Read Online From This Day Forward by Deborah Cox - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Deborah Cox
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was what he needed. The men would be waking from their siesta soon. He'd work himself to the point of exhaustion, leaving no energy for reflection or conjecture.
Caroline looked up from the book that lay open on her lap. Her spirit slumped in disappointment as the sound of rain filled the library. She'd mistaken the noise for approaching hoof beats that would have heralded Jason's return.
It was no use trying to concentrate on anything. Her mind kept returning to the afternoon's battle. Like generals in a war, they seemed to gather their forces for each skirmish, inflict as much damage as possible on the other side, then retreat to count their losses and tend their wounds in order to regroup for the next battle. The problem was that he played the game much better than she did. His blows struck much deeper than hers.
"Damn him!" she said aloud to the empty room.
Coming to her feet, she began to pace the length of the room as a growing anger roiled in her breast. When she looked back on the history of their little war, she had to admit that she'd lost almost every battle, and it infuriated her. She'd never lost at anything, and the bitter taste of defeat nearly choked her.
Where was he weakest, most vulnerable? If she could analyze his defenses and exploit his Achilles' heel, she could....
What? She could win? At what cost? If she declared all-out war, would either of them be left standing when it was over?
Until now, he'd set the rules and he'd maintained the element of surprise. She'd never known when something she said would set him off. That still might be true, but the next time she would be prepared.
And there would be a next time. He'd said the mail boat wouldn't return for another month. That meant they'd be forced to share this house for a while longer. And then....
Caroline's heart constricted as she considered her options. She couldn't go back to New Orleans. She'd sold everything she owned, including her house, and Derek Sinclair would never rehire her after what she'd done.
Moving in with Aunt Sarah in Memphis was her only option, and the thought made her stomach knot and her heart sink.
Aunt Sarah wasn't unkind, just unbending. Pious to the point of absurdity, Sarah Powers, her mother's matronly sister, detested anything she considered worldly—newspapers, plays, music, paintings, anything more than somber, utilitarian dress.... It was a list without end. Once under Aunt Sarah's roof, all of Caroline's hard won independence would be stripped from her, along with her very spirit.
"And I wanted adventure," she said aloud with a snort.
"What is a'venture?"
Caroline jerked guiltily at the sound of the voice behind her, whirling around to watch Ines enter the room with a feather duster in her hand. She turned away with a sigh, running her fingers along the uneven row of book spines that lined the shelf before her.
"Excitement," she explained. "Experience. Maybe danger."
"You have a'venture where you come from?" Ines asked as she began dusting the furniture.
Caroline laughed without humor. "Where I come from, the only adventure I ever experienced was trying to get to work on the trolley car."
Ines stopped dusting, her brow knitting in curiosity. "This is dangerous?"
"No." Caroline smiled. "No, it's not dangerous. It's not very exciting either, but it is an experience."
"Here it is excitement all the time," Ines assured her, resuming her task.
"Oh, I can imagine."
Excitement was one thing she would never lack in the Amazon Valley. The jungle pulsed with a never- ending struggle for survival. But the one thing she would lack was the one thing she didn't want to live without, the one thing she had come here hoping to find—a sense of belonging, of being needed and cherished.
Her father had cherished her, in his own way, but that wasn't the kind of love she wanted now.
She'd hoped to find that kind of love and mutual need with Wade, but he had been incapable of the depth of emotion she craved.
"So,
Caroline looked up from the book that lay open on her lap. Her spirit slumped in disappointment as the sound of rain filled the library. She'd mistaken the noise for approaching hoof beats that would have heralded Jason's return.
It was no use trying to concentrate on anything. Her mind kept returning to the afternoon's battle. Like generals in a war, they seemed to gather their forces for each skirmish, inflict as much damage as possible on the other side, then retreat to count their losses and tend their wounds in order to regroup for the next battle. The problem was that he played the game much better than she did. His blows struck much deeper than hers.
"Damn him!" she said aloud to the empty room.
Coming to her feet, she began to pace the length of the room as a growing anger roiled in her breast. When she looked back on the history of their little war, she had to admit that she'd lost almost every battle, and it infuriated her. She'd never lost at anything, and the bitter taste of defeat nearly choked her.
Where was he weakest, most vulnerable? If she could analyze his defenses and exploit his Achilles' heel, she could....
What? She could win? At what cost? If she declared all-out war, would either of them be left standing when it was over?
Until now, he'd set the rules and he'd maintained the element of surprise. She'd never known when something she said would set him off. That still might be true, but the next time she would be prepared.
And there would be a next time. He'd said the mail boat wouldn't return for another month. That meant they'd be forced to share this house for a while longer. And then....
Caroline's heart constricted as she considered her options. She couldn't go back to New Orleans. She'd sold everything she owned, including her house, and Derek Sinclair would never rehire her after what she'd done.
Moving in with Aunt Sarah in Memphis was her only option, and the thought made her stomach knot and her heart sink.
Aunt Sarah wasn't unkind, just unbending. Pious to the point of absurdity, Sarah Powers, her mother's matronly sister, detested anything she considered worldly—newspapers, plays, music, paintings, anything more than somber, utilitarian dress.... It was a list without end. Once under Aunt Sarah's roof, all of Caroline's hard won independence would be stripped from her, along with her very spirit.
"And I wanted adventure," she said aloud with a snort.
"What is a'venture?"
Caroline jerked guiltily at the sound of the voice behind her, whirling around to watch Ines enter the room with a feather duster in her hand. She turned away with a sigh, running her fingers along the uneven row of book spines that lined the shelf before her.
"Excitement," she explained. "Experience. Maybe danger."
"You have a'venture where you come from?" Ines asked as she began dusting the furniture.
Caroline laughed without humor. "Where I come from, the only adventure I ever experienced was trying to get to work on the trolley car."
Ines stopped dusting, her brow knitting in curiosity. "This is dangerous?"
"No." Caroline smiled. "No, it's not dangerous. It's not very exciting either, but it is an experience."
"Here it is excitement all the time," Ines assured her, resuming her task.
"Oh, I can imagine."
Excitement was one thing she would never lack in the Amazon Valley. The jungle pulsed with a never- ending struggle for survival. But the one thing she would lack was the one thing she didn't want to live without, the one thing she had come here hoping to find—a sense of belonging, of being needed and cherished.
Her father had cherished her, in his own way, but that wasn't the kind of love she wanted now.
She'd hoped to find that kind of love and mutual need with Wade, but he had been incapable of the depth of emotion she craved.
"So,
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