The Preacher's Daughter Read Online Free PDF Page A

chair sat beside the window. He wouldn’t have guessed she used this room if he’d gone looking on his own. There were no personal items in sight.
    The metal bed frame was plain, and a red-and-blue quilt neatly covered the mattress. He pictured her sleeping here, and discomfort scratched at his self-possession. He wished Ellie hadn’t assigned this task to him.
    He set the stack of crates on the floor.
    She moved farther into the room and placed the bag she’d carried on the bed.
    “I’ll get the rest.” He had the remainder of her belongings carried up in two more trips.
    He set each individual crate down on the floor so she wouldn’t have to lift them from a stack. It appeared the contents were mostly clothing. He averted his gaze and spotted what looked like a sewing box.
    “Thank you,” she said.
    “Can I help with anything else?”
    “It’s only clothes I need to hang or put in the drawers.”
    To distract himself from thoughts of her clothing, he glanced at the papered walls. “You should have a picture or two.”
    She drew her brows into two slashes of concern. “I realized when I was packing that I don’t own much.”
    He hadn’t meant to point that out. He’d been making conversation to distract himself.
    “My father is opposed to storing up treasure on earth where moth and rust can corrupt,” she said.
    He didn’t know what to say to that. “Didn’t mean any offense.”
    “None taken.” She glanced at the bare walls. “Ellie said they’d never used this room.”
    “I have a few framed pictures at the house that Ellie left behind,” he said, sorry to be the one to chase the cheer from her voice. “I could bring one for you.”
    “That’s so thoughtful!”
    Her smile would have lit a dark night, and it almost embarrassed him because he hadn’t done anything extraordinary to earn her delight.
    “You bought their old house, didn’t you?” she asked.
    He nodded. “Don’t stay there often, though. My office and examining rooms are out at my other place. Horses, too, of course. And I almost always have a few ailing animals to look after.”
    “So you have two homes?”
    “Ellie nags me about it every week,” he replied with a nod. “I keep the house in town in case I need to stay over.” He glanced around. “I’m glad you’re here for Ellie.”
    She gave him a half smile. “I’m glad to be here, too. There’s so much more I can accomplish now.”
    He’d never noticed before that her eyes were a rich caramel color. Expectancy made them sparkle. Her statements intrigued him. “What do you want to accomplish?”
    She folded her hands over her heart as though searching for a way to explain. His attention followed her hands and rested on her breasts beneath her dress a moment too long before he tore it away. Never in the last couple of years had he given her as much consideration as he had in the past hour, and noticing her this way made him uncomfortable.
    “I want to meet people and learn all I can.” The yearning in her voice surprised him. “I want to read every book in the public library and walk through all of the shops in town. I’d like to take a walk at night. Maybe even go somewhere on the train.”
    Her aspirations didn’t sound very high to Ben, but her desire to do ordinary things told him quite a bit. She’d been living under her father’s guidelines, and now she apparently had an agenda of her own. Maybe she hadn’t appreciated a parent who cared about her.
    A frown creased her features and her gaze fell to the top of the bureau as though she was thinking.
    Ben couldn’t stop himself from asking, “What’s the matter?”
    She glanced up. “Oh. Nothing, really. I was just thinking I still wouldn’t have much time for all of that.”
    “Ellie gave you two mornings off each week,” he reminded her.
    She nodded. “Yes.” Her smile seemed a trifle forced. “She did.”
    “You can go to the library and visit the shops on those days, can’t