To Have And To Hold: Made for Marriage / To Wed a Rancher / The Mummy Proposal. Helen Lacey
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Название: To Have And To Hold: Made for Marriage / To Wed a Rancher / The Mummy Proposal
Автор: Helen Lacey
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Современные любовные романы
isbn: 9781474081498
isbn:
It wasn’t what he’d been expecting and Noah saw the walls close around her as if they were made from stone. A cheating, dishonest spouse was a whole lot easier to compete with than a ghost. “And you’re still grieving?”
She gave him an odd look. “Most of the time I’m simply … numb.”
He reached across and took her hand. “Can you feel that?” he asked as he stroked her forefinger with his thumb.
She looked to where their hands lay linked. “Yes.”
“Then you’re not numb, Callie.” Noah fought the impulse to drag her into his lap. He wanted her so badly he could barely breathe. “You just fell in love with the wrong man.”
She closed her eyes briefly. “I know.”
“So maybe we’ll both get it right next time.”
For a moment she looked like she wanted to be hauled into his arms. He was tempted. Very tempted. But the look lasted only a moment.
She grabbed her tote. He could see her walls closing in, could see her shutting down. “I should go.”
He knew the evening was over. “I’ll walk you out.” Noah stood and followed her wordlessly to the front door. Even with music playing in the background, the house seemed uncommonly quiet. Harry lifted his head when Noah opened the front door, then dropped it disinterestedly.
“Well, thank you for dinner,” she said, clutching her bag. “And for part of a movie.”
Noah prepared himself for her hasty departure, but she stopped at the bottom step and turned. “I know what you want, Noah. And part of me wants that, too.”
The air stuck in his throat. “But?”
“Right now I just … I just don’t have room inside myself for any more … feelings.”
The raw honesty in her voice was undeniable. He wasn’t sure how the brash, argumentative woman he’d first met had morphed into this exposed, vulnerable creature he couldn’t take his eyes off. His insides churned. Don’t be afraid of me. Don’t be afraid of what’s happening between us. He didn’t say it. He couldn’t. He wanted to kiss sense into her … to make her really see him, really feel him. But she wanted to run and that annoyed him. God, this woman’s undoing me.
“Will you ever have room?” he asked quietly.
She looked at him. Through him. “I … don’t … I can’t.”
Moments later he watched her drive away and waited on the porch until the taillights disappeared at the end of the driveway. And he knew he was falling for a woman who’d just admitted she didn’t want to feel anything. For anyone. Ever.
The familiar sight of Noah’s truck arrived at exactly eight fifty-five Sunday morning. Callie was coming out of the stables when she saw him retrieving his toolbox from the tray. She said hello and he said the same, but he quickly headed for the house and began repairing the screen door.
While she was left wondering if he was angry with her, she was also left facing Lily. And Lily was in a dark mood. She grunted when Callie clipped the long lead rein onto the halter secured beneath the bridle. And then again when Callie knotted the reins in the middle of the gelding’s neck and instructed Lily to do arm raises.
Lily muttered a “this sucks” under her breath and began her lesson.
It became a long fifty minutes, with Callie acutely conscious of Noah’s presence at the house. She wished she knew his moods better. Was he angry with her? He worked without breaking; he didn’t even appear to look in their direction. She hadn’t heard from him since Friday night. She’d thought he might call. But he hadn’t called … and as tempted as she’d been to pick up the telephone herself so she could hear his voice, she hadn’t.
“What’s up with you today?”
Lily’s accusing voice vaulted her back to the present. “Nothing,” she said.
“You’re not paying attention to me,” the teenager complained.
Callie switched her mind into instructor mode. “Of course I am. You’re doing great.” She grabbed a neutral subject. “How did your sleepover go at Maddy’s?”
Lily’s gaze snapped at her suspiciously as she trotted Samson in a circle, skillfully rising from the saddle in between beats. “How did yours go with my Dad?”
Maybe not such a neutral subject after all!
Callie’s face burned. She called Samson to a halt and waited until he slowed before roping him in. Once horse and rider were in front of her she spoke. “It wasn’t like that.”
Lily’s expression remained skeptical. “Yeah, sure.”
“I stayed for dinner,” she explained. “And then I went home.”
Lily didn’t like that, either. Her look became as black as her mood. “So you guys are friends now?”
Callie thought about how to answer. “I … suppose.”
Lily dismounted. “I thought you were my friend?”
Uh-oh. Callie chose her words carefully. “I am, Lily. I have all different kinds of friends.”
“Well, he doesn’t look at you like he wants you to be his friend. He looks at you as if he wants you to be his girlfriend.”
Callie grabbed the reins and tried to squash the sudden heavy thump of her heart. He’s not looking at me like anything at the moment.
“We’re just friends,” she said firmly, unclipping the reigning lead and handing Samson to Lily. “Give him a brush down and ask Joe to get a small feed for him.” She caught Lily’s scowl. “Horsemanship includes ground work and is all part of learning to ride.”
Lily started to move then stopped and swiveled on her boot. “I just don’t want things to change, that’s all. I like coming here. I like learning how to do stuff.”
“Nothing’s going to change,” Callie assured her, sensing that it was what Lily needed to hear. “I promise.”
“So you’re like, not moving back to California or anything?”
California? “No.”
Lily shrugged. “Because people do move. People … leave.”
Like her mother. Callie took about two seconds to figure it out. “Not all people,” she said gently. “Not your dad.”
Lily didn’t look convinced. “Yeah, I guess,” she said. “It’s not like I don’t want him to date or anything … I mean, СКАЧАТЬ