Read Online Lorraine Heath by Parting Gifts - Free Book Online Page B

understanding a woman could provide.
    He rolled to his side and pounded his fist into his pillow. He’d never before realized how lonely a bed could be when only one person lay in it in the dark of night.
    The early morning sun filtered in through the window, creating a hazy light within the kitchen. Jesse slid his gaze from his reflection in the small mirror above the sink to that of the woman standing in the doorway behind him. His gaze holding hers in the mirror, he reached for a towel and slowly wiped the last remnants of his shave from his face.
    “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were in here,” Maddie said.
    Straightening, he turned, tossed the towel onto the counter, and reached for his shirt. “That’s all right.”
    She took a step back. “I’ll leave you—”
    “I’m done.” He shrugged on his shirt. She remained standing in the doorway as though afraid if she came into the room, he’d attack her. He knew he should apologize, but after spying her curled up in bed last night, he thought any apology he could have uttered would seem insignificant.
    She glanced around the room as though seeking permission to enter. “I thought I’d take a cup of coffee to Charles. He’s somewhat irritable before he’s had his coffee in the morning.”
    “It’s a family trait.”
    Raising an eyebrow, she curved up her mouth almost imperceptibly. “So you haven’t had any coffee since I’ve been here?”
    She was offering an honorable surrender, and he wondered why his defeat felt like a victory. “It would appear not.”
    She smiled fully then, a smile more intoxicating than the shade of her amber eyes. Her bare toes, peering out from beneath her wrapper, wiggled up and down. Such tiny toes attached to tiny bare feet. Bare feet attached to bare ankles. He couldn’t see past the bare ankles, but he wondered how far up she went before she was no longer bare. As though following the course of his thoughts, she pulled on the sash of her wrapper. The gesture, if intended to ward off his thoughts, failed; it only emphasized the narrowness of her waist. Jesse flexed his fingers as he remembered the feel of that tiny waist as he’d held it in his hands.
    “That was quite a storm we had last night,” she said, her voice uncertain as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
    “Yeah, it was. May have done some damage.”
    “The thunder and lightning frightened Taylor. That’s why she crawled into bed with us.”
    “Thunder always frightened Cassie, too.”
    “Cassie?”
    “Our sister. She’d crawl into bed with us whenever there was a storm.”
    A hint of loss echoed within his voice. She decided against pursuing the subject, not wanting to lose whatever she’d gained this morning, not certain how she’d managed to gain it. “Will you be joining us for breakfast?”
    “Depends.”
    “On what?”
    Jesse dropped his gaze to his boots. Now was the time to apologize formally, to say all those words that had been circling around in his head all night like the rain circling on the winds of the storm. He lifted his eyes to hers and saw her as he’d first seen her when he’d lifted her down from the stagecoach—young, innocent, sweet. The apology clogged his throat. “On whether or not I’m welcome.”
    “You are.”
    He knew he should show some sign of appreciation for her forgiveness. He wanted to tell her the sponge cake was the most delicious he’d ever had the pleasure of tasting. What little bit he’d had. The ants had devoured it as it sat upon the shelf. Instead, he asked a question that had been preying on his mind. “Why didn’t you tell Charles how I treated you yesterday?”
    “He can’t force you to accept me, although judging from the bruise on his knuckles and the bruise on your chin, I’d say he tried.”
    Self-consciously, he grazed his finger along his tender flesh. “I’d better go see what’s keeping Aaron and the milk.”
    He headed out the door. Maddie walked to the sink