Her Longed-For Family by Jo Ann Brown

Author:Jo Ann Brown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2015-06-08T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Silence held the moor in its thrall when Carrie drew in her horse. She had come out on the cold day in an effort to clear her head. At Cothaire, preparations for the holidays kept the staff busy. The most delicious smells came from the kitchen. Many of the dishes were being put into cold storage to await the feast on Christmas Day or to be given to their neighbors for their own celebrations. The house was being cleaned from top to bottom, the wood polished, the brasses shined, and the windows in unused rooms opened to air any last heat from the summer out.

She felt as if she were in everybody else’s way. She had never guessed she would experience such a feeling in the house where she had lived her whole life, even during her marriage. Maybe it was because everyone else seemed to be moving forward, and she spun her wheels in the same rut. She did not understand why she felt as she did, so she had no idea how to change.

Taking a long ride to sweep the cobwebs from her brain had always served her well, but today, not even riding her favorite horse, Marmalade, across the bare expanse of the moor helped.

Carrie scowled as she cocked her head so the wind did not rush beneath her bonnet. She heard nothing but the crackle of dead growth beneath Marmalade’s hooves and the distant crash of the sea against the shore in the wake of last night’s storm.

The beam engine had stopped.

Knowing she was breaking the vow she had made to herself after church not to get further involved in Jacob’s life, she gave Marmalade the order to go in the direction of the engine house. She found a track and urged the horse even faster.

They climbed a small hill in the heart of the moor. At the top, she drew the horse in. Shading her eyes, she looked across the open landscape to where the beam engine building rose high above everything else around it. She smiled when she saw a distant motion coming from the building. Straining her ears, she could discern a steady thump.

Not from the direction of the mine but from behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see another rider coming at a neck-or-nothing speed, his cloak rippling wildly behind him. Recognizing the rider, she was astonished the always careful Jacob Warrick was riding at such a pace. She was about to wave to him when he took an abrupt turn toward her. His black horse made the change easily.

Carrie waited for him to draw even with her. She was about to greet him when she saw his scowl.

“What are you doing out here by yourself?” Jacob asked sharply.

“Good morning to you, too,” she replied.

His frown eased only a smidgen before he asked again, “What are you doing out here alone?”

“I was riding, and I realized the beam engine had stopped. I thought I would come and see if there was anything I could do to help.

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