Once Upon a Mail Order Bride - Linda Broday Page 0,88

time, or the next? We’ve all cheated death over and over. There has to be a reckoning at some point.”

“That’s true for all of us, dear. But one thing I know, Ridge Steele, that day is not now.”

“Then I guess we’d best go home, love. We need to feed our boy.”

“And continue with his lessons. Tonight, I think I’ll start teaching him to cipher. A man always needs to be able to do basic sums.”

She looped her arm around his elbow and leaned closer. Her fresh scent and the nearness of the soft rise and fall of her breasts sent his senses reeling. For a moment, he struggled to remember his name or where he was.

“You shouldn’t do that, love.” He shouldn’t have glanced down into his wife’s upturned face, her eyes double-dog-daring him, her lips lush and slightly parted.

“Do what?” she asked innocently.

Never one to let a dare stop him, he slid his big hands into her golden hair and kissed her right there, smack in the center of town, in front of God and everybody.

* * *

A week passed, Jack continued to get stronger, and the excitement settled down. Ridge and Addie’s roof had been a small job compared to the other houses, and it hadn’t taken long to repair. The work continued on the others.

Addie spent her days working in the garden, helping Bodie with his lessons, and riding King. Wednesdays, she had tea with the ladies. But Thursdays she reserved for Eleanor, and they became very close, sharing things they’d never told anyone. She enjoyed all the warm and lively discussions she had with her friends, but mostly the teasing that went on among them that made her truly feel she was a real part of something good and lasting.

But for how long? Tiny and Pickens would’ve raced back to her father, so it was no stretch of her imagination to think that Ezekiel now knew where to find her.

The cold hand of vengeance seemed to be reaching for her.

She was stronger than she ever had been, though, and had Ridge beside her. They’d outraced a tornado, killed a stalker, and they’d handle Ezekiel together. Her father had no hold over her. None whatsoever.

Last night she’d lain in Ridge’s arms after making love and shared her fears. “He’s coming. I feel it so strong. The truth is I don’t know what he’ll do, and that’s the part that terrifies me. He’s so volatile, and that makes him difficult to predict.”

“You have me now, and you’ve never seen the depth of rage of which I’m capable.” His eyes had blazed in the low light of the room. “To get to you, he’ll have to go through me, and I can assure you I will make that very hard.” He’d softly caressed her cheek. “I love you, Addie. The depth of it goes bone deep and sometimes I lie awake watching you sleep and feel all this emotion bubbling inside until I nearly burst. You’re mine until the end of time, and I’ll kill anyone who hurts you. That is a promise.”

Addie didn’t think she could ever love anyone as much as Ridge. The nights in his arms had made her even more aware of how deep her love went. He seemed to know exactly which places to flick, caress, and kiss to bring her to a shuddering climax. Each lovemaking session left her boneless, limp, and wanting more.

Propped on an elbow, she twisted a finger in his hair. “I love you, Ridge. I think I’ve known for a while, but I wanted to be sure Dr. Mary was right. I never knew even a parent’s love, but when I snuck up to your bed and laid down beside you, my heart became so full of this longing to be whole. I knew then that I had to fix myself so I would be able to share the good times and bad.”

“My dearest, no words exist to describe the depth of my love for you.” His hands were shaking. The kiss shot heat into her core, and tears filled her eyes.

Whispers of hope curled against her spine that no one could ever steal this happiness.

After they stopped talking and he’d thought she was asleep, he stood at the window for ages, staring out at the darkness. What had he been thinking about? Likely about the upcoming confrontation. Perhaps he was planning exactly how he’d handle Ezekiel Jancy.

When she was with Ridge, it seemed as though nothing in the