Rumors and Promises Read Online Free

bear the thought of giving her up.
    The peacefulness of that dingy room was far from how the little one had come into being. Sophie had sworn never to become vulnerable enough to trust a man again. Granted, Ian McCormick was a minister, but he was still a man.
    She trembled with a chill, not from her damp skirt alone. No, indeed, she didn’t need such attention. Undoubtedly, Reverend McCormick was motivated by brotherly pity when it came to someone like herself. Schoolgirl crushes were a thing of her past. She’d matured. Sophie knew the difference between the hollow warmth and embarrassment a girl might feel on seeing a handsome, charming man and the truth of being in love. At least, she hoped that the emptiness and betrayal that had come from allowing infatuation to blossom had taught her a lesson.
    To Sophie, the true love of a man and a woman had to be the stuff of novels. She sighed. Although Nana and Grandpa Morton had that kind of love once, too. She saw it every time Grandpa had hobbled into their parlor, supported by his cane. His and Nana’s eyes still sparkled when their gazes met. She smiled at the thought … until she remembered that she had been ruined for the possibility of ever having it herself.
    No, Sophie would feel safer within the walls of Fairgrave’s Boardinghouse, going about her business and not letting any man get too close. Finding and opening her carpetbag, she looked for her everyday brown skirt.
    “Yoo-hoo! Sophie!” Esther’s voice floated up the stairs. “Would you like to warm up with some tea?”
    Caira stirred. Sophie patted her daughter, hoping the child’s nap wouldn’t be interrupted. Quickly changing her clothes, slipping through the door, and closing it, Sophie flinched at the squeak of the hinges.
    “You’ll find we’ve got lots of work to do here.” Mrs. Fairgrave puffed as she trudged up the stairs with a pail of water for the large pitcher on the washstand in the hall.
    “Let me help you.” Sophie put a finger to her mouth, hoping her employer would take the hint. She steadied the pitcher for the heavyset woman.
    “I’ll peel the taters to go with the stew meat. Then I’ll set some water on to boil so you can have a cup of tea and tell me all about yourself while our little gal is sleeping.”
    “There’s not much to tell, but the tea sounds lovely, and I would be happy to peel the potatoes for you.” Sophie nodded and then descended the stairway to the first floor.
    In the kitchen, at the back of the house, she searched for a paring knife so she could set to working while Mrs. Fairgrave hummed and pumped water into a kettle.
    “Looking for a knife? Here you go, dear. I set the potatoes out on the countertop.”
    Sophie nodded her thanks and smiled, taking the utensil. Outside the window, in the backyard, the blanket of snow thickened, glimmering in the slanting rays of sunlight.
    Snowflakes drifted with sparkling perfection onto the white covering below. They appeared clean and pure, but Sophie felt defiled—and unworthy. Each time she told someone Caira washer sister, unworthiness flooded her soul anew, but she would do anything to preserve her daughter’s reputation. How could it be that such a precious gift had come from such a vile act?
    Yet, they had to keep going. Sophie bit her lower lip and blinked against the clouding of her eyes. Having just arrived, she couldn’t let Mrs. Fairgrave find her like this. There would be lots to do before the day ended, but Sophie didn’t really mind. At least Caira and she would be warm and fed.
    Sophie heard her new employer’s lumbering gait as Esther made her way down the stairs and entered the kitchen. “Well, now, perhaps you’d like to know something about us here at the boardinghouse.” Esther grabbed a pot from a lower shelf and placed it on the table. “Mr. Graemer is our eldest resident. You’ll often find him napping in his favorite rocking chair.
    “Mr. Edwin Spitzer is a traveling salesman. He