Free Under the Desert Sky by Sara Luck Page A

I’m going to make Wapi talk to me.”
    Phoebe laughed. “Don’t get into an argument with him.”
    â€œIf I do, I’ll win,” Will called over his shoulder as he hurried outside.
    Christian waited until Will was out of earshot before he turned back to Phoebe. “You can tell me it’s none of my business, but I’m concerned about what I just overheard. Is there something you’d like to tell me?”
    Phoebe drew a short, audible intake of breath. She clenched her hands and closed her eyes. “He wants me in his bed,” she said frankly.
    â€œSince you’re his brother’s widow, maybe he feels an obligation toward marrying you. In some cultures, that’s the expected thing to do, but I’d think he’d try to develop a better approach than what I just overheard.”
    â€œYou don’t understand; he’s not interested in marriage. He has a wife, but he wants me to be his concubine.”
    â€œIt seems to me that you were quite specific in your response. I’d think it’s only a matter of time before he gives up.”
    â€œFrank Sloan will never quit trying.”
    â€œOf course he will. No man is going to continue pursuing a decent woman once she’s turned him down. Not any man of character, that is.”
    Decent woman . Those words were stinging. In Phoebe’s mind, she wasn’t a decent woman. If Christian knew what she’d done, how she’d become pregnant before she and Edwin were married, would he condemn her for her transgression? Now was the time to tell him if she wanted any kind of relationship with Christian, but she couldn’t.
    Whom was she kidding? The term relationship hardly described what was happening between them. Yesterday was the first time she’d ever laid eyes on the man, yet she’d seen more of him than she had seen of any other man except her husband. Now would be the time to blurt out, “I was pregnant before I got married ,” but what if Christian wasn’t a forgiving man? What if he was like Frank?
    No, she wouldn’t say anything—at least not about her own history.
    Finally she spoke. “Frank isn’t a man of character. If he were, would he have broken all my eggs?”
    â€œYou’re sure he’s the one who did this?”
    â€œHe didn’t admit to it in so many words, but he said Cornello told Rojas, and there’s no way Cornello would know what happened. I’ve not seen him since the fiesta began, and I can’t believe he’d leave the dancing to come all the way out here just to destroy his livelihood.”
    â€œI know Cornello works for you, but who’s Rojas?”
    â€œHe works for the Sloans.”
    â€œDo you think your men will be back today?”
    â€œProbably not. I’m sure the celebration has a few more days before it’s over.”
    â€œThen that settles it. You need another man. Someone who can look out for your birds and for your safety, too.”
    Phoebe looked down. “Trinidad and Cornello have been with us from the very beginning and I trust them. I can’t bring in someone else.”
    â€œBut you need someone who knows ostriches.”
    â€œAre you volunteering for the job?” Phoebe laughed to cover her embarrassment. “Anyway, won’t the water project occupy most of your time?”
    A suggestive smile crossed Christian’s face. “As much as I would love to be your man, it’s not me I’m offering. I brought a good man with me from home, and now that I’ve agreed to stay in America for a while, he won’t have much to do. I think he’d very much welcome the opportunity to be gainfully occupied.”
    â€œI appreciate your offer, Christian, but quite frankly, I can’t afford someone else. It’s all I can do to come up with the money I pay Cornello and Trinidad. And now that there won’t be any chicks to sell, it’ll be