Free Enchanted Heart by Brianna Lee McKenzie Page A

conveying to her and it sang back in harmony the words that she had thought would never be uttered by her lips. In that enlightening flash of realization, she knew that he had truly been correct in his accusation that she feared love.
    But all that had changed in an instant. Her life, her love, her future all seemed to be going in a whole new direction and she was now filled with fear that it would just as suddenly be changed back again to the agonizing pain of losing that which she now craved more than life itself. And that, she knew, would ultimately kill her.
    Caid pulled her to arms’ length again and touched his lips to her forehead again, this time trying to lighten his voice and the mood when he drawled, “Next time I should take my boot off before I stick my foot in my mouth.”
    Marty could not help but giggle and she ducked her head but he caught it in his hands before Caid promised, “There won’t be a next time.”
    She smiled at him then and placed her hands upon his before she said, “We seem to get off on the wrong foot a lot.”
    To that, they both laughed, pulling away from each other and realizing inwardly that they had only just met and already, they had shared both tears and laughter. In their own minds, they pondered the question of whether they were thrown together so that love could blossom or if the thorns of discontent would halt that union.
    To Marty’s budding love, it was the former that was her definitive fate because she was tired of fighting the urge to fill her heart with that which God intended man and woman to enjoy. Her heart was ready, but her pride and her modesty made her reluctant to act upon that inclination, at least for the decent interval of time that a widow must endure before allowing another man to take her husband’s place. Then, almost laughing aloud, she realized that plenty of time had passed since Elias had died, but not enough time had passed since she had met Caid and a proper widow must watch her reputation before giving her heart to a new love.
    Caid broke the silence that seemed to last a lifetime when he looked at her flushed face and referring to her almost drowning in the river, he said, “It looks like you are almost recovered from your near-fatal encounter.”
    Near-fatal, her mind reeled. Life-giving was more the words that came to her mind as she recalled his strong arms around her while he rescued her from the depths of despair and delivered her to the heights of delight. And his touch seemed to heal her—body, heart and soul each time his skin, his very presence, came into contact with hers.
    Caid touched the back of his hand to her forehead and shook his head and said, “But you still have a fever. You’d better get back in there under those blankets until you’re well.”
    Closing her eyes against the warmth of his hand, she sighed and suddenly felt very tired, utterly consumed by the wave of emotion that enveloped her. With a faint smile, she agreed, “I guess I should.”
    She climbed back into the bed of the wagon, but poked her head out and said quickly, not realizing that her words meant more to her, to him, than she had intended, “Thank you for saving me.”
    Caid winked and smiled brightly at her, his face reflecting the true feelings in his heart, while he declared the words that he had decided against expressing earlier, “It was my pleasure, Marty.”
    She did not realize, at that moment, that his words had a double meaning too, and that the pleasure that Caid had experienced was not of the chivalrous kind. It did not occur to her that his starving heart had been nourished by the close proximity of her shivering body against his that night when he had plucked her from the depths of destruction and when she’d clung to him just moments ago. And her naive mind never realized that his mesmerized gaze, which he cleverly disguised as worry that night, and which was truly filled with apology after he’d said the words that could have torn