Free Beyond the Pine by Kate Benson Page A

just didn’t seem feasible.
    Not only could I never see my gypsy-like Asher becoming a lasting part of our community, my engagement to Tobias would be announced on Sunday.
    I’d thought a lot about how to tell Asher about Tobias. I knew I needed to, but between our insatiable taste for each other and my fear of facing the inevitable, I hadn’t yet found the courage.
    Despite what Reverend Tucker had told me that day in his office, I knew there were marriages here that began with people who loved each other. When I was a girl, I’d asked my mother about her courtship with my father and she’d made it obvious they were very much in love long before they’d been betrothed to one another.
    Both of them had come here when they were young, so maybe that had something to do with their attraction to each other. Regardless, my mother told me the day she’d married my father was among the happiest of her life. She described her feelings, the not-so-gentle buzz of anticipation and excitement as she prepared to vow her life eternally to the keeper of her heart.
    She told me about their marriage, how even months before they’d learned they’d been betrothed to one another, they would sneak away to plan their lives together.
    I always dreamed that’s exactly how it would pan out for me. That somehow, the Reverend would take my feelings, the gentle whispers within my heart into consideration before he made his verdict.
    Everything my mother described to me was exactly what I felt when I was with Asher, but the end result remained the same.
    I’d be expected to marry Tobias no matter how I felt for the man I’d slowly been losing my heart to.
    As I made my way to him on Saturday, I knew I had no choice but to tell him about the engagement. Although this truth was one I had no interest in facing, I knew he’d developed feelings for me as well. The only thing that would be worse that hearing it from me would be to hear it from a stranger.
    I could never do that to him.
    As I step into his room, I walk passed the divider separating him from the other patients and I’m happy to see him already up and moving around. I take my time in silently studying him, the fear lodged inside my chest forcing me to memorize every line on his skin, every dip in his arms as if it was the last I’d ever see of him.
    It very well could be.
    Swallowing the thought and shaking my head clear, I meet his eyes as he turns to face me. The gentle smile that spreads over his lips makes my heart sing at the same time I feel it sinking to my feet.
    “Mornin’,” he says quietly, winking as he moves to his cot to slide his riding boots on. “How are you today, Riley?”
    “I’m well, thank you,” I smile, moving to his window and pushing his curtains open. “How are you feeling?”
    “Better every day,” he admits, standing up behind me and discreetly pressing his lips to my neck. “You’re late, sugar,” he whispers. “I missed you.”
    “I’m sorry,” I smile, burying the warmth his endearment fills me with before pulling away and facing him, putting unwanted space between us as he towers over me.
    Misunderstanding my intention, he chuckles, chalking my behavior up to my own paranoia. Smoothing his hand over his hair, he pulls his long, blonde strands away from his face, twisting it into a messy bun before smoothing his palm over his beard.
    “You ready to get going?” he asks, glancing over to find me nodding silently.
    We stop by the nurses’ station, letting Sara know we’ll be back in a few hours. She gives me a quick nod, her eyes narrowing in curiosity before she tells me to be safe.
    As I give her a small smile of thanks, I swallow the guilt filling my chest once more. For the first time in my life, I’m keeping secrets from the people I most care for.
    I’d worried when I talked to Sara about the Reverend pairing me with Tobias, she’d be upset. I could tell instantly that she’d been disappointed, but true to form, she shook