In the Marshal's Arms Read Online Free PDF Page A

looked across the table at Mr. Burgess, so handsome and strong. He’d been a great source of comfort to her during this trip, and she felt a little more confident with him by her side.
    He was very quiet during their meal of warm beef stew and bread. For a moment she wondered if the Shepherds had told him tales about her. But no, he didn’t seem to be overly concerned with gossip, though he glanced occasionally out the window.
    “What is it?”
    “I’m afraid there’s going to be snow and it will be difficult to get back to the ranch.”
    A new tension seized her. “I need to get back. The animals need to be tended to.”
    “We probably should leave soon.” The tightness of his jaw told her he thought even that put them at risk.
    She straightened her place setting. “All right. Let’s order a dinner to take with us and get started.”
    “We could stay in town until the worst has passed,” he ventured.
    She met his gaze. “No one will rent me a room, I’m sorry to say. I’m fortunate they allowed me to sit in the dining room.” She looked around at the sparsely populated room. Likely that was why—they had no other business. “I’ll order the food and get this packaged up. You get the horse ready.”
     
    Either the temperature had dropped when she was in the restaurant, or she was accustomed to the warmth of the building, because she started shivering the moment she stepped outside. She couldn’t allow Mr. Burgess to see, or he would insist they stay in town. She would hate that.
    He lifted the lap robe for her and helped her into the wagon. Warmth touched her toes as she settled in.
    “I got some hot bricks from the hotel. They’ll keep our feet warm for the short term, anyway.” He rounded the wagon, hopped in and pulled the edge of the lap robe over his thighs.
    His body heat added to the warmth from the bricks and Maddy shifted closer unconsciously. He glanced down, offered a small smile and accommodated her with a shift of his arm as he drove the horse out of town.
    The snow didn’t start until the town was no longer visible. It fell lightly at first, then in heavy wet clumps. Mr. Burgess set his hat farther forward on his head, and Maddy kept her face bent against the wind. The bricks had cooled rapidly, and Maddy no longer thought twice about snuggling against Mr. Burgess for warmth. He wrapped his free arm around her, drawing her closer.
    “At least the meat won’t go bad,” she said through chattering teeth, and was rewarded by his chuckle.
    She reached up to wipe frost from his whiskers with her gloved hand. “Should I drive awhile?” That way he could keep both hands under the blanket for a time. Even her hands in her gloves were cold. His must feel like ice.
    “I’m fine.”
    “Would you tell me if you weren’t?” she challenged.
    He grinned. “Probably not.”
    “I’m sure you’ve never been called stubborn before.”
    “Once or twice,” he drawled.
    But conversation took too much energy and she drifted against his shoulder.
    He jerked beneath her. “Don’t you go to sleep,” he said sternly. “If you fall asleep, I’ll make you get out and walk.”
    For a moment her drowsy mind wondered at his change in mood, but then she remembered. Falling asleep in the cold was too dangerous.
    “All right.” She lifted her too-heavy head and shifted away from him. The urge to lean into him was too strong, and made her sleepy. The cool air between them made her more alert.
    “Smart girl. Talk to me, now.”
    “’Bout what?”
    “Tell me everything you want me to do to your place to fix it up.”
    “Hm. Would love to see it whitewashed.”
    “Maybe we should have bought some whitewash, then.”
    “Have some. In the barn.”
    “I’ll get right on that after the snow melts.”
    “The fence line needs to be checked.”
    “I can do that. What else?”
    “Probably a new door hung on the barn. I’m not strong enough to do it myself. I could help, though.”
    “Yes, you