Special Delivery (Mountain Meadow Homecoming 1) by Laura Browning Read Free Book Online

sister.”
    “Look, you can’t just walk in here and…” Holly’s protest trickled off after one look at him. She swallowed. “All right. Thanks.”
    He’d expected more of a fight, but then she looked tired.
    Tyler handed him the axe a few moments later out on the dilapidated front porch. “Uh, Jake?”
    “Yeah, kid.”
    “I have to go into town. I’m doing some odd jobs for the Tarpleys. They give us food and a little bit of money.”
    Jake paused. “Is that where you were coming from when I gave you a lift Saturday?”
    “Yeah. I’d just started. Holly…well, Doc said she can’t work. She does some stuff from the house, but it’s not full-time or anything. I thought I could help out. She’s awful worried about money. She thinks I don’t know, but I see her at night trying to figure how to make it work. Sometimes…sometimes she cries.”
    The boy was so serious for someone so young. “What time you supposed to be at Tarpley’s?”
    “Noon, but it takes a while to walk.”
    “No walking. I’ll run you into town when I go. In the meantime, I’ll chop wood, and you do those dishes. Your sister’s supposed to be lying down ’cause Doc’s afraid the baby’s trying to come too soon.”
    “It’s a girl,” Tyler confided. “Holly wants to name her Noelle, ’cause she’s supposed to be here right around Christmas.”
    Jake’s mouth quirked into a lopsided smile. Holly and Noelle. “That’s cool.”
    “Yeah. That’s Holly. Or it was. She used to be so happy all the time. I kinda miss the way things used to be.”
    Jake struggled to imagine the serious young woman he’d met as someone who was happy all the time, but then circumstances could change folks. Look at Jenny and Evan…and him. Jake ruffled Tyler’s hair, trying to reassure the kid. “Well, I guess she has a lot on her mind getting ready for a baby and all. Maybe we can make her smile again. What do you say?”
    Tyler grinned. “That’d be great. I’ll go finish the dishes, then help bring the wood in.”
    “Can you get a fire started?”
    “Yeah. Holly showed me how. Mine aren’t as good as hers, though. She says I’m too impatient.”
    Jake laughed. From what he had seen of Holly, she didn’t strike him as the patient sort, but then he was sure he wasn’t seeing her at her best. As he split the oak logs and stacked them, he pictured her. Along with her almost Madonna-like face was a stubborn, pointed little chin. Other than the baby bump—hell, mountain—she was thin, with long arms and legs and narrow shoulders that gave her a fragile air. Her breasts…he stopped there and swallowed. Whoa, boy. Pregnant. About to be a mother any minute. Better not to think on those lines.
    Tyler joined him in a few minutes. Together the two of them stacked plenty of wood on the covered porch. Jake watched Tyler build the fire, giving him a few tips. He glanced away and found Holly observing, her brows drawn together.
    He spoke to Tyler. “Do you need to clean up before I run you into town?”
    The boy glanced at the dirt on his shirt. “Yeah. I’ll be back in a minute.”
    An awkward silence fell. Jake stood near the stove, feeling like the Jolly Green Giant in the small house.
    “Why are you doing this?” Holly asked at last, wary and just a little defensive.
    Somehow he doubted she wanted to know he was attracted. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know. He spread his hands. “You need the help, and I like your brother.”
    For just an instant, he saw the first trace of humor flash across her face. “Just not me,” she commented.
    Heat flooded his cheeks. “That wasn’t…what I meant,” he sputtered.
    “It’s okay, Mr.…I mean Lieutenant Allred. I haven’t been at my best.”
    “Jake,” he corrected. “Call me Jake.”
    “Would you like a glass of tea before you go? You must be thirsty after all that work. There’s some in the fridge.”
    A peace offering. “Yeah. I’ll get it.”
    Jake opened the refrigerator.