Chasing Clovers Read Free

moment he'd met her. He'd seen the fear in her eyes every time she looked at him.
    He removed the horses ' harnesses.
    Damn. Why had he sent for her?
    He yank ed off his hat and ran his hand through his hair.
    He k new why. The children needed a mother.
    Sett ing his hat back on his head, he led the horses into the barn. He brushed them and cleaned their hooves before he led them outside to their pen. He smiled when the horses stomped their hooves and whinnied in anticipation of the fresh hay he was bringing to them.
    " Here you go, boys."
    He watched as the horses munched on the food , his thoughts trailing back to Livy. She was sitting in his house at this very minute, but he couldn't go there yet. What was he supposed to say to her? He wouldn't apologize for his harshness. He felt nothing for her. Never would.
    Becky 's face appeared in his mind and his stomach turned at what he'd done.
    Hanging his head, he took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Becky."
    How would he handle having another woman in his house? Helping with his children? Eating off of Becky's dishes?
    " Ahh, shit."
    He 'd battled back and forth for months before he placed the ad in the paper. He thought he'd prepared for this. It wasn't like he jumped at the first reply either. He'd made sure Livy was the right woman for the job. He asked her questions that he now knew she'd lied about. She didn't really know how to cook, but if that was the worst of her deficiencies, he could deal with that.
    But something told him it wasn 't.
    There was more to Livy Green he didn't know about. She had sent him references from her boss at the mercantile and the woman who owned the boardinghouse where she stayed. She seemed on the up and up, and he had no reason to doubt she wasn't the perfect candidate.
    But now that she was here, he could tell she was hiding something more from him. He could see it in the way her green eyes darted warily away from his. And when he touched her, she went stiff as a board and her pretty face lost all color. She was afraid of him and that only meant one thing.
    Some one had mistreated her.
    He made his way toward the house, his eyes drawn to the oak tree where Becky rested. He'd never love another the way he'd loved her. Regret settled deep inside his soul.
    Was he betraying Becky ? Would she understand why he'd sent for Livy?
    He dug his hand into his pocket and found the heart-shaped locket. He 'd given it to Becky on their first anniversary. He carried it with him after she died. It was the only thing he had left of her, and he kept it as close to his heart as possible.
     
    Once inside the house, Livy let the satchel fall with a thump to the wooden floor.
    This just won 't work.
    He had already caught her in one lie and he was bound to catch her in all the others she'd told him. Then what? Where would she go then?
    She released a frustrated sigh. She was desperate. Worst of all, she was tired of being alone. Tired of always looking over her shoulder. Tired of the nightmares.
    She plopped down on the bench by the door .
    She didn 't belong here.
    She shook her head. "I don't belong anywhere."
    She had nowhere to go and little money saved. If she left the ranch, she'd be back to singing for money, a thought that sent shivers up her spine. She couldn't go back to that life. Her stomach knotted as she clasped her hands together. No, she would make it work here. She'd clean, cook―or at least try to―and she'd be kind.
    A loud sniffle pulled her from her thoughts.
    In the hallway, a young girl clutched a tattered white blanket. She stared at Livy with wide, tearful blue eyes. She was about two or three years old, with thin, stringy blonde hair. She wore a dusty-rose pinafore smeared with dirt.
    Livy blinked . "Emma?"
    Raw emotions rolled through her, paralyzing her. A piercing, knee-buckling pain zigzagged across her chest. She couldn't catch her breath.
    Breathe! In. Out.
    Emma 's face was there. Her smell. Her blonde, frizzy hair.
    Livy covered her