The Sunstone Brooch : Time Travel Romance Katherine Logan (no david read aloud TXT) 📖

worked with over the past couple of days, just giving them pointers about riding broncs, especially Mr. Roosevelt. I’m not just a one-trick pony to them.”

“I figured that out when you were yelling at me.”

“When was I yelling at you?”

“When I was riding that green horse.”

“I had to yell, or you wouldn’t have heard me.”

“You were distracting me, but later I was impressed that you knew so much.”

If she’d known he wasn’t a one-trick pony when she read his manuscript, would it have made a difference? It might have.

Damn him. He should have included his business venture in the manuscript, and because he hadn’t, it said a lot about him. Bottom line: she’d been the wrong person to read his work since she had little respect for men in his profession. She owed him an apology, but now wasn’t the right time to confess.

“You know, if you get bored and are looking around for another side venture, you can sign up to rescue damsels in distress. Without you, I’d be dead. Just a few seconds, and it wouldn’t have mattered.”

He took her hand and kissed the back of it, then snugged it between his large hands.

The intimate touch made her muscles tighten in exquisite anticipation. “That’s a smooth move, O’Grady.”

He chuckled. “My uncles are all badass warriors, but when it comes to their women, they’re marshmallows, very romantic, and love to sing and dance. At one time or another, I’ve seen all of them make that move, even Elliott. I’ve never done it before. It just seemed like the natural thing to do. And just for your information, it would have mattered to me if I’d arrived five minutes later. I’m just sorry I wasn’t there in time for Erik and Tesoro.”

“Yeah, me too.” The pounding in her head had subsided, but now, thinking of how different the outcome would have been if Austin had arrived earlier caused a louder timpani roll to move wavelike from the front of her skull to the back. But she didn’t want any more drugs in her system that would mask the gut-wrenching hurt.

“I guess you buried them last night. I’d like to go to the graves as soon as its daylight.”

Austin released her hand and went back to stroking her arms. He was so reliable, so safe, that she relaxed till even her bones seemed to turn to putty. He tilted his face down to hers, and while the hat brim cast a deep shadow in the moonlight, she could still see his expression. Warm and waiting.

It was one of those rare moments when she knew in her heart, in her brain, in every part of her being that if she kissed him, it could have life-altering consequences. She lowered her head, unwilling to take the risk. It was easier to be a coward than a trailblazer.

No, that’s not it. I’m not a coward. I’m a liar. I can’t kiss him until he knows who I am and what I did to his soul-searching manuscript.

“There aren’t any graves,” Austin said.

Her head jerked up. “Why not?”

“Tavis took them back to Jarlshof. Erik is like a king or chief of his village and head of the Council. He deserved a proper Viking funeral.”

“I wish I’d known. I would have gone.”

“To the twelfth century? Not a good idea. You might have been in danger, especially without Erik there to protect you. I can’t imagine what all those Vikings would do if they saw such a beautiful woman.”

Her cheeks flamed, and she was glad Austin couldn’t see her blush in the darkness. He’d gone from calling her a baby doll to a beautiful woman. That was quite an upgrade.

“Doesn’t a traditional Viking funeral involve putting the king on his ship and setting it afire?”

“Eventually, but there are some disgusting things that happen before then. And don’t ask me what, because I’ll never repeat it. My stomach curdled when Remy told me.”

She sat up, and her alarm antenna went bong! “Tavis could be in grave danger, then. He shouldn’t have gone by himself. If he doesn’t come back right away, we should go after him. How long has he been gone?”

Austin tapped the light on his wristwatch, shielding it so no one could see what he was doing. “It’s four thirty. Almost twelve hours. He gave the amethyst brooch to Remy and said someone on the Council would bring him back, but he didn’t want us to wait here for him.”

She almost smacked her forehead when she remembered the purpose of his trip to Medora. “I completely forgot. Did he bring back a telegram from JC?”

“There was one waiting for you at the depot. JC sent it from Chicago and said he ordered clothes for you and had everything shipped to Medora.”

“Wow! That’s sweet.” Thinking of those clean clothes reminded her of how filthy she was. She groped in her duffle bag for a cleaning cloth and used it to wash her face, then tried to bush her tangled hair. “What’s in my hair?”

Austin picked through the tangles. “Dried blood. I tried to wash it off your face and hands, but I couldn’t get it out of your hair. You kept swatting my hand away.”

If she could leave the mats alone, she would. But wearing Erik and Tesoro’s blood seemed a rather ghoulish way to remember a man and a horse, both too extraordinary ever to forget.

“Here, let me try again. You’ve got a lot of tangled pieces.” He worked through the matted hair using his fingers.

He was much gentler than her mom used to be when trying to get the mud out of Ensley’s hair. “What are you doing?”

“Just following the knots with my fingers and unraveling them. It’s just like a horse’s mane, except prettier.”

“Well, thanks…I guess.” She pulled a section of hair over her shoulder and worked through several tangles while Austin poked at a thick tuft on the back of her head.

“Are we still meeting JC in Cleveland?”

“Tavis sent a telegram to Elliott at