Read Heart of Mine (Bandit Creek) for Free Online Page A

were going to get, and she couldn't avoid him any longer, she met his gaze. The understanding softening his eyes threatened to shatter her control. She'd kept herself together before her father, and again when Angeline had swiped at her with her comments about how Laura may have trapped Jake into marriage but she wasn't able to keep him from Lorelei's Cat House. She'd kept her tears at bay when Zachariah had spoken of family. Yet seeing the pity in his eyes was too much. The dusty stable air choked her. The pressure in her chest and behind her eyes grew until it was a geyser ready to blow.
    "Thank you, Mr. Evans, but I need to get home." She forced her trembling lips to smile. "It was lovely to see you." Laura shoved open the door. With no reputation worth worrying about, she grabbed her skirts and ran.
    ***
    Without so much as a knock, his granddad strode into the office, startling Jake out of his work. Zachariah's brows formed one long, snowy line of consternation as he took his seat opposite his grandson's desk.
    "Jake, what are you doing here?"
    Jake looked down at the open ledgers. "I'm entering your expenses. Why? Is there something wrong?"
    "Yes, there's a great deal wrong. I just came from seeing your wife."
    The bottom fell out of Jake's stomach. They'd been married a few days with no incidents. He should have known it was only a matter of time until Laura showed her true colors. "What did she do now?"
    Zachariah scowled. "What makes you think she did anything wrong?"
    "Other than the fact that she and her father blackmailed me into marriage?"
    "Jake," his granddad sighed. "Do you plan on getting a divorce?"
    His answer was instant. "No."
    "Then, how long do you plan on living this way? You can't keep hiding out in town until the early hours of the morning. Don't even try to deny it," he added, pointing his finger. "I've not only seen for myself the lights in this office burning far later than usual, I've heard the scuttlebutt. If you aren't here you're at the Powder Horn. Everyone in Bandit Creek knows you don't want to go home to your wife."
    "Well, since those same folks know how we came to be married, they shouldn't be surprised."
    "They aren't. And neither am I. Though I must say, I'm disappointed in you."
    Jake pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sully our name. If I'd only steered clear of Hugh that night…"
    "Jake, I'm not talking about Hugh, or how you came to be married, though it wasn't ideal. I mean how you're treating your wife."
    "How I'm treating her?" Jake leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms over his chest. From the window behind him he heard people strolling the boardwalk. "Laura no longer has to work and she lives in a beautiful home. I don't demand anything of her. Her life is easier now than it has ever been."
    "And she's miserable. If you spent more time at home, son, you'd know that."
    "What does she have to miserable about?"
    Zachariah rolled his pale blue eyes. "She's lonely, Jake. Do you know where I found Laura today? At the stables, spending time with a horse. She said he seemed to enjoy her company."
    Hearing that Laura was in town wasn't as upsetting as learning she'd come to spend time with a horse. He'd made it clear that he didn't want her walking to town and she'd defied him. He'd expected it. But he'd expected her to flounce about town, bragging about how she'd managed what no other woman had even come close to achieving, being his wife.
    He'd never expected her to quietly visit an animal that wasn't hers. Jake slouched in his chair. He'd ordered her to stay home, but then he'd avoided the place as much as possible. Though his house sparkled, he knew it couldn't take her long to keep it that way, not when he wasn't around to make more work for her. His granddad was right. Laura was used to working and by so doing, was used to being around people. Jake hung his head. He'd completely isolated her.
    "Did she say anything else?" he asked.
    "No, but she did