All That Matters Read Online Free PDF Page B

parts. Cluttered, but easily cleaned when the time came.   How much space did a baby need, anyway?
    She looked at him dreamily. “Imagine, Buddy Lee. A real baby. The only good thing about this whole mess. And it’ll be yours...mine...uh, well, you know what I mean.”
    She yawned and nestled her head against his chest. So much for serious discussions. Her soft, even breathing mingled provocatively with the not-so-even thud of his own heartbeat.   He settled her more comfortably into the crook of his arm and figured he’d stay where he was for a little longer. Only to make sure she was sound asleep. Then he’d move back to the safety of his lumpy sofa.
    When he left her an hour later, he was no closer to having any answers than he had been earlier.
    And he didn’t have any the next day, either, when they headed for Granite City to get a piece of paper that would tie them together legally for however long Faith wanted. All he had to do was make it through the next three days without the damned alligators catching him.
    When Friday finally rolled around, Buddy Lee swore every   ‘gator in Louisiana had come across the state line looking for him.

Chapter Three
     
    “D early beloved, we are gathered here ...”
    The minister’s voice droned on in a tedious monotone that made it easy for Buddy Lee’s own thoughts to wander.
    Late afternoon shadows played against the walls of the living room in the modestly-furnished parsonage. Even with Faith’s detailed plans, the necessary arrangements for their wedding had taken longer to complete than they had expected.
    Now they stood in front of a very young minister who’d been kind enough to agree to perform the ceremony in his home. The minister’s wife stood as witness to the vows they were about to take, along with a hastily recruited neighbor named Otis something-or-other. Faith had objected to using the services of a Justice of the Peace, and since she’d given up her fancy wedding, Buddy Lee didn’t argue with her.
    He still wasn’t certain how Faith had managed to find the reverend. How many other surprises was she going to spring on him? No doubt, more than he was prepared for.
    He stared, ashamed, at the meager bunch of flowers clutched in her hands. Tied with narrow, white satin ribbon, they were colorful but common as roadside wildflowers. Like him. She deserved better. He’d had to swallow his pride when she paid for the expense of the license and ceremony. That really stuck in his craw. He was short of cash, as usual.
    That morning, he’d barely had time to do more than flip the “Closed” sign on his shop window and get his one-and-only good pair of pants on before Faith started pulling him out the door. Since the Texas Truckin ’ T-shirt he usually wore didn’t seem appropriate, he hoped his plaid shirt was okay. At least, it was clean.
    He stifled a yawn. The past two nights he’d sprawled on the sofa-from-Hell, tossing restlessly until dawn streaked the sky.   Thinking. Wondering what the future held and trying to convince himself it didn’t matter if Faith wasn’t marrying him for love.   He was pretty sure he had enough for them both. He couldn’t quite decide how he felt about being a daddy yet, but he would soon. Well, as soon as he figured out what a good father really was. What if he turned out like his old man? It wasn’t like Boyd Walker had been a role model of decency. Neither was Faith’s daddy, for that matter. Come to think of it, he and the woman about to become his wife had both missed out on that score.
    The minister’s wife coughed politely, and Buddy Lee forced his attention back to the ceremony and Faith, sweet Faith.
    The last thirty dollars stuffed in his wallet for his Mustang fund had gone to buy the simple bouquet she had chosen.   The florist’s raised eyebrows and tsk-tsks had embarrassed him something awful, but Faith had acted like it was the most elegant arrangement in the shop. When she’d picked out a tiny