Catherine's Awakening Read Free Page B

and Jim, one of the ranch hands, coughed nervously.
    “Maybe we should be getting out to the bunkhouse,” he said.
    “Don’t worry about it,” Wade said. “I’ll help Cat with the dishes, and we can talk
    about things privately. You finish your food.” Wade stood up, walked over to Catherine
    and took her elbow, all but dragging her into the kitchen.
    “What the hell is your father talking about?” she demanded as soon as they reached
    the kitchen. Wade clicked his tongue in mock reproach.
    “Teachers don’t use language like that. You definitely belong here on the ranch
    with us.”
    “Don’t tell me what kind of language to use,” she said, glaring at him. “What did
    your father mean? I’m not marrying you.”
    “He wants us to get married,” Wade said, letting go of her arm, and leaning back
    against the kitchen table. “And I think he’s right. You’re a good woman, the kind of
    woman who can help me build this ranch into what it should be. We have the chance to
    make our own empire here, Cat. I’ve been making contacts, studying the markets. They

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Joanna Wylde
    need beef back East, and we can give it to them. Maybe not this year or the next, but
    we’ll figure out how to get our cattle to one of the railheads up north. When that
    happens, men like me will become cattle kings, we’ll make our own destiny. You’re the
    perfect partner for someone like me.”
    “You’re insane,” she said. “I don’t want to marry you. I don’t want to marry
    anyone. I want to live my own life. And it’s Catherine,” she added absently.
    “If we got married, this would be your own life,” he said, his tone reasonable. “You
    have as much to gain as me. We can do it together, really create something for our
    children to inherit.”
    “I don’t think   we   is the right word,” she said. “You and your father own the ranch.
    The men get paid. All I do around here is work, and while I appreciate the room and
    board, I want more in life. If nothing else, I’d like to be able to buy material for a new
    dress someday. You know, clothing that hasn’t been mended a thousand times?”
    He looked startled, and then ran an assessing eye over her body. She shivered,
    wishing she wasn’t so sure he was picturing her without any clothes at all.
    “If you want a pretty dress, we can get that for you,” he said slowly. “We can even
    order something if you’d like, so you don’t have to make it yourself.”
    “I don’t want you to buy me a dress,” she said. “I want to buy my own dress. I
    don’t want to be dependent, Wade. I want to take care of myself. And I definitely don’t
    want to be married ever again.”
    He took a step close to her, reaching out and touching her cheek softly. Tendrils of
    desire shot through her, and she crossed her arms over her chest protectively. She
    didn’t need him touching her, confusing her senses any more than he already had.
    “You feel it between us, I know you do,” he said, his voice low. “There’s always
    been something there, but you were too young before the war, and when I got back
    you’d already married Ryan. Why the hell did you do it, Catherine?”
    She shook her head, denying his version of events.

    16

    Catherine’s Awakening
    “All I remember between us was you teasing me,” she said tartly. “You pulled my
    braids and called me ‘kitty Cat’. That’s not a connection, that’s bullying.”
    “Well, you were too damn young for me to do this,” he said, pulling her forward in
    his arms suddenly, taking her mouth with his and chasing all the thoughts right out of
    her head. Ryan was the only man who’d ever kissed her, and his touches had been
    fumbling and moist, nothing like Wade’s.
    His mouth mastered hers and suddenly she couldn’t breathe. His lips