Read Online Turner's Rainbow 2 - The Rainbow Promise by Lisa Gregory - Free Book Online Page B

you better trained than she ever did me."
    "I learned my lessons with you," Julia retorted.
    Luke stood up and ruffled the children's hair, aching to touch them, yet not wanting to force them or frighten them. "I'm glad you're here. Emily been showing you everything?"
    They nodded, and the boy said, "Yes, sir."
    "I—I'm sure you wonder what I'm doing here," Julia began, lacing her hands together in front of her Sarah thought she looked like a child bracing herself to confess a prank to the school principal. There was something fragile about Julia, something that made a person want to hug her and assure her that you'd keep the bad things away. Sarah suspected that no one had ever kept the bad things from her, though.
    "I just want to look at you," Luke interjected. He knew that whatever Julia had to say was hard for her, and doubly so in front of Sarah and the children. "We can talk after supper I bet these little ones are starving. I know I am."
    "That's right." Sarah added. "Let's eat first."
    The family sat down around the table, and, much to Julia's astonishment, Luke folded his hands and lowered his head along with Sarah and Emily, and Sarah said grace. Julia stared. Luke looked up and caught her staring at him, and he winked. "Sure got respectable, didn't I?"
    Julia nodded. He was her old Luke, yet he wasn't. The changes in him seemed only to the better, but it left her unsure what to make of him.
    Luke glanced toward Sarah, his gaze soft and loving. Julia had never seen him look like that, and it made her heart hurt with love and happiness for him and a little regret lor herself. "Sarah's done it to me." His hand covered Sarah's where it rested on the edge of the table. "Didn't you, sweetheart?"
    She smiled back at him, the love in her eyes equally strong. "Somebody had to, I reckon."
    "I want 'tato," Emily piped up, and the tender moment was gone. They began to dish up the food and eat.
    Julia and the children thought what they had eaten a few hours earlier was plentiful, but it was a mere snack compared to this meal. They rarely had chicken-fried steak, and when they did, it was a very special occasion. Their meals ran to beans and greens and rice; and if there was meat, it was usually pork middlings cooked in the vegetables. They dived into the meal with gusto; and when they finished, their plates were as clean as if they had wiped them. There was peach cobbler for dessert, with cream poured on top, and that was the best of all.
    Julia, Sarah, and the girls cleaned up afterward, and Sarah took the children upstairs to put them to bed, leaving Luke and Julia alone to talk. Julia told her brother the story of Will's death, their financial straits and of her decision to come to him. She was grateful for Sarah's tactful departure. It was far easier to talk alone with Luke. It was still embarrassing, but she knew that Luke understood; he had once lived the same kind of life she had.
    "I'm sorry," Julia finished softly, gazing down at her hands. "I didn't want to burden you with my family, but I didn't know where else to go. And the children..."
    "What are you talking about?" Luke sounded indignant. "Where else should you go, except to your own family? You're no burden to me. I want you here. Julie, I'm so happy. I've missed you for years."
    "Oh, Luke!" Julia's head came up, and she looked at him, tears shining in her eyes. "I've missed you, too! I felt so bad that I never came to see you, that I didn't see you get married. That I wasn't there when you were on trial."
    "There was no reason you should have been there," he replied gruffly. "It was no place for a lady."
    "I'm no lady; I'm just a Turner."
    "Don't say that!" Luke looked fierce. "You're as good as any woman. I won't let you talk that way about yourself. If Sarah hears you, she'll give you a real earful." He grinned ruefully. "She always does me if I say something like that. She's a wonderful woman." His smile turned dreamy. "Sarah believes that you can be