Sleigh of Hope Read Free Page B

knew he’d done a good thing even if Leo was going to pound him for telling. A Grayson man would willingly put himself in danger to protect his family. Adam would accept the risk of getting punched to make sure the boys got help. But there were bigger consequences that scared him to death because if Duke and Faith wanted to keep the boys, his perfect home would be ruined.
    Faith set Cora beside her then stood and straightened the gathered skirt of her day dress. Adam knew nothing about women’s clothing, but Faith was proud of the organ pleating and burgundy piping she’d added to her newest creation. The dress looked nice, but his sister looked pretty in everything she wore.
    She walked into the foyer and retrieved a homespun wool blanket from a decorative trunk. She handed the blanket to Adam. “I’ll warm some stew while you get the boys.” She kissed Duke’s cheek. “Be careful.”
    “I can handle a couple of boys,” he said, wearing a tolerant grin.
    Duke could handle a couple of men, but as they had all learned last year, a gun in the wrong hands can change everything. But Leo didn’t have a gun. He didn’t have anything.
    As his dad shrugged on his heavy jacket, Adam crammed the thick blanket under one arm and pulled on his boots. At the door, he faced his father. “Leo isn’t going to like you showing up. I told him I’d bring food and blankets for him and Benny.”
    “We’ll make Leo understand that it’s too dangerous for him and his brother to sleep in the greenhouse.”
    Adam nodded, but he wondered how Duke would get the hardheaded, distrustful Leo to come home with them. Whatever his dad did, he hoped it wouldn’t make Leo mad because the boy could beat him up pretty bad, if he wanted to. And it would be awful if he did it in front of Rebecca.
    Even if Leo didn’t punch him tonight he could do it in the morning when Duke went to work at the sawmill he owned with his three brothers. Until Adam headed to school he would be alone with Leo. Faith couldn’t stop a boy that size if he was mad enough.
    But Leo could do worse than beat him up. He could try to steal Rebecca away. Her interest in Leo might be more than curiosity, and Adam didn’t like it one bit. That was all the more reason to find the boys another place to live.
    “Maybe I should walk you home now,” he said to Rebecca as they headed outside. That way they would both be out of the way when his dad fetched the boys.
    She gave him an odd look. “My father is walking me home when he finishes at the harness shop, remember?”
    He remembered. He’d been hoping she wouldn’t.
    “Quit lollygagging, son.” His dad hooked his arm around Adam’s shoulders and walked him across the street to the greenhouse. “It’s best to meet a challenge head on.”
    This challenge might get him killed.
    When they entered the bathhouse Leo was too tired to kill anyone. He was holding a fussy Benny and fighting to stay awake. When he saw Duke, his eyes filled with suspicion.
    “Rest easy, son. I’m here to help. I have delicious stew to fill your bellies and a warm bed where you can both rest. I used to be the sheriff in this town and I can guarantee you’ll be safe in my home, son. That’s a promise.”
    That was the second time Duke had called Leo son and each time had gouged a hole in Adam’s heart. Seeing Rebecca watching the boys with compassion and intense interest gouged another hole.
    But as Leo struggled to his feet and staggered with Benny’s slight weight in his arms, shame filled Adam. These boys were in real trouble.
    For some reason his dad didn’t offer to carry the baby, so Adam held back as well.
    As they left the greenhouse, Leo wrapped his thin jacket around his little brother. An icy blast of snow hit them in the face. Benny whimpered and burrowed deeper into Leo’s arms.
    Adam lunged forward and draped the blanket around the baby. He tossed the rest over Leo’s big shoulders.
    Leo gaped in surprise, but Adam looked