Mending Hope (Contemporary Western Romance) (License to Love Series:Book 2) by Amelia Rose Read Free Book Online Page B

he realized that she was wearing her wedding ring. 
    He might not have noticed, but it glinted in the morning sunlight that slanted through the windows.  The picture caught him completely by surprise.  In fact Woody would not have believed it if you’d told him that it was possible to feel jealous of someone who was dead, but that was before he’d seen her crying over the ring.  Now his insides felt enraged, but there was nothing there for them to lash out at. 
    Grabbing his wallet and keys he walked out the door and back down the hall.  Of course he knew that she still loved and cared for her husband, but seeing her grieve like that was different.  He wasn’t sure what to think or how to react to someone who was so clearly pining over a dead man. 
    True he’d been the one to tell her that they all lived with ghosts, but knowing that he could never equal the man who was gone was harder for him to process than he’d have thought.  After all they were together for years, and the two of them had only been together for a few days.  It was going to take time. 
    Woody turned down the hallway and headed to the kitchen, so engrossed in his thoughts that he completely forgot that Shad and Clara didn’t know he’d been staying over with Alyssa.  He walked in through the side entrance and heard Shad chuckling. 
    “What?” Woody asked.
    “Oh, nothing,” Shad said smiling.  “Clara and I just had a bet about when you two would decide to quit trying to hide the fact you were staying here at night.”
    Woody paused for a second before he realized what they were saying. 
    “You mean, you’ve known all along?” Woody asked, his eyebrow arched in disbelief.
    Shad and Clara exchanged a knowing glance, both of them smiling at each other and giggling under their breath.
    Woody couldn’t help but to be lost in thought from their discovery.  His bad mood was evaporating in the midst of their happiness.  “Well then, how long were you going to force me to wake up at the crack of dawn and drive to work then?” Woody tried to joke in order to try to hide his pain.
    “As long as you inflicted it on yourself,” Shad said.
    “What he means,” Clara interrupted, putting a hand over Shad’s arm, “is that we didn’t want to intrude on your life.  If you two weren’t willing to tell us what was going on, then we didn’t want to force the issue.”
    Woody nodded as he walked over to where Clara and Shad were sitting.  “I thought we were doing so well but I know that she still has feelings for her husband.  And I feel like I’m competing with a dead man.”
    Clara rounded the edge of the counter and hugged Woody, whispering in his ear.  “Don’t worry about that.  I can tell you that his ghost is fading every day that she spends with you.”
    “Thanks,” Woody whispered back before he dropped her hug.
    Shad studied Woody before he spoke.  “Have you told her everything?  Did you tell her about mom?  Did you let her know that you didn’t want kids?  Those are important things to a woman.”
    “He didn’t have to,” Alyssa’s voice broke through on the far side of the room and they all turned to look at her. 
    “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to butt in on your personal life.  I just…” Shad’s voice trailed off, as Woody started talking as well.
    “I forgot and came into the kitchen from the hallway on your side of the house.  They figured out the rest,” Woody told her. 
    Alyssa quietly walked into the room and grabbed a piece of toast from the counter before answering.  “Well, I guess the good news is that you don’t have to worry about waking up before sunrise anymore.”
    Her smile was weak and Woody knew that walking in on that conversation had startled her but she was determined to throw it off.  He knew she didn’t want to cause any problems for Clara before they had to go and see Chuck Sanders in court. 
    “Why all this talk about us anyway?” Alyssa asked.  “Aren’t we