Read Online Amanda's Beau by Shirley Raye Redmond - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Shirley Raye Redmond
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momentâs silence, he said, "I find your selflessness to be quite admirable, Miss Dale."
Seeming reluctant to accept the compliment, she confessed, "No, Iâm not admirable. Iâm often impatient and short-tempered."
Gil admired her all the more for her honesty. "Iâm sure youâre looking forward to the day when you can return to your home in Las Cruces. Your friends there must surely miss you and perhaps⦠maybe thereâs even an impatient beau waiting for your return," he hinted.
She blushed prettily, staring him straight in the eye. "There is no beau, Mr. Gladney."
His heart soared. How glad I am to hear it! But all he said to her was, "Frankly, Iâm surprised. Of course, I donât mean to pry."
Amandaâs cheeks burned even brighter. Gil struggled to come up with some witty pleasantry to say to put her at her ease. Instead, he found himself tongue-tied and silently berated himself for being such a numbskull. His friend Nate Phillips was never at a loss for words around a beautiful woman, as he recalled. He decided to pursue a safer course.
"How is Mrs. Stewart today? Any improvement? If youâd like, I could carry her to the rocker on the porch. A bit of fresh air and sunshine might be just the thing for her."
Sitting up a little straighter in her chair, Amanda gave him a sad smile. "Thank you, but not today." Then her face brightened, as though sheâd had second thoughts. "Would you mind talking to her about Rex? Tell her what a bright boy he is, and how well heâs doing in school. Would you do that? Youâre his teacher, and she knows how much Rex admires you. Ella knows he has ambitions of being a teacher himself some day. Perhaps she mightâ¦" Amanda paused, leaving her speculation unfinished.
"Iâm happy to help in any way I can," he assured her.
She rose from her chair. Gil did the same. With a quick nod, she indicated he should follow her to her sisterâs room. He remembered meeting Ella Stewart several times before in the past year heâd been teaching in the village. Heâd considered her an attractive young woman, short and fair, and full of life. Rex favored her in looks and vitality.
But this bed-ridden woman, deathly pale and thin, was a mere shadow of the Ella Stewart heâd met before. Her brown eyes were blank. The dark smudges under her eyes looked like bruises. The womanâs golden-red hair appeared dry and brittle. Her frailty was in stark contrast to Amandaâs dark good looks and rosy health.
Amanda pulled up a chair beside the bed. "Sit here, Mr. Gladney." She touched her sister on the shoulder and said, "Ella, Rexâs teacher has come to see you. Iâm sure you remember Mr. Gladney. He wants to tell you how well Rex is doing with his studies."
Giving him a nod, Amanda encouraged Gil to speak. An expression of hope flitted across her lovely face. Inwardly, Gil shuddered. He was more than willing to boast of Rexâs accomplishments in the classroom. The boy was an apt pupil. But as he looked at Ella Stewartâs shrunken form lying in the bed, his heart felt chilled. The sunlight streaming through the windows cast odd shadows, like dark, clawing fingers inching their way across the quilt toward the sick womanâs face. A nagging fear seized him. He doubted anything he had to say about young Rex Stewartâs academic performance could save his mother from her decline. Ella Stewart was going to die.
Chapter Four
"Rex, where is the secret money jar?" Amanda asked later in the evening. She sat in the rocker mending a shirt near the hearth in the sitting room. Her nephew sprawled on the braided rag rug in front of the fire, reading a geography book heâd borrowed from the school. Bonita stretched out next to him.
Gil had stayed long enough to help Mr. Snow unload the promised firewood and allowed Rex to coax him to stay a bit longer to share their fried trout dinner. With Mrs. Snowâs spicy
Seeming reluctant to accept the compliment, she confessed, "No, Iâm not admirable. Iâm often impatient and short-tempered."
Gil admired her all the more for her honesty. "Iâm sure youâre looking forward to the day when you can return to your home in Las Cruces. Your friends there must surely miss you and perhaps⦠maybe thereâs even an impatient beau waiting for your return," he hinted.
She blushed prettily, staring him straight in the eye. "There is no beau, Mr. Gladney."
His heart soared. How glad I am to hear it! But all he said to her was, "Frankly, Iâm surprised. Of course, I donât mean to pry."
Amandaâs cheeks burned even brighter. Gil struggled to come up with some witty pleasantry to say to put her at her ease. Instead, he found himself tongue-tied and silently berated himself for being such a numbskull. His friend Nate Phillips was never at a loss for words around a beautiful woman, as he recalled. He decided to pursue a safer course.
"How is Mrs. Stewart today? Any improvement? If youâd like, I could carry her to the rocker on the porch. A bit of fresh air and sunshine might be just the thing for her."
Sitting up a little straighter in her chair, Amanda gave him a sad smile. "Thank you, but not today." Then her face brightened, as though sheâd had second thoughts. "Would you mind talking to her about Rex? Tell her what a bright boy he is, and how well heâs doing in school. Would you do that? Youâre his teacher, and she knows how much Rex admires you. Ella knows he has ambitions of being a teacher himself some day. Perhaps she mightâ¦" Amanda paused, leaving her speculation unfinished.
"Iâm happy to help in any way I can," he assured her.
She rose from her chair. Gil did the same. With a quick nod, she indicated he should follow her to her sisterâs room. He remembered meeting Ella Stewart several times before in the past year heâd been teaching in the village. Heâd considered her an attractive young woman, short and fair, and full of life. Rex favored her in looks and vitality.
But this bed-ridden woman, deathly pale and thin, was a mere shadow of the Ella Stewart heâd met before. Her brown eyes were blank. The dark smudges under her eyes looked like bruises. The womanâs golden-red hair appeared dry and brittle. Her frailty was in stark contrast to Amandaâs dark good looks and rosy health.
Amanda pulled up a chair beside the bed. "Sit here, Mr. Gladney." She touched her sister on the shoulder and said, "Ella, Rexâs teacher has come to see you. Iâm sure you remember Mr. Gladney. He wants to tell you how well Rex is doing with his studies."
Giving him a nod, Amanda encouraged Gil to speak. An expression of hope flitted across her lovely face. Inwardly, Gil shuddered. He was more than willing to boast of Rexâs accomplishments in the classroom. The boy was an apt pupil. But as he looked at Ella Stewartâs shrunken form lying in the bed, his heart felt chilled. The sunlight streaming through the windows cast odd shadows, like dark, clawing fingers inching their way across the quilt toward the sick womanâs face. A nagging fear seized him. He doubted anything he had to say about young Rex Stewartâs academic performance could save his mother from her decline. Ella Stewart was going to die.
Chapter Four
"Rex, where is the secret money jar?" Amanda asked later in the evening. She sat in the rocker mending a shirt near the hearth in the sitting room. Her nephew sprawled on the braided rag rug in front of the fire, reading a geography book heâd borrowed from the school. Bonita stretched out next to him.
Gil had stayed long enough to help Mr. Snow unload the promised firewood and allowed Rex to coax him to stay a bit longer to share their fried trout dinner. With Mrs. Snowâs spicy
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