Read Online A Prince for Jenny by Peggy Webb - Free Book Online

pulled back and grinned up at him in an impish way. "Do you want to chase sunbeams?"
    "I've never chased sunbeams."
    "I'll teach you." She took his hand and led him into the sunlight. "Do you want to sneak up on them, or do you want to be bold?"
    "Let's be bold, Jenny."
    They raced about, reaching up toward the sunlight, laughing as the sunbeams touched their hands, then filtered through their fingers. Daniel had not known such a carefree moment since he was a boy.
    "I almost got one, Jenny." He held his hands out, cupped, to show her how he had almost trapped the sunshine.
    "Try with your tongue ... like this." Jenny stuck her tongue out and tipped her face toward the sun. "Hmmm, delicious."
    "Save one for me."
    With the sunlight bearing down upon his face and Jenny at his side laughing, Daniel felt as if he'd slipped backward into a time before the existence of evil. He was the first man, with Jenny as his Eve, and this happy place beside the river was their Garden of Eden.
    "I wish I never had to leave," Jenny said when they were too tired to chase any more sunbeams and were packing the remains of their picnic into the basket.
    "We'll have many picnics, Jenny."
    "Truly?"
    "Truly," he said, really believing they would.
     o0o
    He drove home slowly, stopping once to purchase a peace offering for Gwendolyn. She was waiting for them on the front porch, her face bunched up with worry.
    "Jenny!" She lumbered down the porch steps and wrapped Jenny in her large embrace. "Thank heavens you're safe." She scowled at Daniel.
    "Didn't Helen call you?" he asked.
    "Yes ... Jenny, honey, why don't you take the picnic basket inside?"
    " 'Bye, Daniel." Jenny put her hand briefly on his cheek. A touch of heaven. "Thank you ... for everything." A lovely blush colored her cheeks.
    Daniel could hardly bear to let her go. He took her hand and caressed the long, slim fingers. "I'll never forget today, Jenny."
    Gwendolyn cleared her throat loudly to show what she thought of their leave-taking.
    Jenny gave him a conspirator's grin, and he winked at her. When she carried her picnic basket into the house, she was humming.
    Gwendolyn waited until the sound of Jenny's voice faded before she had her say.
    "Your message came too late. When I woke up and found her missing, I called Jake and he nearly went wild. It wasn't until after he left that I saw the message light on the answering machine."
    The situation was Daniel's worst nightmare come true.
    "You've every right to be angry. I should have brought her home first to make certain that no one would be worried."
    "First?"
    "If looks could kill, I'd be dead."
    "Wait till Jake Townsend gets through with you."
    "Gwendolyn, I'm not the enemy. I would never do anything to hurt Jenny." Suddenly, remembering the peace offering, he held it out.
    Gwendolyn looked at the hat. It was one she'd always wanted, a genuine Panama, handwoven in Ecuador, the kind she could wear in Florida when she retired and had nothing to do but lie in the sun all day like a sausage, frying herself.
    "I won't be taking bribes," she said.
    "It's not a bribe; it's a gift." He laid the hat on the front porch.
    "I won't be wearing it." Her fire suddenly gone, Gwendolyn sank into the rocking chair and wiped a tear from her eye with the hem of her painter's shirt.
    "When you brought her that music box and I saw the two of you together ..." She heaved a big sigh then wiped another tear. "Oh, Lordy, I don't know what to believe anymore."
    Daniel knelt beside her on the wooden porch floor and took her hands. "I want what's best for her too. Trust me, Gwendolyn."
    "Sometimes I want to." She shook her hands loose from his then gave him a wry grin. "Lordy, how you do turn an old woman's head. No wonder Jenny's in love with you."
    Daniel walked to the edge of the porch, leaned against the railing, and studied the front yard. Flowers of every kind were in bloom, and the trees were alive with birdsong. Such a peaceful place. A haven for Jenny. What