Tracie Peterson - [Land of Shining Water 02] Read Online Free PDF Page A

Emmalyne had given no such instruction. Then it wasn’t long before Fenella had told her that Tavin had left. No one knew exactly where he was bound or when he might return.
    A part of Emmalyne had been relieved. With Tavin’s location unknown to her, she could better fight the urge to give up her promise to her parents. If no one knew where he was, there was no sense in her setting out to find him. At least that’s what Emmalyne told herself. She also tried to convince herself that it was foolish to go on thinking of him—that he was forever out of her life. Unfortunately, her heart told her otherwise.
    Looking about, Emmalyne couldn’t help but wonder how close they were to the MacLachlans’ property. She went on to reason that they must surely be within a short walk. Maybe once she’d arranged the house and Mother had adjusted to her new quarters, Emmalyne could make a visit and reestablish her acquaintance with Morna MacLachlan. That is, if Tavin was still gone from the area.
    Emmalyne frowned and wrestled with her thoughts. It would be a blessing to see Tavin’s mother again. Maybe Fenella lived nearby, as well. Renewing her friendship with Fenella might make the move back to St. Cloud bearable. The two girls had once been the best of friends, and Emmalyne missed their closeness. But as she imagined the two of them chatting about the years gone by and all they had experienced, Emmalyne suddenly felt less inclined to see her friend again. As little more than a glorified maid to her parents, her life had been dismal and boring at best. She could tell Fenellaabout books she’d read and a musical performance or two that she’d once attended with Mother, but life in Minneapolis had not left her with a wealth of pleasant memories. And what if Tavin decided to come home for a visit? Or for good? She shuddered. That would be sheer misery.
    Emmalyne turned her focus back on the work to be done. By late afternoon, she was filthy and exhausted. She had eaten the last of her breakfast and had cleared out the two main-floor bedrooms and the front room, as well. The walls cried out for paint and paper, but she doubted Father would spare the coins required for either. A little whitewash would go a long way toward cheering up the little place, however. Perhaps she could spend some of her own precious money for that.
    She had just started work in the kitchen when she heard the wagon pull into the yard. Rushing to the door, she was surprised to see the conveyance full of furniture and trunks. Her father appeared from around the side and began to untie a rope.
    “Our things came in early,” he explained.
    Emmalyne nodded, pleased. “We can just put everything in the front room. I have it cleared out, and that would make a good place to organize it.”
    Her father glanced at her. “And what of the bedrooms?”
    “Yours and Angus’s are clean. I didn’t worry about mine just yet. There’s a hole in the roof, and I figure Angus will need to climb atop to patch it up.”
    “You figured that, did you, sister?” Angus teased from his side of the wagon. “I suppose for some of your good shepherd’s pie, I might be persuaded.”
    “And I suppose I might be willing to make that for your supper tomorrow,” she said with a smile. Emmalyne cherishedher brother’s good nature, especially in light of her father’s harsh spirit.
    Her father grunted and lowered a huge trunk from the back of the wagon. Hoisting it onto his back as though it weighed very little, he trudged toward the house. Angus picked up a couple of chairs and handed them to Emmalyne.
    “I’ll see to the roof momentarily,” he told her.
    “And the steps to the porch, perhaps?” she asked hesitantly, her voice low. “It’s quite difficult climbing up and down without them.”
    He glanced that way, hand shading his eyes. “Aye. I’ll see to it. I spied a couple of good-sized stones, large and flat, near the barn that might suffice for now. Most likely cut