A New Day Rising by Lauraine Snelling Read Free Book Online Page A

stood slightly in front of her, guarding both her and the baby with his wide-legged stance. "This is Thorliff." With her other arm, she raised the chubby toddler on her hip. "And this is Andrew."
    Thorliff ducked his head only enough to be polite. While his mother welcomed strangers, he clearly held his regard in reserve.
    The dog walked forward on stiff legs to sniff the pant leg of the intruder. While his tail waved, it was obvious he, like the boy, ex pected the stranger to prove himself before being accepted.

    Haakan glanced from the woman to the son to the dog and back. Her smile caught him in the chest like an arrow driving home straight and true. "Mange takk." When he turned slightly to remove his pack, a low rumble came from the throat of the dog, still watching him with careful eyes. Haakan stood straight again and spoke to the boy. "I have something for you in my pack, if you'll call off your dog."
    ingeborg laid a hand on Thorliff's shoulder. "Tell Paws it is all right. This man is a friend."
    Thorliff studied the stranger for a long moment before he did as asked. "Paws, good dog. Come here." The dog looked back at his master, up at the stranger towering above him, and back to Thorliff.
    "He takes good care of his family," Haakan said, extending his hand, palm down for the dog to sniff his knuckles. "I had a dog like this when I was a boy. He never left my side."
    Thorliff nodded. "Paws guards the sheep, too."
    "May 1?" Haakan signaled to his pack.
    `Ja, he will not hurt you." Thorliff slapped his thigh. "Paws, come here."
    Paws finished sniffing the proffered hand, wagged his tail again, and turned back to the boy, checking over his shoulder to make sure the stranger didn't overstep his bounds.
    "Good dog." Thorliff bent enough to ruffle the dog's ears and received a nose lick in return.
    Haakan slipped his arms from the straps on the pack and reached inside the top flap. He pulled out the remaining peppermint sticks. "I thought a boy might need a treat after such a long winter." He held out the candy, one for Thorliff and another for Andrew.
    Thorliff tried to act as if he didn't hold with candy sticks, but the gleam in his eyes gave him away. He took both sticks with a mange takk and handed one up to Andrew. When the baby only waved the red-and-white stick in the air, Thorliff put the end of his in his mouth and sucked on it. "See, Andrew, like this."
    Andrew studied his brother's actions. When Thorliff pulled the end of the stick out, held it up, and put it back in his mouth, Andrew licked his candy first. His blue eyes grew round, and a grin split his face. He closed his mouth over the treat, making an 0 to match his eyes.
    "Good, huh?" Thorliff giggled at the baby's chortle.

    Both of them held the candy sticks in their mouths, grinning around them.
    "It looks to me like you have won their hearts already." Ingeborg grabbed the baby's waving hand before the candy could land in her hair. "Mange takk. Not many would think of bringing the children a treat like that."
    He stared down into gray eyes with a gaze so direct he felt she could see right through him. A straw hat hung on ribbons down her back, leaving the coronet of golden braids as a burnished crown. A few freckles already dotted her nose, mute testimony to her love of the sun, and the strong chin spoke of determination unfettered. When she smiled, her whole face glowed, lighting her eyes and crinkling the edges. He saw no shy miss here, but a woman of strength and courage. And when she smiled, he could do no less in return.
    "Come, we will have dinner soon." She started toward the house. "I was washing the lamps outside since the sun begged me to." She pointed at a bench that held a pan of soapy water and several glass lamps.
    Haakan met her grin with one of his own. "Begged you to? I like that. I wouldn't want to stay inside today either. Do you think spring is really here, or will we get another blanket of snow?"
    "I don't know. I have learned to just