Restless Heart Read Free

Lettie’s brown gaze was steady, familiar. With a nod, she went back out into the restaurant with two plates to serve, leaving Angeline with her thoughts.
    Lettie’s words helped Angeline come down from the ledge she was teetering on. She’d never had someone admire her from afar, and since she’d left Tolson, Utah, she had never felt safe. Ever. Just because she and Lettie hadn’t seen anyone following them didn’t mean no one was.
    She understood this Samuel Carver was someone who had lived in Forestville all his life. He was harmless, according to everyone who worked at the Blue Plate, even Pieter. Yet she was still unaccountably nervous about the entire affair.
    Angeline decided to give the book back to him. It wouldn’t be right to keep it, especially considering how nervous it made her. She had rarely received gifts in her life; she could count them on one hand. They had all been from her sister, Eliza, given in secret since their father did not believe in gifts. He was a church elder, a man who was strict and severe, never allowing his daughters even an inch of room to be individuals. They learned early on to obey him or suffer a beating with a switch, or his belt. They celebrated nothing and worshipped every day. It was a gray, dreary, colorless existence.Angeline still marveled at the colors of the world around her now that she had her eyes open.
    “Don’t forget to slice the bread.” Marta set a ham slice on a plate. Her reminder was surprising since Angeline rarely forgot to do anything.
    With an embarrassed smile, Angeline sliced the next loaf of bread quickly, placing two steaming pieces on the plate. She added carrots just in time for Alice to come in with a big smile on her face.
    “Your beau is here.”
    Angeline stopped in mid-motion. “Excuse me?”
    “Your beau is here. Samuel Carver is here for dinner and I would swear he’s spiffed up for it.” Alice grinned widely. “He’s ordered the ham and potatoes, with apple pie. Do you want to serve him?”
    “No, I do not.” Angeline felt her nervousness returning and silently cursed Alice for her silly enthusiasm.
    “Oh, why not? He asked for you.” She waggled her eyebrows. “He might not be rich, but he sure is sweet.” With a cheeky grin, she took the plate and left the kitchen.
    “You might as well talk to him. Don’t listen to Alice prattle on about him being a half-breed. He’s a good boy, no matter who his mother was.” Marta put ham on another plate. This time it was for Samuel Carver. “If you hide in here, it will make it worse.”
    Angeline knew she was right. The longer she hemmed and hawed about the gift and the man, the worse it would be. She needed to tell him there could be no future between them.
    With a firm spine, she put potatoes on the plate to accompany the ham and nodded to Marta. “I’ll be right back.”
    Angeline stepped into the restaurant and looked around. There were a number of people at tables, but she had no idea what the man looked like. Alice’s silly descriptionmeant nothing except that he was a man. As if she’d conjured the waitress, Alice appeared next to a man sitting in front of the bay window. She pointed and winked at Ange-line.
    Now she really was uncomfortable because Alice had no tact or consideration for other people. The man looked up and saw Angeline standing there.
    The ground shifted beneath her.
    His hair was the color of midnight, so dark it was nearly blue-black. It hung straight to his shoulders, too long to be fashionable. The ends curled up slightly as if a breeze had come through and ruffled it. His shoulders were wide, but not overly so.
    He had an intense stare that made goose bumps crawl over her skin. His eyes were also darker than pitch, black pools that seemed to be bottomless. To her surprise, his skin was lightly tanned, with tiny laugh lines around his eyes and mouth. He could be any age, but she knew him to be twenty-nine. He had the demeanor of a man who had seen