Charmed by Nora Roberts Read Free Book Online Page A

was that pixie face peeping through Ana’s screen door. Even the dregs of temper were difficult to hold on to when she was faced with those big smiling eyes.
    Ana set the mortar and pestle aside and smiled back. She supposed she had to be grateful that Boone hadn’t let the altercation that afternoon influence him to keep Jessie away.
    “Well, it looks like you survived your first day of school. Did school survive you?”
    “Uh-huh. My teacher’s name is Mrs. Farrell. She has gray hair and big feet, but she’s nice, too. And I met Marcie and Tod and Lydia and Frankie, and lots of others. In the morning we—”
    “Whoa.” With a laugh, Ana held up both hands. “Maybe you should come in and sit down before you give me the day’s events.”
    “I can’t open the door, ’cause my hands are full.”
    “Oh.” Ana obligingly pushed open the screen. “What have you got there?”
    “Presents.” On a huff of breath, Jessie dropped a package on the table. Then she held up a large crayon drawing. “We got to draw pictures today, and I made two. One for Daddy and one for you.”
    “For me?” Touched, Ana accepted the colorful drawing on the thick beige paper that brought back some of her own school memories. “It’s beautiful, sunshine.”
    “See? This is you.” Jessie pointed out a figure with yellow hair. “And Quigley.” Here a childish but undeniably clever depiction of a cat. “And all the flowers. The roses and the daisies and the lark things.”
    “Larkspur,” Ana murmured, misty-eyed.
    “Uh-huh. And all the others,” Jessie continued. “I couldn’t remember all the names. But you said you’d teach me.”
    “Yes, I will. It’s just lovely, Jessie.”
    “I drew Daddy one of our new house with him standing out on the deck, because he likes to stand there best. He put it on the refrigerator.”
    “An excellent idea.” Ana walked over to center the picture on the refrigerator door, anchoring it with magnets.
    “I like to draw. My daddy draws real good, and he said my mommy drew even better. So I come by it naturally.” Jessie slipped her hand into Ana’s. “Are you mad at me?”
    “No, sweetheart. Why would I be?”
    “Daddy said Daisy knocked you down and broke your pots, and you got hurt.” She studied the scratch on Ana’s arm, then kissed it solemnly. “I’m sorry.”
    “It’s all right. Daisy didn’t mean it.”
    “She didn’t mean to chew up Daddy’s shoes, either, and make him say swear words.”
    Ana bit her lip. “I’m sure she didn’t.”
    “Daddy yelled, and Daisy got so nervous she peed right on the rug. Then he chased her around and around the house, and it looked so funny that I couldn’t stop laughing. And Daddy laughed, too. He said he was going to build a doghouse outside and put Daisy and me in it.”
    Ana lost any hope of taking it all seriously, and she laughed as she scooped Jessie up. “I think you and Daisy would have a great time in the doghouse. But if you’d like to save your father’s shoes, why don’t you let me help you work with her?”
    “Do you know how? Can you teach her tricks and everything?”
    “Oh, I imagine. Watch.” She shifted Jessie to her hip and called Quigley out from his nap beneath the kitchen table. The cat rose reluctantly, stretched his front legs, then his back, then padded out. “Okay, sit.”Heaving a feline sigh, he did. “Up.” Resigned, Quigley rose on his haunches and pawed the air like a circus tiger. “Now, if you do your flip, I might just open a can of tuna fish later, for your dinner.”
    The cat seemed to be debating with himself. Then—perhaps because the trick was small potatoes compared to tuna—he leapt up, arching his back and flipping over to land lightly on his feet. While Jessie crowed with laughter and applauded, Quigley modestly cleaned his paws.
    “I didn’t know cats could do tricks.”
    “Quigley’s a very special cat.” Ana set Jessie down to give Quigley a stroking. He purred like a