Loner's Lady by Lynna Banning

Author:Lynna Banning
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2006-05-05T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Dan shot a narrow-eyed look at Jess. “You watch yourself, boyo.”

“Always do,” Jess replied in a level tone. That brought a snort of derision from J.D., but Jess ignored him.

“Just the same,” Dan continued, his mouth half-full of biscuit, “she’s mine. Remember that.”

“I don’t need you to remind me that Mrs. O’Brian is a married woman.”

J.D. flexed his fingers and grasped his coffee mug. “That’s a surprise,” he muttered. “Gettin’ old, Jess?”

“Nope. Just careful.”

J.D.’s voice turned silky. “I’d watch my back if I were you.”

Dan swallowed his mouthful of food. “Ellie, honey? I’ll be along in a while. Gotta finish my supper and show the boys where to bed down for the night.”

Ellen looked at her husband without answering, an expression in her blue eyes Jess had never seen before. She looked as if she’d been walloped in the belly by a bale of hay. Gently he turned her toward the parlor. “Come on. I’ll help you up the stairs.”

Without a word, she limped on through the doorway and paused at the bottom of the staircase. Jess settled his hands at her waist and lifted her, one laborious step at a time, until they reached the landing. At the door to her bedroom, he stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

“Are you all right?”

Ellen gave an unladylike snort and twisted toward him. Her eyes looked as if they’d shoot daggers at any moment, and her mouth—her mouth was pursed into a tight little O like a dried-up rosebud.

“At the moment, I am cross as a bear.”

“About?”

“I should think that is obvious. First of all, my husband, it appears, has the spine of a green onion. Then there’s the matter of my kitchen floor, which is getting spur-marked as we speak. And then…” She stopped, tears glittering in her eyes.

Jess fought the urge to pull her into his arms. “That’s plenty for a good lather, I guess.”

“And then,” she said with venom in her voice, “there’s you.”

“Me? Hell, lady, I’m on your side. I’m the only friend you’ve got in this upside-down situation.”

“Jess, I have to be frank. I don’t know who to trust. I am so tired and rattled inside I don’t know what I think or feel anymore.” With a soft moan she added, “This isn’t what I expected. And none of it makes any sense!”

“Yeah, it does, Ellen. If you’ve got the sand to look at it head-on.”

“Look at what?”

“You and Dan. Dan’s not here for you. He’s here for the money he buried. He’s here to prove to J.D. and Gray, maybe even to himself, that he’s top dog.”

Her lips twisted. “I…I can’t accept that. I just can’t.”

Jess drew in a slow breath. “I never thought grit was your short suit, Ellen.”

“Neither did I. But when it comes to my husband… God in heaven, I’ve waited and hoped and planned for the day he would come home. I’ve worked till my hands ached from plowing and planting, hoeing weeds, hauling water. You’d think he would notice that the farm has been cared for! You’d think he would ask how I managed it alone.

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