Carolina Homecoming by Heather Blanton

Author:Heather Blanton [Blanton, Heather]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Heather Blanton

* * *

Montgomery strode down the steps with an undeniably light step. He chided himself for it, but he had decided Noemie and Ruth should be warned about Darla’s deserter and he was looking forward to another visit with the ladies. He burst into the kitchen prepared for breakfast and to tell his housekeeper of his plans.

Only, Darla was not in the kitchen. Neither had she started breakfast. The stove was cold. The frying pan untouched. Had she gone somewhere? He didn’t recall her saying anything about errands. Maybe she’d gone over to Noemie’s for a visit. It seemed unlikely, but it was as good a place as any start looking for her. Especially since he was going there, anyway.

He saddled his favorite bay mare and took the short trail over. He hadn’t been this way in years. As the morning sun flickered through the scotch pines and mountain laurel, he guided the horse carefully over the rocky ground, around mammoth boulders, over a couple of small creeks. The trail was overgrown and washed out in places, but passable. He thought he might send a hand up here to clean it up a little more. Nothing wrong with having a quicker route to Noemie’s.

Half an hour later, he emerged from the woods, trotted across the pasture, tied his horse to the hitching post out front. He knocked on the screen door expectantly, but the ladies didn’t answer. He listened for a moment and picked up the muffled sound of voices—two male voices, he was sure of it, mixed with Noemie and Ruth’s.

He took a few steps down the porch and listened at the canvas-covered window for a moment.

“Aw, thanks, ma’am, that’s the most food I’ve seen in months.”

Montgomery didn’t recognize this voice.

“Miss Noemie sure makes good flapjacks, Thomas. I’ll be right back with some milk.”

Montgomery knew Bear’s voice, but who was this other man, Thomas? Puzzled, Montgomery cleared his throat and called, “Noemie, Ruth, I’m coming in, if I may?”

“Come ahead,” Noemie replied.

Montgomery went back to the door and was reaching for the screen when Ruth appeared, rushed and a little breathless. She opened it for him and greeted him with a smile that made his heart—well, he thought it actually skipped a beat. She had perfect, soft, kissable lips.

“Good mornin’, sir. Join us for breakfast?”

He snatched off his hat. “I was hoping you might ask.” He walked with her toward the kitchen. “Seeing as how I can’t find my housekeeper, I am a little hungry. And I wanted to let you know—” He practically skidded to a stop. The boy who had been harassing Darla sat at Noemie’s table, his cheeks stuffed with food, half-a-dozen flapjacks and bacon covering the plate before him.

Noemie looked up from the pan of frying bacon she was tending and frowned. “What’s the matter, Montgomery? Is he in your seat?”

“I ran him off my place yesterday.”

The boy gulped down his food, nearly choking on it. His eyes widened and his gaze ricocheted around the room.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.