me hold you for a moment. I felt like I’d been kicked in the chest when I realized something was stalking you from the trees. I knew if I fired too soon I might miss, or if I waited a second too long, it might be too late.”
She cupped his face in her palms. After days of yelling at him for doing everything wrong, she said the only thing she could now. “You did it right. You saved my life.”
He brushed her mouth with his words. “I’m glad.” He kissed her again with a gentle kind of tenderness she never would have thought him capable of, and then he just held her tight in his arms for a long while.
Finally, she whispered, “I’m freezing.”
He laughed and let her go. “Me too. We’d better get back.”
For once, she let him help her up onto her horse, and she didn’t miss the way he slid his hand along the length of her leg as if it were a natural thing to touch her so. To her surprise, she didn’t mind. Sometime over their days together she’d learned to trust him and the truth shocked her.
CHAPTER 19
LEWT FELT FROZEN TO THE BONE BY THE TIME THEY raced back to the barn, but he didn’t comment. If the weather hadn’t changed, he would have been happy to stand out in that north pasture and kiss Em all day long.
He’d never felt that way about a woman. In fact, since he’d been that kid the soiled doves played at driving crazy with kisses, he’d really never kissed a woman at all and never with any passion. It seemed a waste of time, and most of the ladies he knew didn’t have a mouth that tasted like honey inside and lips that felt all soft and hesitant like Em’s did. She might be hard as a horseshoe when she was working or bossing him around, but when she was in his arms, she was all woman. She seemed to fit just right against him. Just the right height, just the right feel. She was tall and slender, but he’d felt where her hips flared and couldn’t have missed her soft round breasts pressing against his chest.
He thought about telling her how she started a fire inside him . . . about how he’d like to do more than kiss her . . . about how he wanted her beneath him in bed more than he could ever remember wanting a woman.
But Lewt knew he’d never say a word to her. She’d told him his kiss had been her first. She might be near his age, but she’d been raised here on Whispering Mountain completely away from the wildness he’d known. She might not be a lady like the McMurray women, but she wasn’t like anyone from his world and he’d be doing her an injustice to treat her so.
When they reached the barn, rain had started to fall. Sumner was there waiting for them. As always, he stood ready to help Em, and as always, she refused his assistance.
“I expected you in earlier,” he said. “Norther’s blowing in.”
“We found a hurt colt in the north pasture,” Em said, without looking at the old man. “Lewt shot the mountain lion that planned to have him for dinner.”
Sumner looked at Lewt for the first time but didn’t say a word.
“Are the others back from town?”
Sumner slowly turned away from Lewt to answer. “No, they sent word about an hour ago with the mail and medicine. They all decided to stay in town. The women at the little house, the men at the hotel.”
Em nodded. “Makes sense. The ride back in a buggy wouldn’t be pleasant in this weather.”
Lewt stepped beside her. “You would have crossed the hills and cut the time in half, right?”
She smiled. “Not with Mrs. Allender. I had enough trouble leading you.”
He lightly brushed her shoulder with his. “I’d hate to see sweet little Mrs. Allender tumbling from a horse and rolling down a hill.”
“Me too.” Em smiled at him and took off running to the house.
He was right behind her, barely noticing the pounding rain or mud splashing to his knees.
They hit the mudroom laughing and tossing wet coats and hats.
Light shone from the kitchen, but the mudroom was in shadows. Lewt knew without asking that Rose left a light for Em every night. Only tonight, Miss McMurray was in town. Neither the reverend nor his wife would have thought to light the lamp.
Em