Chapter 1
Emily frowned as she leaned against the round, white beam on the front porch and stared at the rusted-out 70s Ford truck, an old Ford Escort and a wagon once pulled by a team of horses, all parked in front of the two-storey Victorian house, which was now her home. Brad was in the north field with the vet, who was checking the herd of cattle, taking blood samples and deworming them. This was something he took care of every summer.
Emily had meant to speak with Brad about the junkyard that was parked in front of their house; not because it had just moved there, but due to it having always been in that exact spot since the first day she arrived here, to apply for the job of caregiver to Trevor.
Not one of those vehicles had moved and, if she remembered correctly from what Brad had said, they never would. The truck hadn’t moved in over five years, Emily was sure, and the broken-down car belonging to Cliff, one of the hired hands, was another eyesore. Apparently, the wagon had always been parked there since Brad had taken over the ranch from his father, Rodney.
Emily rubbed her swollen belly, which was expanding faster than she’d expected since she was only five months pregnant. Normally the vehicles wouldn’t bother her, but with the wedding only a few days away, Emily wanted the house and its surroundings to be perfect. Yet, Brad didn’t seem the least bothered by the junkyard of rusting metal. To her it was an eyesore, but his answer was to toss a tarp over it, while reminding her that being pregnant made her “pickier than usual.” That was, word-for-word, what he had said the night before when she’d been sitting on his lap, leaning into the comfort of his wide chest, surrounded by his strong arms, after Katy and Trevor were tucked up in bed.
Normally, the couple acted like two teenagers, holding hands and touching every time they were in the same room together. Emily couldn’t get enough of touching Brad. But after he called her picky, she’d stiffened and tried to slide away. He, of course, held onto her and wouldn’t let her go; sliding his hand under her pink T-shirt, over her rounded belly, and upwards, caressing the outline of her lacy bra and teasing her sensitive nipples until she leaned back against him.
Brad knew just how to touch her and have her melting against him. He had lifted her long, dark hair, exposing her creamy, pale neck, and kissed her until his lips reached her earlobe, which he gently nipped as he used his other hand to spread her legs and run his fingers…
“What are you doing?”
Emily jumped inside. Her eyes widened at her soon-to-be-husband, who rested one booted foot on the bottom step of the porch and was watching her in such a way that he knew exactly where her mind had wandered.Her face warmed and she covered her cheeks with the palms of her hands.
Chuckling, Brad strode up the steps until he loomed over her. He lifted her chin up so that she couldn’t hide her face from him. Emily stepped closer until she was pressed against his hard, muscled thighs. Sliding her hands over his strong, broad shoulders, Emily linked them around his neck while she rose up on tiptoes, loving how tall and good looking was this man whom she loved so deeply. His whiskey-colored eyes twinkled mischievously as he slid both of his hands down and around her derriere, cupping both cheeks and pressing her closer to him.
Emily pulled Brad’s head down to kiss him, but he had no intention of letting her off that easy. “Uh, uh,” he said, “first I want to know what caused that faraway, dreamy look on your face and made you blush just now.”
She thought he was breathtaking, even when teasing her; his solid jaw and sharp, square features, and weathered lines around his eyes. He was still the most handsome man she’d ever seen. But he was a devil too, in the way he goaded and played with her, both in and out of bed.
The passion that burned between them sizzled to the point that
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