Read Online Tender Trust by Tanya Stowe - Free Book Online Page A

burst from her. “A child of God? I’m the daughter of a whore, created in a San Francisco whorehouse by one of many men. My mother forgot to get his name.”
    “God doesn’t care.”
    “Tell them that.” She pointed outside the door. “Tell them God loves me. Or better yet, tell your banker friend Ardmore I’m a child of God. Then we’ll see how your business grows.”
    Grasping the bottle of whiskey, she pushed past him, but he stopped her.
    He gripped her waist with his bad arm, wrapped his other around her and dragged her to his chest.
    She was shocked by the strength of his injured hand.
    “I don’t care about my business or what they think. I know I’m loved and my God wants me to have what I need. I need you and my daughter.” He gave her a little shake and the tight coil of her hair tumbled down her back. “You can go on for a little while longer pretending you’re Saint Penny, the prettiest piece of marble I’ve ever seen. You can wear your collars buttoned up and your hair bound tight to your head so men won’t see the fire and gold and yearn to touch it. You can even wear brown every day to honor a dead man. But I’m alive, Penny. We’re both alive and I’m going to prove it to you!” He bent towards her.
    Penny made a small sound as she realized he was going to kiss her, but that didn’t stop him.
    He was surprisingly gentle for someone so determined. After his harsh words, he touched her tenderly, as if her lips were a gift, a treasure.
    Still, she sealed them tight and stood rigid in his embrace. But it had been a long, long time since Penny had felt like a treasure, really felt as if a kiss was a gift from a man to a woman. The tenderness of his lips on hers eased her rigidity. Her body loosened.
    Alex cradled her close to his chest. He kissed her again in a soft, wanting way that made Penny feel as if she was cherished and alive. So very much alive.
    Against her will, she leaned in to him.
    His hold tightened; the kiss deepened.
    She should have shoved him away, but she couldn’t. She sensed if she wanted him to stop, he would. He held himself under tight control. She ran her fingers over his shoulders and upper arms and could feel the taut set of his muscles just above the garters.
    Garters. Black garters with lace. Her missing garters!
    Alex had worn her garters to tend bar. Everyone in the saloon had seen him wearing her undergarments.
    Outrage exploded inside her and she shoved him away.
    “How could you?” She stumbled back. “How could you wear my garters in front of Jann and Jewel and my…my customers!”
    He grinned. “Now just how would they know these lovely little things belong to you?” He flicked the lacy edge of one with his finger. “Someone else been seein’ your garters, Miz Penny?”
    It was the first hint of Alex’s Southern accent Penny had heard since he’d returned. It jolted her like lightning. She refused to give in to it. “No, of course not.”
    “Well, if no one has seen them, then no one will know they’re yours. It’ll be our secret, yours and mine. One of many to come, from the sounds of it.” All humor and pleasure left his tone as he said the last. He took the bottle from Penny, turned, and walked out.
     
    ****
     
    As Alex walked towards the bar, he tore the paper off the cap and twisted. He couldn’t hold back his frustration as he tossed the paper to the floor and tilted the bottle over the glass. Liquor splashed out onto the hand of the man with the glass.
    “Easy, boy, easy. No point in wasting good whiskey.”
    Alex took a deep breath, eased his emotions into place, and smiled.
    “A smiling face is a welcome change from Max’s sour trap.” The man leaned heavily on the counter in front of Alex. He’d just walked in the door but his breath was already liquor-laced.
    “Max, the old barkeep?” Alex asked.
    The man rubbed a chin heavy with unshaved gray stubble. “Yep. He was the worst. He couldn’t remember my drink, and I’m