Read Renegade: A Taggart Brothers Novel for Free Online Page B

you.”
    “My pleasure.”
    She reached for the container of tea, gravitating toward the familiar, soothing scent of chamomile. It didn’t escape her that, despite his insistence that he’d bought the food to ease his own hunger, he didn’t sample anything but the coffee. The fact that he’d given Bronte and her kids a way to save face in accepting the food was infinitely touching.
    Bronte hadn’t planned on eating anything herself, but when her children insisted that she try the steak fingers, she realized why her girls had wolfed them down. After miles and miles of traveling interspersed with fast-food hamburgers, pizzas, and sandwiches, the steak fingers and gravy offered a hint of a home-cooked meal.
    More than ever, Bronte prayed their journey was over.She and her children needed to stop living out of a suitcase. They needed fresh air and sunshine, regular meals, and a daily routine. They needed . . .
    Peace
.
    As if sensing her tumultuous thoughts, Jace didn’t bother to try to engage her in casual conversation. He lapsed into silence, his fingers tapping against the wheel in time to the country ballads easing from his radio. Yet, there was no tension to the silence. Instead, it wove around her, soothing her nerves, allowing her to sip her tea, breathe deeply, and let the knotted muscles in her shoulders unwind.
    “Long day?” Jace murmured.
    Bronte glanced at her children, but for once, they were getting along as they played a game on Kari’s iPod.
    “Yeah.” The word held a wealth of meaning. Long day, long month, long year.
    Her gaze skipped to the clock on the dashboard and she was amazed to find that it was only seven in the evening. She was sure it would have been closer to midnight. But then, she’d driven through several time zones.
    “When did you leave Boston?”
    She squinched her eyes shut, trying to count backward. “Uh . . . six days ago?”
    He whistled softly. “You must have driven straight through.”
    She nodded, her eyes opening in time to see the concern in Jace’s.
    “That’s a tough haul, especially without a relief driver.”
    Tears prickled at the backs of her eyes at the memory of the fear and desperation that had forced her to flee. As if sensing a portion of her emotions, Jace took her hand.
    The gesture was so unexpected—so warm, so comforting—that Bronte caught her breath. When he squeezed slightly, as if offering her silent encouragement, the memories faded beneath something closer to wonder.
    When was the last time anyone had taken her hand and offered her encouragement—all without being asked to do so? For so long, it had been Phillip who’d received all of theattention and well wishes of the few friends who hadn’t abandoned them. Bronte couldn’t really blame them, since most of them had known Phillip for much longer than they’d known her. But Bronte had been hurt when these “friends” had begun to treat her as if she were part of the problem, rather than the only person fighting for a solution to their marital woes.
    Jace’s thumb strayed to caress the back of her hand before he seemed aware of what he’d been doing. To his credit, he didn’t immediately release her.
    “You must be exhausted.”
    Her laughter was rueful. “You have no idea.”
    “Well, you’re here now. So take it easy the first few days.”
    Take it easy.
Bronte wasn’t sure she knew what that meant any more. For years, she’d been working double jobs—one at a coffee shop and another transcribing handwritten research notes for a local professor and typing them on a computer. In order to make sure her girls didn’t feel that they were being ignored, she tried to complete most of the transcribing after they’d gone to bed, working into the wee hours of the morning.
    She wasn’t quite sure how either of those occupations would help her find employment here in Bliss. Work was probably limited in such a small town. And even though there were only six weeks left of the