The horse, seemingly unconcerned with being evaluated, went about his horse business.
“I guess I was tired. The riding is getting better.” She stood and rubbed her backside. “I swear my legs and my butt have gone numb, and I don’t know if I’ll ever feel them again.”
“Aye, ’tis a rather fetching backside.”
A giggle broke free, and she clapped a hand over her mouth, but it was no use. He was so embarrassed at what he’d said that he turned a bright red, and she’d noticed his ears stuck out a little when he was embarrassed.
“Forgive me.”
“It’s all right. I could say the same about you.”
And then he turned even redder.
“I should see to the horse.”
Ashley splashed water on her face to help wake her up. It was freezing. Too bad she stank at poetry; she’d like to compose an ode to hot water. Christian had said it was going to snow again. The weather guys on TV would be envious—he seemed to be able to predict the weather just by looking at the skies and smelling the air.
Time had passed and people changed; they could no longer tell the weather from looking at the sky. They moved indoors and to cities, becoming accustomed to modern conveniences. Though if she were being completely honest with herself, she was more used to the countryside than she’d let on.
The secret she kept from everyone was her upbringing and her condition. The teenage mom who died of an overdose, fled rehab, and tried to sell her as a baby on Halloween; being adopted and living in a one-stoplight town. She loved her parents, but they were content to live small, while Ashley had vowed to make it, to live in the biggest city, the only city. Small-town life chafed at her, made her feel like life was passing her by and everyone else was off doing exciting things while she floundered.
Three years and a hell of a lot of hard work later, she’d packedher belongings into a friend’s car and swore she’d never end up in Pooler, Georgia again. Vowed never to fail, swore she’d be a big success. And she’d been on the way to achieving all that she wanted, until she landed here. Now it seemed like a lifetime ago. Maybe it was time to build a new life.
She finished washing as best she could, and frowned at the state of her dress. The hem had come undone in places, there were several tears, and the pockets had come out of the seams. Guess the dress wasn’t meant for more than standing on stage or attending a party.
Tossing a pebble in the stream, she looked to Christian. He was readying the horse for them to leave. There was one other thing she was keeping from him. A really big deal-breaker thing.
If she could go home, it wouldn’t matter, but if she stayed… She knew how much he wanted a big family. And that was the one thing she couldn’t give him.
When she was fifteen, she’d had feminine issues and required surgery, the end result being she couldn’t have kids. So no matter how charming she found him, it would never work between them, because she wanted to go back to her life and cross off every item on her list of goals, and he wanted a wife and a big family. So she would enjoy his company and she wouldn’t fall in love with him. No matter that he was the one guy where being with him didn’t seem like work. Talking came easy, and with him she felt whole.
Hellfire and damnation, she was in love with him.
“Mistress Ashley? We should go.”
“Coming.” With a shake of her head, she stood, brushing off the dirty brown dress. If she kept telling herself she wasn’t falling in love with him, it would be true. It was the old fake it till you make it, right?
“Are we there yet?”
Christian smiled, knowing it would not be long until she beseeched him to stop. Over the past se’nnight he had come to know her temper well. Though she no longer wondered what time it was or complained about the horse. There were times she was quiet for a long time and he thought she was thinking of her home.
“It will not be long now until we reach Winterforth.”
“Can we stop? I need to use the ladies’ room.”
He found a safe place where any approaching riders would not see them, and helped her dismount. He had heard the expression before,the ladies’ room—his brothers’ wives said the same.
Her voice came from behind a bush. “Wait a minute. Winterforth? That’s the place those soldiers at the inn were gossiping about. You know, that guy they were talking about.”
He stiffened.
There was rustling in the bush, and he walked a few paces away to give her privacy. When she returned, he was tending to the horse.
“Come on, you remember Winterforth.”
“Of what do you speak?”
“The guy those men were saying couldn’t please a woman.”
