Howard Haskell Takes A Bride (The Brides of Paradise Ranch Book 0) Read Online Free PDF Page A

ancient history,” Howard declared. “Behold, the future!”
    As he stood straight, arms extended to tease the clerk with his show of enormous ego, the door behind the desk opened and Mr. Ayers stepped out.
    “Grundy, I need you to—”
    Carl Ayers stopped short at the sight of Howard. His whiskers quivered and his jaw hardened. He stepped to the desk, slammed the paper he held on the surface, then straightened and did his best to appear intimidating.
    “Get out,” he said.
    Howard responded with a smile. He stood a few inches taller than Mr. Ayers, so he had no need to puff himself up or make himself more intimidating than he already was. Instead, he worked to appear as warm as possible, though all the while, he studied his opponent, looking for signs of weakness.
    “Father, how delightful to see you in such high spirits this morning,” Howard said.
    “What are you talking about? Grundy, get this man out of here,” Mr. Ayers ordered.
    “Y-yes, sir?” Grundy cowered in his seat.
    “I have simply come to pay a visit and to assure you that I will do my utmost to give your daughter Elizabeth the happiest life any woman could wish for.” Howard ignored him, sticking to his own agenda.
    Mr. Ayers let out an exasperated breath. “I don’t know who you think you are, but whoever that is, I will not be spoken to in such an impertinent manner by…by a nobody.”
    “And I wouldn’t expect you to be,” Howard agreed. “So it’s fortunate that I’m not a nobody.”
    “You are as far as I’m concerned.” Mr. Ayers began to turn away.
    “On the contrary, sir,” Howard continued with his best smile. “I am somebody. I am somebody near and dear to you, somebody you will very much want to say that you know in just a short time.”
    Mr. Ayers took the bait and pivoted back to Howard. “Who are you, then?”
    With a grin as wide as the western horizon, Howard said, “I’m your future son-in-law.”
    Mr. Ayers turned red, the loose flesh around his neck shaking with rage. He raised a long, bony finger and pointed to the door. “Get out, you impudent scoundrel.”
    “Impudent again.” Howard sighed.
    “I told you so.” Cyrus was having a hard time not laughing.
    “If I see you so much as darken my doorstep again, I’ll call the authorities,” Mr. Ayers went on.
    “You would do that to your own son-in-law?” Howard feigned hurt.
    “You are no such thing. Get out now!”
    The point was made. The time to back off had come. Howard continued to smile as he took a step toward the door, Cyrus with him.
    “I understand your surprise at the situation,” Howard said. “But my only concern is for Elizabeth. Elizabeth wants me, not Jonas Armstrong.” He said the name as though it was a joke. “And so she shall have me, and I shall have her.”
    “You shall not,” Mr. Ayers snapped.
    Howard grinned and bowed his head, though not in acquiescence. When he lifted it again, deadly seriousness shone in his eyes. “Mark my words, sir. You will embrace me as a beloved son before this month is done. You will welcome me into your house with open arms, and you will smile with pride and gratitude on the day you give Elizabeth’s hand to me.”
    “Get out now!” Mr. Ayers shouted.
    Back straight, smile still in place, as if he hadn’t a care in the world, Howard turned and marched out the door.
    Once they were in the stairwell leading to the first floor, Cyrus let out a breath. “That went well.”
    Howard snorted with laughter. “Of course it did. I’m Howard Haskell. I always get what I want.”

Chapter 4
    E lizabeth’s friends could talk of nothing else but the startling events of the ball all through their walk along the riverfront. Elizabeth could think of nothing else. But her thoughts and her friends’ chatter were as different as could be.
    “Can you imagine the audacity of the man?” Madeline gasped, twirling her parasol on her shoulder.
    “To think that he could simply walk up to you and demand a