Change of Heart Read Online Free PDF Page A

even in white blindness precisely where to go, but Jase seemed
confident he was moving toward the shack. All Marietta could do was
hope he did indeed have them heading in the right direction.
    The cabin didn’t come into view until the
horse was only a few feet from the front door. Jase got down from
his seat, secured the rig, and helped Zack and Marietta out of
their carriage. The three of them rushed into the cabin.
    Jase lifted Zack into his arms. “Are you all
right, partner?”
    “I’m cold, Jase, and I’m hungry.” Zack rubbed
a hand over his eye, still puffy from all the crying he’d done
earlier.
    “I know, Zack, so am I, and so is your aunt.
Aren’t you, Miss Randolf?” He looked down at Marietta, his eyes
filled with worry.
    “I’m frozen and famished.” She stared up at
Jase a moment before she looked at Zack. “But we can take care of
both of those problems. Can’t we, Mr. Kent?”
    Jase set Zack down. “In due time. I’ll light
a fire, but it may take me a while to find game in this storm.”
    “I have supplies in my bags,” she said. “Not
a lot, but I do have fixings for biscuits and some jerky as
well.”
    Jase’s brows lifted. “You do?”
    “Yes. On my way to Fort Kearney, I wanted to
be prepared in case we were stranded on the trail. If you’ll bring
in the bags, we’ll have more clothing, food and perhaps Zack even
has a toy or two among his belongings.”
    “I do,” Zack said, “but I’m too cold to
play.”
    Jase focused on Marietta. “There are blankets
on the bunks over there,” he said, pointing toward the north wall.
“Plus a few extra in the closet next to the fireplace. Wrap the boy
so he doesn’t get any colder, and wrap yourself as well. I’ll bring
in the bags and put the horse in the lean-to. When I finish, I’ll
lay a fire.”
    “All right, Mr. Kent.”
    Marietta took Zack’s hand and led him to the
bunks. She pulled off his boots and helped him get under the
blanket. While Jase went about his chores, she found extra blankets
and put them over Zack.
    She knelt next to his bed and rubbed her hand
over his curly blonde hair. “Is that better, Zack?”
    “Yes, thank you.”
    “You’re welcome.”
    “Are we going to be all right?”
    “I think so.”
    “When I got so cold, I thought maybe Ma was
coming to take me with her like I asked. When people die, they get
very cold.”
    “Yes, they do, but your ma can’t come to take
you away, Zack.”
    “Are you sure? You asked Ma to take you. If
she could take a grown person with her, couldn’t she take a little
boy?”
    Marietta bit back a tear and caressed Zack’s
hair again. “When people grieve, they sometimes say silly,
impossible things. I asked Kathy to take me with her because it’s
so hard for me to be without her, but she can’t really take me to
where she is.”
    “I love Ma,” Zack said slowly, “but I don’t
really want to die, Aunt Marietta.”
    She took him into her arms and squeezed him
tightly. “Neither do I, darling. We’re going to be fine.”
    Zack snuggled with his aunt a moment longer
before he squirmed deeper under the covers.
    “You rest.” Marietta smoothed her hand over
Zack’s lemony curls. “I’m going to start laying the fire. Soon it
will be warm as July in here.” She kissed his cheek and touched his
hair once more. “You’ll see, Zack. We’ll be fine.”
    Marietta went to the hearth and took kindling
from the box near the fireplace. She put it in the firebox and lit
it with matches she found on the mantel. The dry wood burst into
flames, and Marietta added larger pieces of kindling. When she felt
the door open behind her, she spun around. Jase had brought in the
bags while she took care of Zack, and now he was returning from
caring for the horse.
    “You’ve started the fire.” He came to her and
crouched down beside her, taking a small log from the wood box to
lay on the fire. “Good work, Miss Randolf.”
    His compliment and the warm look in the gaze
he