Adele (Angel Creek Christmas Brides #18) - Cynthia Woolf Page 0,13

grinned. “That’ll be perfect.”

Lissa entered the kitchen with her father, the reader clutched to her chest.

Adele bent at the waist to greet the little girl. “Hi, Lissa.” Adele looked up at Edward. “Won’t you have a seat at the table? You may begin reading whenever you wish, but you will read to me, until I finish cleaning up your mess. Then you will take me to the barn. Understood?”

The child narrowed her eyes and stared at Adele as though just her thoughts would do Adele harm, but she did sit.

“I’ll see you both soon.” Edward looked at Adele a moment and then turned and left through the kitchen door.

I wonder if he was trying to decide whether or not to kiss me?

“Why don’t you just go away? Daddy and I don’t need you.”

Adele faced Lissa and lifted a brow. “I believe your daddy thinks differently and I must say based on what I’ve seen of you, I agree. You need someone who will discipline you. You’ve run roughshod over your poor father for long enough.”

The little girl set the book on the table and crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re not my mother. You’re not the boss of me.”

“I wasn’t before but as of today I am. You will mind both your father and me or you will be a very unhappy girl.” Adele walked to the table and sat across from Lissa. “I don’t want to punish you. I want very much to like you, but—” She paused and gazed at the child who was now her daughter. “Unlike your father, I will punish you when you do something wrong or don’t mind because when it comes right down to it, I don’t really care if you like me or not. Your father is the important person here and I won’t have you disappointing him again.”

Lissa’s eyes filled with tears. “I disappoint him?”

Adele hurt inside. She did not want to upset this child. “Yes, you do. You see he knows that deep inside you’re a good girl and it hurts him when you’re bad…when you’re not being the best Lissa you can be.”

The tears streamed down the child’s cheeks. She swiped at them with her hands.

Adele reached into her skirt pocket and handed Lissa the handkerchief she’d put in after her bath.

“I don’t want to hurt daddy.” Her tears dried up as suddenly as they had occurred. “But I won’t like you.”

“You don’t have to.” Adele stood and walked to the sink. She looked over her shoulder. “All you have to do is obey me.”

Upon reaching the sink she looked underneath and found the items she needed…a jar of lye soap shavings and a scrubbing brush for the stove.

While Adele cleaned, Lissa read and pouted.

Adele smiled.

*****

Adele never did get the rest of the tour of the house, so when she entered her bedroom she was surprised at how beautifully decorated it was…simple and yet elegant. The bed frame was brass with large posts at the corners and a curved head and footboard. It was covered with a beautiful blue patchwork quilt made of six-sided patches instead of just square ones. Edward had brought her carpetbags up here after her bath and they resided on the bed.

Two rocking chairs were along the wall. Oak nightstands and the table between the rockers matched the mirrored bureau, the commode and the tallboy dresser. She liked the room very much. It was not as ostentatious as her bedroom in New York, but in many ways she liked the simplicity of this one better.

After the start of the day with the wedding, listening to Lissa read for an hour while Adele scrubbed the stove and mopped the floor, she was exhausted and should be ready to sleep. But as she undressed her stomach jumped and rolled. She shouldn’t be nervous, because she certainly wasn’t a virgin, but for some reason she felt like one. Most of all, she didn’t want Edward to think poorly of her.

She turned toward Edward who had followed her into the room, closed the door behind him and stripped out of his clothes in nothing flat. “Perhaps we should forego coupling until we know each other better.”

Edward got into bed and cocked a brow. “I don’t think so. You’re a widow. You shouldn’t be afraid of having relations.”

She nodded once. “You’re right, but for some reason I am nervous.” She looked at the floor then stared into his gorgeous blue eyes. “I…I don’t want to disappoint you.”

He tilted his