Hidden Truths Read Online Free PDF Page A

earth. "Where did you meet her?" she
asked instead of answering. "She new in town?"
    Shaving soap dripped onto Phin's shirt, and he wiped it
away. Then he found a few more spatters that needed his attention.
    "Phin?"
    "I haven't exactly met her yet."
    "What do you mean?" She eyed him suspiciously.
    Phin drew in air as if he were about to face a lynch mob.
"I put an advert in three fancy eastern papers, and I got an answer from a
young lady in Boston."
    "You advertised for a wife?" Amy had heard of that
but never understood it. What kind of self-respecting woman would sell herself
to a complete stranger? "You're kidding."
    His gaze veered away from hers. "I knew you'd think it
tomfoolery, but you gotta understand. There's nary an unwed woman in town and
none who'd have me, so..."
    "There are a few."
    Phin snorted. "Yeah, the likes of Ella Williams and
Fanny Henderson. No, thanks."
    "So you thought you'd just order yourself a woman from
the catalog, like you'd order a new saddle?"
    "What's a feller to do if he's aimin' to marry? Since
you won't have me."
    His grin was contagious. Amy could never stay angry with her
friend for long. "So... Johanna Bruggeman." She risked another quick
glance at the picture of the smiling woman. "Is that a German name?"
    "Dutch." Phin's grin grew, as if being Dutch was a
great accomplishment.
    Lord, he's smitten, and he hasn't even met her.
    The thought of another woman on the ranch still unsettled
her, and she watched in silence as Phin continued to shave.
    Somehow, his simple, efficient movements seemed wrong, maybe
because he was shaving himself. Amy had watched her parents share this private
ritual almost every day for as long as she could remember.
    Papa sat in the kitchen, and Mama lathered his face with the
shaving soap, sometimes sneaking a kiss when she thought their daughters
weren't watching. Amy always watched. She knew she was witnessing something
special, something that bound her parents to each other. Trust glowed in Papa's
eyes when he let Mama put the razor to his neck.
    A sudden longing for that kind of trust overcame Amy. She
shook it off and focused on Phin.
    For Phin, shaving seemed to be a necessary evil. There was
nothing gentle or loving about the way he scraped lather and stubbles off his
cheeks and his strong chin.
    Maybe he really needs a wife.
    "So when is she coming here?" Amy asked.
    "Well..." Phin wiped off the rest of the shaving
soap and twirled his handlebar mustache. Amy often teased him about it. She
liked Papa's clean-shaven look better. "I wanted to talk to you about
that. If the stagecoach is on time, she'll get here Monday afternoon."
    Meaningful silence spread between them.
    "Monday afternoon? But —"
    "I'm supposed to leave for Fort Boise with your father
on Monday morning, yes."
    This was her chance! Amy hid a grin and tried for
nonchalance. "Oh, not a problem. I'll help Papa bring the horses to Fort
Boise, and you can pick up your bride from town on Monday afternoon."
    Phin cleared his throat. "That's not what I meant, and
you'd have to discuss that with your father."
    Who would say no. Not because traveling four hundred miles
with a herd of horses was a man's job. Papa never told her something like that.
He would say that she wasn't ready for the trip, not while there was unrest
among the Shoshoni, and that he wanted her to keep an eye on the ranch while he
was gone.
    "So what did you mean?" Amy asked.
    "If it ain't too much to ask, you could put on your
Sunday finery and pick up my future wife from town while I'm gone."
    That meant wearing a dress and facing the nosy folks in
town, not two of Amy's favorite activities. Still, Phin was her best friend.
    "Please?" He grinned his most charming smile.
"I don't trust any of the boys with her."
    Asking her to pick up his betrothed so she would be safe from
unwanted attentions... Amy shook her head. Phin didn't understand the irony of
it.
    "All right," she said. Something occurred to her.
"So your courtship