A Kiss for Cade Read Free Page A

grim, no-nonsense matron sitting straight as a poker, with a stiff white ruffled collar that looked as if it were the only thing holding up her head.
    Zoe had visited with the matriarch on the rare occasions when she came to town to see her nephew and his family. Aunt Laticia wasn’t as bad as her picture suggested, but no one could convince the children of that. They hid under their beds when she was there. Addy admonished John for making the children afraid of his aunt, but he only laughed and said he was half scared of her himself.
    “When can I look?” Brody asked.
    “When he gets here. It might not even be him.” But Zoe knew it was. The quiver in the pit of her stomach told her so.
    Stepping to the mirror, she tidied her unruly hair. Why was red hair always so frizzy and hard to control? Dark circles under her eyes reflected the difficult past few weeks. Addy’s and John’s illnesses and then deaths had been hard. Comforting the children had been harder. They wanted their ma and pa.
    The back door banged open, and a breathless Holly came in carrying a basket filled with plump, shiny tomatoes from the garden. Tendrils of dark brown hair were plastered to her sweaty features. “Somebody’s comin’.”
    Little Missy entered the room behind her sister and raced to the window to look out. “Oooohhh, he’s all diwty. Is that my Uncle Cade?”
    “Come away from the window, Missy, and wash your hands.” Zoe adjusted the starched curtain. Frowning, she moistened the tip of a dish towel with her tongue and wiped an imaginary speck off the already glistening pane.
    At the sound of running feet thundering through the store, she folded the dish towel neatly and hung it on a peg. “Will? Is that you?”
    “Zoe, come quick! He’s here! I heard Mr. Mallard say ‘There’s that little ruffian, Cade Kolby!’”
    Gracious. It seemed that Herschel Mallard hadn’t forgotten that silly incident years ago when Cade had put a bonnet on one of his prize bulls. She hid a grin. The animal had looked ridiculous pounding through town with Herschel on its heels.
    Zoe heard Will running back to the front door and racing outside. Shoving his chair back from the table, Brody jumped up and followed. Holly’s and Missy’s eyes were as round as tea saucers. Clutching rag dolls to their chests, the two girls hung back rather than running after their brothers.
    “It’s all right, girls.” Zoe reached for their hands, getting a firm grip. “Your Uncle Cade won’t bite.”
    Lifting her chin, she took a deep breath as they walked together toward the front door. She likened the moment to pulling a tooth. Painful but unavoidable.

 
     

Chapter Four

     
     
     
    L ifting her hand to shade her eyes against the blistering sun, Zoe searched the approaching rider. No wonder Missy had said “oooohhh.” Cade Kolby’s appearance was disgraceful. Long reddish-brown hair and a week’s growth of beard made him look as sinister as his reputation. She could see why he struck fear in the hearts of wanted men. He was leaner, meaner, and more blatantly male than she remembered.
    Yet, beneath the trail grime, he was still as handsome as the young man she’d loved all her life. The years had treated him kindly.
    Warmth spread through her like sweet molasses. She felt hot, intensely hot, then cold. She knew why she had never forgotten him. The man was unforgettable.
    Walking his horse to a stop, his gaze met her eyes. She reminded herself to breathe when his mouth turned up in a faint smile. “Hello, Red.”
    Here it was, the moment she’d been dreading since the day she’d sent the wire, and already she was reacting to him as if she were a smitten schoolgirl.
    “You need a shave,” she said, ignoring the mischief in his eyes as he leisurely perused her.
    “I see you’ve still got your red curls.”
    Stiffening her spine, she looked away. She’d eat dirt before she’d let him know she had been waiting fifteen long years for him to come