Free Unconventional Series Collection by Verna Clay

the door on the father and son confrontation.
    Reaching for Jenny's hand she gently pulled her
from the porch and toward a trail leading away from the cabin. Jenny quietly
cried and Ty pushed his face into Abby's neck. "Mama," he said,
"I wuv oo."
    Abby felt tears spring to her own eyes. "I
love you, too, baby."
    Jenny pulled them toward a smaller path and Abby
followed her to a giant tree. Before they even arrived, she saw the gravestone.
Jenny stopped in front of the grave and let out a sob.
    Abby went down on her knees to hold both
children. "It's okay, honey. Just let it all out. It's good to cry."
    Jenny fell to her own knees and laid her forehead
on the ground, crying her heart out.
    Abby sobbed with her. She wept for the woman
this family still grieved for and, with purity of heart, wished that she were
still alive.
    Wally, ever present, sat quietly watching.
    After a long time, Jenny pushed up and went to
place her small hands on the stone, "Goodbye Mama," she said softly.
Ty wrestled away from Abby and copied his sister. Placing his chubby fingers on
the stone, he, too, said, "Bye Mama." Then he turned and held his
hands out to Abby. "My Mama." Abby reached to lift him and caught
sight of Brant standing on the trail watching. She wondered how long he'd been
there. His faced looked emotionless when he captured her gaze, but then he
looked toward the grave and longing so deep filled his expression that Abby
whimpered. He abruptly turned and walked away.
    After a few more minutes by the graveside, Abby
gathered Jenny and Ty and walked back toward the house with Wally leading the
way. When they came within sight of it, Brant rode up on his horse and said
curtly, "Luke and I are riding out to check the herd. We'll be back late.
Just leave supper on the stove." He didn't even wait for her response
before flicking his horse's reins and galloping away. Luke sat on his horse in
the distance.

Chapter 10:  Awakenings
     
    After tucking Jenny and Ty into bed and telling
them a story, Abby retrieved the book she'd pulled out earlier. Slipping it in
her pocket, she picked up a lantern and climbed the ladder so she could place
the book where Luke would see it. Moving a small framed picture on his
nightstand, she laid Treasure Island down. She glanced at the photo and
gasped. It was a family photo. Brant and Molly stood behind Luke and Jenny and
everyone looked so happy—as if they were trying not to laugh so a picture could
be taken. Jenny looked to be about six years old. Abby studied Molly's face.
She had a sweetness that jumped out even from a photo. Looking closer she saw
that Brant and Molly were holding hands. Blinking rapidly against tears, she
set the photo back and hastily climbed down from the loft.
    The next morning the routine that had been
established before the wedding, resumed. Jenny retrieved eggs and Abby now
stayed at the cabin to fire up the stove and wait for Ty to wake up.
    When Brant and Luke returned for breakfast after
doing morning chores, she couldn't bring herself to look either of them in the
eyes. She heard Brant clear his throat and then Luke said, "Miz Abby, I
apologize for my behavior yesterday." Her heart pounded and she chanced a
glance at him. Was he having a change of heart toward her? Sadly, his eyes
revealed he was only speaking the words because his father was making him. She
nodded and looked back at her plate. "Apology accepted, Luke."
    Over the next two weeks, nothing much changed
and Luke didn't acknowledge the book she'd set on his nightstand. She never saw
him reading it either. Sadness filled her heart.
    One day, Brant said during breakfast, "Miz
Abby, I think it's time you learned to ride a horse and shoot a gun. Being on a
ranch, those skills are an absolute necessity."
    Abby gulped, "Okay. If you think so."
    After lunch, when the weather had warmed, Brant
gave Abby her first riding lesson. "Now, honey, this is Daisy, a gentle
mare that I'm giving to you. I've had her about five