Rancher Wants a Wife Read Online Free Page B

handful of people wove in and out of the bakery, and farther along, the smoke shop where a man could buy a good cigar. A stagecoach creaked by in the other direction and Jack tipped his hat in greeting to the driver. “I’ve been gone five years. So when, precisely, did you part company?”
    Color crept into her cheeks. “The night you left.”
    Jack tried to piece together the timeline. It meant after his argument with Cassandra, Troy must’ve come to her, as well.
    “Why didn’t you tell me?”
    Her arms stiffened at her sides. “You didn’t leave a forwarding address. I didn’t even know what country you were living in.”
    “Ah, hell.” Another wave of guilt washed over him.
    If she had known where he was living, would she have reached out for help? Something told him the answer would still have been no.
    He directed the horse and buggy around the town square and the large granite sundial that sat in the center. Spaniards had built the structure more than a century ago, and it was how the town got its name.
    Cassandra craned her neck to see it, intrigued. “Can you truly read the time from it?”
    “Of course. I’ll show you how next time, when we’re on foot.”
    “Jack, now that we’re face-to-face...and seeing that the date is planned for tomorrow, I’m wondering about a few things.” She swung her knees slightly in his direction.
    Questions? But there was much more he wanted to ask her about Troy. Such as why they’d severed their plans for marriage, and who had been the one to walk away. Jack doubted it had been her, considering how much she’d defended Troy on that night.
    Jack relented to her curiosity. “By all means, ask away.”
    He pulled in beside the Valley Hotel, a board and batten, two-story building with a large veranda encircling the main floor. He dropped the reins and looked at Cassandra. Her face was in shade, but a sharp shadow line from the hot sun sliced across her lap.
    She struggled to find the right words. “There were at least two dozen people at the stage depot when you picked me up. You spoke to several of them, and we passed another half dozen on the way here. Yet you haven’t introduced me to one person.” The crest of her cheek flickered. “Didn’t you tell anyone about me?”
    He muttered under his breath, castigating himself. He’d handled her arrival all wrong.
    “I’m glad you’re here, Cassandra.” He exhaled, wishing he’d thought things through in a different way. “The fact is I did tell some folks you were coming. Not the whole world, though. I’m not sure why I kept it to myself. It certainly wasn’t to make you feel slighted. Maybe it was because I wasn’t sure you’d be on that stagecoach.”
    “You thought I might not show up?”
    “That’s right.”
    She blinked. “I’m here.”
    He slid down from the buggy, strolled around to her side and lifted her by the waist with all the careful enthusiasm he used to have around her in Chicago, when they were younger and heading out for an evening with a group of friends.
    It must’ve taken her by surprise. The wind caught her skirts and she yelped in laughter, sailing over the boardwalk. When he planted her feet square in front of the Valley Hotel, beneath a palm tree, he noticed they were being watched from two doors down.
    Four young women were coming out of a hat shop, smiling and chattering, all holding several packages. One of the taller ones, Elise Beacon, peered over at him and Cassandra and, apparently startled by the sight, dropped one of her purchases.
    Not now , thought Jack.
    One of Elise’s friends fumbled to retrieve the package for her, while the others whispered, and nudged her to continue walking.
    Jack removed his hat in greeting. “Ladies.” Then he turned to Cassandra, who’d briefly glanced in their direction, and held out his elbow. “Shall we go inside?”

Chapter Three
    C assandra wondered who the women were who had stared at her and Jack. There was a taller one