A Dream to Call My Own by Tracie Peterson Read Free Book Online

she in love with him? As much as they fought, how could that possibly be?
    Dave’s kiss deepened, and Lacy had no will to fight him. She wanted his kiss. She wanted it very much. Her heart hammered, and everything but Dave faded from her mind.
    Without warning, he pulled back. He didn’t release her, but Lacy felt as though she were about to fall into a void. She tightened her hold on him.
    “We’re meant to be together, Lacy. I’ve known it for a long time. I was just waiting for you to figure it out for yourself. I can’t wait anymore. I don’t want to play games.”
    “I . . . don’t know. . . . I can’t think.”
    “Good.” He grinned. “That’ll make it easier for me to say what I need to say.”
    He kissed her again, only this time it was brief and less intrusive. “Marry me, Lacy.”
    Those three words seemed to set off an alarm in her brain. Lacy’s eyes flew open, and she pulled back hard only to slam up against the wall. “What?”
    “You heard me.” He moved closer and watched her intently.
    A brief flurry of sense came rushing back, and Lacy thought of a hundred reasons they weren’t right for each other. “But we hate each other. Think of all the times you’ve yelled at me. I never do anything right by you.”
    He chuckled. “We don’t hate each other. At least, I could never hate you. The times I’ve yelled at you were purely due to my fear of losing you.”
    “Losing me?”
    “Of course. When you don those boy’s britches and go scouting around for highwaymen and killers, or climb up on roofs to repair shingles, I’m terrified you’ll get hurt—even die.” He touched her cheek and stroked back wisps of hair. “I was afraid I’d never get a chance to tell you how much I love you.”
    She shook her head rapidly, dislodging his touch. “No. You don’t love me. You can’t.”
    “And I suppose you don’t love me.” He grinned. “Oh, that’s right, you hate me.”
    She shook her head even more fervently. “I don’t . . . I . . .” She stopped and looked at him. “I don’t know what I feel.”
    “Let me remind you again.” His mouth covered hers without giving her so much as a chance to protest.
    Lacy knew her fight was lost. She couldn’t fight her own desires, much less his. Dave lifted his head and whispered against her lips. “Marry me.”
    “It will never work. We’d just hurt each other.” Her thoughts were blurring and all she could think of was the way his lips felt against her own.
    “We’ll make it work,” Dave whispered. “If we put our minds to it, we’ll do just fine.” He kissed her cheek and then trailed kisses along her jawline to her ear. “Now say yes, and marry me.”
    “No,” she murmured.
    “You know it’s what you want—you know it’s right.”
    She closed her eyes and gave in to the power of her emotions. “Yes.” She barely breathed the word.
    Dave let her go. “Yes, what?”
    She sighed. “I’ll marry you.”
    “Do you promise?”
    Lacy opened her eyes and nodded. Before she could take it back she answered, “Yes.”
    His eyes were dark with passion, and Lacy knew in that moment there was no possibility of telling him no. She wanted him to kiss her again—to hold her in his arms forever. She might regret her decision tomorrow, but for the moment, Lacy would have rather died than move from Dave’s arms.

CHAPTER FIVE
    The snowstorm finally let up the following night, leaving everything covered in a white blanket that reflected the moon’s light, making it as bright as day. Lacy stared out the bedroom window and thought of all that had happened. She and Dave had said very little about marriage after she’d agreed to his proposal. Each had found ways to keep busy elsewhere throughout the day, as if realizing they needed the time apart to sort through any misgivings.
    Lacy was full of doubts and questions. She couldn’t believe she’d agreed to marry Dave. It was a mistake. A big mistake. She would have to find some way