Luke's Truth (Harts of the West Book 6) by Samantha Thomas

Author:Samantha Thomas [Thomas, Samantha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-01-30T00:00:00+00:00

Luke sat brooding in the dilapidated old barn, sorting through the mess of Raymond and Hank Gilmore’s things, the walls and shelves cluttered with remnants of a past life. Among them was the old mining equipment that once belonged to Flossie’s husband. The rusted pick and shovels, now silent witnesses to the forgotten dreams of striking it rich, lay scattered in the corner, gathering dust.

He leaned back against the worn wood wall, the rough texture pressing into his back. His hands were busy with the leather he was braiding, but his thoughts were elsewhere.

He never should have lost his temper with Grace. She wasn’t doing anything wrong; she just didn’t know what her words were doing to him. What she was doing to him. He was all twisted up, and he couldn’t get untangled. Instead of coming out and telling her, he bit her head off. Not the best way to try and romance a lady. Micah was right, Luke loved to make it difficult for himself.

Tossing the leather aside, his gaze drifted back over to the mining tools. They were relics of another man’s failures, an unpleasant reminder that not all pursuits ended in glory. Hank never struck the gold he wanted; the tools left behind were just symbols of broken hopes. Luke couldn’t help but draw a parallel between those abandoned dreams and his own hidden shortcomings.

Luke let out a short mocking laugh. Even when he failed Hank had Flossie, what did Luke have?

She was going to figure it out sooner than later, and the very thought made his stomach clench. Rubbing his face with his calloused hands, a surge of anxiety ran through him as he pictured it. Her disdain.

He’d become really good at skirting around it, hiding it, his whole life. Charm and bravado got him through most everything, but he couldn’t keep using them as a shield, not with Grace. But the closer he got to her, the more he feared the fall from this ‘admirable’ pedestal she’d unknowingly placed him on.

There wasn’t much Luke was afraid of, but seeing the disappoint in her eyes, terrified him.

Luke heard the creaking of the house door, and he knew that Grace was leaving. Would she come to see him before she left, or had she had enough of him? He couldn’t just let her go; it was time to tell her the truth. Steeling himself, he walked out of the barn to stop her.

But she wasn’t leaving.

She was walking toward him, with that big book in her hands. His heart sank. She already knew. It was too late. The secret he guarded so fiercely was now exposed.

Grace’s gray eyes, full of questions stared into his. She held up the book. “You…you can’t read this, can you?” Her voice was gentle, but his defenses sprang up.

He looked at the thick tome, and back to Grace. “You’re disappointed. I can see it in your eyes. Well, better you find out now. If you stick around it will only be more of the same.

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