by Leona Karr
“You’re kidding.”
He laughed. “Yes, I am, but I’ve had my eye on a nice little filly that would be perfect for a city-bred gal to ride. What do you say?”
The way she lifted her lips for a kiss was answer enough.
WHEN MR. DOUGHTY, the lawyer, arrived in Timberlane a few weeks later, Stacy declined to accompany him and Josh as they drove to the hotel for the inspection. The approval that she had so passionately sought and centered her future around, had faded from her mind. Her life had taken off in a different direction, and even though she was spinning dreams about what she would do with her inheritance, she knew that happiness was really about loving and being loved.
Gramps had come home. Repairs to the bridge had been finished, and the first reservations were beginning to come in. She’d taken over some of Josh’s usual responsibilities in the management of the cabins while he supervised the completion of the museum. Mrs. Crabtree had agreed to live in the main house while Gramps was still needing extra attention. Her son, Billy, had found a job in town.
Stacy was feeling more confident on the surefooted sorrel mare that Josh had bought so they could ride together. Their future was in a kind of hiatus, until the matter of her uncle’s inheritance was settled—one way or another.
She knew Josh had mixed feelings about it. Even though he’d done his best toward satisfying her uncle’s will and getting the money for her, she wondered if it would stand between them. He was a proud man and one who would never be financially dependent on his wife.
“No use fretting,” Gramps told her, as she moved restlessly around the kitchen, waiting for a telephone call from Josh or the lawyer.
“I know,” she admitted. “Whatever happens, it’ll be over and done with, one way or another.”
Late afternoon came and still no telephone call.
When Mrs. Crabtree came into the kitchen, Stacy said rather abruptly. “You can take a message. I’m going to saddle up Lady and go for a ride.”
“Alone?” Mrs. Crabtree raised an eyebrow.
“Why not? I won’t go far. Josh told me I was ready.”
She headed for the barn, and carefully saddled the mare the way Josh had taught her. She double-checked the cinch, put a foot in a stirrup and lightly lifted herself into the saddle. With a light kick, she urged the mare away from the house and along a path that she’d taken with Josh.
The ground rose slowly to a wide mountain meadow, laced with a small stream feeding into the river below. She reined in the mare and drank in the view as if it were sweet nectar. Then she slipped from the saddle, wrapped the reins around a sturdy tree and sank down on the grassy ground.
Why hadn’t Josh called? Was he hesitant to tell her the bad news that their renovations had been rejected? Or was he even more reluctant to tell her that she was now a woman of some wealth? She loved him deeply, and everything else in life paled in the light of that love. Whatever the outcome, her greatest loss or gain would be centered in Josh’s feelings for her.
Her mare moved slightly and tossed her head, as the ground vibrated with approaching horse hoofs. Josh felt a surge of pure happiness when he rode up and saw her sitting there, surrounded by the natural splendor of the mountain meadow. Her lovely face was burnished with the sun’s glow, and her hair ruffled slightly in the soft breeze. She was a part of the natural beauty of the trees, mountain and sky that he loved. Never had he felt such a powerful surge of love as he swung down from the saddle and tethered his horse beside hers. The way her eyes were shining as she looked up at him gave him hope.
“Whatcha doing up here?” he asked lightly, to mask the racing of his heart as he took off his hat and sat down beside her.
“Waiting for you.”
“I like the sound of that.”
He tipped her chin and looked into her shining eyes. Her lips issued an invitation that he couldn’t deny. Lowering his mouth to hers, he kissed her with a passionate hunger that was returned tenfold. His lips traced the curve of her sweet chin and found her soft, pliable mouth again and again. When they breathlessly drew apart, she stayed in the circle of his arms. “I’ve been dreaming,” she confessed softly.
He masked a sudden quiver of fear. Had her dreams taken her to some exciting, worldly place of bustle and excitement far away from him? He tried to keep his voice even as he asked, “And what were you dreaming about?”
She sighed happily. “Building a house on this very spot and living here with you—forever.”
Relief sluiced through him. He knew then that his own dreams of keeping her in his life forever had come true. “All right, darling, if that’s what you want to do with the money your uncle left you, I guess you can start looking at plans any time.”
“We won!” She shrieked with joy. “We won!” The miserable hotel could be torn down, and its sordid past gone forever.
“Yes, we won,” he echoed, but in his heart he knew that their true victory was finding each other.
All lingering shadows faded away as they talked about the future and made love in a green meadow bathed by a golden sun.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-3235-8
A DANGEROUS INHERITANCE
Copyright © 2004 by Leona Karr
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