Redemption: Reckless Desires (Blue Moon Saloon Book 3) Read Online Free Page A

café.
    You need him, and he needs you,
the voice went on.
    Which was ridiculous. What did a man like Soren need from her? He’d probably moved on to a dozen other women since she’d seen him last. He’d clearly established some new business venture in this unlikely place. Whatever it was, he didn’t need her. He just felt sorry for her.
    He needs you like you need him,
the voice insisted. That same ephemeral voice that had guided her here.
    She stared into space, trying to still the thoughts spinning around her mind. She’d been so desperate for some chance — any chance! She’d be crazy to let it go.
    For the baby,
the little voice said.
    She turned in spite of herself, and for one golden, sunstruck moment when her eyes met Soren’s, she could feel love pulsing between them like it used to. A burning, eternal passion that would never, ever dim. It was like a physical thing, a lasso that bound them together and held them tight in its grasp.
    Just when it looked like he might wrap her in the hug she so badly needed, his eyes dropped to her belly, and a cloud passed over his face. She nearly bolted then and there, imagining herself through his eyes. She’d let herself get knocked up by another man. And if he found out who it had been…
    It would be best to tell him everything. They’d never had any secrets, the two of them. But when she opened her mouth, all that came out was a pathetic little choking sound. God, what had she become? She’d always been so confident, so sure. Even when Soren left, she’d managed to hold her head high for a while. But ever since the fire…
    Her vision blurred, threatening a new onslaught of tears.
    An arm brushed hers, and Sarah looked up to see Jessica, smiling kindly while she hooked an elbow around her arm. Her knees had been wobbling again, but Jessica’s smile bolstered her.
    “Let’s talk, shall we?” Jessica said. “Girls only,” she added, shooting Soren a look that said,
Leave this to me.
    Jessica led her back into the café, and Sarah didn’t have the willpower to resist. There was something about finding a familiar face — one that didn’t come with any emotional baggage — that did her in. That almost made her believe coming here hadn’t been a cruel twist of fate but maybe — just maybe — a lucky break.
    Jess shooed everyone out, closed the door, and handed her a glass of water. “Listen, Sarah—”
    She started to mumble a protest, but Jessica cut her off. She pulled up a chair, and it scraped across the earth-toned tiles of the floor.
    “Just listen to what I have to say.”
    Jessica took a deep breath, and Sarah did, too.
    “You need help,” Jess started.
    She was right, and Sarah knew it. She did need help. Desperately. She needed a place to stay.
    “I need to keep the baby safe,” she whispered. She’d almost stopped caring about herself, but the baby… She couldn’t give up. She just couldn’t.
    “This is a safe place,” Jessica assured her.
    “No place is safe from them,” she croaked as the memories consumed her again.
    “Believe me,” Jessica said, “I know who’s after you. They were after us, too — Janna and me. I didn’t think we’d ever find a place to stop running. But we did, and it’s here. It’s a good place, Sarah. The Blue Moon Saloon gave us a fresh start.”
    “Blue Moon Saloon?” She looked up. She could have sworn the sign over the door said
Quarter Moon Café
.
    Jessica jerked a thumb toward the wall on her right. “Soren and Simon run the bar next door. We started out there…” Her eyes went a little misty as every possible emotion passed over her face, from hopelessness to a flash of anger to a warm, happy glow. She sighed a little and looked around the café. “And everything worked out.”
    Sarah stared at the floor. How on earth would things ever work out for her?
    “I didn’t want to accept help, either,” Jessica said. “But I had to. And you know what? Swallowing my pride was the best thing