HT02 - Sing: A Novel of Colorado Read Online Free PDF

eyes. “A St. Clair you are,” she whispered. “I won’t tell your papa if you won’t.” She put on her coat and then picked up the child, stepping outside. After so many days of being sequestered in the house due to the blizzard, it felt glorious to be outside. But soon the smell of burning horsehair assaulted her nose. The men had begun the grisly work; they were burning the bodies of the dead.
    She turned the corner of the house and shielded her eyes. There, to the north, five tendrils of dark smoke rose above a bank of pure white snow. It would be better when they were gone, when there was nothing left but ash to gaze upon, rather than decomposing bodies that raised the question what if?
    Bryce had not slept in a week, entering their shared bed late, rising before she or Samuel woke. She had crept out into the hallway one night to see him sitting beside a blank canvas, brush in hand, paint upon the palette, but doing nothing but stare out the dark window. Morning after morning that canvas remained blank.
    Father God, she prayed, as she walked toward the stables. Show me how to comfort my husband. Show me how to maintain faith when I am afraid. She hoped he was down here, and not with the men burning the bodies. It would be too much, and not good for his lungs. He needed time among the living, the bodies that represented their future, rather than among the dead.
    Carefully, she wound her way up and over the slippery, slushy path toward the stables. Outside, in two corrals, Ralph and Dietrich tossed hay across the fence. The horses were agitated, as if desperate to eat, even though they had been well fed throughout the storm. As if they knew death was just a snowstorm away.
    “Ma’am,” said Ralph, tapping the brim of his hat when he saw her.
    “Ralph,” she returned. “Is my husband in there?”
    “Think so, ma’am.”
    “Thank you.” She moved to the big central door, unlatched it, and let it swing open. After a moment, her eyes adjusted and she spied her husband, chin on folded arms, staring into her horse’s stall. Her heart leapt with fear. “Is everything okay with Ebony?”
    Bryce straightened and turned toward her and Samuel. “My two favorite people in the world. Sure it’s safe, bringing the baby out?”
    She smiled and handed the child to his father. “Sure enough. I think he has as bad a case of cabin fever as I today. He’s been fussy all morning, until I got him bundled up to go.”
    “Is that right?” Bryce asked, more to the child than her. He smiled down at Samuel, then turned and lifted him a bit, as if to get him in better light. “Those sea-green eyes just show a bit more of his St. Clair side every day, don’t they?”
    Odessa moved closer, wrapping her hand around her husband’s arm as she leaned in to gaze with him at their baby. “I guess the secret’s out. I told him not to tell.”
    “Not to tell what?” Bryce said, slanting a glance down at his wife. “That he’s the son of the most gorgeous woman in the valley?”
    Odessa laughed. “That’s high praise indeed, considering that there are maybe a hundred of us in the valley, including Westcliffe.”
    Bryce lifted his chin. “Regardless of the competition, I stand by my compliment.”
    Odessa smiled. “And I accept it.” Ebony moved to the front of the stall, nosing her and taking in big draughts of air, as if she hoped to get to know the baby. “Hey there, girl,” Odessa said. “Miss me?”
    “I think she’s eager for a ride. But there will be no riding for some time, you understand me? The snow’s too deep, and there’s likely ice in many spots.”
    “Yes. But can the boys get her out to the corral, give her some room to run around?”
    “I’ll see to it myself.”

    Odessa wrapped her arms around his body from behind, and Bryce closed his eyes, relishing the comfort of her slender form. “Are you all right, Bryce?”
    He heard the deeper question, what she really wanted to know. She knew his