Tupelo Gold: Sweeter than Honey (Eclipse Heat Book 4) Read Online Free Page A

he’d better figure something out because his reprieve wouldn’t last long.
    By the end of the first week, Comfort had claimed both kids as hers, and they’d been accepted by anyone who mattered. Once she’d invited them into the house, he’d never doubted that outcome.
    Comfort wielded a lot of influence among the females in Eclipse, Texas. Hamilton figured they were ashamed, as he was, of allowing the abuse she’d suffered at the hands of Owen Bailey.
    But the truth of the matter was that Comfort didn’t call forth pity. The women of Eclipse admired Comfort Parker Bailey Quince. She’d come out of a nightmare marriage widowed and owning a store, a boardinghouse, and a sizeable bank account.
    And if that wasn’t enough to make them like her, her generosity never ceased. She’d helped more than a few women get shut of violent men, aiding their escape, and providing a grubstake for their transition to a new place.
    Hamilton knew his wife didn’t need him. He didn’t know how she thought of him now or how he’d fit into her life in the future.
    After he’d tried to explain the circumstance of Jacob’s birth to her more than once, only to have her evade his conversation by leaving the room, he gave up trying.  Comfort seemed indifferent to where he spent his time so he spent most days on the ranch.
    As late summer turned to fall, Hamilton’s claim on her affections seemed precarious at best. Helplessly, he felt her warmth toward him plummet to sub-zero temperatures.
     
     

Chapter Three
     
    Comfort repressed her anger and refused to give into her chaotic emotions. As always, she attempted to put the best face on things. Though the existence of two unknown Quince children could be manipulated for the general public, she knew the truth. Hamilton, the only man she’d ever trusted, had been unfaithful.
    Even Owen Bailey’s brutality hadn’t hurt so much. The life of peaceful harmony she’d envisioned with Hamilton now seemed ludicrous. She felt bereft. After lulling her into feeling cherished, he’d blasted away her illusions and revealed the truth. His pledge to love her always had been a sham.
    How did I not see this happening? He betrayed me. His son looked so very much like his father she couldn’t doubt his paternity.  Her husband’s progeny now resided with them. More with her, actually, since the house belonged to her.
    Part of her wanted to sharpen her nails and rake them over Hamilton’s face. Maybe even write Thief on his forehead in his own blood. He’d stolen her heart and smashed it.
    After her shocked numbness wore off, she still didn’t know what direction to take. She wouldn’t blacken the Quince name. She owed the family too much. Hamilton hadn’t held the gun that killed Owen Bailey, only because he’d been with Comfort, fighting to save her life.
    Though two Texas lawmen had claimed responsibility, it had been a Quince family member who’d freed Comfort from the rotten, thieving, murderer she’d been tied to.
    Nor could she find it in her heart to turn away the children. Comfort and her sister had been older when orphaned. Even so, they’d barely survived.  She would never put these children through that horror. Nor would she denounce them as bastards.
    No, as far as the citizens of Eclipse were concerned, the children were the product of a brief marriage. Comfort and Lucy Quince devised the story during her sister-in-law’s visit.
    “Unfair but true, the gossips will be ready with their own story if we don’t give them one. So, we’ll give them one.” Lucy had spoken decisively, calming Comfort just by her presence.
    Accordingly, they sent Mrs. Carmichael, out to spread the word. The housekeeper knew both women well, loved both the Quince men like sons, and knew how to tell a good story.
    With the housekeeper feeding the gossip, it soon became common knowledge in Eclipse that Hamilton had been wed to the children’s mother. The poor woman had had their two children too