OUT OF THE DARKNESS (THE PRESCOTT SERIES) (9 page)

Not wanting to disturb
the softly murmured hymn, Jade stood quietly and waited for the song to end.

~~~

Margaret turned to wipe off the table. Startled, her hand flew to her chest. The girl stood directly behind her. “My, you gave me a fright.” How do you do that? I never heard a sound.”

To cover her nervous agitation,
she became a flurry of activity, pulling out a chair and retrieving a plate full of hot cakes from the stove.

“Well, never mind. Sit down and eat. The others are
outside enjoying the sunshine.”

The
smile that crossed the girl’s face transformed her into quite a beauty. She was wearing the dress Margaret had laid out for her and her clean coppery red hair was a riotous mass of curls around her face.

The back
door flew open. Tyler and Janey rushed in babbling about a swing Jason had hung in a tree. Jason stood just inside the door, hand stilled on the door handle, Emma clutched in one arm, and his mouth agape.

Oh.
Better and better. “Don’t hover, Jason. Come in and close the door. She just sat down to breakfast.” Margaret tried to ignore the way he appeared glued to the threshold. “You can keep her company while she eats.”

Two sets of eyes swung her way, one with trepidation
, the other with a “What are you trying to pull here” glare.

“You can ask all those questions you forgot about last night,” Margaret suggested with a knowing grin.

She lifted Emma from Jason’s arms and took the children to the bedroom for a nap. Moments later, she returned to see a frustrated scowl marring Jason’s face.

“Ok, let’s try again. I’m Jason, this is Margaret.” He pronounce
d each syllable with great care, his annoyance apparent.

“She knows that.
” Margaret frowned. What in heaven’s name was he doing? The poor dear looked ready to bolt from the room in tears. When the girl looked at her, Margaret saw her visibly relax.

Jason
gave her a quailing look that said he was in charge of asking the questions. Margaret shrugged and let him continue. Men could be so insensitive and stubborn. Her little brother wasn’t any different. Each question he asked, the girl thwarted by her silence.

Jason swung his piercing stare toward
her. She poured a cup of coffee and took a seat at the table.

“Has she talked to you?”
A deep frown drew his brows together into a straight line.

“No.
” Margaret shrugged.

“Why not?
” She could see Jason’s frustration build. The tips of his ears had a slight pink tint. When he became angry, they would turn bright red.

“I guess
she didn’t have anything to say.” Margaret continued with evasive answers she knew would irritate Jason.

“Margaret.
” His tone held a don’t-add-to-my-frustration warning.

Margaret sipped her coffee and watched the interaction with amusement.
No matter what question Jason asked or how he phrased it, the ‘girl’ remained unresponsive.

When their guest finished eating, s
he scooped up her empty plate to wash in the sink.

“Did you at least find out her
name?” He leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms over his chest, and glared at Margaret.

“No.”

“Well, we can’t keep calling her ‘girl’ that’s for sure. What do you call her?” he asked.

“I call her ‘dear’ m
ost times.”

A
n impish grin touch the ‘girl’s’ lips. Ah, a sense of humor, that’s good. Jason needed laughter in his life.

“Margaret.” There was that
frustrated tone again.

Jason took a de
ep breath and let it out slowly. The tension she’d seen building in his shoulders eased. Did he realize she was trying to lighten his mood?

“Well I refuse to call her “dear most times,” Jason
teased.

Margaret laughed. The impish grin on the girl’s face
grew into a wide smile.

“Jason, she has been through a
lot, let’s give her time, okay?” She patted his shoulder as she returned to her chair.

“Okay. But
I’m giving her a name. I refuse to call her ‘girl’ again. I thought the name Jade would suit her.”

The girl’s
head jerked up, and her gaze collided with Jason’s. Had the name Jade sounded familiar to her?

Margaret gave him a quizzical look. “Why
, Jade?”

“Her eyes,” Jason said softly.

Funny she hadn’t noticed the color of the ‘girl’s’ eyes. She wondered when Jason had. One thing for sure, they had captured her brothers attention.

“Jade it is then,” Margaret said cheerfully. Rising from the table, she said, “Jason would you bring some wood in so I can start the noon meal, John will be here soon.” She was anxious to see her husband
after this week’s separation.

John? Was he another relative who would ask questions she couldn’t answer? She hoped not. She couldn’t answer the questions she asked herself. One of which was; how she could be so attracted to Margaret’s husband? She studied his long gaited swagger as he went out the backdoor.

The
instant affinity she felt for him puzzled her. If she could be this attracted to a near stranger where did that leave her baby’s father, a man she surely cared for.

The blush that stole over her face ea
ch time she looked at him was obvious. Surely, it wouldn’t pass any ones attention if they were watching. His proximity left her vulnerable to the riot of emotions clamoring through her. Jade hated to think how hurt Margaret would be if she noticed.

They were a handsome couple, both dark headed, the same blue
eyes that they had passed on to each child. A disarming rapport existed between them. They teased and laughed with a familiar ease. She rubbed her temples in confusion. They were an odd pair though. Jade perceived no passion between them. Surely, a marriage should have passion. No stolen kisses, no display of affection, yet you couldn’t help but see the love and respect they had for one another.

Well it was none of her business. She stood and wandered around the room, refolding
afghans, picking up toys, straightening table covers.

Jason returned with an arm full of firewood and dropped it into the wood
en box next to the stove. An air of excitement filled the house. Margaret worked in the kitchen with a nervous energy. The children crawled around on the floor chasing Emma, since this was her only form of mobility. Jason paced from the window to the door, opened it, looked down the trail, then shut the door, only to open it again. Jade became very edgy. Who was John that his arrival caused such an upheaval?

Everyone’s head swiveled toward the front of the house at the
sound of a wagon. Margaret whipped off her apron, patted her hair several times, and headed for the door. Jason saw her coming, stepped aside, and held the door open for her as she breezed past him. Tyler scurried after her. Jason scooped Emma and Janey up off the floor to wait on the porch. Jade stood behind Jason in the doorway where she could see them greet John.

Jade was extremely aware of Jason’s lanky frame in front of her.
Muscles in his wide shoulders twitched beneath his shirt as he held both girls. Tendons bulged on his forearms. Tight pants encased narrow hips and hugged his powerful thighs. The familiar warmth invaded her body along with the guilt over her fascination with Margaret’s husband.

A
team of horses halted in front of the house. A man jumped down from the wagon seat and landed lightly on his feet. Not as tall or broad as Jason, nor as handsome, was Jade’s first impression. His dark brown hair fell forward onto his wide forehead, and his hazel eyes sparkled with joy. Laughing, Margaret ran to him. Muscular arms wrapped around her and lifted her up to swing her around. She kissed him on the mouth and hugged him. Here was the passion she found lacking between Jason and Margaret.

She
glanced at Jason to see his reaction to this man hugging and kissing his wife. He didn’t seem like a man who would tolerate unseemly behavior from his wife. Yet, he stood smiling, surveying the scene before him, then leaned over to put a squirming Janey down. The child went running toward the couple shrieking with laughter and bumped into Tyler who jumped up and down screaming, “Daddy, Daddy.”

Shocked, her gaze went from John to Ty
ler and saw little resemblance. But, if this man was Tyler and Janey’s father, he must be Margaret’s husband. By the way they were draped over each other, it would be a safe conclusion. Then what did that make Jason, who still held Emma. Neither of which took part in the family reunion.

It alleviated the guilt over her attraction to Jason knowing he was not Margaret’s husband. It also brought many other questions to mind.

Margaret ushered everyone into the house complaining she had held supper long enough. She scolded John for being late as she set food on the table. John and Jason looked at each other and burst out laughing. Margaret smiled at them both and blushed.

Jade wandered around the room as
Margaret set out the evening meal. She stood next to the fireplace, her eyes riveted on a framed tintype on the mantle. The woman sitting in a chair held a small baby snuggled on her lap. A little girl stood beside her, a ruffled pinafore covered her simple dress. The man at her side, with his hand on her shoulder, resembled Jason to a large degree, yet, the eyes were not Jason’s.

Her hands grasped the
mantle, her knuckles turned white. Another man and woman with small children gathered around floated in her memory. Blurred, fragmented memories. Painful memories. She waited breathlessly for the memories to congeal into a clear image of the past. Nothing. The past tormented her by dancing just out of her reach. For a moment in time, she could see things clearly. Then watch helplessly as they vanished into the darkness.

A gentle tou
ch on her shoulder startled her. She whirled her head around in a swift movement to stare into the blue eyes of the hands owner. Jason stood with a rueful smile on his face.

Jason
had observed the distant expression in Jade’s eyes. Watching her closely as pain washed over her lovely features. Her grip on the mantle was one of desperation. Had fear swept her away into what held her in its thrall when she slept? Or was it something she visualized from the tintype of his family?

Earlier she and Margaret appeared to have a sort of silent communication. At first, he had thought
her lack of speech due to the fact a person couldn’t get two words in edgewise when talking to his sister. Now he was taking a different perspective on the matter.

He accepted the fact that she couldn’t or wouldn’t communicate with anyone. Had
something traumatic happened to her that she had lost the ability to speak, or had she been born unable to talk? Margaret hadn’t found out anything about Jade so far, and he needed to know if she had anyone waiting for her before he could set his plan into motion.

Not wanting to startle her, he gently touched her shoulder
. She twisted at the waist to stare up at him and he was immediately swallowed up in the depths of her incredible green eyes.

“My parents,” he stated simply. “They
passed away before we came west,” Jason explained. “Margaret has supper ready if you would like to sit down.” Jason led Jade to the table with silent concern.

With supper over,
she and Margaret worked together: washing the dishes, setting the kitchen to rights. Jade felt comfortable in the kitchen, cooking and cleaning, although, she had no memory of doing such chores. When they finished they join the men and children in the family area.

Jason sat in his favorite chair holding a sleeping Emma, John and Margaret sat on the sofa each holding a child. Curious, Jade’s gaze passed from John, to Margaret, to Jason and back
again. Margaret glanced at her, and Jade masked her expression of bafflement. In the confusion of John’s arrival, everyone had neglected to introduce him to her. What was the relationship here?

“
I’m sorry Jade. You look confused. John,” Margaret said. She interrupted his conversation with Jason by tugging on his sleeve. John turned his head to smile at her. “This is Jade. Jade my husband, John.”

Jade looked at Jason
, then to Margaret who seem to understand the voiceless question in her eyes.

“Jason is my widowed brother.”
Relief washed over Jade like a flood. Self-condemnation had flicked her conscience with guilt. She hadn’t been lusting after another woman’s husband after all.

Margaret glanced down at the child in her arms.
“Looks like the long day has caught up with these little ones. Time for bed.”

John and Jason rose
, each held a sleeping child, and headed for the bedroom that John and Margaret would share.

“I’ll put
Tyler to bed and come back for Janey,” John said.