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| Link | Quote | Stars | Tags | Author |
| 64751ae | If you want to play this game, then so be it," he snapped. "We'll play settler until you finally learn what a miserable, hardscrabble life it really is!" He'd swept his hat off his head, and when he slapped it against his thigh, dust flew. "You mean you're going to marry me?" Lily dared to ask, coughing. "Hell, no!" Caleb retorted in a raspy whisper. "I wouldn't marry a stubborn, sneaky little chit like you for anything!" Lily might have sl.. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| 6f7d4b3 | As he passed the tool wagon Wilbur had brought out that morning from Fort Deveraux he snatched up a pick. "Caleb!" Lily cried, terrified that he meant to destroy her cabin. But he went around the cabin to the land behind it and plunged the pick into the ground with a mighty swing. "Right here!" he bellowed, no longer caring, evidently, that some of his troops were there to witness his fit of temper. "I'm building my house right here!" Lily .. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| e3deaee | Steven's patience had been taxed to the limits. He'd never in his life laid a hand on a female in anger, but he was sorely tempted to haul this one off to the woodshed and blister her backside. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| 989f202 | Caleb's eyes shifted to something in the corner and went narrow, and a dangerous calm replaced his outrage. "My shotgun," he said disbelievingly. "Isn't that my shotgun?" "I only borrowed it," Lily said, squaring her shoulders. "You shouldn't make such an issue of a little thing like that." "Have you fired it?" Lily thought of the large round bruise on her stomach where the butt of the weapon had struck her when she pulled the trigger. She .. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| 91259db | Caleb pushed back his chair and fetched his hat from the bed, but not before he put his hand on the mattress and pressed to make the bedsprings squeak. The sound was so loud that Lily cringed, knowing what Wilbur and his men would think. "Caleb, stop!" she cried angrily. Caleb only grinned at her and repeated the process, once, then again, then again and again. "Damn you," Lily whispered, "stop it." He paused, watching the color climb her f.. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| 7cc219b | She yanked open the door, and her smile faded. The same Indian who had wanted to trade two horses for her was standing on the apple crate that served as a front step, his black hair dripping with water, his calico shirt so wet that his copper skin showed through in places. "No house!" he said. Lily was paralyzed for a moment. Here it was, she thought, the moment she'd been warned about. She was going to be scalped, or ravaged, or carried of.. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| f452b5b | Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is. | Albert Camus | ||
| ad138b2 | When she arrived at her tiny house smoke was curling from the chimney and the windows glowed golden. Lily went up and stood in the empty flower bed to peer in through the glass, and she was incensed to see Caleb sitting at the table, smoking a pipe as if he owned the place. She shoved open the door and stormed inside to demand, "What are you doing here, Caleb Halliday?" He gave her a distant, noncommittal glance. "You were almost out of fir.. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| c8aa01a | She was standing there, naked as a Greek statue, when the door suddenly opened and a gust of cool night air raised goosebumps all over her body. "I forgot my hat," Caleb announced flatly, but his amber eyes burned as they moved over Lily's naked form. She covered both breasts with her arms and lifted one thigh in an attempt to hide herself. She was so angry that for a long moment she just stood there, staring and shivering. Then she snapped.. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| 89270fc | I've been wanting to do this for a long time," he said in a dangerous drawl, "and you just gave me the excuse I needed." "What--what are you talking about?" Lily demanded, stepping backwards. A drop of rainwater from the leaky roof landed with a disconcerting ker-plop on the top of her head. Caleb was unbuttoning his cuffs, rolling up his sleeves. "I'm talking," he replied evenly, "about raising blisters on your sweet little backside." Lily.. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| 63b997d | Lily pulled the quilt over her and rolled to one side so that her back was to him. Now that her passion had been appeased, her pride was back in force, and it was painfully bruised. She heard the clank of metal against metal, then felt a cold rush of air as Caleb opened the back door and went out. She knew he'd gone to the pump for more water. Lily didn't move until much later, when he crossed the room to swat her lightly on her quilt-cover.. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| aeab04c | Lily didn't move until much later, when he crossed the room to swat her lightly on her quilt-covered bottom. "Your bath water is hot again," he said quietly. "Lock the door when I go." Lily turned to look up at him. "Caleb--" He laid an index finger to her lips to silence her. "There's been enough nonsense," he told her matter-of-factly. "I'll be away for a day or so. When I get back I want to find you living in my house, where you belong.".. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| 1a54c10 | Caleb resisted an urge to go back to Fort Deveraux, snatch Lily up, and take her with him to Spokane. If she was at his side, no one would hurt her--he'd see to that. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| 331071c | Watch out for her, Caleb. If the men of Fort Deveraux have the wrong idea about Lily, so do the women--and they'll tear her apart if they get the chance." Caleb frowned. "What are you saying?" "It isn't just those bawds down on Suds Row that Lily has to look out for. Did it escape your notice that the 'good' women at my party snubbed her in that ever-so-gracious way they have? They don't like her, Caleb, and they won't miss an opportunity t.. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| d793d6d | Lily pretended he hadn't spoken--that he wasn't even there, for that matter--but the moment the door closed behind him Velvet burst out in uproarious laughter. "If this don't beat anything I've ever seen!" she cried between yelps of mirth. Lily relived the incident in her mind and reddened accordingly. "He wouldn't really have struck me," she insisted. "He wouldn't have dared." Velvet's guffaws became giggles. "His hand was about this far f.. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| cbfabdd | Even though Caleb had known in the core of his being that Lily would not be waiting in his house when he returned from Spokane, he was disappointed not to find her there. As he walked through the dusty rooms where the furniture looked misshapen under coverings of cloth he imagined the changes Lily's presence would have wrought in the place. It was cold and dank in that house, but Lily would have had fires burning on both the hearths and in .. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| 3cd661f | His eyes met hers, and he smiled shyly. "I guess you know I'd do just about anything for you, Miss Lily. Even farming, if it came to that." There was a rider coming over the rise, and Lily knew in an instant that it was Caleb. Given his direction, he'd been to Tylerville. She wanted to share that farm with just one man, and he was riding arrogantly across the creek at that moment. "Thank you, Wilbur," she said gently. "But I'm not the right.. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| 8ce7034 | I suppose you're wondering where I've been," Caleb said, sounding damnably pleased with himself as he climbed down from the gelding's back. "I wasn't wondering any such thing." Lily's arms were folded, and her chin was thrust out. She couldn't help noticing that Caleb wasn't wearing his uniform--he had on dark trousers and a cotton shirt. On his head in place of the tasseled campaign hat was a slouchy leather one. Although he wasn't wearing.. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| 2ffb00f | Was there something you wanted?" she asked, shading her eyes from the bright sunshine. Matthews was taller than Lily by about six inches, and his blue eyes swept over her in a way that could only be called suggestive. "I reckon I want what the major was havin' yesterday when the bedsprings was creakin' fit to wake the dead," he told her. Lily retreated a step, cheeks flaming. She clasped the hoe handle in white-knuckled fingers. The affront.. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| e50ab89 | All of a sudden the burlap bag in her hands started to squawk and bulge wildly. "What is this?" Caleb's good humor was apparently restored. "It's a chicken, sodbuster. After you chop off his head, gut him, and pluck out all his feathers, he'll fry up real nice." Lily felt her lunch boil up into her throat. She'd fed plenty of chickens in her time, and certainly fried a few, but Rupert had usually been the one to kill them. "He looks delicio.. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| c62ec4b | Your bath is ready, sodbuster." Lily stood. "I'm not going to bathe in the open," she said. "All right, then," Caleb answered, pulling his shirt from his trousers, "I will. No sense letting all this nice hot water go to waste." Lily might have loved Caleb Halliday, but she begrudged him that clean, steaming bath water in the worst way. "Don't you dare step into that tub," she said, marching over to where he stood. "It's mine." Caleb smiled .. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| 769e49f | Caleb swore under his breath and got to his feet. He had so much to say to Lily, and presents to give her, and here she'd taken off on some wild goose chase. She really meant to move to that damned farm, the stubborn little chit. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| b475242 | The miles between Tylerville and Spokane passed quickly, and the growing city was visible in the distance when suddenly there were shouts and the stagecoach came to a sudden stop. Lily heard Sam Hargrave swear up in the box of the coach, and for one terrible moment she thought they'd been set upon by bandits. She was completely shocked when Caleb wrenched open the stage door. "You've changed your mind," Bianca said softly. Lily's gaze shift.. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| 81d46e9 | Lily remembered Sandra saying that Caleb's mind couldn't be changed by a blast of dynamite once he'd made it up on a subject, and she had a hunch both women were right. Caleb was the most hardheaded man on earth. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| 6ec59c9 | He must love you," Bianca went on brokenly, "if he'd follow you all this way." Lily shook her head. She couldn't bear for Bianca's words to be true, or for them to be a lie. She wished she'd never met Caleb Halliday, never danced with him, never eaten his chocolates and appeased his needs. "He's just angry because I didn't obey his orders," she said finally. "My guess is that he'll ride back to Fort Deveraux and forget all about me." Bianca.. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| 55975d1 | Just a damn minute," Caleb barked, bringing her up short with a quick grasp on her elbow. "Where do you think you're going?" "To my brother's home," Lily replied, her chin high. "Kindly unhand me, Major. If you don't, I'll scream." Reluctantly Caleb let go of Lily's arm. He swept his hat off his head and then put it back on again in a single furious motion. "I want to know what you're doing here," he hissed, keeping up with Lily's short str.. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| 2dfb3b2 | Just a damn minute," Caleb barked, bringing her up short with a quick grasp on her elbow. "Where do you think you're going?" "To my brother's home," Lily replied, her chin high. "Kindly unhand me, Major. If you don't, I'll scream." Reluctantly Caleb let go of Lily's arm. He swept his hat off his head and then put it back on again in a single furious motion. "I want to know what you're doing here," he hissed, keeping up with Lily's short str.. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| 73307dd | Caleb touched the brim of his hat and nodded an acknowledgment to Rupert, then spoke to Lily in the clipped, authoritative tone she'd heard him use with his soldiers. "We'll leave for the fort tomorrow," he announced. "You may do whatever you please, Major," Lily responded coldly, "but I'm staying here. I have business to attend to." "Shall I explain to your brother why I have a claim on you?" Caleb asked, his tone a mockery of indulgence. .. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| 43c20b1 | So," he said, putting an arm around her shoulders and escorting her toward his small wooden house, "you've finally come to your senses and decided to settle down and make a real life for yourself. The major seems like a fine man to me." Lily wondered if Rupert had overlooked the fact that she and Caleb hated each other. "He's a pompous, overbearing, bullying ass," she replied. Rupert grinned. "Just what you need," he retorted. As" | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| fd7149c | As luck would have it, Caleb appeared at supper that night. His uniform had been shaken out and pressed, and his butterscotch hair gleamed with cleanliness. He brought Cuban cigars for Rupert and a delicate china figurine for Lily. She looked at him in bewilderment, and he smiled at her as though there had been no disagreement at the front gate only a few hours earlier. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| 42c9b46 | I want to marry your sister," he announced after he and Rupert had consumed the better part of a chicken, along with mashed potatoes, gravy, and corn, at the simple table in Rupert's kitchen. Lily had no illusions that Caleb meant what he said. It was just that even he wouldn't have the gall to stand there flat-footed and tell Rupert he wanted to keep his sister as a mistress. He and Rupert each took a cigar and lit up. "Don't I have anythi.. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| fc58820 | I want to marry your sister," he announced after he and Rupert had consumed the better part of a chicken, along with mashed potatoes, gravy, and corn, at the simple table in Rupert's kitchen. Lily had no illusions that Caleb meant what he said. It was just that even he wouldn't have the gall to stand there flat-footed and tell Rupert he wanted to keep his sister as a mistress. He and Rupert each took a cigar and lit up. "Don't I have anythi.. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| bb3a66b | Come in," she called without thinking. The door opened, and Caleb stepped inside. "I want to apologize for last night," he said, his hat in his hands, his expression as innocent as an altar boy's. "The truth is, I don't think we should get married." Lily was beginning to get disturbing ideas about the rolling pin in her hands. His disclaimer came as no surprise to her, of course; she'd known he was an out-and-out scoundrel all along. "Oh?" .. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| 9fff96a | Turn around," Caleb said gently when she didn't speak, "and I'll wash your back for you." The experience sounded too pleasant to refuse, and Lily shifted until she was kneeling, facing away from Caleb. The breeze made her nipples stand taut, and she was glad he couldn't see. "I have another bone to pick with you," she said as he began a delicious process of washing and massage combined. "Umm?" There had been so many things happening that Li.. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| 5d0d761 | I emptied the tub and put it back under the tarp," he said, "so Corporal Pierce and the others won't get any wild ideas about you bathing in the middle of the prairie." Lily blushed, embarrassed by what she'd done. She wondered why she never suffered these agonies before the fact, when it might do some good. "Corporal Pierce is a gentleman," Lily said stiffly. "And I'm not?" Lily shook her head. "No gentleman would do what you just did." "A.. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| 9944ebf | He sat up in bed, wishing Lily was there. He wouldn't even have needed to touch her, just watching her sleep would have soothed him. Caleb shoved the splayed fingers of his right hand through his hair. He had to go home to Fox Chapel, face Joss, take his place in the family again. He wanted his share of the land and the horses. And he wanted Lily at his side, now and forever. Sweating, | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| 226822c | The artist reconstructs the world to his plan. | Albert Camus | ||
| 423662c | You're going like that? In trousers?" Lily nodded. "They're much handier for riding than a skirt," she informed him, though she privately thought any idiot would have been able to figure out such an obvious thing on his own. "You'll be arrested," Caleb fretted, climbing down from the framework of his house to stand on the ground facing Lily. "I don't believe it's against the law for a woman to wear trousers, Caleb." "Don't be too sure of th.. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| 082ed92 | The moment they were inside, away from the eyes of interested neighbors, he covered her mouth with his in a consuming kiss. Lily felt her bones melt within her, along with all her misgivings. Her arms wrapped around Caleb's neck, and she responded wholeheartedly to the kiss. When it was over she took his hat from his head and tossed it away. "I love you, Major Halliday," she said boldly. "How much?" he teased in a low, husky voice. "I could.. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| 923ee0c | I'm leaving the army," he said. Lily felt hope leap within her breast. Maybe Caleb had changed his mind; maybe he wanted to be a farmer after all. She held her breath, waiting for him to go on. "I want to go back to Pennsylvania." Lily's hopes plummeted. She could only stare at Caleb in misery. "I see," she said finally, with dignity. Caleb reached into the pocket of his uniform coat and brought out a small box. "I want you to go with me, L.. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| f7ad0a0 | The major set Lily in a chair near the fire, and he dropped to one knee in front of her, took her hand in his, and kissed it He looked so like a prince from a fairy tale that Lily was nearly overcome. "I didn't make a proper proposal before," he said quietly. "Oh, Caleb." "There's never been anyone else for me, Lily," he went on, "and there never will be again. I'm promising you right now that your happiness will always be as important to m.. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| 55acf5c | Lily pushed up the window and took careful aim at the man who had probably shot Caleb--the fat man with the funny hat. "Drop that gun and let him pass," she said clearly, "or I'll blow you into pieces so small they'll be able to sweep you up and carry you off in that hat of yours." Caleb grinned at that, despite his wound. When the bandit dropped his rifle into the dust Caleb dismounted, strode over to collect it, and entered the house thro.. | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| 33f5d55 | I'm ruined," she confided miserably. "Everyone hates me." "I don't," Caleb pointed out. Lily was not consoled. "You're a man," she retorted, "and that doesn't count." Caleb arched his eyebrows at that but said nothing." | Linda Lael Miller | ||
| 9305a7d | Hank, if you could see your way clear to ride to the fort for a doctor, I'd appreciate it" "I don't need a doctor," Caleb protested. But he winced and drew in a sharp breath when Lily poured some of his best whiskey onto the wound. "Well, those men out in the shed do," Lily answered, preparing to douse the injury again, this time from the back. When she did, Caleb let out a string of curses that reddened even Velvet's cheeks." | Linda Lael Miller |