Daniel Read Online Free PDF Page B

something had happened to Adam to make him this way, but she wouldn't explain. She said you should tell me."
    The subject was a tough one to discuss, but he supposed she needed to understand. Maybe then she could find a way to deal with Adam. He looked down the dirt road and took a second for the pain of it all to wash over him. She needed to know some of their history first.
    "When we all came out here together, we bought a ranch...a good-sized one. Ben now runs it for all of us. The place is on the other side of Dryfork, closer to Dodge City." He guided the wagon over a deep rut in the road. "It didn't take over a year for us to all find our own paths. Caleb, Ben's twin, took up preaching in Camden, a town about a couple hours west of here. I stayed at our family ranch a while longer and then became sheriff here. I bought my small ranch a year later."
    He glanced in her direction, saw how avidly she was listening. And he realized he should have told her some of this before now. Why hadn't he? Had he believed she wouldn't stay around long and not wanted to get into any of this? Feeling guilty, he put a hand on her thigh and squeezed it gently. "I'm sorry. I should have told you some of this before now."
    She seemed surprised at his admission. "Yes, I do feel rather left out." She worried her lower lip and glanced down at her lap. "I haven't felt very welcome here. The issues with Adam. Not meeting Ben or Caleb or Seth."
    He squeezed her leg again. "All of it's my fault, and I'll take care of the situation." He looked at the road once more. "You won't meet Seth for a while. He went to California a couple of years ago, to find gold. We rarely hear from him." And that worried Daniel. As the oldest brother, he felt responsible for them all.
    He shoved the problem of Seth aside for now. "Adam became a soldier at Fort Dodge not long after we came here. He got married, too, soon after that. Meredith didn't like him being gone so much, off on patrols watching over the Indians that used to be around these parts. They argued a lot when he was home."
    "Adam was married?" Jennie questioned quietly.
    Daniel didn't like even thinking about those times. His brother had been stuck in a miserable marriage with a woman he never should have married to begin with. After a few minutes, he continued, "Meredith ended up getting with child about the same time she was talking to Adam about leaving him, about going home to her folks in Virginia." He gritted his teeth to get past the memory of how frustrated Adam had felt then: elated about having a child, worried his wife would leave him and take the baby with her. "Adam was off on patrol when Meredith went into labor early. She lost the baby and bled to death."
    "Oh no," Jennie gasped. "Poor Adam."
    He glanced at her, noted the tears for his brother in her eyes, and felt relieved to have shared this tragedy with her. "Adam was almost inconsolable when he got back and found out what had happened. He quit soldiering and took to drinking away the pain. We almost lost him, too. It's been a tough couple of years for him getting over that and trying to come to terms with his life now."
    "I understand his pain," she said and then straightened to look at him with determination. "But I stand by what I told him. He needs to get over what happened. He needs to stop focusing on his losses and making everyone around him unhappy because he is unhappy."
    "You're right, but you can't force someone to be happy." He held her gaze and narrowed his eyes. "You need to leave him alone."
    "That's just foolish," she countered. "Clearly you and your other brothers have been letting Adam wallow in his misery for too long. He needs someone--or some people--to nudge him back to getting on with his life. Like Faith. Or me."
    Daniel frowned at the spark of challenge in her eyes. "The two of you need to let him be. I mean it, Jennie. Don't push my brother. He's still hurting."
    She huffed and focused on the road ahead. He was