Rugged and Relentless Read Online Free PDF

door, opened it, and turned around. He stood in the frame, silhouetted by the setting sun, and when his gaze met hers, he pointed to the sign on the wall. He made a show of stepping entirely outside before placing his hat back on his head and letting the door close behind him.
    Hats off to the chef
. Such a small sign of respect, an acknowledgment she’d never thought to see—and it touched her more than it had any right to. Evie was very much afraid she froze inplace and stayed that way for an indecent amount of time, staring at the door as though addlepated.
    The remainder of the day blinked by, and in no time at all, she’d made it home for the night. Before dark—always before dark. For her own well-being and reputation, as well as those of the women who worked alongside her, Thompson’s Café closed earlier than some of her patrons would like. But Evie wouldn’t budge on that.
I might not be able to afford losing the business, but I can spare it more than I can spare our safety
.
    Regret warred with relief when she reached the boardinghouse where she and Cora lived. Taking rooms with Mrs. Buxton had been meant as a temporary measure. Now, the place she thought of as home would most likely remain such for a long, long time.
    When their father died three years before, Evie’d been forced to use her own dowry to keep the household going until she couldn’t avoid selling their home. But those proceeds wouldn’t last forever, so Evie took her one skill and turned it into her investment. After two years, the café proved itself enough to have garnered a modest savings account and flattering mortgage deal with the bank to fund Evie’s part in Hope Falls.
    But the grand plan for Wilma to run things in Charleston while Evie went to Colorado vanished in a heartbeat with Braden’s death. The bright future of Cora happily married to a wealthy mine owner with Evie and their closest friends living nearby had all been fool’s gold. Which wouldn’t pay off the mortgage on her restaurant, or even keep rented rooms over their heads.
    Just entering their home wrapped a cloak of concern around her thoughts. Worry pressed away the joy she’d found at work, robbing her of any ability to coax Cora back to the world outside these rooms.
    It is
, she thought,
almost as though where we are becomes a part of us. At home, I mourn for Cora and the promising lives we’ve lost. In the café, I’m cheery for the customers and proud of what I accomplish
.
    So what if we went to Hope Falls? How much worse would thingsbe for both of us, with Cora surrounded by the reminder of what she should share with Braden and me without customers to cook for?
The thought made her temples ache.
    Even without Lacey’s ludicrous mention of hasty husbands, the plan spelled disaster—which was why she and Cora hadn’t so much as discussed it in the week since. They’d been right to walk away.
Here, we may not have much, but at least we know its value
. Bolstered, she swept up the stairs and into their suite—to find their rooms filled with visitors.
    The small couch held Lacey and Naomi, with Cora—her pale face showing signs of strain—in the only chair. Evie would make do with the ottoman, she supposed, although—
    Thud
.
    With a seat now readily available, the women in the room did the only natural thing—they immediately surrounded Cora on the floor.
    “She fainted!” Even Evie couldn’t explain why she bothered to remark on something so obvious, aside from the surprise of it. She chafed her sister’s cold hands in her own warm ones as Naomi smoothed back Cora’s hair and loosened her collar. “She’s only ever fainted once before, when—”
    Lacey caught Evie’s look and nodded, her eyes solemn. “When I told her of Braden’s death.”
    “What did you tell her this time?” No matter she counted Lacey Lyman as one of her closest friends, Evie battled an urge to shake the girl for whatever shock she’d foisted upon