The Circle Eight: Nicholas Read Online Free PDF

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    “None of us know her like you do. We can’t force the old man to do it. Hell, he can’t even hold a fork.” Matt glanced at Bartholomew, who sported a sling and a pained expression while Eva hovered over him. “Damn fool drank too much of McRae’s homemade whiskey and fell down drunk. I think his arm is busted.”
    Nick had missed it all since he’d been in the barn. With Winnie. Where he’d had the most incredible experience of his life. Hell, his goddamn knees still shook.
    He wanted to forget it happened because it would color everything for the rest of his life. Yet he also knew he would never, ever forget.
    “I can’t help what the old man did. It’s not my fault.”
    “ I didn’t say it was, but it don’t change the fact she has a business in Houston and needs an escort back.” Matt scowled in his typical older brother way.
    “I ’m not gonna do it.” Nick crossed his arms.
    “You will do it.” Matt leaned his close, his gaze brimming with anger. “I don’t know what made you so angry at the world, but Miss Watson is a friend of this family. You saved her life in Houston. She trusts you. I don’t care what excuse you have. You will do this.”
    Nick wanted to argue. He wanted to shout and yell until his throat was raw. Yet he didn’t. Matt was right and Nick had no excuse. Not one his brother would accept. Winnie was sweet, polite and deserved better than an idiot cowboy. Even if he had fallen in love with her the first time he saw her.
    “I don’t want to do this.”
    Matt ran his hand down his face. “I think that’s clear. To everyone. Including her. If you don’t escort her, the women will kill both of us.”
    “What about the old man?”
    “Eva is enjoying fussing over him. He can stay here until he’s healed up.” Matt met Nick’s gaze. “I don’t know what’s wrong, but you gotta find a way around it.”
    Nick swallowed the lump in his throat. “I’ll take her.” He turned and walked away before he said something stupid.
    The guests had gone and the Grahams were busy cleaning up the remnants of the wedding feast. Vaughn and Elizabeth sat beneath Mama’s tree speaking quietly to Winnie. The young’uns were tuckered out, likely inside napping. The sun hung low in the sky. It was a peaceful scene, one he watched but couldn’t become part of.
    He passed all of them and went to the barn. Probably not the wisest decision but he wanted to ready the wagon and the horses. The sooner they left for Houston the better. He knew they wouldn’t leave tonight but they would leave before the sun rose. Nick had done some dumb things in his life but being intimate with Winnie during the wedding feast topped them all. And now he walked into the very place they’d found incredible bliss. His gut tightened to the point he tasted bile in this throat.
    “What are you doing?” Benjy appeared from the shadows. The lanky fourteen-year-old was silent as a cat and rarely spoke. They had become closer during the trip to find Elizabeth after the Gibsons had taken her. The brothers weren’t exactly best friends but they understood each other more than the others did. Benjy had suffered unspoken horrors during the five years he’d been gone as a child. Nick hadn’t, but he still carried the darkness in him.
    “Matt is making me take Miss Watson back to Houston in the morning.” Nick sounded petulant even to his own ears.
    Benjy shrugged, his too-wise gaze uncomfortably sharp. “She’s a nice lady.”
    Nick couldn’t disagree. She was a nice lady, and so much more. “I’ve got things to do here. Taking four days to drive to Houston and back isn’t gonna get things done.”
    Benjy didn’t reply. What could he say? The excuse was ridiculous, bordering on stupid.
    “You want to come with us?” A final effort to save himself from being alone with Winnie again.
    With a shake of his head, Benjy squashed that idea. “Both of us can’t be gone at the same time.”
    He was right of