Western Winter Wedding Bells by Cheryl St.john & Jenna Kernan & Charlene Sands

Author:Cheryl St.john & Jenna Kernan & Charlene Sands [St.john, Cheryl & Kernan, Jenna & Sands, Charlene]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance, General, Historical
ISBN: 9780373296118
Google: BQ-RDAEACAAJ
Amazon: B00724DWA2
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2010-10-01T12:57:45.133771+00:00

Chapter Eight

Eliza waited upstairs for a time. She wanted to be sure she did not run into Mr. Foerster outside. When she judged enough time had passed, she retrieved her bag and fled down the back stairs again. She would have to find someone leaving town and beg for help. It would be humiliating, but she could not stay here. She reached the street and paused.

“Eliza!”

She turned at the call and only afterward realized her mistake. There stood Trent’s deputy, not ten feet away, staring directly at her.

Her heart exploded into a wild thumping that made her light-headed. He knew her name! She swayed.

The deputy caught her elbow, steadying her.

“You are Eliza Flannery.” It wasn’t a question. He knew.

She tried to speak, but no words would come. The man took her bag.

“Come on now. Let’s get you inside.”

Jail. He was taking her to jail. Eliza stumbled along beside him and nearly through the hotel lobby before she realized she was not yet headed for a prison cell. He guided her into the restaurant on the ground floor. She glanced about dumbly, not understanding what was happening. Why had he brought her here?

He motioned to a seat and she sagged into it. He set her bag in the one beside her and then sat across the table from her.

“Joey Backer, ma’am. You remember me? Met you yesterday and looked after Addy last night while Trent walked you to the hotel.” He removed his hat, hanging it on the back of the chair holding her bag.

She nodded.

He left her and returned with a glass of water. “Coffee’s coming. Drink this. Ma’am, you’re pale as snow. Now listen here, I’m not going to hurt you. You hear me? Drink this.”

He pressed the glass into her hand and she took a swallow. Her hands shook, so she set the glass back on the table.

“You leaving town?”

She nodded.

The waitress brought their coffee and left the pot at Mr. Backer’s request. His gentle smile disappeared when he turned his eyes back to her.

“From the beginning, now. Let’s hear it.”

She drew a breath and then told him about her predecessor and the arrest and how frightened she had been and how she had run. Eliza answered every question, and when he was done interrogating her, she sat numbly, waiting for what the deputy would do next.

“Why you running now? Why tonight?”

“Mr. Foerster knows I misrepresented my background. He said he’d fire me if I lied about anything else. How could I tell him?” She found no answers in Mr. Backer’s steady stare. Eliza dropped her head and covered her face in her hands. “I never should have come here. I’ve interfered too much already. I don’t want to hurt Addy or disappoint Mr. Foerster any further.”

“Why not?”

She shook her head.

“Best spit it out, now.”

Her hands slipped to her lap. “I—I love his daughter already, and I’m afraid I have feelings for Mr. Foerster, as well.”

“That’s fine.”

Eliza glanced up in astonishment, to find Mr. Backer grinning at her over the rim of his coffee cup.

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