A Hero's Heart Read Online Free PDF

expect marriage and you’re not the marrying kind.”
    “I suggest you mind your own business, Miss Cooke,” Wade said matter-of-factly. “What I do with your sister is between the two of us.”
    Rachel heard Becky’s outraged gasp. Footsteps alerted her that someone approached and she moaned. Why didn’t everyone leave her in peace? Maybe then she’d die a quick death from whatever had poisoned her system.
    A wet cloth appeared before her eyes. “Here hold this against your forehead.” Wade’s voice was gruff, but his hands were gentle.
    “My head is pounding, my stomach is sour and I feel like the British army invaded my body last night.” Rachel wiped the cloth across her face. “Why, Mr. Ketchum?”
    “Last time I checked, Kentucky was not owned by the British,” Wade joked.
    “Here’s your water,” Becky said as she returned, handing the dipper to Rachel.
    She drank greedily from the ladle as Becky continued: “The kids are awake and wanting breakfast.”
    “I just need a few moments, and then I’ll be all right,” Rachel replied, her hands shaking.
    “Honey, what you’ve got is going to take longer than a few moments,” Wade said, experience evident in his voice.
    “Just exactly what is it that I’ve got?” Rachel asked.
    Wade pushed his hat back and crossed his arms, a bemused expression on his face.’
    “You didn’t give my sister alcohol to trick her into your bed, did you?” Becky asked.
    “I don’t have to trick women into my bed,” Wade replied.
    Becky glared at him, then turned her attention to Rachel. “Are you sure you don’t have a hangover?”
    “I don’t know what a hangover feels like,” Rachel retorted. “I’ve never had a taste of the devil’s brew n my life.” The expression on his face reminded her of a guilty child’S. “I didn’t drink alcohol, did I?”
    “Well…”
    “Did you give me alcohol?”
    “Just a little,” Wade replied sheepishly.
    “What happened last night?” Rachel was seething.
    Before Wade could explain, Grace and Toby ran up beside Wade, silencing their conversation. Grace glanced at Rachel, a worried expression on her face. “You don’t look well. Are you sick?”
    Rachel sighed. What could she say? I suspect Mr. Ketcham got me drunk last night and I don’t remember what else happened? She simply replied, “Yes, I’m not feeling too good.”
    Grace asked, “Where were you this morning? When I woke up, you weren’t in the tent.”
    A quick glance at Wade, revealed he was fighting a losing battle to hide his grin. Rachel wanted to smack the smile off his handsome face. Clearly, he was enjoying the trouble he’d caused.
    Wade knelt beside Grace. “Rachel fell asleep by the fire last night, and I didn’t want to wake her. I gave her my blanket.”
    The little girl smiled at him. “That was nice.”
    “Not to mention a hangover and several other unmentionable things,” Becky muttered with a smirk.
    “Please,” Rachel interrupted. “I suggest we pack up and get on the trail. I’d like to be in Fort Laramie this afternoon.”
    Wade glanced at Rachel a moment longer, as if he wanted to continue the argument, before he turned to Toby. “Come on, I’ll help you take the tent down.”
    “Take Grace back to the wagon,” Rachel told Becky. “I’ll be there in a few moments.”
    With a sigh Becky took Grace by the hand. “That man’s a devil, Rachel. You best be careful.”
    Rachel watched her sister practically drag poor Grace across the grass. For once Becky was right. Wade Ketchum was definitely no saint.
    * * *
    Wade rode alongside the wagon, yet far enough away to discourage conversation. He didn’t want to talk with the Cooke sisters. Becky was a narcissistic female whose thoughts were only filled with getting a man, and last night Rachel had left him hard and wanting like a schoolboy. At least, until she’d called him Ethan.
    His pride still smarted this morning at the memory of her whispering the man’s name