His For Christmas (12 page)

The boy
leaned
against
the
bed,
one
elbow
on
the
silken
white
sheets,
and
grinned,
a
gap
where
his
two
front
teeth
had
once
been.
“
Mr.
Whitley
dropped
a
bushel
of
potatoes
on
you.
”

“
Among
other
things,
”
said
the
woman
who
leveled
a
steady
glance
at
the
man
who
standing
slightly
behind
her.
“
He
mentioned
if
the
knock
on
your
head
wasn
’
t
going
to
kill
you,
then
it
was
the
multitude
of
smaller
objects
he
happened
to
drop
upon
you.
But
Elliot
has
assured
me
it
was
strictly
by
accident.
”

The
man
in
question
stepped
forward,
just
into
the
candlelight.
“
How
do
you
feel?
Doc
Warner
assured
me
there
should
be
no
lasting
harm
except
for
some
rather
nasty
bruising,
but
that
’
s
the
good
thing
about
them,
don
’
t
you
think?
”
His
dusky
red
lips
twitched.
“
They
don
’
t
last
very
long.
”

Ivy
had
opened
her
mouth
to
say
something
along
the
lines
of
an
apology
and
gratitude,
but
the
moment
the
man
stepped
into
the
light,
everything
coherent
left
her
mind.

Beautiful.

Eyes
the
color
of
a
dark
starless
night,
hair
the
same
shade
tied
back
in
a
loose
queue
at
the
nape
of
the
strong
column
of
his
neck,
he
wore
a
simple
white
shirt
underneath
a
pale
blue
vest
and
a
plain
black
cravat.
He
seemed
a
complete
gentleman,
but
instinctively,
she
knew
there
was
something
powerful
hidden
underneath
that
thin
veneer
of
civility.

Perhaps
it
was
in
the
way
he
held
his
shoulders.

Or
the
way
his
eyes
never
seemed
to
leave
her
face,
making
her
feel
very
much
the
prey
and
he
the
hunter.

A
perfectly
fanciful
thought,
but
then
again,
Ivy
had
always
been
somewhat
fanciful.
Most
likely,
it
was
that
particular
undesirable
trait
that
got
her
into
this
mess
in the first place.