32

Jake sat back down. “I can appreciate your fear of being controlled when we got married.”

She tried to relax but it was difficult.

“Try not to let him get to you, Sue. Men like that aren’t worth the effort. Just be glad he married Belinda instead of you.” “I wouldn’t have married him if he was the only one in town who could pay off my father’s debt. Even Mr. York was a better catch.”

“And where do I fit on that list?” He was smiling again.

“At the very top. I couldn’t have done better,” she softly admitted, staring at her plate. “Thank you for standing up for me.

It was nice to have someone defend me for a change.”

“You always had to defend yourself?”

She nodded and looked at him. “Jeremiah tried to defend me but he was five years younger so no one paid him any mind.”

“So that’s how you got to be bold.”

“Sometimes you do what you have to do.”

“Well, I will do what I can.”

She didn’t expect to be so touched by the reality that he would defend