Jake Walker's Wife Read Online Free PDF

in the kitchen...."
    He patted his stomach. " Wolfed down enough at supper to last me two days."
    She'd been around men all her life, never had a bit of trouble getting along with them. Bess didn't understand why this man rattled her so.
    "Pa tells me you're going to be an excellent foreman. Have you done much of that kind of work in the past?"
    "Ten years' worth, in dozens of towns."
    Dozens ? "I don't imagine your wife and children think very much of being without you for such long periods of—“
    "Don't have a wife. No young'uns, either."
    The flat, emotionless tone had returned to his voice. Bess took a deep breath. She wanted to bring back the teasing drawl, the wonderful smile.
    "Maybe instead of chicken, you'd prefer a slice of cherry pie?"
    Silence was his answer.
    Exasperated, she blew a stream of air between her teeth. "Won't you sit with me, then, while I have a slice?" she asked, walking toward the house. He'd either follow, or he wouldn't. Bess hoped he would.
    "I reckon I c ould do that," he said, falling into step beside her, "if you think you can rustle me up a glass of milk."
    Without missing a beat, she winked. "Easy as...pie...."
    The sun was peeking over the horizon when he headed back to the bunkhouse. They'd talked for hours. About Foggy Bottom. About Mary and Micah, Matthew and Mark. About her ....
    In her room, changing into a white-cuffed pink frock, Bess thought of the way his golden waves had shimmered in the kitchen lamplight. As she piled her long, dark curls atop her head and secured them with a satin ribbon that matched the one at the collar of her dress, she thought about the thick black lashes that trimmed his crystal-blue eyes. Hooking the buttons of her black leather boots, she marveled that in their time together, Jake had learned a lot about her, but he'd told Bess precious little about his past.
    Who was this beautiful man with the sad, soulful eyes, and what ghosts had dogged his heels for ten long years, over thousands of miles? Bess swallowed the hard lump of fear that formed in her throat, knowing that if she didn't find out why , everyone at Foggy Bottom might pay a hefty price.
    ***
    It had been easy to teach the new men her routine. Up at four-thirty every morning to perform barnyard chores. Wash up for breakfast, served at five. Back out in the fields by quarter of six.
    This day, the meal consisted of fried ham. Griddle cakes swimming in maple syrup. Eggs, sunny side up. Honey-buttered bread. Hot coffee and cool milk. As Bess filled and refilled plates, the men ate and discussed the day's plans.
    She'd saved the sticky buns, hot from the oven, for last. As she slid them onto a warmed plate, she heard Jake's quiet, authoritative voice. Not even her tasty surprise distracted the men from his instructions. They liked him, anyone could see. But more than that, they respected him. That fact alone told her he'd be one of the best foreman Foggy Bottom had ever seen, and Bess had seen enough foremen over the years to know a good one when she saw one.
    In the month he'd been with them, Jake had gotten to know the farm almost as well as Micah knew it. Had gotten to know Matt and Mark. And thanks to late-night chats—some in rockers on the front porch, others at the corral gate, still others over pie and milk under the soft glow of the hanging kitchen lamp—he'd gotten to know Bess well, too. But despite all the hours of gabbing they'd racked up, Bess felt she didn't know any more about him now than she had on the day he'd arrived.
    'The eyes are the windows to the soul,' or so the sages said. If Jake's eyes were any indicator of what lived inside him, she thought, he's about as good as a man can get . She sensed something in this man. Something honorable. Something decent.
    And she'd had plenty of time to evaluate her feelings about him, since he seemed to be on her mind almost every waking moment! Still…something told her Jake hid something painful behind that tight, careful smile.