Read Online The Bounty Hunter's Redemption by Janet Dean - Free Book Online Page B

don’t know poker, but the other players said Walt held a royal flush, the best hand there is, like that was an accomplishment instead of merely luck.” Anna sniffed. “Not good luck, either. Winning that deed cost Walt his life.”
    “That deed didn’t take your husband’s life. Max did.” She touched Anna’s arm. “I’m sorry. More than I can say.”
    “Some mornings I wake and, for a moment, I forget.” Moisture welled in Anna’s eyes. “I can barely believe Walt’s gone.”
    Unlike Carly, this widow grieved her dead husband. “What was he like?”
    “Kind, gentle, soft-spoken. I’d call Walt a dreamer. Some might call him a failure.”
    “But you didn’t?”
    “His inventions and schemes weren’t workable. Often he ran ahead of God, but Walt had this quiet way of making me feel cherished.”
    Max had never made Carly feel valued. Not from the first day of their marriage. “What drove Walt? A desire for wealth?”
    “He had this need to give me a better life, finer things, as if I wanted a life of ease or fancy trinkets.” She shoved aside her half-eaten bowl of soup. “We had a roof over our heads, food in our bellies. We had enough. Plenty.”
    Before meeting Anna, Carly had put Walt Hankins in the same category as Max. The two men were nothing alike. Still, even if his intentions had been good, Walt had failed his wife, just as Max had failed her.
    Somehow that connected her to Anna. A connection Carly would fight with every particle of her being. She wouldn’t let herself care about Anna. If she did, how could she fight for her business?
    Yet fight she must. She’d paid a huge price for this shop. Nine long years under Max’s thumb. Even when he’d been away from home, his presence had hovered over her. She’d never known when he’d return. Never known what mood he’d be in when he did.
    “I don’t know what I’ll do if something happens to Nate,” Anna said, her hands entwined, twisting in her lap. “I don’t care about that reward money he insists on sending. I care about him.” Her voice trembled. “He’s all I have.”
    Nate Sergeant could work in the livery or in countless other jobs, but chose instead to hunt lawless men. To accomplish that, he had to be equally dangerous.
    “I’m sorry for complaining.” Anna wiped her damp eyes, then gave a weak smile. “I’m emotional since I lost Walt. It’s a comfort to know you understand the pain and loneliness of losing a husband.”
    Anna’s gaze landed on Carly’s dress. Her eyes widened, as if just realizing Carly wasn’t wearing black. Widow’s weeds would chafe, be a sham. Carly had lived a lie her entire marriage and wouldn’t pretend to grieve.
    She lurched to her feet. “I’ll make tea. Do you use sugar?”
    Anna shot her a quizzical look. “Yes, please. I need to stretch my legs,” she said, then rose and hobbled to the front.
    Carly couldn’t admit the loneliness and pain Anna spoke of had occurred during her marriage, not from her husband’s death. She couldn’t admit she’d married a scoundrel without faith. She couldn’t admit in the past month she’d found peace and happiness as Max’s widow.
    That is, until Nate and Anna had showed up and put the ownership of her shop in jeopardy.
    As Carly added tea leaves and poured hot water into her rose-sprigged teapot, she chastised herself for getting emotionally involved with Anna. In a matter of hours, her enemy had become a woman with whom she could empathize. That would never do. How could she fight for her son’s welfare and not bring Anna harm?
    She would focus on what mattered—getting the bridal finery made. She’d pay Anna the wage they’d agreed upon. Hopefully, after expenses, Carly would have enough profit to offer to buy Anna out.
    Carly loaded the pot and cups onto a tray, then strode into the shop. What she saw stopped her in her tracks.
    Nate Sergeant stood near his sister, filling the room with his presence. As he’d promised, he’d