Free Joline's Redemption by Vickie; McDonough Page B

to come. Lara wanted her and Sarah to attend Sunday services with Gabe and Grandpa. Lara was too far along in her pregnancy to travel to the nearest schoolhouse where the services were held, but she’d encouraged Jo to go and take Sarah. But Jo didn’t want to go.
    What if she saw
him
again? What if he asked her name?
    She found everyone in the parlor. Grandpa slurped coffee while Lara sat with a steaming cup of tea resting on her stomach. Gabe stood at the mantel staring at a window, although it was too dark to see out. Jo was halfway surprised that he would leave his wife for church with her being only weeks away from birthing Gabe’s first child. Though he considered Michael his son, Gabe was not his birth father.
    She paused just inside the room and took a deep breath. “Before you say anything, I’m not going to church in the morning. I think I should stay with Lara.”
    Her sister cocked her head and smiled. “That’s very kind of you, but my closest neighbor, Marilyn Eastman, is coming over to sit with me.”
    Jo’s heart sped up. Now what? They didn’t understand her situation.
    â€œPerhaps you could stay with me next Sunday, if the baby hasn’t arrived by then?”
    Crossing her arms, Jo stared at the ceiling. Things were getting too complicated. This was why she never should have come back. She glanced at each of her family members, wishing she could tell them the whole sordid truth, but it would crush Grandpa and Lara. She had to try to get Lara to see reason. “What happens when someone asks my name?”
    Lara blinked, her gaze innocent. “Just tell them. Why are you concerned about that?”
    â€œI’m worried about
him
.”
    â€œWho?” Lara asked, placing her teacup on the side table.
    â€œShe means Baron Hillborne.” Gabe shifted to face her, one eyebrow lifted. “Isn’t that true?”
    Jo nodded. “What if—” She paused and swallowed, hoping to get rid of the tightness in her throat. “You do realize that he is Jamie’s uncle. And from what I understand, their family is wealthy. What if he tries to take Jamie away from me?”
    Both Lara’s and Grandpa’s expressions changed to surprise. “What makes you think he’d do something like that?” Grandpa scratched his chin.
    Unable to stand still any longer, Jo paced to the front end of the parlor. “Mark told me his family was very wealthy, and if I’m remembering correctly, his parents don’t have any grandchildren. If they learned of Jamie, I fear they’d try to …” She couldn’t voice the words again.
    â€œJo, please come and sit.” Lara’s sympathetic tone drew Jo’s gaze, and she took a seat on the sofa, next to her sister.
    â€œI understand what you’re saying, but I think your fears are unwarranted. Gabe met Baron Hillborne and said he seems to be a levelheaded man.”
    Jo’s gaze shot to Gabe’s, her heart thundering. What had he told Baron?
    Gabe nodded, not revealing anything.
    Lara patted Jo’s arm. “I would think the most you could expect from Mr. Hillborne is that he might like to see Jamie and visit him on occasion.”
    And ask lots of questions she didn’t want to answer. “Couldn’t I just use a made-up name, and then we could avoid all of that unpleasantness?”
    Three heads shook in unison. She should have known her churchgoing family wouldn’t make things easy on her. They were all too upstanding to tell a falsehood. “People will ask questions.”
    â€œAnd you’ll answer them the best you can.” Grandpa eyed her with a no-nonsense look like he had when she was young and didn’t want to obey.
    â€œBesides,” Lara said, “there are bound to be people who will recognize you from when you and Mark owned the store. You can’t avoid them.”
    â€œI can if I stay here and don’t attend