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

“And he adores you to no end!”
    “He’s the greatest,” Mary giggled in agreement. “Goodnight.”
    “Goodnight,” Della said. It had been a very long day and while the sun had just gone down not long ago, she was more than ready to fall into a deep sleep.
     
    …
     
    The sun hadn’t risen yet when Roy Jennings knocked on the door to waken Della. She tiptoed quietly across the floor so she wouldn’t wake Mary and cracked the door open to let Roy know she’d be ready soon. It was her first full day as a member of the Fort Worth community!
    She’d seen other women walking around town, and the attire had ranged from highly made-up women with the reddest lipstick Della had ever seen, wide feathered hats and low cut dresses to clearly well-to-do women in the latest Paris fashion of silks and lace. Then, there were the obvious frontier women in plain, cotton clothing who wore bonnets. These were the women Della most identified with. Her dress was plain and everything she had could be mixed and matched if needed.
    As they headed up the road to town, Roy was quiet. Della couldn’t go into this situation with Hank Hensley blindly, so she decided to put Roy on the spot and ask him about it. “What exactly happened the night Hank Hensley shot at you?” she blurted out.
    Roy raised his eyebrows and turned to face Della. “Well it ain’t nobody’s business but mine and Hank’s, but I’ll tell you,” he said. “Hank’s the kind of man who would give his life for you when he’s sober. But come nightfall, he’s like many of the town’s male citizens—likes to stir things up over in Hell’s Half Acre. He’s the best shot in town, second only to Sheriff Lockhart, so he thought it’d be funny to chase me down by shooting near my feet.”
    “That’s not funny at all,” Della said, disgusted.
    “I didn’t think so, either,” Roy chuckled. “I can look back on it now and laugh, but back then I was up to my eyeballs dealing with Helen at home and…well, add the chaos of the Acre and it was just more than I could take.”
    “And what’s Hell’s Half Acre?” Della queried.
    “Well, now, that’s a subject you best take up with Helen. It’s not a subject for polite company,” Roy said emphatically.
    Della could read between the lines and chose not to ask more questions about the Acre. “But how could you stand working for the man?” Della asked, genuinely trying to figure it out.
    “Well, Hank came to me, hat in hand, and apologized for his wrong-doing,” Roy explained. “Told me he had ordered a whole set of these raised letter books for Mary, and he planned to hire a tutor for her to teach her how to read them, which he did. That son-of-a-gun even bought the General Store from someone else, just so I could run it during the day. Pays me a nice sum, too.”
    Della didn’t see how anyone could be so night and day with their personality. A scoundrel who terrified people at night, and a hero for those same people at dawn. “But Helen’s still not okay with it?” Della pushed, wanting to know more about the situation at home.
    “Helen’s never been okay with anything having to do with me or Mary,” Roy said. “I’ve learned to ignore it for the most part. Sometimes it gets the better of me. As for Hank, well, we’ve all got our demons—and his happens to be whisky and gambling. Can’t judge a man for how he acts when he’s liquored up.”
    Della sure could. While she appreciated the kind things Mr. Hensley had done for Mary and Roy, she couldn’t shake the fact that anyone who covered up their bad behavior with good deeds, was still half rotten at the core. She certainly wouldn’t forgive him.
    As they brought the wagon to a halt in front of the General Store, a fair-skinned woman with bright hair the color of fire waited outside on the steps. Roy jumped down and hurried around to the storefront as Della made her way there, too. “Forget your supplies?” he asked the woman.
    “It’s