Her Bodyguard Read Online Free PDF

table, share your day.”
    “I already do that.”
    “Do it more often. And don’t disappear into your room after we eat. That behavior worries your father, too. Stay downstairs and visit with him. Or play tag or ball with your brothers. Nothing relaxes your father like watching his children play in the yard after supper.”
    “That I can do.” Mari might be a grown woman with a business of her own, but she hoped she’d never be too old to play. “In fact, I’ll organize a rousing game of blindman’s bluff this evening. I’ll stop by Uncle Tye’s house and invite the cousins.”
    “No, not this evening. Tonight we’re all attending the ball at the Texas Spring Palace. I want you to join us, Maribeth.”
    Mali’s stomach sank. Not that. Tonight’s ball was the premier social event of the spring in Fort Worth. Alex was bound to be there.
    “No, Mama. Not a ball. I’m not up to that. I’ll stay home with Emma.”
    Jenny smiled and her eyes gleamed with pleasure. “Emma plans to attend the ball.”
    “What?” Mari said, shocked.
    “She’s even promised to dance if asked. She’s wearing the yellow dress I made for her.”
    “That’s wonderful!” Gladness and a full measure of hope filled Mari’s heart at that bit of news. Oh, Emma . Maybe she was finally beginning to heal from her devastating loss.
    Casey’s death from pneumonia three months after his and Emma’s wedding had almost destroyed Mari’s elder sister. The two had grown up together, been friends before becoming lovers. They’d planned and dreamed and no sooner embarked on their blissful life together at Casey’s ranch south of town than a summer cold turned ugly and took it all away. Emma’s light had gone dark that day and remained so ever since.
    Remembering the day that Casey died, Mari absently stroked a finger over the line that crossed her palm, the Bad Luck Love Line she didn’t believe in, but of which, nevertheless, she was always conscious. “Did she finally cry, Mama?”
    Jenny shook her head. “Not that I’m aware. Her eyes weren’t red or puffy when she came to me this morning and asked to see the dress. She held it up against herself, looked into the mirror and said she was coming to the ball. No explanation. No excuse. Under the circumstances, I wasn’t about to press the issue.”
    “No,” Mari agreed. “No sense borrowing trouble.”
    Jenny picked up the window curtain and began threading it back onto the rod. “I’m hopeful this ball tonight will signal a new beginning for this family,” she said. “I want to believe that the bad times are behind us and only good times he ahead.”
    Mari nodded. “There’s nothing else I’d like more.”
    Jenny fixed the curtain rod to its brackets, then stepped back. The two women took a moment to admire her handiwork. Then Jenny asked again, “So you’ll join us at the Texas Spring Palace tonight, Mari?”
    Mari sighed. “Yes. I’ll be there for Emma.”
    And if she happened to run into the man who had jilted her at the altar, well, she’d act as friendly as a pup in a box.
    Then, she’d sic her brothers on the scalawag and let Billy, Tommy and Bobby conduct a little McBride Monster mischief. I wonder if I have enough time to whip up a special batch of chocolates? Ones made with prunes, perhaps?

 
     
    CHAPTER TWO
     
     
    LUKE EYED THE TURNIP-SHAPED cupolas and massive center dome of the Texas Spring Palace and wondered what the architect had been drinking when he designed the place. Intended to rival the Sioux City Corn Palace and the Toronto Ice Palace, the purpose of the regional immigration and agricultural fair was to attract settlers and investors to Texas. In its second season, the project appeared to be a rousing success, serving as an educational, cultural and entertainment center for visitors from across the country.
    Nevertheless, Luke thought the Oriental-style building looked like something out of a fantasy world, more suited to the pages of a