Mail-Order Marriage Promise
Page 24
Maggie heard his boots clomp down the stairs. She looked to Dinah, who stood by the door watching him leave. “Dinah, come here for a moment.”
Dinah hurried to her bedside. “Do you want me to help you get dressed, Maggie?”
Maggie shook her head. The baby began to fuss for breakfast. She swung her legs to the edge of the bed and then stood slowly. “No, I’m curious. You seem to like Mr. Young.”
Dinah nodded. “He’s a nice man.”
She eased into the rocker. “What makes you say that?” Maggie moved the now-howling baby to a more comfortable position. He immediately stopped crying with the warmth of breakfast filling his small tummy.
“He saved baby James and rocked me to sleep last night.”
Maggie’s head came up as concern filled her heart. Men weren’t to be trusted, so why had he taken it upon himself to comfort Dinah? “He did?”
“Uh-huh. I was scared and Mr. Young picked me up and rocked me while I cried. I went to sleep and he put me in bed with you.” Dinah smiled. “He told me everything was going to be all right. And it is.” Dinah jumped on the bed. Her smile filled the room.
Maggie rocked the baby. Not only had he saved James, but he’d also soothed Dinah’s fears. He’d made them all breakfast and was already planning a trip to town to bring back the doctor. What kind of man was Clayton James Young? Unfamiliar words whispered through her heart: the kind who took care of the people around him.
She didn’t need that kind of man in her life. He’d turn out just like all the others who had let her down. Maggie refused to be hurt again, so she hardened her heart against Clayton Young.
Maggie cuddled the baby close. Her job was to make sure that she could hold on to baby James’s ranch. Gus Fillmore, her late husband’s cousin, had insisted on becoming the ranch manager and she’d let him because he’d promised to keep her up-to-date on the running of the ranch. Maggie’s new fear was that he’d soon begin to demand ownership. She couldn’t allow that. With Jack’s dying breath, he’d asked her to make sure baby James would inherit the ranch, and she’d promised to do just that. It was a promise she intended to keep.
Copyright © 2017 by Rhonda Gibson
ISBN-13: 9781488017810
Mail-Order Marriage Promise
Copyright © 2017 by Regina Lundgren
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