Page 41 of In Love with a Ranger

This was Christina’s cousin by marriage?

Logan looked at him – and nodded slowly, not blinking an eye. The other man knew he was jealous and understood.

“Keep it in check, stay calm, and listen at this point,” Logan said in a very hushed whisper, not looking away from him. “The Bradley women are very independent but worth the fight, brother.”

Gideon extended a hand toward him, feeling embarrassed he’d ignored it earlier. The other man clasped his hand firmly, shaking it and chuckled before leaning forward knowingly.

“You better go get her.”

Gideon looked over his shoulder at Christina’s seat to see that it was empty – and started walking as fast as possible with his crutches out the back of the house. He looked at their cabin and saw movement out of the corner of his eye in the distance. His head snapped in that direction like a predator scenting its prey and smiled. She went to hide in the barn among her precious cows.

Let her think she’s got the upper hand, he mused, walking slowly toward the barn. Let her calm down because I’ve got some apologizing to do, and we are going to have a serious discussion about our marriage.

As he got to the barn door, he heard the animals responding to her. Christina had such a tender heart that he knew automatically what she was doing. She was probably petting their faces like a beloved pet, talking to them, and trying to unwind, and all of this was good.

Sliding open the barn door just enough to allow himself to enter, he slowly closed it – and slid his crutch through the large iron handle that was big enough to handle a four-by-six piece of lumber. He didn’t say a word, simply moving down the slight walkway where it would open into the massive barn, knowing almost instinctively where she would be. Rounding the corner, he ducked as a pile of cow poop came flying at his head – and stuck to the wooden board of the wall behind him.

“Seriously?” he gaped, shocked that his little wife had thrown that at him with zero hesitation. Christina was standing there, her chest heaving and her eyes blazing in frustration. “You missed.”

She made a noise, bent over, and picked up another lump, flinging it at him with more accuracy than Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers. Gideon barely ducked out of the way of that one, fighting back a laugh. If he thought he had a temper, it was nothing compared to the fierceness on display before him.

“You don’t get to act possessive or jealous when you simply do not care!” she snarled hotly.

“What makes…” – and ducked again. “What makes you think that?”

“You do!”

“Can we stop with the throwing manure at my head – please?”

“No!”

“We need to talk…” he began and jumped quickly to the right, angling his hips to the side to narrowly avoid being pelted directly in the groin. “Hey now, let’s go back to aiming for the head.”

“Why?!” she snarled. “You aren’t using it – and if you are, then you definitely need to be socked there!”

And it hit him like a ton of bricks.

His wife was not only jealous but violently upset that he hadn’t made love to her yet. She was the one controlling things, the one setting the rules and making the decisions. He had promised not to touch her – and kept his promise – and now she was mad?

“I believe in fidelity and haven't slept with anyone in almost a year. I wish I could tell you that I came into our marriage untouched, but I do have a past,” he admitted quietly, not looking away from her as her angry stance faltered. His spitfire wife was standing there, wearing gloves, and holding another pile of offal to lob at him. “Can we talk?”

“Maybe you should go talk to Daphne,” she snapped – but didn’t let ‘nature’s bomb’ fly.

“I’m not married to Daphne, nor do I want to talk to her. I want to talk to you – my wife.”

“You could have fooled me…”

“I was jealous,” he confessed and saw Christina falter once more as her lips parted in surprise. “I fully admit that I was jealous seeing you hug Logan, and I had no idea it was your cousin – but that is my fault, too. I didn’t ask. I just assumed it was an old boyfriend of yours.”

“Ugh,” Christina shivered and made a face, making Gideon supremely happy at her reaction. “He’s like a weird brother, and sometimes I don’t know how Juliet puts up with him. Why would you assume something so asinine as that?”

“Because you looked happier to see him than you have been with me,” he blurted out hoarsely, and those words seemed to take the air out of the room as they stared at each other. “I’m sorry. Things have been so tense between us, and I thought it was the sleeping arrangements, then I thought it was the stress of your paper, and now I’m wondering if it's me,” he continued thickly, taking a step toward her and ignoring the pain in his soul. “Christina, I only want us to be happy, and if it’s me that is making you miserable then…”

“It’s not you,” she interrupted emotionally, staring at him… and let the filth drop from her hand onto the hay-strewn floor. “I j-just,” she stammered, hesitating, her chin trembling with emotion. “I just didn’t feel like I mattered, or maybe I wasn’t worth the bother because I wouldn’t sleep with you.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” he breathed painfully. “You matter. You are everything, and I haven’t pressed myself on you because I want you to trust me, to care for me, and…”

“I do care…”

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