Read Online Love Rules by Rita Hestand - Free Book Online Page B

think, I fell—”
    “Don’t—don’t say it. Just take me in and leave it be.”
    He nodded. Then he did the hardest thing in his life. He took Maggie to his commanding officer. Just before they reached the camp, he stopped and held her at arms’ length. “I want you to know something. I never made love like that to any woman. What we shared was so special Maggie, so very special. I know you felt it, too. I didn’t plan to seduce you, just take you in, but a fire within me lit the minute I saw you. I couldn’t control it. I think you felt the same way. Maybe we went a little crazy, but it was nothing short of heaven. Remember it was special. If you don’t remember anything else, remember it was special.”
    “Was it?” Her glance cut him to the core.
     

    “Yes, it was. And before you go, I want you to remember I got a place in Texas you can go to. You don’t have to do a thing. You can live there. If I get out of this war alive, I’ll be back for you.”
    “And what then? Will you marry me, or will you expect me to live with you in sin for the rest of my life?”
    “It’s not like that, and you know it.”
    “I know nothing of the kind. I’m a black woman, the Black Widow. You’d never marry me or fall in love with me. You’ll never see me with anything but lust.”
    He had taken the most sacred things he could take from Maggie: first her trust, and then her innocence. He couldn’t give them back. He couldn’t change their course. He had betrayed her. His love.
    She looked at him one more time, their eyes meeting, sadness bigger than both of them stood between them.
    Jesse couldn’t believe he had done it. Even when everyone in camp was slapping his back and telling him what a good job he had done, in his heart he had committed murder. He’d marred what they shared. He’d done it. Moreover, for the rest of his life, he would never forget Maggie nor forgive himself.
     

Chapter Four
    “Where should I put her, sir?” the young corporal asked.
    “The supply shack for now,” the major replied after some consideration.
    “The supply shack, sir? But there isn’t room in there to sleep.”
    “We are to provide a place. It does not have to be the most comfortable place.
    The women here would not welcome her into the barracks, and we can’t have her with the male prisoners, so put her in the supply shack for now.”
    “Yes, sir.” The corporal saluted and guided Maggie outside.
    She saw the frustration on the young soldier’s face and shrugged. “Please don’t fret about me, Corporal. The supply shack will do.”
    “Yes, ma’am, but…well, it’s not a decent place for a woman. There’s nowhere to lay down at night, and there are often rats….”
    Maggie cringed inwardly, but she wouldn’t let the young corporal worry a moment longer. It wasn’t his fault. “I’ll manage, I’m sure.”
    “Yes, ma’am. And I’m sorry. Sometimes a man doesn’t have a choice.”
    The corporal unlocked the shack, and Maggie saw that it was full but she hefted herself up onto a load of grain and sat down. “I’ve been in worse.”
    But those words rang in her head a long time. A man doesn’t have a choice….
    The corporal turned red and fastened the door quickly behind her.
    For four months she lived in the intolerable squalor of the supply shack, and then she was transferred to another prison just as ill-equipped. This went on until they finally shipped her to Camp Ford near Tyler, Texas.
    Camp Ford was one of the best prisons she’d seen. With an open stockade, it allowed the prisoners to build their own shelters, and local farmers to furnish fresh food. When her trial came up, a court appointed attorney tried to defend her. He was a lean, short man with a long mustache that rode over his mouth as though someone drew it there. He was straight out of law school, and he tried every dramatic defense he could think of to impress his peers.
     

    “Her age alone is enough to consider the sentence