Autumn Promises Read Online Free PDF Page B

wrong thing. When would he ever break that awful habit?
    “He didn’t dump anything on you,” she retorted sharply. “He said Seth knows how to get in touch with him if there’s a problem. He thought we would take care of the twins together, with Seth handling the ranch. Through some miracle you managed to raise Jack with some good solid values. You should be thankful. At least Jack chose to ‘abandon’ a piece of real estate for a loved one in need. You abandoned two helpless children who needed you in favor of building an empire. A mighty sorry trade-off, if you ask me, Evan.” She picked up Wade, all diapered and fresh smelling, and floated from the room.
    “Who asked you?” Evan growled under his breath, drawing a cute little-baby scowl from Maggie. “Oh, not you, too, angel. Has the Wicked Witch of the East got you under her spell already?”
    Maggie made an adorable little cooing sound, startling him. Saddening him. A first, and both Jacksonand Beth had missed it. His greatest fear was that Beth was destined to miss them all. Not wanting to project his gloomy mood onto Maggie, he started a one-way conversation with his granddaughter. “Well, fine. I’ll give you that she’s pretty, but pretty is as pretty does.” He sighed and undid the tapes on Maggie’s diaper. “For crying out loud. What does that mean, anyway?” he asked the now silent angel on the dressing table staring up at him with her navy blue eyes wide and interested. “Look how old your granddad is starting to sound. I’m using expressions that always drove me crazy.” He glanced out the hall door, then looked back at the baby to say in a singsong voice that didn’t reflect his current rancor, “But then again, maybe that woman’s already driven me around the bend. I guess I should consider that, huh, baby girl?”
    When he joined Meg in the kitchen, he found she had heated Maggie’s bottle along with Wade’s. It was nice to see she hadn’t taken her pique out on the children, but then to be honest he couldn’t imagine her doing such a thing. She seemed to have goodwill toward everyone—but him.
    “Till Anna’s up and about, we’ll have to fend for ourselves,” he said as he tested the bottle. “I’m not much of a cook. How about you? Oh, forget I asked. Laurel Glen has a cook, right?”
    Meg looked up at him, and again he was struck by her beauty. He wondered why she’d never married.Why she didn’t color her hair. If she did, Meg Taggert wouldn’t look a day over forty. There were no lines around her eyes or her mouth. Her figure was downright girlish. Her hair was absolutely the only feature she had that put her in the middle-aged category.
    “I haven’t always eaten at Laurel House. In fact, I live in the trainer’s cottage and fend for myself most nights now.”
    “How come you don’t color your hair?” he blurted out, and then wasn’t sure who was more shocked by the question.
    Thoroughly surprised by the question, Meg blinked. No one had ever asked why she left her hair white. They just accepted her as she was. “Why? Are you saying I look old?”
    “Do you always take offense this easily?” Evan demanded. “I asked because if you colored it, you’d look more than ten years younger than you are. I thought that’s what most women wanted.”
    Now, that was annoying! He was right. Looking younger was probably something most women wanted. So why didn’t she care? She stared at him, searching for an answer. It wasn’t as if she dressed like some outmoded matron. Her clothes were classic and timeless. And she was certainly as active as, if not more than, most forty-year-olds.
    “Was that a compliment?” she asked, pushing aside troubling questions. “I’m sorry. I must admitI’ve never thought about it. Maybe I will, though I’m just not sure I care all that much.”
    Evan shrugged. “No need to think too much on it. It just struck me, so I mentioned it. Guess that’s what happens when you live