Robin Lee Hatcher by When Love Blooms Read Free Book Online Page A

asked, “Would you like to hold one, Miss Harris?”
    Emily took the proffered kitten into one hand, cupping her other hand over it as she brought it close and brushed its fur against her cheek. “Perhaps you and Dru will get to go one day. My sister and her husband visited England and the Continent a number of years ago and had a wonderful time.” She turned toward him again. “It was the honeymoon they never had.”
    One look at Gavin told her she’d said the wrong thing. His eyes grew cool and his expression hardened like flint.
    “Brina — ” he started down the ladder — “you and your sister get inside and help your ma with the dishes. Right now. We’ve dawdled enough for one morning.”

Six
    “You weren’t employed to be a laundress, Miss Harris.”
    Emily looked up from the clothing she was sorting and gave Dru a smile. “No, but I was employed to help care for you until you’re well again. You’re still tired from the trip back from Boise. I can see it in your face so don’t bother to deny it.”
    Following Dru’s instructions, Emily put the heavier and dirtier things to soak in lye. Afterward, she dropped them into the copper kettle to boil. The more delicate articles were given to Dru, at her insistence, to wash in a tub of lukewarm water.
    Steam filled the kitchen, leaving Emily’s face beaded with perspiration. Wisps of hair — all of it that wasn’t hidden beneath a scarf — curled across her forehead and nape, sticking to her skin. Bent over the washtub, she scrubbed the clothes and linens on the fluted washboard. It wasn’t long before the muscles across the back of her neck and shoulders complained, but she gritted her teeth and kept at it. As each article was completed, she dropped it into a barrel-shaped tub to await rinsing. The girls were kept busy hauling clean water into the house and dirty water out.
    “Here, Miss Harris.” Dru came around the washtub. “Let me take over while you get those things rinsed and hung out to dry. It would be a shame to waste the sunshine. Days are short now that autumn’s here.”
    Short? This day felt like an eternity, and it wasn’t yet noon. Perhaps Gavin Blake had been right about her. She might not have what it took to live on a ranch like this one. Her brother-in-law’s good fortune had given her a life of privilege, and she’d grown soft because of it. Over time, those early years after they’d settled in Idaho had become romanticized in her mind.
    Wringing water from the clean laundry took longer than she’d imagined it would. By the time she had her first basket filled with clothes, her hands hurt, the skin raw and chapped. Gavin couldn’t call them lily-white today.
    As she carried the basket toward the door, she paused to whisper in Sabrina’s ear. “Help your mother. She is tired and should rest.”
    The girl nodded, and Emily continued outside.
    The Stanley Basin was blessed that day with the warm breath of Indian summer. A gentle breeze stirred the trees and grass, bringing with it the sweet scent of pine. Aspens applauded with leaves turned gold by cooling nights.
    Emily paused for a moment to take in the beauty that surrounded her, and familiar words bubbled up from her heart, demanding to be spoken aloud. “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.”
    She smiled. How good to know that God watched over her, even in this remote valley. How good to know he didn’t slumber, even in the darkest hours of night.
    Drawing a deep breath, she moved toward the clothesline that was stretched between two trees and supported in the middle with a wooden prop. She set the basket on the ground, then placed her hands on the small of her spine and bent backward. When she straightened, she found Gavin leaning against the corner of the cabin, watching her.
    “Not as much fun