Read Online Tender Trust by Tanya Stowe - Free Book Online

serve.”
    “How’s he doing?”
    “He’s good. The men seem to like him. He’s better company than Max.”
    “Anyone is better company than Max.”
    Jewel allowed a smile to ease over her lips. “That’s the truth, but Alex has a sense of humor and he talks. You know how men love to drink and preach politics. Max doesn’t even know what the word means. Alex is good at it.”
    Just then, Jann hurried towards them with a tray full of glasses. When he saw Penny, a grin swept over his features.
    “Look at me, Aunt Penny,” he whispered. “Look at what I’m doing. Alex says I’m the best helper he’s ever had.”
    “Good for you, Jann. Good for you.” Overwhelmed by his happiness, Penny bit her tongue and patted his arm.
    As he hurried back to his job, Penny met Jewel’s gaze. “How does Inga feel about this?” she asked.
    “How do you think?”
    “Wonderful.” Penny’s tone indicated the opposite. “I guess this means I’m in for it tomorrow morning.”
    “Don’t let her get to you, Penny. Jann has been a big help to Alex and me. The less contact I have with the drinks, the better.”
    “Does this mean you approve of Alex being here?”
    “I know it’s hard on you, but look at Jann’s face. Have you ever seen him happier?”
    She hadn’t. And she’d never seen Jewel so relaxed.
    Alex made everyone happy. The dangerous thing came after…when he was gone. Penny rubbed her forehead. “I guess I’d better go talk to him.”
    Alex walked towards her from the other end of the gleaming mahogany counter. His gaze covered her, from the top of her head, to where her hands rested on the polished wood. He looked at her as if he had the right, as if he knew every detail of her features and checked for changes.
    Penny squirmed beneath his gaze and desperately hoped no one else observed it.
    “You look…nice.” His voice was pitched low so only she could hear. His tone held no pretense, no games. Alex enjoyed looking at her.
    Some deep core of feminine awareness sparked to life inside her. It fluttered and flared, and she was aware of it instantly. She hadn’t felt it in years, thought it dead and burned out. Other men found her attractive, had tried to make her feel something—anything—and failed. She’d believed herself incapable of experiencing it again. Now Alex had awakened it with one look.
    “Your hair’s loose,” he murmured.
    Flustered, she lifted a hand to the dragging coil at the back of her head. “I…I can’t find my pins.”
    His tilted smile was so knowing, so compelling, it made Penny want to know his secret.
    “I like it loose,” he said. “In fact, I like to see it down.”
    “Don’t get any ideas. That won’t happen.”
    Alex paused and looked around. They were at the end of the bar. No one was close. He leaned towards her.
    “Are you warning me off…again?”
    “You know I am. What happened before was a mistake. I was in shock. It won’t happen again.”
    A man further down the bar slapped a coin on the counter. “Can I get a refill here?”
    Alex emptied the last of the bottle into the man’s glass. “I’ll have to get another bottle.”
    “I’ll get it.” Penny jumped at the chance to do something, to get away. Grabbing the lamp on the bar, she hurried towards the store room, unlocked the door and slipped in, searching for the case of whiskey. As she lifted the bottle from a straw-filled crate, the door clicked.
    Alex came in and shut the door.
    “What do you think you’re doing? People will notice.”
    “Let them. I’m not going to keep up this farce for much longer, anyway. You’re my wife, Penny—a woman, not a walking, living saint.”
    “If you knew anything, you’d know I need to be a saint. I have to be an example for my daughter. I have a reputation to uphold and a past to live down. I can’t afford to be anything but a saint.”
    “You can be a child of God, Penny. Created to be loved.”
    Penny stared at him, startled, bemused. Laughter