HER SECRET 16

‘I’m sure it’s hard for him. He thinks he’s doing the right thing. He wants to take care of Will and me, but in his way. He’s yet to accept I’m a grown

woman capable of standing on my own and making my own decisions.’

‘You’re making excuses for him, darlin’. In truth, your background isn’t any more privileged than my own undistinguished upbringing.’

‘Sometimes I think we become what we are despite our families rather than because of them.’

‘Depends on who you are, I reckon.’

She rested her head against his side. With all the ice outside, she felt as though they were encased inside a glass dome, where nothing else could get in or out.

‘Let’s not talk about our families,’ she said. ‘Please. Not this morning.’

He grinned down on her. ‘Are you hungry? The power’s back on, and I think there’s an egg or two in that itty-bitty refrigerator.’

She shook her head. ‘No, I’m not hungry right now.’

He shrugged. ‘Well, I can’t turn the horses out in this and I don’t have a television set here, so I