“Thank you.” Two such small words, but what else could she say?
Angela settled in the chair next to her. “Jude says you rescued Gil?”
Heat flushed her cheeks, and she shook her head. “More like he rescued me. He helped me get away from my father.” She searched for another way to explain without having to tell the entire story. Gil would likely share everything, but that felt like such a long conversation, and she couldn’t find the energy to start it yet.
Angela rested a hand on the table. “It sounds like you’ve had a hard go of it. I’m sorry.”
Jess took a bite of stew as she searched for an answer. Something other thanthank you. Or a false reassurance likeIt wasn’t so hard.
Angela spoke again though, saving her the trouble. “I haven’t ever had to escape my father, but I remember when I first met Jude. We were traveling west on a train, then we moved to a steamship. At one point, we realized we were being followed by men I’d worked with. It turned into quite an ordeal, and at one point, I wasn’t sure Jude or I would make it out alive.” Her gaze had turned distant, but now she refocused on Jess, shifting her hand to rest on Jess’s arm. Her warm tone nudged aside some of the distance between them, making Angela feel more like a friend. “I’m glad you had Gil. He’s a good man. I’m sure the two of you were a great help to each other.”
Jess could only nod and take another bite. She needed this food more than she’d realized.
The front door opened, and a man stepped inside. She’d not seen him before, but he looked a little like an older version of Jude.
Jude followed him inside, trailed by Miles, Two Stones, and another man. A third stranger brought up the rear, closing the door behind him. His auburn curls looked as different from most of the others as Two Stones’s rich black braids did.
The first man—probably Jericho, the eldest, if she had to guess—aimed straight for the open door to the room where Gil lay. But Jude scanned the room until his eyes caught on Angela’s. He moved toward her like a magnet, stopping behind her chair with his hands on her shoulders as he bent to press a kiss to her cheek.
Once again, Jess tried to look away quickly enough to give them privacy, but she couldn’t help but see the way Jude’s hand dropped to his wife’s middle for a second, before pulling back.
Jess focused on her food and gulped down another bite.
“How are you both and our sweet babies? These ladies know how to make a stew, don’t they, Jess?” His eyes twinkled as he spoke. He didn’t seem embarrassed about mentioning their unborn babe in front of her, as though the child already wiggled on the floor between them. As though he was happy about their coming gift.
Blasted tears burned her eyes again, and she willed them away so neither of these nice people saw her emotion. If only she’d done things differently. If only she’d not wanted control so desperately that she’d pushed Alex so far.
She might one day have a husband who looked at her the way Jude looked at Angela. A husband who wanted children with her, offspring of their love.
If only she could go hide away with Gil. Sit by his bed without all these strangers around. She was safe with him. And she didn’t have to wish things were different.
With Gil, she didn’t have to try to be what he wanted. She only had to be. He accepted her exactly the way she was.
Nay, he did far more than accept her. He looked at her almost the way Jude looked at Angela. Not exactly the same. Gil possessed a bit more charm and flair than this brother. Something she loved about him. A trait that had drawn her from the very beginning.
Jude and Angela were looking at her now, as though waiting for her to speak. Had they asked her a question? She searched the recent conversation in her mind. Jude had asked how she liked the stew, then…
He dipped his head closer to his wife’s ear, drawing attention from trying to remember what she was supposed to answer. When he spoke, his words were quieter, meant for Angela, but he sent a smile to Jess.
“Miss McPharland is expecting a little one too. Like us. I told her you’d love to talk to her. Maybe she’s experienced that heartburn you’ve been struggling with.”
Angela’s eyes widened, yet not in horror. Pleasure bloomed over her face, and she took Jess’s hand in both of hers. “Oh, Jess. How wonderful.”
Jess worked for a smile. Angela had surely realized that Jude called herMiss, notMrs. Most women would shun her, from what she’d gathered from the doctor and a few books she’d read.
But Angela didn’t stop with squeezing her hand, she moved her arms to Jess’s shoulders and pulled her in for a hug. “Jess, I’m so, so very glad you’ve come. I know we just met, but I feel like we’ve been friends for years. There’s something about you that makes you seem like a sister.”
Jess stayed still for a moment, not daring to move lest she do something wrong. She hadn’t been hugged by a woman since…since Mama. And that had been twelve years before.
As Angela squeezed, Jess returned the embrace, which felt like the right thing to do. She settled her hands on Angela’s backand let herself breathe in the hug. Angela smelled like stew and roses, a combination so real, her body gradually came to life.
Maybe for the first time since they crept away from the only home she’d ever known in the middle of the night.
Tears welled, burning so fiercely she couldn’t hold them back. As they leaked down her cheeks and into Angela’s hair, a sob forced its way up her throat. She couldn’t cry on this woman. This stranger.
Yet she couldn’t stop herself. With Angela’s soft arms around her, her body chose to break through the numbness that had been holding her together the last two days.
Oh, God. This hurts so much.
