Colorado Heart (9781101612026) Read Online Free Page B

scalped with a dull knife.” He slammed his glass down on the bar. “Pretty don’t mean much when you’ve got a gun pointed at your head.”
    Ward grinned as he poured another shot into Jake’s glass. “It’s much better than having a gun pointed at your head by an ugly outlaw,” Ward pointed out. “Why didn’t you just let her keep the donkey? It’s not like the animal actually belongs to you.”
    â€œI guess I just wanted to make her mad to see what she would do next.”
    Ward grinned, so Jake turned his back on him, as he had a pretty good idea of what his friend was thinking. He didn’t want to hear it, so he concentrated on what was happening in the Heaven’s Gate Saloon. There wasn’t much there to distract him.
    Dan and Randy sat at a table by the potbellied stove with Priscilla, one of the waitresses, who giggled mightily at something Dan said. Talking about him and how he was attacked on the trail by a slip of a woman, no doubt. Six puppies, three black and white, two solid gray and one a mix of all three tumbled about beneath the tables. One chewed on Randy’s boot and he picked the pup up and put it on his lap. Lady, Ward’s dog, watched her offspring carefully as she lay next to a box close to the stove.
    â€œHow old are those pups?” Jake asked.
    â€œOld enough to leave if you’re interested.”
    â€œNah,” Jake said, although he was tempted as it had been awhile since he’d lost Sonny, who’d been with him for years. A good dog was hard to come by.
    â€œSpeaking of pups and such,” Ward said. “Had you heard that Leah and Cade are expecting?”
    Jake tossed his drink back. “That didn’t take long.” He didn’t want to admit that losing Leah to Cade Gentry still hurt his pride a bit. “I reckon they’re happy and such.”
    â€œThey look it.”
    â€œI’m glad for her then,” Jake said.
    â€œStill hurting?” Ward asked.
    â€œI wouldn’t call it hurting,” Jake said. “Leah didn’t love me and I reckon when you get down to it, I didn’t love her since it didn’t really make me all that mad after I thought about it for a while. Sometimes I’m just a bit lonely is all.”
    Ward raised his glass in salute. “I certainly know what that feels like, my friend.” Jake drained his glass again and turned it upside down on the bar. He was done with whiskey for the night. Ward re-corked the bottle and put it away on the shelf that held his private stock.
    Jake caught sight of his reflection in the mirror that hung behind the bar and stared at the man who gazed back at him with steely blue eyes that looked hollow and lost. The winter had taken its toll on him. He’d worked hard all his life and now he had something to show for it. But it didn’t mean much when there was no one to share it with.
    â€œMaybe I should take a trip down to Denver,” Jake said. “See the sights.”
    â€œAnd find a bride?” Ward asked.
    â€œMaybe,” Jake admitted.
    â€œYou sound like a man who wants to fall in love,” Ward said. He poured Jake a beer from the large keg that sat on the end of the bar.
    â€œLove?” Jake scoffed. “I’m pretty sure that’s something the poets and Shakespeare made up.”
    Ward grinned. “We’ll see,” he said.
    Jake shook his head and rolled his eyes at his friend. It seemed strange, but he felt a bit better about things. Almost optimistic. Fu was right, not that he’d ever admit it to the Chinaman. He just needed to get out of the house for a bit. And there was no reason why he couldn’t make a trip to Denver after the spring roundup. There were plenty of women there. Plenty of women just dying for a man to provide for them. He just needed to look at it like a business deal. Take a trip down to Denver or maybe wait until the fall drive and