Love's First Flames (Banished Saga, 0.5) by Ramona Flightner Page A

McLeod! I hadn’t thought you’d call.”
    “You told me that Mrs. Kruger wanted to meet the man who introduced you to a new bakery,” Richard said with an impish smile. “And I thought it would be a minimal imposition to partake in some of the delicious fruitcake I see you purchase every day.”
    “No imposition, my boy. No imposition at all,” Mrs. Kruger said as she watched avidly the silent interaction between Florence and Richard. “And you can stop glowering.” She glared at Gabriel. “It’s good for young people to show an interest.”
    Gabriel jerked and bit his lip as though fighting laughter. “Yes, ma’am.”
    “It might do you good to find a woman of your own,” Mrs. Kruger said. “Then you’d stop fretting about your brother like a mother hen.”
    “In time, Mrs. Kruger.” Gabriel continued to study Florence as she settled in a hard wooden chair, dragged over from a nearby desk with Richard’s help. She sat between Mrs. Kruger and Richard.
    “Well, time is the one thing you young people are good at wasting. If you had any sense, you’d know better than to throw away your youth worrying about tomorrows. Be happy now. Be content with the present rather than always dreaming of the future.”
    “I’ll keep that in mind,” Gabriel said.
    “Which means you’ll ignore it like all the others. Mark my words, young man. One day, you’ll regret the time you wasted dithering. No woman likes a man who dithers. And no man should spend his life bemoaning what he wished he’d done. Don’t be one of those.”
    “What he won’t tell you, ma’am,” Richard said, “is that he won’t think about himself until he’s certain Jer and I are all right.”
    “Who’s this Jer, and why isn’t he here with you?” Mrs. Kruger asked as she nodded her thanks to Florence for pouring her a cup of tea with milk and one sugar added.
    “Just sugar, please,” Richard said, and Gabriel indicated the same with a terse nod. “Jeremy is our youngest brother. He’s still in high school. Gabriel insists Jeremy finish high school, although it was good enough for us to apprentice out for a trade. We left Jeremy at his studies and decided to call on our free day.”
    “You apprenticed out after you finished your studies,” Gabriel hissed.
    “You’ve taken on the role of parent then,” Mrs. Kruger said to Gabriel. “And in the process, lost your youth. Poor boy.” She looked at Gabriel with compassion as he bristled. “You’re a boy in my eyes, especially when you get to be my age.”
    She took a dainty sip of tea and nibbled at the fruitcake. She smiled appreciatively as Gabriel and Richard wolfed down their pieces of cake. “Have more. There’s plenty. I so rarely am able to share my fruitcake with anyone outside of the house. Where are your parents?”
    “They died in a fire years ago. I was twelve. We’ve lived with an aunt since then,” Gabriel said, his voice flat and emotionless.
    “And have had no one to truly care for you in all that time,” Mrs. Kruger murmured. “I would hazard a guess this aunt isn’t pleased you boys are at her house. Or that you have managed so well.”
    Gabriel squinted his eyes as he studied Mrs. Kruger. “You’re quite perceptive.”
    “When given the chance. And it’s far too rare nowadays. By the looks of you, you rarely eat all you need. Your clothes are years out of date and poorly fitting, and you have the look of those who are . . .” Her voice trailed away as she sighed with sadness.
    “Mrs. Kruger?” Florence asked, reaching to touch the old woman’s hand. She raised worried eyes to Richard to find him holding himself rigidly, the teacup set on the small table.
    “Hunted,” Mrs. Kruger whispered. “They’ve shown you very little care, haven’t they? And delight in tormenting you.” The last she said as fact, rather than a question.
    “We’ve had a place to sleep and food,” Gabriel said.
    “A soul needs more than food, clothes and shelter