Angels In Red by Adelle Laudan Page A

when she was just a little girl.
    “Of course I do.”  Jack brushed his lips across her knuckles. “I’ll manage. You’ll only be gone a couple of days, right Charles?”
    “Oh, uh, yes,” he stammered, surprised his presence was acknowledged. “I would think three or four days, depending on how long he…”
    He pressed his lips together. Yes, the man had acted like a complete ass the past four or five years, but he’d worked alongside Kenneth for many years now. His life would have turned out very differently if he hadn’t hired him.
    Charles cleared his throat noisily. “I’m not sure how he did it, but your father has pre-arranged everything. The will is to be read the day after his death, naming you as executrix. I imagine there will be a few details to take care of in regard to the house and staff.”
    Jenna held up a hand to stop him. “Okay, I’ll go. I’m not crazy about leaving here, but I guess I should be there.”
    Her knuckles turned white as she tightened her hold on Jack’s hand and moved closer to his side. Even so, Charles couldn’t help being happy she’d decided to return with him. Selfish or not, he looked forward to spending some quality time with her. He still wasn’t used to not seeing her every day.
    He hoped the old guy hung in there long enough to see his daughter, but in the same breath, he prayed she wouldn’t bear the brunt of his nasty disposition.
 

Chapter Ten
     
    The Lutsen Mountains gradually faded into the horizon. They’d been on the road less than an hour and Jenna already missed Jack so badly her heart hurt.
    She’d spent so much time justifying her right to be angry with her father, she never once thought of things from his point of view. There was no disputing the arrangement he’d made with Howard Meed was wrong. It was her who ran off, not him who abandoned her. Was he hurt? Did he shed a tear over me behind closed doors?
    Jenna put down the visor to block the blinding sun. “Did my father ever talk about me?”
    Charles shifted in his seat. “Every now and then, I guess.”
    She narrowed her gaze on him, sensing there was something he wasn’t telling her. “How did he react when you came home without me at Christmas time?”
    He blew out a rush of air. “What do you want me to say?”
    “Is it that bad?”
    He shrugged. “No, he just thought you were punishing him for setting you up with Harold.”
    “Well, I was pissed off. Who wouldn’t be?” She shook her head in disgust. “I guess it was pretty dumb of me to think he might have missed me, even just a little.”
    “I’m sorry, kid.”
    What a fool I am to have entertained the thought he actually cares about me, not just as part of a ridiculous business deal. How much was my hand in marriage worth to him? She shook her head and straightened in her seat. No more. I will not set myself up, only to be shot down by his indifference toward me.
    Jenna recalled the diary entries. “Did I tell you about my mother’s diary?”
    Charles shook his head in response as he maneuvered around an old lady who seemed to be sightseeing at thirty mph.
    “Before I left the estate the night of my father’s birthday party, I snuck into my mother’s sitting room and took a diary from her writing desk.” She saw the surprise on his face. “Yes, I know I was treading on forbidden territory, but at that moment in time I didn’t give a shit what my father wanted. So, when Jack and his dogs found me under the snow, he also found the diary underneath me. It wasn’t until I woke up and began healing that he gave it to me.”
    “I didn’t think anything was recovered from your car?” He kept his eyes on the road.
    “I had stuffed the diary in my coat pocket.” She shrugged. “Unfortunately, the book was near ruin from blood stains and being soaked from the snow.” Jenna shuddered. “I could only decipher two entries…one at the beginning and one at the end.”
    “That’s too bad, kiddo. So, what has you