She could see the rider and his horse—a large buckskin stallion. As he rode nearer, she studied his white shirt, black flat-brimmed hat, and double-breasted vest. Ever nearer he rode, and she fancied his pants were almost the same color as his horse, with silver buttons running down the outer leg. Cherry had seen a similar manner of dress before—on the Mexican vaqueros that often worked for her pa in the fall.
“Cherry,” her pa scolded in a whisper as the stranger neared them.
She straightened and blushed, embarrassed by being as impolite in her staring as the other town folk were in theirs. It seemed everyone had stopped whatever they had been doing to walk out to the street and watch the stranger ride in.
No one spoke—the only sound was that of the breeze, a falcon’s cry overhead and the rhythm of the rider’s horse as it slowed to a trot.
Take a Walk with Me
Contemporary Romance
“Grandma?” Cozy called as she closed the front door behind her. She inhaled a deep breath—bathing in the warm, inviting scent of banana nut bread baking in the oven. “Grandma? Are you in here?”
“Cozy!” her grandma called in a loud whisper. “I’m in the kitchen. Hurry!”
Cozy frowned—her heart leapt as worry consumed her for a moment. Yet, as she hurried to the kitchen to find her grandma kneeling at the window that faced the new neighbors yard, and peering out with a pair of binoculars, she exhaled a sigh of relief.
“Grandma! You’re still spying on him?” she giggled.
“Get down! They’ll see us! Get down!” Dottie ordered in a whisper, waving one hand in a gesture that Cozy should duck.
Giggling with amusement at her grandma’s latest antics, Cozy dropped to her hands and knees and crawled toward the window.
“Who’ll see us?” she asked.
“Here,” Dottie whispered, pausing only long enough to reach for a second set of binoculars sitting on the nearby counter. “These are for you.” She smiled at Cozy—winked as a grin of mischief spread over her face. “And now…may I present the entertainment for this evening…Mr. Buckly hunk of burning love Bryant…and company.”
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Divine Deception Page 15
