Rocky Mountain Wedding by Sara Richardson Read Free Book Online Page A

tension from the scene at dinner. Ruby burrowed even closer to Sawyer’s solid shoulder, though it was difficult to scooch her lower body right up against his, what with Nellie the wonder dog wedged between them.
    “Thanks for driving us home.” After everything that had happened at dinner, Sawyer had wanted to get Brookie tucked in so he could make sure she was okay. The poor girl had been so quiet on the ride home. So withdrawn. Though they’d tried to coax out her feelings with the questions they’d learned in their training, she kept insisting that she was simply tired and wanted to go to bed.
    Ruby hoped that was the case. It sure hadn’t taken Brookie long to fall asleep.
    “Oh, by the way, I’m staying all night,” Sawyer said in his don’t argue tone. “Need to keep an eye on you. You weren’t feeling good earlier.”
    As if she needed a reminder. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the memory of that special meeting with his parents. “I can’t believe I threw up in front of James and Marybeth Hawkins.” They were the picture of sophistication and class.
    “They’ve already forgotten all about it,” he insisted.
    She laughed. “Right. They’ll never forget that introduction.” She sure wouldn’t.
    “They love you,” he murmured in her ear. “Because I love you.”
    She rested her head against his chest, feeling his heart beat right into hers. “I love you, too.” That was what grounded her now, what kept her steady. Love. She prayed it was enough. For him. For Brookie. For the baby. She might not be able to fix everything in their lives, but she wanted to love them all well.
    Still, if the scene at dinner was any indication, this was going to be a long road with Brookie.
    Fatigue pulled at her eyelids. “Are we crazy, Sawyer?”
    He stretched his neck to peer down at her, those blue eyes focused and intense. “What’d you mean?”
    “I mean jumping into all of this so fast. We’ll have two kids.” The thought was so foreign. Six months ago, she never thought she’d even have one child…
    “We’re not crazy,” he said, pulling her in tighter. “We’re brave.”
    That’s what he’d taught her. How to be brave. And as long as they were together, she could do it—anything, whatever it took. She held her breath, wanting to feel only the solidness of his body against hers. The strength. The love. That was real. That bond was real.
    Sawyer touched his lips to the ridge of her ear, prying a soft sigh from her mouth. Goose bumps spread across her right side, pricking her body with that delicious anticipation only he could tease out of her.
    “This is what life is about, Ruby. This is what matters.” His warm breath grazed her eardrum. “You and Brookie and the baby are what matter to me.”
    His lips slipped down her neck, to the base of her jaw, where his tongue grazed her skin, and she should’ve been prepared, but every time he kissed her that way—all passionate and indulgent—it hit like a shock, causing a wave of pleasure to ripple down her stomach, then back up again until she wanted nothing more than to be pressed against him, clinging to him while they made love…
    With a disgruntled sniff, Nellie stood and shook herself, sighing as if to say not again .
    Ruby laughed. The dog was like a teenager who got grossed out every time Mom and Dad started to get frisky.
    Without a glance back, Nellie pranced down the hall, presumably heading for the princess doggy bed Brookie had moved into her room.
    “Come on.” Sawyer scooted himself off the couch and took her hand in his, pulling her up against his body, his strong hands massaging her shoulders in the most sensual, inviting way. “After the day you’ve had, I think you could use a back rub.”
    She could use more than a back rub, but she didn’t need to tell him that. He knew her. Everything. Over the last couple of months, she’d held nothing back from him. And now, even the thought of his hands on her