Jessie's War (Civil War Steam) Read Online Free Page B

with her after all these years darkened. “You
got trouble here, Jess?” The gruffness of his voice surprised even him.
    She made a movement of her
shoulders that wasn’t quite a shrug. “These are troubled times. Nothing to
concern you.”
    Her words left him feeling
strangely helpless, and he shoved the thought away before the desire to act
consumed him. He deserved whatever guilt she decided to lay on him. “What’s
going on here?”
    “Nothing I can’t handle. Been
doing things alone for a long time, now. One thing I do know is that you’re not
here just to say hello. So why come all this way? Why now?”
    He’d hoped to avoid this
topic for a little while longer, but it was clear that the trust he’d hoped to
earn wasn’t in the cards. Seemed he brought her nothing but pain.
    “I brought you Gideon’s
letter.”
    She brushed something from
her dress, and he didn’t miss the way her hands shook. “You could have sent it
in the post. That’s what Hiram does, and his letters get here just fine. You
didn’t need to come.”
    He shoveled food in his
mouth, trying not to think of the way she’d said Hiram with a fondness the man didn’t merit. When he was done, he
gestured to her plate. “You gonna eat that?”
    “Be my guest.” She passed the
plate over to him. “What are you doing here, Bradshaw?”
    Bradshaw , she said, as if he didn’t even deserve
to be called by his first name, and maybe he didn’t. Maybe she’d thought him a
ghost when he showed up on her porch last night, that first moment she’d seen
him and whispered his name. Some fool part of him had hoped it meant she still
cared.
    “I need to talk to you.”
    “Figured as much.” Her voice
was sharp. “I can’t imagine you would come back for me.”
    He couldn’t meet her eyes as
he picked up their plates and deposited them in the sink. He’d wondered about
the day when he would come back into her life, but he never thought it would be
like this.
    It didn’t matter. She was
different now. Hell, he was so
different he didn’t recognize himself anymore.
    “Funny you bring up Hiram
Andersen,” he began. “I came here because of him.”
    Her dark eyes widened, her
brows drawing together. “You’ve seen him?”
    “No. I was wondering if you
had.”
    She looked away. “Nope.”
    “Have you heard from him?”
    “Wouldn’t tell you if I had.”
    He’d made a mistake in coming
here first. He should have talked to the sheriff, questioned her friends. Maybe
gone to the paper. Figured out who she’d become in his time away. If he’d been
less concerned about reaching her, and more concerned about the task at hand,
he would have done just that.
    Moving a chair next to her,
he sat down, so close his knee brushed against her thigh. He reached for her
hand, but she snatched it away.
    She wasn’t the girl he
remembered. He could do what needed to be done. This Jessie and his Jessie were
two different people.
    “Jess. If you’ve gotten
yourself mixed up in something, you need to tell me.”
    “Just what do you think I’ve
been doing since you’ve left?”
    He grinned. “Raising hell, I
imagine.”
    “Don’t be vulgar, Bradshaw,”
she chastised.
    “Beg pardon. It wasn’t meant
to be vulgar.” He leaned back in his chair, allowing them some space. “Be
honest. Have you heard from Hiram? He’s missing, and we really need to find
him.”
    Jessie buried her face in her
hands. “How long has he been gone?” Her voice shook.
    “A few weeks.” He tried to shut
down the compassion he felt for her. Failed.
    “What kind of trouble is he
in?” She asked the question as if she didn’t know.
    Luke hoped she didn’t, for
both their sakes. “We’d just really like to find him.”
    “You can’t expect me to tell
you anything if you’re going to lie. Who’s we ?
Who areyou, Luke Bradshaw?”
    “I’m the same man I’ve always
been.” He wanted that to be enough for her.
    “I’m not sure that’s helping
your