Free The Devil's Daughter by Laura Drewry Page B

straw, had been woken up five times by the horses snorting and carrying on, and then hadn’t the necessary items to wash up with before stumbling out of the barn.
    “I can sleep anywhere,” she said with what she hoped was a smile and not a grimace.
    “You proved that well enough last night.” His soft chuckle floated through the surrounding quiet. When she frowned, he went on. “You fell asleep out here on the ground.”
    Lucy tightened the blanket around her arms, trying to ward off the cool morning air. Jed wore the same shirt as yesterday, untucked and hanging half-buttoned, his sleeves rolled to the elbow. He couldn’t possibly be warm enough.
    Moving closer, she nudged against him until he settled his left arm around her shoulders.
    “This is where I wanted to fall asleep.”
    Jed stiffened slightly. “Right.” His voice sounded rather strangled, but his arm tightened around her for a moment before he let it fall back to his side, leaving a cold yawning space between them.
    “So – are you ready to learn how to make coffee?” He stepped farther away and reached to toss a few more chips on the fire.
    No.
She was ready for a proper bed, a big feather one with a thick down quilt. Or better yet – a hot bath and a clean dress, preferably silk.
    “Can I clean up first?”
    “No.”
    “No?” Lucy gaped. “But look at me – I’m disgusting.”
    Though he didn’t look up at her, Jed’s brow shot up as he blew a low breath across his bottom lip.
    “I
have
looked at you,” he muttered. “And you’re even more beautiful this morning than you were last night.”
    An unfamiliar warmth trickled through Lucy’s veins, but she ignored it. This was good, this was very good. Jed was already turning her way, and she hadn’t done a thing.
    “Well, now.” She stepped next to him, folded her hand in his, and smiled up into his blushing face. “That’s the best thing a girl can hear first thing in the morning, even if it is a lie.”
    His Adam’s apple bobbed twice before he looked back at her. “I won’t lie to you, Lucy. Ever.”
    Shocked into silence, she couldn’t think of what to say. He couldn’t possibly think she looked beautiful. Beneath this hideous blanket, her dress – still filthy from the previous day’s work – was wrinkled and bunched in the most unappealing way possible. Her hair couldn’t look any better and her mouth tasted worse than last night’s supper, if that was at all possible.
    Lucy forced herself back to reality. Jed might not lie, but she would if need be. Fortunately, at the moment, it wasn’t necessary.
    “Thank you, Jed.” She pressed a soft kiss on his cheek.
    Their eyes barely met before he looked away.
    She slid up against him, belly to belly, and wrapped her blanket around both of them.
    “Lucy. . .” Jed’s voice was barely a whisper now. “We can’t.”
    “Mmmm,” she chuckled. “I think we can.”
    Strong fingers squeezed her upper arms for a heartbeat before pushing her back. “No.”
    Ugh – he couldn’t be more infuriating. Last night he’d bent to his desires, though only for a moment. This morning, he was back to his old stubborn self; back to being a wall of no’s.
    She needed to keep Jed moving in one direction, but obviously she was going to have to make that happen with several different angles.
    “Fine,” she pouted, taking a step back. “Then let’s get started on that coffee lesson.”
    Jed’s shoulders relaxed as he sighed. He held up a tubular-shaped pot with a spout and instructed, “Fill it with water, to just under the spout.” He poured water from one of the buckets into the pot, tipping it slightly to show her where he’d filled to. “Then you set it over the fire to boil.”
    He hung the coffeepot from the spit over the fire, then sat Indian style on the ground and reached for the bag of beans.
    “Shouldn’t those go in the water?” So far it didn’t seem like she’d been too wrong last night.
    His mouth twitched,