A Necessary Husband by Debra Mullins Read Free Book Online

anymore.
    “You’re right.”
    She had actually parted her lips to argue before she realized what he’d said. Closing her mouth, she looked at him curiously.
    “You’re right,” he said again. “It’s just that I’ve been in charge of the family for so long, I never noticed when you grew up.”
    “You weren’t home enough,” she said, but the words had no heat.
    “I was trying to support a family, Meg. I know you can’t understand that, but it was important to me to give you the best I could.”
    “No, I do understand it.” She began to stroll as she spoke, reaching up to gently touch one soft, pink cherry blossom. “But what you don’t understand is that I don’t remember our father, Garrett. I was only three years old when he died at sea. You’re the closest thing to a father I have ever had. And I needed you.”
    “I’ve always been here for you.”
    “No, you haven’t.” Plucking the bloom from the tree, she met his gaze. Her eyes were sad. “I didn’t need the money you sent as much as I needed you, Garrett.”
    He sighed. “We’ve been over this, Meg. I can’t change the past.”
    “Neither of us can. But things are different now. Mother is gone and now we’ve foundGrandfather. You don’t need to work so hard. You’ve done well, Garrett, but it’s time to make changes.”
    “I don’t want anything to do with that old man,” Garrett grumbled. “He can keep his stiff-rumped English ways and his precious fortune and his blasted title.”
    Meg let out a sigh of exasperation. “Has it occurred to you, Garrett Lynch, that maybe Grandfather is sorry for what he did?”
    Garrett laughed harshly. “ Him ? Hardly.”
    “You are so stubborn! Why can’t you stop being so angry at him and see that he regrets what he did?”
    “Because of what he did, our parents are dead,” Garrett ground out. “Da would never have had to go to sea if he’d been here in England, living the life he was raised for. And Ma got so sick after I was born that they almost didn’t have any more children. If the duke had accepted her as our father’s wife, she would have had better medical care. She was never really strong again after you were born, and that’s probably what killed her.”
    “And I feel guilty every day because of that,” Meg said, her voice catching on the words.
    “It’s not your fault, Meggie.” Hurting for her, Garrett searched for words of comfort. “You know how much she wanted children. If you want to blame someone, blame that selfish oldbastard for denying her a life she should have had, a life where she might not have gotten so sick. Where neither of them would have died.”
    “And don’t you think we’re entitled to that life?” Meg’s voice was thick with unshed tears. “Don’t you think he owes us? Even if you can’t believe that he’s sorry, Garrett, can’t you find some way to accept what he’s offering?”
    “I’m sorry, Meg, but I don’t want anything from him. And I don’t want you near him, either. I can’t stand to see you hurt.”
    “ You’re the one who’s hurting me, Garrett!” She threw the flower at him. “For once, I want something for myself. Did you know Grandfather is going to present me at court? That he’s going to take me to London and buy me beautiful clothes and introduce me to earls and princes and grand ladies? I want that! I’ve never wanted anything so much in my life.”
    “Damn it, Meggie, why ? I’ve tried to give you everything. What can I do to make it better?”
    “You can let me do this, Garrett.” She gave him a steady look full of so much maturity that he was shocked. “I know you, and you probably thought you would take a couple of days to talk me into going home with you. And then once you got me home to Boston, I bet you’d never allow me near England again.”
    “I…” Garrett shut his mouth. She had him there.
    She narrowed her eyes at his guilty expression. “I bet you even sent Tim off to handle