A Good Man for Katie Read Online Free PDF Page A

chair. They stood face to face. A muscle thrummed in Alex’s jaw and matched the one Chase felt throbbing in his own.
    “I want you to find the thieving bastards who murdered my son and kill them. Do you understand?”
    “Yes, sir,” Chase replied automatically though the order went against every fiber of his moral being. He opened his mouth to argue the point, to let Alex know it would be better to have the men stand trial and let the law execute them, but one look at the colonel’s shining eyes and hard features changed his mind. Alex would never hear the words.
    He saluted, slipped into the darkness and left the camp, his heart heavy. As difficult as it had been to tell Colonel Barstow about his son, telling his parents and Evan’s fiancée would be a hell of a lot worse.

Chapter Three
    “Stop playing with your hair,” Emeline scolded as she pulled the bell. “You look beautiful.”
    Kathryne gave one last pat to the twist of auburn locks, took a deep breath to steady her pounding heart and forced her shaking hands to her sides.
    This interview with the Crystal Springs Ladies’ Society held more importance than anything she’d ever done—she needed this job. As she stood at the front door of Francine Maitland’s home, uncertainty rippled through her to dampen her palms and twist her stomach. Even wearing her best suit, a light gray pinstripe, which had survived the crash without much damage, didn’t help settle her frayed nerves.
    She wondered if it was wrong to want something so badly, but didn’t express the thought aloud.
    “Are you ready?” Emeline gave her hand a comforting squeeze.
    “I think so.” Kathryne nodded then brought her hand up and chewed on a nail, unable to help herself. “What if they don’t like me, Emy?” she asked around the nail between her teeth. “What if they don’t think I’m qualified for the job?”
    She’d already peeked through the windows of the one room schoolhouse and the small cottage called the teacherage on the other side of a babbling brook, which would be her home if the Ladies’ Society decided to hire her. Though they both needed a thorough cleaning, she’d fallen in love with them on first sight.
    “You worry too much, Kate.” As always, Emeline remained her staunchest supporter and the voice of reason. Nothing had changed with their long time apart. “They’ll love you as much as I do.”
    The door swung open to reveal a young woman not much older than Kathryne’s twenty-five years. Glistening brown eyes and the wide smile on her face appeared warm and welcoming. She gave Emeline a hug then extended her hand. “You must be Kate. I’m Laurel Stewart.”
    Kathryne heaved a sigh as she grasped the woman’s offered hand. The tension in her shoulders eased a bit. Perhaps it would be all right. Perhaps she did worry too much. Perhaps, she wouldn’t throw up on Mrs. Maitland’s fine carpet in the foyer and make a total fool of herself.
    “Come in, please, and meet the other ladies.”
    The door closed and Laurel led them down a hall to a formal dining room. Lace draperies fluttered in the breeze from the open windows, but the press of too many bodies in a small room with oversized furniture made the space stuffy and warm.
    Emeline squeezed her hand one more time as five pairs of eyes turned and pinned her to the doorway. Bastions of Crystal Springs’ society, the women regarded her with a confusing mixture of suspicion, distrust, and welcome.
    In an instant, Kathryne felt over-dressed and out of place. Though she had traveled in the best circles in Washington, these women seemed different. More critical, more serious, less inclined to forgive. Very much like her father.
    After a whirlwind of introductions with too many names she tried to commit to memory, Kathryne sat at the end of a long table. Coffee, tea and an assortment of petit fours on crystal dishes covered the fine lace of the tablecloth and even though every one reached for something