A Bride for Tom Read Online Free PDF Page B

knelt down and purposely dug out
some of the soil in the pot and rubbed it on his hands. Then he
picked up the plant and set it back on the table. “There. All
better.” He ran his hands through his hair.
    “Uh...Tom...”
    He ruffled his hair again before he wiped his
hands on his pants. “What?”
    She looked as if she didn’t know what to
say.
    “Are you ready to dance?”
    Her eyes drifted to his hands.
    He held them up and inspected them. “Oh. Of
course. The dirt from the plant.” He pulled out the handkerchief
from his pocket and wiped them clean. “Better? If you want, I could
wash them. Though you might want to wash them for me. I can’t wash
my hands at home ever since the rotting floor incident.”
    “The rotting floor incident?”
    He hid his amusement at the mixture of
curiosity and horror on her face. “I had pumped the water into the
sink, but the water didn’t stop coming out so the kitchen
flooded.”
    “Surely, that’s not possible.”
    “I didn’t think so either until it happened.
It’s amazing how fast water can cover the whole floor. It took my
pa and brothers and me all of a half hour to stop it. Apparently, I
yanked the handle too hard. I just don’t know my own strength
sometimes. And that’s why they have to feed me, too.”
    “But... But you ate fine here the other
day.”
    “And that took a lot of self-control.”
Inspired, he twitched his shoulders. “Sometimes I get the
shakes.”
    She took a step back. “The...the shakes?”
    “Yep. Really bad at times, too. One time I
got them so bad I ended up throwing food all over the place—and
don’t even get me started on what I did with the utensils.”
    She shook her head. “You can’t be serious.
You’re pulling my leg.” Then she chuckled, but it sounded as if she
was only half-sure of her analysis.
    He shrugged and let his hands slightly shake.
“Alright.”
    Her laughter died completely.
    “So...what will we do for music?”
    She cleared her throat. “Oh. Yes. Dancing.
Right.” She clapped her hands together and then motioned to the
center of the room. “I thought I’d just hum a tune.”
    “That’s a strange way of doing things, but
since there’s no one else around here...” He leaned forward so he
could check behind the couch. Odd. No one was there. Looking back
at her, he smiled. “Let’s get to it.”
    Then he barreled in her direction. He
expected her to move out of his way when he purposely tumbled
forward, but she didn’t so he had to roll to the side and ended up
hitting his head on the side of the couch.
    “Are you alright?” she asked as she knelt
next to him.
    He rubbed his aching temple. That wasn’t
supposed to happen. Oh well. He might as well play along. “The
shakes. I told you it comes and goes without warning.”
    She reached for his hand and helped him up.
“I should get something for you to put on your head.”
    “Nah. This happens all the time. I’m just
lucky it did no real damage like that time when I got hurt
somewhere important.”
    “Where would that be?”
    He covered his face, as if ashamed, but what
he really needed to do was focus so he wouldn’t laugh at her
stunned expression. “I don’t wish to impose on the sensibilities of
a lady.” When he settled down the urge to giggle, he held his hands
out to her. “Are you ready to dance?”
    She looked hesitant but nodded and joined him
in the center of the room.
    He had to admit that she could play along
pretty well. He wondered how long it would take before she called
in her friends...or how long it would take them to magically show
up. Apparently, he needed to go with a new tactic. He pulled her
close to him, thinking for sure that Peter ought to be rushing into
the room at full speed. But he didn’t.
    “You can’t hold a woman this close,” she
said, her face bright red. “It’s not appropriate.” She stepped back
and set one hand on his shoulder and the other in his hand. “There.
That’s better.”
    Not