His Dangerous Bride (The Brides of Paradise Ranch - Spicy Version Book 2) by Merry Farmer

with cow pies for brains could do to respect a man for realizing he could do better than be a joke. Luke had competence in spades. She admired him for it more than she would have guessed she would when she met him, and she could feel that admiration growing into something more.
    “I tell you what,” she said with all the force of fire behind her words. “Any man who doesn’t see that you’re a born leader is a crying fool.”
    Luke balked, but his back straightened. “You think so?”
    “Sweetie, I know so,” she insisted. “From the second I stepped off that train, you’ve been arranging things and facing things head on and doing the jobs you’re meant to do, as a rancher and as a husband.”
    A hint of a smile pulled at the corner of his mouth, and this time it stayed there. “Well, the husband things were a might easier than the rancher things.” The blush that kissed his cheeks was a reflection of the heated mischief that came to his eyes.
    “And I know you’ll continue to fulfill those particular duties to the very best of your ability.”
    He chuckled, his blush deepening. “Kinda makes me wish we weren’t out on a drive right now.”
    She giggled—giggled like a schoolgirl. Lord, it felt good to let herself get swept up in something as ordinary as being sweet on a man. Not just a man, her husband.
    “Next time you get to feeling like those lard-for-brains fools expect you to act like one of them, just remember you’ve got at least one person who thinks you’re the king of the castle.”
    He puffed up with such pride at her simple comment that Eden’s throat squeezed tight.
    “I appreciate that,” he said, voice gruff with emotion. “I can’t say there’ve been many people who showed that kind of faith in me.”
    She grinned. “I can’t say I’ve met that many people who I’ve wanted to believe in.”
    He glanced sideways at her, his grin tightening. For a moment, Eden worried she’d said too much. Luke narrowed his eyes, deep in thought.
    At last, he said, “You sure you’re only just looking to be a rancher’s wife and mother of his children?”
    She let out a breath on a laugh. “Sweetheart, you have no idea.” She wanted to be a safe wife and mother. Her eyes danced off across the herd, over the wilderness that they walked through, at the other cowhands. Anywhere but at Luke.
    Luke hummed as though figuring out a puzzle. “One of these days, maybe you’ll put all your trust in me instead of just some of it.”
    His words were quiet, thoughtful, and they stung. He knew she was holding back. Dammit, now she’d have to work out a way to tell him about her past. She just needed to find a way to do it that didn’t end with him hating her.

 
     
    Chapter Seven
     
     
    In spite of the fact that Eden wanted nothing more than to settle down with a constant roof over her head, steady food on the table, and enough safety to bring babies into the world, as the next few days passed on the cattle drive, she enjoyed herself. There was a world of difference between riding out with her brothers—always hiding, always looking over her shoulder—and ambling along with Howard Haskell’s ranch hands, a clear job to do in front of them.
    The best part of all was the time she got to spend with Luke.
    “You gonna eat that last piece of bacon?” she asked, nudging his shoulder as they sat side-by-side around the breakfast campfire.
    “Of course,” Luke replied, in good humor. Eden made a move to snatch the bacon from his plate, but he was faster. He swiped it up and chomped on it before she could do more than laugh.
    Lord above, it was nice to have an easy, free relationship with a man. A good relationship, one that was proper and aboveboard. The cattle drive gave her a chance to get to know her new husband in a way she never would have if he’d gone off to work every day while she stayed home. She liked what she was learning. In fact, she’d venture to say she was falling hard.
    The two