Read Online Once in a Blue Moon by Diane Darcy - Free Book Online Page B

place ‘til
you get settled. I’m glad of the comp’ny. You’ll have to clean out
the loft first. After you’re done, head on down the road and ask
for a job. The Widow MacPherson owes me a favor. Tell her I sent
you and you’ll get the job.”
    Richard grinned.
“Thanks.”
    The two of them headed
back to the cabin and Richard mentally adjusted a cowboy hat atop
his head. Yep, this was going to work out just fine.
    * * *
    Melissa hauled the fourth and last blanket up the ladder and
set it on top of the others at the edge of the loft floor. Three
rungs up, she peered into the dark interior of the loft. Were they
really supposed to sleep in there? Granted, Richard had cleaned it
thoroughly before he’d left, but still, new spiders were probably
creeping through the sod roof and setting up house at that very
moment.
    She glanced at her
wrist out of habit, and wished again she’d worn a watch. She also
noticed her ring finger was bare and her heart clenched
unexpectedly. She glanced back toward the door.
    Richard had been gone forever. He just had to get the job. Maybe they could
even leave tonight and wouldn’t have to sleep here at all. She
searched the dark interior once more, positive she saw movement
crawling within.
    “You sure you don’t
want the bed?”
    Melissa closed her eyes
as Sully’s raspy voice interrupted her thoughts. The guy was a
broken record. She leaned down so she could see him where he sat at
the table, and pasted on a fake smile. “Yes, I’m still quite
sure.”
    She’d sleep beside
Richard and the kids on the hard plank floor. She had more faith in
the cleanliness of the loft than she did in Sully’s bedcovers. Or
the rest of the cabin for that matter. As much pride as the old guy
took in his place, she’d have thought he’d clean it once in a
while.
    She fingered a blanket.
At least the quilts seemed clean. And they actually smelled good
too; like cedar. She could only hope they weren’t full of bugs.
Sully had retrieved them from a trunk in the corner, mumbling
something about his wife, who must have made them.
    She ran her hand over
the material and, even in the weak light, was impressed in spite of
herself. The design was exquisite; collector quality. It was the
type of quilt you’d find in a ritzy upscale shop on Rodeo Drive.
She traced the pattern with one finger. Off-white blocks, green
holly, red berries and rosebuds, a continuous red vine with yellow
grapes and leaves running around the border. The stitching was
beautiful, and obviously the work of an exceptionally talented
needleworker.
    A whining sound from
below reminded her that Zeke waited. Ever since she’d put the
miserable mutt in its place, he’d followed her around, slobbering
on her whenever it had the chance. Her trendy white outfit had the
stains to prove it. She’d just stay perched a while longer, like
she was in a safety zone. She didn’t want to go up, but she didn’t
want to go down either.
    Laughter erupted at the
table where the twins sat with the old man. He seemed to be
teaching them how to gamble and they were fascinated. She ought to
put a stop to Sully’s corruption of her children, but they seemed
to be having fun, and they weren’t bothering her, so she let them
be. Besides, with four of them inside the cabin, the quarters
seemed even smaller. Claustrophobic. So at least the kids were
sitting still.
    She inhaled, caught a
whiff of stew and her stomach rumbled. Sully had fed the children
stew for dinner, and it actually smelled good. But she could wait a
while longer, especially if it meant she could avoid accepting food
from a man who had no soap to wash his hands with.
    The kids laughed again
and Melissa blinked moisture from her eyes. No one but her seemed
to care they weren’t home. The horror of the place was lost on
them; even the outhouse hadn’t fazed the kids. Jessica had actually
joked about it. Melissa’s stomach lurched as she thought of the
horrible experience she’d gone