Free Joline's Redemption by Vickie; McDonough

somethin’. Looks a lot like you.”
    Jo nodded. Her son did resemble her, but she could see Mark in him, too.
    â€œHow’d you come by the girl?”
    Jo chose to skip that question. “Do you know where she is?”
    â€œShe’s sitting with Michael while he and Lara work on his reading and arithmetic. That girl sure has a passion to learn. How come she didn’t get no schoolin’?”
    â€œI don’t know. She doesn’t talk much about her past.”
    â€œWhere’d you find her?”
    Jo sighed and leaned her head back against the chair, setting her package in her lap. She should have known he was like a dog with a bone he wouldn’t turn loose of. “She was at the last place I stayed. I felt the owner had something odious in mind for her, so I took her with me when I left.”
    He shook his head, pursing his lips. “You can’t take other folks’ children, Jo.”
    â€œI’m pretty sure the person who had her wasn’t her parent. Her mother is dead, and she’s never mentioned her father. I couldn’t let anything bad happen to her.”
    â€œYou’re right about that, but it makes me wonder what kind of place you were staying at.”
    â€œIt doesn’t matter. We’re no longer there, and we’re not going back.”
    Grandpa rubbed his chin. “I reckon you heard that Hillborne’s is open again.”
    â€œThat’s part of the reason I went there today.”
    â€œI suspected as much. Was
he
there?”
    â€œMark? No, and I’m glad.”
    Grandpa turned her way, a worried expression on his wrinkled brow. “I don’t know what happened between you two, Punkin, but it pains me to say that I hope you don’t plan to get back together with him. I’m not one to believe in divorce, but a man ought not go off and leave his wife.”
    Jo forced herself not to react. She couldn’t very well divorce a man she’d never officially been married to. If Grandpa knew how Mark had tricked her by having a phony preacher marry them, he’d probably go gunning for him, even if it killed him. “I can assure you, Grandpa, that I never want to see Mark again.”
    â€œGabe says the man at the store is his brother. That means he’s related to that boy of yours.”
    â€œGabe and I talked about Baron Hillborne, but I fail to see how his relation to Jamie matters.”
    Grandpa shrugged. “I’d think you of all people would understand, the way your brother up and left us. Family is important.”
    Jo straightened, scooting to the edge of the chair, more than ready to be done with this conversation. He didn’t say anything about how she had abandoned the family, but she felt sure he was referring to that, too. “What Jack did has no bearing on this situation, and Jamie is no concern of Baron Hillborne’s. Mark never talked about him, so I have no idea what sort of man he is.”
    He clucked his tongue and shook his head. “What kind of man did you marry?”
    A lying, deceiving snake.
Jo rose. “I need to check on Jamie.” She bent down and kissed him. “Don’t worry about me, Grandpa. I’ve been taking care of myself for a long while.”
    As she stepped through the open door, she thought she heard him mumble, “Far too long.”
    In the kitchen, she paused in the doorway and took in the homey scene. Sarah sat on Lara’s left with Michael on his mother’s right side. Eight-year-old Michael was reading a sentence from a simple children’s reader. She slipped away, not wanting to disturb them, and went upstairs. In her room, she found Jamie still asleep.
    She quietly placed the package on the bed and sat in the rocker, thinking about her encounter with Baron Hillborne. What would he have said if she had introduced herself as Mark’s wife? Or his kept woman, which was closer to the truth. Would he demand to see his