Blackstone's Bride Read Free Page A

wasn’t a criticism. I was—”
    Just then a shriek came from inside the house. Abby turned, but Jarrod was past her in a flash. His boots thumped on the wooden floor as he hurried through the living room. Abby was on his heels as the wailing rose in volume.
    In the kitchen, Katie sat on the floor, sobbing. Tom, with his arms crossed over his thin chest, had his back to the pump handle in front of the window. He looked at them with a mixture of guilt and defiance on his face. Oliver and Lily sat in ladder-backed chairs at the oak table, the food on their plates hardly touched. Their eyes were wide as saucers as the adults entered the room.
    “What’s going on here?” Jarrod asked, going down on one knee beside the little girl. He picked her up and held her as she struggled to control the crying.
    Oliver took his thumb out of his mouth. “Tom socked Katie in the arm and pulled her hair.”
    Jarrod looked at his oldest nephew. “Is that true?” When Tom’s only response was a shrug, he asked, “Why did you hit your sister?”
    “She’s a baby.”
    Jarrod handed the little girl to Abby. “Will you take care of her?”
    “Of course. But what—”
    He turned back to the boy. “Tom, I’d like to see you in my study.”
    Abby felt the child in her arms tense then start to tremble, obviously afraid of what would happen to her brother. What had happened to frighten her so? She had no reason to fear Jarrod. At least not yet. Couldn’t he give Tom a break? They had just met, after all.
    “Jarrod, they’re all upset. This hasn’t been easy. Maybe you should—” The words on her lips died at the look he gave her.
    “Not five minutes ago you told me these children are my responsibility.”
    “That’s true, but—”
    “We might as well get a few things straight.” He stared at Tom and said, “Come with me, son.”
    The boy straightened his shoulders and lifted his chin, trying to appear brave. But in those gray eyes so like his uncle’s, Abby saw that he was only scared and very young. Jarrod took his thin arm in a firm, but gentle grasp. They left the room, and a moment later a door down the hall closed.
    “Wha’s Uncle Jarrod gonna do?” Oliver opened his mouth wide enough to be understood around his thumb.
    Abby put Katie in her chair at the table and pulled her plate close. “I’m sure he’s just going to have a talk with Tom.”
    She hoped that’s all he was planning to do. She had always thought him to be a fair man, but what if he believed that sparing the rod spoiled the child? These children were tired and cranky. For them, the journey had been heartbreaking and long, not to mention uncertain. Granted, Tom had been a bit hostile and standoffish with her. But that was understandable. He’d been through a lot. They’d all been through enough already. Surely Jarrod would take that into account. Wouldn’t he?
    Abby nervously hovered over the three other children, then paced to the kitchen doorway to listen. She’d give anything to know what Jarrod was saying to the boy, and almost wished he would shout so that she could hear something. But in the hall, only silence greeted her.
    When Lily and the other two were finished eating, they gathered plates and utensils and took them to the dry sink by the window. As she waited for water to heat on the stove, Abby wandered back to the doorway and stood, listening. Still no sound.
    “When’s Tom coming back?” Katie wanted to know.
    “Your uncle is just talking to him, sweetie.”
    “My brother didn’t hurt me that much,” she said. “Was Uncle Jarrod real mad?”
    “I’m sure he wasn’t.” She hoped he wasn’t. She bit her lip and glanced at the doorway.
    The more time that passed, the more her curiosity was pricked. For a man who claimed to know nothing about children, he apparently had a good deal to say to Tom. If the twoof them didn’t come out of that room soon, Abby figured, she would push her way in. When Katie and Oliver insisted on