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 B

first place. He needed to keep it straight in his head. Taking a wife was one thing … someone to cook, and to clean, and to run the house while he worked the fields. But all this other stuff, the pretty eyes and the silky hair and the accidental, or not so accidental, touching – well, that was something else altogether.
    Charlotte’s delicate scent still hugged his clothes, surrounding him in every way possible and Thomas closed his eyes, trying to ignore the way his body reacted to the idea of her still being so close to him. Yes, maybe that was it. He just wasn’t used to thinking about another person and it was going to take some getting used to. It would all take time.
    Thomas shook his head, figuring he still had a lot to learn about women … and people in general for that matter. He cursed a few words that he sure wasn’t proud of, but being that he lived all alone, he spoke his mind without fear of strife. He took a deep breath and let his head fall back on his shoulders. He stayed like that for a moment, finding comfort in the familiar chirping of crickets off in the distance and the gentle lowing of cattle just beyond the fence line.
    But that wasn’t it at all. The feeling was still there, eating at him. It was something else altogether and the realization of the truth stung the back of Thomas’s eyes to the point that they watered. His stomach twisted up into knots as he recalled the look in Charlotte’s eyes when he pulled the cart away from the front of the diner. He’d dared to glance back at her once. Why, he didn’t really know. Maybe he wanted to know if she was watching him too. She’d done her fair share of that very thing on the ride into town. Thomas hadn’t missed it. But when he looked over his shoulder, Charlotte’s concentration wasn’t on him at all.
    Her enormous blue eyes were wide, the whites of them visible from all the way across the street. Tiny little lines had settled right between her brows and she looked genuinely frightened for some reason. With her skin as pale as a ghost, Thomas figured it had something to do with her past, something he knew nothing about.
    But he couldn’t get her expression out of his head. It did things to him that he wasn’t overly sure about. What he did know for sure … was that he never, ever, wanted to see that look on her face again and he’d do everything in his power to see it stayed that way.

Chapter 12
    C harlotte was glad to have Louise Calhoun’s portly arms surrounding her while they stood in front of the diner and watched Thomas pull away down the road. If she weren’t so tightly encircled inside them, she might just have stumbled on the sidewalk with the sudden flash of fear that rose up inside her and made her cheeks cold and clammy all at the same time. The clippity-clop of the horse’s hooves took her straight back to a time she didn’t care to re-visit and a terrifying mix of fire and ice raced through her veins. She was ten years old all over again.
    Was she being left alone again? Deserted? Abandoned?
    Desperate to keep the fright clear from her expression, Charlotte brushed her hair back from her face and straightened her dress before anyone else noticed. But Henry didn’t miss a beat. Being Sheriff for so many years had taught him a few things about reading people’s expressions and he knew right then and there that something was on her mind.
    “The little lady might need her rest, Louise. How ’bout you show her upstairs to her room. It’s been a long few days and I’m sure she’d appreciate a bath.”
    “Oh yes, of course. It’s just so wonderful to finally meet you, my dear. Thomas has told me so much about you from your letter.” Louise stopped herself from laughing and then shook her head slightly. “Well, as much as Thomas ever talks about anything. You must come on inside at once. There’s so much to be done before the wedding. I’m so looking forward to being part of your special day.”
    Charlotte