Cole's Redemption (Love Amongst the Pines) by Leigh Curtis Read Free Book Online Page A

in the heavy quilts and pretending a warmth she didn't feel. She watched silently as Melly put out the last of the candlelight, her figure becoming a blur of dark skirts in the dimness.
                  Miriam sighed. If only she and Cole hadn't argued. If only she'd been able to keep him in Boston.  Given enough time, she was sure she could have made him understand that she loved him more than anything.
                  In the end, she had failed, and like a wounded animal, he'd slipped away in the middle of the night.  Now, she might lose him forever and the pain was almost too much to bear.
                  But bear it she would, until she found her son.  There simply was no choice about it.  If there was a chance she could save him, she would do whatever it took.
                  No matter the consequences.

                 
Four
     
                  When morning finally came, Cole startled awake. The sudden, jerking movement brought its own form of torture. His hands, now swollen to nearly twice the size of the night before, throbbed mercilessly.
                  "Damn," he muttered. "Them paws hurt bad?" Cole squinted into the early morning light. A tall, lanky man
    was leaning over him wearing soiled overalls and a half crooked grin.
                  "Yes, they do." Laying his head back on the pillow, Cole took a deep breath.
                  "Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if you was to think about something else."
                  "I doubt it."
                  "I got some fresh well water. I don't expect you've had so much as a swallow since yesterday."
                  Cole licked dry lips, his mouth as rough and dry as the bottom of an empty cracker barrel.
                  Hands trembling, the older man brought over a half filled mug. Gently, he lifted Cole's head and trickled in the fresh, cool liquid.
                  "Thanks," Cole nodded after two deep swallows.
                  "The name's Dermott Lane." The older man stuck out his hand for a shake, and then glanced down at Cole's bandages. Shrugging, he looked up with a sheepish grin. "I guess you ain't up to a handshake."
                  "I'm afraid not."
                  "I'm Natty's uncle. She don't have no Pa or Ma anymore. We're all the family we got."
                  "I'm pretty much a loner, myself."
                  "Natty thought so. She said that if you had anybody, they'd have come for your hanging."
                  The memory of the previous day sent a stab of pain through Cole. Add his aching hands, a searing headache, an empty stomach, a full bladder, and he was at the pinnacle of misery.
                  Trying to sit up sent daggers of pain through his hands and it left him breathing hard and slightly nauseated.
                  "Looks like you're in one hell of a mess, mister."
                  "Yeah," he panted, finally laying back. "Here, let me." In a minute, he was at Cole's side, helping him to sit up on the edge of the cot. Across the room, he could just make out the small figure curled up in the adjoining bed.
                  "Thanks," Cole mumbled his head and stomach finally settling. "I need to go to the outhouse," he stated after catching his breath.
                  "Can't. It's broken. Natty and I just usually run out into the woods."
                  "I don't think I can make it," Cole stated, resigned.
                  "Let me get you a bucket. Maddie had to use it when she was too winded to get out of bed." He crinkled his face. "Now, I wonder where she got to? It's been a coon's age since I saw her last."
                  "Is she Natty's mother?"
                  "Yeah. How'd you