Page 37 of Kiss of Fury

“Same time, same place?” She shot him a seductive smile.

He waggled his eyebrows. “It’s a date. Let’s go feed that son of ours.”

Chapter Sixteen

One week later

Hand in hand, they strolled toward the meeting building. Brody, ever a bundle of energy, charged ahead. The week since consummating their marriage had flown by, each day bringing deeper intimacy and joy. Verity had never been happier. Cautious with her emotions, she didn’t get serious quickly, but the heady, walking-on-air euphoria sure felt like love. She’d often pooh-pooh the concept of soul mates, but she had no other way to describe the intensity and depth of their connection. They clicked. Many evenings after work and dinner, while sitting together and reading, they’d exchange a meaningful smile, and her heart would swell almost to the point of bursting.

And the late nights? Nirvana. The more they got to know each other, the better the sex got—and it had started out damn hot.

Most importantly, he was patient with Brody, providing the masculine presence and attention her son had lacked. For a man who hadn’t wanted kids, hewas a natural dad, offering a perfect balance of encouragement, support, and discipline. Brody adored Mike. In her son’s eyes, the man was a superhero who could do no wrong. And her son brought out her husband’s lighter, playful side. Some of her favorite moments were watching the two of them at mealtimes, cracking up so hard they snorted water through their noses.

She loved how her husband and son interacted.

Right now, she loved that the library had a Saturday kids’ program, giving her and Mike several hours all to themselves.

“Any thoughts about what you’d like to do today?” she asked.

“Uh-huh.” His lips twitched, but he said nothing else.

She waited. “Care to tell me more?”

“How about a ride out on the range?” he asked. “I’ve run across some pretty cool scenery I think you’d enjoy seeing.”

“That sounds like fun. The conveyance isn’t going to break down, will it?”

“One little snafu,” he said.

“A little snafu that made you late for our wedding. And it’s oneplusone, which equals two.” After thebroken axle incident, another ranch hand had been stranded when his conveyance ran out of power. Solar vehicles had a very limited range, and you had to plan for the return. On cloudy days—which most of them were, including today—the solar cells couldn’t charge fast enough.

“I’ll ensure it’s charged. Don’t worry. I promise we’ll get back.”

Brody impatiently bounced on the porch of the gathering hall. In the open space between the meeting place and the adjacent bunkhouse, she noted three four-legged stanchions with a short vertical beam at one end as well as a ring of big rocks that hadn’t been there before.

Mike opened the door, Brody skipped inside, and they followed him to the library.

“Howdy, lil buckaroo!” Dusty, in full-cowboy regalia, waved him in. He would be speaking on, “From Cattle Drives to Desperados, Tales from the American West on Earth.”

About half of Brody’s class was present. She recognized Firbol and Bob. Of course, they were hard to miss. “How long do you expect this to take?” she asked Dusty.How much time do we have to be alone?

“I reckon ’bout four hours.I’ll chew the fat for a while, then we’ll rope a few steers, then rustle up some vittles and cook ’em over the campfire,” he said.

Hence the sawhorse-like frames and the ring of rocks.

“Thanks, Dusty,” she said. This program had come at the right time.

“You stay at the library until we come get you,” Mike instructed Brody.

“Give me a kiss,” she said.

“Mommm,” Brody muttered and jerked his head at the other kids.

“Sorry. Go. Have fun.”

He ran off to join the other kids, and they left the library.

On the porch, Mike snagged her around the waist, pulled her close, and planted a long, warm one on her mouth. “You can kiss me anytime.” He winked. “It won’t embarrass me.”

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