Hidden in a Whisper by Tracie Peterson Read Free Book Online Page A

Perhaps she had some instinctive idea what Rachel was about to face.
    â€œLadies, I will expect you to give Miss Carson your utmost respect and attention. I will be inspecting your stations upon the conclusion of my meeting.”
    With that, she left them to talk amongst themselves about what they’d just witnessed. She hated being the subject of gossip and speculation. Hadn’t she suffered enough from the suppositions of others?
    She thought to follow Jeffery and Braeden’s path by exiting the dining room into the lobby, then changed her mind. Her office actually contained three doors. One entrance from the lobby, one exiting door into her private living quarters, and one door that entered in from the dormitory hall. It was the latter that she chose to make her entrance. It afforded her a few more moments of calming distance. Plus, she reasoned that Jeffery and Braeden would be expecting her to appear from the lobby entrance. She smiled, thinking that this arrangement would allow her the upper hand. She would keep Braeden off-center by taking unexpected actions, and in doing so, she would safeguard herself against his plans—whatever they might be.
    She hurried through the kitchen, ignoring Reginald Worthington as she passed. He appeared somewhat concerned, as if someone might have explained the scene to him, but she refused to stop and tell him of her situation. Reginald was just one more Harvey employee as far as she was concerned. They’d certainly not had enough time to become the kind of friends who shared confidences.
    She entered the parlor and closed the door behind her, leaning against it heavily for a moment. Seeing Braeden had robbed her of all strength.
    Dear Lord , she prayed, why in the world has he come back into my life? She looked to the ceiling, as if expecting God to be there smiling down. For as long as she could remember, she’d looked upward in anticipation of some visible sign of God. And for just as long, she’d not received anything to bless her sight … but much to bless her heart.
    â€œWeren’t things difficult enough here?” she questioned aloud. “I don’t know how to deal with this. The man is to be my partner here at the hotel. How in the world am I suppose to manage this?”
    She tried to regulate her breathing before pushing on toward the hallway. She stared down the long, well-lit corridor at her closed office door. The glow from electric lights, a real novelty in rural New Mexico and a feature that was bound to attract eastern visitors for the sense of convenience, reflected on the polished wood floors. They seemed to beckon Rachel forward. He was there. Just beyond that closed door sat the object of her longing and affection. Her heart ached at the thought.
    â€œI can do this,” she told herself. “It’s been six years, and everything is settled between us. I can simply deal with this as a business arrangement.” But in her heart she understood the irony of her statement. Who was she trying to fool? If she couldn’t be honest with herself, then she might as well pack up her things and leave now.
    She still loved him. That had never changed.
    The tightness in her chest seemed to increase. How could she look into his eyes again and not tell him everything? How could she sit there calmly discussing Casa Grande affairs and not beg him to understand that she had never stopped caring for him—that every day her thoughts somehow always found their way back to him?
    She reached out for the handle of her office door and bit her lip. Six years. It should have been enough time to prepare her for this moment. But somehow it had failed miserably, and Rachel knew that if it had been twenty years instead of six, she’d still feel the same way.
    She opened the door without any announcement or regard for where Jeffery and Braeden had positioned themselves. She refused to even look at the men until she had taken a seat at