Free Never Let You Down: The Connaghers, Book 4 by Joely Sue Burkhart Page A

back toward the house. “And I love you, Princess. Now get that cute butt to bed before I lose my better judgment and risk Colonel Healy’s wrath by dragging his sassy daughter off to wrestle in a hay pile.”
    He fetched his rangy bay and started to saddle up.
    She hesitated, biting her lip. “What about Jeb?”
    “Don’t you worry about him none.” Ty led his saddled horse outside and she closed the stable door for him. “He’s a man of his word and so am I.”
    “What does that mean?”
    Ty stepped up on his horse and gave her a heavy-lidded look that made her nipples pebble against her shirt. “I’ll let him down real gentle like.” His horse broke into a lope, but she heard his parting words clearly. “As gentle as you broke him in last night.”

Chapter Eight
    Standing outside the front door, Jeb straightened his tie one last time and slipped his right hand into his coat, checking the inner pocket. The box was still there, tucked away and out of sight. Just feeling it there gave him hope that someday she might say yes, even if it was months or years away yet. Assuming, of course, that I ever find the courage to broach the question.
    He raised his hand to knock on the door, but when he saw his fingers shaking, he lowered his hand. His stomach was even worse. There wasn’t any way he was going to be able to eat a single bite of food at dinner.
    In fact, he even started to turn away and head for his car, but the door swung open so hard it almost knocked him flat on his ass.
    “Goodbye, Mother.” Virginia’s voice was even and calm, but he knew her too well. Even if she hadn’t practically knocked him out with the door, she only called Miss Belle that when she was so furious she wanted to curse. “Jeb.” She strode toward his waiting car without even sparing a glance at him. “Nice Caddy.”
    Through the still open door, he called, “Good evening, Miss Belle. I’ll have her home early.”
    “Don’t you dare, son,” Miss Belle said with a wink as she closed the door.
    Son. Now that was a first. Shaking his head, he started to follow Virginia, but then he took a good look at what she was wearing.
    Good God Almighty. That designer daughter of hers ought to have her own shop on Fifth Avenue in New York City. The silk flowed and hugged Virginia’s body perfectly, managing to be provocative and sexy without the skirt cut too high or the bodice too low. She’d even managed to disguise the cast Virginia had been so worried about with a cascade of thin, gauzy material down to her wrists. Deep, rich red against the evening sunset, glowing brighter than the fireball slipping into slumber for the evening. “Wow.”
    She paused at the passenger door and looked back at him. She’d pulled her hair back with a simple clip at the base of her neck with a few waves free about her face to soften the angular lines of her cheekbones. Her eyes were hard, her mouth tight with whatever argument she’d had with her mother, but in his head, he might as well have been taking her to her senior prom. Just a few decades later than he’d expected.
    “Are you coming or not?”
    “First you didn’t want to go to dinner with me, and now I’m taking too long.” Deliberately, he kept his pace to a leisurely amble instead of flying to her side and flinging the door open like the anxious, overeager teenager inside him thought he should do. He opened the door for her, trying not to show how much it affected him to see her sliding into his car. To know that she was his for the evening. Finally. After too many years to count. “Thank you.”
    Eyes narrowed suspiciously, she searched his face. “For what?”
    More emotion echoed in his words than he’d planned, so he gave her a big smile. For giving me a chance, no matter how slim. “You said you liked the car.”
    She relaxed back into the seat and the barest of grins cracked her stony demeanor. “I always did like a Cadillac, even though they’re pretentious enough