Children of Destiny Books 4-6 (Texas: Children of Destiny Book 10) by Ann Major

Author:Ann Major [Major, Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Major Press LLC
Published: 2017-01-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Ten days later Noelle stood behind the huge white Christmas tree at Martin House and stared moodily at the silver package Eva had secretively handed her after all the other gifts had been opened.

“It’s from Garret,” Eva whispered.

“Shhh…”

Even as she told herself that she didn’t want to open it, that she wasn’t going to open it, she was ripping the bright foil paper and letting the coils of silver ribbon fall heedlessly to the carpet.

There was a note inside. Her fingers tightened convulsively around the package as she opened it and then read Garret’s bold black scrawl.

Chere, come back to me.

He had not signed his name, but he didn’t need to. Long after she read the words, his message seemed to echo in her heart.

She opened the small velvet box and gasped with pleasure. Inside was an amethyst pendant set with tiny diamonds. It was so exquisite she was almost afraid to touch it.

Her fingertip traced lingeringly over the fragile gold and glittering stones. He had remembered that amethyst was her birthstone, just as he had remembered how she loved them. The necklace had probably cost much more than he could afford, and yet he had bought it anyway. A sudden huge lump formed in her throat.

She snapped the box shut and hid it quickly in the pocket of her skirt. There was no way she could rejoin Beau and the others in the dining room, no way she could pretend nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Quickly she opened a French door and went outside onto the veranda, rushing headlong down the brick paths that wound among the gardens. Through the tangle of live oak, azaleas and thick creepers of lacy jasmine, Martin House glowed white and lovely in the soft sunshine. The air was redolent with the smell of the swamp and almost cool; the bayou with its floating hyacinths was smooth and placid. But she scarcely noticed the loveliness of the familiar setting.

She touched the velvet box in her pocket. Despite the knowledge that her family and Beau were in the house, loneliness washed over her.

What was she going to do about Garret? Was she going to Europe? Or back to New Orleans? If she returned to the city, Garret would believe she was choosing him.

Choose Garret? On his terms? Never.

She looked up and saw that she had come to the darkest corner of the garden. Martin House was now lost in the jungle of flowers and semitropical greenery.

Nearby on the bayou the sun shone on something gold. She twisted her head and saw that someone was watching her. A scream rose in her throat and then died. Her heart began to thud violently.

A slim blond child with incredibly intense blue eyes had poled his pirogue almost to the edge of the low bank. The boy’s yellow hair fell thick and straight across his brow. His thin mouth attempted a smile and quivered instead. In the bow was a plump basset hound dozing as lazily as if it were a summer day and she was secure and safe on dry ground.

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.