Kissed by a Rancher. Sara Orwig

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      “Of course,” he said. “I’ll get my coat. It’s supposed to be seventeen degrees tonight.”

      “Can I go upstairs and get it for you, sir?” Josh asked.

      “It’s down here in the hall closet,” Abby said.

      “Thank you very much anyway,” Mr. Hickman said to Josh.

      Once Mr. Hickman had on his coat, Abby got hers out of the hall closet, and Josh held it for her as she slipped into it. “Ready, Mr. Hickman?”

      “Ready,” he replied.

      Abby linked arms with Mr. Hickman and was aware of Josh moving to the other side of him. Josh held the door, and finally they stepped out onto the porch and walked around the house. Her guests were clustered there, some huddled together because they hadn’t bothered to get their coats. Some gasped at the wintry scene. The wind had finally died, and the snow had stopped falling. It was a cold, clear night, and an enormous moon hovered over the horizon. The moon was a huge white ball with gray patterns on its surface. Nobody had walked through the snow beyond the house yet, and it was pristine, glistening in the bright moonlight.

      “Just a minute,” Abby said, releasing Mr. Hickman’s arm and walking to one side of the crowd. “Folks, we have an old Texas legend about the moon. If you’ll move over here on the porch where I’m standing, you can see two oak trees in the yard with entwined branches.” She waited a moment as the group clustered around her.

      “The full moon shining on those oak trees sometimes casts a heart-shaped shadow. There’s an old legend here that if two people kiss in that shadow, they will fall in love with each other for the rest of their lives. If you want to see the shadow, you have to stand on this part of the porch, or if you’re in the yard, stand right in front of the porch at this place.”

      “Has anyone who has stayed at the inn ever seen it and kissed in the shadow?” someone asked.

      “Oh, yes,” Abby said. “Including my grandparents. My grandfather died very young, so my grandmother wasn’t married long, but she always loved him and has never remarried.” Talking softly, people turned to watch as shadows across the snow changed gradually.

      “So, have you ever kissed in this shadow?” a deep voice asked beside Abby. She turned to glance at Josh, thankful for the darkness that hid a blush warming her cheeks.

      “No, I haven’t. There—look, Josh, I think the shadow is forming,” she whispered, watching the shifting dark patterns on the dazzling white snow. The crowd became silent, seemingly transfixed.

      There was a collective gasp when a heart-shaped shadow became visible. People began to call out about it and hold up their phones to take pictures. One couple ran down the porch steps to kiss in the shadow. Two more couples joined them, and little kids laughed and clapped. Someone whistled.

      “We can’t waste that,” Josh said, taking her hand and hurrying down the steps.

      “Josh—”

      “It’s only a kiss,” he said, rushing to stand in the shadow of the heart and pull her to him.

      “This is absurd,” she said, laughing, her own heart pounding wildly. “Suppose it comes true? We don’t even know each other. You’re tempting fate. We might not like each other—”

      “We’ll find out,” he said, wrapping his arms around her and leaning down to kiss her. His mouth covered hers.

      Shocked, excited, caught off guard, she thought this kiss was the craziest thing she had ever done in her quiet, ordinary life. And then she stopped thinking and was consumed by his kiss, which built a fire deep within her. She couldn’t get her breath. She became oblivious to the cold, the snow and the people around her, as well as the knowledge that she barely knew Josh. All she was aware of was his mouth on hers, his arms banding her tightly, holding her against his solid, warm length.

      She had never been kissed like this, held like this. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately in return. The reason for their kiss vanished. All she knew was Josh, his hard strength, his tongue that took her breath completely and stirred her desire to a level she hadn’t experienced before.

      With Josh’s kiss, her world and her life underwent a change as subtle as the shifting shadows around her, but in another way, a change far more monumental. Desire burned hotly, enveloping her, permeating her being. She clung tightly to him, kissing him in a way she had never kissed any other man.

      At some point she realized where she was and what she was doing. With an effort she stepped back. As they broke apart, people clapped again, laughed and whistled. She was thankful for the darkness, because her face burned from embarrassment as she tried to smile but couldn’t.

      For once, Josh’s ever-ready smile didn’t appear. He stared at her.

      “We drew a crowd,” she said quietly. “That shadow is long gone.”

      “Yeah.”

      She turned away. Josh caught her hand as people clapped again. “Bow,” he said. “We have an audience. Let’s join the fun, and the moment will pass. Sort of.”

      She curtsied as Josh bowed again.

      The crowd broke up. Kids were tossing snowballs, and several had started a snowman. The snow crunched beneath their feet as they walked back to the inn. They stopped to accompany Mr. Hickman.

      “Josh is an enterprising young man,” Mr. Hickman said, laughter in his voice. “I shall try to prevail upon him to go fishing with me.”

      “That would be nice,” she said, thinking Josh would never come back to Beckett, and he probably was too busy to fish often. When he did, she suspected he flew to Colorado or Idaho or some location where fishing was much more challenging and satisfying than a stocked pond in a small west Texas town.

      They went inside and put away their coats. “Want to finish our game?” Josh asked Mr. Hickman.

      “Yes, indeed, and then it will be my bedtime.”

      “See you later,” Josh said to her, and the two men turned to go to their game. One of the guests stopped to ask her if they would be having cocoa later.

      “Yes. Would you and your family like some now? I can make it now just as easily.”

      “That would be wonderful. I’ll come help.”

      “You don’t need to. I’ll announce it as soon as it’s ready. It doesn’t really take long.”

      “Thank you, Abby. We all look forward to your homemade hot cocoa,” the petite blonde said. “I’ll tell my family and the others.”

      Abby hurried to the kitchen, trying to focus on making hot cocoa for everyone and keeping Josh’s kiss out of her thoughts for now. She failed to stop thinking about him, but she had made cocoa so many times in her life, she could do what she needed to without much thought.

      Finally she escaped to her room for a moment to catch her breath. As soon as she shut her door, she leaned against it. Remembering Josh’s kiss, she closed her eyes. Why did she have this huge reaction to Josh, of all people, who would СКАЧАТЬ