Year of Jubilee Read Online Free PDF Page A

Pulling the ragged blanket
tighter, she sobbed into the pillow. If she wanted to stay, she’d
have to marry a stranger. Another stranger. Colvin’s cousin. Oh,
glory. What am I going to do?
    * * *
    Back at the barn, Rafe picked up a brush and
began to groom Horse. He disgusted himself. Horse sidestepped to
avoid the rough strokes, and Rafe gentled his hand. Why had he
suggested marriage? Because he felt responsible for her, that’s
why . Horse nickered, turned his piebald face to him, and
butted his arm.
    “Sorry, boy.” He scratched the swirl of hair
between Horse’s blue eye and his brown one. With a tender hand, he
detangled the streaked mane.
    But what did it matter, really? The one he
desired was lost to him. God’s plan, his father claimed. Rafe
gritted his teeth, annoyed that this piece of advice had crossed
his mind.
    Bad things happened to people all the time.
Wrong things, awful things. God’s plan. Was there such a
notion? He pulled a burr from Horse’s mane. What was the difference
if he married a strange girl? The woman he wanted was out of his
hands.

CHAPTER FOUR
    Rafe rubbed his smooth chin and patted the
old wagon he’d worked on till late in the night. A fresh paint job
and it’d be good as new. He flicked his glance toward the cabin. No
use trying to waste any more time. Horse stomped his indignation at
being harnessed, bringing a grin to Rafe’s stiff face.
    “Sorry, old buddy.” He thumped his flank.
“This is your job till I get my hands on a good harness horse.
Trust me, we’re all making adjustments.”
    She appeared and rounded the corner of the
house to the front porch. He shut the barn door, then leaped to the
buckboard seat and slapped the reins. Horse took off with a jolt.
Humph. They’d have to work on that. He pulled Horse to a halt as he
neared.
    “Mornin’.” He greeted and touched his
hat.
    She bobbed her head.
    “Am I loading your stuff, or are we driving
in to meet the preacher?”
    “I don’t have anything.”
    So, she was leaving. Rafe took a deep breath
and rubbed his neck. Hard to understand why that didn’t set
well.
    The woman’s face appeared white and
strained. “I have a question.”
    He nodded, climbed down from the wagon, and
approached the rickety porch. “All right.”
    She cleared her throat. “If I stay…would
you…?”
    His gaze dropped to her hand working circles
in the soft ragged material of her dress. She kept her gaze on the
wagon but didn’t finish.
    Finally he spoke. “Mrs. Stallings, I…”
    “Don’t call me that. Please,” she begged,
her soft, brown eyes round as she pressed a hand to her breast.
    He leaned against the porch support. “Fine,
how should I address you?”
    She shrugged one thin shoulder.
    He sighed and shook his head to clear it.
“You had a question?”
    “Yes. If we married and had a…‘business
arrangement,’ would you agree not to…” she swallowed and stepped
back, “…beat me?”
    Her dark eyes fastened on him again. Their
neediness mesmerized him. Anger at Colvin seared the pit of his
stomach.
    With exaggerated slowness, he removed his
hat and ran the brim around in his hand. He kept his eyes on the
dirt to keep the anger toward his cousin from showing in his face.
Finally, he looked up and waited until her gaze latched to his.
    “Ma’am, as a gentleman. I would never strike
a woman.” He spoke with deep conviction. “Never.”
    She studied him for a long moment. “Then, I
will agree to the…‘business arrangement,’ as you explained last
night.”
    * * *
    Refusing to let fear choke her, she stepped
from the porch, leaving a wide berth around the huge man who’d soon
be her husband. A sob rose, and she forced it down. Scurrying to
the other side of the wagon before she changed her mind, she set
her foot on the base of the bed to swing herself aboard.
    “Here, let me…”
    She screamed and leaped away from the wagon.
The man moved so silently, and he loomed terribly close. She pinned
him