Free Mischief and Magnolias by Marie Patrick

I’ve only known him two days!
    Shaelyn scowled as she climbed into the carriage and took her seat to wait for the officers, anxious to be home and away from
him
. She closed her eyes and concentrated on breathing deeply in an effort to tamp down the alien feelings arising within her.
    After a moment, her breathing returned to normal, her heart rate slowed, and she thought she’d succeeded…until the major climbed into the carriage and sat beside her.
    Shaelyn didn’t know which was worse…seeing his handsome face and charming smile across from her, or feeling the heat from his body from shoulder to thigh pressed against her as he made room for the other men.
    And there was heat. Seeping through his uniform, burning her, making her so
aware
of him as a man and not just someone who’d upset the plans she’d made for her life. Now, more than ever, she wanted him gone.
    She turned her head and stared at her riverboats as the carriage moved toward home, ignoring the major as well as the other men. The officers talked among themselves, a conversation she was glad she didn’t need to take part in.
    By the time Magnolia House came into view, perspiration had trickled between her breasts and dampened her back, and his scent had invaded her brain in the same way that
he
had invaded her home. Shaelyn couldn’t wait to get out of the carriage and away from him, but such was not to be.
    As the carriage halted, Remy climbed from his seat and stepped down. He turned and raised his hand to her. Shaelyn glanced at his face. A charming smile curved his lips and his eyes, the color of a storm-filled sky, glittered with amusement and something else she didn’t want to define. Her gaze lowered and focused on his big hand and long, strong fingers. She had no choice but to accept his offer of help, but as soon as their fingers touched, as soon as his warm hand clasped hers, the tingling in her belly began all over again. Worse, the vision she’d seen of them—together in her bed, his mouth laying claim to hers—flared to life as well.
    Shaelyn sucked in her breath, certain he saw that vision too, but how could that be?
    “Thank you, Shae, for a lovely morning and for showing us your riverboats.”
    Oh, his voice was too deep, his touch too warm for comfort. Shaelyn slipped her hand free from his and raced into the house, hoping to find blessed escape from the feelings that threatened to overwhelm her senses.

Chapter 5
    Shaelyn groaned as Beelzebub crowed right beneath her window. Mean and ornery, his name fit him well. Stars still shined in the night sky as she cracked open one eye and glanced in that direction.
    “Blasted rooster can’t tell time,” she mumbled as she glanced at the clock on the bedside table ticking away the hours. Three forty-five. Another groan escaped her, but despite being exhausted from cleaning up after a houseful of men for the past several days, she knew she’d never be able to go back to sleep. If she closed her eyes, she might dream of
him
again, as she had done every night since they’d met. “Might as well begin the day,” she mumbled with a sigh as she tossed back the light sheet she slept beneath and climbed from bed.
    She washed, brushed her teeth, and dressed, then wandered to the kitchen. Behind the closed door of Brenna’s temporary room, she heard the soft sounds of her mother’s ladylike snore. She prepared coffee and set it on the stove to boil, then gathered the officers’ boots and brought them to the table, which she covered with old newspaper.
    One by one, she brushed off the caked-on mud and brought each boot to a high-gloss shine. In truth, she didn’t mind this task so much. It allowed her mind to wander while her hands were busy, but perhaps that was a mistake too.
    More so than ever, she wanted these men out of her house, out of her life. Especially the major. Not because of the color of his uniform, but because of what he made her feel—sensations that were strange and