Cassandra Austin Read Online Free

concerned about her skirts. “Why didn’t you bring the buggy?”
    “And do what with the trunks?” He reached across Lynnette to untie the reins from the hand brake andrelease it. Lynnette tried to shrink out of his way and wasn’t entirely successful. It somehow embarrassed her to be this close to a man she had just met. Doubly so when he seemed capable of ignoring the contact.
    “You could have taken our trunks in the wagon, and Arlen could have driven us in the buggy.” Emily emphasized Arlen, making it sound like a preferable arrangement.
    “Arlen’s off shaking hands and kissing babies.”
    Lynnette felt a twinge of guilt. It hadn’t occurred to her to question why Arlen hadn’t met the train. In fact at that moment she could barely call up an image of Arlen’s face. She wished she could see Emily; she and Arlen looked so much alike. When she tried, she ended up studying Christian’s profile.
    He looked nothing like either of them. One sandybrown eyebrow arched above an incredibly blue eye. Well, she knew there was a matched set, but she could only see one. She knew also that the tanned cheek could crease into a charming dimple. His strong, lean jaw contrasted with his full lips. Exactly what color were those lips? Carnation? No, not quite so bright. Rose, then? Perhaps. A pink rose at dusk.
    The lips curved up into a grin that revealed white even teeth. Lynnette jumped, her attention quickly shifting to his eyes—both of them. When had he caught her staring? She couldn’t have been more mortified if he had winked. The humor in his eyes made her think he would do it. She pretended to look beyond him toward Emily, but he had to know she couldn’t see her. Emily was talking, she realized, but shecouldn’t concentrate enough to make any intelligent response. After a moment, she turned away.
    Lynnette thanked God she wasn’t prone to blushing. He could be debating between scarlet and crimson. She resolutely turned her attention to the countryside. Their route wandered a little through rocky hills, climbing ever higher, and Christian’s leg pressed against her own. She was sure she felt its heat soak through her heavy skirt. She tried to scoot farther away, noticing how the trees seemed greener and fresher here than in the city.
    She took in a deep breath of the summer-ripe air. She identified the scent of wind-tossed dust, growing vegetation, a faint hint of horse, soap and sun-dried clothes. She wanted to groan. She had never been so preoccupied with a man before.
    She only noticed everything about him because she was a writer, she told herself. She looked for details. She liked to try to describe what she saw and touched. Possible descriptions of the man sitting next to her made her fingers tremble.
    She would block him out. It was much more useful to describe the countryside. The…hills…grass…
    Christian cleared his throat.
    Lynnette closed her eyes for a moment. She had to get her imagination under control. It was fatigue, of course, that made it so difficult.
    “Arlen should be back sometime tomorrow,” he said.
    Lynnette turned toward him; she really had no choice without being rude. My, but he was attractive.
    After she’d gazed for a moment into sky-blue eyes,his words found their way to her brain. Arlen. Tomorrow. He expected a response. She wasn’t sure what she should say. That she was dying to see Arlen again? When she couldn’t remember what he looked like except he didn’t have full lips or dimples or blue-blue eyes? Besides it didn’t sound quite proper.
    “I’m grateful to your family for letting me visit this summer,” she ventured.
    He eyed her oddly for a moment then turned his attention back to the team. Lynnette supposed it hadn’t sounded particularly romantic.
    “How’s Papa?” Emily asked. “Catch me up on everything.”
    “Well,” Christian began, “Papa’s fine. Nothing much slows him down. Perry broke his leg last winter, but he’s healing.” He turned