Fated Memories by Judith Ann McDowell Read Free Book Online

thought of Jessie lying at rest in something so cold. Knowing this to be the one chance she would ever have to tell her daughter goodbye, Charlotte forced herself to take deep breaths until she, at last, felt some calmness return. “Forgive me, Jessie.” The tears she had been unable to shed now streamed unhindered down her face. “We thought we were right by sendin’ you away.” Each word she spoke stabbed like a cruel knife, slashing without mercy into an already open wound. “We couldn’t have been more wrong.”
    With a shaking hand, she touched the still face. “I pray you’re safe in the lovin’ arms of Jesus, my Jessie.” She forced herself not to flinch and pull back her hand as she felt the coldness, like icy marble, against her skin. “God knows what heartache you suffered to make you leave us like you did. I trust He won’t hold it against you.” With all the love in a mother’s heart, she patted the face of her child. “You…just…rest… now…, Jessie… and I promise you everything’s gonna be all right.”
    She looked down into Jessie’s cold, still face and, without warning, the small face moved. But as Charlotte wiped away her tears, Jessie’s face came back into focus, and she knew it to be the tears of a grieving mother that had led her to see what wasn’t there.
    With a heavy heart she turned away, unable to stay there any longer.
    “ Are you all right, Charlotte?” Martha whispered, wrapping a firm arm around her.
    “ Yes, Martha,” she said, breathing a shaky breath. “Now I’m ready to see my granddaughter. Would you bring her to me, please? I’ll be in the parlor.”
    “ I’ll go get her right now.”
    Seated before the warm fire, Charlotte tried to gain control over her emotions as she waited.
    “ Charlotte.”
    Charlotte looked up and her dark blue eyes widened as she spied the tiny bundle her sister held out to her. With her heart already aching, she reached out, taking the baby into her arms. Her eyes stung with fresh tears as she looked down into the face of Jessie’s child.
    “ Her name is Tia,” Martha volunteered the information. “Jessie told me it is the name Two Spirits picked out for her.”
    At the mention of the baby’s father, Charlotte glanced up. “Jessie told you, didn’t she?”
    “ Yes, Charlotte, she did. I can understand Eathen being so upset. But you don’t have to worry about anyone else finding out. John and I are prepared to give Tia a life here with us as our daughter.”
    The child looked so much like her father that Charlotte felt her anger at the man she held responsible for destroying her daughter’s world leap to new life. Tia opened her eyes, seemingly content with the stranger holding her. Within moments, Charlotte was captivated.
    “ You’re not afraid of me, are you?” Charlotte bent down, kissing the round little cheek.
    Contented, the child stretched. Then closing her big, dark eyes, she went back to sleep, assured of her safety in the loving arms of her grandmother.
    “ I love her already.” Charlotte rocked the infant. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to leave her behind when I go.”
    In an instant, Martha sprang to her feet. “Eathen would never allow you to take her back with you. He could never stand the shame of having everyone know about Jessie having slept with an Indian. I mean…just look at her!” Martha flung a hand in the baby’s direction. “Anyone in Montana could see, just at a glance, who fathered her.”
    “ I know,” she whispered on a long breath, “but she feels so good in my arms. It’s almost like she fills the emptiness Jessie left in my heart.”
    “ I know, dear. I know.” Martha forced her racing heart to settle back to an even beat then leaned over to place a comforting arm around Charlotte’s small shoulders. “We have to think of the child now. If you take her back to Montana, she will be an outcast. I know you don’t want that, now, do you?”
    “ No, Martha. I could