Free The Marine's E-Mail Order Bride (Heroes of Chance Creek Book 3) by Cora Seton Page A

Ugly, even.
    He didn’t like that characterization of his life.
    “Let’s go back to the Hall.” Maybe they’d find Regan there. Regan was a vegetarian, and somehow she’d made peace with the family business.
    “What’s that way?” Storm asked, pointing down the track.
    “Chance Creek. Want to see it?”
    She shrugged. Zane took that as an affirmative. He led the way, but this time he didn’t take her hand. The chasm between them suddenly yawned so wide he didn’t know how to bridge the gulf.
    They walked on, and the quiet of the ranch washed over him. There were cattle in the pastures, and there was the buzz of machinery somewhere in the distance, but between him and the far-off Absaroka Mountains was a world of space that stretched endlessly. He relaxed, breathing in the smells of home. After his years in the military, he appreciated it all the more. There was room out here. Space in which to dream. Storm would get used to the way things worked here.
    He hoped.
    When they reached the Creek, it was low in its banks, but burbled along merrily. “It’s a bit late in the year for swimming,” he told Storm, “but if we get an Indian summer, maybe we’ll get a chance for a dip.” He led her to a bend where the water formed a deep pool. “In July and August it’s a piece of heaven.”
    Storm looked at it askance.
    “I guess it seems small compared to the Pacific Ocean,” Zane said, suddenly seeing it from her point of view.
    “It would be hard to surf in,” she affirmed.
    He allowed himself to chuckle. She’d regained her humor and he was glad for that. “Hungry? I’ll bet it’s almost time for lunch.”
    “Sure.”
    As they walked back toward the Hall, she grew silent again. Halfway back Zane stopped her. “I’ve got to know. Are you having second thoughts?”
    “No, just…”
    He waited. She was so beautiful with her hair gleaming in the sun she nearly took his breath away.
    “Thinking about home,” she finished lamely. “It’s so different here.”
    “Give it time, okay?” He took her hand and began to walk again. “Crescent Hall will grow on you, I guarantee it.”
    Crescent Hall was already growing on her. Or rather, a certain Marine who lived here was.
    A Marine who would share her bed tonight.
    As much as she tried to keep her thoughts on the straight and narrow, she kept thinking about his promise not to touch her… unless she wanted him to. She wanted him to touch her again. And kiss her. And do a lot of other things, too. The hours they’d spent making love the day before had made up the most exciting sexual experience of her life. What would they do tonight to top it?
    “Tell me more about you,” she said as they walked back toward the Hall.
    “We’ve covered a lot of ground. What else do you want to know?”
    “Everything.”
    “Everything, huh? That’ll take a while.” He suddenly changed direction and veered off toward a stretch of woods that edged the expansive yard around the Hall.
    “Where are we going?” She had to jog to keep up with him.
    “I’m going to show you something that will tell you almost everything you need to know.”
    Storm wondered what that could possibly be, and she was more than a little surprised when she made out what looked to be two sets of climbing bars just inside the edge of the woods. They reminded her of the monkey bars at her elementary school growing up. “What are these for?”
    “This is what made me the man I am today.” He pointed past the climbing equipment toward a wall constructed of wood. “It’s an obstacle course,” he said. “My dad built it when we were just kids. We ran this thing every day. Competed against each other, against ourselves, against him.”
    Storm understood suddenly. That’s why there were two sets of bars. It was a double course—two people could run it at once.
    “Did he want you to join the Marines?”
    “No, he just wanted us to be strong. He wanted to give us something to do, too. And it