Free GoldLust by Sky Robinson Page B

sat on the edge of her chair watching Emma. It was obvious a plan was
rolling around in that mind of hers.
    “Would you be interested in selling the house? I would love
to buy it from you. I’d be willing to pay you whatever the fair market value
is.” Opal wrapped a blanket around her legs and grinned. “I’ve never had a
place of my own.”
    Selling the house to Opal would make things easier for Emma.
She would have enough money for a good start somewhere else, but she hated
facing the reality of leaving here. She would miss Alaska, but what else was
there to do? Emma had to face the facts. There was no gold on her claim and she
was soon going to have one more mouth to feed. She rubbed her belly and glanced
out the window.
    There was no definite proof that she was pregnant, no
bulging belly and she’d only missed one cycle, but in her bones she knew there
was a baby growing in there. She’d read enough about pregnancy to know the
signs. The nausea she felt every morning was only another fact to prove she
needed to get away from here, go someplace safe to raise her baby.
    “Yes. I’ll sell you the house.” Emma had to go back home,
had to move closer to family. She was going to need all the help she could get
with the baby.
    She hadn’t told James about being pregnant, but he’d made it
perfectly clear that he wasn’t interested in children. “Alaska is no place for
those damn little rats.” Rats, he called them. No, she wouldn’t tell him about
her situation. He would live his life more peacefully up here if he didn’t
know, and she and the baby would be better off without interference from him.
    * * * * *
    Three weeks after agreeing to sell her house to Opal, Emma
hiked up the trail back to her claim. She needed to pick up a few of her
things. Oh hell, who was she kidding? She wouldn’t need any of her mining stuff
ever again. She was going to see James one last time to say goodbye. She should
just leave, send him a letter or something, make things easier, but she needed
to see him once more before she left. It was the right thing to do.
    He was using his shovel to dig a hole in the black dirt near
the stream, wearing a long-sleeve shirt, but she knew exactly what the sexy
muscles looked like underneath.
    Thinking about leaving him was harder than it should be.
She’d told him from the beginning she didn’t want a commitment, but that didn’t
mean she liked the fact that she would never see James again, that she would
never have him touch her again. As much as she hated to admit it, as much as
she tried to keep it from happening, a part of her had fallen in love with the
man.
    He was focused on his work and didn’t even notice as Emma
stood and watched him for a few minutes. He stopped shoveling, wiped the sweat
off his forehead with the back of his hand and smiled when he spotted her.
    “Hello, beautiful. What a pleasant surprise.” James walked
over and put his arms around her waist. “I thought you were going to spend a
few more days in town.”
    It wasn’t going to be a pleasant surprise for long.
    “To what do I owe this visit?” He pressed his lips to hers,
and she almost lost her nerve. She wanted to keep the good thing she had with
James. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible. She couldn’t keep the whole
package.
    “I want to talk to you.” She couldn’t lose her nerve, she had
to say goodbye.
    “About?”
    “James.” She paused and looked down at the ground. There was
only one way to do this. She had to be blunt. “I’m leaving.”
    “When? Why?” His brows furrowed as he asked the questions
and they came out as more of an angry growl.
    “In two days. There’s no gold here. You know that as well as
me. I can’t stay here doing this anymore.”
    “You don’t have to leave.” He looked so disappointed, and
she wanted to wrap her arms around him and say she would stay with him forever,
that everything was going to be okay.
    But she couldn’t do that, couldn’t lie to