Gabrielle: Bride of Vermont (American Mail-Order Bride 14) Read Online Free PDF

and felt a tugging at her waist. Looking down, she realized her dress was unraveling. It had gotten caught on a nail in the doorway, and the seam on the waist was at this very moment ripping apart.
    “Come to me, woman.” Her groom’s voice sounded loud, even though he was far away.
    “But my dress,” Gabrielle called out. “It’s tearing.” Tears ran down her face.
    “Come anyway, friend. I don’t care what you look like. I have some trousers you can wear if need be.”
    “No! That’s not right. I have to look my best. Please, just wait a moment longer,” she pleaded.
    Gabrielle sat straight up in the bed. Her hands throwing off the blankets, she scrambled to feel the cloth at her waist. Where was the seam? She frantically felt for the ripped material only to discover that her nightgown was bunched up and twisted around her middle.
    It took her a moment to get her bearings. She was in the room of a conservative boardinghouse. There was no wedding ceremony. She climbed out of bed, great relief sweeping over her as she realized it had only been a dream. She rubbed her cheeks with the palms of her hands, trying to shake the nightmare. It was only a dream about a torn wedding dress. She wasn’t leaving for Texas until tomorrow morning.
    Her eyes flew wide open wide, and she gasped. “I don’t have a wedding dress!”
    There would be no more sleep on this night. Although her bags were packed and ready to go, she carefully went through them. She’d made all of her own dresses, and had accumulated several over the years. Scrutinizing them one by one, she sorted them into two piles, one containing rejects and the other with dresses she deemed worthy of wearing for her own ceremony. Would any of them suit?
    She sat down on the bed between the two piles. How would it work? When she stepped off the stagecoach in Wiggieville, would her groom be waiting to take her to be married right away? Would she even have time to change into a wedding dress? She tried to imagine what it might be like. Would there be dangerous Indians lurking about? She’d read stories of the world out West. How safe was it? She was going on the adventure of a lifetime. She sighed, feeling a bit afraid, but felt herself becoming excited. Her life was about to change drastically! She was moving to Texas and she would embrace all things Western.  She couldn’t wait.
    Hurriedly, she chose the dress she would wear for her groom on their first day together as husband and wife. Boone Dillingham, I hope you like it. I never planned on being a wife, but I guess I’m about to be one.
    She stood with her hands on her hips and looked around the tiny room in the boarding house she’d found. She was ready to go. Realizing she still had over an hour before she needed to leave for the train station, she sat down at the tiny desk in the corner of the room. She had enough time to compose letters to Poppy, Roberta and Sarah. She needed to let her former roommates know where she was going.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER FOUR
     
     
    Boone stepped inside and removed his coat. He went over to the stove and scrambled a couple of eggs for dinner. As he sat down to eat, he surveyed the kitchen. It was messy. Over the years he’d collected a bit of clutter. There was the pile of horseshoes stacked in one corner.  He’d always intended to do something with them but never got around to it. Various baskets were filled with what a woman might consider to be junk. There was the bucket of spurs he’d saved over the years. He and Buck had a collection of knives that seemed to multiply on their own. He remembered the cans of rocks stacked in the corner of the parlor. Those would probably have to go outside.
    He was proud of the bookcase his son had built years ago but hadn’t noticed how much had collected on the dusty shelves. Amongst the hodgepodge of cups, bowls, plates, and mugs, there were several books and a few hand tools.
    He finished eating and made his way