A Valentine's Choice: A Montana Sky Series Holiday Novella (The Montana Sky Series) Read Online Free PDF

curiosity.
    Sally patted the bed beside her. “Come, be comfortable. Since we’re family there’s no need to be formal, is there?”
    Bridget took off her coat and hung the garment on a peg by the door. Then she pulled off her cap and mittens and tucked them into the pockets.
    Alana followed suit.
    Sally scooted back so she was propped against the pillows, looking weary. “I’m a poor hostess, I’m afraid. Sick in the mornings, then a burst of energy midday, then tired and needing a nap.”
    Bridget sat on the end of the bed facing her.
    Alana took her other side. “Not at all. Sometimes the early months of pregnancy can be trying. But then ye will feel better.”
    “I hope so,” Sally said in a fervent tone. “My dear Harry is so worried.” She pursed her lips. “Will you think poorly of me if I say I wish this baby had waited a few months? We’ve barely wed.”
    Bridget laughed and reached over to pat Sally’s ankle. “Not at all. I think I’d want a whole year, not just months.”
    “Now—” Sally nodded. “Enough about me. Tell me about Aunt Siobhan and Catriona.”
    The twins exchanged pain-filled glances. Her throat tight, Bridget gave a slight dip of her head to encourage her sister to speak up.
    “Our dear mother passed away six months ago.” Alana said in a voice soft with grief.
    Hearing the words, remembering their beloved mother, made moisture well up in Bridget’s eyes. I miss her so!
    Sally sat up straighter. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Da would often tell stories of your parents from when they were all young. I gather Aunt Siobhan had a forthright personality.”
    The twins laughed through their tears. “Aye,” Alana agreed with a mischievous glance at her sister. “And our Bridget is much the same way.”
    Bridget wrinkled her nose. “And Alana takes after our da. She’s as kind and gentle as ever a lass could be.”
    “And Catriona?”
    Abruptly, the laughter left Bridget, replaced by an ache of guilt. They’d left their older sister behind…never even had a chance to say good-bye.
    “Three months after mother died, Catriona eloped with a peddler,” Alana said, her expression pinched.
    Bridget laid a hand on Alana’s knee in a silent gesture of support. “We never heard from her again.” How Catri could have left them to such worry angered her. Instead of the three sisters supporting each other through their grief, Catri had selfishly left her younger sisters to fend for themselves.
    “We hated to leave without her knowing…” Alana’s voice died away.
    But I made ye go. Bridget finished for sister. “We left a letter with our mother’s dearest friend. We left word of our destination with several of our neighbors—” She nodded at Sally. “That of yer parents’ farm. If Catri returns home, she’ll know where we are.”
    “And if a letter from her arrives, Mrs. O’Bannon will forward it here.”
    Sally’s eyebrows pulled together. “Do you think she’s happy?”
    Bridget shrugged. “The peddler was handsome…. In fact, that man with the Thoroughbred, Mr. Gallagher, reminded me of him. Dark Irish, with bold eyes, and a confident air.”
    “I never liked the man,” Alana broke in with uncustomary harshness in her tone. “I say a rosary every day for her.”
    Sally wrinkled her nose. “It must have been hard to depart, knowing you might never have word from your sister again.” She shook her head. “I’ll say prayers for her, too. And that soon you’ll receive a letter.”
    “And we’ll pray for a swift recovery for yer mother.”
    Alana’s eyes filled with tears. “It will be hard not knowing what is happening to our sister.”
    “I know.” Oh, how I know. Sally will soon have the news about the outcome of her mother’s illness—hopefully a good one. But Alana and I might never know about Catriona. The thought made her heart ache.

CHAPTER THREE

    James hurried into the barn, glad to be out of the chill. The brief time in the O’Hanlon’s cabin