Bound For Eden by Tess Lesue Read Free Book Online Page B

explained patiently. ‘That horse belongs to somebody. We’ll have to find you a different red horse.’
    â€˜But I like this one.’
    â€˜Fond of horses, huh?’
    Alex jumped; she hadn’t realised Luke and Victoria had followed them.
    â€˜Fond of this horse,’ Alex sighed.
    â€˜He wants to come with us,’ Adam said stubbornly.
    â€˜Looks to me like you’ve got a “she” there, not a “he”,’ Luke drawled. ‘Lovely little mare too.’
    â€˜He’s a girl?’ Adam’s brow furrowed and Alex’s heart beat faster, afraid he’d let something slip.
    â€˜He’s a girl,’ Luke confirmed. ‘I’ve got a horse just that colour back home in Oregon, a young gelding. Very sweet natured, and as fast as all blazes.’
    â€˜And that one’s a boy?’
    Luke paused, obviously restraining himself from making a smart remark about geldings. Instead he nodded, doing a bad job of suppressing a grin. ‘He’s for sale too, if you’re interested.’
    Adam looked questioningly at Alex.
    â€˜We’ll see,’ she told him firmly. ‘I’m not saying yes, mind, just maybe. Say goodbye to the horse now, we have to see about the wagon.’ She took Adam by the elbow and steered him back out into the street.
    â€˜That was very good of you,’ she heard Victoria murmur to Luke.
    By the time they reached the wagon maker’s Victoria was rosy pink and flirting prettily and Alex had been subjected to a monologue from Adam about his red horse waiting in Oregon.
    â€˜Well, here we are,’ Luke declared, holding open the gate and ushering them through to a yard full of wagon skeletons. Some were bare timber structures, still without wheels, others had wheels but no canvas roof. None of them looked travel-ready.
    The air was heavy with the fragrance of cut timber and linseed oil as they followed Luke towards a work shed at the rear of the dusty property.
    â€˜Archie?’ Luke called.
    There was a thump and the sound of a gruff voice swearing.
    Alex blinked as they entered the shed, momentarily blinded after the brightness of the day outside.
    â€˜That you, Luke?’
    By the time Alex’s eyes had adjusted to the darkness, a small man with a shiny bald pate had jumped down from the wagon he was working on and was approaching them, wiping his hands on his pants. ‘What are you doing here? I thought you were staying put from now on?’
    Luke shrugged. ‘This is my last trip.’
    â€˜You say that every time.’
    â€˜I mean it this time.’
    Archie snorted. ‘You mean it until the next time Jackson has a horse for sale.’
    Luke grinned. ‘If I get that stallion tomorrow, I won’t need any more horses. I’ll have all the studs I need.’
    â€˜If you get him.’
    â€˜I’ll get him.’
    â€˜Just don’t let my Adele see you. Last time you left she cried for a week.’
    Luke held his hands up. ‘I never encouraged her, I swear.’
    â€˜You don’t need to,’ Archie grumbled. ‘If only that girl of yours would marry you and put the rest of them out of their misery.’
    Alex noticed a shadow pass over Luke’s face. What girl of his?
    â€˜Arch, these are some new friends of mine. I told them you were the most honest wagon maker in town.’
    Archie snorted again. ‘He gets a commission if you buy from me,’ he told them, ‘and he needs the money to buy that stallion.’
    â€˜What did I tell you?’ Luke declared, grinning at them. ‘Honest to the bone.’
    Alex couldn’t help but smile back. His grin was so wicked and his eyes so warm. The man certainly had a fatal charm.
    â€˜So you need a wagon.’ Archie pulled a notepad out of his pocket and licked his stub of a pencil. ‘When do you need it by?’
    â€˜The runt seems to think they’re in a rush,’ Luke