Gabriel's Atonement Read Online Free Page A

love his ma and her memory but still resent her for making him promise those things. Knowing he’d committed to both read his Bible and become an honorable man had kept him from growing truly comfortable in his choice of career. And the closer he got to turning twenty-five, the edgier he grew.
    Ma had no idea how badly his stepfather had mistreated him. He’d hidden all but the worst of the beatings he’d taken from the man he hated, and had explained the injuries away as falling off a horse or some other accident. But they’d taken their toll and had left him as crushed both emotionally and physically as a man who’d been run down by a herd of stampeding cattle.
    He pulled the drawer open and stared at his mother’s aged Bible. He touched the decorative leather cover then slammed the drawer closed with his boot, hoping to shut out the haunting memories.
    Now what? His plans to soothe his befuddled soul by doing something noble had included seeing that the Widow Talbot received the money her husband left behind. Money Tom Talbot lost fair and square.
    Gabe leaned his head back and closed his eyes, exhausted from the lack of sleep. Every time he tried to rest, he saw Tom Talbot’s stunned expression as life quickly ebbed from the man’s body. Talbot couldn’t have been much older than he was.
    And now the man was dead.
    And a little boy was fatherless.
    Sighing, he stared up at the decorative tin ceiling. Maybe the boy’s mother would remarry—but having a stepfather could be far worse than having no father at all.
    He looked around the classy hotel suite he lived in, with its stylish wallpaper and top-of-the-line furnishings he’d purchased. He had all a man could desire as far as fancy things and good food. So why did he feel so unsettled lately?
    Was it because of the promises he’d made to his ma?
    Or the blank look in Talbot’s lifeless eyes?
    He shook his head, trying to replace the image of Talbot with that of the man’s wife. He pulled the photo out of his jacket pocket. A lean, pretty face stared back, albeit melancholy. Homer hadn’t mentioned if she was tall or short. Those eyes haunted Gabe’s dreams. And now they had color.
    Lara Talbot sounded like a good woman, not swayed by money and ready to fight if need be to protect her son. His mother was the only truly good woman he’d ever known. If Mrs. Talbot was anything like his ma, he owed it to himself to make her acquaintance and to make restitution—if it was possible to make reparation for the life of Mrs. Talbot’s husband.
    This was a good time to get away. Other than to exercise the fine horse he’d won a few months back, he hadn’t left Kansas City since he’d arrived ten years ago as a determined boy.
    The town of Caldwell, on the southern Kansas border, wasn’t all that far away. He could take the train, deliver the pouch of coins to Talbot’s wife and son, and for once, be proud of something he’d done. He’d won Talbot’s twenty dollars honestly, but it was blood money, and he needed to be rid of it.
    Maybe after he made things right with the man’s widow, he could journey down to Texas for his birthday. He’d always had a hankering to see the great state and to visit the Alamo.
    He rose and walked to the window, his gut swirling with uneasiness. He couldn’t forever put off the promise he’d made to his ma. His God-fearing mother was the only woman he’d ever loved, and he aimed to keep his word—just not yet. She wouldn’t be happy knowing he made his living as a gambler in a fancy saloon. He could see her finger wagging in his face as she lectured him on the woes of gambling.
    He blew out a loud breath.
    Ma was long dead. She’d never know if he didn’t keep his word.
    But he would.
    First he’d find this green-eyed widow and hand over the money. Then he’d see about reforming his life.
    For the