Jillian Hart Read Online Free PDF Page A

he'll remember his promises to me."
    "What will you do if he doesn't?"
    "I'll face that situation if it happens."
    He edged away from the door. Gray fog blocked every memory, every thought, but he did know several new pieces of information. He'd made a vow to Lissa Banks to marry her. Dangerous men were bothering her. She could go bankrupt. Her son was expecting a new father.
    His knees wobbled just from his thinking of the enormity of such a commitment, such a staggering responsibility. This didn't seem right, this agreement of his to marry, and yet he must have a link with this woman, a bond. She'd sat at his bedside all the night through with her gentle touches, cups of water, and her steady, comforting presence.
    He was a man of honor. What should he do?

    "Mr. Murray?" A light rap on the door woke him.
    He squinted at the tall man, thin and bookish, standing uncertainly in the threshold. "Do I know you?"
    "Not formally." He tipped his hat "I'm Jeremiah Buchman, the town's schoolteacher. I'm a friend of Lissa Banks and her former husband."
    He rubbed his brow. "You know Lissa?"
    The quiet man gestured toward the empty wooden chair. "May I come in?"
    "Of course." The conversation he'd witnessed between Lissa and her friend troubled him. Perhaps the teacher could bring some answers. "I'm afraid I can't remember if we've met."
    "I know of your condition. I've taken the liberty of speaking with the doctor." The chair scraped as Jeremiah Buchman positioned it, then sat. "He says your memory hasn't improved."
    "That's true."
    "Then I should tell you how pleased I am to finally meet you in person, since we have corresponded." The teacher pulled a white envelope from his coat's breast pocket "This is the letter you wrote me last month, after you proposed to Lissa."
    He didn't understand. This was a small town. Why wouldn't he know the schoolteacher? Why would he write a letter? Didn't he live here? Pain slammed through his skull. He couldn't remember.
    "This will answer all your questions, I think." Jeremiah handed him the envelope. This teacher might be a quiet man, but his gaze was sharp. He'd come as Lissa's friend, a protector to a woman alone and in danger.
    Head hammering with pain, he lifted the flap and withdrew the letter. Parchment crinkled as he unfolded it. A bold hand written with care stared back at him. His handwriting? There, at the bottom, was his name. John Murray. That didn't seem right. Perhaps he went by a nickname.
     
    Dear Mr. Buchman,
    I know you were close to my cousin Michael and to his widow, Lissa.

    His throat tightened. His cousin died. He couldn't remember Michael. Sadness crept through his chest.
     
    That is why I am writing you. Surely by now you know of my proposal to Lissa and of her acceptance. Since I am a stranger to you and to my future wife, I wanted to write you to ease any worries you may have.
     
    The city named in the address beneath his name was St. Louis. He'd come from St. Louis to marry a woman he'd never met? This Lissa, with her soft voice and small son and the ranch she was near to losing?
    He skimmed the rest of the words which listed promises, good intentions, and the vow to protect her from gun-toting outlaws. That pricked his interest. He thought that sounded right, that he was capable of handling men who lived on the wrong side of the law.
    Then his gaze caught the last line of the letter.

    I am a man of my word. Michael would want me to look after his family, especially since I have lost my own wife and small son. I come with the best of intentions. I will protect Lissa.
     
    He'd lost a family. Was that why he couldn't remember? He didn't want to? Did grief explain the darkness wedged in his heart like an ax?
    "This has filled in some of the gaps in my memory." He refolded the letter. He slipped it into the envelope.
    "I'm glad I could help." Jeremiah's eyes were friendly but questioning, too. "Lissa's future is in jeopardy, yet she has canceled the ceremony for your