Her Holiday Family and the Sheriff's Christmas Twins by Winnie Griggs

Author:Winnie Griggs
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-09-16T19:10:19+00:00

Chapter Three

He’d blundered. Again. George would have his hide if he knew.

The image of David Ashworth’s craggy face entered his mind, and he felt ashamed. David had extended mercy to Shane when he’d least deserved it—instead of hauling him off to jail for stealing from one of his stores, David had offered him a paying job. And months later, when the older man learned that Shane’s mother had died, their home had burned and Shane was sleeping in a makeshift camp at the edge of town, he’d taken him home and made him a part of his family.

Or at least he’d tried. Shane hadn’t made it easy.

He threaded his fingers through his hair. “Look, I don’t like talking about my past. You know that.”

“I remember.”

“But that doesn’t excuse my rudeness, and I’m sorry. I know how much you enjoy Christmas and all the traditions that go along with it. This is your first holiday in Tennessee, and I want you to have a pleasant visit. So let’s agree to leave that particular subject buried, okay?”

She didn’t look happy about his request, but she eventually nodded.

The second floor was a few degrees warmer than the first, but that wasn’t saying much. He stood against the long interior wall to give her room to navigate the papered hallway and examine the rooms. The color in her cheeks was heightened, due to her vexation with him or the cold, he couldn’t determine.

After peeking in all the doorways, she entered the room to the immediate right of the stairs. “I’ll take this one. George, Clarissa and George Jr. can be at the opposite end of the hall and the older children next to them.”

“Are you still in your old bedroom at home?”

“No. Soon after their engagement, I moved to the third floor.”

Hearing the wistfulness in her voice, he said, “You liked that room. You spent hours in the window seat with your books and your diary or simply observing the world from your perch.”

“I did like it.” An adorable pleat formed between her golden eyebrows. “But having an entire floor to myself suits me. With four children and a passel of staff members in the house, I don’t get much privacy.”

Removing the borrowed cape, she draped it over the carved footboard. Peering down at her ill-fitting clothes, she shook her head in disgust. Shane watched as she walked to the mirror above the bureau and inspected her disheveled, paint-flecked hair. In the reflective glass, her gaze found his.

“I made sure my arrival didn’t go unnoticed, didn’t I?”

“At least the color doesn’t clash with your hair.”

Turning, she attempted to smooth it. “It’s still straight as a stick, I’m afraid.”

“Curls are overrated.”

He hadn’t been able to figure out why a girl like Allison would be dissatisfied with her appearance. Her self-consciousness didn’t make sense. Her hair was the prettiest color he’d ever seen, her countenance sweet and agreeable.

“I’ll bring your trunks up and then heat some water you can use along with the cleaning solution Nicole gave you.

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