Read Online High Country Bride by Jillian Hart - Free Book Online Page A

the warmer for them.”
    “We ate.”
    Toasted bread, or oatmeal, was his guess. “Treat them to the food you fixed. There’s plenty, and make sure you feed yourself, too. I mean that, Joanna. Then clean up the kitchen when you’re done.”
    He winced inside at the sound of his hard tone. He didn’t have much of a choice. He couldn’t allow himself to soften toward her. He ignored the ache in the hollows of his chest and took the gelding by the rope.
    He could feel her gaze searching his face as he turned to the horse, pretending she was already gone from the barn and on her way to follow his orders. But she wasn’t. She stood in the aisle, her presence as sweet as morning light. He could feel the radiance of her smile, sweeter than spun sugar, before she turned and hurried away.

    “Ma! Ma! Look at me!” Daisy sang out as she climbed a boulder at the edge of the field, her little blue dress snapping in the breeze. Sunshine glinted like gold in her hair as she followed her brother to the flat top of the large rock. “Look, Ma!”
    “I’m looking, sweet girl.” Joanna laughed as she hefted the crate off the wagon’s tailgate. She had already put in a hard day in Aiden’s kitchen, first cleaning up the breakfast dishes and then baking and cooking and cleaning up after that. Then there had been the shanty to scrub clean—it was surprisingly dusty, with a thick layer of dirt in the corners. Now there was the wagon to unload, and she wasn’t about to wait for Aiden to come in from his work. He’d done more than enough for her already.
    “Ma! I’m gonna jump!” Daisy crept to the edge of the rock, afraid but determined. She grasped her brother’s shirtsleeve with fisted hands.
    James looked burdened. “Ma! She’s on my fort.”
    “I see that. You’re a good boy to let her play with you.”
    James didn’t say anything to that, but the look on his face was one of adorable resignation. He clutched a wooden horse, as if he’d been about to set up his horse corral on part of that boulder top.
    Joanna carried the crate across the ripening grasses, keeping a watchful eye for Daisy’s courageous jump. It was good to see them so happy. James had been such a good boy, watching his sister play with her doll by the shanty door all the while Joanna had been cleaning. Her son looked more secure as he leaned close to whisper something in his sister’s ear. Daisy lit up with a huge smile and then bunched up before leaping off the rock. She landed on both feet, squealing.
    “Ma! Did you see? I jumped!”
    “I saw. That was the best jump I ever saw.” Joanna loved knowing that her children would have the security of home. That for now, for a while, they could play in this field and jump from that rock like normal kids. They were no longer homeless. It hurt to accept Aiden’s charity, but looking at her little ones, she had no other choice.
    “Ma!” Daisy came racing through the grass, hardly visible, it was so high. “Watch. I’m gonna do it again. James! James! Are you gonna jump, too?”
    James had that put-upon look again, but good boy that he was, he merely blew out a breath. “Yes, Daisy. Now, stand back.”
    Joanna stepped into the shanty’s shadow and suddenly felt that she wasn’t alone.
    “That looks heavy. Let me get it.” Aiden stepped into sight in his work clothes and heavy boots, dusted with bits of cut grass. He smelled sweet with it. “I thought I asked you to wait for me.”
    “I’m not so good at following orders, as my former husband learned to his great dissatisfaction.”
    “Did he now? I did not have the best success with my Kate.” Aiden took the crate out of Joanna’s hands. “Why don’t we make a bargain? If you don’t mind fetching me some cold well water, I’ll empty out your wagon.”
    “You’re trying to keep me busy and out of the way.”
    “I’m thirsty,” he corrected, and it was hard to tell if he was unhappy with her or simply being his stoic, reserved self.