Free Undeniably Yours by Becky Wade Page B

months.
    From his mother’s lap, Jayden peered at Meg warily, his baby eyebrows low. He looked nothing like Stephen. If he had, he’d have been blond and gorgeous. Instead, with his large head and widely spaced eyes, Jayden didn’t even quite classify as cute—a fact that only endeared him to Meg’s soft heart.
    Amber smoothed a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’ll never be able to pay you back.”
    â€œIt’s not a loan, Amber. It’s a gift.” She thought immediately of the grace that God had given to her. “I’ve received plenty in my life that I didn’t earn. All this, for example.” She gestured toward the big house. “So do me a favor and let me give you something. All right?”
    Amber’s blue eyes filled with doubt and tears. “I’ve made so many mistakes. I don’t deserve your help.”
    â€œThis isn’t about what you deserve.”
    â€œI can’t believe you’d do this for us. We’re, like, strangers to you.”
    â€œEven so, it would make me happy for you to stay.” Meg found that it was true. Maybe because she and Amber had both been mistreated by the same man, or maybe because she felt partially to blame for what Stephen had done to them. Or maybe because the Spirit inside of her had a capacity for compassion and affection bigger than her own.
    â€œI . . .” A droplet spilled over Amber’s lashes.
    Meg had always found it physically impossible to witness someone else’s tears and not cry, too. Her own chest tightened with emotion. “This place might look shabby,” she joked, “but it’s actually not too bad of a place to live. I think you and Jayden might be able to manage.”
    Amber burst out laughing, and Meg joined her. Jayden laughed, too, banging his tiny fists on the table and causing the pebbles to jump.
    â€œAre you sure ?” Amber asked.
    â€œYes. If you’re willing to do your part—to work hard at school and at your job—then I promise I’ll keep up my end of the bargain.” It was time to take her father’s money out for a test drive to see how it performed. “Okay?”
    Amber looked at her for a long moment. “Okay.”

    Bo had been on his way to his parents’ house after church when he’d made a sudden U-turn, a U-turn that had brought him here, to the mansion at Whispering Creek for lunch.
    He’d bailed on the meal his mom hosted every Sunday for the family, which would cost him.
    He was showing up unannounced for a meal, which wasn’t polite.
    And after he finished eating, he was going to have to work on his one day off, to justify showing up for lunch.
    All of which would be worth it if Meg was there.
    He wanted to see her.
    Just that. See her.
    He wanted it enough, had thought about it enough since her visit to the farm, that he’d taken that U-turn. The sane part of him knew that nothing good could come of spending time with Meg above and beyond what his job required. It would only fuel his fascination with her and cause him—the guy who could never be more to her than her horse farm manager—pointless pain.
    However, the insane part of him insisted that, the situation being what it was, one little lunch together couldn’t do much harm.
    The insane part of him had beaten the sane part of him to a pulp. So here he was.
    He rounded the corner from the hallway into the kitchen and found the space empty except for an unfamiliar maid pulling a pot roast out of the oven. She didn’t speak much English, but she smiled and set him a place at the table and waved off his apology for arriving without prior notice.
    When he’d come to work at Whispering Creek, Lynn had invited him to join her and the other employees in the kitchen for their daily lunches. Over the years, he’d only taken her up on her offer a couple of times. It had almost always been easier to eat with