Coldhearted by Beverly Barton

Author:Beverly Barton [Barton, Beverly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-00-732892-5
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2008-10-20T04:00:00+00:00

Jordan was spending the morning resting, mostly to pacify Darlene and Roselynne, who had been hovering over her as if she were a helpless invalid ever since she came home from the hospital. Darlene had brought her breakfast upstairs on a tray and sat with her until she’d eaten a little of everything on her plate.

“You have to rebuild your strength, dear,” Darlene had told her.

Now, half an hour after Jordan had persuaded Darlene to leave her alone, Roselynne and Tammy breezed in. Tammy carried a bouquet of spring flowers, no doubt picked from the gardens here at Price Manor. While Tammy put the flowers in a vase, Roselynne plumped Jordan’s pillows and straightened the covers.

“You’re looking much better today. You have more color in your cheeks.” Roselynne kissed Jordan on the forehead and patted her shoulder. “It’ll take time, but you’ll get over this.” She lowered her voice so that only Jordan could hear. “None of you children ever knew this, but I had a miscarriage only a few months after your daddy and I got married. It broke our hearts.”

Jordan hadn’t known, had never even suspected that her stepmother had been pregnant. Was that the reason her father had married Roselynne, because she’d been carrying his child? If so, that certainly explained a lot of things.

After placing the bouquet on the nightstand to Jordan’s right, Tammy sat down on the side of the bed. “Mama says you’re going to be just fine and one day you’ll get married again and have us another baby.”

“Tammy!” Roselynne scolded.

Tammy’s eyes flooded with tears. “What—what did I do wrong?”

Jordan grasped Tammy’s hand. “You didn’t do anything wrong.” She glanced up at her stepmother. “Really, Roselynne, it’s all right.”

Roselynne shook her head and grunted. “When will I learn to keep my big mouth shut? I was just thinking out loud when I said that about your getting married again. I should know better than to do that around our Tammy.”

“Then Mama was right?” Tammy asked. “You will have us another baby someday, won’t you? We really were looking forward to having a baby to love. I had started knitting her a little sweater.”

Roselynne’s brow wrinkled. “Tammy, sweetie, maybe we should go and let Jordan rest now.”

Jordan hugged Tammy, who hopped off the bed and, smiling brightly, waltzed out of the room. Roselynne followed, but paused at the door.

“If I could give you what you deserved, I’d pick you out a man worthy of you, somebody who’d love you the way you should be loved. And I’d wish you a good marriage and a bunch of children. Maybe someday.”

Before Jordan could even think of a reply, Roselynne left. The last thing on Jordan’s mind was remarrying and having children. She had tried marriage twice and both had ended in tragedy. As for a child…Her hand automatically went straight to her stomach. Her baby was gone. Devon’s baby. Odd how she hadn’t really thought of her child as Devon’s. She supposed in her heart, she

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