke into their privacy. Ashleigh tilted a brow up to him, eyes glistening with a sheen of tears. “You rode a horse to find me?”
He brushed the back of his fingers down her cheek. “Impressed?”
Her grin followed the angle of her brow. “It does add a great deal of credence to your statements of love, I must say. Horseback riding across country?”
“On a horse named Honey.”
Her laugh darted straight to his heart. He rewarded her with a kiss right on her smile. He happened to reap the benefits of that reward too, especially when she nuzzled in close to make it last longer.
“You’re so important, in fact, that I don’t think I can manage another lengthy separation.” He shook his head and steadied his palms on her shoulders. “Definitely not any time soon, so I have a…um…proposal.”
“Do you?”
“Would you care to be kissing friends for, let’s say…” He looked up to the sky in thoughtful silence. “The rest of our lives?”
Her gaze widened and then her lips took a playful slant. “The rest of our lives might be a very long time, you know.”
“I was hoping it might be.”
She gripped his jacket and pulled him close. “With lots of opportunities for kissing, I should think.”
“I was kind of hoping for that too,” he whispered, their noses almost touching.
Her smile faded and she tightened her hold on his jacket, her gaze locked to his. “I love you, Samuel Miller. And I would gladly be your kissing friend for as long as you’d have me.”
“How about till death parts us?”
She laughed and he swooped her off her feet and into his arms. “Let’s go tell your family.”
She nodded toward Honey. “Riding would get us there faster.”
He answered her with a long, slow kiss that left Ashleigh sighing into him. She rested her head against his shoulder, her warm breath fanning his neck. “Now that I think about it, I’m not in a hurry. We ought to take our time, in fact.”
“We should?”
She lifted her head and looked over at him with an apologetic shrug. “Once we reach Roth Hall, we’ll have to share our time with twenty-four soldiers, an emotional elder sister, a somewhat irrational mother, and five children under the age of ten.”
He lowered her to the ground. “Maybe I’m not in such a hurry either.” He squeezed her hand and renewed their walk at a much slower pace. As they stepped in time with each other, Ashleigh leaning against him for support, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of LifeSavers.
“Care for a LifeSaver?”
Her gaze met his, sweet love warming him all the way through. Oh yes, he was grateful God didn’t give him what he deserved. She was much too good for the likes of him, but as his father said, no one ever complained of getting something too good for them.
“Yes, thank you.”
He popped a yellow from his pack and offered it to her with a challenge in his voice. “Want a yellow?”
She snatched it from him and placed it in her mouth with a smile. “For the rest of my life.”
About the Author
Pepper D. Basham is an award-winning author who writes romance peppered with grace and humor. She’s a native of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a mom of five, a speech-language pathologist, and a lover of chocolate. She writes a variety of genres, but enjoys sprinkling her native culture of Appalachia in them all.
She currently resides in the lovely mountains of Asheville, NC where she works with kids who have special needs, searches for unique hats to wear, and plots new ways to annoy her wonderful friends at her writing blog, The Writer’s Alley. She is represented by Julie Gwinn of Seymour Literary Agency. The Thorn Bearer is Pepper’s debut novel and the first book in the Penned in Time series. You can learn more about her at www.pepperdbasham.com.
Dear Reader,
If you enjoyed reading The Thornbearer, I would appreciate it if you would help others enjoy this book, too. Here are some of the ways you can help spread the word:
Lend it. This book is lending enabled so please share it with a friend.
Recommend it. Help other readers find this book by recommending it to friends, readers’ groups, book clubs, and discussion forums.
Share it. Let other readers know you’ve read the book by positing a note to your social media account and/or your Goodreads account.
Review it. Please tell others why you liked this book by reviewing it on your favorite ebook site like Amazon or Barnes and Noble and/or Goodreads.
Everything you do to help others learn about my book is greatly appreciated!
Pepper Basham
Plan Your Next Escape!
What’s Your Reading Pleasure?
Whether it’s captivating historical romance, intriguing mysteries, young adult romance, illustrated children’s books, or uplifting love stories, Vinspire Publishing has the adventure for you!
For a complete listing of books available, visit our website at www.vinspirepublishing.com.
Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/VinspirePublishing
Follow us on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/vinspire2004
and join our newsletter for details of our upcoming releases, giveaways, and more! http://t.co/46UoTbVaWr
We are your travel guide to your next adventure!