Aundy (Pendleton Petticoats #1)(30)
Author: Shanna Hatfield

“Why, Ashton, you flatter me so with your proposal, but I know it’s just this situation that has driven you to ask,” Aundy said, getting to her feet, which forced Ashton to do the same. Stepping behind a chair to keep space between them, Aundy held her hand to her chest and tried to look sincere. “You are a dear, sweet man, Ashton, and I appreciate your friendship and your proposal, but you deserve more than I can give you.”

Ashton looked crushed as he picked up his hat and gloves from where he’d tossed them when he arrived.

“I’m sorry, I just assumed you felt the same way I do,” Ashton said, mumbling something she couldn’t hear.

“Pardon?” Aundy asked as Ashton walked toward the door.

“Please, forgive me for attempting to thrust my attentions on you,” Ashton said. With a brief nod, he was out the door.

Releasing the breath she didn’t even realize she was holding, Aundy sank down on a chair and replayed the conversation with Ashton in her head. His proposal made no sense to her. None at all.

He was the type of man who preferred beauty to brains, submissive to independent, feeble to strong.

Hoping she hadn’t hurt his feelings, Aundy decided to go for a ride to clear her head. Changing into a riding skirt and boots, she left her hair in a braid, but added a wide-brimmed hat and hurried out to the barn.

Bell greeted her with a friendly whinny.

“You want to go for a run, girl?” Aundy asked as she saddled the horse and led her out of the barn. Mounting, she decided to check on Nik.

George and Bill helped move the sheep to a pasture closer to the house, where it would be easier to keep an eye on them.

All was calm as Aundy approached. She found Nik sitting under a tree, playing a mournful tune on his harmonica while Bob and Butter rested at his side.

“That’s a sad song you’re playing,” Aundy said, raising an eyebrow at Nik as she swung out of the saddle.

“I know, but I feel sad today,” Nik said, stuffing his harmonica in his pocket and getting to his feet. He’d grown a lot in the weeks since he came to the farm. His new pants, which Aundy bought to give him growing room, fit him well. It wouldn’t be long before he’d outgrow them and they’d be too short. Nik was going to be a tall, big man when he reached his full weight and height.

For now, she was glad to have the gangly boy with her on the farm. Throwing an arm around his thin shoulders, Aundy gave him a quick squeeze before kneeling down and petting both Butter and Bob.

“Why does someone want to hurt our sheep?” Nik asked, still not able to understand what his sheep had done to incur someone’s wrath. “They’re harmless.”

“I know, Nik,” Aundy said, reaching out a hand to the boy. He took it and sat beside her. Patting his back, she sighed as she looked over the flock of sheep, so peaceful as they grazed on the green pasture with the blue sky above them. “I’m having a hard time understanding it myself. Let’s just pray whoever it is decides to leave us alone.”

“But what if they hurt you?”

“Oh, Nik,” Aundy said, giving the boy a one-armed hug. “I’ll be fine. Don’t you worry.”

She tried to talk him into going to the bunkhouse to rest, but he refused to leave the sheep.

“Don’t wear yourself out, Nik. You need your rest and you need to take care of yourself or you won’t be any good to the sheep,” Aundy said, giving Bob and Butter a little more attention before she mounted Bell.

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll get some rest later,” Nik said, waving at her as she rode along their fence line.

Riding with no direction in mind, Aundy let Bell have her head and enjoyed the feel of the breeze on her face, the sun on her back, and the quiet of the afternoon.

Feeling much better than she had when she left the house, she stopped at the creek that ran through the back section of the farm and let Bell get a drink.

Admiring the light reflecting off the water, she thought she saw a fish dart into the shadows and smiled.

Sitting on the bank, she studied the bugs landing on the surface of the water, the crawdad trying to keep hidden beneath a broken tree limb, and rocks of all types, shapes and sizes that made up the creek bed.

Sticking her hand in the cool water, she picked up a handful of rocks and kept a few that caught her eye, stuffing them in her pocket.

Mounting Bell, she turned the horse toward home, in no hurry to get there. Just before she topped the rise above the back of the home place, she stopped to take in the sight of the farm.

If someone had told her a year, or even six months ago, she’d be riding a horse sitting on a hill in the sunshine admiring a neat red barn, planted fields and a pasture full of sheep, she would have thought they’d lost their ability to think rationally.

Feeling like she’d only been marking time instead of really living before she came to Pendleton, Aundy realized she felt truly alive in her new home. She had good friends, something exciting that drove her out of bed each day and, if she’d let herself admit it, a man she loved who stirred feelings in her she’d never known existed.

Her love for Gunther had been real, even though it was the first love of a young girl. This passion, this demanding current that flowed between Garrett and her, was something entirely different. It had depth and breadth, lightness and darkness, gentleness and wildness all rolled into one.

It scared her. Unsettled her with its intensity.

Remembering her determination to not get involved with another man, her heart whispered that it was already far too late.

If she didn’t know Garrett, didn’t know how he made her feel, she wondered if she would have still turned down Ashton, then realized the answer was yes.

Thanks to Erik and his belief in her, she no longer had to depend on a husband to be successful. She could do that on her own.

Grateful again for her many blessings, Aundy rode Bell home and gave her a good brushing before stopping by the bunkhouse. Visiting with Li, she asked him to have Dent make sure Nik came in for the night. She knew he’d have someone else keep an eye on the sheep, and she thought the boy would collapse if he didn’t get some rest soon.

Spending a quiet evening reading, Aundy realized she was tired when a yawn cracked her jaw. Turning off the lights in the front room and kitchen, she was walking down the hallway to her room when she heard a thump outside on the front porch.

Hurrying into her room, she grabbed her pocket revolver from her reticule and slipped out the kitchen door.

The smart thing to do would be to run to the bunkhouse and get reinforcements, but Aundy didn’t want to chance whomever it was getting away.

Edging around the corner of the house, she peeked up on the porch and saw no one. Continuing to stick to the shadows, she moved along the front of the house, glad the moon illuminated the night.

Deciding to go back to make sure whoever it was didn’t sneak in the kitchen door, she turned to retrace her steps and bumped into a solid wall of man.

“What are you doing?” Garrett asked, his voice husky by her ear as his hands gripped her arms.

“Are you insane? I almost shot you,” Aundy hissed, dropping her arm away from Garrett. If she hadn’t been careful like he taught her, he’d be lying on the ground with a bullet in his chest. The thought of that made her feel lightheaded and woozy.

When she swayed on her feet, Garrett put his arm around her waist and pulled her against his side, hurrying her up the kitchen steps and in the door.

Seating her at the table, he lit a lamp and studied her pale face.

“What do you mean almost shot me?” he asked, looking for evidence of Erik’s revolver.

Aundy held out her hand, showing him the small pocket revolver resting on her palm.

“Just where did you get that?” Garrett asked, picking up the gun and looking it over.

“I bought it. It makes me feel safer when I go to town,” Aundy said, setting her chin stubbornly.

“Okay,” Garrett said, carefully setting the gun on the table, pointed away from them both, before removing his hat. “That’s a sound reason.”

“What are you doing here?” Aundy asked, looking at Garrett as he sank down beside her, running a hand through his hair. Aundy clasped her hands tightly in her lap to keep her own fingers from following the trails his made. It was just wrong for a man to have such thick, lush hair and not even know what a temptation it was to women.

“I wanted to make sure you were well, that nothing else had happened,” Garrett said, sitting back in the chair and drumming his fingers on the table. “I just stepped onto the porch when the lights when off in the front room and then the kitchen lights. I worried someone might be in here and was going to run around to the kitchen door when I tripped over that pot of flowers you have by the chairs out front. Your posies might not look too good in the morning.”

Smiling, Aundy took his nervous hand in hers and squeezed his fingers. “As you can see, I’m fine. Nothing happened today. I went for a ride this afternoon and visited with Nik then rode out to the creek. It was so peaceful.”

“It’s peaceful there, and such a nice day for a ride,” Garrett said. He wanted to get away earlier to check on Aundy, but one thing or another had delayed him all afternoon. Hoping she’d stay at Nash’s Folly after church, he wasn’t surprised when she insisted on going home.

Still dressed in her riding skirt, Aundy patted her pocket, recalling the rocks she plucked from the creek bed. Fishing them out, she placed them in Garrett’s hand.

Studying the rocks, he grinned and put them back in her hand, closing her fingers around them. “Those are interesting rocks. You find those in the creek?”

“Yes,” Aundy said, taking a small glass bowl from a shelf and putting the rocks inside before setting it on the table. “I thought they were pretty.”

“That they are,” Garrett said, pulling Aundy onto his lap and into his arms. “Not near as pretty as you, though.”

Laughing, Aundy pushed back from Garrett enough to look in his face. “You clearly have a problem with your vision, Mr. Nash.”

“I don’t think so,” Garrett said, lowering his head to hers. Their lips met in a fiery clash, making heat dance in his belly. He wanted Aundy, wanted to spend his life with her, more than he’d wanted anything before.

Consumed.

He was utterly consumed with the woman, and he didn’t care if everyone knew it. He loved her with an intensity he’d never imagined feeling.

She was his Viking queen. Strong, independent, and confident with that head of golden hair she so often wore braided into a crown, her sky blue eyes, and striking appearance. Like her ancestors, she had roamed into his life and conquered him completely. It took no time at all for her to pillage his heart, plunder his soul, and laid siege to his mind so his thoughts continually turned to her.

Hearing the whisper of his name as she opened herself to him, Garrett fought to keep his control.

Moaning, he grasped her face in his hands and deepened the kiss. Aundy held tight to him, her hands digging into his shoulders. This was the reason he’d been born – to hold this woman in his arms and love her with everything he had.

Suddenly, she trembled and jerked back.

“What’s wrong?” he asked quietly. Moving his hand, he grasped her chin and lifted it, forcing her to meet his gaze.

“I can’t…I promised…I…” Aundy would have turned her face from him, but Garrett held her chin firmly, but gently, keeping her from moving away. She loved him so much an ache beyond any pain she’d ever experienced tightened her chest. It was because she loved him she had to stop what was between them.

“What did you promise?”

“I promised myself I wouldn’t get involved with another man. It ends so badly when I do and I care for you far too much to hurt you,” Aundy admitted, although it pained her to do so.

Why couldn’t Garrett just leave her alone? Why did he have to look at her until her heart thundered in her chest? Why did he have to tease her and protect her and make her feel beautiful?

Garrett had become an integral part of her life and captured her heart, although she couldn’t name the specific moment it had happened. Now she had to push him away. It was the only way to keep him safe, especially with someone after her sheep and quite possibly out to get her.

“You’re not making sense. How could you possibly hurt me?” Garrett asked, confused. He drew back, but didn’t let go. “You don’t honestly blame yourself for what happened to Erik, do you?”

Instead of answering, Aundy stood and walked to the kitchen window. Watching the moonlight illuminate the barnyard, she felt Garrett step behind her and place his hands on her arms, drawing her against his back, into his strength. She was coming to depend on it all too much.

“Aundy, you had nothing to do with Erik’s death. Not a thing. Maybe the horses would have bolted another day or something else would have happened. It wasn’t anything you did.”

“Just being with me seems to be enough to drive men to their deaths,” Aundy said, wrapping her arms around herself, knowing she needed to muster her defenses and keep away from Garrett. It was the only way she could protect him.

“That’s ridiculous. One freak accident doesn’t mean anything.”

“It happened to my fiancé and my father, too,” Aundy said, brushing at tears that threatened to roll down her cheeks. “Gunther and I had plans to wed and he died alongside my father in a terrible accident that should never have happened.”

“For a smart girl with a lot of common sense, you aren’t making any,” Garrett said, running a hand through his hair in frustration. Considering the fact just moments earlier she’d been every bit as involved in whatever it was that sizzled between them, he didn’t know how she could try to push him away now. “Aundy, what are you afraid of?”