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Chapter 11
Hannah POV
Betsy directed me to a door on the left side of the small post office building. I entered and sat in one of the chairs in the small space. Betsy was a sweet lady with graying hair. She was short, with a plump middle and round face to match. When she smiled, her brown eyes sparkled with flecks of gold. I imagined she was a truly beautiful woman in her younger days. I wondered if she had ever found love.
“So, Hannah, I don’t mean to be forward. Well, actually, that is a lie. I am going to be out right nosy. What happened to your face?” Betsy asked me. I could tell this was a woman that didn’t mess around.
“I tripped last night and fell onto the table, it was nothing. I just lost my balance,” I told her, hoping she believed my lie.
“Dear, you can’t fool me. I can see the slight outline of a hand print. And now that I am sitting next to you, I can see the bruises on your neck. Now, are you going
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Jamie POV Hannah cried for what seemed like hours but it was probably only a few moments, then she leaned back, sniffled and said, “I’m sorry, Jamie. I shouldn’t have cried on your shoulder.” “Hey, we are friends and friends provide comfort when needed, okay. Think nothing of it,” I told her gently, trying to keep my voice steady. I was seething inside at how he had hurt her. From the very beginning, he had treated her as property. I was trying my best not to react to her words, but it was so difficult. If I didn’t have a reason to kill him before, I did now. That asshole was going to regret every one of his actions. Taking another deep breath, she continued, “after he slapped me several times, he began to drag me by my hair to the bedroom, telling me what he was going to do to me. I screamed once when he threw me on the bed and that is when he choked me. He told me not to bother screaming because you and the boys wouldn’t come to rescue me. Then he…” “Wait a minute, let me clear s
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Hannah POVThe boys, I was so fond of the ranch hands I just couldn’t help but call them boys, were so nice to help unload the wagon when Jamie and I returned to the ranch. To be honest, the majority of it was mine and went into the house. As I began to unpack the crates, I was pleased to find out that Mr. Perkins had gotten me everything on my list. I now had three boiling pots, of varying sizes, two flat frying pans, several cooking utensils and knives, a rolling pin, and several pie and cake pans. I placed each of the items on the bottom pantry shelf. This way, they were accessible but allowed my canned goods to be on the higher shelves. The truth is, I had failed miserably at every attempt of Mrs. Sheffield to teach me to cook. I tried, but my meals never tasted as good as they should. I was hopeful that with Cookie's help, I might master the kitchen.I was happy to have a variety of canned vegetables in my kitchen. Someone’s
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Jamie POV Thank God Walt whistled when he did or I would have kissed her. I wanted to. She wanted me to. We both knew we couldn’t. Both knew we shouldn’t. As I made my way back to the bunkhouse, I decided I needed to go for a swim in the creek. I met Walt’s eyes and said, “thanks. I’m gonna go take a swim in the creek. Can you keep watch on the house?” “That’s what I was doing. I thought some fool was going to make a mess of an already precarious situation, that’s why I interrupted. Go take care of business. I’ll watch the house,” Walt smirked at me, giving me shit for my almost lack of good sense. The creek was about a ten-minute walk from the barn and I knew the walk would do me good. I turned and quickly headed in that direction, knowing I had to put as much distance between myself and that beautiful woman I left standing just inside the door of her house. As soon as I could see the creek in the moonlight, I began unbuttoning my shirt. I made my way to the
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Hannah POVI watched as Jamie tried to decide where to start. I could see his mind turning over what and how much to tell me. Finally, after what seemed like hours but, in reality, was only a few moments, he looked at me and smiled, “Remember that I promised that I would tell you everything I could, but only if it didn’t put you in harm’s way. There may be parts that I leave out because if you know and Beecham finds out, you will be in danger. He will use you against me, I mean us and the sheriff. Do you still trust that we will keep you as safe as we can and that if we don’t tell you something it’s to keep you safe?”I didn’t speak because I was afraid he would never tell me and I was dying to find out what really happened. The things that Robert told me just didn’t add up. All I could do was nod my head, so I did.“Right then. You told me that Beecham said that Weston stole another man’s woman.
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Jamie POV I awoke a few hours later, knowing that I had another long day in the saddle. It would be worth it if we could get the information we needed on Beecham. I groaned, thinking about getting up after so little sleep. After I said good night to Hannah, we took the horses to the barn and rubbed them down for the night. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and groaned as I rolled out of bed. I got dressed quickly and made my way out of my room. I saw that Cookie was already up and had returned from collecting a few eggs from the hen house. He pointed at the coffee and said, “It’s just about ready.” “Thanks, Cookie. I’m going to visit the outhouse and then I will go and bring Hannah over. Hopefully she is awake. I don’t want to startle her, but I would feel better leaving knowing she was already here with you,” I replied as I strode for the door. After I took care of my morning business in the outhouse, I knocked on the door of the main house. A few minutes later, I heard footsteps fro
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Hannah POV As I laid down to sleep on Friday evening, my mind went back to everything that had happened that day. It started out to be an ordinary day, a ride to town with Jamie. If the truth be told, I would have much rather been on a horse than sitting in the wagon. I have come to love riding a horse. I felt free as the wind blew past me, it was a nice feeling to be almost one with the animal. Although, if I had to ride in a wagon, Jamie was a pleasure to sit beside. Every sway of the wagon had us brushing against each other. I knew he was affected by it just as I was. I knew that once Beecham was punished for his crimes against the Weston’s, it wouldn’t be long before Jamie and I would be together. The attraction between us was growing and I had no desire to fight it. I spent every minute I could with him over the past few days and when I wasn’t with him, I was thinking about him. I was shocked that my letter had been delivered so qui
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James POV Leaving Hannah in that room, was by far the hardest thing I had done to date. But Bo would protect her, he would get her out of here if something happened to me. I had whispered, “I love you” but I know she hadn’t heard me. I couldn’t tell her out loud, it wouldn’t be fair. I pushed my fear for her safety down and replaced it with anger. Anger that Beecham would stoop so low as to harm his own wife. I moved back to the parlor where Randall and Walt were waiting. “Is she okay?” Walt asked, his voice laced with worry over Hannah’s emotions. I nodded, “I think so. She’s trying to be brave. Bo has her settled in the corner. Earlier today, he told me that he would sit next to her in case she needed him, she could reach out for him.” “Good. Now, let’s get settled in for a long night. Obviously, we need to keep the chatter down so we can hear them approach,” Randall replied as he settled down on the settee. The only lamp still lit was the one on top of the mantle, near Walt. H
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Hannah POV His sister! Helen was Samuel’s sister! Which meant that she was Jamie’s mother! Holy shit! How did I not figure that out? Jamie wouldn’t be after Robert the way he was unless it was something big. And this was big! As I ran out of the hotel, I turned toward the church. I remembered there was a swing there under a huge shade tree. It would be a great place for me think all of this through and what it would mean for me. As I hurried through the streets, I heard Jamie following me, calling out my name. I didn’t slow down though. This was not a conversation we needed to have in the middle of town. It didn’t take long for him to catch up to me, even though I had long legs for a woman, his were longer. He matched his stride to mine and we quietly walked to the church. I was glad that he didn’t speak. I needed a few minutes to put this all together. With the tree swing in sight, I made my way to it. When Jamie seemed to realize my destination, he hurried over to the swing and s
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