Restless Heart by Emma Lang Read Free Book Online

Sam.”
    “You’re welcome, Angel.” He regretfully let go of her hand. “I’d like to ask you to take a walk with me today, after dinner is over. Down to the lake and back.”
    She looked startled, as if she hadn’t expected him to ask her to go anywhere, ever. “A walk?”
    “Oh, say yes, Angeline. He’s been faithfully courting you for a month and ain’t asked you for nothing but eggs.” Marta threw up her hands. “I was beginning to think he wasn’t ever gonna ask.”
    Angeline met his gaze, asking him without words if he would keep her safe, from even himself. He answered her with a wide grin.
    “Miss Angeline Hunter, would you do me the honor of accompanying me on a walk to the lake at three this afternoon?”
    She giggled, sounding more like a young woman than she ever had. To his surprise, she curtseyed. “I would be honored, Mr. Samuel Carver.”
    He whooped and danced around the table, quickly sending a prayer of thanks to the gods around them. Sam was finally getting through her shell, through the wall that kept her away from everyone and everything.
    The fossil really was special.
    Sam couldn’t believe she’d said yes. It was warming up outside. Spring was starting to spread its wings. He planned to walk down to the lake with her, steal her away for a couple of hours from the kitchen she spent so much time in.
    He peered at his reflection in the looking glass and frowned. The scar on his eyebrow made his eyes uneven, but there was nothing he could do about it. He’d suffered worse than the wound on his face, much worse.
    “What are you doing?” His father stood in the doorway, a smear of newsprint on his wrinkled cheek.
    “I’m getting ready to go courting.” Sam couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face.
    “Courting?” His father scratched his nose. “What woman in her right mind wants a crippled husband?”
    Sam’s stomach flipped while his heart flopped. He didn’t know what would possess his father to be so cruel.
    “I mean, Sparrow doesn’t want you. I’m the one she loves.” His father spoke of his mother as if she were the one being courted. It made the sting of his words less painful, but not by much.
    “Pa, I’m Sam, your son, remember? I’m courting Angeline. She works in the kitchen at the Blue Plate.” Sam tried to swallow the lump in his throat, but it was firmly lodged in place.
    “The Blue Plate? Isn’t that the place Marta and Pieter want to open?” His father looked so confused, his brows nearly touched.
    Sam smiled shakily. “Yes, it’s Marta and Pieter’s restaurant. Why don’t I get you settled in your room for a nap?”
    As he led his father to his room, he realized the older man’s shirt was inside out and, at the same time, he smelled something suspiciously like urine. It was acrid enough to make Sam’s eyes water.
    He spied an overfull chamber pot beneath the bed and realized he hadn’t been keeping an eye on his father’s hygiene. No doubt he’d simply forgotten to empty it. For a week.
    Sam held his breath as his father lay down. When the older man was tucked beneath the blanket, Sam blinked away the sting of tears in his eyes. This was obviously a bad day for his father, one of the worst so far. It brought the entire situation to a head—this was a problem Sam would have to face.
    First, though, he’d empty the chamber pot and clean up a bit. By the time he finished, he looked at the clock on the mantel and found he was half an hour late to meet Angeline.
    “Shit.”
    Sam ran out of the house, his mind in a turmoil over what to do about his father. He wondered how he would explain to Angeline why he was late without revealing his father’s secret. Then he wondered if she’d understand.
    No one waited outside the restaurant, so he stepped in to find Angeline sitting at a table by herself. Her gaze was full of questions and some disappointment. Sam sighed and ran a hand down his face.
    “I’m sorry, Angel. I meant to be here