Read Online Winter Rose by Rachel A. Marks - Free Book Online

“Where’s your Ma? I thought you said she was sleepin’.”
    I can only stare at him and hope Hunt won’t come back in his face.
    He sneers and shoves me onto the pallet behind me. I reach down and snatch up the knife, holding it in front of me again.
    Pa just looks down on me like I’m a silly child having a tantrum. “Put that thing down or I’ll take it and use it on you. Where the hell’s your Ma? And Becca?”
    “Dead!” I scream at him.
    His head moves back like I hit him. “What’re you sayin’?”
    “They’re dead, you filthy bastard. You left us here—helpless. You sent those horrid men.” My voice catches. I want to stick him with this knife so bad I can’t breathe. “Mamma was so sick. How could you?”
    He goes still and stares at me for such a long time I wonder if he’s going to be there like that forever. A statue made of shock and confusion.
      I stand and move back to guard my basket. “Now go. Just leave. There’s nothing for you here.”
    “They’re dead?”
    What the hell did he expect? “Yes. Long past.”
    “But not you.” He gives me a look like I’ve sinned in being the one to stay alive.
    And then I hear the baby behind me, stirring, starting to fuss. A tiny grunt and an intake of breath, and Pa’s attention locks on the basket as the baby lets out a little cry.
    “What’s goin’ on, Girl?” he growls.
    He moves closer and I raise the knife, pointing it at him. “You stay back. One step more and I stick you.”
    His eyes turn hard. “You won’t kill your Pa.”
    “You wouldn’t be the first soul I sent to Hell. You’re nobody to me, now.”
    He must see I mean it, cause he doesn’t come closer. He doesn’t move back, though. “When I get my hands on you—”
    There’s a sound outside and Pa turns as Luke’s form fills the broken doorway.
    The men stare at each other, both equal in size and stature.
    Luke glances at the splintered door, nearly off it’s hinges, then at me. He studies my face, my swollen and bloody lip, and darkness clouds his features.
    Pa forgets about the basket and focuses his energy on Luke. “Who’s this?” 
    Luke just eyes Pa like he’s ready to tear into him the second Pa moves.
    “You put your hands on my daughter?” Pa asks, like he’s the moral authority in the room. “You make a child with a girl you’re not wed to?”
    Luke’s nostril’s flare. “Who says I’m not married to her?” he asks through his teeth.
    My eyes snap to his and my heart jumps sideways in my chest.
    Pa studies him. “You sayin’, you and her...?” Doubt clouds his features. “What you want with a rat? She wouldn’t satisfy for—”
    “That’s my wife, Sir. I suggest you think before saying much else.”
    Pa fidgets with something on his waist. “This is my house, Boy. And I’ll say whatever I want.” He pulls out a dagger and holds it at his side, loose and casual, like it’s a stone or a stick.
    “You really want to test me?” Luke asks. His eyes are wide and wild, his whole body tense, ready to pounce. “I won’t go easy on man that beats his daughter.”
    Pa snickers, obviously enjoying himself. “That’s not all I done to her.”
    Luke moves so fast, Pa doesn’t have time to react. He grabs the wrist with the dagger, and twists, making Pa cry out in pain and drop it to the floor. Then Pa’s on the ground, face to the wood, and another knife is in Luke’s hand, pressing into Pa’s neck, his knee digging into Pa’s spine. “Say that again.” Luke grinds out. “Confess your sin to me again, Old Man, and I’ll pass judgment.”
    Pa just lets out a muffled cry of pain.
    Luke looks at me. “Come here, Rose.” I can only stare at him, his form all power and rage.
    His voice softens. “Rose, you need to do this.”
    Pa tries to squirm away, but Luke just digs harder with his knee. “Be still or I’ll cut something off,” Luke says. Then he directs his attention back to me. He nods at the knife in my hand. “This