The Whippoorwill Trilogy - Sharon Sala Page 0,320

the girth of her belly, groaning slightly as the baby rolled beneath her palms.

“Lord have mercy, Little Bit, I’d appreciate it if you’d settle yourself down for a while.”

When the baby finally stilled, she closed her eyes with a satisfied groan. A few minutes later when she happened to look up, she caught Robert Lee watching her from a distance.

She raised her hand in a quick hello.

He jerked, as if surprised that she’d seen him, and nodded briefly before disappearing behind his tent.

Letty frowned. She’d already made up her mind that he was not spending the winter in that damned tent—not when there was a spare room off the kitchen. She’d mentioned it to the women earlier, and they’d all agreed that they were not only okay with him moving in, but that they would welcome his presence in the house. Now all she had to do was convince Robert Lee of the fact.

A rumble of distant thunder sounded across the mountains as the wind began to rise. It wasn’t much, but enough to cut the sultry feel in the air. She knew how miserable a winter rain felt in the mountains, and decided that today was the day that Robert Lee succumbed to her will.

And, in typical Letty fashion, she hefted herself up from the rocking chair, walked off the porch, and headed for his tent.

Robert Lee hadn’t intended to be caught watching Letty, and yet it had happened. He cursed the hopelessness of his situation and wished he was hard-hearted enough to just saddle up and ride away. During the past few weeks, he’d busied himself through the days by chopping wood for the coming winter months. He had a wagon nearly full and ready to be hauled to the house to unload. It would be the fourth load that he’d cut and was in the act of splitting up some logs when Letty rounded the front of the tent.

“Robert Lee.”

He spun abruptly. The rising wind was pushing the skirt of her smock against her belly and tangling the tendrils of her hair that had come unloose from the pins. He glanced up at the gathering clouds, dropped the axe, and grabbed her by the arm.

“It’s going to rain.”

“Most likely,” she said, and pointed at the tent. “Gather up your things. You’re coming to the house with me.”

“Letty, you know—”

“Do shut up, Robert Lee. Winter is upon us and I won’t have you sleeping out here in this pitiful tent when there’s a perfectly good room off the kitchen. Mary and Delilah made up a bed for you. Alice is raring to cook for a man. She claims none of us eat enough to warrant all her hard work.”

“But what will people—”

Letty snorted.

“Surely you know me well enough by now to know that I don’t give a damn about what people think. Don’t make me ask you again. Get your stuff and be quick about it. I don’t relish getting myself all wet.”

Robert Lee moved like a man in a trance. Even as he was gathering up his things, he knew everything was going to change. Whether it would be for the best, or just make everything worse, remained to be seen. But from his experience of the past events, he could not, in good conscience, leave these women alone on the mountain.

By the time he was through, the wind was rising even more. As he started toward the house with Letty at his side, Alice was coming from town at a hasty clip, trying to beat the storm. She overtook, then passed them with the wagon on her way to the house.

The women unloaded their supplies quickly. Mary and Delilah unhooked the team of horses and led them to the shed just as the first drops of rain were beginning to fall.

Katie had fallen asleep in the back of the wagon.

Robert Lee quickly dumped his belongings inside the kitchen and ran back to get her.

“See… this is working out already,” Letty said, as he carried the little girl into the house.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he muttered, as he carried the little girl into the parlor and laid her down on the red settee.

Delilah glanced around the room, shivering as a blast of wind rattled the leafless lilac bush at the side of the house.

“I’ll add some wood to the fire in the parlor,” she said, and hurried to the back porch to get firewood.

A short time ago Letty had walked through these rooms, feeling