The Promise of Forgiveness Read Online Free PDF Page B

you’d rather . . .” Ruby’s words spurred Joe into action. He removed a duffel bag from beneath the bed, tossed his shoes inside, and then emptied out a clothing drawer before collecting his change from the nightstand.
    â€œClean sheets are in the upstairs linen closet.” He stopped at the foot of the bed. “It gets windy out here at night. You’ll want to use the latch hook on the screen door to keep it from blowing open.” Then he was gone.
    â€œIs he mad that we took his room?” Mia asked.
    â€œI don’t think so.” If he was, he’d hidden it well. “I’ll find the sheets. Then you can help me make the bed.”
    Ruby climbed the stairs to the second floor. She paused on the landing and counted the doors—three plus the linen closet at the far end of the hall. Faded yellow wallpaper with pink roses clinging to mint-green vines buckled in the corners where brown water splotches marred the ceiling. The floorboards needed a new coat of stain, and the only footprints in the hallway led to the two doors on Ruby’s right. The dust in front of the door to her left remained undisturbed. No one had gone into that room in ages.
Why
?
    She checked out the bathroom—toilet, tub, and pedestal sink. Next, Hank’s room—bed, dresser, and a brown rug that covered the wood floor in front of the bed. There were no photographs, artwork, or anything personal that hinted at a woman having ever shared the space with Hank. The door across the hall beckoned her. Who cared if he noticed her footprints? She tested the knob, then poked her head inside—pink walls and white baby furniture.
    What the . . . ?
She tiptoed into the room and ran her hand across the crib rail. Then she fingered the satin ruffles on the bassinet before giving the rocking chair in the corner a gentle push. The top drawer of the dresser held a supply of pink hair bows and ruffled socks. The middle drawer was filled with disposable diapers—yellowed with age—and flannel baby blankets had been stowed in the bottom drawer.
    The evidence in the room suggested Hank and Cora had never intended to give Ruby up for adoption. What had changed their minds about keeping her? And why after three decades hadn’t Hank painted the nursery a different color and gotten rid of the furniture?
    Maybe there were other children after you
.
    Ruby didn’t have time to ponder the possibility because she heard the front door open. She ducked from the bedroom, then hurried to the closet at the end of the hall.
    Hank appeared on the landing. “What are you doing?”
    â€œGetting fresh sheets for the bed.” She wiped her sweaty palms against her dress before removing a set of dingy linens from the shelf.
    His gaze tracked her footprints to the nursery, and the parentheses lines bracketing his mouth deepened. “You can use the bathroom up here, but keep out of the other rooms.”
    â€œWe need to talk.” She hovered in his bedroom doorway.
    â€œI have to exercise one of the horses.” He sat on the bed and switched to a different pair of boots.
    She exhaled a noisy breath through her nostrils. “I didn’t come here to be ignored.”
    â€œYou in a rush to leave?”
    Yes. No.
Maybe
. “I have to be in Kansas two weeks from now.”
    â€œThen we have time to talk.”
    Ruby let him win this round and stepped aside. “Did you have plans for supper, or would you like me to throw a meal together?”
    â€œMake what you want. Joe and I go our separate ways.” He hitched his drooping pants, then descended the stairs and walked out the front door. Ruby went into the parlor to snoop.
    The room smelled of musty wood and moldy fabric. Nose twitching, she walked past a love seat and matching chair to check out the piano against the wall. Had Cora played the instrument? She ran her fingers over the yellowed keys, picturing a