Echoes From The Past (Women of Character) Read Online Free PDF

with his father now. At the time she’d been sure it was
the right thing to do and she had walked away. After Ellen’s death she’d
thought she would raise her nephew, but his father’s reappearance had changed
all that. Emotion bit at her and she drew air into her lungs, slowly and
carefully. Reaching blindly forward, she placed the bar of soap on the sink and
turned off the water. Eric and Hannah were first cousins.
    "I imagine you’ll have the
cleanest hands at the table," Ruth remarked dryly.
    Christie turned. "I was
pretty dusty." She ran the damp paper towel over her face and neck.
"I guess that will do for now." She looked toward the empty doorway.
"Um, what do you think is taking them so long?"
    Ruth didn’t answer, but ladled
gravy over the roast. When she picked up oven mitts, Christie moved closer and
lifted the roasting pan for her.
    "On the table," Ruth
said. "Take a seat, they’ll be along shortly. So Hannah wasn’t paying
attention to the road again? I gathered as much from the little I got out of
her."
    Christie thought that sounded
rather ominous. "She ran after her kitten just as a truck came down the
driveway. The driver had all he could do to avoid her. It scared all of us
pretty bad."
    Ruth’s expression softened and she
put a hand to her breast. "Poor child and Garrett too." She shook her
head. "She’s got her father at wit’s end. Last week she let Randy’s
pigeons out, the week before it was the chickens. She just wanted to
play."
    Christie licked her lips and took
a seat. She wondered what kind of mother Judith had been and felt frustrated
that she couldn’t ask. If Garrett found her asking too many questions before he
validated her information. . ..
    She looked across the kitchen.
What was keeping them?
    "We may as well get
started." Ruth began filling plates and Christie was left to speculate.
    Garrett and his daughter appeared
in the kitchen a moment later. Christie’s shoulder muscles relaxed when she saw
the way the child clung to her father’s hand. Hannah cheeks glowed pink and it
was obvious she’d just had her face washed. Hannah’s gaze met hers across the
room and she stopped dead. "You’re eating with us?" she asked, the
corners of her mouth drooping in obvious disappointment. She gave Christie an
angry glare. "Uncle Randy was supposed to eat with us."
    "Hannah," Garrett’s
voice held a warning. "Uncle Randy called and said he had to go back on
duty. It had nothing to do with Christie being here." With a hand at her
shoulder he urged her forward.
    "Sorry," she mumbled,
eyebrows drawn together. She slid into the seat across from Christie.
Reluctantly, it seemed, she continued, "Thank you for helping me on the
driveway. Daddy said the truck could have hit me."
    "I’m glad you’re okay,"
Christie said simply, studying this beautiful child who was her niece.
    Hannah twisted around in her seat
to stare at her father as he stood behind her. The look they exchanged made
Christie realize the words had probably been his idea.
    "Christie’s going to work
here until Kim is able to come back," Garrett said. "We’re also going
to make sure she doesn’t have a problem with the bump on her head."
    Christie noticed the slight
tremble of the little girl’s shoulders and was filled with compassion. She kept
her voice matter of fact. "I can tell you I’ve had much bigger bruises
than this little thing."
    Hannah watched her warily but made
no comment and Christie wondered at the resentment emanating from the child.
Had the child decided to dislike her because of the kitten that had gotten
away?
    Garrett sat beside Christie and
Ruth beside Hannah, and the meal began.
    As they ate Christie let herself
absorb the mellow atmosphere of the kitchen. The table could have held ten
people easily, and it sat in a glass enclosed breakfast nook. Christie imagined
Garrett sitting here in the morning with his coffee as he looked out over his
property. The windows offered a generous view of lush,