Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 35908 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35908 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
She shook her head. “You did?”
Those eyes blazed hot and she shivered for an entirely different reason. “I suspected. Your body has changed,” he murmured in her ear.
He didn’t touch her but she felt his presence like a warm cloak offering protection. She looked back to her mother. There was compassion and sorrow in her eyes.
“You really didn’t think I didn’t notice the sickness and the way you tired so easily, did you?” Her mother posed the question.
“I thought I was sick.” It was the truth.
“I was waiting for you to tell me. Then he showed and I saw how you looked at him.” She frowned. “What is your name?”
“Cyrus Spencer, ma’am.”
“A southerner.” Her father spoke.
“Yes, sir. South Carolina.”
“And you got my daughter pregnant.”
Cy didn’t seem bothered at all. “It would appear so. May I have a moment with your daughter, sir?”
When he nodded, she walked to her bedroom and stepped inside. Cy shut the door and hauled her close before devouring her mouth. All that mattered was his touch, nothing else.
She sank willingly into him, rubbing against him as the kiss continued. Whimpering in frustration when it ended, she licked her lips. She went to step back but he wouldn’t let her.
“No, Rebecca. No running.”
“My father…”
“Forget him. This is between us. Not your parents. Us.”
“He’s my father.”
“And I know that. This decision has to be yours and yours alone.”
Her belly tightened. “What decision?”
“To be with me.” He didn’t blink.
Her heart thundered in her chest and she trembled. He held her up effortlessly. “Be with you?” One hand stroked her hair.
She flinched when the door swung open. Her father stood there.
“We need to talk, Cyrus Spencer from South Carolina.”
“Yes, sir.” He dragged a knuckle down one cheek. “Here. I’ll be back soon.” He pressed a bag in her hand and walked out.
“What did he give you?” her mama asked.
Tears pricked her eyes as she stared down at the bag full of lemon candy. Her favorite.
* * *
Cy followed Sergeant Joshua Freeman outside. The man lit a smoke and puffed in silence. Cy waited for him to speak and ask a question. He didn’t offer Cy a smoke and there was some silence for a few moments.
“I’m wondering what I should do. I come home to find a white man has gotten my only daughter pregnant. I see her clinging to you like…a woman I don’t know.” He shifted. “You’re a southern boy.”
Forget waiting for a question. “Yes, sir. I’m twenty-four, served in the Army, and am now the station manager for The Pony Express at Buffalo Creek Station. That’s where I met your daughter.”
“You served?”
“Yes sir, from sixteen to twenty-two.”
“You met my daughter…”
“I only discovered who she truly was after a while. We made a deal that she help with the cooking every now and then and I kept quiet on who she was. Your daughter is an amazing woman and rider.”
“I know that.” Her father scowled. “You do know a war is going on right?”
Yes. Everyone knew about the war. “Yes sir.”
“You’re a white man, a southerner, and my daughter is black.”
“With all due respect, sir. I don’t view her any way other than the incredibly beautiful and brave woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. I love her. I can’t say when I fell in love with her but I am. I admire and respect her as well. I woke up one day and realized she was everything I could and would ever want in a woman.”
“So you say now.”
He bristled but remained in control. He supposed it was a father’s right to not want his baby girl with anyone.
“So I will always say.”
“There’s a guy here who is interested in her.”
“Is this the one who got mad and could have hurt her?”
“What?” Cy relayed what he’d seen the previous night. “And if he’d hit her?”
“He would be dead.” Cy spoke the truth; he’d kill anyone who hurt Rebecca without hesitation.
“I have to protect my daughter.”
“I love her. She’s carrying my child within her. I will protect her.” He paused. “With my life if necessary.”
“How would you support her?”
“I have money and I’m working. I will give her a good life.” He blew out a breath. “I’m not asking for your permission, sir.”
“Excuse me?”
He was an imposing man. Cy took a deep breath and plunged ahead. “I love your daughter, she’s the one who matters here. Her and our unborn baby. I will wait for her decision.”
“Papa.”
They both looked to see Rebecca there. Cy stood straight, his heart pounding hard as it always did around her. The dress she wore made her seem soft and gentle, hiding the spine of steel.
“Your mama says you’ve barely ridden Polaris since your return. Go for a ride just don’t be late for supper.” Her father spoke.
She vanished only to return dressed in buckskins. Longing slammed him. Cy watched her father kiss her on the cheek and slip inside. Those beautiful doe eyes met his gaze.