Read Online Unforsaken by Lisa Higdon - Free Book Online Page A

woman goad her into such a petty confrontation? She might have had the last word, but Eugenia would have the satisfaction of knowing her accusations had been deeply disturbing.
    Still more troubling was the knowledge that news of her keeping Sarah would be all over town by nightfall, and the natural assumption would be that it was part of some desperate hope of winning back the man who had spurned her not so many years ago. She simply could not allow it, especially when she found herself sorry to think the remotest possibility didn't exist.
* * * *
    For two days Matthew hated himself for leaving Sarah with strangers. It was mostly guilt for not being able to care for her himself, but he would have felt somewhat better if she had been better acquainted with either Olivia or her aunt. Nothing, however, could ease his conscience over ignoring her cries to go home and leaving her behind. He couldn't forget the pitiful picture she made, clutching her doll and fighting back tears, and he didn't know if he had the heart to do it again.
    But his concern forced him to visit the Chandler home, to assure himself that she was being cared for and to reassure her that she would be coming home soon. If the weather held out, he would have the crops planted in a matter of weeks. After that, he would be better able to manage caring for Sarah himself.
    Dusk was just beginning to settle as he made his way up the front steps of the Chandler house, and before he could knock the sounds of laughter reached his ears. He recognized Sarah's infectious giggle, but her words were impossible to understand coming from behind the house. He forgot about knocking and searched out the voices.
    He found Sarah and Olivia on the back porch. From his vantage point he could see an expression of intense concentration on his little girl's face. She was lying on her stomach, scrubbing a charcoal pencil over a large sheet of paper, her eyes flitting up to Olivia, whose face warmed with a smile—a smile he hadn't seen since he was little more than a boy. He stared in silence for many moments, as if he were gazing through a window into the past.
    Her hair had come loose from its pins in the late afternoon breeze and the errant strands fanned her face and caught the radiance of the setting sun, turning the soft brown locks russet flecked with gold. She leaned forward and pointed to some mark on the paper and they laughed again. Sarah quickly resumed her work.
    Olivia straightened up and reached out to smooth a lock of hair from her face, only to have the breeze unsettle it. She turned away from the breeze and froze at the sight of him. She knew at once that he'd been watching her; the horror in her eyes said so, and her face grew flushed.
    Sarah looked up at him, startled and delighted both. She leapt to her feet and cried, “Daddy! Daddy, look what I got!"
    He scooped the little girl into his arms and hugged her tight. “What have you got, darlin'?"
    The carefree expression disappeared from Olivia's face and she struggled to her feet before he could offer to help her stand. She smoothed the wrinkles out of her skirt and her smile disappeared along with them. In a stiffly formal voice, she managed, “Good evening."
    "Good evening,” he returned, stung by her summary dismissal. Whatever game she had been playing with Sarah was over, and she certainly wasn't going to include him.
    Sarah began to twist in his arms, wanting down to show him her new toys. He knelt beside his daughter and listened to her breathless account of finding the sketch pad at the store and bringing it back to Olivia's house. He noticed she was wearing another new dress and a matching ribbon in her hair.
    "I trust you'll be joining us for dinner?"
    Olivia's guarded statement could hardly be considered an invitation, but he had come to spend time with Sarah, not her. “If it's not an imposition."
    "Of course not.” She didn't wait for a reply. “I'll let Maddy know we need another place