Read Online Banner O'Brien by Linda Lael Miller - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Linda Lael Miller
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home!”
Both of his brothers staggered forth to greet him.
* * *
There had been more snow during the night, though the flakes were no longer falling, and Banner O’Brien thought it a pity that Adam was about to get out of his buggy and spoil the perfect, diamond-strewn counterpane that quilted the front yard of Dr. Henderson’s house.
Her first sight of his face set her fanciful ideas to rest, however, for his lower lip was split at one side and swollen, and his right eye was blacked.
Adam seemed to sense her perusal as he strode up the walk, and he lifted his eyes to favor her with a somewhat sheepish glare.
Banner went to the door and pulled it open, aghast. Had he gone back to that stupid, smelly saloon after all and ended up in a brawl? If he had, she’d black his other eye!
“Adam Corbin—”
He lifted one hand to silence her. “Don’t start, O’Brien,” he warned.
Jenny squeezed into the doorway beside Banner and whistled appreciatively. “Jeff must be home from the seven seas!”
“Shut up,” he grumbled.
Jenny gave a whoop that made him wince. “You lost!”
Adam scowled at her, for all the world like a small boy. “I did not,” he argued.
Banner bit her lower lip to keep from grinning and caught Adam’s coat sleeve in one hand. “Come in and let me have a look at you,” she said.
His eyes assessed her crisp black sateen skirt and white pleated shirtwaist with grudging approval, and he permitted Banner to pull him past a giggling Jenny and into the kitchen, where the light was good.
There she settled Adam into a chair and examined his battered lip. “You should have had stitches,” she scolded, frowning.
Adam stiffened. “If you think I’m going to let you near me with a needle, O’Brien—”
“It’s too late now,” Banner broke in, stung by his inference that she wasn’t competent enough to suture a simple wound. No doubt he was reminding her how badly she’d bungled the treatment of the stabbing victim in the saloon the day before.
“I wonder what Jeff looks like this morning,” sang Jenny.
“Considerably worse than I do, believe me,” glared Adam.
“I don’t,” said Jenny, but she filled a cup with coffee and set it before him in an easy gesture of friendship. “I’m surprised Mrs. Corbin didn’t break up the row with her buggywhip.”
“She did,” said Adam, trying to suppress a grin. “Being sensible sorts, my brother and I removed hither.”
Banner tried to picture this man’s elegant mother wielding such a weapon and failed miserably. “Why on earth were you fighting with Jeff?”
An unreadable look passed between Adam and Jenny; after it he shrugged and she looked quickly away.
Banner was annoyed, and she tugged at the cuffs of her prim white shirtwaist to disguise the fact. “Who do we visit first today?” she asked. “Hildie?”
Adam shifted his gaze to his coffee cup, and Jenny slipped out of the kitchen to busy herself in another part of the house.
“Adam?” Banner prodded.
He stood up, faced her squarely. “I just left Hildie, Banner,” he said. “She died while I was there.”
Banner swayed a little. Though she knew Hildie’s passing was a mercy, she was always stricken by thedeath of a patient. It made her feel as though she’d worked and studied all those years for nothing.
Adam took her shoulders in his hands and pressed her into a chair. “She was glad to go,” he said, but the gruffness of the tones betrayed the fact that he felt Hildie’s loss, too.
Banner nodded, swallowed. “The boys—what will happen to them?”
Adam dropped into his chair and sighed. “Fitz has a new wife in mind—Miss Mamie Robbins. He’s marrying the lady as soon as Hildie’s been properly buried.”
Banner was horrified, even though she knew that a stepmother was probably just what Hildie’s boys needed.
Adam grinned tenderly, caught her hand in his, made her sit down beside him. “Close your mouth, O’Brien,” he said.
Both of his brothers staggered forth to greet him.
* * *
There had been more snow during the night, though the flakes were no longer falling, and Banner O’Brien thought it a pity that Adam was about to get out of his buggy and spoil the perfect, diamond-strewn counterpane that quilted the front yard of Dr. Henderson’s house.
Her first sight of his face set her fanciful ideas to rest, however, for his lower lip was split at one side and swollen, and his right eye was blacked.
Adam seemed to sense her perusal as he strode up the walk, and he lifted his eyes to favor her with a somewhat sheepish glare.
Banner went to the door and pulled it open, aghast. Had he gone back to that stupid, smelly saloon after all and ended up in a brawl? If he had, she’d black his other eye!
“Adam Corbin—”
He lifted one hand to silence her. “Don’t start, O’Brien,” he warned.
Jenny squeezed into the doorway beside Banner and whistled appreciatively. “Jeff must be home from the seven seas!”
“Shut up,” he grumbled.
Jenny gave a whoop that made him wince. “You lost!”
Adam scowled at her, for all the world like a small boy. “I did not,” he argued.
Banner bit her lower lip to keep from grinning and caught Adam’s coat sleeve in one hand. “Come in and let me have a look at you,” she said.
His eyes assessed her crisp black sateen skirt and white pleated shirtwaist with grudging approval, and he permitted Banner to pull him past a giggling Jenny and into the kitchen, where the light was good.
There she settled Adam into a chair and examined his battered lip. “You should have had stitches,” she scolded, frowning.
Adam stiffened. “If you think I’m going to let you near me with a needle, O’Brien—”
“It’s too late now,” Banner broke in, stung by his inference that she wasn’t competent enough to suture a simple wound. No doubt he was reminding her how badly she’d bungled the treatment of the stabbing victim in the saloon the day before.
“I wonder what Jeff looks like this morning,” sang Jenny.
“Considerably worse than I do, believe me,” glared Adam.
“I don’t,” said Jenny, but she filled a cup with coffee and set it before him in an easy gesture of friendship. “I’m surprised Mrs. Corbin didn’t break up the row with her buggywhip.”
“She did,” said Adam, trying to suppress a grin. “Being sensible sorts, my brother and I removed hither.”
Banner tried to picture this man’s elegant mother wielding such a weapon and failed miserably. “Why on earth were you fighting with Jeff?”
An unreadable look passed between Adam and Jenny; after it he shrugged and she looked quickly away.
Banner was annoyed, and she tugged at the cuffs of her prim white shirtwaist to disguise the fact. “Who do we visit first today?” she asked. “Hildie?”
Adam shifted his gaze to his coffee cup, and Jenny slipped out of the kitchen to busy herself in another part of the house.
“Adam?” Banner prodded.
He stood up, faced her squarely. “I just left Hildie, Banner,” he said. “She died while I was there.”
Banner swayed a little. Though she knew Hildie’s passing was a mercy, she was always stricken by thedeath of a patient. It made her feel as though she’d worked and studied all those years for nothing.
Adam took her shoulders in his hands and pressed her into a chair. “She was glad to go,” he said, but the gruffness of the tones betrayed the fact that he felt Hildie’s loss, too.
Banner nodded, swallowed. “The boys—what will happen to them?”
Adam dropped into his chair and sighed. “Fitz has a new wife in mind—Miss Mamie Robbins. He’s marrying the lady as soon as Hildie’s been properly buried.”
Banner was horrified, even though she knew that a stepmother was probably just what Hildie’s boys needed.
Adam grinned tenderly, caught her hand in his, made her sit down beside him. “Close your mouth, O’Brien,” he said.
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