The Preacher’s Daughter by Cheryl St John

Author:Cheryl St John [John, Cheryl St]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781426802492
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2007-01-16T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

“Can I ride with you and Lorabeth?” Flynn asked. He had his fiddle case tucked under his arm.

Benjamin stood in the foyer in his best black trousers, white shirt and tie, waiting for Lorabeth.

“Of course you can,” she said from the top of the stairs.

She gathered the hem of her dress and descended as gracefully as anything Ben had ever seen. The dress was the color of a fresh summer peach, with lacy stuff at her neck and on the cuffs. The closer she got, the more clearly he noticed how the shade complemented her skin and made her eyes look dark and luminous.

“Holy cow, Miss Lorrie!” Flynn exclaimed. “You look beautiful!”

“Thank you, Flynn.”

Ben nodded his agreement.

Caleb ushered Nate and David down the stairs. “Papa’s ready to take on you two boys in a checker championship.”

Ben had seen Matthew and Laura’s buggy out front, the horse still harnessed. “I brought my rig,” he said.

“We’re taking my folks’,” Caleb replied.

Ellie came from the hall that led to the kitchen, carrying Madeline wrapped in a light blanket. “Your mother’s baking cookies with the girls,” she said to Caleb. “I need to grab a shawl.”

Madeline was still too small to leave behind for that many hours, and she slept most of the time, anyway, so she was coming along.

Lorabeth took her shawl from over her arm and draped it around her shoulders. “I made pies,” she told Ben.

Flynn picked up the crate that must hold her covered desserts, handed it to Ben, and they made their way to Ben’s buggy. While Ben stowed the pies, Flynn helped her up to the seat.

“What kind are they?” Ben asked, taking up the reins. “The pies.”

“Pumpkin. Do you like pumpkin?”

“One of my favorites.”

Lorabeth had to sit close in order for Flynn to fit on her other side, and the cramped space was no hardship. He enjoyed her presence beside him, her sweet fragrance reaching his senses immediately.

“Where do the animals go when people are dancing in their barn?” Lorabeth asked.

Ben exchanged a look with Flynn, and his brother looked away as though the countryside suddenly held particular fascination.

“The farmer herds them all into pens and corrals and pastures while he cleans out the barn during the day. He leaves them there for the evening.”

“And they don’t mind?” she asked.

Flynn wouldn’t look at him.

“The cows and horses? No, I don’t think they mind.”

“Do the Iversons have a Victrola?” she asked.

Ben wondered what difference that made, then figured it out. “There are musicians,” he told her. “Plenty of local talent in these parts.”

Lorabeth looked to Flynn. “That’s why you’ve brought your violin? To play with the musicians?”

Flynn nodded with a grin. “Yes’m.”

“Well, this will be more of a treat than I’d even imagined.”

“Wait till you see. All the schoolgirls line up near the front to watch ’im,” Ben teased.

“Nah, they don’t,” Flynn replied, and a smudge of ruddy color tinged his lean cheek.

“Wait and see,” Ben told Lorabeth.

She laughed at their good-natured joking.

Lorabeth asked questions about the farms and fields they passed.

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.