Heart of Mine (Bandit Creek) by Michelle Beattie Read Free Book Online Page B

distracting them momentarily.
    "May I get you anything else, Sir?" Andrew asked.
    "Laura?"
    Her eyes were on her plate where the trout, wild rice, and spinach steamed. "Oh. No, thank you. It looks delicious."
    "Thank you, Andrew. I think we'll be all right for a while."
    "Very well, Sir."
    Jake held up the bottle as Andrew moved on to wait on another table. "More wine?"
    Her eyes were brighter than sun glinting off newly fallen snow. "Only a little. It seems to be making my head light."
    She'd only had half a glass, but then she'd never drunk wine before. He was enjoying the pink it added to her cheeks.
    "I don't remember the last meal I ate that I didn't have to cook myself."
    She'd mumbled it, but Jake heard. And while he watched her savor every bite, he imagined her working at the boardinghouse cleaning, then sewing at the dress shop and then having to go home and cook for her no-account father. In contrast to the other women in the room, Laura's dress paled by comparison. It was pressed and clean, likely it was her Sunday best, but nothing could conceal the fact that the green was dull and faded. In the carriage, he'd noticed the worn toes of her shoes before he covered her feet with a wool blanket. Knowing she'd gone without while Hugh did nothing fueled Jake's anger toward the man. But at least there was comfort in knowing that Laura wouldn't be going without much longer.
    He waited until she placed her utensils across her empty plate and Andrew picked up their dishes before asking, "Laura, why did you let your father tread all over you?"
    He half expected her to deny it, to defend Hugh so it surprised him when she shrugged and said, "I had no choice, Jake. I had nowhere else to go and no means to get there even if I did."
    "You worked two jobs," he reminded her.
    "I had to, to pay the bills. And he was always there, to make sure he got the rest. I tried hiding some once. I beat him home one day and I hid a few dollars in the flour tin." She shrugged. "He'd seen enough of my pay to know how much I earned and he knew there should have been more. It wasn't two days later that I came home to flour all over the floor. He'd found it and I never bothered saving any after that."
    "He made your mother work for him as well," Jake said. The memories he had of Ella Gibbs were of a meek, quiet woman huddled in a shawl with her eyes downcast as though she didn't consider herself worthy of looking anyone in the eye.
    "Yes."
    "Did she ever try to withhold some from him?"
    Her head tipped forward but not before he saw grief shadow her face. "Only once."
    There'd been talk, after Ella's death, whether or not her fall down the stairs was the mishap Hugh claimed it to be. Sheriff Wilson had deemed it an accident, but the townsfolk, including Jake, had always wondered if she hadn't been shoved. After hearing this, Jake was more convinced than ever.
    "He didn't push her, if that's what you're thinking. But he was yelling when she lost her footing. I'd never seen him so upset." Laura raised solemn eyes to Jake's. She held his gaze for a moment, as though weighing whether or not to tell him something. Then, sighing, she said, "He was at the house today, looking for money."
    Jake clenched his teeth. "I not only told Hugh to stay off my land, but I made it clear he wasn't getting a cent." The next time he saw that man he'd--
    Comprehension had Jake's breath whooshing from his lungs. "That's why you were in town. Granddad said he saw you with some money. You came for your wages."
    "It's all I have to give him."
    "How much is he after?"
    She looked out the window. Dusk was settling in Bandit Creek and the only thing moving was Jack, the town drunk, who weaved down the empty street. "It doesn't matter. He'll get what I give him."
    "Laura, look at me." He waited until she did and when he saw the pain clouding her eyes the desire to hit Hugh resurfaced with a vengeance. Her father was done making Laura unhappy. "How much does he want?"
    "Fifty