Adele (Angel Creek Christmas Brides #18) - Cynthia Woolf Page 0,44
frowned. “What’s the matter with you, woman? Coming out here without a coat. Don’t you know this is almost December in Montana Territory?”
“I’m fine. Tell me what happened.” She rubbed her arms and noticed her teeth were chattering.
Edward took off his coat. “Here. Put this on.”
“I’m fine. What about you?”
“I’m not carrying our child. You will not catch your death of pneumonia as long as I live.”
She grinned and put on the coat. The arms hung a good six inches too long and the rest of the coat was huge on her as well. “You just care about this baby.” Her smile never faltered.
He pulled her to him by the lapels. “Not true and you know it.” He kissed her hard and put an arm around her shoulders and started walking. “I’ll come back for the wagon. You need to get inside, and I don’t see that happening until I tell you everything.”
She raised her chin and nodded. “That’s right. E
verything.”
“Let’s go inside so I only have to say this once.”
He steered her into the kitchen.
Adele took off his coat and hung it on a peg by the back door. “So tell me. What happened?”
“Well, I need a cup of coffee for this telling.”
She widened her eyes. “Is it that long?”
One side of his mouth tilted up. “No, I’m that cold and thirsty.”
“Fine.”
Ruama got him a cup of coffee and then sat at the table.
Lissa was already seated, her chin propped on her hands, elbows on the table.
“Now.” Adele put her hands on her hips. “Will you tell us what happened?”
Edward laughed. “Oh, all right. First, I hit every bump, rock and hole the road had to offer. I wanted him good and bruised by the time I reached town. Then I took him to Doc Walker, despite what I said I’d do. Turns out the bullet grazed his side. It left a bit of a gouge, which is why the wound was bleeding so much. Anyway, when the doc sewed him up, I wouldn’t let him give Richard anything for the pain. He deserved every bit of hurt Doc caused after the bruises he gave Lissa.”
The child covered her neck with her hands.
Edward lifted a brow, dropped his chin and narrowed his eyes as he looked at his daughter. “Thought I didn’t notice, didn’t you?”
Lissa nodded.
He smiled at his daughter. “Well, I did and he’s luckier than he knows that I didn’t end his miserable life for giving my sweet girl those marks. Anyway, after Doc Walker was done, I took him to the sheriff. Quinn was happy to have him. His jail was empty and so no reason to have a deputy but he didn’t want to fire Roscoe Brown. This way Roscoe’ll keep his job.”
Adele reached out and clasped Edward’s hand. “I’m so glad some good came out of this situation.”
“So am I. Once I’m done telling the judge exactly what happened here, Richard’ll be spending many years in prison.”
“As he should.” Somewhere deep in her heart may have been a smattering of feeling for Richard, but when she looked at Lissa and saw the marks on her neck from his hand, any tender feeling she had was gone. She wanted him to pay for what he did to her daughter and for what he did to her. Adele wasn’t so naïve that she believed Richard would take her back to New York. No, he would take her and dump her body somewhere, so no other man could have her…ever.
That night, after they read Lissa a story, Edward leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.
Adele blew her a kiss as was their usual goodnight routine.
“Mama, would you kiss my forehead like Daddy does?”
Adele turned to the little girl. “M…m…mama?” Her eyes filled with tears.
Lissa clutched the covers to her chest. “If you don’t mind. I heard Daddy say he didn’t know why I missed my other mama so much, since she never wanted me. And how I should want the person who wants me. You want me, don’t you, Adele?”
She rushed to Lissa’s bedside and gathered the child into her arms. “Oh, sweet girl, I want you more than anything. I love you so much, and I would be honored if you called me Mama.”
*****
Christmas, 1870
Adele sat in the living room and sipped her morning coffee. The chores were done by Cookie as a Christmas present. She gazed out the window at the blanket of white laid down by the Christmas Eve snowstorm sparkling like diamonds