AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And here I thought you enjoyed my scintillating company.”
“In small doses, yes. Not all day, all the time.”
“You wound me.”
She rolled her eyes.
“How about I carry you outside?”
“How about I walk on my two good legs.”
“You’re not as strong as you think you are, Mrs. Lee.”
And because Regan never met a challenge she could ignore, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. They immediately turned to water, and had he not quickly caught her and lifted her up into his arms, she would’ve ended up in a heap on the floor.
Amused, he looked down into her scowling face and asked, “Will you listen to your doctor now?”
The scowl deepened and he sat down on the bed with her in his lap. “You’ll be able to go back to being the Queen of Lee House soon. For now, I need you to go slow just a little longer.”
She leaned against him. “I detest this.”
“I noticed.”
“I’m sorry for being such a poor patient.”
“Once you’re all healed up you can show me how good a patient you can really be.”
She raised up and thought back on their memorable lovemaking on the porch, in his study, in the stand of trees on the day they visited Ed Prescott’s horse ranch, and the night on her knees when she was very quiet.
“Making love to you will be better if you’re fully healed, so do us both a favor, okay?”
“Yes, Doctor.”
“Now, give me a kiss and I’ll get your lunch.”
She complied and as he left the room, she imagined all the ways she planned to be a good patient once she was better.
In the weeks that followed, Whit’s search for her shooter turned up nothing, and no one had seen Dun Bailey. Meanwhile Regan had healed enough to ride Star again and she was in heaven. She also resumed attending the Paradise Ladies Society meetings, enjoying Anna’s company, and cooking on the new stove. She also got to jump up and down on the bed with her husband as Anna so hilariously described lovemaking and that pleased Regan the most.
She, Anna, Spring, Dovie, and Glenda Cale took the train to Cheyenne and went shopping. Regan purchased lots of clothes for Anna to go with the things Dovie made for her. She also ordered new furniture, bought a few things for herself, and new shirts for Colt. They’d had a wonderful time. Upon their return, she consulted with Adele about ridding the house of the stuffy old furniture to make room for the new.
A month after the shooting, carpenter Porter James returned to Paradise, and he and his men finished the repairs on Regan’s bedroom. From daybreak to dark the air rang with the sounds of their work. The scent of fresh paint filled the air. Since the carpenters were already there, Colt and Regan had them begin the work on Anna’s room, too. The plan was to remove the back wall to make the room larger, and add a door that led to a small porch because Regan believed every little girl should be able to sit outside, look up at the stars, and dream.
Colt and Regan wanted her new room to be a surprise, so while the work was being done, they sent her to spend a week with Aunt Spring. She was due home later that day.
“Do you think she’ll like it?” Colt asked Regan as they stood in the now finished room.
“I think she will.”
The walls were robin egg blue. The blue-and-white patterned curtains sewn up by Dovie added the perfect touch. Her new bed and bedding ordered from a store in Cheyenne was in place, too.
Colt put his arm around her waist and gave her a squeeze. “Thank you for this.”
“You’re welcome. She’s a sweet girl. She deserves nice things.”
“Have you spent yourself into the poorhouse yet?”
She chuckled. “No. I am getting low though, so I wired Uncle Rhine yesterday about replenishing the well. He wired back that he’d take care of it.” She looked up at Colt. “In addition to the new furniture I ordered, we need new lamps, and carpets, and next year—a larger kitchen so Portia and I can stop running into each other.”
