Guardian Bride by Lauri Robinson Read Free Book Online Page B

shook his head.
    They sat in silence for some time. Summer couldn't think
    of anything to say. He looked about as sad as anyone she'd
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    Guardian Bride
    by Lauri Robinson
    ever seen. She almost wished he was angry again, shouting
    and glaring at her with fire in his green eyes.
    The room—though large enough to hold the big bed, tall
    wooden dresser complete with an oblong mirror, a wash
    stand, the table beside the bed, the chair which she sat on,
    and still leave plenty of walking around space—began to close
    in on her. A weight pressed on her chest. The air in her lungs
    grew as heavy as clay.
    "I think I'm going to lie down for a bit," he said soberly.
    "Oh," she jumped to her feet. "Let me help you."
    He didn't refuse and though he didn't give verbal approval,
    she took his silence as acceptance. Lifting his bad leg as he
    swung the good one onto the bed, she carefully set it down
    and then pulled the sheet up. She stopped before laying the
    material across his chest.
    "Do you want to take your britches off?" Her cheeks
    warmed.
    "No."
    She let the cover fall over his chest and carefully tucked it
    around his legs. "Would you like some laudanum?"
    "No," he said, eyes closed.
    An incredible urge to lean down and kiss his forehead like
    she did August when she tucked him in overcame her. Jolting
    upright, she stepped away from the bed. "I'll be in the
    kitchen. Let me know if you need anything."
    He didn't make a move, not even an eyelash flickered. All
    of a sudden exhaustion settled on her like a winter snowfall.
    She rubbed her arms, moving toward the door.
    "Summer," he said before she pulled the door shut.
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    Guardian Bride
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    "Yes?"
    "Thank you for rescuing me. I most likely would have died
    if you hadn't caught up with me when you did."
    "You're welcome, Snake."
    He turned his head and opened one eye to look at her. A
    tiny smile graced his face before he closed the lid and rolled
    his head back onto the pillow.
    Regret. Shame. Disgrace. Something of that sort swelled
    her throat. She swallowed the huge lump. It hit her stomach
    so hard she barely made it outside before losing her lunch.
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    Guardian Bride
    by Lauri Robinson

Chapter Five
    The merriment in the other room was enough to wake the
    dead. Snake rolled onto his side and using his good arm
    worked his body around until he sat on the edge of the bed
    again. The nap had helped, he felt stronger and more alive
    than earlier today, but a rock of hurt or anger, he wasn't sure
    which, still sat in the pit of his stomach.
    His mother had always been a bit unseemly to some, but
    he'd never doubted she loved him and his brothers, that is
    until he'd been told she'd been more worried about a poker
    game than his life. More worried about getting him married
    off than about him living to see tomorrow.
    He slapped the mattress. Damn, if that don't beat all .
    The door opened just then, and Summer Austin poked her
    head around the edge.
    His heart skipped a beat or two. Why the hell did Ma have
    to marry him off to the prettiest woman around? Couldn't she
    have found an ugly toothless creature so he could be really
    pissed off?
    "Hi," she said, slipping in the room as graceful and
    precious as a butterfly. The door clicked shut behind her. "I
    wondered if the noise woke you."
    "Hi," he greeted, unable to keep a smile from forming. Her
    grin was so adorable his stomach did cartwheels. Ignoring the
    commotion in his guts, he asked, "What's going on out
    there?"
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    "The harvest is over for one." She moved closer. "For two,
    your brothers just learned that when you woke up today"—
    she avoided looking his way as she straightened out the
    bedding he'd managed to twist into a tangled mass—"you
    weren't very happy with your mother."
    The flipping in his insides had worked its way into a laugh
    that bubbled out before he had a chance to stop it. "Really?"
    She moved to his other