Linda Ford by The Cowboy's Surprise Bride Page A

stopped laughing, though he grinned so wickedly she had several errant thoughts of further enjoyment. She tried to remember that she didn’t want to feel anything toward him. But he had a smile that made her forget everything else.
    “Thank you for praying,” he murmured, his voice thick with amusement. “Me and the boys...and the cows...appreciate your help.”
    Cassie rolled her eyes. “So what happens now to these wonderful cows of yours?”
    “The boys will hold them there until the snow melts then ease them down. A Chinook is already blowing in. Can you feel it?”
    “The wind?” Linette turned toward the window and listened. The door rattled. A sound sighed around the cabin.
    “Yup. You’ll soon be throwing open the door to let in some warmer air.”
    The room did seem warmer. Or was it only her churning emotions? She drew in a deep breath and settled her tremulous feelings. “A Chinook. How exciting.” Already melted snow dripped from the eaves and she caught sight of a puddle on the road.
    “It certainly makes a mournful noise.” Cassie hugged her arms around her and looked about as pleased as if stung by a hornet.
    Linette laughed. “Seems you have to take the bad with the good. I try to overlook the bad so I can enjoy the good.”
    The look Cassie shot at her held the power to curdle Linette’s breakfast if Linette had a mind to let it. She didn’t.
    Eddie rubbed his hands together and considered the view from the window, looking as pleased as if he had personally invented sunshine. His pleasure drew her to his side.
    “’Net?” Grady whispered. She turned from the window to answer Grady’s insistent tug at her arm. She bent to hear his question. “I go see horses now?”
    She glanced toward Eddie and met his brown eyes.
    He smiled. “This change in weather makes a person want to go out and play, doesn’t it, Grady?”
    Grady pressed to Linette’s side but nodded agreement.
    The change in the weather must be the cause of her emotions swinging so wildly from worry to fear to...pleasure? Of course she was happy Eddie had returned safely. He was her means of escaping Lyle Williamson.
    “We’ll give it time to melt more of the snow and then I’ll take you. You just be patient.”
    Grady nodded again and Linette’s heart crowded her ribs at the way Eddie smiled at the boy. Grady needed to know not all men would look at him and dismiss him as a nuisance the way his father had. Eddie’s gaze had softened as he smiled at the boy. For a moment his eyes held hers in a strong grip, as if silently promising her something she could not identify...
    She managed to divert her attention to something beyond his shoulder. This was to be a marriage of convenience. Nothing more. But something inside her had shifted as she realized he was a man of his word. What he said, he would do. They could all take comfort in the fact.
    Except his word to her had been that she was safe here for the winter and then he would send her back to her father.
    And to Lyle Williamson with his pudgy hands and leering eyes.
    She tucked in her chin and pulled herself tall and straight. Somehow between now and spring Eddie would change his mind.
    From the corner of her eye she saw Eddie watching her.
    She allowed herself a steady glance at him, saw what looked like concern in his eyes.
    Then he blinked. “I’ll take you up to the big house before it gets muddy. Then you can tell Margaret about it.”
    It wasn’t an invitation. It was an order. Just as the “tell Margaret about it” was an order. However, she didn’t care. She’d stared at the house for two days and her curiosity had built with each passing hour. She couldn’t wait to see it up close. If her prayers were answered, her plan fulfilled, the house would be her home.
    “I’d like to see it.” She reached for her coat.
    “I come?” Grady whispered.
    Linette looked at Eddie for his approval.
    He shook his head. “The hill will be slippery. Best you stay here