Randall Wedding by Judy Christenberry Read Free Book Online Page A

Russ.”
    Isabella looked from one to the other, but both men were silent. “What? What happened?”
    Russ cleared his throat. “My wife, pregnant with our child, died about eighteen months ago. Most people don’t mention her.”
    “But don’t you want them to?” Isabella asked in surprise.
    “What do you mean?” Russ asked harshly.
    “If you don’t talk about a person, your memories fade. Don’t you want to remember Abby?”
     
    N ICK LEFT SHORTLY after Isabella’s remark. Russ wasn’t surprised. He was stunned by her words and couldn’t carry on conversation anymore. And Nick was upset that he’d upset Russ. And since Isabella wasn’t interested in talking about Maria Paloni’s estate, he said they’d discuss it later.
    Russ had opened the window curtain in the living room and was staring out at the snow-swept land. Suddenly he remembered a time when he and Abby had joined her students sledding on the school grounds. She’d laughed and chased after the children as if she were a child herself. He could suddenly see her so clearly. And the time he’d watched her teach school. She’d been so gentle, so tender with the little children.
    They’d shared their first Christmas together, engaged. It had been special because Abby made it that way. She loved his family and jumped into the preparations for Christmas with great enthusiasm. She had no family of her own. None at all. Sometimes he worried that maybe she loved his family more than she loved him.
    But Abby seemed to understand him better than anyone in the world. And she always let him know how important he was to her. Him and their child. She was so happy to have his child. She hadn’t felt exactly well. But she never complained.
    Every day had been a miracle with Abby.
    Then suddenly she wasn’t there anymore, taken by an aneurysm in the early stages of her pregnancy. He’d gone up into the mountains because hecouldn’t face the loss. If Tori and Jon hadn’t come to find him, he would’ve died up there.
    Then he’d tried to live without really living. He knew now that had been wrong. Abby wouldn’t have wanted it. He’d almost killed his memories of Abby, too. Until Isabella’s remark today.
    The door to his bedroom opened, and Isabella, who’d gone to bed after Nick’s visit, came out. “Do you need any help getting things ready?”
    “No, I want you to sit down. Angel will be up in a few minutes. I’ll fix the bottle, but you can feed her.”
    “Thank you, Russ.”
    “Did you get some rest?”
    “Yes, I did, but I’m feeling better. Just…sad about great-aunt Maria.”
    “You’d never met her?”
    “No. My father kept her a secret.” She studied her hands linked together in her lap. “He tried to control everything. It’s a wonder I ever got the letter. But she said in the letter she’d sent it as simply as possible, so he wouldn’t notice. If she’d sent it from her lawyer, he would’ve opened it.”
    “That’s against the law.”
    Isabella shrugged.
    “Why did you get married?”
    “I thought Timothy was different. And I thought he would fight my father. But he was too weak.”
    “So you were coming here so your aunt could help you fight your father?”
    “I thought we could be a family, the three of us. That was what I wanted.”
    “Why not remarry and have more children?”
    “Because I don’t trust men.”
    “So Angel’s never going to have a father?”
    Isabella lifted her chin. “I’ll take care of her. She won’t need a father.”
    “Yes, she will. Every little girl needs a mother and a father.” He paced a few steps, then turned to look at her. “I want Angel to have everything. She’s such a sweet baby.”
    Isabella’s face softened. “She’s wonderful, isn’t she?”
    “Yeah.”
    “But I’m not marrying again.”
    He stared at her for several minutes. Should he suggest it? Because he knew already he was going to need some kind of defense against his mother and father’s