Bound to the Past (Starville Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

havenʼt forgotten you.”
    “Youʼre saying Iʼve been away for years?” Jack frowned. “Then why did I come back now?”
    Doc blew out a sigh. “Hell if I know.”

Chapter 4
    Sara got out of the shower feeling wonderfully alive. After all those hours at the hospital, sheʼd started to feel as dull as the walls in the waiting room. Doc was right, she’d needed to go back home and feel human again. Nothing, however, seemed to get Jack out of her mind. The tragic story of his past kept haunting her.
    On impulse, she walked to the den and sat at her desk. When the computer screen came on, she opened the Internet and forced her shaky hands to type Jack Turner in the search engine. It only took a few seconds for the page to fill with multiple links, and she clicked on the first one. Her breath caught as a picture of Jack appeared on the screen.
    Whoa .
    He looked a lot younger, but that wasnʼt what struck her the most. It was his eyes. A shiver ran down her spine as she stared at them. They were as piercing as ever, but there was something else in them, too. Rage. No―fury. So violent and barely restrained that Sara felt the urge to scroll down the page to hide them. When the picture disappeared, she took a calming breath and started reading the article about J.T.ʼs death, Jackʼs arrest, and the trial that followed, which had ended with Jackʼs release after nearly three years. She was surprised to learn that, despite the fact that the judge had declared a mistrial and all the charges were dropped, the authorities had decided to keep the ranch and J.T.ʼs entire patrimony confiscated until further notice, leaving Jack with virtually nothing. Could they even do that?
    The article ended with a statement Jack had made to the press after his release from prison, in which he’d announced that his only immediate plan was to leave Starville and try to forget the entire matter.
    Sara jumped at the sound of the doorbell but hesitated before closing the Internet page, her gaze glued to the article. Only when Lance started barking furiously did she blow a resigned sigh and walk to the front door. She wasnʼt at all surprised to see two police officers—a man and a woman—standing on the porch.
    “About time,” the man grunted, storming inside the house.
    Sara gave a sarcastic smile. “Good afternoon to you, too, officers! But, please, donʼt stand at the door, come in.”
    “Itʼs not funny, Sara. Iʼve been worried sick about you since I heard about Turner.” His slate-gray gaze filled with impatience. “What the hell happened? Why didnʼt you call me?”
    She rolled her eyes. She had forgotten how fast news traveled in a small town like Starville, where gossip seemed to be everybodyʼs favorite hobby. “Gee, Brent, I donʼt know! Everything happened so fast I didnʼt really have much time to stop and think.”
    The young woman standing beside him shook her head, a worried look on her face. “Are you all right? Weʼve been trying to call you for hours.”
    “Sorry, Nicky, I was at the hospital all night. But Iʼm fine, thank you. Tired, of course, but fine.”
    “If youʼd called, I couldʼve come and helped and—”
    “Oh, stop it! Both of you!” Sara burst out, exasperated. “Iʼm not a child, for Godʼs sake, and Iʼm not the one who just had a horrible accident, so stop worrying! Yes, I rescued Jack Turner. So what? What was I supposed to do, leave him there to die?”
    “You wouldnʼt leave a damn possum, Sara.” Brent gave a faint, rueful smile, but she ignored him.
    “Sure, I didnʼt know anything about the Turners―and by the way, thank you both so much for informing me about the townʼs happenings. I canʼt begin to tell you how wonderful it felt hearing about Jackʼs story on a night like last night, after living here for over four years!”
    Nicky dropped onto the couch. “If itʼs any consolation, that makes two of us. I didnʼt know anything about the Turners, either,” she said, petting the