Free The Gallows' Bounty (West of Second Chances) by Desiree Banks Page A

didn’t contemplate the shopkeeper’s kindness for long.  The scent of supper wafted under the bedroom door, and her stomach growled.  If she didn’t miss her guess, it was beef stew.
    Her stomach propelled her to the door, but her feet stopped her in front of it.  Suddenly she knew the door’s slamming had awakened her.  He’d been in here, seen her in the tub.
    Well, most likely he got worried when you didn’t come out for supper , she thought, but pushed the idea aside. No one had worried about her for a long time.
    Once in the kitchen, she hesitated, uncertain what to do.  Boden stood at the stove pulling biscuits from the oven.  Really, who was this man?
    “Here, let me help you,” Willow said.
    She hastened around the table, realizing as she did so that quick movements weren’t such a good idea. By the time she made it to his side, the black dots were dancing in her vision again.  They were coming together and forming a black wall when an arm snaked around her waist.
    “Hang on there. No need to worry about the cookin’.  I’ve got it handled,” Boden assured her.
    Willow decided he did have it handled, too.  He steadied her with one powerful hand and held a pan of golden biscuits with the other.  She fought to regain charge of her senses.  The sooner she gained control, the sooner he’d remove his hand.  She hoped.
    “Let’s sit you down,” he said, easing her into a chair.  “I’m surprised you can even walk at all.  You haven’t eaten for a while.”
    And she hadn’t.  She’d stolen her last meal from Boden’s saddlebags.
    He guided her to a chair, and she breathed easy once his hand let loose of her, yet her waist remained warm where he’d held her.  Strange, that.
    The food he placed before her was indeed beef stew.  He set a well-buttered biscuit on the edge of the bowl.  Her mouth watered, but she waited for him to sit.  If she ate before he did, he might become angry with her.
    However, he didn’t eat immediately upon sitting, instead he tentatively took her hand in his and bowed his head.  “Thank you for the food, Lord, and for keepin’ Willow safe.  Amen.”
    It was the first prayer Willow had heard since she’d sat around the table with her family.  A lump formed in her throat, and she shakily put her hand back in her lap when he released it.
    “How was your bath?” he asked before taking a bite of his own steaming stew.
    “I fell asleep in it,” she said.  She picked up her spoon.  Despite her emotions, she really was hungry.  “You slammed the door?”
    The spoon he had been carrying to his mouth stopped in transit.  “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”
    She smiled timidly at him.  “A bit, but you could have made me a lot more uncomfortable had you chosen to shake me awake.”
    She looked down at her bowl and picked at her biscuit.  What she hadn’t said bothered her the most.  Most men would have done more than simply wake her.  Others would have–
    “Hey, are you all right?”  Boden’s deep, concerned voice interrupted her thoughts.
    She thanked God for his interruption.  Thinking of what others had done to her wasn’t a mental road she wanted to travel right now.
    “My thoughts were wandering.  That’s all.” She shrugged off her discomfort and took another bite. She felt him studying her for a second before he returned to eating his own meal.  Silence ensued.
    The silence wasn’t uncomfortable for Willow and that surprised her.  When Roberts had been silent, it had meant he was sober and in a foul mood.  Boden’s silence gave her space. 
    Her spoon clinked the bowl. Boden broke the quiet.
    “Would you like some more, Mrs. Roberts?” he asked as he half stood up from the table.
    “I’ll get it,” she said half-standing and thinking she should ask him to stop calling her by Roberts’ name.
    He came around the table and placed his large hands on her thin shoulders, pushing her gently back into her chair.