Read Online Texas Heroes: Volume 1 by Jean Brashear - Free Book Online Page A

“She drowned.”
    “Oh, I’m so sorry.”
    “Don’t be. She was…” He looked distinctly uncomfortable. “It’s not really my story to tell, Maddie.”
    She wished it were. “I understand. So that’s why Boone doesn’t like city girls? Because his wife was miserable here?”
    Jim cut a glance over toward Boone. “Don’t get the wrong idea. There’s more to it than that. But I’ve already said too much.”
    “That’s all right, Jim. And I don’t hold it against him. He came back home to find that a stranger has inherited the house that should be his. We’re both in an awkward position. A few more weeks, and then both of us can get back to our lives.”
    “You wouldn’t consider staying?”
    Maddie smiled gently. “It’s lovely here. Not like anything I’m used to, but it has its own charm. But my life is…different from this.”
    “I imagine so. You sure brighten a place up, though.”
    Maddie smiled, her heart warmed. “That’s the nicest thing anyone’s said to me in a long time.”
    His face grew serious. “Don’t think badly of Boone, Maddie. He’s had a hard go of it. Truth to tell, I’m not sure I would have ever come back, not after what he went through the last time he was here.” He glanced over at Boone and the colt. “But he belongs here. I never saw a man who could handle a horse better. This place needs him, and he needs to be here.”
    Maddie smiled fondly. “Boone’s lucky to have a friend like you.”
    “Well, now…” Jim shifted his hat in his hand. Maddie studied the line on his forehead where his tan ended. “I’ll just get those peaches for you and leave them with Vondell. Best get to work.” He settled his hat back on his head and turned to leave.
    “Jim?”
    Jim turned back.
    “Thank you.”
    “I’ll tell Velda.”
    “Please do, but I’m thanking you for making me feel welcome.”
    Once again, his face turned red and he ducked his head slightly. “You’re welcome. Stick around a while, Maddie. The place might grow on you.”
    “I don’t think Boone would like that much.”
    “Aw, hell—I mean heck, Maddie. Boone ain’t the only one around here. You spruce up the place real nicely, if you ask me.”
    Maddie laughed, charmed to her toes. “Well, I’ll just keep sprucin’ then.”
    He tipped his hat. “You do that, Maddie. You just do that.”
    Maddie watched him go. This place might be short on amenities, but the people were a marvel. Plain, honest, simple people who said what they thought and didn’t play mind games.
    Well…Boone wasn’t plain and he sure wasn’t simple, but she understood his reaction better now. He was wrong about her, but it didn’t matter. She didn’t have to see him much with Vondell as a buffer.
    Maddie finished up quickly then headed into the house, already savoring her peaches. “Vondell? Did Jim—?”
    Vondell turned, one hand clapped over her ear so she could hear the phone better. Her face was pinched and dead white. “All right,” she said into the receiver. “I’ll get there as soon as I can.” She hung up slowly.
    “What is it? What’s the matter?”
    “It’s my sister. She fell and broke her hip.”
    “I’m so sorry.”
    “Maddie, I don’t like leaving you like this, but my sister has no one else. I have to go stay with her for a few weeks until she can get around on her own again.”
    Maddie faltered a minute, but recovered quickly. “Of course you do. What can I do to help you?”
    “Will you be all right here? You don’t have to cook or anything. Boone can get his own meals, I expect.”
    Maddie walked over and gave the smaller woman a hug. “Don’t you worry about us, Vondell. I was about to ask you if I could cook tonight. I’m afraid my knife hand is itching to get back to work. I’ve never been much on sitting around.”
    “Lordy, child, I hate to leave you here like this, with so much unsettled between you and Boone.”
    Maddie hoped she sounded more convincing than she felt.