Free Steel Heart (Historical Western Romance) (Longren Family series #2, Chloe and Matthew's story) by Amelia Rose

probably why he's with you now."
                  That gave me something to think about and nearly half a mile passed before I hesitantly asked, "Because I was the one who left him?"  He had to love me for more than that.
                  She shook her head promptly.  "Because you respected both of you enough to wait until he did as well."
                  And that I could live with.
     
                  Virginia City was quiet, without many women on the streets.  Wagons were tethered and men slushed along the sidewalks. 
                  Sounds of construction came from inside the hotel.  My mother came with me, long enough to see Maggie again briefly, the two of them comparing some recipe or another and Maggie accompanying my mother and Hutch for an impromptu tour.  I saw Matthew from a distance, but waited until my mother had gone to run her errands before seeking him out.
                  The workmen had disappeared into the casino area, the sound of hammers and sawing echoing out of there.  I'd last seen Matthew near the kitchen and I promptly headed that way.  Rounding the corner from the hotel lobby, a hand darted out and caught my arm, swinging me into a half circle.  I started to shout, then stopped when Matthew's mouth closed over mine.
    He kissed me again and again, warm and sweet.               
    My arms went up around his neck and his went around my waist and, when we traded places, he pressed me up against the wall, his body long and lean against mine.  He wore denim today and a flannel shirt rolled up his forearms because he'd been working.  When I pressed my face into the crook of his neck, he smelled like wood and a little like the remains of the charred timbers.
                  "How's your—"
                  "—Don't ask me how my head is," I said. 
                  "Father?" Matthew finished the sentence.
                  "Very funny."
                  But there was something I wanted to tell him.  I'd come to talk to Maggie, to get a clear head and some logic on everything that had happened.  But Matthew actually knew Violet, even if I didn't want to admit that.
                  I'd ask him.  When he stopped kissing me.
     
                  We sat in the kitchen where Maggie and I had the night before.  Maggie had gone somewhere with Hutch; the workmen were distant, their hammering and swearing faint. Matthew started to tell me about the renovation, about the fire damage and then about Sheriff Gannon, who wanted to talk to me again for a description of my assailant.
                  I closed my eyes briefly.  The image of the bottle coming down hadn't faded at all.  It stood out stark, clear and still frightening.  The face, hidden behind a scarf, tantalizingly almost recognizable, was fading in and out of memory.  
                  "Hutch thinks it might have been the old owner of the Queen."
                  I blinked across the table at him.  "Why on earth?"
                  Matthew nodded as if I'd proved a point for him.  "That's what I said.  Mr. George got everything he wanted.  We paid more than we'd wanted to and he made out like a bandit.  He's somewhere in California, where there's no snow now and we're here with a half burnt hotel."
                  "It is not half burnt," I said.  "If Mr. George hadn't wanted to sell, he wouldn't have, would he?" 
                  Matthew shrugged.  From somewhere in the hotel, a carpenter banged something he hadn't meant to and yelled.
                  "I can't think of any good reason for anyone to do this.  Jason Seth has what he wanted."
                  I sat up and frowned.  "Jason Seth bought the mine.  At a fair price to everyone concerned."
                  Matthew