Page 34 of The Copper Heir (The Gilded West #1)

Chapter Sixteen

W hen she next opened her eyes, the sun had disappeared to the other side of the house, lengthening the shadows in the bedroom. She sat up disoriented and looked around the immaculate room, forgetting for a moment where she was until everything came back to her.

Oh, yes, kidnapped again.

Except this time the thought wasn’t accompanied by dread or the powerful need to escape.

She felt calm, secure even, and more rested than she’d felt in a very long time.

Naps weren’t a luxury in which she was generally able to indulge, so that one had been heavenly after so many days of pushing herself to the limit of her physical and emotional endurance.

Yawning and stretching her back which had stiffened in the awkward position, she found that a knitted blanket had been carefully placed over her while she slept.

Willy. Though she was essentially her jailer, Emmy couldn’t help a tug of tenderness in her heart at this kindness.

The housekeeper had been nothing but kind to her and she’d been so thoughtful with the girls that Emmy couldn’t fault her for the actions of her employer.

As if thoughts of her sisters had summoned them, Rose’s squeals of delight found her through the open window.

She grimaced when she stood and took a moment to rub her bottom and the backs of her thighs, which were a bit sore from the horse ride.

Though that didn’t quite explain the tenderness between her thighs and she couldn’t help smiling about that.

Pushing the sash higher, she craned her neck to see that her youngest sister was just inside the fenced stable yard off the end of the house, sitting atop a horse.

A man with a wide-brimmed hat was leading her around and Emmy could tell immediately from the set of his broad shoulders that it was Hunter.

Ship had always forbidden the children from riding his horses, because they were too valuable to risk them getting injured.

As a result, Rose didn’t know how to ride and, to her knowledge, had never even sat on a horse before, though she must have ridden one on the way here.

Her heart flipping over in her chest, Emmy rushed downstairs and ran the few hundred yards across ankle-high grass to reach the stables.

By the time she reached the fence, Hunter was lifting Rose off the horse’s back as she beamed with joy.

Setting her on her feet, he turned to Ginny who had been patiently waiting her turn and helped her up to sit on its back.

Emmy had already parted her lips to call out a warning, or admonish him for risking her sisters, but whatever she had planned to say died away when she saw the care he was taking with them. They were having fun.

“Em!” Finally noticing her, Rose called out and ran the few yards to reach her. “I rode a horse! Did you see me?”

Emmy smiled back at her. “Yes, I did! You looked like a real horsewoman.”

“Isn’t she pretty? Her name is Cinnamon. Mr. Hunter says it’s ’cause she’s the same color as cinnamon, but I don’t really know what that is.”

Emmy followed the girl’s gaze back to the horse and found herself agreeing with her even though her own gaze had been caught by the man staring at her.

He was just as breathtakingly handsome as she remembered.

Though his eyes were shaded from her, his strong jaw and a day’s growth of stubble was as tantalizing as ever.

A secret thrill shot through her belly, making her jerk her gaze away to tame it.

It also made her aware that her hair was probably a mess after her nap having been put into a hasty braid that morning.

“Be careful, Ginny,” she called out and ran a hand over her hair.

“I will! This is my second time,” the older girl proudly called out as Hunter began to lead her around the fenced space.

Emmy managed to keep her gaze from lighting on him again while Ginny rode around and Rose kept up the conversation.

Apparently, the girls had spent the afternoon with Hunter in the stables, getting to know all of the horses.

Rose told her about the two who were about to foal and the ones who’d won races.

When he had told her that Cinnamon was the gentlest horse he’d ever known, Rose had asked to ride that one.

Despite herself, a wave of tenderness rose within her when she imagined him taking up so much time with her sisters.

She’d expected the indifference he’d displayed that morning when they had arrived.

But she was forced to admit that despite the night they had met, he’d shown himself to be very gentle and caring.

Even the night they’d met he’d been such a contradiction. When he’d released her from hanging from the rafters, he’d made sure that the rope at her wrists was loose enough that she wasn’t chafed. He’d never harmed her, never really even frightened her. He wasn’t evil.

When it was time to put the horse away, Emmy was curious and followed them inside the large structure to see where the horses were kept.

Fifteen stalls lined each side and it appeared that many of them were occupied.

Ginny was telling her the names of each of the horses they passed, their velvet noses sticking over the low doors curious to see who had come to visit them.

They reached Cinnamon’s stall and the girls followed Hunter inside.

She watched from the doorway as he showed them how to take the saddle off and brush her down.

Then he let them take over the brush and picked up the saddle.

Stepping out of the way to let him out, she couldn’t help but admire his well-sculpted backside as he walked away from her to swing the saddle over the bench where it was stored, lined up with a few others.

The muscles in his back and shoulders bulged under his shirt as he did it, making her vividly recall how they had felt beneath her hands.

Her body’s attraction to him was as unfair as it was undeniable.

“Thank you for spending so much time with them this afternoon. They enjoyed learning about the horses,” she said when he turned and caught her watching him.

“I enjoyed it, too. They’re very kindhearted. They’ll be good with horses.” He smiled back at her and crossed the short distance between them, coming to a stop just in front of her.

Emmy didn’t know when they’d have the opportunity to be “good with horses”, so she let the comment pass.

Their excited voices came from just inside the stall, not far away but so engrossed in their activity that it afforded them a modicum of privacy.

The sounds of men hammering came from somewhere far outside the back entrance of the stable, but they were too far away to be obtrusive.

“Sorry I fell asleep. It wasn’t intentional. ”

“Don’t apologize. You were tired.” He surprised her by reaching up to run the pad of his thumb along her cheekbone.

Now that he was so close, she could see his beautiful green-gold eyes.

Desire blazed in them, low and intense, but he wasn’t teasing her about how long he’d kept her awake last night.

There was nothing there that made her feel as if he was mocking her. She didn’t move away.

“I’d like to talk to you about...things.” She wanted to persuade him to let them go, but didn’t want to close down the conversation before it got started. “Could we talk, privately?”

His eyes flicked to the girls in the stall and then back to her.

Nodding, he said, “Tonight. I’ve got some work to do, but come find me in my study after dinner.

” Then he dropped his hand and walked past her into the stall where he helped the girls finish up.

By the time they were done, Willy was calling them from the front porch, telling them it was time to eat.

Her stomach grumbled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since the night before.

Even then, she’d barely been able to get any food down knowing what was waiting for her with the auction.

Much to her surprise, Hunter didn’t join them at dinner.

The table, which was large enough to seat twelve people, had only been set for three.

The meal of succulent beef, roasted vegetables and biscuits, finished with apple pie and a light whipped cream, was the most delicious she’d ever eaten.

Even the girls had cleaned their plates and asked for more, licking the sweetened cream from their fingers with relish.

After dinner she took them back to the nursery where they all three played the board game with the marbles again and read a few stories from the children’s storybook Rose picked out, before Emmy put them to bed.

Only as she was kissing them good-night did Ginny look up at her with her serious blue-gray eyes. “Will we stay here for long, Em?”

“I’m not sure. Do you miss home?”

The girl shrugged. “I miss Ship, I suppose, but I like it here. Maybe we could stay and he could visit.”

“Me, too,” Rose piped up from her bed. “There’s so much to do here. I love Cinnamon. And all the food.”

“Yeah, Willy cooks much better than you,” Ginny informed her solemnly.

The innocent words almost brought tears to her eyes. How many times had the girls gone to bed with only a few bites of boiled potatoes in their bellies? Perhaps Hunter had done them a kindness by bringing them all here.

Kissing them both good-night, she went back to her room to prepare for her talk with him and crossed to the mirror hanging just above the dressing table.

It was just as bad as she feared. Her hair was a mess and, despite her nap, there were still dark smudges under her eyes from the lack of sleep she’d had all week.

She’d been so afraid that she’d barely slept on the trail.