Passions in the North Country (Siren Publishing Classic) by Summer Newman Read Free Book Online Page B

remember when I was in school,” Henry began. “There was this girl in my class, Becky Rhodes. Now I had this big crush on Becky, but how does a guy tell a girl he likes her? Maybe the guy isn’t sophisticated and he just tries to get her attention. That’s what I did. I dipped her hair in an ink well and it got all over the collar of her new dress. Now she was fit to be tied and her mother went to the principal and said I assaulted her. They moved Becky as far away from me as they could and she never so much as spoke another word to me after that day. I liked her, you see, but I had done it all wrong. And guess what?”
    “What?” Jenny said with a chuckle.
    “Half the girls in the class had gotten their hair dipped in ink wells.”
    Jenny laughed. “What are you trying to say, Henry?”
    “Maybe he likes you, Jenny, like I said, and by snapping at you he’s dipping your hair in an ink well. Maybe to him you represent danger.”
    “Danger?” she said, making a strange face.
    “Men like to be independent and free. It’s their nature. But women have power that is so strong no man can overcome it. Maybe your power is a threat to him.”
    Jenny shook her head. “You have a very vivid imagination, Henry.” She lightly touched his forearm. “In this case, though, you’re way off the mark, I can assure you.”
    “Maybe I am, but maybe you are. Neither of us knows what’s going on in his mind, do we?”
    “That I concede,” Jenny said. “I have no idea what’s going on inside that man’s head.”
    “He’s a hard worker, Jenny, and he’s an honorable man. Some men are a little unrefined, that’s all. They have callused fingers and strong backs. They work with their hands and earn their money by the sweat on their brows. Miriam’s husband was like that, you know. He could keep fishing when others dropped from exhaustion.”
    “Did he die?” Jenny asked with compassion, glad to speak of someone other than Devon. She sat on a stool across from him. “Or did they break up?”
    “He died at thirty and left Miriam behind with a newborn baby boy.”
    “I’m sorry,” Jenny said. “That’s very sad.”
    Henry looked meaningfully at her. “If it hadn’t been for her son, I don’t think she could have coped. A child gives you a reason to live. But no matter how much a woman loves her baby, every woman needs a man in her life.”
    Jenny started to say something, but thought better of it.
    Henry noticed and said, “What is it, dear?”
    Jenny was reluctant to pry, but curiosity overcame caution. “Were men scared off by the baby?”
    “Some were,” Henry answered bluntly.
    “Did she like any of them? Did she continue dating?”
    “She loved her husband and when he died no one else measured up. In a way, I guess she just couldn’t let go. Now she’s alone. Opportunity can be lost, you know.”
    “Sometimes a woman never finds a man she truly loves.”
    “Sometimes women don’t give men a chance,” Henry said. “A man won’t be there forever. If you wait too long, another woman will steal him.”
    “That’s better than being in a loveless marriage.”
    Henry shrugged. “In the end we all have to make our own decisions, but I can tell you that a life alone is a lonely life. I’ve grown accustomed to it, but now that Miriam’s son has his own family, all she’s got is this hotel. I hope for her sake it doesn’t fail.”
    “That would never happen, would it?”
    “Devon has done some fantastic work, but the building was incredibly rundown and the hotel’s reputation has been tarnished. I’m sure he can’t go on spending forever. Sooner or later he has to start getting a return on his investment. If he doesn’t, the bank will make a move.” He pressed his lips together. “Devon’s been borrowing money from the bank, you know. It’s only a few thousand, but you see how much has to be done here. It’s not good.”
    “I’m positive the hotel will succeed, Henry.”
    “I don’t