Marriage at the Cowboy's Command by Ann Major Page A

seriously interested in someone like her again. Not that she would want him to be. No—most definitely not. He was only here for Hassan and Daniel.
    Annoyed now, she sat up straighter and switched on the light. Immediately her gaze fell to the silky folds of her peach nightgown, which lay neatly on top of her bedside table. On top of her gown was a slip of paper, which she greedily seized.
    It was a note from Luke saying he’d fed Daniel and had gone down to the main road with him to wait until the school bus came. She wadded up the note and then unwadded it and reread the boldly flowing black script.
    Luke had come in here and seen her naked!
    As she imagined him standing over her, she felt a mixture of embarrassing emotions—desire, shame, tenderness. She imagined his gaze feasting on the sight of her body as she lay nude. She really should hate this almost pleasurable reaction to what was really an uncalled-for invasion of her privacy. What had he thought when he’d found her twisted nightgown on the floor and her covers thrown off?
    He certainly hadn’t seized the opportunity to awaken her and take advantage. No, instead he’d made himself useful by getting Daniel fed and off to school. In spite of herself, she was impressed that a shallow, wealthy bachelor would have known what to do without waking her and asking for her expert advice.
    The thought of him caring enough to put himself out, even that little bit, for their son—and for her—touched her heart in ways that it shouldn’t.
    It doesn’t mean anything. Daniel’s a novelty to him right now. And he did it for his son, not to please me. She was not falling under his spell again! He’dbetrayed her family’s trust and left as if she’d meant nothing.
    She got up and dressed. Her routine took much longer than usual—the crutches made every step slower, and she normally didn’t waste time on makeup or finding her most flattering pair of jeans.
    When she finally reached the kitchen in jeans so tight she wanted to scream, she found Luke’s rinsed cup in the sink along with a fresh pot of coffee.
    Breathless from dragging herself around, she poured herself a steaming cup and sat down at the table. She already ached under her arms from the crutches. On a normal morning she would have been up and out hours ago. She’d taken her good health for granted. Now that she was helpless and dependent on Luke, not to mention so attracted to him she was torturing herself by wearing skin-tight jeans, she felt confused and out of sorts.
    She wanted him gone before he knew his full power over her, but hampered by her ankle, she couldn’t go about her usual chores without him. Horses needed to be fed, watered, exercised, clocked, bred, inoculated and prepared for shipping. Someone had to deal with drivers, who needed documents signed. Stalls had to be cleaned.
    If only she had a larger staff, she could avoid Luke. But with Daniel away at school, and Manuel being her only full-time employee, she would have to spend a lot of time with her ex-lover. Luke had dismissed his driver, so he’d be driving her to town for a follow-up with the doctor and the rescheduled appointment with her accountant.
    So much togetherness was not good. She seemed to be becoming obsessed with the man. But what could she do other than endure him until she was better?
    The most hateful question of all: what would she have done without him?
    Lost in a circle of worries, she heard the unfamiliar ringtone of a phone coming from the living room. Thinking the call might be important, she slid her crutches under her aching armpits and hobbled toward Luke’s phone.
    A name stood out in bold black on the screen: Teresa Wellsley.
    Caitlyn bit her lip. No matter how dependent on him she was, she had to remember Luke had a life that included a beautiful countess named Teresa. He might desire Caitlyn, but that was probably because she was the only