Only Hers Read Online Free PDF

no woman had dared laugh in his face. They were too busy trying to get his attention.
    He watched as Shannon lost the battle. Brown eyes sparkled. Her obvious weariness seemed to fade as her animated face began to shine with beauty and soft laughter started low in her throat.
    “Did you make Wade laugh?” he asked abruptly.
    The melodious sound ended as abruptly as it had begun. A shadow crossed her face. “We made each other laugh.”
    “If he meant that much to you, why didn’t you come to his funeral?”
    “I wanted to, but I just couldn’t leave.” Her hand clutched her glass. Her voice lowered. “There was so little time.”
    “Time for what?”
    Her head snapped up. If there had been the least bit of softening in Matt’s demeanor, she might have told him about her grandfather. There wasn’t.
    “Life,” she answered, then laid her fork aside and stood. “If you don’t mind, I’d like for us to have that talk now. I’m suddenly rather tired.”
    Matt slowly came to his feet. She was hiding something and he was going to find out what it was. “We’ll talk in the den.”
    Leading the way, Shannon took a seat in a comfortable-looking overstuffed leather chair. Settling back into the welcoming softness, she yawned.
    “When did you sleep last?” Matt took a seat across from her and tried not to notice the way her T-shirt clung to the lushness of her breasts.
    “In the meadow.”
    “I mean before that.” He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
    She started to shrug and yawned instead. “I got a few hours early Saturday morning after coming off a double shift.”
    “What!” He came upright in his chair. “You drove all the way here on a few hours of sleep? You could have killed yourself.”
    Shannon straightened. Her family and James had called her foolish for driving instead of flying; she didn’t need Matt adding his two cents’ worth. “I’m here to talk about Wade’s will, not my work schedule.”
    Matt’s brief nod conceded she was right. It was none of his business what she did . . . unless it involved the meadow. “Why did you wait so long to make your claim?”
    “I told you that I was busy taking care of personal business.”
    “Such as?”
    She clamped her hands together. If she tried to discuss the loss of her grandfather with someone as cynical as Matt, she’d fall apart. Talking about Wade was enough of an ordeal. Tears stung the back of her eyes. Yet, to let them fall would only subject her to more of Matt’s sarcasm.
    “Such as none of your business.”
    “When you claimed Taggart land you became my business. I can hire someone to find the answers to my questions.”
    “Then hire someone.”
    Matt’s heavy brow arched. Shannon might be down, but she was still fighting. “Why did Wade leave you the land? At least you can tell me that.”
    Shannon leaned wearily back in her chair “Wade was a very perceptive and caring man. Even when he was sick, he thought of others. We used to talk about his meadow. He called it a place of sunshine. After he was discharged from the hospital he invited me on several occasions to visit, but there never seemed to be enough time.” Regret rang in her soft voice. She swallowed.
    “About a . . . a month before he died, he called and we talked. I . . . I was going through a difficult time and he said I needed his meadow.”
    “Why did Wade think you needed his meadow? Had some man dumped you?”
    “No, but a woman obviously dumped you.” Matt’s jaw clenched. Shannon shrank from her own cruelty. It wasn’t like her to taunt someone, no matter the provocation.
    Trembling fingers rubbed her pounding forehead. “I’m sorry.” Wearily she pushed to her feet. “Thanks for dinner. It’s time I started back.”
    Matt stood. “Back where? You’re so tired you can hardly stand.”
    “Thank you for your concern, but I can take care of myself. Frankly I haven’t been sleeping well lately,” she confessed. “I didn’t have any trouble