Shadow of Hope: Book 4 - Shadow Series Read Free Page A

always been close friends. He knew her almost better than her sisters knew her, which was probably why Miles always sought his advice.
    “Are you sure?” Caleb asked.
    “Well, she’s been avoiding me since she’s been home, and now she says we need to talk.  I just know—the look on her face, her body language—I just know it,” he said.
    “If she does break it off, take it better than she would imagine, so it throws her off balance.  She’s probably expecting you to beg and plead, so don’t,” Caleb said.  “My advice is to act cool and not make a big fuss.”
    “That’s easy for you to say,” Miles said. 
    “Well, Miles, that’s what I’d do.  Women don’t like men who grovel.  Take it like a man and she’ll respect you more for being strong.
    Miles sighed.  “I’ll try.”
     
    George Armstrong was Jonas and Caleb’s father, and Phoebe was his second wife. Every Sunday since Jonas and Ivy were married, Sunday dinner was at either the Armstrongs’ or the Jeffries’ house.  Even with Hiram Jeffries gone, Lavinia had continued the Sunday ritual. 
    Miles barely tasted the roast chicken at the Armstrongs’ dinner.  He watched as Jonas and Ivy fussed over their daughters, and Caleb and his sister were sneaking loving looks.  Rose and Quinn hadn’t come this week because they were having dinner with the Iversons’. Violet sat beside her mother and seemed to just push her food around on her plate, making a pretense of eating.  This made Miles feel even less confident that the talk would be a pleasant one. 
    After dinner, when the guests all moved to the sitting room for tea and coffee, Violet approached him and motioned to the back door.  He felt his whole insides twist painfully, but he still followed her out to the backyard.  She led him to a swing that was a wooden bench attached to ropes and hung from a huge oak tree. 
    “I’ve always loved sitting in this swing when we came here to visit,” Violet said, as she took a seat on the swing.  She smiled at him as he slid in beside her, but it wasn’t the smile he’d fallen in love with, as her eyes didn’t sparkle, and her dimples barely showed.
    He thought it best to remain quiet so she could begin the end, and get it over with, so he looked down at his hands in his lap and listened.
    “Miles, as you know, my job in Salina keeps me away from Abilene for months at a time, and now there’s so much work to be done: grading, testing, correcting papers, planning lessons—I barely have time for traveling back and forth.”  She paused and looked at him, as if expecting him to answer, but he remained silent.
    “I thought it might be best if I—that is, we—broke off the betrothal.”
    He swung his head around to look at her.  She had no tears in her eyes, and showed no remorse on her face, which told him everything he needed to know.  “I understand,” he heard himself say, but inside he was crying.  Caleb’s advice kept him from letting her see how broken he truly felt.
    “I felt it wasn’t fair to you to be left here, unable to have a dinner partner, or someone to snuggle, and me, miles away in the same situation.  It just isn’t working, Miles.”
    “Miles?  Miles?” he heard her say, repeatedly, but all he could do was to just sit there, shaking his head.  He couldn't think of anything to say.  He tried to heed Caleb’s advice and pretend she hadn’t just stuck a knife into his heart. If she would just stop calling his name long enough for him to think.
    “Miles, talk to me!” Violet said.  “I need to know how you feel about this.”
    Miles cleared his throat.  “I agree.  It isn’t fair at all.  I had asked you to quit the job and be a full-time wife and mother, but you preferred to work.  So I accepted your decision. I even offered to quit my job and get another one in Salina, but you didn’t want me to do that, especially after my recent promotion.  If your job’s that important to you, then