Hansel and Gretel by Jenni James Read Free Book Online Page A

shoulder with one hand as the fingers from his other hand leisurely traced her arm up to the other shoulder, and then around her neck to cup her head.
    Her skin vibrated with the trail of perfect sparks his touch had created. Biting her lip, she attempted to stop the trembling his nearness caused.
    Hansel looked at those lips, and then his eyes met hers once more. “I promise I will do better. Please have patience with me as I learn how to speak to you properly. I am sorry.”
    It was all too much. He was too close. All at once, everything she thought she believed and knew about him came crashing down in a muddled heap in her mind. This was the Hansel she remembered. This was the Hansel she cared for. This was the Hansel she loved. Gretel quickly pulled out of his arms.
    “Thank you,” she said as she reminded herself to breathe normally. “I am concerned about Father. He was not acting as he should. It was worse than usual.”
    Hansel placed his hands behind his back and began to walk toward the great tree some yards away. It was their spot, where they had gone to chat and dream when they were younger. Gretel followed as he said, “Tell me everything. And we will see what can be done.”

CHAPTER TEN
    A FEW DAYS LATER, Hansel wiped his boots upon the metal scraper near the door and then walked into the house. He shucked off his wet jacket and hung it upon the peg closest to the window. It had been quite a rainstorm, something he had not seen for some time, and he was grateful to be back within the home. He tugged off his boots and set them near the entrance as well. As he looked around the room, he noticed that Gretel was not standing in the kitchen as she normally did.
    “Gretel?” he called as he padded across the floor in his wool socks. “Gretel, did you see that storm? It came out of nowhere, and it was as dark as the day we found you.”
    He paused a moment, glancing around.
    The house was eerily still.
    Too still.
    “Gretel?” he hollered this time, his frantic steps taking him up the wooden staircase to pound upon her door. “Gretel! Are you there?”
    “Come in,” she called from inside the room.
    Relief poured over him. She was here—everything was fine. Taking a few breaths, he willed his heart rate to slow down as he turned the handle and said, “Thank goodness you are all right.” The door swung wide. “For a moment I thought something terrible had…”
    It was Cora.
    “Where is Gretel?” His chest went cold. “Why are you in here?” he asked the woman sitting upon Gretel’s bench.
    She smiled a smug smile and stretched her legs out in front of her, her bright green skirt arching before her. “Your sister will not need this room anymore, and so I have decided to occupy it.”
    His hand clenched upon the wooden frame of the door. “What do you mean?”
    “I find it is necessary for every woman to have her own room as well as the one she occupies with her husband. It allows for certain freedoms and thinking that would be impossible otherwise.”
    “Where is Gretel?” he snapped. “I do not care for your reasoning; I want to know where she is!”
    “My, my, are not we the agitated elder brother.” Cora put a long hand in front of her face. Wiggling her fingers, she admired the immense emerald ring sitting upon one of them.
    “Do not toil with me. What have you done with her?”
    She sighed before pushing herself up from the bench. Standing in front of him, she placed one hand upon her hip. “I sent her away. It was for the best.”
    “What? When?”
    She shrugged. “Hours ago.”
    “In the storm ?”
    “Why not? It seemed just as good a time as any other.”
    A deep, throbbing rage began to pulse through Hansel’s system. He did not know whether to strangle her or pounce upon her and rip her to shreds. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, his temper began to mount as he asked, “Why? What is your purpose for removing her from this house?” When she did not respond,