A Hope Undaunted Read Online Free PDF

they cauterized him on the spot despite the dim lighting. “No!” she screamed, hands fisted at her sides. “I won’t do it. You can’t make me!”
    Patrick rose to his feet, feeling the need to intimidate with his full six-foot-two height. He straightened his tense shoulders for the task at hand and narrowed his eyes. “I can, Katie Rose, and I will. That is, if you ever want to see Jack again.”
    A gasp sputtered from her lips. “You wouldn’t!”
    Patrick’s jaw hardened. “Don’t tempt me, darlin’. You may have designs on that boy, but they don’t exactly match mine. He’s hardly a good influence.” He scanned the length of her, his lips tightening at the sight of rolled hose just below her short skirt and powdered knees. “Picture shows and sodas are one thing, Katie Rose, but as the father of a young woman not inclined to follow my lead, I worry about other things with a boy like Jack. Things like speakeasies and petting parties, for instance. So help me, if I ever catch wind of anything like that, you won’t be seeing that boy – or any other – ever again.”
    “Mother will never agree to this – ” Her voice was a threat.
    “She already has, young lady. As the baby of the family, I know you think you have your mother wrapped around your little finger, but I assure you that in this case, we are in sound agreement. And quite frankly, both of us think you could do with some time apart from Jack.”
    Even in the moonlight, he spied color staining her cheeks. She jutted her chin, eyes glittering with defiance. “Don’t force me to see him behind your back, Father.”
    He took a step forward, meeting her jaw to jaw. “And don’t force me to withdraw all funds for law school, darlin’. That would be a real shame.”
    As if paralyzed on the spot, she stared, her shock evident in the glaze of her eyes and the bloodless pallor of her lips. Her voice trembled when she spoke. “Y-you w-wouldn’t . . .”
    The sight of her pain twisted his heart, and he reached to tug her close, ignoring the angry stiffness of her body. “I wouldn’t want to, Katie, but I would have no choice.” Patrick pulled back to look into her eyes. “I want to give you law school, darlin’, I do – desperately. Certainly a woman with your keen mind and sense of purpose was meant for such a path, if ever a woman was. But I can’t honor you with God’s blessings if you choose to defy us, nor can I stand by and allow your disobedience to impede all future blessings he hopes to give. And it will, Katie Rose, make no mistake.”
    She started to cry and he handed her his handkerchief before tucking her against his chest. “Now, now, darlin’, it’s only a summer, not a lifetime, after all. My good friend Harris Stowe is on the board of directors, and he tells me it’s the ideal opportunity for any young person aspiring to be a lawyer. So, try to think of it as preparation for law school, if you will, a kind of internship, eh? You’ll be working with lawyers while you’re there, what with adoptions and whatnot, so you may find you like it.”
    She sniffed and peered up, her tone nasal and waterlogged. “If I don’t die of embarrassment first.” She blew her nose soundly, then swiped at her eyes. “I suppose I’ll have to do it since you’ve left me no choice, but I have no idea what I’m getting myself into.”
    Patrick pulled her close and stroked her hair with the palm of his hand, his thoughts flitting to the Boston Children’s Aid Society. A smile surfaced on his lips that he was glad she couldn’t see. No, you have no idea at all, my little mule of a daughter, he thought to himself with a quiet sigh. And heaven help them, neither do they.

2
    Cluny McGee? Coming for dinner? Isn’t he in prison?” Katie pulled a tray of dinner rolls from the oven and set it on the soapstone counter. The scent of fresh-baked bread filled her mother’s spacious kitchen, watering her mouth and rumbling her stomach. Her lips