Unusual Inheritance Read Online Free PDF

how
important she had become to him. He suddenly felt the need to
protect her, and protect her he would. He wouldn’t worry her with
the details of his suspicions just yet, and he certainly wouldn’t
let her know who he really worked for. Better to keep her in the
dark for now. And speaking of dark, it was almost upon them and the
fire wasn’t even going yet.
    The campfire brought warmth to the cool night
air as both she and Jed sat on the old log next to it. It was the
first part of Autumn now and temperature was still hot by day, but
cool at night.
    Jed broke the silence of their reverie.
“Guess it’s time for bed. If we get an early start we should be
home by early afternoon.”
    Both Stormy and Jed rose at the same time,
throwing them into each other’s arms to keep from falling. Jed
pulled her slightly forward; then thought better of it. All he
wanted to do was kiss her, but until he could be honest with her he
would not touch her.
    Stormy closed her eyes and steadied herself
for her very first kiss from a man. When it didn’t happen, her
heart fell to her feet. Jed had gone to his bedroll without looking
back. She wondered for hours that night what she had done wrong.
Why didn’t Jed kiss her?
    The double LL was the best sight in the world
as the wagon pulled into its view. Katy Marie, outside playing,
jumped up and down with glee. She immediately ran into the house to
get Carmen. Stormy was surprised at how happy she was to be back
and how much she had missed Katy Marie. In a very short time she
had come to love the child with all her heart.
    Carmen fussed over them and helped to
retrieve Stormy’s belongings. Jed, who hadn’t said much to her
since he’d held her in his arms, quickly said goodbye and headed
toward the bunk house.
    “I’m so glad you are here,” Katy Marie
squealed as she practically hugged Stormy to death.
    “I’m very glad to be here,” she replied to
Katy Marie. “I missed you,” she added. Carmen bustled through the
room singing as she went. “Supper will be done in a couple of
hours, missy, so why don’t you go upstairs and rest.”
    “I think I will,” Stormy answered. She knew
nothing more until the next morning. Stormy had slept straight
through supper. Guess all those days sleeping in a wagon had caught
up with her.
    The days became routine again; a routine that
Stormy loved. Jed and Jake still came to supper every night but Jed
never made any attempt to be close to her again. It hurt but she
didn’t let on. He really seemed to love Katy Marie though. Jake was
just Jake. He was always friendly, yet phony as could be. At least
that’s how Stormy felt. She also noticed there seemed to be some
tension between Jake and Jed lately. They barely spoke to each
other, and those looks they gave each other were very suspect
indeed.
    It was time to get to the bottom of things.
One, or both of these men had something to hide and she was going
to find out what it was. The ranch was now her responsibility and
she wasn’t about to let anything go down on her watch. It was time
for some real snooping. First thing tomorrow she would begin her
investigation, starting with another good look at the books, and
then on to checking the inventory on supplies and how things were
stored around the ranch. She had not noticed the men riding out to
the north pasture lately so maybe she was wrong about something
going on there.
    The morning light peeked through the curtains
and landed on Stormy’s face. She felt so snug and comfy in her bed
but threw her legs over the side anyway to get ready for the day.
Besides her regular chores it was time to look into what’s going on
at the ranch and that was something she took very seriously.
    “Morning Carmen”, Stormy said.
    “Ah, good morning, did you sleep well?”
Carmen spoke as she kept on kneading her biscuit dough.
    “Yes, thanks…I did. Can you get Katy Marie
off to school for me today? I have some things I need to attend
to.” Stormy