Chance Of A Lifetime Read Online Free PDF

rolled over for the umpteenth time. He couldn’t sleep. It was just too … quiet.
    Now he understood what those fancy writers meant when they wrote about the “deafening silence.” The lack of sound pushed in on him and stifled all thoughts of anything else.
    The din of all the Chance children surrounded him back on the ranch, and here he’d had Logan’s jabber—or snoring—to put up with. Even today when he’d worked with Daisy, she hummed under her breath.
    He smiled at the memory of how she didn’t follow any particular tune, just made the happy noise of busyness. He’d noticed she did the same thing in the evenings while she worked over her lace. Humming came as naturally to Daisy as buzzing came to bees. Same as smiling came to Jamie. Except for when the boy bent over his studies or something requiring his absolute focus, he expressed joy. No one came closer to being a breathing sunbeam than Jamie when that bright smile spread across his face and into the heart of its recipient.
    Bryce rested his head on his hands, leaning back to stare at the sloping ceiling of the loft. The lad possessed an eager young mind. He thirsted to learn about the world around him and to help those he lived with.
    The eggs are a good start
, Bryce decided.
Tomorrow I’ll see if I can’t find something more to show him. Just because he can’t walk doesn’t mean he can’t enjoy learning how to do other things
.
    A thought seeped into his mind.
It might take some smooth talking, but when the time is right, I’m going to convince Jamie’s pretty mama to let me teach him how to ride. It’ll give the boy something to look forward to and a way to increase his strength. After all, tending to animals is the best way I know to work the muscles and the mind
.

five
    A few days later, Bryce woke up early. He tended to the cow, mucked out the stalls, and gathered the eggs. He and Jamie had made egg gathering into a sort of morning ritual, but today Bryce needed to have everything squared away before breakfast.
    He gave the door a cautious tap rather than walking in unannounced.
    “Come on in,” Daisy’s cheerful voice called.
    He opened the door and sniffed appreciatively. Coffee cake—one of his favorite breakfasts, but not rib sticking enough for every day.
    “You’re up and about a little earlier this morning,” Daisy observed, pouring him a cup of coffee.
    “I’ve got business to tend to.” Bryce took a long, appreciative drink. “I’m going out to Hawk’s Fall to pick up Logan and Hattie’s wedding present. I won’t be back until tomorrow.” He waited to see her reaction.
    “I see.” Her words didn’t match her expression. She seemed a bit confused, a little lost.
    Will she miss me?
Bryce shrugged the thought away. “It won’t be long, but I have to go. I’m borrowing the new wagon to haul it in—it’s from the whole Chance family.”
    “It’s big enough to need a wagon?” Daisy’s deep brown eyes burned with curiosity, though she was too polite to come out and ask what the present was.
    “Yep.” Bryce wouldn’t tell her anything more. Sooner or later she’d have to learn to ask for the things she wanted, even if it was just harmless information.
    “Does Miz Willow know?” Daisy changed tack, and Bryce suddenly remembered that the elderly healer had spent the night with the Peaseleys, where a baby’s cough caused her some worry.
    “I spoke with her about how I’d need to fetch the present when it came in,” he assured her. “I trust you to pass on the message.”
    “Let me pack you some lunch before you go,” Daisy offered.
    “Thanks, but I’ve eaten more than enough of this wonderful cake to tide me over. I’ll be spending the night with Abner McPherson, and he’ll expect me to bring my appetite.”
    “Fair enough,” Daisy conceded. “Have a safe trip, Bryce. Good-bye.”
    His ears all but perked up at the sound of his name on her lips. She didn’t say it often, so when she did, it