The Runaway Bride Read Online Free PDF Page A

grasp, but Sean lifted
William with his other arm and spun the boys around just enough to make them
deliciously dizzy before he set them down. He repeated the process with Julia
and Lacy.
    Meanwhile, Lorelei casually meandered in the direction of the
camp. She should have moved faster, but she couldn’t help lingering to watch the
sight before her. Sean was always so serious, so stern—it was fascinating to
watch him grinning and playing with the children. It wasn’t fair of him to look
quite that…handsome. Not when she was trying so hard to ignore him.
    Too late, she realized she’d missed her chance to escape. Her
opponent caught sight of her and stalked toward her. He smiled predatorily.
“Sending the children to do your dirty work, is that it?”
    She widened her eyes innocently. “Now, Sean. It was all in
fun.”
    “Was it?”
    She glanced around for help, but the children had abandoned her
to stagger laughingly toward camp. “Sean, don’t…”
    Sean swept her into his arms and spun her in a tight circle.
She let out a small scream that lasted from the first rotation until he set her
feet back on the ground. Her eyes finally opened to focus on his. The trees
continued to sway perilously behind him. He gave her a pointed look. “There.
Now, we’re even.”
    “That’s what you think,” she muttered and tried to step around
him, but he refused to release her.
    “That’s what I know. Unless you want me to haul you back to the
Peppin jail for assaulting an officer.” He gave a low whistle. “Now, there’s an
idea.”
    She glared at him. “Oh, why won’t you just go away?”
    He leaned toward her, meeting her challenge with his own.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
    She pushed away from his chest, then wiped her suddenly wet
hands on her skirt. “Yes, I certainly would.”
    “Tough.” His green eyes captured hers. “You won’t get rid of me
until I drop you and your problems back in your father’s lap. I gave him my
word—and Lawson, too—which means I’m going to stick to you like glue.”
    “You mean fleas,” she muttered as she brushed past him and
walked back to camp. She wouldn’t let it bother her that nothing short of a
promise to her father and his best friend would tempt Sean to stick close to
her. She hated being his duty, and he certainly
didn’t want her to be anything else, so the smartest thing for her to do would
be to stay as far away from him as possible.
    True to form, he followed her back a few minutes later and took
a seat near the campfire to whittle as she helped Marissa prepare supper. She
ignored him and was grateful when Marissa struck up a conversation. “Tell me
more about Peppin, Lorelei. It sounds like a charming town.”
    “There really isn’t much else to say,” she said as she felt
Sean’s gaze resting on her. “It’s small but not stiflingly so. The people are
friendly and really care about you. There is always something going on, so
you’re hardly ever bored. You can just go to the mercantile or the café to find
someone to talk to or about, in some cases. It’s just a normal everyday Texas
town. The only thing special about it are the people.”
    “It sure is a good town,” Sean said wryly. “I guess that’s why
most people are content to stay right where they are.”
    Lorelei refused to meet his gaze. She’d never said Peppin
wasn’t a good town. It was her home. Nothing would change that. She’d only left
to get away from Sean, and that hadn’t done any good. Why, she could do a better
job avoiding him in Peppin than she could in this wilderness. So it was decided.
She was going home. She dreaded the victory she knew she’d see in Sean’s gaze
when she told him, but it couldn’t be helped. She’d tell him tomorrow.
    * * *
    Sean ignored Lorelei’s quelling stare as he propelled
her through the evening shadows that painted everything in dark smudges of
color. The Brightlys must have made very close ties with the people in