Adam, Devils on Horseback: Generations, Book 1 by Beth Williamson Page A

impossible. Done was done. He had to do right by Eve and his family.
    “I wondered where you went.” Eve’s soft voice interrupted his self-loathing foolishness.
    “I needed some air.” He gestured to the chair beside him. “Care to join me?”
    She sat down, tucking her feet beneath her. She wore the quilt around her shoulders, but he couldn’t see what she had on beneath it. The night’s shadows hid her form but he knew how it felt, even though he’d held her only a few times. Lush curves and sweet, plump lips were burned into his memory.
    “It’s not your fault.”
    He chuffed a laugh with no humor. “You too, hm?”
    “Your mother is right. Every person makes a choice and the consequences are on them.” Eve sounded wise beyond her years. He wondered what choices and consequences she’d dealt with. Of course, they barely knew each other. There were many secrets yet unspoken.
    “If I hadn’t disappointed my pa, he wouldn’t have been in the mill by himself.” Adam had a hard time believing it wasn’t his fault.
    She was quiet for a few minutes. “Do you believe if you told your father not to do something, he wouldn’t do it?”
    Adam snorted. “Nobody tells Pa not to do something, except Mama.”
    “Then what makes you think you could have stopped him?”
    He stopped rocking and stared at her. “I couldn’t have.”
    “Then why do you feel guilty? He’s a strong man with a strong will.” Eve brushed the hair back from her eyes. “I expect you’re a lot like him.”
    Adam absorbed the impact of her words and tried to push the guilt from his shoulders. “I married a smart woman.”
    “I married a good man with a good family.”
    He ran his hand down his face. “Thank you for being here. For helping my pa. For helping me.”
    “That’s what wives do.”
    Adam shook his head. “I almost forgot how lucky I am. A wife like you? Worth a million dollars.”
    She looked away, her face hidden by the shadows around them. “ Lucky isn’t the word I’d use. Stuck , maybe.”
    “I forgot to give this to you earlier.” He placed a rock in her palm, this one a deep-blue color, although she couldn’t tell that in the dark. “A wedding gift.”
    She closed her hand around it. “Thank you. I don’t get gifts often.”
    He knew a bit about her past, from what she’d confessed to Uncle Zeke, but it was only a thimbleful of information. Hell, he didn’t know her age, when her birthday was or if her second toe was longer than her first.
    “How old are you?” He hadn’t expected that to pop out of his mouth but it did anyway.
    “Twenty, or thereabouts. Remember, I told you I was found by a rancher when I was about five.” She pulled her knees closer, curling herself into a ball. “I count forward from then.”
    He almost didn’t ask her. “Does that day count as your birthday?”
    She turned her head to look at him. “April Fool’s Day.”
    “Easy to remember.” He moved the rocking chair closer to her, his fascination growing again. Eve was the most unique woman he’d ever met, and, lucky him, she was already his wife. “What did you do when you left the orphanage?”
    She let out an audible sigh. “Lots of things. I learned to survive, mostly.”
    Adam had never considered himself privileged or wealthy, but he had something she never did: a family, a home, a place to feel safe. Shame over his behavior replaced the resentment at being expected to work in the mill. He didn’t hate flour. He had no reason to whine or complain.
    Not a single one.
    “I’m glad I crashed that wagon.”
    He saw a flash of white and realized she’d smiled. He found himself smiling back. Unusual, given the craziness of the day, the uncertainty of Pa’s condition and the unknown marriage they’d build from here on out.
    “It definitely changed things.”
    “For both of us.” He held out his hand and she put her small one in his. “Do you regret it?”
    She was quiet for so long he wanted to snatch the