Once Upon a Mail Order Bride - Linda Broday Page 0,64
multitude of scrapes and bruises, and though he had an eye that would be swollen shut by morning, he was grinning like a donkey eating briars. “We did it, and we’re all alive. And Addie can talk again. I’d say we did all right.”
“You said a mouthful, son.” Ridge wiped something off her cheek.
“Dirt?” she asked.
“A badge of honor. Sweetheart, you fought like a wildcat.” A crooked grin curved Ridge’s mouth. “Remind me to give you a wide berth when we’re having a disagreement.”
“Stop teasing and sit down. You’re bleeding.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He removed his shirt and tossed it aside.
Addie didn’t know where to begin, so she washed the blood away from the older gunshot wound on his arm, happy to see that it looked in fair shape, then set to work on the new scrapes. A deep bruise and knot on the back of his neck had risen about an inch, and he flinched when she washed it.
“Sorry,” he mumbled. “It hurts.”
“I’m trying to be careful.”
“I know.”
After tending to Ridge, she turned to Bodie. “You’re next.”
“You don’t have to do anything special for me, Addie.”
“Hush and be still.” She patted his shoulder. “You fought like a man out there.”
By the time she finished, his grin couldn’t get any wider or his thanks any deeper. He reminded her of a pup who’d been kicked about but still wagged his tail with hope that someone might see his worth. Her heart went out to him.
“Now, go get to sleep,” she said softly. “We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”
Bodie ducked his head as though afraid to let her see how much her fussing meant. “Yes, ma’am.”
Once the door closed behind him, Ridge, still shirtless, held out a hand. “Will you sleep in my bed tonight, Addie? I don’t think I can let you go.”
Seventeen
Addie put her trembling hand in Ridge’s and met his eyes. Sleep in his bed? She swallowed hard. “I don’t know how…” Her voice trailed off. The burning heat in his gaze made the rest of what she’d planned to say unimportant.
Water dripped from the pump’s spout in the stillness of the kitchen, and Squeakers rubbed its head against her legs, but she didn’t miss the soft pleading in Ridge’s voice, see the hope in his eyes.
“We’ll just sleep, but I’d like to hear you breathing softly next to me.” He chuckled. “I’m too stove up right now to lift as much as an eyebrow. You’re safe.”
“I trust you, Ridge. Have from the first. I just had some things to work out inside myself before trying to become a wife that way.” Warmth settled over her when he draped a casual arm around her neck, his hand hanging down the front, his fingers almost touching her breast.
She was conscious of his bare skin down to his waist—and a narrow strip of fine brown hair on his stomach that disappeared into his trousers.
“I’m not afraid, Ridge.” Well, maybe the good Lord would forgive her for the little white lie. She was filled with trepidation and worry.
Would she disappoint him, or do something wrong? This was new territory.
The cats ran ahead of them as Addie and Ridge moved toward the stairs, turning down the lamps as they went. The felines stopped in what looked like amazement when she didn’t turn in at her little room. Loud and insistent meowing came from the doorway before Miss Kitty reluctantly followed them up to the bedroom.
Ridge helped her turn back the covers. “I’ll leave you to get undressed.”
“No need. If you don’t go ahead and fall onto the mattress, I’ll find you on the floor.” Addie let her hand rest on his bare back, feeling the muscle underneath. “I’ll run downstairs for my gown and undress down there.”
“Tomorrow you can move all your things up here.” The suggestion seemed casual enough, but she saw the hope shining in his eyes as he hung his gun belt on the bedpost. “That is, if you want. There’s plenty of room.”
“I want,” she said softly.
“Addie, I almost lost you twice today. I’ll not let a third happen.”
“You can’t promise that, so quit it. None of that was your fault. If I’d stayed inside, the bounty hunter wouldn’t have gotten me. I messed up. The gunshot scared me, and I was afraid he’d hit you or Bodie.”
“I’m too tired to argue.”
“Then don’t. Ridge, I was thinking: What if you go back and face the woman again, get her to fix the lie? She could clear you.”