Free The Letter by Sandra Owens Page A

before she admonished him. “Well, try to control yourself, please.”
    “I will.” He held out his hand. “Come, Jamie is waiting for us outside.” Without hesitating, she took his hand. Small steps. Over the past four days, he had made a point to touch her whenever it seemed a natural thing to do. She no longer recoiled at the contact of his hand on her. Someday, when she fell in love again and wanted to marry, she would thank him. Some long, long away day.
    They had fallen into a routine of taking walks after breakfast, and in the afternoons there would be an activity that focused on Jamie. Today, he planned to teach them how to fish.
    “I don’t think anything has ever excited him as much as the idea of catching a trout,” Diana said.
    “I believe his reasoning is this. I told him that whatever he caught would be dinner tonight. The idea of being the one to put food on our table makes him feel important.” He glanced at her. “A man likes to feel needed now and then.”
    She met his gaze for a moment before looking away. She didn’t seem to have a response, nor did he want one. He did not know why he even said such a thing. They reached the door. Not letting go of her, he opened it, leading her out. He liked her hand in his. There was an intimacy to it that made him feel close to her.
    If he continued with these errant thoughts, he probably should remove himself to Draven Park.
    For these few days, his intent was only to see that she and Jamie were well fed and rested. Nothing else. He had no designs on her.
    That settled in his mind, he glanced at her. Both she and Jamie were beginning to look healthier and color was returning to their faces. The extra food and outdoor activities had brought a glow to their faces. A little pleased with his part in making that happen, he smiled at her when she met his gaze.
    “A perfect day for fishing,” he said and looked up at the cloudless, clear blue sky.
    He had kept his conversations with her to only things involving Jamie, the weather or books they had read. There were serious discussions awaiting them, but for now, his strategy of small steps was working.
    Leo’s letter, stored in the desk in his study, weighed on him. When to give it to her to read? He should have done so already.
    Jamie ran up to them. “Where are our rods?”
    “Obadiah is at the stream as we speak, setting things up.” His gamekeeper was as old as the earth and Michael loved him dearly. Obadiah had taught him to fish, hunt, and how to survive in the woods. Things his father might have taught him if he had lived past Michael’s fifth birthday.
    Jamie danced ahead of them, walking backwards at times. He showed them with his hands spread wide the size of the fish he would catch. Michael seriously doubted there were any three feet long trout in his stream.
    He glanced at Diana and raised his brow in amusement. Bless the gods, she rewarded him with the first true smile he had seen on her face since he found her again. His heart took a little bounce, something that hadn’t happened in eleven years .
    Her hand was warm in his. On impulse, he lifted it to his lips and placed a kiss on the back of her wrist.
    “Why did you do that?” She tried to pull away.
    He shrugged, but refused to let go of her. “It was a whim, nothing more.”
    “Well, don’t do it again.”
    Deviltry took control of him. “What? This?” He did it again.
    “Yes, that.”
    When he did it once more, she surprised him with a giggle she tried to smother. He knew this because she choked on the effort. Inspired, he repeated his little performance.
    “Stop it!”
    “Not until you say the magic words.” He brought her hand to his lips.
    “Then tell me what they are so I can say them.”
    He inclined his head and peered into her eyes. “Please, Michael.” The very words she had whispered to him in the heat of passion. Did she remember?
    She jerked her gaze away from his. “Please, Michael,” she whispered.
    Ah, so she