Page 328 of Conveniently Wed
When she bathed after removing her disguise, she couldn’t help but notice the bruise already forming on her shoulder. It ached and throbbed. The door probably wouldn’t have done much damage, but the fact that wretched Ashton Monroe squeezed it like a piece of dough compounded the problem.
Garrett stood from his chair and walked around the table, pulling down the edge of Aundy’s robe and gown until it revealed a large bruise. She slapped at his hands and voiced her disapproval of his actions, yanking her clothing back in place.
Although he forced himself to step back, he really wanted to pull her clothing down and cover the discolored skin with soft kisses. What he’d seen of Aundy’s creamy neck and shoulder,beyond the bruise, made his temperature spike and muddled his thoughts.
He regained his seat and raised an eyebrow at her in question.
“I hit the door pretty hard.” Aundy glared at him, miffed he bared her bruise and made her skin tingle at his touch. With no idea what he was trying to do to her, she sincerely wished he’d stop. She could barely keep her thoughts together with him sitting across the table, let alone when he put his hands on her bare skin. A part of her wished he’d do it again.
“Then…?” Garrett prompted.
“I couldn’t just leave him there. What if whoever beat him came back? What if he was truly about to die? Although, I suppose if he was, he wouldn’t have been able to get up and walk with my help,” Aundy speculated as she spoke. “When I said I could either take him to Doc or home with me, he chose me and you know the rest of the story.”
“What, may I ask, was so important it required you to don men’s clothes, go places no respectable woman should go, and endanger yourself in the process?” Garrett asked, clearly upset with her behavior.
“I wasn’t in any danger. You said yourself I’m a pretty good shot and I wore my gun. It seemed to me if you didn’t cause trouble, you could stay out of trouble.” Convinced she handled herself well, she didn’t know why Garrett was so vexed.
“So you agree that Mr. Chinaman, who is right now sleeping in a room in my parent’s home, is trouble. That he did something terrible resulting in him being beaten so badly it will take weeks to fully recover.”
The calculating stare from his steely gray eyes was completely unsettling.
Determined not to squirm in her seat, Aundy shook her head. “No, I don’t think he did anything to get in trouble, but I don’t know that for a fact. You know what I meant, though.”
“Dang it, Aundy. What if one of them decided to pull a gun on you? Were you prepared for a gunfight? Or a fistfight? Even worse, what if one of those men down there found out you’re a woman? There’s no telling what would’ve happened to you. You have no idea what some of them are capable of.” Fear tightened his chest again as thoughts of what might have happened filled his head.
He reached across the table and grasped Aundy’s soft fingers in his rough callused hands. “Please promise me you’ll never do that again.”
Aundy didn’t want to promise anything. She didn’t think she’d ever again have a need to dress as a man or venture beneath the city, but she didn’t like the way the promise conceded some of her freedom.
However, at the look on Garrett’s face, a look that made her heart quicken and her stomach flutter, she released a sigh. “I promise.”
“Thank you.” Garrett squeezed her hands before letting them go. “Now, what information was so important you couldn’t just ask me or Pops?”
“I could have asked you, but I needed to do this on my own, Garrett. You and your family have been so good to me, taken such good care of me. I need to stand on my own two feet. I can’t depend on you for everything. If I’m going to run this farm, I need to learn to be self-sufficient.”
“You are one of the most stubborn, hard-headed women I’ve ever met, Aundy Erickson.” Garrett ran a hand through his hair, sending the dark locks into a state of complete disarray. His movements made Aundy want to run her fingers through it as well. “Your ability to be self-sufficient would never come intoquestion. If you need help, ask for it. We’re more than happy to give it. You’ve been through so much since you’ve arrived here and handled it all in stride. After growing up in the city without any rural background, you’re going to need some help. Never hesitate to ask.”
“I know, but I’ve imposed on all of you too much as it is.” Aundy felt tears prick the backs of her eyes. She would not cry. As jumbled as they were, surrendering to her emotions wouldn’t help prove she could care for herself and Erik’s farm. Her farm.
“You’ve never imposed on us. Ever.” Aundy was so obstinate. He couldn’t recall ever meeting such a stubborn, headstrong woman. She made him want to… Thoughts of what he really wanted to do made his blood zing through his veins. He refocused his attention on why she went to the Underground. “Regardless of all that, what information were you hoping to find?”
“I wanted to buy something and no one would talk to me about it. Dressed as a man, I didn’t have a bit of trouble making the deal.”
“What did you buy?” Garrett tried to think of anything Aundy would have purchased in the Underground that could possibly be beneficial to the farm.
“I don’t think you’re going to like my answer.” Aundy didn’t want to tell Garrett about her sheep. He’d been quite vocal when she and J.B. were discussing the pros and cons of raising sheep the other day, about how much he disliked the “stinky little boogers,” as he referred to them.
“What did you do?” Garrett pinned her with his silver gaze.
“I made arrangements with a man to buy something he wanted to sell.”
Garrett’s patience was nearly exhausted. “Which was?”
She hesitated, taking a deep breath before answering. “Sheep.”
He let out a whoosh of air and sat back in his chair. Blinking his eyes twice, he was sure Aundy couldn’t have said what he thought she did.
“Did you say sheep?”
