"Roberts, Nora - Irish Hearts 1 - Irish Thoroughbred" - читать интересную книгу автора (Roberts Nora)


Irish Hearts
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Nora Roberts
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Irish Hearts - book 1

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Irish Thoroughbread
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Chapter 1
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Contents - Next

Adelia Cunnane stared out the window without seeing the magic layer of
clouds. Some formed into mountains, others glaciers, flattening and
thinning into an ice-encrusted lake; but, for one experiencing her first
air journey, she found the view uninspiring. Her mind was crowded with
doubts and uncertainties that merged with a strong pang of homesickness
for a small farm in Ireland. But both farm and Ireland were now very far
away, and every minute that crawled by brought her closer to America and
strangers. She knew, with a sigh of frustration, that nothing in her
life had ever prepared her properly to cope with either.

Her parents had been killed in a lorry accident, leaving her an orphan
at the tender age of ten. In the weeks that followed her parents' death,
Adelia had drifted though a fog of shock, turning inward to ward off the
agony of separation, the strange and terrifying feeling of desertion.
Slowly, a wall had been constructed around the pain, and she had thrown
herself into the work of the farm with an adult's dedication.

Her father's sister, Lettie Cunnane, had taken over both child and farm,
running both with a firm hand. Although never unkind, neither had she
been affectionate: she had possessed little patience or understanding
for the unpredictable, often tempestuous child.

The farm had been the only common ground between them, and woman and
child had built their relationship with the dark, fertile soil and the
hours of labor it required. They had lived and worked together for
nearly thirteen years; then Lettie had suffered a paralyzing stroke, and
Adelia had been forced to divide her time between the duties of the farm
and caring for an invalid's needs. Days and nights had merged together
as she waged the determined battle to shoulder the increasing
responsibility.