Her voice pressed in. “Don’t pull away from me. Let me choose what I want.” Then her expression shifted into a hint of shyness as she shrugged a shoulder. “And you might find things you don’t like about me.” She gave him a gentle smile, a hopeful look. “We won’t know for sure if we don’t try. Don’t give up on me yet.”
His throat was so full, he couldn’t speak. A good thing, for his mind scrambled to find the right answer.
Every part of him wanted to say yes. To draw her all the way to him and wrap their intertwined fingers behind her back, to hold her to him. To say yes, both with words and with a kiss that gave her no doubt of his agreement.
He couldn’t rush into this. . . . But maybe he didn’t have to push her away just yet. After all, she would eventually see for herself what his own father had known.
Until then, Tanner could enjoy her beauty a little longer. Both the stunning image she made looking up at him as she did now and the richer loveliness of her heart.
So instead of pulling her close, he lifted their joined hands and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “I won’t pull away, but you’re free to do so at any time.”
A smile curved her beautiful lips, though moisture still glimmered in her eyes. “I suppose I can live with that. For now.”
Then she reached up and did what he’d not allowed himself to, pressing her warm sweet mouth to his for a kiss. A kiss that ended far too soon.
twenty-four
Knowing where she and Tanner stood eased some of the weight from Lorelei’s chest as she rode back to the ranch. She’d not even realized how that uncertainty had pressed on her.
It still seemed hard to believe he would think himself not good enough for her. Everything Tanner had told of his past broke her heart, but there had likely been even more. Perhaps a lifetime of disappointments, times his father hadn’t been there when Tanner needed him most, or a multitude of situations where his father chose the cousin over Tanner. His father must be blind not to realize the exceptional man he’d raised—or rather, the exceptional man Tanner had become in spite of his upbringing.
What had his mother been like? Tanner never spoke of her. Not even a passing mention. Lorelei would find the chance to ask. Her heart longed to know more of his history. To understand the events and challenges that made him the man she knew today.
As her mare crested the final pass and the ranch came into view in the valley below, her middle clenched again.As much as she’d like to think about Tanner for hours, she had a far greater challenge at hand with Juniper.
When she reached their cabin door, the sounds of retching inside made her own belly twist tighter. She left her horse in the yard and slipped through the door, meeting Faith’s worried gaze where her younger sister knelt by Juniper’s bed.
Lorelei strode to Juniper’s other side and began to rub circles on her back as her shoulders convulsed again. Nothing came as she gagged, and only a scant bit of liquid lay in the pot.
Poor thing. She must have already tossed up the broth Lorelei had helped her sip that morning.
When Juniper finally finished, Lorelei wiped her mouth, then wrung out a clean cloth from the bowl of fresh water. Juniper sank against the mattress and took the cloth to wipe her face. A sheen of sweat covered her brow, and her bright red lips stood out against the pallor of her skin.
Lorelei swallowed down the worry that tried to rise up. “I’ll get more ginger tea.”
Juniper’s eyes were already drifting shut. These episodes exhausted her.Lord, keep her and the baby safe. Bring her through thisquickly.
Juniper managed several sips of the ginger tea before slipping away into a weary sleep. Faith had begun to pace the cabin by the time Lorelei left their older sister’s side and carried the used dishes to the washpot.
She turned to Faith. “Do you need to go check the foals in the corral?”
Faith darted a glance at the door as though it was a forbidden pleasure. “I probably should.”
“Go then, and bring me some wood when you’re done. After that, Rosie and Riley could probably use help with the herd.”
Faith had already reached the door but turned back. “Are you sure? I told Rosie I’d stay here and help you.”
Lorelei turned to look at their sleeping sister. “I think she’ll rest for a while. I’m going to cook and clean, and I’d rather have you out of the way.” She tried for a teasing smile, but Faith didn’t stay long enough to notice.
Juniper woke twice through the afternoon and managed to finish the ginger tea and sip a cup of broth. Riley returned once to check on her, but Lorelei sent him back out so he didn’t wake his wife.
When the three of them rode in at dark, Juniper was sitting up on the bed and had a little more color in her cheeks. Conversation bounced around the small cabin as relief showed on every face.
“Whatever you’re cooking smells good.” Faith approached the pot over the fire. As she peered inside, her nose wrinkled. “What is it?”
Lorelei pulled bowls from the shelf. “Buffalo with cornmeal dumplings.”
Faith raised both brows at her. “Never would have put those together myself, but I’m hungry enough to eat it.”
