Chapter Nine
Thankfully, Sophie’s school was only a ten-minute walk from the ranch. Isabel walked Sophie to the gate of the small school building where, according to Sophie, only ten other kids from the town attended. Isabel stayed back at the gate. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to introduce herself to the teacher.
Then, Isabel walked back to the ranch, dragging her feet and wiping the sweat off her forehead. She felt like her body was ravaged. As she walked up the dirt road towards the porch of the house, she thought she heard Liam whistle. Then he appeared.
He was on a horse, a mighty chestnut-colored horse with a chocolate mane. They galloped towards her and she felt like the ground was shaking underneath her feet. He didn’t seem to slow down as he approached her, but rather came to a sudden halt beside her. Isabel shaded her eyes with the palm of her hand to look up at him.
The sun was behind him so that his face was darkened and a bright orange light silhouetted his dirty blonde hair and cowboy hat. He looked regal and masculine on his horse. She imagined him with his shirt off, as she had seen him the previous night.
“Isabel, meet Henry.” He said and it took Isabel a few seconds to realize that Liam was introducing her to his horse.
“Oh. Well, hello Henry,” she said, still keeping her distance.
“Have you ever worked with horses?” he asked and she bit down on her lip in reply.
“Have you ever ridden a horse?” A grin formed on his face. He was mocking her.
She remained silent. Liam rolled his eyes and she got the sudden feeling that he was annoyed with her. She began to worry again. That she wasn’t good enough for him – good enough to be his wife. “I can learn. Tell me what to do and I’ll try my best,” she said eagerly while Liam glared down at her. The grin on his face had vanished. He looked like he wasn’t sure what he was meant to do with her anymore.
“Just carry the chopped wood to the back of the house. The nights are going to start getting colder than usual and we’ll need to get the fireplace going,” he said dismissively.
Isabel gulped and nodded her head.
“Where is the wood?” she asked, tucking in stray strands of her curls behind her ears. She was uncomfortable under his gaze, especially now that he had seen her completely naked. He knew what she looked like without any clothes.
Liam pointed into the distance where Isabel could just about make out a pile of wood in response. “Carry in a week’s worth. Then you can start making my lunch. I’ll be in by one,” he said and, without waiting for a response, he turned around on his horse and galloped away.
Isabel was left standing in the sun, staring at him as he disappeared into the back of the ranch. She wiped her face with her hands, sucked in her stomach, and tried to calm down her nerves.
It was December already, she tried to remind herself even though it felt hotter than the middle of summer on the East Coast. She lifted up her skirt with her fingers and started walking towards the spot that Liam had indicated. Carrying chopped wood back to the house, cooking meals, dressing a ten-year-old for school. None of these were tasks she had ever performed in her life before, and every step she took made her nervous.
She couldn’t understand why she was so desperate to please Liam. He hadn’t even accepted her as his wife yet. In fact, she was free to just leave if she wanted to. It actually seemed like Liam would prefer if she did. He didn’t give her any indication that he was happy to have her here. Rather, it seemed like he had changed his mind about having a mail order bride altogether.
Isabel walked slowly towards the pile of wood that Liam had undoubtedly chopped and stored there earlier.
This was going to be her life now. Was this what she wanted? Did she want to be married to a man who barely even looked at her? Who dished out orders and expected them to be executed on his terms? Who wanted her around the house so she could do all the housework and take care of his daughter? She had a successful career in New York. She was a city girl. She had never known a life like this. Did she actually want to give all that up and lead this life of isolation with a man who rarely ever smiled?
Then Isabel remembered the way he had touched her the previous night. The kind of pleasure he had given her in a way she had never experienced before. She knew she was curious to know more, to experience more. She wanted to see more of Liam… see him completely naked. Just the very thought of it stirred something in her belly. She wanted him inside her. Even if just for one night.
It was going to be a test for Liam, just as he was testing her. He had teased her the previous night with his body, brought her to the edge, just gave her a taste of what was in store for her.
And now Isabel was determined to find out the rest – what it would feel like to have Liam completely to herself. Even if it meant waiting and hoping that he decided she would make for a good wife. She could always change her mind later. She could always leave if she wanted to. Her life in New York was waiting for her if she ever needed to go back.