by Kathy Otten
“Then will ye marry me, Jason Reid?”
His heart beat steady beneath her hand. The smile faded from his lips. “Why?”
“I love ye.”
Gracie searched his face but uncertainty clouded his blue eyes. She’d pushed him away so many times it was no wonder he’d eyed her with suspicion. She rolled close to his side and rested her hand over his heart.
“I told ye once if ever I decided to accept the suit of another man, ’twould be someone of a gentle nature, prone to laughter and compassion, who sees me as more than a woman to clean his house and bear his children. Ye are that man, Jason Reid.”
“Are you sure, Gracie?”
“Aye. Very sure. I love ye.”
“I love you, too.”
His hand slid into her hair, cupping the back of her head. Drawing close, his tongue teased her lips.
She kissed him back, savoring every nuance, the warmth of his breath, the security of his arms around her, and the faint taste of whiskey on his tongue.
He pulled back just an inch or so. His thumb brushed over her cheek bone. “Yes.”
A sweet smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “I believe I will marry you.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Then if I’m to spend the rest o’ me life with a man who can make me laugh, have ye another joke to share, Jason Reid?”
He frowned for a moment then rolled onto his back, bringing her with him, so that she lay sprawled on top of him. Crossing her arms on his chest, she rested her chin on top and watched him.
He stared at the ceiling, as if he first needed to examine each of the intricate carvings. He drew a breath and recited.
“A patient ordered to take Seidlitz powders, making a grimace at the prescription, the doctor observed, ‘It is only the first which is so disagreeable.’
“‘Ah then,’ said the patient, ‘I will begin with the second.’ ”
A word about the author…
Kathy can’t remember a time when she wasn’t making up stories and writing them in notebooks. Once her kids were in high school, she joined a writers’ group and seriously pursued her craft. Her first short story, Redemption of a Cavalier was published in 2007. Since then she has published multiple novels and short stories. She teaches adult classes on fiction writing and is available for workshop presentations.
She enjoys long walks with her dog through the fields and woods near her home. In the winter, she likes to curl up with a good book and one or two of her cats, while the snow blows outside. In between family, work, and animals, she can be found at her computer weaving stories of laughter, heartache, and love for the crazy cast of characters swirling around in her head.
Kathy loves to hear from her readers. You can email her at [email protected]
Thank you for purchasing
this publication of The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
If you enjoyed the story, we would appreciate your letting others know by leaving a review.
For other wonderful stories,
please visit our on-line bookstore.
Also available from The Wild Rose Press, Inc. and other major retailers
A Tarnished Knight
by Kathy Otten
Fleeing her abusive husband, Victoria Van der Beck is captured by down-on-his-luck bounty hunter, Ryder MacKenzie. As she comes to love this man who hides his face in shadows, she wonders if he could be the valiant knight for whom she's been longing. Is he the champion who would save her from the evil prince, or is MacKenzie just a paid lackey determined to return her to her husband?
Ryder MacKenzie never believed anyone could love him, for he was cursed the day he was born. He only wants to be left alone to live on his ranch in peace. But rustlers have stolen his cattle. He's been ambushed and his horse killed. Now his one chance to get his life back is to simply return a society princess to her husband. Maybe his luck is about to change. At least she isn't pretty.
Also Available
A Necessary Woman
by A. E. Easterlin
Suzanna Worthington wants what most women want ' a husband to love her, a home to shelter her, and a child to bring her joy.
The battle at Manassas has stolen her fianc' and destroyed her dreams. Channeling grief into healing, she assists the local doctor at a makeshift hospital, while her friends plot to find the one man who can fulfill all her desires...and his.
Now the war is over, and Jake Cantrell has come to find a wife. A self-made man with a huge ranch in Wyoming, he's ready to settle down and raise a passel of sons to carry on his legacy.
Who will win her love? It could be the doctor who admires her, the Indian chief who captures her, or the man who wants to possess her and finds himself possessed by this necessary woman.