The Lost Sheenan's Bride (Taming of the Sheenans Book 6) by Jane Porter Page A

tears at bay. “And dead-end jobs without creativity or adventure.”
    His expression turned thoughtful. “And now you’re here in Montana.”
    “I’m here in Montana,” she agreed. “And I like my job. I’m glad I’m here. No matter what happens in June, at least I had this adventure.”
    “What happens in June?”
    “The teacher on maternity leave could return. The school board might decide to close the school. Or… I might be offered an extension of the contract.”
    “Would you want an extension? Do you like teaching at a one room schoolhouse that much?”
    “I don’t have anything else lined up, and it is interesting. And challenging.” She grinned and the shadows in her eyes disappeared. “And when I’m not stressed out of my mind…fun.”
    It was that moment her expression lit up, light dancing in her eyes that Shane realized he just might be in trouble.
    He hadn’t wanted to like her, but she was impossible to dislike.
    She was, to be precise, rather irresistible.
    Manhattan was filled with sleek, smart, gorgeous young things, but Jet had something he rarely encountered.
    Sincerity, coupled with magic. It was a rather dazzling combination, and it lit her up, made her shine, making him think of fairy lights strung in the limbs of a gnarled oak tree. She had roots and strength and yet she also had light…a pure, shimmery light, and right now, sitting across from him, she sparkled and glowed in the night.
    If she wasn’t Harley Sheenan’s sister, he would have leaned across the table and kissed her.
    He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to feel her mouth and breathe her in and taste her. Her lips were full and soft…the darkest pink…and he wondered how her lips would feel against his.
    He didn’t want to use her, either. Didn’t want to.
    He wished he could protect her. From himself. As well as the rest of the dangers in the world.
    She didn’t know he was a danger. He hoped she didn’t trust him. He hoped her small-town upbringing had prepared her for wolves in sheep’s clothing.
    “Who was the liar and cheat?” he asked.
    The light in her eyes immediately dimmed. Her lips compressed, her expression shuttered. “And the scoundrel?” Her tone was mocking. “My boyfriend. Of two years.”
    He hadn’t planned on asking the question. It just popped out. But maybe it was the right thing to say. She was leaning back now, her shoulders rigid, her guard back up.
    “So he cheated on you?” he asked.
    “Worse than that.” She looked past him, gaze fixed on a distant point across the restaurant. “He knew what I believed. He knew how I felt about something. We’d both agreed.” Her head turned and she looked Shane in the eye. “But it was a lie. He didn’t mean it. He had no integrity. None whatsoever.”
    “Had he promised to marry you?”
    She laughed out loud. Shaking her head, she tucked a long tendril of glossy brown hair behind her ear with the delicately beaded hoop earring. “ No .” Still smiling she reached for her water glass, took a quick sip. “We’d been together, as I said, two years, and I thought I was pregnant. I told him. And before I could even go to the doctors and get it confirmed, he gave me an ultimatum. It was him, or the baby, not both. I had to pick.”
    Her lips curved up, high, even as fire blazed in her blue eyes. “And that would be fine, if he hadn’t agreed before we ever slept together that abortion was not an option, at least, not for me. He knew how I felt, and he said those were his same beliefs.” She drew a quick breath, cheeks pink, eyes still flashing. “Thankfully it was a false alarm. I wasn’t pregnant. But it showed me who he really was, and I was crushed. I loved him. I’d thought we were going to be together forever.”
    “And then what happened?”
    “We broke up, and I decided to take a year off, and go have an adventure. Here I am.”
    “Here you are,” he murmured, chest tight, body aching, thinking her boyfriend had been a