Free Tupelo Gold: Sweeter than Honey (Eclipse Heat Book 4) by Gem Sivad Page B

cry about it, which in my opinion is wasted effort anyway, then what’s to be done?” Naomi asked.
    “Nothing,” Comfort answered flatly. “Hamilton has stated he strayed from our relationship once, which—given the circumstances of my marriage to another man at that time—is extraordinarily benign in the grand scheme of things. Had he admitted a longer affair, one spanning several years, I would have understood that too. But…”
    “He lied to you.”
    Comfort frowned at her sister, immediately feeling the need to defend Hamilton.
    “I’ve known him a long time, Naomi and he’s never been a liar. He hated every secret tryst we ever conducted in the one room cabin he built so we’d have a place to meet.” She stopped and looked around the kitchen. “This part of the house is all we had then.” 
    She blushed, remembering the first time they’d made love. Hamilton had made a nest of blankets in front of the fire. After he’d undressed her, he’d held her a long time, just talking to her, making her easy each step of the way. She’d fallen in love with him all over that day. Her lips trembled now, remembering their affair. 
    “Well, of course he had enough sense to know it was wrong,” Naomi continued. “You would have been better off if he’d shot Owen Bailey the first time he saw evidence the animal beat you.”  
    “He couldn’t do that. Owen had already contrived with rustlers to steal the Double-Q. At the time, if Owen had turned up dead, either Quincy or Hamilton would have been the first accused.”
    Comfort grimaced at the reminder of her former brutal treatment, but then her expression changed as she remembered a secret she and Hamilton shared.
    “Hamilton gave me the money to buy the Mercantile. I knew he couldn’t afford it. The Quince brothers were struggling to keep their cattle fed after a bad winter. Money was tight everywhere.
    “After a particularly bad incident that left my arm in a sling, Hamilton said he’d had enough. I thought he intended to stop seeing me. Instead, he arranged for me to get money. Wired it to me and I pretended I’d inherited the funds.”
    She rubbed her arm remembering the pain of the wrist Owen had broken.
    “Hamilton helped me come to an agreement with Mr. Bailey, the old man who sold me his store. I’d clerked for him for several years, so he knew me and he didn’t like Owen any better than anyone else did.  I used Hamilton’s loan as my down payment. Since Mr. Bailey knew I could run the place, he agreed to let me pay the rest of what I owed, in payments over time. Owen was furious when he thought I’d cheated him out of my inherited money. But, I survived the beating that time too.”  
    “I didn’t know any of that, Comfort.”
    “Nobody does. I didn’t know Owen Bailey was a murderer but I knew he was a thief. It was only a matter of time until he was found out. I saw a way to gain some independence from him, and Hamilton helped me make it happen.
    “He gave me my first chance at a real life, Naomi. If he’d slept with twenty women during that time, I couldn’t blame him.” Another tear trickled down Comfort’s cheek and she swiped it away.
    “Hamilton had his own reasons for getting you clear of Owen Bailey and he benefited from the move as much as you did,” Naomi told her brusquely. “I know you paid the Quince brothers back their money, with interest no doubt, so don’t take on guilt where it’s not deserved.” 
    Naomi looked at her shrewdly and added, “Comfort, if gratitude is the only reason you’re staying with Hamilton, you should leave. You don’t owe him any more than he owes you. You’re even.”
    Comfort flinched. Her sister’s advice wasn’t what she wanted to hear.
    “On the other hand,” Naomi paused and cleared her throat, “If Charlie Wolf McCallister told me something was true I’d believe him over any evidence ever produced that went against his word. If your heart says Hamilton’s telling you