Her Only Hope by Julia Ridgmont

Author:Julia Ridgmont [Ridgmont, Julia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Laura L. Walker
Published: 2020-08-28T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Alexandra said nothing more about herself after that. It had been a huge mistake to mention anything about her past life, even to Jake. She realized that now. It was easy to pinpoint the second he recognized the name of Alexandra. He stopped talking, and in the dim light of the smithy, his eyes grew large enough that he looked like he’d seen a ghost.

But for just one brief, crazy second, when seeing Bianca Finley stand so close, so possessively to Jake at church, Alexandra’s chest had felt like it was on fire. She had wanted to walk right over to the simpering female and rip her hair out. Tear her to shreds. And after that second passed, she’d stood stock still, trying to calm her racing heart. Heaven forbid! She didn’t normally get jealous of other women, not to this point, anyway. What had come over her?

The fact that another woman clearly wanted Jake Mahoney, that’s what. If it had been any other man that Bianca Finley wanted, Alexandra wouldn’t have cared.

Watch it, Alexandra. You almost gave yourself away.

And then she almost did it again by starting up that foolish conversation again. Of course, Jake was the one who started it when he thought she liked Bianca romantically. But she should have let the subject drop. Curiosity had gotten the better of her, though, and she couldn’t resist delving into his inner thoughts regarding marriage. In Ashland, plenty of females had clamored for his attention—until their mamas put a stop to it. Jake hadn’t stood a chance of winning a girl’s heart from there, sad fact that it was as far as the character of the townspeople went. But that had kept him safe for Alexandra, giving her the time she needed to finish growing up. Or so she’d thought. But he didn’t stick around long enough for that to happen.

Maybe once this is all over, you’ll be able to tell him who you really are.

And then what? He’d instantly, magically fall in love with her?

Your life is not a fairytale, Alexandra Mae Carter. Once Jake knew the truth, she’d be lucky if he ever spoke to her again.

In that instant, Alexandra lost all the strength in her limbs. She leaned weakly on the work table, arms limp. Whether or not Jake became angry with her for pretending to be a boy didn’t matter. Her actions had been necessary. But the fact of the matter was that it was becoming more and more difficult to keep up the pretense.

After Trixie had tried on her dress, she had then asked her mother at supper why Andy had a dress in her satchel. Both Pastor and Mrs. Jefferies’ eyes had widened, and Andy, feeling like she was headed for the guillotine, had chokingly offered the same ridiculous explanation she’d offered Jake. At least no one was the wiser where the blood stains were concerned. Trixie must not have noticed them among the red flowers dotting the pattern on the fabric.

Later, when the house grew quiet, Pastor Jefferies took Alexandra aside.

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