Read Online Stay With Me by Beverly Long - Free Book Online

He’ll help me pack,”
Sarah said, trying to lighten the mood. It hurt that John Beckett
hadn’t given her a chance. He’d taken one look at her and her fate
had been sealed. He hadn’t bothered to look deeper.
    “I hope to see you before you go,” Suzanne
said.
    “Definitely. I’ll stop by the saloon.”
    ***
    Fred, who seemed barely able to drag his
tired body into the house, perked up when he heard about Suzanne’s
visit. He had his mouth full of a ham sandwich that Sarah had made
for him. He took a big swig of water to wash it down.
    “What did she have to say?” he asked.
    “She was worried about the children.”
    “Anything else?”
    “She said she looked forward to seeing you on
Sunday.”
    Fred smiled and folded his big arms across
his chest. “What else?”
    “That’s about it.”
    Fred looked over his shoulder. Missy slept
while Thomas and Helen played dominoes at the corner table. He
leaned forward. “Do you think she likes me?”
    Good grief. She’d time traveled back to
seventh grade. “We didn’t have time to pass notes.”
    “What?”
    “Never mind. Why don’t you ask her
yourself?”
    He looked shocked. “I can’t do that. I barely
know her.”
    Right. They’d been too busy screwing to get
properly introduced. “I guess there’s knowing and then there’s
knowing. By the way, she smells like violets, too.”
    “I don’t smell like violets.”
    She nodded.
    He looked horrified, then a ghost of a smile
crossed his lips. “She’s got this lotion,” he said. “She gave me
some one day. When I use a little, it reminds me of her.”
    Sarah took a deep breath. She didn’t know if
she wanted to smack Fred upside the head or hug him silly. “Take my
advice. On Sunday, spend a couple minutes talking. She’s nice.”
    “I know that,” he snapped. “It’s
just…difficult. I’ve got the children to consider. It would kill
Pastor Dan.”
    “Pastor Dan?”
    “My father-in-law. He’s a good man. And John
wouldn’t like this at all.”
    “What’s John got to do with this?”
    “He’s my best friend. I’d trust him with my
life. I’ve known him for fourteen years and this is the only secret
I’ve ever kept from him.”
    “You don’t think he’d approve? What right
does he have to judge you or your life?”
    “It’s not a matter of approving and he’s
certainly not the type to make judgments about anybody else’s life.
He knows that I loved Franny. He wouldn’t doubt that. However, I
suspect he’d think I’m not honoring her memory by sneaking up the
saloon stairs on Sunday afternoons. I don’t think it’s what he’d
do. He’d be stronger. He’d want me to be stronger. I just don’t
want to disappoint him.”
    “Maybe he’d understand if he knew that you
cared for Suzanne, that she wasn’t just any woman who lived above
the saloon.”
    He looked surprised. “I didn’t say I cared
for her.”
    “Trust me, you did.” Sarah winked at him.
    Fred stared at her for a long minute before a
smile crossed his weathered face. “I’m in a hell of a mess, aren’t
I?”
    Sarah nodded. “It’s a bit of a pickle.”
    Fred snorted. “Come on. I need to get you
home. John’s probably pacing a rut outside his front door.”
     
     

CHAPTER FIVE
     
    John wasn’t but his horse, still saddled,
was.
    “I’m worried,” Fred said, after a quick
search didn’t turn up his friend.
    “What’s wrong?” Sarah asked.
    “I don’t know. My guess is that John’s
hurt.”
    Hurt? “Maybe his horse just ran away. Maybe
he got off and forgot to tie it to a tree.”
    Fred shook his head. “John’s horses are
ground tied, same as mine. You just let their reins go to the
ground and the horse stays put.”
    “How did this horse end up here, then?”
    “I’m not sure. John has only been working
with this colt for a week or so. My guess is something scared him
and he took off. Horses always head back to the barn.”
    “So John’s walking home?”
    “Maybe. I doubt