Bride Gone Bad Read Online Free PDF

to the most popular? Did she really fit in here, as Lucky suggested? Maybe here on the edge of Texas where everything was changing, there was more leeway for people to follow their hearts.
    â€œLast door on the left.” Lucky pointed as he joined her. “Guess I’m in the room next to you. There are only four other choices anyway.”
    â€œWhat about a key?”
    â€œThere aren’t any.”
    â€œI won’t be comfortable with an unlocked door.”
    â€œDoubt Saul gets many ladies here. You can wedge the top of a chair under the doorknob.”
    â€œI suppose that will do.” She headed down the hall with him on her heels. “I’d still like to give back your room.”
    â€œLeave it be.”
    At the end of the hall, she opened the door to Number Six and stepped inside. Light filtered in through sheer lace curtains over a single window. A white iron bed frame with a colorful quilt on the double bed, a washstand with a white pitcher and matching bowl filled with water, a dresser, a rocking chair, and a small table with a lace tablecloth and two matching chairs filled the room.
    â€œWhat’s on the table?” Lucky walked inside.
    â€œI don’t know.” She followed him, leaving the door open.
    â€œI can’t believe this!” He looked back at her. “You’ve got a basketful of goodies.”
    â€œWhat?” She hurried up beside him. She tossed open the blue-and-white-check napkin inside the basket and found muffins. The scent of fresh baked goods filled the room.
    Lucky grabbed a muffin and took a big bite. “Tastes like Mama Lou’s Molasses Muffins. Nothing’s better.”
    Tempest tried a muffin, too. She moaned in delight at the delicious flavors of sugar, molasses, spices, and pecans. She hadn’t been able to afford such luxury in a year and wished she could share with Elmira and Lamira.
    â€œWhat’s on the rocking chair?” Lucky finished off the muffin as he walked over to the furniture. He picked up the fabric, shook it out, and then chuckled. “I’d like to see you wear this.”
    Tempest blushed at the sight of a white nightgown trimmed with lilac lace and ribbons. She plucked it out of his hands. She looked at the garment, feeling amazement wash over her. It was store bought. She’d been mending clothes for so long that she’d almost forgotten the luxury of new items. Yet she also felt confused and uncomfortable.
    â€œAnother gift?” he asked.
    â€œThere must be a mistake.”
    â€œI can guarantee that isn’t mine and wasn’t here before.” He pulled back the quilt on the bed, felt the sheets, and nodded his head. “You’ve got clean sheets, too. Saul had help.”
    â€œBut why?”
    â€œLet’s look in the dresser.” He pulled open a drawer, then motioned with his head for her to join him. “See anything you like?”
    She reverently touched a white blouse and a forest green skirt. Again, brand new. She blinked to see past the mist that was threatening to turn into tears of happiness. Surely folks in the Bend couldn’t afford to be so generous with a stranger, especially one who had caused trouble. She didn’t want to feel petty or ungrateful, but why?
    She slowly shut the drawer, closing the beautiful clothes out of sight. “Of course, I can’t accept any of this.”
    â€œWhy not?”
    She walked away from him, lifted the nightgown, and sat down in the rocker. As she looked around the room, she stroked the soft fabric. “I didn’t earn it. I have no way to repay.”
    â€œI don’t know any more about this than you do, but I suspect we’ll find out.” He picked up one of the chairs from the table, turned it around, and sat down with his arms across the back. “Why look a gift horse in the mouth?”
    â€œBecause it might bite.”
    â€œTrue enough.”
    As she contemplated her sudden