Once Upon a Mail Order Bride - Linda Broday Page 0,76
a child’s game. She caressed the lines around his mouth and those that slashed through each cheek, saw smoldering passion in his gray eyes. He’d had so little reason to be happy since going on the run, and she planned to change that.
Ridge studied her for a long moment, as though committing her face to memory, and traced the curve of her lips. “Addie, I hope you know how very happy I am to have you by my side. I want to make sure you understand the depth of my feelings for you. Not only now, but every minute of every day.”
His solemn words touched her in ways nothing else in her life ever had. Although he still couldn’t speak of love, this came awfully close. And if he never could, this would be enough. Shaken, she leaned toward him, and he claimed her lips. The kiss held promises of long nights in his arms and more days of carefree abandon. Ridge Steele was her anchor in the storms, her bright spot when things grew dim.
Addie blinked hard. She could face anything as long as he was beside her.
When he released her, she let her gaze sweep over their oasis. “I wish we could stay here. Build us a house and live in this bit of paradise.”
“Me too. Maybe one day we will.” Ridge gathered his clothes, glanced at the frightening clouds, and began to dress in a hurry.
Addie handed him his shirt, and in no time made herself presentable. They packed up, and as they rode away, she turned around to stare back at the oasis until the sandstone formations around it blocked her view.
Midafternoon found them at the little creek that ran across their property. Despite the cloud cover, it was a hot, stifling day with ripples of a strange current riding on the wind. They dismounted to water the horses and wade in the stream to cool off.
The angry clouds frightened Addie, but she knew they’d soon be home. Wrapped up in each other, they didn’t notice the wind picking up speed until it was swirling around them.
“This is making me nervous, Ridge.”
“We need to go.”
A sudden gust hit them, nearly knocking Addie off her feet. She grabbed Ridge to steady herself. The horses were in a panic, running and pawing the ground, letting out loud screams of terror.
Ridge raised his arms to try to calm them, and Addie ran to help. She’d never seen King in such a state. The wind shrieked, whipping her hair, and black clouds flattened, dropping lower—almost forming some kind of shelf. She’d never seen a storm this fierce or a sky so utterly terrifying.
Like Cob, King refused to settle. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he ran each time she came near.
“What’s wrong with them?” she yelled over the wind.
“They sense the weather change.”
Before they made any headway in calming the animals, the horses broke away and galloped toward home.
A sense of doom filled Addie. They were stranded at the creek with a storm swallowing them up.
Ridge put his arm around her. “We have to find shelter.”
“Where?” No cave was in sight—the ground around them was flat as a table, with nothing in which to ride out the storm. “Home isn’t that far away. We can walk.”
“No time to make it. The storm will catch us in the open.” The wind snatched Ridge’s hat away and tore at his and Addie’s clothes. The loud rumble of a steam engine came from behind them, even though the nearest tracks were hundreds of miles away.
The temperature suddenly plunged, and Addie’s ears popped.
Ridge turned to face the wind and froze. “Run, Addie! Run!”
She followed his gaze and could only stare at the huge, twisting, whirling black snake that hung from the clouds, coming straight for them.
Twenty-One
The horrible sound grew louder and louder as the tornado gobbled up the ground like an angry beast. Ridge grabbed Addie’s hand, and they started running. Their only hope of survival rested in a ravine some distance to their right. Only one problem—the tornado was moving faster than they could run.
Sheer terror seized Ridge. He’d once seen the carnage left after a twister and on the people caught out in it—their clothes in tatters, hide stripped from them, and objects embedded in their flesh. One man even had a small sapling driven through his skull, as though the hard bone had been made of paper.
His legs pumped hard, and he gripped Addie’s hand. “Faster! Faster!”