Jade by Jill Marie Landis

Author:Jill Marie Landis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BelleBooks Inc.
Published: 2017-07-31T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

It is easy to know men’s faces . . .

But not their hearts.

J.T. HAD NOT SLEPT all night. His eyes itched, his head ached. Seated on the side of the bed, he pulled on his boots and reached for his hat. He ran his hand along its crown before he put it on, and then walked over to the chair where he had tossed his saddlebags the night before.

The sun was up, but the day was gray and overcast, adding to the heaviness in his heart. He gave the room one last glance to be certain he had all of the things he would take with him to Monterey. Last night he had grabbed his pants, vest, and a clean shirt, and then shoved his razor, leather strop, and shaving soap into the saddlebag before he left the master suite. For a tense moment he thought he might have to go back, until he remembered that his duster was downstairs in the hall closet. He wanted to leave before Jade woke up.

The kitchen was cold and damp. He lit a fire in the stove and set some coffee on to boil before he went out to feed El Sol. When he returned from the stables, the coffee was ready. As he poured himself a steaming cupful, he heard a knock at the front door.

Coffee cup in hand, he went to answer it. Matt Van Buren stood on the doorstep. The man started to say hello, but stopped and stared at Jason intently.

“You look like hell. What’s wrong?” Matt asked.

“Come in.”

Matt followed Jason back to the kitchen. Still silent, Jason sat at the worktable in the middle of the room. Matt looked through the cupboards, found a cup, and poured himself some coffee. “Well?”

Jason shook his head. “I’d rather not talk about it, Matt. Not now.”

“Is Jade all right?”

“She’s asleep.”

Matt did not push for further explanation. Instead, he reached inside his coat and withdrew a bulky envelope. “Here’s the cash you wanted for the trip to Monterey.”

Jason’s tone was grim. “Thanks.”

“Jason, look, I know it’s none of my business but—”

J.T. couldn’t put what had happened into words. Even if he tried, he didn’t want to hear Matt say, “I told you so.”

“You’re right,” he said, pinning Matt with a chilling stare. “It isn’t any of your business.”

JADE SAT UP IN bed and pushed her hair away from her face. She pulled the edges of the silken robe together, threw back the covers, and stood, amazed to discover her legs were still able to support her. She had expected to feel worse.

Pausing to listen for some indication that Jason was up and about, she walked to the door and opened it as silently as possible. Jade walked down the hall, carefully opening and closing doors, but in each room all she saw was furniture draped with holland covers. The house was cold and damp; not a single fire was lit in any of the fireplaces. Although the rooms were huge and well appointed, there was a feeling of lifelessness about the place.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.