Handpicked Husband (Love Inspired Historical) Read Online Free PDF

lessons on his road to manhood, something you could not do on your own. My first impulse was to ask you to send him to me.

    Reggie’s heart thumped erratically. Surely Grandfather wouldn’t take Jack from her.

I admit, however, that this solution has drawbacks. I’m no longer young. It is quite probable I won’t be around long enough to guide Jack into manhood.

    Reggie breathed easier. She wasn’t overly concerned about the judge’s health—he’d used that bluff to get his way more than once. Even though he must be in his seventies, the old codger would probably outlive them all.

My next thought was to send him to boarding school. There are some fine institutions that would provide wonderful experiences for a boy such as Jack.

    How could Grandfather consider such a thing? Those places were impersonal, sterile. Jack was too young—he still needed her. And she still needed him.

Of course, there is another option—to find you a husband.

    Reggie sat up straighter, a different kind of dismay flooding through her as an inkling of the men’s mission sank in.
    Surely she was mistaken. Even the judge wouldn’t—
    Reggie glanced at Adam, then wished she hadn’t. That sympathetic glint in his expression was unnerving.
    She swallowed hard and stared back down at the letter, hoping she’d misunderstood.

Naturally I am not suggesting you marry just any man. It must be someone worthy of you and Jack. Since you seem to have no interest in any of the eligible men there in Turnabout, I’ve taken it upon myself to find someone for you.

    Grandfather was trying to play matchmaker.

Chapter Three
     
    R eggie’s thoughts raced, skittering in several directions at once.
    How could he? This was a farce, a disaster. It was too manipulative for even a schemer like her grandfather.
    Didn’t he know that if she’d wanted a husband, she could have landed one a long time ago? Didn’t he trust her to raise Jack right and properly on her own?
    Why would Adam agree to such a harebrained scheme? Did he think she was the best he could hope for since his conviction? Or was it more that he thought he owed the judge a debt of some sort?
    Merciful goodness, did he or Grandfather know she’d once been infatuated with him?
    Her cheeks flamed at the thought. Oh, why hadn’t Adam gone away with the others?
    Pull yourself together. You will not fall apart in front of him .
    Reggie forced herself to relax her grip on the letter, commanded her racing pulse to slow.
    She continued reading, trying to grasp what this meant. But her mind kept circling to the men her grandfather had sent. Adam’s reasons for wanting to start over in a place where he wasn’t known were obvious, but what could induce the others to take part? Did they also have something they were running from?
    Another paragraph snagged her attention. Grandfather was bribing them to court her. They would each get a nice little prize for their part in this farce.
    How could Grandfather humiliate her this way?
    She barely had time to absorb that when she got her next little jolt. Adam was not one of her suitors after all. Instead, he’d come as her grandfather’s agent.
    But why wasn’t he a candidate for her hand? Not that she wanted the ex-lawyer for a suitor. But still—did he think she wasn’t good enough for him? Or was Grandfather not as certain of the man’s character as he pretended?
    Flicking the paper with a snap, Reggie read on. Grandfather had tasked Adam with escorting her “beaus” to Turnabout, making sure everyone understood the rules of the game, and then seeing that the rules were followed.
    It was also his job to take Jack back to Philadelphia if she balked at the judge’s terms. Her grandfather would then pick out a suitable boarding school for the boy, robbing her of even the opportunity to share a home with him in Philadelphia.
    Reggie cast a quick glance Adam’s way, and swallowed hard. She had no doubt he would carry out his orders right down to