Free WESTERN ROMANCE: A Settler’s Wife’s Dreams (Contemporary Westerns Historical Romance, Cowboy Romance) by Melodie Grace Page B

move from the homestead to Ted's shop. They were both sure that no one knew about what had happened between them during Lisa's visit because there hadn't been any backhanded sympathy or sneers when people found out that Frank had been killed. Lisa understood that Ted wanted her to live in another part of the house for at least a few months so that people didn't talk. When they went out in public together it was as dear friends and nothing more. Ted hadn't had to articulate any of this to Lisa. She just knew by the way he acted and his tone of voice when they went out.
    For the first few days it had bothered Lisa somewhat, having to separate her attraction to Ted from how she treated him. She hated putting up a facade that hopefully the rest of the community wouldn't be able to see through. When Lisa would get a sour look on her face in public after resisting the urge to kiss Ted on the cheek,  he'd tell her that he didn't like any of it either, although he never defined what he really meant by it. Ted was in a hard spot with the town because he relied on their business for this lively hood, a lively hood that had just recently expanded to double what it had been just a short time before. The expansion had been bold and Ted was starting to feel the strain on his account with the bank.
    Lisa would nod, as he'd tell her that he couldn't afford to take out a line of credit with the kind of interest the bank wanted to charge him. The contracts with the bank were always long and hard to understand, but Ted did his best to make his way through it and came to understand that the bank wanted to tack a huge amount of compounding interest onto the principle every quarter.
    A few of the businesses around town had already started to come to realize that there would never be a way for them to get out from under the financial burden the bank had yoked them with. All of the owners had signed the contracts, but none of them had taken the time understand what was really going on in all of the mumbo jumbo on the page.
    Lisa thought about all of this while she powdered her nose in the huge vanity in her room. Ted had told her that morning they would be having dinner with the owners of the new bank opening up in town. Ted hadn't had to explain that it was very important that they make a good impression and also that they not appear too friendly. It wouldn't do to put all their eggs in one basket by warming up too quickly to the new bankers in town lest the old bankers hear about it. Right now there was no guarantee that the new bankers were going to be able to stay open long enough to open a line of credit with Ted that he could afford.
    Lisa wrinkled her nose in disgust as she thought about the multitude of fake smiles she would have to flash throughout dinner. She didn’t want to think of how she would have to respond with her own fake smile and everyone would pretend they were real.
    Politics was what she hated the most about living in the town opposed to the homestead. Life in the homestead was much simpler and worth it overall. She thought this, but just when she'd come close to thinking that she missed the homestead she would think about the last time she was visited, before she'd told Ted to have it burned to the ground. When she thought about her last visit she thought about the dirt and how dingy everything had been. The homestead seemed so quaint now; like it belonged in a completely different time in her life that had been very far away.
    As she finished doing her makeup she stood back from the vanity and assessed her skills. Lisa had never really had the money to afford makeup so this was all something very new to her.  Although Ted had offered to hire one of the local beauties to show her how to do her makeup, Lisa had refused. Instead she chose to look through books and other sources that might tell her how to correctly apply the blush to her cheeks to bring out just the right hue. It had taken her a long while to get the hang of