The Man In Charge by Judith Lyons

Author:Judith Lyons
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Silhouette
Published: 2002-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Griff sat in the Jeep with Juliana and Perry riding in the seat next to him, the morning sun still low in the sky. It had taken two days for him to get the cabin to an acceptable point.

It had taken his men a full day to clean a hundred years of dirt from the walls and floors before they could start moving furniture and amenities in. And they’d spent all day yesterday with those details.

Juliana hadn’t been happy about the delay. An opinion she’d shared with Talon numerous times over the small time span, if the soldier’s reports had meant anything. And one she’d shared with Griff first thing this morning. But the delay had been unavoidable.

Juliana had been raised in the Bjorlian palace, there was no way he was going to have her staying in a ramshackle cabin. And he wasn’t going to have Perry crawling around on cold drafty floors, either.

The Jeep’s engine whined in his ears and the cool morning air nipped at his face. The cabin might be ready to go, but he sure as hell wasn’t. He’d rather be walking into battle right now than heading to that tiny cabin. His nerves were drawn tighter than a hangman’s noose. What had he been thinking when he’d agreed to this ridiculous plan? That cabin was tiny, and it had grown tinier with every stick of furniture he’d stuck in it. They weren’t going to be able to move without bumping into each other.

He knew how tight quarters could grate on people’s nerves and bring emotions to a boiling point. He’d seen the ugly results time and time again inside the trailer he’d grown up in.

He couldn’t let that happen here.

He drew a deep breath, flexed his hands on the wheel and then slowly released the air from his lungs, trying to slow the racing of his heart and get ahold of the dark tendrils wrapping around his neck and squeezing hard. This situation was nothing like his childhood. Nothing bad was going to happen in this cabin.

He glanced at Juliana. She sat in the seat next to him, Perry in her arms, the wind blowing her silky hair behind her, her cheeks rosy from the morning chill. She was so beautiful. He couldn’t imagine hurting her.

But how could he be certain he wouldn’t? Surely his father had loved his mother once. He couldn’t imagine his mother marrying the man if he’d abused her before the wedding. So when had the old man started hitting her? A year after the wedding? A month? A week? Oh, God, what had he gotten himself into?

He took another deep breath, forcing those thoughts into a dark closet and slamming the door on them. He was being ridiculous. This little interlude would last only four days. He could certainly keep things together for that length of time.

He maneuvered the Jeep through the woods and pulled up in front of the cabin. He vaulted out and strode around to Juliana’s side.

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