Free A Passion Denied by Julie Lessman Page B

up.”
    She sniffed and nodded again, then continued up.
    Charity watched her sister ascend the stairs and released a heavy sigh. She rubbed at the soreness in her back and peeked in the parlor where Mitch was playing chess with Patrick.
    Faith looked up from unbraiding Katie’s hair while Marcy dozed in her chair by the hearth. “What’s wrong?” she mouthed, and Charity lightly shook her head before forcing a bright smile. “Brady said to give his goodbyes to everyone, and Beth said good night. She was tired, so she went on up to bed. Faith, why don’t you and I go tuck her in?”
    “Brady left? So soon?” Collin glanced up with a frown.
    “No doubt exhausted from working with you,” Faith teased. “Or fed up with deceit,” Mitch muttered.
    Charity gave her husband a thin smile. “Father, I suggest you teach Mitch a few lessons in strategy.”
    Patrick looked up with a chuckle. “I’ll be happy to educate the boy for ya, darlin’.”
    Mitch studied the board. “No, thanks, I live with the master.” Charity stuck out her tongue and turned toward the stairs while Faith hurried after her.
    “What happened?” Faith whispered.
    “I know nothing except that Lizzie’s been crying her heart out. So help me, if John Brady hurt her again . . .” Charity mounted the steps with a groan.
    Faith clasped an arm around Charity’s waist to help shore up her strength. “Don’t worry, we’ll get to the bottom of this. Brady would never hurt Lizzie on purpose. There must be a reason. We just need to find out what it is.”
    “Oh, there’s a reason all right, and I for one intend to get to the bottom of it. If marriage has done one thing, it’s made me most proficient at dealing with stubborn men.”
    Faith chuckled and knocked on Lizzie’s door before gently turning the knob. “A natural outcome, I think. Lizzie? Can we come in?”
    A low, broken moan drifted from the bed where Lizzie lay prostrate on her pillow, still clad in her dress.
    Her sisters hurried to her side. “Are you okay?”
    “No, I’m n-not okay. I’ve l-lost him f-forever.”
    Faith crouched by her side. “What do you mean, you’ve lost him?”
    Charity lowered herself to the bed with a grunt. “For pity’s sake, you can’t lose him, Lizzie, the man is crazy about you. Did you kiss him?”
    “Yes.” Lizzie sniffed and raised up on her elbow.
    Charity squinted. “And?”
    “I d-did everything you said—sat close on the swing, batted my eyes, and cried enough cracker tears for a whole box of Saltines. But nothing worked. So, yes, I was forced to resort to Plan B.”
    Faith stood to her feet. “Oh my goodness, Lizzie, you actually kissed him?”
    “Twice,” she muttered. She maneuvered on the bed to sit cross-legged. Her chin began to quiver. “It was the most wonderful thing I’ve ever felt . . .” Her voice trailed into a sob.
    Faith and Charity exchanged grins.
    “Yes, we know,” Charity said, “but this is no time to start blubbering. Just give us the cold, hard facts. Did he kiss you back?”
    Warmth surged to Lizzie’s cheeks at the memory, and she put her hands to her hot face. She closed her eyes. “Kiss me? No, it was more like he devoured me!”
    Charity giggled and tried to tuck a foot under her skirt, to no avail. “See? Didn’t I tell you he was a powder keg waiting to blow? Why on earth are you crying? You should be celebrating.”
    Lizzie opened her eyes and sniffed. “Because he said it would never happen again. Said he can’t love me that way.”
    Faith scrunched her nose. “Why not?”
    “He said it was wrong. That I was a little sister to him and nothing more.”
    Charity grunted. “Hogwash. No man kisses a sister like that.”
    “Exactly. And when I pointed that out, he became colder and angrier than I’ve ever seen. Then he said goodbye and just stalked away.”
    Charity’s brows dipped. “Did you try and stop him?”
    “Of course! I ran after him, sobbing my heart out, but he just kept