With Autumn's Return A Novel by Amanda Cabot

Author:Amanda Cabot
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: FIC042030, Christian, Historical, FIC027050, General, Romance, Christian Fiction, FIC042040, Wyoming—History—19th century—Fiction, Fiction, Love Stories
ISBN: 9781441236777
Publisher: Revell
Published: 2014-01-14T06:00:00+00:00

“Mr. Nordling?”

Jason nodded at the man who’d entered his office. A couple inches over six feet, he had the broad shoulders and calloused hands of a man accustomed to hard labor. A rancher, Jason surmised. And though his dark brown hair was dusty, his clothing was relatively new and well-made. Unlike some of the farmers who barely survived, it appeared that this man had prospered.

“Call me Jason,” he said as he ushered the man into his consulting room. His professors had stressed the importance of maintaining formality with clients, but they hadn’t practiced law in Wyoming Territory. Life was less formal here. Furthermore, Jason had discovered that a more relaxed atmosphere fostered a greater level of trust, and that was something both he and his clients needed.

“What can I do for you?”

“Harrison Landry told me about you.” As the man started to settle into a chair, he rose again and stuck out his hand. “I’m Kevin Granger, by the way.” When the pleasantries were completed, he took his seat and gazed at Jason. “No point in beating around the bush. I need to make sure my girls are cared for if I die.”

It wasn’t uncommon for a man to ask Jason to prepare a will so that his wife and children would be protected, but this was the first time a man as young as Kevin Granger had been so blunt. “Are you ill?” There were no visible signs, but Jason knew that some diseases attacked from the inside and weren’t evident until the end was near.

“No, sir,” Kevin said, “but I can’t take any chances. My wife wasn’t ill either. She just dropped dead a month after the baby was born. No warning at all.”

For a second, Jason was transported to the past and the day his father had died. There had been no warning then, either, at least none that Jason had seen. He wondered, though, whether the reverend had had a premonition, for it had been the previous night that he’d told Jason how important it was that the Nordling line continue.

“Lucky I was in the barn,” Kevin continued, wrenching Jason back to the present and the realization that this man was in the same situation the reverend had been: widowed with children. “I heard Ruby scream. When I got there, she was clutching her chest.”

Jason nodded as images of his father’s final moments flooded through him. The reverend had gripped his head, his grimace leaving no doubt that he’d been in excruciating pain. Doc Rollins had claimed that something must have burst inside his brain. This was different. It sounded as if Ruby Granger’s heart just gave out. Heart or brain, the result was the same.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Jason said. And he was. It had to be difficult to be a widower with more than one child, for Kevin had said girls, plural. But though he sympathized with the bereaved father, Jason’s heart went out to the children who’d lost their mother. He could only pray that they were not being raised by someone like Mrs.

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.