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Zac laughed and bent down in front of her. "Perhaps we should get good Preacher Jacob to speak to him. He could cleanse Granger's soul in evening prayer."
Prudence laughed and shook her head. "I don't think Preacher Jacob would care to cleanse a man's soul during evening prayer. His taste ran more for the female flock."
Zac raised an inquisitive brow. "Exactly how so?"
"He wanted to hear all the wicked things, in detail, that had been done to me and even appeared to want a demonstration, with him in your role."
"What did you do?" Zac asked his tone a bit sharp.
Prudence recalled her hasty and successful escape with pride. "I got out of his reach just before his hands connected with my bottom."
Zac sprang up like a shooting bullet. "Why the hell was your bottom in reach of his hands?"
Prudence looked at him in surprise. "I had been on my knees in prayer for several hours and my limbs were numb. I fell over when I attempted to stand and get out of his way."
Zac ran his hand through his already-tousled hair, thereby looking all the more appealing. "Do you realize the danger you put yourself in?"
"Nothing happened," she defended.
"But it could have," he insisted. "You were foolish to take such chances."
"They were necessary at the time."
"You will never do anything so foolish again," he ordered. "And if I ever get my hands on that preacher, I'll wring his neck."
Prudence couldn't hide the smile that tugged at her lips.
"You find this funny?" he yelled, his agitation growing.
"Heartwarming," she corrected.
He looked at her as though she had just lost her mind. "Heartwarming?"
"Yes," she nodded and stood, walking over to him. She placed her hand on his blue shirt, running it up and down his chest slowly. "It is heartwarming to know you care so much for me."
"I love you," he said, waiting for her response.
She kissed him tenderly and smiled, and then her fingers began to unbutton his shirt.
CHAPTER 28
"Prudence, I'm giving you fair warning." Zac held her shoulders firmly. "You'd better be here when I return.
I'll be gone three . . . four days at the most. And I’ll only be at the far west end of the ranch. If there's an emergency, send one of the ranch hands with a message."
Prudence rolled her eyes heavenward. "You make it sound as though I'm just waiting for you to leave so I can rush off."
"Which you've done to me on several occasions, feeling justified each time."
"I was," she corrected him.
His grip on her tightened, and he brought her up closer to him. The rim of his black hat shaded both their faces from the morning sun. "This time you would definitely be wrong."
She attempted to correct him once again, but he silenced her with a bullying stare. "We need to talk more and you need to settle these fears of yours. We can't do that separated. You will stay put or else . . ."
Prudence didn't care for the "or else," though she was aware it was issued out of love and not demand. "Where would I go? There is much work to do here. The garden is ready for planting. I promised to help Bertha stitch her wedding dress. There are the curtains to be made for the receiving parlor. The list is endless."
"Good." He brushed a kiss across her lips.
Prudence frowned like a disappointed child. "Four days you'll be gone, and I receive a schoolboy kiss as a farewell?"
Zac's laughter was a playful rumble. "I thought after last night your lust for me would be satisfied."
She slipped her arms around his neck and drew herself up against him. In a whisper that was more sensual than low she said, "I think you've become a steady part of my diet, one that I find I'm unable to survive without."
He took her lips and fed off them as she did with his.
They parted breathless and wanting.
"Or else." He repeated his warning once again before turning and mounting his horse.
Prudence went to him, placing her hand on his leg and looking up. The sun glared bright behind him and she could barely make out his features. "There's no danger to you, is there?"
"No." His answer was quick. "A small problem with some of the cattle. Nothing serious."
She smiled, pleased and relieved by his explanation.
"See you in a few days." He waved as he rode off with Josh.
Prudence felt a sense of deep loss as she watched him fade off into the distance. She couldn't shake it. It was an uneasy feeling, one that troubled her.
"He’ll be back," her father assured her, walking out the front door and meeting her as she climbed the porch steps.
"I know." She smiled, although it was a forced one.
Her father drew his arm around her in the comforting embrace he had often offered her as a child. "Your mother and I must leave in two days. I don't like leaving you here alone and despondent."
