A Husband To Hold

Flushed and definitely put out over what had just happened, he turned toward Leah.

She stood, arms wrapped around her middle, one hand going up to push at her hair before clasping her other hand in front of her. “Are you okay?” She looked so innocent and serene standing there. It was the worry in her eyes that gave away her anxiety. She really was concerned about what she’d just done.

He laughed.

Wil chuckled, too.

Confused, Leah’s gaze went back and forth between the two. “I don’t understand,” she said carefully.

Mark smiled. “It’s time for me to eat crow, Leah.” Shaking his head he reached down, grabbed up his hat, and slipped it back on his head. “I owe you an apology.”

Relief wilted Leah’s shoulders and a soft gentle smile spread across her features. “I really am sorry. It’s just some classes I took…”

“Karate?” he speculated.

“Self-defense. The teacher was a black belt in judo.”

“Ah,” he replied and chuckled again.

“You aren’t angry?” Leah asked.

“The way I see it, chérie, I had that coming.”

“It was sorta reflex. That’s exactly how my teacher used to run at me to get me to defend myself. I apologize for not contacting you either, Mr. Walker. I just started thinking that maybe I should come out here on my own….”

He wasn’t buying it. The way her eyes slid away from meeting his told him she’d had another agenda. He wasn’t upset, though. Just being with her had a strange calming effect on him. But he had to make a point about how dangerous it could be out here, too. He didn’t like to think about a woman out here alone where she might get hurt. “Can you shoot a gun, Leah? Can you defend yourself against wild animals? Do you have a cell phone with you?”

“Well, no,” she finally admitted.

“No to one or all of them?” Mark gently prodded.

“No to all of them,” she confessed.

“Now that is not good, Ms. Thomas,” Wil chimed in.

“Please call me Leah, sir,” she said.

“And you can call me Wil. This young one over here does.” He grinned.

Mark shook his head. “Ignore him. He’s so ornery he wouldn’t let me call him anything else.”

Wil chuckled again.

“I’ll leave this to you two. Don’t forget Mary is having a potluck dinner for you young folks in a few days.”

“Mrs. Culpepper?” Mark asked, puzzled, having not heard of the latest get-together.

He nodded. “She and I are friends,” he said to Leah. “I knew her husband for years. He was one of the first settlers out this way.”

“I don’t want to intrude,” Leah protested worriedly.

Mark glanced at her, surprised, then remembered that as quiet and withdrawn as she was, she just might not know all the people around here. “I doubt it’ll be an intrusion. Mrs. Culpepper loves company. She hosts these things every so often. They build a big bonfire, and then sit around it and eat and sing and chat.”

“Something to think about,” Wil added.

“I’ll consider it,” she replied to both of them.

“Nice meeting you, Leah.” Wil waved, obviously having gotten the answer he wanted. He headed over toward the trees and only then did Mark see he had supplies resting over there.

“I like him,” Leah whispered softly as Wil headed off back through the trees.

“He’s a good old coot,” Mark replied.

“What did you mean he saved your life?” Leah asked.

Mark ran a hand over the back of his neck. “It’s a long story. I suggest we save it for dinner tonight.”

“Dinner?”

“I’m having dinner with Freckles and Julian. I’d like it if you came with me.” Mark paused, wondering how in the world he’d just asked her out to dinner like that when he’d only planned to help her in a purely businesslike manner.

“Will they mind? I mean if they don’t expect company…”

Mark grinned. “I have a cell phone with me. They’ll know you’re coming.”

As he stared down at the beauty before him he admitted what a jerk he’d been for thinking this woman helpless and fragile. Sometimes things just weren’t as they seemed. And he was finding that Leah Thomas certainly wasn’t what he’d thought—to his pleasant surprise.

He wondered just what Leah would think if she knew that he didn’t want to leave her side at all. “It’s the least I can do after the way I acted, chérie.”

Leah finally nodded. Dropping her hands to her sides she said, “Thank you very much…Mark. I’d love to see Freckles and Julian.”

And that was that, he thought. He’d just taken a step he had insisted he wouldn’t take here in Hill Creek. He’d just asked the teacher out on a date.

Chapter Four

What would he think if she told him she didn’t want to be away from him?

Leah couldn’t remember a time she’d enjoyed more than exploring the dusty rocky trails with Mark. They’d nearly been late for dinner and only realized it because the sun was dropping low in the sky. That and the fact both of their stomachs were growling.

Quickly they had headed back to their cars and just now had arrived at Freckles and Julian’s house.

“It’s about time you showed up!” Julian stood near the barn of the ranch where they had just parked, a chain saw in his hand, cut wood littering the ground around him. “I’m clearing out some chores,” he continued, and after laying the saw aside, he strolled over to where they stood.

“Hello, Dr. McCade,” Leah said formally.

Julian chuckled and shook his head. “Call me Hawk or Julian, but please, there are too many doctors with that last name in this house.”

Julian squeezed her fingers warmly and then stuck his hand out to Mark. “I was wondering if you were going to make it to dinner after all.”