LoverforRansom Read Online Free PDF Page B

presumptuous Yankee woman was
exactly what they’d all needed.
    * * * * *
    Ransom lifted his head as he heard Miss Ryan’s unique blend
of Irish brogue and clipped Boston accent. He wiped his brow with his sleeve as
he stepped back from the horse he’d been brushing. He peered out the stable
door. What was that woman up to now?
    She stood on the back veranda conversing with Charles, who
nodded and pointed toward the barn. Then together, the pair set off.
    Ransom’s brow furrowed. What could she possibly want from
the barn?
    There was only one way to find out.
    He trekked down the hill and, as he neared the barn, Charles
emerged, carrying a black-and-white puppy.
    “What are you doing with that dog?” Ransom asked as Charles
struggled to hold the wriggling puppy.
    Miss Ryan stepped out of the shadows, dusting off her
skirts. “I’m taking it to Jenny.”
    Ransom strained not to laugh. He raked his fingers through
his hair. “Did you ask Sissy about that?”
    The teacher stiffened. Her chin lifted defiantly. “Mrs.
Byrne has given me free rein to teach Jenny as I see fit.”
    This time, Ransom did chuckle. “Are you planning on taking
that mongrel inside the house?”
    “Of course. I think it would help her sleep. And besides,
I’ve enlisted the help of young Mr. Hunt, here, to train him.”
    “ Train him?” This was growing funnier by the second.
    “Yes.” She pushed her glasses up on her pert nose. “Dogs can
be trained to help the blind, besides being invaluable companions.”
    “I don’t doubt that, Miss Ryan,” Ransom said. “But Sissy
isn’t going to allow that animal in her house. And even if she bites her tongue
on this, Aunt Chloe won’t.”
    The teacher’s lips pursed and then her black eyebrows arched
over the top of her spectacles. “Then I’ll need your powers of persuasion to
convince them, Mr. Byrne.”
    “Whoa!” Ransom said, throwing up his hands. “If you want to
face Aunt Chloe’s wrath, go right ahead. I’m not going to be any part of this.”
    “But Mr. Byrne, Jenny needs this dog. He’ll help her to feel
safe at night…since you’re no longer in the house.”
    Ransom sucked in a sharp breath. Even this woman’s flirting
was tinged with the lash.
    “Of course, Jenny and I could trade places with you and set
ourselves up in the house where you’re staying,” the teacher offered. “Provided
there’d be no objection to this darling little puppy there.”
    The woman just wouldn’t be dissuaded. And Ransom couldn’t
find fault with her argument. A dog would be a welcome distraction for his
sister, and might also serve to get her out of the house. “Very well,” he said,
and reached to take the dog from Charles.
    He ignored the way the Yankee woman’s smug smile irritated
him as he strode purposefully toward the house. “Come along. Let’s face the
salvo of fire we’ll most surely endure from Sissy and Aunt Chloe.”
    He scratched the dog behind the ears to soothe its squirming
and was rewarded with a sound, sloppy lick to the hand.
    Charles veered off as they closed in on the house.
    “Where are you going?” Ransom asked.
    “I volunteered to train the dog,” Charles said. “I never
said I’d ask Aunt Chloe if Jenny could keep him.”
    Ransom laughed heartily. “You run on, then.”
    “Thank you for your help, Charles!” Miss Ryan called after
the boy as he disappeared around the side of the house.
    Ransom stepped onto the porch and opened the door. “After
you,” he said, stepping aside so Miss Ryan could pass in front of him.
    Some of the earlier bravado she’d possessed had wilted. She
gnawed her bottom lip as she slipped off her spectacles and pocketed them.
    “Sissy!” Ransom called.
    Feather duster in hand, she stepped into the downstairs
hall, followed by Aunt Chloe, who looked more than formidable with her broom.
They looked like mismatched twins in their calico day dresses and aprons with
their hair covered by white kerchiefs.
    “What are