Anna: Bride of Alabama (American Mail-Order Bride 22) Read Online Free PDF Page A

strange birds still wading in the shallow waters. A warm breeze ruffled the tree branches and carried a scent so sweet it perfumed the air. She lost track of time as she stood there staring at the water until Gabriel stepped up beside her and cleared his throat, causing her to jump.
    “I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
    Anna smiled and shook her head. “I was lost in thought. I didn’t hear you approach.”
    He shoved his hands in his trouser pockets and glanced across the pond as she’d been doing. He was quiet for long moments before turning to look at her.
    If there was one fault she had she wished she could overcome it would be her tendency to be shy around people. She rarely made eye contact with anyone for any length of time but as Gabriel stared down at her, she couldn’t look away. His eyes were bright green with specks of brown. There was kindness there and a hint of curiosity that matched her own. She’d spent hours trying to sneak glances at him, had given him more than one smile and received more back in return.
    Anna placed his age somewhere in his thirties but something in his eyes told of hardships that aged him considerably more than that. He was a bit of a contradiction to his station in life. One would think the owner of a large plantation would be stuffy and proper to a fault. Gabriel was anything but. He shared his daughters dark hair which was much longer than men she’d seen wear theirs. His laid against his shoulders in waves and although it was too long, it suited him well. His skin was tanned from the sun, his hands calloused from hard work and that alone told her he spent most of his days outside working instead of seeking shelter from the heat inside.
    As horrible as the situation his daughter had put them in, Anna found herself more than a little bit curious as to what he would say about the situation. She tucked a stray curl the wind blew in her face behind her ear. “I’m sorry my arrival caught you so off guard. If I had known this wasn’t your idea, I would never have come.”
    “Don’t worry yourself about it.” He chuckled and brushed a thumb nail across his eyebrow. “Of all the things Julia has done over the years this will go down as the most surprising but I’m sure it won’t be the last.”
    “I take it she’s quite a handful.”
    “And then some.” He shifted on his feet and rolled his shoulders. “I accept most of the blame for it. Her mother was quite hard on her, insisting she conduct herself in a certain way and to be lady-like every moment of the day. I didn’t hold the same convictions and let her do as she wished. That didn’t turn out so well, as you can see.”
    He had a nice smile. As nervous as she’d been about meeting the man she agreed to marry, she would have said her vows to Gabriel with little reservation.
    She knew nothing about him and the situation Julia put him in was enough to rattle anyone’s nerves but he was handling things calmly. She wasn’t so sure she would have been able to do the same had their rolls been reversed.
    Gabriel glanced to the bench and nodded his head to her bag. “You weren’t leaving, were you?”
    She nodded. “The thought had crossed my mind.” She glanced at her bags and felt her face heat. “To be honest, I’m quite embarrassed.”
    “Why?”
    She laughed nervously. “Well, I traveled a long way to marry a man I didn’t know, only to find out he had no idea I existed.”
    “That’s not exactly true,” he said in a deep-timbered voice. “I spent hours watching you on that train, trying to find one good reason to talk to you.”
    Her heart skipped a beat. She glanced up and tried holding back a smile but failed miserably. “Its a shame it took a man sitting on me to get you to cross the train car.”
    They both laughed.
    “I looked for you once I made it in to town.” Gabriel shoved his hands back into his pockets. “I thought you stayed on the train.”
    “And I