Authors: Sky Robinson
GoldLust (7 page)
Two days later Emma stood with her toes tapping anxiously on
the wood of the dock as she waited for the ship to start boarding. Her throat
was tight as well as every muscle in her body and she hoped like hell she
wasn’t making a huge mistake.
People moved all around her, but she ignored them and kept
her focus on the mountains. This might be the last time she saw them. Ever.
Emma would definitely miss living here. But staying wasn’t an option.
A boat horn blasted and she jumped, nearly falling into the
cold ocean water a few feet below.
The line of people in front of her started to move, so Emma
picked up her bag and followed. This was it, this was the last time she would
have this view, and never again would she see the man who was up in those
mountains somewhere.
“Excuse me. Pardon me. Excuse me.” James’ gruff voice
penetrated the crowd.
Emma’s breath caught in her chest. She twirled around to see
James shoving people to the side, rushing toward her.
He came.
But why? To say goodbye or to ask her to stay? She didn’t
know which was worse.
“I’m glad I caught you.” He stopped to catch his breath for
a second, but held on tightly to her hand. As winded as he was, he must have
run all the way down the mountain to catch her. “Don’t leave me.” The words
came out of his mouth with passion she’d never heard from him before.
“It’s what I have to do.” Emma had to work to control the
pattering of her heart, to focus on saying the words she needed to when a big
part of her objected to them. “I’m sorry, James. We had a fun go of it, but it
could never work out.” He had to see that. It was so obvious that they weren’t
compatible, no matter how badly she wanted them to be.
“Why not?” He shook his head. “Give us a chance. We could be
good together.” His words were desperate, needing her, just like a big part of
her needed him.
She wanted to do what he asked, wanted to give James a
chance. Emma had romantic images of a lifetime of falling asleep next to him,
but the problem was then they would wake up together and that’s when the drama
would start.
He was good for her body and had become a friend, but she
couldn’t see how they would make a relationship work out. His views were just
too traditional for her…and he didn’t like kids.
Emma stared at the ground, not answering his question.
“I wouldn’t care if you wore pants every day.”
He was offering her a compromise, but it wasn’t enough.
“It’s not just about the clothes,” she said.
He let out a frustrated sigh and ran his fingers through his
hair. “You could climb a mountain every morning. I’ll do all the cooking and
cleaning. I just can’t stand the thought of you leaving. I haven’t seen you in
two days, and I’m going crazy with need. I want you to be with me, and I’m
willing to do whatever it takes, do whatever you want, to make that happen.”
Her knees began to shake. How could she say no to that? All
she really wanted was to be close to James. He was a pain in the ass, but she
wouldn’t have it any other way. The words coming from his mouth were the exact
words she needed to hear from him.
“I…I’ll stay.” Warm tears fell down her cheeks.
James hugged her tightly, as if he was afraid if he let go
she would run away, but she wasn’t going anywhere. This is where she belonged,
in Alaska, with James.
“You don’t have to settle down for me, you don’t have to
change at all. I love you just the way you are,” he said.
“You love me?”
“Yes, I love you. Have for a long time now. Just took me a
while to admit it to myself.”
“And you don’t want to change me?”
“Not even a little bit.” He grabbed both her hands in his
and squeezed. A big grin spread across his face.
“Well, I might just become a little more domesticated.” Emma
offered a compromise of her own. She didn’t have to stay so stuck in her ways,
and life was going to drastically change. That couldn’t be avoided.
“Why is that?” James wrinkled a brow and looked at her
funny.
There was only one way to break the news. “I’m pregnant.”
She held her breath and waited for his reaction.
“Pregnant? That’s wonderful.” His grin returned.
“Wonderful? I didn’t think you liked kids. You told me you
didn’t like kids.” Emma was surprised by his words, surprised by his reaction.
“I was just grumpy the day I said that. I will love any
child that we make.” James picked her up and spun her in a circle, setting her
down with a kiss. “I’m going to be a father.” His grin spread from ear to ear.
“You know you’ll have to marry me if you’re having my baby.”
She felt herself stiffen. Marriage could be part of the
deal, but she didn’t want to feel pressured into anything.
He must have noticed her nervousness. “Or not. Whichever
you’d prefer. Whatever makes you happy, that’s all I care about.”
His concession was all she needed to see that he was really
going to put her needs first, going to give her the freedom she needed, the
space to make her own choices.
“Yes. I’ll marry you, James Armstrong.” Emma smiled and
kissed him. This was her life now, and all she really needed. She liked
independence, but she wanted the love of a man just as much…maybe even more.
Now she could have it all.
Emma would marry James and stay in Alaska for the rest of
her life, and those facts made her a very happy woman.
Sky is a recovering adrenalin junkie, giving up her skydiving
and motorcycle riding habits (for now anyway), but is holding tight to
snowmobiling, flying small airplanes and water skiing. She tries to add a
little balance to her life with the more tame pastimes of cooking, gardening
and running. Sky has worked as a lifeguard, casino cashier, Forest Service
roads maintenance crew, cocktail waitress and teacher, but is now happy to be
writing so she can make the characters in her books do all the crazy things she
thinks up instead of trying them out herself. Sky lives in the Midwest and
loves to hear from her fans.
Sky welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website
and email addresses on her
author bio page
at
www.ellorascave.com
.
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Sky
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Wedded
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Ellora’s Cave Publishing
Gold Lust
ISBN 9781419945304
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Gold Lust Copyright © 2013 Sky Robinson
Edited by Raelene Gorlinsky and Whitney Mae
Cover design by Syneca
Cover photography by Aarrttuurr, Pixelchaos, Galyna
Andrus/Fotolia.com
Electronic book publication August 2013
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