Free Deborah Camp by To Seduce andDefend Page B

husband and a father. He knew what he was doing. The sooner you accept that, the easier this is going to be on you.” He sat straighter in the chair, pinning her with his frank, blue gaze. “You need to get out of your head and your heart that your husband was an innocent party in all of this. He knew what he was doing when he divorced you and he knew what he was doing when he married Luna.”
    Jennie felt tears swim in her eyes again and she turned away from him.
    “I don’t mean to upset you and I’m sure that Charles lived to regret his actions. Obviously, he did because he went back to St. Louis to resume his life with you. But his actions here were not brought on by insanity, too much drink, or even being duped by a resourceful woman. You need to plant that in your head and let it take root.”
    “I know.” Jennie retrieved a handkerchief from her small purse and dabbed at her eyes. “It’s just so unlike him. When I think of him gallivanting about town, dancing with that woman, laughing with her, and … other things, it is like I am picturing a complete stranger. A Charles I certainly never knew.” She shook her head, slinging the gloomy, disturbing thoughts aside. “What is our next step?”
    “Give me a few days to do some research and speak to Luna again. I’ll report back to you by the end of next week. Fair enough?”
    “Yes.” She tucked the handkerchief back into her purse. “I have heard good reports about you, so I place my trust in your hands. I just wish there was something I could do instead of waiting.”
    “I know, but you should let me handle this for now. You have a new job to tackle and – who is going to take care of your son while you’re working? Do you need me to ask around to see if I can find someone?”
    “No, a lady at the boarding house is going to watch him for me. She has a daughter close to Oliver’s age and she needs the extra money I will pay her. She is here for a divorce, but her attorney’s name is Mr. Brunswick.”
    “David Brunswick,” Zach said, pushing up from the chair to escort her from the office and to the stairs leading down to the street. “He’s good, but not as good as me.”
    She exchanged a smile with him and her heart leapt at his confidence. “I will take you at your word and not challenge that or you – for now.”
    Moonlight pooled on the window ledge where Jennie sat, her knees drawn up to her chest, her fist pressed against her lips to keep her sobs from escaping and waking her sleeping son. Tears wet her cheeks, her throat burned, and her heart thudded rapidly in her chest and ears. As miserable as she was, it felt good to cry. To let it out, to finally succumb to the grief and misery she had been feeling since she had arrived in the offices of Polk and Warner.
    She had held it all in for too long, she thought, glancing at the sleeping form of Oliver beneath the sheets. She didn’t want him to see her crying, sobbing like a child. She was his rock, his stability, and she meant to preserve that image for him. In this crazy world, he needed her to be solid and constant and loving.
    Even after Charles had died, she had cried in front of Oliver only during the funeral service. She had kept the depth of her grief away from him, but had encouraged him to cry for the loss of his father and she had answered all his questions about death and angels and Heaven. She had helped him work through it and that had helped her to find strength, as well.
    In a way, she had lost Charles the day he had left for Guthrie because he was not the same man when he had returned. At the time, she chalked it up to his feelings of failing to secure land for them. Now she had a clearer picture of why Charles had changed and why he had been unable to make love to her after he had come home. He would hold her and kiss her, but he made excuses when she tried to arouse him further.
    After leaving her lawyer’s office this afternoon, her burden had felt lighter, but here