Lucas Read Free Page B

with a
slight wiggle of his nose as he tried to readjust how his spectacles sat just
below its bridge.
    Wisps of snow had begun
to fall again and now swirled in flurries around the man’s head. Truth was,
Liam should have been back from Virginia City days ago and Lucy worried that he
would get caught in the coming storm.
    “I know you mean well,
Mr. Tacy, but I’m afraid I do not have any more information for you. I will see
to it that Mr. Deardon knows you stopped by.” She moved to close the door, but
the man stuck his head inside, startling her. She jumped backward with a quick
intake of breath.
    “It is a matter of the
utmost importance.”
    Quickly collecting
herself, she smiled at him with patience she didn’t feel. “I understand. Thank
you.” She pushed on the door until he was forced to retract his head and it
closed completely. She leaned against it and blew a stray lock of hair from her
eyes. Taking over the running of this household seemed a better idea a month
ago when she’d faced destitution on the street.
    Where are you, Liam? The man had become like
the grandfather she’d never known. He was a good man. She just hoped he wasn’t
freezing out there. She made a mental note to have the foreman bring in another
bundle of firewood for the hearth. He’d be home soon. From the way he spoke of
the annual and much celebrated Deardon Thanksgiving Day tournament and feast,
he wouldn’t miss it.
    Knock. Knock.
    Lucy shook her head and
spun to open the door.
    “I thought I told
you...”
    Her head motioned
backward at the sight of the tall, dark-haired man with brilliant blue eyes who
stared down at her. To her surprise, it was not the lanky young lawyer, but a
stranger—though there was something oddly familiar about him. He was a
beautiful man.
    Stop that, Lucy Russell. She cleared her
throat.
    The stranger looked
behind him.
    “I’m guessing that was
meant for him?” He pointed to the well-dressed man who lifted his foot from the
mud puddle he’d just found in front of his little metal carriage and looked
back at the house with a scowl.
    Lucy giggled and waved.
She couldn’t help herself.
    “I’m sorry to disturb
you, ma’am,” the stranger said, pulling her from her wicked thoughts, “but I
was wondering if this is where I might find Mr. William Deardon.”
    “This is Mr. Deardon’s
residence. May I help you?”
    “Will you please tell
him that Lucas is here to speak with him?”
    “Lucas?” She recognized
the name and her heart nearly jumped from her chest.
    “Lucas Deardon, ma’am.
His grandson.”
    Oh, my.
    She’d thought the other
Deardon men were handsome, but nothing had prepared her for this Deardon man. Liam
had recounted how he had written to his estranged son, Gabriel, just after
she’d arrived with the hopes of reconnecting with him and his boys by inviting
them to Whisper Ridge for the holidays. By the way Liam had spoken of his
grandsons, she half expected Lucas to be a young boy of ten or twelve, not a
grown man.
    She just stared at him
for a moment.
    “Ma’am,” he said,
pulling her from her thoughts.
    “Is your father with
you? Your brothers?” she asked expectantly, stepping up onto her toes in an
attempt to look behind him. That wasn’t going to work. He had to measure at
least six feet, if not more.
    “No, ma’am.” He fiddled
with the hat in his hand. “I’ve come alone.” He met her eyes, his jaw
set—prepared for the worst. She’d seen that look before. On Liam. She wanted to
invite him in, but worried about the propriety of it. Tillie, the family’s cook
was in town gathering last minute supplies for the feast. Nancy, the
housekeeper, had already come and gone for the day. And now, Lucy was the only
one left in the house.
    The sound of an excited
bark filled the otherwise quiet house.
    She turned to see
Brewster, a beautiful border collie bounding toward her from the kitchen.
    “Lucy, are you in here?
The snow is coming dow...” Alex, one of