In Your Arms Read Online Free PDF Page A

didn’t you refuse? You knew I was planning on going with him.”
    “Why didn’t I refuse?” Melissa whirled on her sister, pointing the brush at her. “I’m tired of pampering you, Shirley. You are a spoiled rotten brat, and I wanted to teach you that you don’t always get what you want. It’s also why I made you sweep the floor today. Of course, whether or not you actually picked up any dust is another story.”
    “Well, I never!”
    “Exactly, Shirley. You never . We’re finally seeing eye to eye on something.”
    Narrowing her eyes, Shirley glared at her sister through her lowered lashes. “Well, we’ll just see who Marcus chooses in the end. He probably only asked you because he was too intimidated to ask me .”
    “Intimidated by what? Your perfume?
    “By my beauty, of course.”
    It was all Melissa could do not to laugh in her face.
    “Shirley, the man is hardly intimidated by you. He wears guns, for Heaven’s sake. Don’t you think he knows how to use them? My guess is he’s not only pointed the barrel of a gun but has also looked down one pointed at him. After cheating death like that, I’m sure nothing is intimidating anymore.”
    Shirley flounced to her bed, punching her pillow a few times before rolling over and facing the wall. After a few blessed moments of silence, she apparently decided to unleash her acidic tongue after all.
    “So you think he wants you, Lissa? The woman who stinks of horses after working in the stables? The woman who has never once received a proposal of marriage? You think someone as handsome as Marcus would ever want someone as plain as you ?”
    Melissa gripped the edges of the vanity in fury. “You know what, Shirley? I never knew what a bitch you really were until this very moment.”
    Slamming her brush down, Melissa flew out of the room, down the steps and out the back door of the shop.
    ~ * ~
    The evening air was warm, yet a cool breeze played with tendrils of her hair as Melissa trudged away from the buildings of Gideon’s Gulch. She wanted to be alone, and the cover of trees near Jasper’s Creek was the perfect spot. She went there often when her troubles weighed down on her. Angrily, she wiped a few stray tears from her face.
    She hated crying, hated ever showing a weakness. The last thing she needed was pity. The looks of approval today from the townsfolk when they’d thought Marcus was her suitor had made the bile rise up in her throat. She knew they hadn’t believed that Melissa Bloom could ever be so fortunate as to land a man while her beautiful sister was still single.
    And Shirley had been right, after all. Marcus only wanted to go to the silly barn dance with her as an excuse not to go with her sister. What other reason could there possibly be? Men wanted flowing blonde hair, not long red waves. Blue eyes held them captivated, not dark green ones. When it came to curves, they liked rounded women, not skinny girls. And women were supposed to smell of lilacs and lavender, not manure and sweat.
    She shouldn’t let it bother her so much. She knew she should simply accept her lot in life, but it was a hard pill to swallow. She liked Marcus. She liked the way he’d made her feel when he’d talked to her today; she liked the way he’d saved her from going to the dance with old Dr. Newcomb. Everything about the man was perfect.
    But he would never be hers.
    He’d said himself that he wasn’t the marrying kind, that he’d killed men before. And Melissa knew nothing about him. Perhaps he really was hard and ruthless. Perhaps his friendly banter was just a ruse. No, she didn’t believe that, not for a moment.
    She doubted very seriously that he preferred her to her sister though. However, it was also apparent that he thought Shirley was a pampered brat who needed to do some growing up. Perhaps that could work in Melissa’s favor. But who was she kidding? Even if he weren’t attracted to her sister, she’d be the last woman he’d call on.