Courted by Trouble: A Courting Romance (In Hyacinth Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

your father is. Your mother moved here right after you were born.”
    Taking a shaky breath, she slowly nodded. “I—” She shook her head violently trying to make sense of it all. “I’m not really Stephanie Knight.”
    “I don’t remember what your last name was before Ken adopted you. But I can find out.”
    “Could you?” she asked in a hopeful voice. “I-I don’t even know what to do with this, but it’s kind of a relief to know he isn’t actually my father.”
    He squeezed her hands. “You know, I think you’re ready.”
    “For what?”
    “When that horrible night happened and I found you and they arrested him, Charlotte went and did something that was actually not very kosher and we had more than one talk about afterward. She went to your house and boxed up everything she thought you would want to keep.”
    “Really?” Stephanie had figured it was all gone.
    “It’s in our storage shed. When you’re ready for it.”
    “Thanks.” Wondering if they would ever get a chance like this again, she asked, “What made you come find me that night? How did you ever find me?”
    He grunted softly. “I knew Ken was going downhill and was worried about you after we dropped you off. After we got everyone else home, I went back and forth on going over there. Interfering in the domestic life of another family is difficult and not something I choose to do, but I truly was worried. After dinner, I headed over only to find the door open and your living room a mess. It was the blood on the wall that truly scared me.
    “I had just run out the door when he pulled up. He got out of his car as though nothing was wrong, but I saw the windshield. It was cracked and had blood on it. I demanded to know where you were and he told me where to go.” Grimacing, he shrugged. “My right hook was my answer. I guess he figured keeping it a secret was just going to hurt more. So he told me about where he left you. I was afraid I would be too late or that you would have run off.” When he looked into her eyes, she saw the haunted look that told her how worried he had been. “Ken Knight was never a nice man. He straightened up because he fell in love with your mother. But his issues were always there. The man would go on camping trips that were nothing more than excuses to binge drink where she didn’t know. I do honestly think he loved you, in his way. But you must understand, Stephanie, that Ken is schizophrenic. How he kept from being labeled for so long, I don’t know, but he was good at hiding his issues. Those issues almost got you killed.”
    The room was absolutely quiet for a few minutes as she saw that night from his perspective. He must have been as terrified as she was.
    “I don’t want you to cut yourself off from a fantastic life because of the actions of one very ill man. You deserve the best. Please think about that.”
    She nodded, unable to speak. As he stood up, so did she and he pulled her into a warm hug. His strong arms felt good and she wondered what her life would have been like if someone like him had been her father.
    It had been a long time since she had been to a sleepover, but it felt like she remembered. Cami had her giggling for almost an hour as she told about Drake’s bromance with her fiancé. Unfortunately, when eleven struck, she did quiet down. “I promised Jerod I’d go to sleep by eleven,” she explained.
    Nodding, Stephanie settled down and closed her eyes. It must be nice to have a strong person to rely on who wouldn’t let you down. Camille had four strong men she could lean on if needed. Stephanie found herself thinking, “It might be nice to just have one.”
     
    * * * * *
     
    The Memorial Day Picnic was coming up and Cami was excited to go and show off her fiancé this year, as well as introduce him to Hyacinth’s largest get-together. “I’ve told him all about it,” she explained as she cut Stephanie’s hair. Each snip of the scissors made Stephanie feel lighter, as