Unlawfully Wedded Bride. Noelle Marchand
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Название: Unlawfully Wedded Bride
Автор: Noelle Marchand
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Исторические любовные романы
Серия: Mills & Boon Love Inspired Historical
isbn: 9781408957073
isbn:
The sheriff sank into the wooden chair behind the desk and motioned Nathan to sit down. “I’ve been bringing the boy here during the day and home with me at night but it unnerves the missus some. I was thinking on what I could do for the boy and it hit me.”
Nathan waited as the sheriff let the tension build.
“You and Kate should take the boy.”
“What?” Nathan exclaimed.
“You and Kate should take the boy. He could work in the fields and sleep in the barn with you. You two would only have to feed him and steer him in the right direction.”
Nathan stared at the sheriff in disbelief. “We can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
Nathan glanced at the boy, who tried not to appear to be listening to the conversation. “It just isn’t right. The boy should have a home if he doesn’t already. Surely someone will want to take him in.”
“Yes, but not everyone would be a good influence on the boy. He’s been a thief and a drifter. All I’m asking is that you let him work as payment for the things he tried to steal. It will be a good lesson for him.”
Nathan leaned across the desk to speak in a low tone. “If he’s a thief, wouldn’t he be a bad influence on Sean and Ellie?”
“No, those kids are strong. Their ma raised them right. Look at it this way, the O’Briens will be three good influences. Wouldn’t three good influences cancel out one bad one?”
Nathan sat back in his chair, wincing just a tad when his back made contact with the wood. If the boy and I harvested half of the field, Kate wouldn’t have to pay fifteen percent off that. That would be a fair amount of money saved. The boy needs someone to turn his life around. Who knows why he’s on his own?
Nathan glanced at the boy, who’d dropped all pretenses and was eagerly listening to the conversation about his future. He couldn’t be more than a year or two older than Sean. But by God’s grace, life could have dealt him such a blow.
Nathan looked at the sheriff, who waited tensely for an answer. Two months, Nathan reminded himself. All I can offer is two months, and no more. Nathan’s voice was low, hopefully too low for the boy to hear, as he said, “If Kate and I take him in, it can’t be forever, understand?”
“Of course,” the sheriff complied. “I’m just asking you to show him how to do good, honest work. Give him some sort of skill so he’ll have something to fall back on other than stealing.”
“And you’ll look for a real family for the boy?”
“Yes.”
Nathan blew air past his lips then shook his head before he stood. “I’ll try to convince Kate but if she says no …” He shook his head again.
“I understand,” Sheriff Hawkins said, rising quickly to shake his hand. “Thank you.”
Nathan strode toward the door then turned to look at the boy still watching from his seat. “What’s your name?”
“Lawson,” he responded clearly.
“Lawson what?”
The boy’s hazel eyes watched him carefully. “It’s just Lawson.”
Nathan looked at him for a moment, then nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”
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