Unchained Hearts (Baxter Family Saga) Read Free

the same.
    She was the new face that the rest of the Baxter family ignored. There was the son with the black hair which was always fuzzy looking and the head man himself who lived with his head stuck in some paper. Joan and her husband rarely talked, it seemed, and led separate lives. She wondered if they even shared the same bed. No matter. Virgilia was polite and did what she was paid to do. This was a job, nothing more. 
    More than a few times, Milly tried to guilt Virgilia into staying longer, but Virgilia was firm and left Milly in an annoyed state. Her first encounter with Joan came when she got ready to leave at exactly five-thirty. Joan attempted to deride Virgilia about not getting to work on time, but leaving on the dot. From the corner of her eye, she saw Milly grin.
    Joan stood with her arms crossed. “You were late this morning and now you’re leaving without fulfilling your full day’s work. I don’t see why you should be paid for today.”
    Virgilia trained her sight on her boss, not blinking and walked closer to her. “Who do you think got your husband’s breakfast ready before eight-thirty this morning? Milly was busy and Mr. Baxter was just about to come downstairs at eight-twenty-five, which is five minutes before I was supposed to be here.”
    Joan scoffed.
    “If you don’t believe me, feel free to check with him as I met him in his library, handed him his morning paper, which I picked up from the lawn and commented on a story I read on the way here.”
    Joan unfolded her arms and clenched her jaw.
    “So by my calculation, I should be paid for the extra time I worked today. Shouldn’t I?”
    Joan angrily grabbed her purse and handed the money to Virgilia. Virgilia counted it and looked at Joan steadily, unblinking. After a moment, Mrs. Baxter opened her purse and gave her the rest. She then turned on her heel and walked out of the kitchen. In her triumph, Virgilia turned to Milly, who looked shocked, grabbed her own purse and left.
    ***

    Not two weeks after starting, the Baxters had their first formal party. It was going to be a small get-together of some of the influential Gables elite, such as politicians and other local business owners. It was also a welcome home for the son, Newton, who had just finished his second year at Cornell. From the little pieces of conversation she overheard, Newton was the heir apparent to Baxter Chemicals. His father, Julian, who was rarely home, was looking forward to seeing his favorite son. Newton was the second born behind Grayson, who was more interested in spending the family fortune than helping to build it. 
    Gray, as his friends called him, was more of a playboy who loved his place in society, like his mother, who constantly coddled him and made excuses for him to his father. Anything that wasn’t the right shade of blue blood wasn’t worth Gray’s attention or care. Virgilia had a few encounters with him and his veiled attempt to condescend to her was glaringly apparent. She found him less than charming and ignored him more than the others. 
    Quinn was their only girl, and at the age of thirteen, she was used to being ignored by everyone. Virgilia would often find her in the library with her nose stuck in some book. Despite herself, she smiled at this forgotten Baxter child who loved the world of her imagination more than her real life. 
    She first saw Quinn in the library, nose-deep in Tolstoy.
    “Quinn, I need to vacuum here, so you may want to go into the other room for a while.”
    “Happy families are all alike,” the teenager mused.
    Virgilia smiled. “And each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
    Quinn slowly lowered the book, revealing narrowed eyes. “ You know Tolstoy?”
    “Yes, I have read Anna Karenina as well as another short story of his. I like him better than Dostoyevsky. He seems to get to the point in a more fun way.”
    Virgilia grinned at the expression in Quinn’s eyes. “I’ll stay,” she