Free Lorraine Heath by Parting Gifts

and glanced out the window. He’d stopped in his tracks and was watching her. He made a motion as though to come back into the house. Then he apparently changed his mind and walked briskly toward the barn.
    With trembling fingers, she picked up a cup, poured black coffee into it, and headed back to her bedroom where her husband waited for her.
    Charles dipped his fork into one of the fried eggs Maddie had set before him. They weren’t as hard as the ones Jesse usually cooked. She placed some buttered bread on the table, took her seat, and smiled at him. He returned her smile. As she filled her plate, he noted the way she ignored Jesse, the way Jesse watched her.
    “The storm seems to have passed,” he said.
    Jesse snapped his eyes to his brother’s and knew Charles wasn’t talking about Mother Nature’s storms. “Appears it has.”
    “Good. Then you shouldn’t mind taking Maddie into town today.”
    “What?” Jesse asked harshly, his brows drawing together.
    Charles had the impression Jesse was sorely tempted to give his throat a sound clearing. Maddie came to attention, her eyes no longer studying the food on her plate, but nervously watching him. “I’m sure, now that Maddie’s been here a couple of days, she’s come to realize there are things she needs.”
    “You take her,” Jesse barked.
    “I’ve been gone a week. I’d like to spend today with the children.”
    “Take them with you.”
    “It’s two hours into town, two hours back. It’s tiring for them. I want a relaxed day. Besides, there’s other supplies we need. You’re more familiar with what we’ve run out of since I’ve been gone.”
    “Charles, I really don’t need anything,” Maddie said.
    “A woman always needs something,” Jesse growled as he scraped his chair across the floor and stood. “Be ready in twenty minutes.”
    Quite accurately imitating the storm that had barreled through the night before, he stomped out of the kitchen.
    Maddie slumped forward and looked at Charles. “Why did you do that?”
    He placed his hand over hers and squeezed gently. “Because I want him to care for you as much as I do, and that won’t happen if you ignore him.”
    “I wasn’t ignoring him. As a matter of fact, I spoke with him this morning when I came to get your coffee.”
    “Well, then, if you’re friends already, it should be a very pleasant day.”
    A very pleasant day. It was an exceedingly pleasant day. The cold weather that had whipped through earlier in the week had dissipated, and the last remnants of spring were giving way to the fullness of summer.
    The company, however, was unpleasant. Maddie sat, hugging her side of the bench seat, her back stiff and straight, her eyes on the canopy of leaves passing by overhead. Jesse was hunched forward, his elbows digging into his knees, his eyes trained, she was certain, on one of the horse’s rumps. In contrast to the mood, the wagon swayed gently from side to side.
    “Does the town have a name?” she asked brightly.
    “Raeburn,” he replied brusquely.
    “Is that a family name?” she asked less brightly.
    “Probably,” he replied more brusquely.
    She nodded as though he would care whether or not she acknowledged his inadequate answer and his desire not to engage in further conversation. She watched the horses flick their tails. She adjusted the positioning of her small hat, the one that matched her serge traveling dress. She felt the sweat trickle between her breasts and settle around her waist. Nothing she ever could, should, or would need was worth traveling with this man. The horses plodded along, and she began to wonder if they would ever reach the town.
    “I have an idea,” she said at last.
    He grunted, and she was tempted to bury her knuckles in his arm. “You can stop the wagon and let me out here.”
    He jerked his head around, his dark eyes darkening further beneath the brim of his dark brown hat.
    “You can leave me here, go into town, then pick me up on the