But, of course, he didn't move. His hands remained bolted to his sides, and not a hint of softness crept into his hardened gaze. The only protection was in distance. If he cracked?even for an instant, as long as it took to say, "I love you"?the evil in his soul would slip out and devour his children.

But he wanted to. Sweet Christ, how he wanted to.

He swallowed the boulder-sized lump in his throat and prayed the emotions in his heart didn't reach his eyes. "She's fine. Doc Hayes says she'll be confused for a while. Might even forget some things. We're supposed to help her out."

Katie peeked her head out from behind Savannah. "Caleb's a good name."

"Caleb, huh?"

"Mama won't like it," Savannah said tonelessly.

Because we do. Jack had no trouble finishing the sad sentence. She was right, and all three of them knew it.

31

Amarylis took pleasure in stealing their joy. Jack knew he should say nothing, should simply turn his back and walk away. But God help him, he couldn't. Before he knew it, he found himself saying, "Well, maybe we should try it now, while she's ... confused."

At Savannah's sudden smile, Jack felt a new wave of despair. It took so little to make his girls happy. So very, very little. And, damn his soul, he gave them even less.

"Carol," Tess hissed as soon as the door closed. "Get down here. Now!"

Tess moved higher in bed. "Carol!"

No answer.

Tess let her breath out in a frustrated sigh. She hadn't really expected Carol to answer. Apparently ghostly intervention was reserved for postdeath experiences. New lives were a new slate.

What was she supposed to do now? Be a pioneer wife? She shuddered at the thought. She didn't even like movies about pioneer wives. The women were always so dirty and overworked.

She glanced down at the baby curled so peacefully beside her and felt a rush of confusing emotions. Fear, hope, excitement. Mostly fear.

She didn't know the first thing about being a mother. Or a wife, for that matter. She'd never really been part of a family in her life. She'd never been in love, and now here she was, the matriarch of an apparently frightened, dysfunctional family and the mother of three?including a newborn. She didn't cook, clean, sew, understand children, or communicate particularly well.

She should have chosen the knight in shining armor. At least she could have outrun him.

"It's perfect, Carol," she said sarcastically. "I should fit right in."

32

The sarcastic words were barely past her lips when she heard the doorknob turn. Seconds later, the family filed into her bedroom like a contingent of mute, defeated soldiers, with Jack in the lead. He stood tall and proud, far enough away from the girls to keep his distance, and yet close enough to make Tess wonder why he bothered to keep himself separate. His unkempt hair hung in wavy disarray to the broad shelf of his shoulders, where it lay curled like shavings of jet. Piercing green eyes impaled her from beneath a row of thick black eyebrows.

Savannah moved stiffly forward, her hands balled together at her waist. With her long, auburn braids and huge blue eyes, she looked like Dorothy facing the Wizard.

Tess leaned sideways in an attempt to see Katie. But the moment Tess shifted her weight, Katie scooted the opposite way. Again there was nothing to see but the child's drooping yellow ribbon and a flash of black hair.

Strange family, Tess thought again.

"Mama?" Savannah said quietly.

It took Tess a moment to remember that she was now their mother. Cautiously, she said, "Yes?"

"We ... We thought Caleb might be a nice name."

Tess glanced down at the baby in her arms. "Caleb." The word rolled off her tongue with just the right sound. Of course, it wasn't her place to name the baby, and she wouldn't have presumed to disagree, and yet, strangely, they had chosen exactly the name she would have picked. She nodded, smiling slowly. "It's perfect."

Katie poked her head out. "It is?"

Tess smiled softly at the little girl. "Did you think of it?"

Tags: Kristin Hannah Science Fiction
Source: readsnovelonline.net