Hearts in Defiance (Romance in the Rockies Book 2) Read Online Free Page B
Author: Heather Blanton
was
concerned.
Mollie pulled her long
blonde braid to the front of her shoulder and clutched it with both hands.
After a moment, she nodded. “I think that he loves you dearly, Naomi. And I
also believe he’s finished with other women.”
Naomi shifted and hugged the
watering can tighter. “But …”
“Personally, I think summer
doves aren’t going to be his biggest problem.”
Naomi tilted her head. “I
don’t understand.”
Mollie took a few halting
steps down the row to Naomi, glancing around as if looking for eavesdroppers,
then spoke in a quieter voice. “Before you got here—before he hired Marshal
Beckwith—Mr. McIntyre ran this town. His word was law, and he had the
wherewithal to back it up. He wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty, if you
understand my meaning.” She paused, her brow diving. “True, a lot of women have
loved him, but I know a lot of men who hate him. If they hear about his finding
religion and trying to be respectable, well …” Mollie shoved her hands in her
pockets and shrugged. “Maybe I shouldn’t say this, but I doubt all the tests of
his faith, or yours, will be wearing skirts.”
~~~
Three
The man’s big, meaty fist connected with Billy Page’s jaw like a
hammer blow. Pain exploded in his face,
the force of the punch knocking him back onto the poker table. It shattered
beneath him, gouging his back as he fell to the floor in a shower of beer, cards,
and coins. His head buzzed and his ears rang with the disgruntled cries from
the motley crew of card players angered over the destruction of their game.
Billy attempted to scramble to his feet, but hands the size of bear paws
grabbed his lapels and snatched him up.
He was now eye-to-eye with
his attacker. Billy’s opponent in the “friendly” game of cards glared at him
with one glittering brown eye as the other hid behind a black patch. A bushy,
matted salt-and-pepper beard covered most of the big man’s jowls. Tobacco juice
dribbled from the corner of his mouth. As high and wide as an Amish barn, the
big man lifted Billy completely off his feet and shook him like a rag doll.
“You think you can cheat me, city boy?” he growled in a gravelly voice. “You’ve
just made the biggest mistake of your life.”
Billy tossed his blond hair
out of his eyes and blinked. His first thought was how sick and tired he was of
being controlled. He’d left his domineering father, suffocating Southern
society, and the addictive Page fortune to come after Hannah. He wasn’t about
to let this gorilla who didn’t like losing at poker stop him.
Billy’s better judgment
snapped like a kite string. With all the force he could muster in his own
substantially smaller frame, he brought his knee up hard, hoping to hit
anything sensitive. The big man’s face turned purple and contorted oddly,
inflating as if someone had pumped a load of air into his head. He let go of
Billy, clutched at his groin, and doubled over.
No, Billy had never been in
a fight. But he did know how to box. In a flash he positioned his feet
properly, curled his hands into tight fists, and delivered an uppercut to the
man’s jaw that just about sent him airborne. Billy felt the bones in his hand
break, but he ignored the streaking pain as his opponent straightened with the
blow, staggered, and then recovered. To Billy’s amazement, the man balled up
his fists, sneered, and threw a wild haymaker. The blow would have knocked a
slower man across the county line, but Billy dodged, weaved inside, and tapped
the man hard on the jaw with his remaining good hand. His opponent shook off
the blows and threw another wild punch which nearly clipped Billy because he’d
underestimated the man’s reach.
But Billy had him now. This
big, burly fellow didn’t know how to box—he only knew how to use brute force.
Billy raised his fists, hunched up his shoulders, picked a spot on the man’s
jaw to target, and—
Stars and pain exploded like
fireworks in the
concerned.
Mollie pulled her long
blonde braid to the front of her shoulder and clutched it with both hands.
After a moment, she nodded. “I think that he loves you dearly, Naomi. And I
also believe he’s finished with other women.”
Naomi shifted and hugged the
watering can tighter. “But …”
“Personally, I think summer
doves aren’t going to be his biggest problem.”
Naomi tilted her head. “I
don’t understand.”
Mollie took a few halting
steps down the row to Naomi, glancing around as if looking for eavesdroppers,
then spoke in a quieter voice. “Before you got here—before he hired Marshal
Beckwith—Mr. McIntyre ran this town. His word was law, and he had the
wherewithal to back it up. He wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty, if you
understand my meaning.” She paused, her brow diving. “True, a lot of women have
loved him, but I know a lot of men who hate him. If they hear about his finding
religion and trying to be respectable, well …” Mollie shoved her hands in her
pockets and shrugged. “Maybe I shouldn’t say this, but I doubt all the tests of
his faith, or yours, will be wearing skirts.”
~~~
Three
The man’s big, meaty fist connected with Billy Page’s jaw like a
hammer blow. Pain exploded in his face,
the force of the punch knocking him back onto the poker table. It shattered
beneath him, gouging his back as he fell to the floor in a shower of beer, cards,
and coins. His head buzzed and his ears rang with the disgruntled cries from
the motley crew of card players angered over the destruction of their game.
Billy attempted to scramble to his feet, but hands the size of bear paws
grabbed his lapels and snatched him up.
He was now eye-to-eye with
his attacker. Billy’s opponent in the “friendly” game of cards glared at him
with one glittering brown eye as the other hid behind a black patch. A bushy,
matted salt-and-pepper beard covered most of the big man’s jowls. Tobacco juice
dribbled from the corner of his mouth. As high and wide as an Amish barn, the
big man lifted Billy completely off his feet and shook him like a rag doll.
“You think you can cheat me, city boy?” he growled in a gravelly voice. “You’ve
just made the biggest mistake of your life.”
Billy tossed his blond hair
out of his eyes and blinked. His first thought was how sick and tired he was of
being controlled. He’d left his domineering father, suffocating Southern
society, and the addictive Page fortune to come after Hannah. He wasn’t about
to let this gorilla who didn’t like losing at poker stop him.
Billy’s better judgment
snapped like a kite string. With all the force he could muster in his own
substantially smaller frame, he brought his knee up hard, hoping to hit
anything sensitive. The big man’s face turned purple and contorted oddly,
inflating as if someone had pumped a load of air into his head. He let go of
Billy, clutched at his groin, and doubled over.
No, Billy had never been in
a fight. But he did know how to box. In a flash he positioned his feet
properly, curled his hands into tight fists, and delivered an uppercut to the
man’s jaw that just about sent him airborne. Billy felt the bones in his hand
break, but he ignored the streaking pain as his opponent straightened with the
blow, staggered, and then recovered. To Billy’s amazement, the man balled up
his fists, sneered, and threw a wild haymaker. The blow would have knocked a
slower man across the county line, but Billy dodged, weaved inside, and tapped
the man hard on the jaw with his remaining good hand. His opponent shook off
the blows and threw another wild punch which nearly clipped Billy because he’d
underestimated the man’s reach.
But Billy had him now. This
big, burly fellow didn’t know how to box—he only knew how to use brute force.
Billy raised his fists, hunched up his shoulders, picked a spot on the man’s
jaw to target, and—
Stars and pain exploded like
fireworks in the