Read Online The Devil's Daughter by Laura Drewry - Free Book Online

him if they knew he hadn’t taken her to bed the moment they’d arrived at the house – or sooner.
    But he couldn’t. Well, he could, but a marriage needed to be built on respect. It was a hard-learned lesson, but one he’d never forget. How many times had he seen the disgust in his mother’s face when she looked at her husband? And how many times had his father taken up with a girl in town simply because she
didn’t
look at him that way?
    It was a life Jed wanted no part of. He’d always pictured himself married to a gentle woman, settled down on a big beautiful ranch somewhere with a whole passel of kids.
    Yet suddenly he was married to a woman he knew nothing about, living on a parched piece of land that showed little to no promise at this point. He might never have love in his marriage, but he damn well would be respected.
    And if he had any hope of earning Lucy’s respect, he needed to prove he was interested in more than just her body. But that body. . . .
    He followed the familiar path worn down by his many trips to the creek. Odd-shaped prickly pear cacti grew along the way, but his favorite was the one shaped like a hand. Its five elongated, flat pads seemed more like green fingers pointing toward the sky, and each tip – or fingernail – boasted a single yellow bloom, except for the fourth finger, which had yet to bloom at all.
    When he reached the creek, Jed knelt and splashed his face with the cool clean water. This creek was one of the main reasons he’d bought the parcel in the first place. About eight feet across and four feet at its deepest, it ran diagonally across his property and, according to the previous owner, had never once run dry, nor had it ever overflowed its banks. That was good enough for Jed.
    He filled the buckets, took a long steadying breath, and started back to the house and his new wife. The sun hung above the horizon, leaving the sky awash in winding ribbons of red and pink. Wouldn’t be long ‘til night set in.
    One more day Maggie had survived without Sam; one more day she’d carried that baby; one more day she teetered closer to the brink of madness.
    Lucy sat on the blanket, facing the fire, seemingly lost in thought. The light from the flames danced across her face, casting odd shadows one second, then illuminating the next. He’d give almost anything to know what she was thinking.
    He set the buckets beside the fire, took another deep breath, and lowered himself to the blanket beside her, his legs stretched out in front.
    “I made coffee,” she said. “I think.”
    “You think?” His mouth had already begun to water at the mere mention of the word. Funny how he hadn’t smelled it brewing, though. It was usually a scent he could pick up a mile out.
    Lucy nodded toward the small pot of boiling water. “I’ve never made it before, so I just guessed.”
    Jed cringed. Coffee was like liquid gold to him. He cherished every cup, savored every drop. But he could tell from where he sat that what she’d made wasn’t coffee. The brew was little more than dirty water – cooked in an open pot no less!
    And why the hell were the beans floating in it?
    He didn’t want to taste it, and he sure as hell didn’t want to down a whole mug. But Lucy had gone to the trouble of making it, so the least he could do was drink it, even if it killed him.
    The first sip sat on his tongue a long time before he mustered the will to swallow.
    Eyes wide, almost hopeful, she watched his throat until he’d swallowed completely. “How is it?”
    God-awful.
    “It’s fine,” he answered. He took another sip, then tried to spit the beans out as discreetly as he could.
    “Fine.” The word fell from Lucy’s tongue like a rock. “Just like supper was fine.”
    He couldn’t help laughing, seeing her sitting there in her ripped dress, her long silky hair hanging in tangles around her shoulders, and her boots covered in dust and buffalo dung.
    She was a far cry from the woman he’d met