Page 40 of Montana Bride By Christmas
Carly laughed hard, and Annie joined her. They would never sit and watch the other work.
Carly spoke for both when she said, “I would as soon walk barefoot outside on a day like this as sit by and not help you when you need it.”
Annie wondered if Carly’s words should serve as a warning. It was comforting as well as frightening to think how she’d need Carly in four weeks if Hugh chose a different woman.
He wouldn’t, she vowed. He’d see he couldn’t do better. And she would keep her heart tightly wrapped so if he did, she would not leave a portion of it behind.
Evan watched them with wide-eyed wonder. He ducked his head as soon as he realized Annie looked at him. She shifted her attention to Hugh. Why did he seem so attentive? As if seeking for reasons to find fault.
She smiled gently. Silently promising he wouldn’t find any cause to disapprove. She knew many saw her and Carly as wild simply because Carly often wore trousers and rode as hard as any man. Little did they know how hard she worked to keep the Morrison ranch going. As to the riding, well, Annie knew how much fun it was to race a horse at a full gallop and feel the wind in her ears, tugging her hair into a mane to match the horse’s. No one thought it risky or unseeming when her brothers did the same thing.
She and Carly washed the dishes while she mused about her life. “Hugh, will you watch Evan while Carly and I do something?”
“He’s my son. Of course, I’ll watch him.” He looked at Evan. “Maybe I’ll read to him.”
Annie stared at the look that crossed Evan’s face as if Hugh’s suggestion was unwelcome. “Have you read to him before?”
“Read to him yesterday.”
“What did you read?”
He glanced away as if greatly interested in the view out the window. She knew he only meant to avoid looking at her.
He cleared his throat. “I might have read him my sermon.”
She stared openmouthed.
Carly whooped and then covered her mouth, trying to stifle her amusement.
Annie shook her head. Had she heard wrong? “You read him your sermon?”
He nodded, his gaze still on the window.
Amusement rushed unbridled from her, and she chuckled. She looked at Carly, and they both laughed, not even trying to hide the fact.
Hugh finally brought his gaze to her, his look full of self-mockery.
She sobered instantly as their gazes collided. Something grabbed her heart in a grip as firm and secure as—she remembered being very young and having a hard time staying upright on an icy path. Her pa had taken her hand and held her so she wouldn’t fall. That’s how her heart felt. She knew she would have to analyze this thought further. Safe and secure—wasn’t that what she wanted in the marriage she hoped to gain? Safe and secure without the risk of her heart being involved. And yet, even without falling in love, it was her heart that responded.
“It was a very nice sermon,” Carly said, her voice round with laughter.
He looked sheepish, his gaze never leaving Annie’s. “But not for a four-year-old?”
Carly pretended to look thoughtful. “I’m just guessing here, but I’m thinking many of the concepts would have been over his head.”
He grinned. “Not to mention that even at thirty minutes, it’s a long time for a child to concentrate.”
Annie told herself to look away from his smile, the deep grooves in his cheeks, the brown eyes so dark she could lose herself in them.
Carly nudged her. “Didn’t you say you had something for us to do?”
“Of course. Come to my room.” She led the way.
“Something to do besides stare at the man,” Carly said half under her breath as soon as they were out of earshot of the kitchen.
“I wasn’t staring!”
“And my name isn’t Carly Morrison.”
