Whispered Heat by Anna Eberhardt

Author:Anna Eberhardt
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FICTION/Romance/General
Publisher: Diversion Books
Published: 2013-03-11T00:00:00+00:00

Press was deep in thought as he stared, unseeing, out the big front window. He had spent countless hours ruminating over what he was going to do about Mandy Dillon.

Not what he wanted to do, but what he ought to do.

He was in way over his head. Despite what he thought about Jack Dillon, Mandy was married to him, and that fact wouldn’t just go away because it was inconvenient to him. Mandy was Catholic. Catholics didn’t believe in divorce. At least not someone like Mandy, who never missed mass. Besides, she hadn’t ever given him any indication that his feelings were reciprocated. Maybe she loved Jack even though he mistreated her. Press had been thinking only of the better life he could give her. Maybe she was content with the life she had.

When was he going to accept that there were some things he couldn’t fix? Not with medicine, not with a warm smile, not with a kind word … and certainly not with the way his thoughts were heading of late?

He’d thought of letting Mandy go, but she seemed to need the job emotionally. And, in addition to the strong feelings he had for her, he had come to depend on her, enjoying the freedom she gave him from being tied down to the store. Perhaps, if he arranged his schedule for a while so that he would be gone most of the time when Mandy worked, things would be fine.

The door to the drugstore jangled as Slader opened it and held it for Mandy. “Beauty before beast,” he said and smiled.

“You’re late,” Press called out.

Mandy’s gaze flew guiltily to her watch. She wasn’t late, but she was so used to being accused of being wrong it was a reflex action.

“I know,” Slader said. “I had to round up our old brown-and-white milk cow. She got out through some downed fence.” He shook his head. “Would you believe I found old Bessie grazing along the highway like she was posing for a picture postcard?”

Press laughed. “Old Bessie’s got more lives than a cat. I almost ran into her one morning at the junction in front of your place. I thought I was hallucinating when I saw a cow lying in the middle of the highway, lazily chewing her cud.”

“Come on, I’ll buy you a beer with lun—” Slader’s words were cut off by the angry jangle of the front door being jerked open.

Jack Dillon barged in. Paying no attention to the two men, he headed for Mandy, who had just started blowing up balloons, working on the banana-split promotion Press had thought up of putting prices inside the balloons from one cent to a dollar.

“I thought I told you to feed the horses before you left, woman!” he yelled.

Slader started to move toward Jack, but Press laid his hand on Slader’s arm, detaining him. Slader threw a look of disbelief at Press.

“You’ll only make it worse for her later if you get involved,” Press said, keeping his voice low.

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