Expecting His Secret Heir Read Online Free PDF

surprised. The woman pressed light, quick kisses against his lips, then settled at his side. Her touch never wavered and never dropped. If Sadie remembered correctly from local gossip, Zach’s sister, KC, was engaged to Jacob.
    Zach studied them a moment, then asked, “How’s Luke doing?”
    â€œMuch better,” Jacob said. “They say he can come home tomorrow.”
    â€œNo further damage to his legs?” KC asked.
    Jacob shook his head. “None.”
    â€œGood,” Zach added. “We don’t need any more damn tragedies around here.”
    Everyone murmured their agreement.
    â€œAnyway.” Aiden stepped closer. “My wife is in firm need of sustenance that isn’t hospital food, and I promised her some of your mama’s fried chicken.”
    Zach grinned in a way that took Sadie’s breath. “With a baby on the way, that woman should have anything she wants to have. She’s doin’ all the work, after all.”
    â€œAmen,” Christina said, leaving the whole group laughing.
    Sadie smiled, even though she knew it was a little sad around the edges. The group reminded her of her family. There were only three of them, but she, her mama and her sister had taken care of each other through a lifetime of heartache. They could often make each other laugh during the hardest times. And they never gave up hope that they would be together.
    Zach stepped back to the kitchen to put in the order without so much as looking in her direction, intensifying Sadie’s feeling of solitude in the midst of the crowd. She eyed the distance back to the table she’d come from, but the Blackstones simply took up too much space for her to squeak by without notice.
    Then the silence around her registered and she glanced back to realize she’d become the center of attention. Four sets of eyes studied her. Her familiar technique of disappearing into the shadows where she wouldn’t be noticed wasn’t an option here, as she was boxed in by the wall on one side and the bar counter behind her.
    Finally the woman she recognized as Zach’s sister stepped closer. “Hi, there. I’m KC, Zach’s sister. And you are?”
    Sadie wasn’t used to people offering her their hands, but she shook anyway. “Sadie Adams.”
    â€œLet me guess,” KC said with a slight smile. “You must be Zach’s new nemesis.”
    How had she known? “Um...”
    â€œOh, is this the woman from the mill?” Christina asked, interest lighting her eyes.
    Suddenly Sadie felt as though someone had dialed up the spotlight.
    â€œI believe she is,” KC replied.
    â€œHow did you know?” Sadie asked.
    â€œHoney, it’s a small town.” KC’s smile was friendly, not condescending as Sadie had expected. “Trust me, everybody knows.”
    â€œI don’t know,” Aiden said with a frown.
    Christina patted his chest. “I’ll fill you in later, dear.”
    That didn’t stop him from studying Sadie in a way that made her more reluctant than ever to stay. But KC picked up her now watered-down drink from the counter and dumped it before starting a fresh one. “Come on over and tell us about yourself,” she invited.
    Sadie hung on to that friendly smile, even though she knew more than anyone how deceiving it might be from a stranger. But she needed these people for her mission, so she forced her feet forward.
    â€œWhat do you do, Sadie?” Christina asked.
    â€œI’m a photographer.” It wasn’t the entire truth. She did take photographs. She just didn’t do it for a living, as she’d led them all to believe.
    â€œOh, where’s your camera?”
    â€œOutside.” She’d been afraid Zach would make a scene if she brought it in.
    Christina didn’t seem fazed. “Have you had anything published?”
    â€œYes, actually. A few pieces through Barnhill Press.” The art