Page 331 of Conveniently Wed
Gingerly, she placed her hand on his offered arm then turned to Nora. The woman looked at her expectantly. “I’ll give you all the details when we return. May I bring anything back for Mr. Hong?”
“I can’t think of a thing.” Nora waved them out the door. “Remember, I want all the news when you get back. We didn’t get to visit at all yesterday and I’m feeling neglected.”
Aundy insisted on driving herself to church and left immediately after the service. She and Nora didn’t have a chance to visit about the unexpected houseguest at Nash’s Folly. Garrett was sure Aundy’s avoidance of them had been intentional. He wondered if his disapproval of the sheep or his ardent kisses kept her away.
“Yes, Ma,” Garrett called, settling his hat on his head once they were outside the door.
Aundy studied him from the top of his dark cattleman’s hat to the tips of his freshly polished boots and thought Garrett looked far more handsome than Ashton Monroe ever would.
She was still irritated at Ashton for treating her so roughly in the saloon, even if he didn’t know who she was. He shouldn’t be that brusque with anyone.
While Ashton was what she’d call aristocratic in appearance, Garrett was all muscle and rugged man with a little rogue thrown in to further discombobulate her senses.
The strong arm that helped her into the buggy made her knees feel wobbly and the friendly grin that promised more teasing drew a smile from her own lips. She breathed in his spicy scent and longed to have his mouth pressed against hers again.
His fervent kisses Friday night were so mesmerizing, she’d completely lost herself in the experience despite her vow to stay far, far away from men and romance.
Aundy settled her skirts on the buggy seat and noticed Garrett staring at her. Apparently, he waited for a response to a question she hadn’t heard him ask while she was lost in thoughts of his kisses.
“My apologies, Garrett. I didn’t hear what you said.” Flustered under his intense gaze, she fussed with her hat, and tugged at her gloves. She smoothed down each finger just to have something to do to keep her hands busy.
Garrett snapped the reins and the horse ambled down the lane at a moderate pace. It was a beautiful day.
He sat elbow to elbow with a girl who sent his heart skittering into a rapid beat at thoughts of her kisses while her soft rose scent made him think things he knew were highly inappropriate, but didn’t really care.
“I asked how your shoulder is today. You don’t seem to be favoring it, but you’re sure to have a bruise.”
“It’s fine.” Aundy appreciated his concern, but wasn’t worried about something as trivial as a bruise when she had much more important matters on her mind. “Did you find out anything about Mr. Hong, other than his name?”
“Not much. He said he works for different people, doing odd jobs. He refuses to discuss what happened. I got the idea that someone asked him to do something he wasn’t willing to do, sothey beat him up and tossed him in the doorway. He fell down the stairs and crawled up to the top, where you found him.”
He glanced at her, swallowing hard.
Aundy made such a beautiful picture in her yellow striped dress with her golden hair piled on her head. A few errant tendrils worked their way loose, swirling temptingly along her neck and thoroughly distracting Garrett.
It took every ounce of willpower he possessed to keep from hauling her into his arms and kissing her until they both forgot where they were going or what they were doing.
Instead, he turned his attention to the horse and looked out at the rolling fields of green against the bright blue sky. Eastern Oregon was a spectacular place to be in the spring, before the heat of the summer turned things brown and dry.
“That’s terrible.” Aundy was thankful she had found Mr. Hong and was able to help him. She wondered what he refused to do that resulted in the beating. They’d probably never know. “Are you sure he’s fine at your house? I could take care of him.”
“I don’t think so.” With his dad in the house, Garrett wasn’t concerned their guest would try anything. If Li Hong were at Aundy’s, Garrett wouldn’t get a wink of sleep, worrying about her well-being. “He’s just fine at Nash’s Folly.”
Determined to get to the reason they headed into town, Garrett broached the subject of sheep. He wasn’t happy that Aundy had agreed to buy the flock and knew her hands would like the idea even less than he did. However, as she pointed out Friday night, it was her decision to make.
“Did you talk to Dent and the others about your sheep?”
“No.” Aundy made a point of looking at the green fields they drove by rather than the very good-looking man beside her. She wanted to avoid his question along with the disapproving look he’d turned on her.
“Don’t you think you should? You can’t exactly hide the sheep from them.”
“I wasn’t intending to,” Aundy said defensively, leaning away from Garrett. She needed to focus on how annoying she found his persistent questioning instead of how handsome he looked or how good he smelled. His warmth at her side made her stomach flutter in a most disconcerting way.
If she wanted to be in any condition to negotiate with Mr. O’Connell, she needed to tear her thoughts away from how much she enjoyed being around Garrett and how well he filled out his coat and pants.
Flushed with heat from her forbidden musings, she wished she’d brought along a parasol or at least a fan. Instead, she fanned her gloved hand in front of her face.
Garrett raised an eyebrow her direction and gave her a mocking grin. “A little warm out for you?”
