Give My Love to Rose Read Online Free PDF Page A

of the
woods. “Nothing,” Marston grumbled, feeling as if he were a kid
caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “She’s asleep. Why don’t
you help me get her inside?”
    The boy looked at him with fearful blue
eyes, nearly the same shade as his mothers. He was clearly scared,
but finally he nodded and ran onto the porch, his red hair flashing
in the sun. The boy held open the door and Marston carried the
woman into the cabin, dragging her legs on the floor.
    The boy led him to a small sofa and Marston
laid the woman down on it before standing straight and glancing
around. The inside of the cabin was neat and tidy, but it too was
run down. The kitchen, dining area, and living area were just one
large room. There were three closed doors off either side and
Marston assumed they were bedrooms. The sofa needed new upholstery,
the worn kitchen table needed to be sanded and the cupboards in the
kitchen were hanging crooked. Everything in this house looked as if
it had been neglected and let go for a long time—ten years to be
exact.
    “ Who are you?” the boy
asked. “What’s your name?”
    Marston knelt down so he’d be on the boy’s
level and he fixed him with an intimidating gaze. “Not many people
dare ask me that.”
    The boy swallowed hard, took a step back and
sent a fearful gaze toward his mother. “Will she be okay?”
    “ She’ll be fine,” Marston
assured him, standing straight once again. “And my name’s Marston,”
he added as he strode out the door. He wanted to leave. He should
leave. Instead, he found himself settling down on the porch steps.
He had to know the damn woman was going to be okay. For some
reason, he felt obligated to at least do that much.
    Marston rolled his eyes when he realized the
boy had followed him outside. The skinny youngster sat down on the
step beside him and eyed his revolver. “Are you gonna hurt us?”
    Marston was shocked by the boys courage—or
maybe it was stupidity. Either way it was impressive. Marston took
a moment before he answered. “No. No, I ain’t got any intention of
hurtin’ either one of you.”
    The boy nodded. He turned his gaze to
Marston’s gray. “I like your horse.”
    “ So do I.”
    “ My papa is on his way
home. Mama said once he gets here he’ll help us get this place
fixed back up. It’s just been me and mama since I was born and she
just can’t fix stuff the way a man could.”
    Marston nodded as he stared into the woods.
So the man-eating she-devil hadn’t replaced her husband the moment
he’d gone to prison? That didn’t exactly fit the image Marston had
had in his mind, but then again you never could predict what a
woman would do.
    “ I like your gun,” the boy
continued. “It’s real nice and shiny. My pa left me a gun but it’s
so rusty you can’t use it. Not that mama would let me use it
anyway. She’s real strict about stuff. We got pa’s rifle too, but
you know that don’t ya? She pulled it on you today. What are you
doing here anyhow? Do you know my pa? Why is my mama sick now? Did
you do that to her? Are you a bad man? You look like a bad
man.”
    Marston felt a throbbing pulse begin to ache
in his temples. “You talk a lot.”
    The boy gave him a wide-toothed grin. “I
don’t usually have no one, but mama to talk to. We don’t get much
company out here. The women in town don’t like mama and they don’t
come speak to her. I’m not sure why. My mama is a real nice lady.
The nicest one I know as a matter of fact.”
    Marston picked at a tear in the leg of his
trousers and let out a long breath as that throbbing picked up
tempo. “How about we play a game?” he offered.
    The boy’s eyes lit up. “Sure! What kind of
game? I like games, but I don’t get to play them very often cuz I’m
always too busy working ‘round here. So what’s the game?”
    Marston raised his brow. “This game is
called shut-up and stare into the woods. Whoever does it the
longest doesn’t get hog-tied, gagged and tossed