The Maverick Preacher by Victoria Bylin

Author:Victoria Bylin [Bylin, Victoria]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Publisher: Harlequin (UK) Limited
Published: 2009-11-21T20:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

“Take it away, Lord. This feeling for Adie—” Josh groaned out loud.

The sun had set hours ago. After supper, he’d helped with the dishes, then gone out the back door to avoid seeing any of the women. He wanted to speak with Pearl but didn’t have the heart for it. Tonight his thoughts were on Adie, and he didn’t like the direction they’d taken. How could he think about staying in Denver when Emily was still missing? As for the second turn his thoughts had taken, he had no business courting Adie or any woman. He needed to be alone to pray, so he’d gone to the far end of the flower garden.

He stood there now, a man with anxious thoughts. Josh had noticed pretty women before now, but he’d never felt a stirring in his soul the way he did for Adie. When she smiled, he felt joy. When she wept, he tasted salt. Yesterday she’d been afraid and he’d wanted to murder Franklin Dean. No one—not even Emily—had ever inspired such deep feelings.

Neither had he felt a worry like the one in his gut. Adie was in trouble; he felt sure of it. Every time he mentioned going to the law, she balked. For the past hour, Josh’s imagination had run amuck. Women traveled west for all sorts of reasons. Having Stephen out of wedlock explained her secrecy but not her reaction to seeing the sheriff. When it came to shame, she had nothing to hide from him. She knew he wouldn’t stand in judgment. That’s why he’d told her about Emily.

She had something else to hide, something with grave consequences. Had she committed a crime? Josh looked at Swan’s Nest and recalled the question he’d considered when he’d first arrived. Even with a loan, how had she been able to buy a mansion? The possibilities made his belly hurt. Maybe she’d been a servant in a fine home. She could have stolen jewelry and taken a westbound train. Maybe she’d been abused and had seen the theft as her only escape. His mind went down a dark alley, a place full of violence and tears. Had she been raped? Had she killed her attacker to save herself?

She’d suffered and the pain hadn’t eased. It wouldn’t until she faced the past, but at what cost? The thought of Adie going to prison filled him with horror. Stephen would be ripped from his mother’s arms. If Bessie or Caroline didn’t take him, he’d go to a foundling home. Pearl had problems of her own. Mary had secrets.

That left Josh. He’d never expected to have a family, but he wanted one now. Adie made him feel alive. When she entered a room, his heart sped up. His eyes would find hers and his soul would settle.

“Why, Lord?” he said to the moon. “I can’t stay in Denver. I have to find Emily.” He kept his eyes on the stars. “After that, you’ve called me to preach, but where?”

Josh’s thoughts ran wild.

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