Cassandra Austin Read Online Free Page B

that. Jane stared at the beloved face. “Grams?”
    The hand she held was still hot, but the pulse she’d felt a moment before had stilled. Grams was gone.
    Jane had thought she was prepared for this but she found herself shaking. Unshed tears burned behindher eyes and formed a lump in her throat. She would have to face a future without Grams.
    “I won’t give up,” she whispered. “I won’t lose the boardinghouse. I’ll work hard and make you proud, Grams.”
    Adam arrived for breakfast at the appointed hour and found the parlor deserted. George stepped into the hall and motioned him toward the dining room. “The old lady died last night,” he said softly. “Such a shame. Jane’s gone to make the arrangements and has asked the Cartlands to fix breakfast. We’re trying to set the table.”
    Tim Martin was arranging plates and coffee cups, while Lawrence Bickford lounged against the sideboard. “What do you think?” Martin asked.
    “Does it matter?” Adam replied. “As long as we’ve got what we need to eat with.”
    “Dr. Hart, I’m surprised at you!” One of the Cartlands, the one with orange hair, had come in from the kitchen with a plate of biscuits. O for orange; it was Naomi. She gave him what could only be described as an indulgent smile. “The forks go on the left and the knives on the right,” she instructed Martin sternly before flouncing back into the kitchen.
    “You’ve been overruled,” Martin said softly. He went to work switching the flatware on his side of the table, and Adam stepped up to take care of the other.
    “How is Miss Sparks holding up?” he asked.
    “Haven’t seen her,” Martin answered. “Have you, George?”
    “Early this morning. She was her usual efficient self. She said her grandmother just slipped away in her sleep. It was a mercy, really. Ah, here comes breakfast.”
    The Cartland sisters paraded in, one with a platter of scrambled eggs and the other with sliced ham. Nedra spoke as she approached the table. “George, would you get the coffee? I swear that pot is just too heavy for either of us to be carrying around.”
    George moved quickly to do her bidding.
    When Naomi approached a chair near where he stood, Adam automatically stepped forward to hold it for her. Her flirtatious smile made him curse his ingrained manners.
    Naomi was in Jane’s place, Adam to her right and Nedra to her left. George filled the coffee cups, and, when he was seated, the Cartlands started the platters around the table.
    “Cooking for this many people is quite an experience,” Naomi commented.
    The eggs were so rubbery Adam was sure he saw them bounce when he dropped them on his plate.
    “So many things to watch at once,” her sister concurred. “Why, I swear it would tax less intelligent women.”
    Adam heard a biscuit actually clink against George’s plate.
    “Jane makes it look so easy,” Martin commented.
    Naomi tossed her head as if the comment was inconsequential. “I suppose if one has no other skills, cooking for large groups of people would at least be something.”
    Her sister nodded. “But we thought it was our duty to be of help to poor Jane.”
    The men politely murmured their understanding and thankfulness. All of the women’s comments had been directed toward Adam, and they watched his every move. He took a sip of coffee and put the cup down quickly, hoping they hadn’t seen his grimace, then hoping they had. They had used an egg to settle the grounds, but the coffee had been allowed to boil again afterward, leaving it tasting more like eggs than the eggs on his plate.
    Adam tried to eat a little of the poorly prepared food, telling himself that it was the nutrition that counted. A glance around the table told him the other men were doing the same.
    “There might be something to be said for practice,” Naomi commented.
    Murmurs of agreement echoed around the table.
    “Tell me, Adam,” Nedra began. “I can call you Adam, can’t I?” She fluttered