Della: Bride of Texas (American Mail-Order Bride 28) Read Online Free PDF

you, too,” Della said, happy that the matter was settled and she’d been accepted into the fold.
    Roy opened the door, holding it for Mary and Della to walk in. A woman stood over the table near the kitchen, scowling. “You’re late,” she said. Della was taken aback by her demeanor, after the warm welcome she’d received from both Roy and Mary.
    “Got here as fast as we could,” Roy sighed as he walked toward the room Della would be sharing with Mary, setting her bag down at the foot of one of two small beds. He walked out of the room and avoided eye contact with Della as he made his way to the table for supper. Mary, too, had become quieter the minute they walked in the door. It was if this woman had stolen their sunshine and in its place left a dark cloud that now hung over them all.
    Della followed suit and walked over to the table where four plates had been set. “I’m Della Owens,” she said to the woman, offering her hand to shake. “And you are?”
    “Nobody important ‘round here,” the woman said flatly. Silence filled the room, putting Della on edge. “Name’s Helen—I’m Roy’s wife and Mary’s ma.” Helen wiped her hands on the apron she wore and began passing plates of food around the table, allowing Roy to fill Mary’s plate for her. No one spoke a word until Della tried to initiate conversation.
    “Bet it comes in handy having a husband who works at the General Store!” Della said, trying to offer Roy a compliment and lighten the mood.
    “Hmph,” Helen scoffed. “Only reason he’s there’s because he wasn’t man enough to handle a real job.”
    Roy stopped in mid bite and dropped his fork onto the plate, making it clatter loudly as his eyes pierced Helen’s in silent rage. Helen looked down again and kept eating. Roy shoved his chair back from the table and stood up, turning to his right where Mary and Della sat frozen. “If you’ll excuse me,” he said. “I’m turning in for the night—we have a big day tomorrow at the store.”
    The rest of the meal was spent in silence. Mary moved the food around on her plate, using her fingers to scoop bits up onto her fork and guide it to her mouth. What have I gotten myself into? Della thought.
    When Helen finished her meal, she stood up, cleared her plate and went into her bedroom without saying a word. Della took the initiative to clear her and Mary’s dishes and then followed Mary into the small room they’d be sharing. She didn’t mind sharing the room—it felt like the days of her childhood when she and Charlotte shared quarters and would stay awake all night giggling. The moonlight shone through the window to illuminate the room as Della laid there going over the day in her mind.
    “My ma isn’t right about my pa,” Mary whispered in the dark.
    “Oh?” Della said, not wanting to fish for more information, but not wanting to shut Mary out, either.
    “Everyone knows those cowboys and rustlers are mean,” Mary said. “They humiliated my pa—tying him up like a hog and chasing him down, even though he had a badge.”
    “That’s horrible,” Della said, shocked that a man of the law would be treated like that in public.
    “He had the courage to stick it out a long time,” Mary continued, “up until the night Mr. Hensley shot at him.”
    “Mr. Hensley?” Della gasped. “But isn’t he the one who owns the General Store?”
    “Yes,” Mary explained. “Sheriff Lockhart told him he’d better find Pa a job after what he’d done—chasing Pa down the street, into a saloon while shooting at his feet. Pa says Mr. Hensley’s really a nice man when he don’t drink, but Ma was humiliated about it and she’s been even meaner to him ever since. I don’t know if I forgive Mr. Hensley or not, but if Pa says he’s good, then I believe him.”
    Della was on the side of Helen in this matter. No one, absolutely no one , should be shooting at people—even if it is all in fun. “Your Pa is a brave man,” Della said.