No Greater Joy Read Online Free

best fig jam you ever tasted. And Mom won second prize for her chocolate cake.'
    He laughed, the vital laugh that was beginning to sound familiar. 'Sounds as if you had a good time!'
    She hadn't known about Raymond's two-timing then.
    'A wonderful time.' She looked up at Clint. 'If I live till I'm a hundred, I'll never get tired of country fairs— the smells and the sounds and the people, the excitement. I love it all!'
    'I can see that,' he smiled.
    'Why are you smiling?' she asked, a little uncertainly.
    'Because you're showing me a new side of yourself, Alison—vibrant, alive. I like you this way.'
    Gold flecks warmed his eyes when he smiled, and his lips lifted in a way that was disturbingly sensuous. Alison stiffened as she tried to ignore his attractiveness.
    Clint was saying, 'Do you know, it's ridiculous, but I can't remember the last time I was at a fair myself. You'll have to be my guide.' He cupped her elbow in his hand. His hand felt so big, the palm rough against her- skin, the fingers folding over on to her arm. 'Lead on, fair damsel. I want to see it all.'
    It was impossible to resist him when he was in this mood. Amazingly, she found herself laughing as they began to move through the crowd.
    At a baked goods stall they stopped, and Clint bought some melktert which they broke in half and shared. When they'd finished it, they stopped again, this time to buy some konfyt. The sticky confection, made of glazed watermelon, was more difficult to break. Politely, Alison said she didn't really want any, but Clint would have none of that, and he insisted on holding it to her mouth until she bit off a piece. She was laughing again when he wanted her to have more, convinced that she would burst if she did.
    Eventually they found themselves at the livestock, but they looked only casually at the cattle before moving on to the horses.
    Leaning their arms on the whitewashed wood railing, they watched the horses being walked around a big paddock. Alison was all alertness now, inspecting horse after horse with the eye of one who did not mean to let too much time pass before she began buying some horses of her own.
    'Look at that one.' She gestured towards a high- stepping horse. 'Isn't he super?'
    'Certainly is,' Clint agreed, only to say a moment later, 'But look at that roan, Alison. See it, coming up on the right? Now there's a beauty if ever I saw one.'
    Alison narrowed her eyes as she focused on the horse that was just coming up alongside them, step sure yet graceful, head proud and lovely, dark coat gleaming in the sun.
    'Magnificent!' she said, «wed. And then, with astonished respect, 'You understand horses, Clint.'
    'I like to think I do.'
    'That's one of the loveliest horses I've ever seen.' As Alison turned to Clint, her new-found respect led her to confide in him without thinking. 'The money I make at Bushveld Camp could never be enough to buy that horse. But I'm going to put it into a special account and keep it there till I have enough to buy one just like it.'
    'Good lord!' exclaimed Clint.
    'You don't approve?'
    'I'm amazed, that's all.'
    Alison laughed up at him, enjoying his confusion. 'Why?' she asked.
    'I thought you might have your earnings earmarked for other things—trousseau, honeymoon, things like that.'
    She managed to keep the smile on her face. 'And all the time I wanted it for a horse.'
    'Mind telling me why?' His voice was unaccountably soft.
    'I'm going to be starting my own stables.'
    The surprised expression in Clint's eyes deepened. 'How does the boyfriend feel about that?'
    'I told you,' her voice was light, 'I make my own decisions.'
    After a moment, he said, 'So you're after acquiring your own stables?'
    'That's right. As soon as I have enough money. I've worked with Dad for years, but I've always dreamed of a place of my own. I'll board horses for people whocan't put them up themselves, and I'll give lessons. 1 want to organise gymkhanas, and...' She stopped.
    When she went on, it was in