Page 154 of To Tame a Texan
He grinned and pulled her close. “Then do what you please.”
“I’d like to go back to work for Dr. Rydel,” she said slowly. “I guess you wouldn’t like that?”
He looked down into her wide, soft green eyes. “We’ve already agreed that you have skills, and they apply to animals. I think it would be a good idea. I’ll have days when I have to be out of town on business, and I’ll have workshops and conferences to go to. You can come to some of them, but you won’t like being on the road so much. Work for Rydel.” He kissed her. “Just don’t forget where you live and who loves you.”
She grinned and kissed him back. “I could never forget that.”
He stretched and yawned. “Clark’s got a new girl, Winnie says,” he murmured after a peaceful silence. “A nice one, this time. She works in a library.”
Keely smiled. “Good for Clark. How about Winnie?”
He hesitated. “I don’t know. She’s changed. She’s gone all silent lately. Probably mooning over Kilraven.” He shook his head. “That bird isn’t going to settle down in some small town. He’s got big city written all over him.”
Keely promised herself that she’d make time to talk to her best friend and let her cry it all out.
“Sleepy?” he asked.
She nuzzled against his shoulder. “Not really. Why? Did you have something in mind?” she teased.
“In fact, I did.” He leaned closer, brushed his mouth over hers in a whisper of contact. “Yeast rolls.”
Unprepared, she burst out laughing. “Yeast rolls?”
“I haven’t had a decent roll since before we married,” he pointed out, “and you’re all healed now. Besides, nobody makes bread like you do.”
“Well, if that’s how you feel, I’d love to bake you some yeast rolls!” she replied. Her eyes shimmered with amusement. “But I’d need a little encouragement, first.”
He pursed his lips. “What sort of encouragement?”
“Be inventive,” she coaxed.
He got to his feet, swung her up into his arms, and started for the staircase. “Inventive,” he assured her with a chuckle, “is my middle name.”
She tucked her face under his chin and listened to the heavy, hard beat of his heart and smiled with anticipation. She felt as if she were being reimbursed for all the long years of loneliness and sorrow that she’d endured. Her scars, she decided, didn’t matter so much after all. And the happiness she’d found with Boone was worth every one.
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