Aaron's Montana Bride (Sweet, Clean Western Historical Romance)(Montana Ranchers and Brides Series) by Maya Stirling Page B

and Aaron carefully placed the tray on her lap. As he laid the tray in front of her Aaron was intensely aware of being so close to Eva. Especially in light of what the two housekeepers had said to him in the kitchen. Aaron sat down on the chair by Eva's bedside.
    Eva gazed down at the plate and lifted the spoon. "I guess they think I need this. Is it some sort of secret recipe?"
    Aaron rolled his eyes. "You don't want to know. However, if you don't like it, I'd probably keep that to myself, if I was you," he said with a sly wink.
    Eva smiled. She raised the spoon and took a small sip of the soup. Aaron saw her flinch as she swallowed. "You okay?" he asked quickly.
    Eva finished swallowing and nodded. "I'm fine. Just that the darned coughing has left me with a sore throat," she said.
    Eva took another sip from the spoon. This time, when she swallowed it didn't seem to hurt as much. Aaron was glad to see that.
    After a few moments Eva looked at Aaron and narrowed her eyes. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to," she said softly.
    Aaron frowned. "I'm happy right where I am," he declared.
    The truth was, he was savoring the experience of watching Eva eat. There was something gratifying about seeing her doing something he knew would help her regain her natural strength. Even something as simple as seeing Eva eat had a curious effect on Aaron. Right now, there was nowhere else he wanted to be.
    "Well. It is your house," Eva said.
    Aaron grinned. "I still had to negotiate the right to bring you that soup, though," he said.
    Eva's brows creased. "What do you mean?" she asked, and then took some more soup.
    "Seems like the good ladies downstairs figure I should leave you all alone up here. At least until you're feeling better," he said.
    Eva grinned. "Are you telling me they don't want you in my room?"
    "That's the gist of it, I guess," he admitted.
    Eva shook her head. "What do they think is going to happen?" she queried with sly glance.
    Aaron quirked a brow. "Maybe they figure you and me being unattached and all, makes things a bit awkward," he said.
    Eva paused, the spoon hovering in front of her lips. A flicker of recognition appeared in Eva's eye. Aaron saw it and wondered what she was thinking. Did she take the mention of attachment as a hint? Was she thinking that Aaron was hoping she'd bring up the subject of the proposal? Aaron could see Eva thinking hard. She took some more soup and forced a hard swallow. It looked like this time it wasn't a painful throat that was causing her difficulty. More like a tight throat caused by some troubling thoughts.
    "I don't know what in the world could have given them that idea," she said eventually.
    Aaron shifted in his seat. Maybe time to change the subject. "What did the doc have to say?" he asked Eva.
    Eva sighed and Aaron wondered if it was an expression of relief. "He thinks the smoke did some temporary damage to my lungs. But he figures I'll get over it. The thing that bothers me the most is that I can't get up the strength to drag my darned legs out of this bed," she said quickly shifting her legs under the covers in a way that suddenly caught Aaron's full attention. In spite of himself, he wondered what Eva's legs looked like under the bedsheets. From where he sat he could see the impression of their length and the dainty shape of her feet.
    Immediately he thrust that insistent thought out of his mind, but not before it caused an obvious and visible change in the color of his cheeks.
    Eva's eyes flashed at Aaron and he knew she'd seen the change.
    "You'll be up and about in no time," he said hurriedly.
    "I hope so," Eva said. "I need to get back to the ranch and check out the damage."
    "The only damage you need to think about is what happened to your lungs in that fire," Aaron said firmly.
    "But I have to see what kind of a state the ranch house is in. There will be work to supervise. I don't know how long it's going to take to get the place back to how it was," she