Page 12 of The Drifter's Bride
“Excuse me?”
A whoosh of breath left her, and she clasped her hands tightly together, lest she reach out and place her hands on Lukas’s shoulders. He moved her ankle back into position and set her foot back on the floor.
“The horse is a she. Her name is Butterscotch. I think she threw a shoe.”
“How do you know that?”
“I recognized the horse once I could get a good look at her. She’s Lydia Chapman’s horse.”
“Oh.”
“So, how did you get in the rabbit hole?”
“Even I’m smart enough to know we couldn’t just stay where we were. I heard laughter, so we headed in that direction. I thought perhaps someone could help us. Although now that I think about it, the wind could have carried the sound. I just knew we needed help.”
“And you did,” Lukas said, as he lifted her foot once more, causing a hiss to escape her lips. Tugging the stocking from her toes, he made atsknoise with his tongue and she just knew that was going to be more bad news.
“I was walking between two bushes and I didn’t see where I stepped. Lucky for me, you came along,” Addison continued. “Just like a knight in shining armor.” She tried to smile, but waves of pain were streaming up her foot.
“I’m far from being a knight. More like a drifter in dirty dungarees.”
“What are you going to do?” She wasn’t sure if his request should mortify her or if she should be ashamed of the tinge of excitement she felt from such a bold command.
“I’m going to get you some dry clothes. You are soaking wet and unless you get changed, you are going to catch a cold. I don’t want to answer to your Aunt Ingrid. Do you?” He lifted his eyebrow as he fixed her with a stare.
“No. I guess not.” She watched him disappear and made quick work of adding the stocking to its mate.
“Change into this.” He handed her a union suit and a long nightshirt. “It is all I have at the moment.”
“All you have?”
“Yes. I have my church clothes, but I need those. So, this is it.”
Addison took the cotton union suit and long nightshirt. Standing on one foot, she held the nightshirt in front of her. It covered her from neck to ankle. It would do until her dress dried. “What should I do with my clothes?”
“You ruined your dress, but we’ll hang it in front of the fire to dry. Just get changed and I’ll get dinner started. I’m starving.”
“You’ll need to turn around.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Promise me you won’t look?”
He gave her a toothy grin. “I promise. You can go into my room for some privacy.”
Addison watched as he walked over to the cupboard and then back to the stove. Removing a skillet from the wall, he placed it over the stove to heat and sliced an onion in the pan. She was so enamored watching him that she nearly forgot to change.
Balancing on her good foot, she hobbled behind the quilted curtain and started tugging at the hooks and eyes on her dress. Her fingers were so cold it took her several tries to get her dress undone. She let it fall to the floor, followed by her soaked undergarments. Tucking them into a pile, she sat on the edge of the bed and tugged the union suit over her legs before standing and threading her arms through the sleeves. It was clean and warm. Giving a giggle, she wondered how anyone could wear something like this for long periods of time. Sliding the nightshirt over her head, she twisted until it flowed down to her ankles.
The scent of onions and steak searing in the pan made her mouth water, but she was so tired. Leaning back on the bed, she lifted her feet from the ground and flexed her toes. The sound of the rain against the roof lulled her into a relaxed state and, with little effort, she felt her eyes closing and the world disappeared.
Chapter Six
“Addy?” Lukas waited for her to respond. When she didn’t, he lifted the curtain and breathed a sigh of relief. He had visions of her being sprawled on the floor, and he hadn’t heard her over the meat popping in the frying pan. Raking his fingers through his hair, he took a moment to give thanks that he’d had the forethought to get supplies the day before.
He looked at the beautiful woman sleeping soundly.
She was sprawled backwards over his bed, her arms resting above her head, crossed at the wrists. Her knees were bent, dangling over the edge of the straw-filled mattress, and barely touching the floor. She gave a delicate snort and kicked one foot before rolling over and pulling a pillow close to her. Lukas could see the wet spot on the blanket from her hair.
