Robin Lee Hatcher by Promised to Me Read Free Book Online

chair she had vacated a short while before and sat down.
    Laura sat in the opposite chair. “I know what it’s like to come here, a stranger. I grew up in Chicago. That’s where I met Ian when he was there on business. He swept me off my feet, and we were married in a matter of weeks, much to my mother’s dismay.” Her gray eyes sparkled. “The Irish do have a way about them. Full of charm and blarney. I found it impossible to resist him.” She laughed again. “Although, to be honest, I didn’t really try to resist.”
    Is that what happened to Jakob? Is that why he forgot me? Because of Siobhan’s Irish charms.
    “I’m sorry,” Laura said softly. “Have I said something to upset you?”
    Karola realized that her eyes were brimming with unshed tears. She blinked them away, at the same time shaking her head, trying to deny their existence.
    “Please forgive me, Miss Breit.” Laura rose. “I was thoughtless to barge in and start chattering like a blue jay. You must be exhausted from your journey, and on top of that, you’ve had a distressing morning.”
    “You have been very kind.”
    “Please eat a little and then get some rest. We’ll have plenty of time to become acquainted later.” With those words, Laura Gaffney hurried out of the room, closing the door behind her.
    And good riddance, Jakob thought as he watched Tulley Gaffney’s buggy disappearing up the road, Karola’s trunk and suitcases strapped to the back.
    He turned on his heel and headed for the barn.
    What on earth had possessed him to think he should marry someone he hadn’t seen in over a decade, all because of a stupid dream? He supposed it served him right, what had happened this morning. The truth was, Karola had done him a favor. She’d saved him from his own stupidity.
    Jakob paused as he stepped into the shadowed light of the barn, allowing his eyes time to adjust. The mare in the far stall stomped a hoof, and her filly released a high-pitched whinny. Moving toward them, he felt some of the tension leave his neck and shoulders.
    There was something about farming, whether working the land or tending the livestock, that brought him a sense of peace. There was plenty he didn’t know in this world, plenty of things that were hard for him to understand. But this he knew: Here was where he belonged. When he stood in this barn and breathed deeply of the familiar scents—the dust and the hay and the animals—he knew he belonged. When he observed the rolling wheat fields, swaying in a late summer breeze, looking like the swells of the ocean, he knew he belonged. Whatever else might be wrong in his life, this much was right.
    The dun mare thrust her head over the top rail of her stall and nickered at him.
    “Hey, girl.” Jakob stroked her forehead. “How’s that leg doing?”
    With a gentle push, he moved the mare back from the gate, then opened it and entered the stall. She nickered again, this time at the filly who had scurried to her opposite side, startled by Jakob’s sudden presence.
    He ran his hand over the mare’s neck and shoulder, then down her front left leg to the fetlock. She lifted her hoof at his gentle touch, and he inspected the cut he’d been nursing for the past week. The wound was healing nicely.
    “You’ll be out of here soon.” He glanced over the mare’s back at the filly. “And you, too, little one.”
    He exited the stall, then tossed hay into the manger before leaving the barn. Once outside, he glanced toward the house to check on the children. He’d left them in the small fenced yard, playing in the shade of a poplar. One, two, three. All accounted for. And no one was crying. So far, so good.
    Of course, it wouldn’t last for long. Soon one or more of them would need attention, either because of a fall or a dirty diaper or a fight between siblings. Not to mention suppertime was approaching. He supposed another meal of bread, cheese, and cold meats wouldn’t kill any of them.
    What was he going to