Small Great Joys by Danielle Carriere

Author:Danielle Carriere [Carriere, Danielle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781732909571
Publisher: Moxie Books

Silvery clouds of mist rose from their mouths and noses as they traveled, the moonlight reflecting off the warmth they breathed. Angel interrupted the silence first.

“What did you and Clark talk about while I was upstairs?”

“The weather, mostly. He seems to think we’re due for another storm.”

“Do you think he’s right?”

“I don’t know,” Nathan said, then added under his breath, “I hope not.”

Angel wasn’t sure whether Nathan’s lack of enthusiasm was due to the prospect of another snowstorm, or the idea of Clark being right.

“What about you and Olivia?” Nathan asked.

Angel opened her mouth to reply, then realized that even if it were possible for her to tell Nathan what she and Olivia had spoken of without breaking strict confidences, it wouldn’t be possible to condense even the main points of their conversation into an appropriate response. She shrugged and replied lamely, “Many things. Not the weather.”

Nathan didn’t press. They traveled wordlessly until the cabin came into view, and Angel couldn’t resist asking the question pressing on her mind.

“What if he comes back?”

“What if who comes back?” Nathan answered, bewildered.

“Your father, James.”

Nathan was silent for a moment, then turned to Angel. “Where did you hear my father’s name? I never told you.”

“Olivia told me.”

“You two must have covered a pretty wide range of topics. You asked Olivia about my father?”

“Well, no, not exactly. She brought him up.”

Nathan eyed Angel. “And why did she bring up my father?”

“She told me that you weren’t like him.”

Nathan didn’t seem to know how to respond and did not reply. Finally, Angel broke the silence again and asked, “Did you know your father threatened to kill them—and you—if they tried to take you with them?”

Nathan’s grip on the reins tightened, and he let out a long breath of air. “No. I didn’t know that. When did this happen?”

“At your mother’s funeral.”

“Of course he did,” Nathan said bitterly, almost to himself.

He turned his attention back to Angel. “Why would Olivia tell you this?”

“I asked her why they came back.”

“You asked point-blank, and she told you? Just like that?”

“Well,” Angel hesitated, “yes and no. Yes, I asked and she told me, but it was not ‘just like that.’” Angel sighed and hoped Nathan wouldn’t press as she explained, “There was an entire conversation that led up to it.”

Nathan shrugged. “If you say so.”

“Clark didn’t want you to know. He told Olivia it would be worse for you to know your father threatened to kill you.”

Nathan’s expression, which had darkened at Angel’s first words, seemed to soften slightly as she finished speaking, although a trace of the anger still remained in his eyes. He shook his head in disgust. “That’s just like Clark,” he grumbled, “always thinking he knows what’s best for someone else.”

But even though Nathan’s words were gruff, Angel could tell that Clark’s sentiment had struck a chord. For the first time since his aunt and uncle’s return, Nathan seemed just a little bit lighter, rather than weighed down, after the mention of Clark’s name.

Nathan shook his head.

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