Her Safe Harbor: Prairie Romance (Crawford Family Book 4) by Holly Bush Read Free Book Online

Jennifer’s. “Let me show you
to your rooms and allow Mrs. Trundle to help your maid get you both settled.
Finish your studies, Melinda, and then you may have unfettered access to your
aunt.”
    Jennifer followed the young men carrying her trunks and bags
into a spacious, high-ceilinged room with long windows and a massive bed.
    “How lovely, Jolene! You must have been very busy, as your
last letter said you were considering moving to a hotel until the work was done
here.”
    “It has been an incredible rush but well worth it, I think,”
Jolene said as she straightened drapes and ran her hand along a tall dresser.
She turned to her housekeeper. “Please have a tea tray sent up and perhaps some
cakes, as well.”
    “That sounds lovely,” Jennifer said as she unpinned her hat.
    “You are probably tired,” Jolene said. “Take a rest and
we’ll talk when you are ready.”
    “No, no,” Jennifer said, and pointed to two flowered chairs
in front of a marble fireplace. “Sit down with me here. Tell me what is
happening. I’m very excited for you and Max, and you are looking more beautiful
than usual, Jolene. Your dress is lovely.”
    “We’ll go to the dressmakers while you are here, if you’d
like. I’ve found a dress shop that is extraordinary, and I’ll be there quite a
bit as I will be needing all new things.”
    “All new, Jolene? I was at the Hacienda when Alice packed
you. If I remember correctly there were eleven trunks.”
    “But I won’t fit in those dresses very shortly, Jennifer,”
she said and smiled. “Maximillian and I are expecting a son or daughter this
fall.”
    “I am so happy for you both!” Jennifer cried, and stood to
kiss her sisters’ cheek. “What wonderful news!”
    “It is wonderful news. I never thought I’d feel so much joy.
I never thought I could feel true happiness ever again. But I can and I do.”
    Jennifer blinked back tears. “Of course you can. What did
Max say?”
    “He is nearly beside himself and is so busy with the Senate,
but he sends me messages by courier at all hours and has told the staff that I
am to do nothing strenuous, as if I were scrubbing floors, and Melinda tattles
on me to her father. The minx!”
    Jennifer was in awe of her sister’s transformation. This unguarded
Jolene was nothing as she remembered, not as her sister was while growing up at
Willow Tree, and definitely not during her first marriage. When her son,
William, died, Jolene descended further into her own misery, Jennifer had
always thought, never smiling, speaking rarely, and when she did it was often a
biting, and, on occasion, even cruel remark. Jennifer had not been looking
forward to visiting Jolene and her new husband in Texas, but she desperately
needed time away from her mother and put aside her fears and worries about
traveling that distance to a sister who was not particularly a happy person and
went anyway. She arrived in the midst of the influenza outbreak at the ranch,
but even then, during their worry for Melinda and all the others at the ranch,
she could see that Jolene had changed.
    “You look like and act like a different person. I am very,
very happy for you.”
    Jolene stared at her sister. “But you do not look happy. In
fact, you look quite miserable, Jennifer. What is it? Is it Mother? I have told
you and will continue to tell you that you are welcome to make your life here
with us. Maximillian has told me to impress upon you that he would be happy to
have you live with us indefinitely.”
    “But it isn’t always that easy. I don’t know what Father has
said to you, but Mother is ill. She will not tell me or Father the details but
the doctor has examined her.”
    “And you believe it is serious?”
    “I do. And I will not abandon Father to her tantrums.”
    Jennifer sat silently staring into the fire and calming her
racing heart. She was near tears and not quite sure why.
    “I have never thought about how this has affected you,
Jennifer. I’m sure Julia