Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
The horse came to a stop near the bushes, and she held her breath for a moment.
“Dru.”
She expelled the breath and a few lingering tears slipped down her cheek.
Knox ducked and stepped past the bushes and felt a punch to his gut when he saw the tears trickling down Dru’s cheeks.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, rushing to her and dropping down beside her.
“My stomach does no better and I grow colder,” she said, and it made no sense, not after her musings, to say more, but she did. “And I feared you wouldn’t return to me.”
Knox wiped away her tears with a gentle swipe of his finger. “I am a man of my word, wife, and when I tell you that I will always return to you, I mean it.”
She forced a faint smile.
“I found out the way to Autumn’s cottage and that it’s empty. You can rest and heal there while I make more inquiries.”
He tucked the blankets around her before lifting her into his arms and he soon had them up on his horse. He didn’t waste any time in following the directions the old man gave him, and he was right, the path had been reclaimed by the forest, but not enough to prevent him from traveling it.
Even without care, time hadn’t worn the cottage that was larger than he anticipated.
“I can manage. You don’t need to carry me,” Dru said, when he brought his mare to a stop.
“It’s not a chore to have you in my arms.”
His words touched her heart as did his gentle smile.
Knox dismounted, then lifted her off the horse, her hands going to rest on his shoulders as he did. Her touch went weak after barely laying her hands on him and he watched her turn a deathly pale.
He rushed to cradle her in his arms and into the cottage, kicking the door open. He looked around a generous-sized room and spotted a narrow bed tucked in the corner. Then he spotted another door on the opposite side of the room and kicked that one open to find it had a bed large enough for two people. He hurried and placed Dru on it, surprised the bedding wasn’t dusty and that the blankets appeared freshly cleaned. Had someone finally occupied the place? He had no time to think on it, though he kept it in mind in case someone should show up.
“I’ll get a fire going in here,” he said, seeing the small hearth, the size sufficient to heat the room.
Dru nodded, turning on her side and fighting back more tears as he got busy starting a fire in the hearth. Her heart felt as if it was being torn apart, the pain was so grievous. She thought she could avoid this or at least manage the grief. But memories assaulted her, happy ones and unbearable ones. But worst of all was the thought of what Knox would do when he discovered the woman—Autumn—he searched for… was his wife.
CHAPTER 15
Knox looked down on his wife cuddled beneath the warmth of the blanket asleep. Rest would do her good and help heal her… he hoped. He left the room, coming to a halt in the room they first entered. He glanced around for a moment, then left the cottage and, taking hold of his mare’s reins, walked her to a small shelter he had spotted when they arrived.
There were two empty stalls, and he led Star to one and as usual he spoke to her as he settled her there.
“Dru stirs something in me, Star, that I don’t quite understand. She makes me feel things that are foreign to me, overwhelms me, are deeply pleasurable. I enjoy having her in my arms, snuggled against me at night when we sleep, and when I kiss her,” —he shook his head— “it’s like a punch in the gut, though a good punch if that makes any sense.”
He let out a heavy breath. “I would have never thought a woman like Dru would appeal to me, but now—” He shook his head again. “My heart aches when I see tears in her eyes and when she grew pale, fear gripped me, and I have not known fear since Phelan beat it out of me years ago.”
Knox grew quiet as he finished tending his mare and she nudged him after a few moments.
“Aye, that’s a good question, Star. What do I do about it? Do I let her slip away or truly make her my wife and spend the rest of my days with her?”
Star nodded.
He chuckled. “And that’s another thing she has me doing once again… laughing. Something that I haven’t done frequently, and it feels good.”
Star nodded again.
“So, you’re agreeing with me,” Knox said, smiling. “You’re probably hungry, so I’ll let you forage for a while then it’s back in here for the night.” He went to lead the mare out when he stopped, his brow creased. “The cottage was dusty, a few cobwebs as well, what you would expect for it not being occupied for a while, but the room where I left Dru looked to have been cleaned recently. The hearth was even stocked with wood. It was almost as if it had been prepared for someone.”