Mail Order Bride – Charlotte's Summer: Clean Sweet Western Cowboy Romance (Seasons Mail Order Brides Book 1) by Annie Lane Read Free Book Online Page A

sky.
    She felt his leg brush her thigh with the rocking and the swaying of the cart. A strange sensation came with it, one she wasn’t going to encourage, but one she wasn’t entirely opposed to either. So she just sat there and enjoyed the feeling for what it was.
    “What about you Charlotte?” Thomas finally asked. “I’d be happy to continue into town hearing whatever it is you’d care to say about yourself. As you can probably tell, I’m more of a listener than a talker anyways.”
    “I got that impression,” Charlotte giggled into her hand. “But if it suits you better we can just ride in silence for a while. I don’t mind. Whatever makes you happy.”
    Thomas swiveled in his seat then and looked at her square on. He’d never met anyone like Charlotte before, so considerate of another person’s feelings. He pondered her suggestion for a while, thinking it sounded like a mighty fine plan, but just as he was about to tell her so, his tongue went and did something all on its own without first consulting the rest of him. “No, I like the sound of your voice, please keep talking.”
    “Alright, we’ll talk until we arrive home. I’ll tell you everything there is to know.”
    Thomas nodded again. He wasn’t sure what he enjoyed more – the fact that Charlotte’s cheeks were the cutest shade of pink … or that she’d just referred to Conrad as their home.

Chapter 11
    T homas drew back hard on the horse’s mouthpiece, pulling the wagon through the front gate of his property just before nightfall. By the time he’d tethered the horses to the hitching post beside the stables and filled their troughs with clean, fresh water from the well, he couldn’t quite fathom what it was he was feeling. Other than being exhausted after a long day of traveling, his neck stiff and his eyes tired, there was something gnawing away inside him that just didn’t sit well in his gut. It felt like both sides of his heart were at war with each other, pulling and wrenching in opposite directions. He wasn’t sure what to call it, but it weighed down on him to the point that he wasn’t thinking right.
    He climbed the front stairs two at a time and stood on the veranda awhile. One hand found the back of his neck and he rubbed the skin, kneading it harder and harder with every passing minute. Perhaps it was the fact that, as promised, Charlotte had talked non-stop the entire trip, not coming up for air until he dropped her off safely in front of the Calhoun’s diner just half an hour earlier. He’d stayed there for a while, making the appropriate introductions and all, but he felt mighty uncomfortable too, as all eyes were set in his direction all waiting for a reaction and the truth be told – Thomas enjoyed that about as much as he enjoyed being poked in the back with a hot coal.
    If only Gabe had been there to greet them, things might have gone differently. Gabe could talk underwater with a mouthful of rocks, and he had a way of charming the ladies, something Thomas was yet to master, but as had become a recurring event lately, Gabe was still at the barn and nowhere to be seen. So, before he made a complete idiot of himself, Thomas simply offered a small wave, said his goodbyes and then headed for the ranch.
    Part of him guessed Charlotte was just as nervous as he, and maybe that’s what had her so chatty, but there was another part of him that feared this to be her usual manner and he wasn’t sure what to make of it. He wasn’t used to so much conversation flitting around in his head like a moth drawn to the light, turning itself inside out and upside down and round and round until it had nowhere else to go. He’d spent most of his life avoiding it in fact. As far as he could tell, once Charlotte arrived on the farm, things were never going to be the same and he wasn’t sure he liked that idea. But then again, he wasn’t sure he hated it either.
    He needed to remind himself of why he’d sent the letter off in the