Deadly Identity by Lindsay McKenna Read Free Book Online

and he’s going to need help. My husband and I don’t feel he’s in the right state of mind to be caring for this baby yet. We need your help for now, Rachel, if you’re okay with that?”
    Entering the bedroom, Rachel nodded. “Of course. I’m the least affected by all of this, so I’ll focus on Jenny’s care, feeding and bathing.”
    â€œExcellent,” Gwen said, giving her a warm smile. She pointed to the queen-size bed. “This is a nicelarge room. If I were you, I’d keep the door open to Jenny’s room.”
    â€œOh,” Rachel assured her, “I will. I’m so wired right now, I can’t sleep, anyway.”
    â€œHmm, aren’t we all.” Placing her hands on her hips Gwen looked around. “I’ve put towels, wash cloth and soap on your dresser over there. The bathroom is right across the hall. Cade’s master-bedroom suite is on the other side of the nursery with a master bathroom. This will be all yours.”
    â€œA hot bath sounds good,” Rachel said. She loved the wedding-ring-design quilt across her bed. The curtains matched the fabric in the quilt. The entire room, even the floor, was knotty pine. A braided green-and-white area rug completed the rustic look.
    â€œI’m sure it does. Just one more thing and we’ll leave you alone. Jenny needs goat’s milk.”
    â€œCade told me.”
    Nodding, Gwen lifted her hand. “Let me show you where we keep the bottles out in the kitchen. And then we’re going home to get some sleep after this crazy night.”
    Rachel liked Gwen’s brusque, efficient manner. In some ways, she reminded her of her own mother, Daisy. Both women were short and lean. Gwen’s hands were reddened and chapped. Farm and ranch work took a lot out of the owners and Rachel knewthat from experience. Gwen walked quickly to the kitchen.
    Cade looked up. He’d been speaking to his father, Ray, at the counter.
    â€œI’m just showing her where Jenny’s goat’s milk is,” Gwen explained, opening the refrigerator.
    Rachel noticed the weather-lined face of Ray Garner. He was as tall as his son, but more wiry. He wore a blue-and-white-plaid long-sleeved shirt, jeans and a pair of well-worn cowboy boots. His gray felt Stetson lay on the round table at the end of the kitchen. Gwen slid her hand around Rachel’s arm and pulled her closer to the fridge.
    â€œWe milk our goats twice a day. Cade was keeping a good supply for Lily and would take the bottles to her every morning before he went to work. Lily was very health-conscious and Jenny was thriving on goat’s milk.” She shut the fridge and led Rachel to the cabinets near the kitchen sink. “Lily was very old-fashioned. She insisted on glass milk bottles, not the plastic ones. They’re in here.” She pointed up to them in the cabinet. And then in a lower tone, Gwen added, “Abby, Cade’s wife, believed in glass bottles too, and that’s why we have them.”
    Heart aching, Rachel realized that Cade had not removed his lost family from the house. Could she have done if it had happened to her? She didn’t think so. “That’s fortunate,” she told Gwen, taking some of the bottles and placing them on the countertop. “DidAbby put the goat’s milk in the bottle and then set it in a pan of water on the stove to heat?”
    Grinning, Gwen patted her shoulder. “You’re very bright. Yes. Neither Abby nor Lily believed in using the microwave. They worried it might change the cellular structure of the goat’s milk. So, this might be old-fashioned, but we know it’s completely safe for the baby.”
    Rachel nodded. “I was nanny for a little boy from India, and his mother insisted on glass bottles and no microwave, either.”
    â€œWhew, that’s good. I don’t have to train you up in this, then.”
    â€œNo, you