Free Give My Love to Rose by Nicole Sturgill Page A

I’ll
get a room at the hotel.”
    Rose shook her head as she finished clipping
a faded purple dress on the line. “It’s a long ride to town and the
doctor said you need to rest.”
    “ I’ll be fine,” he assured
her. “I’ve had worse than a ripped up leg.”
    He’d rather have the pain in his body from
riding than the torment he felt in his soul as he sat and watched
her. Rose tempted him as nothing else ever had and the fact that
something inside of him wouldn’t’ let him give into that temptation
and simply take what he wanted from her irritated the hell out of
him.
    “ It’s not your leg I’m
worried about,” she insisted. “It’s your head. You shouldn’t be
alone after a head injury like that.”
    “ Why the hell are you
worried about me?” Marston demanded and then he kicked himself for
asking it. Did he really want to know the damned answer?
    ‘ Yes, you do. That’s why
you’re still here,’ Great his favorite voice was back
again.
    ‘ I’m here because a chunk
of my leg is missing,’ Marston countered silently.
    ‘ Would you be honest for
once in your life?’ the voice grumbled. ‘You’re still here because
you don’t want to leave.’
    Marston growled under his breath. “Are you
okay?” Rose’s voice broke through the argument he was currently
having with himself. He looked up from the dirty ground and let his
eyes find her face.
    She had one arched red brow raised and her
teeth were nibbling her full bottom lip. She was truly beautiful.
Like the sight of a hoof trampled waterhole when you’d been riding
days in a drought.
    Growling, Marston turned away from her. “I’m
fine, dammit. I wish you people would stop asking me if I’m okay
and worrying about me. And quit thanking me for stuff. And quit
treating me like I’m something I’m not!” Marston stalked off to the
barn without giving Rose time to respond.
    Rose watched him go and wondered if that
outburst meant he was staying or leaving. On one hand, Rose knew
she should fear Marston and, in a way, she did. But, on the other
hand, she had seen glimpses of his kindness, generosity, and
caring. And her desperation for friendly companionship outweighed
her fear tenfold.
    Rose was about to go into the barn to plead
with the man not to leave until the leg healed, when he came
limping out with a burlap sack of nails and a hammer. Langley was
hot on his heels. “Can I help you fix the corral? I’m real good at
pounding nails. Can I use the hammer?”
    Rose hid her smile behind her hand as she
watched them. It was clear that Marston was a man who didn’t talk
much and Langley was a boy who rarely ceased. Rose hoped Langley
wouldn’t irritate Marston too badly. The boy had been his whole
life without a strong male influence and needed someone who would
be patient with him.
    Marston nodded in response to Langley’s
questioned and handed him the hammer. Langley’s eyes lit up and
Rose continued to watch them as she finished hanging up her wet
clothes.
    “ Now you hold that piece
up and I’ll nail it in. Yep, I’m real good at nailing. I just never
fixed nothing up because I’m no good at nailing and holding at the
same time. That’s hard to do, you know? Hey, what are you doing
with those nails?”
    Rose looked up from a pair of trousers to
see Marston holding the flat ends of four nails up to Langley’s
mouth. Her first instinct was to rush to her son’s aid, but she
forced herself to remain still and simply observe.
    “ Hold these between your
lips,” Marston ordered.
    “ Why would I wanna do
that?” Langley asked skeptically.
    “ That way I don’t have to
reach in the bag every time we need one,” Marston
replied.
    “ Well, why don’t you hold
them in your mouth?”
    Marston’s eyes narrowed. “Because I need you
to hold them in yours.”
    Langley rolled his eyes but did as he was
told and put the flat ends of the nails between his lips. Marston
caught Rose’s gaze and the victorious smile on his face