Tupelo Gold: Sweeter than Honey (Eclipse Heat Book 4) Read Online Free

staring at the food on the tray intently.
    Comfort took her hand and drew her closer studying her. Then she stood and led the way to the meal.
    It seemed to Hamilton that both he and Jacob let out a long sigh at the same time.  Jacob remained standing until Comfort sat Sally down on the sofa, unfolded a napkin across her lap, placing a plate with a sandwich on it in her hands.
    “It’s a long trip from Wichita children. I expect you’re tired and hungry.  Let’s take care of the first and then we’ll see about the second.”
    Except for the slight flush that stained her cheeks pink as she spoke to the children, no one would ever have suspected that Comfort was upset. Her welcome to Hamilton though, was the polite greeting of an innkeeper to a guest for the night.
    After her initial glance, Comfort focused all of her attention on the two children, leaving Hamilton to pour his own coffee which turned out to be hot chocolate. He set his cup aside and reached for a plate.
    While he’d been assessing the situation, the kids consumed the contents on the platter. There was one sandwich left by the time he reached for it. Jacob reached at the same time.
    “Hamilton,” Comfort said sharply. He dropped his hand and watched Jacob retrieve the prize and stuff it into his mouth.  
    As the kid gobbled down the sandwich, Hamilton read his son’s smug expression well. He’d seen the same look of satisfaction in the mirror often enough to recognize it.
      He avoided Comfort’s gaze. Talk would come later when there was no audience. He poured the cup of chocolate back into the urn and went in search of a different brew in the kitchen.
    “Marta, could a man find a fresh cup of coffee out here?” he asked hopefully.
    “Reckon a man might. But there ain’t none of those to be had around here. Low down skunks, now. We’ve got them a plenty.”
    Normally when he came home from a trip to Wichita, even if Comfort was still at the store, Mrs. Carmichael went out of her way to see that he was pampered. He had a sinking feeling those days were gone. Hamilton could see the coffee pot on the stove, but he saved combat for later and withdrew.
    When the women shifted their focus from loathing him on sight, to accepting the children, he breathed easier.
    While Comfort and Mrs. Carmichael planned bedrooms for each, he studied the kids. Physically there was little resemblance but it was their night and day personalities that fascinated him. The boy radiated suspicious aggression, hovering protectively near his sister like a wolf guarding his pack.
    Hamilton grimly contemplated what horrors these two might have faced in the past. The boy seemed closer to sixteen than six, but the girl appeared even younger than the five years she claimed. She barely spoke, and when she did, her words were delivered in a whisper.
    Sally. Hamilton had a difficult time even remembering her name. It was if she’d learned to minimize herself. Her pale curls and shy demeanor made her almost invisible.
    * * * * *
    Hamilton had plenty of time to consider things over the next few days. Comfort mothered the kids from the first day forward. Both his wife and the housekeeper worked tirelessly to make the children feel at home. Comfort’s ready welcome, didn’t extend to him.
    After Comfort’s friends began to stop by, bringing gifts for Jacob and Sally, Ham escaped. Secure in the knowledge that Comfort would let no harm come to the kids, he left them with her and spent long days on the Double-Q doing ranch work.
    He thanked God when he learned he’d missed the visit from his brother’s wife, Lucy Quince. No doubt Lucifer had gnashed her teeth at the lost opportunity to lay a few choice words on him. The thought almost made him smile. Quincy’s woman didn’t hold back on her opinions.
    Hamilton lost his smile when he considered that Brody might have accompanied his sister-in-law. He’d considered how to introduce the cousins. Nothing seemed right but he knew