Lucky Penny Read Online Free PDF

hitching post in front of the marshal’s office. Sam gave a happy bark and raced ahead to greet David’s family. Caitlin’s red hair gleamed like copper as her husband took fifteen-month-old Dory Sue from her arms and assisted her from the wagon. Little Ace, almost three and a half, barely gave his father a chance to release Caitlin’s elbow and hand her the baby before leaping from the driver’s seat. While catching his son, Ace lost his hat. His jet-black hair shone like polished onyx as he bent to retrieve his Stetson.
    David swore under his breath.
Not today.
He loved his oldest brother and always enjoyed when Ace dropped by to chat while Caitlin took the kids shopping. But this wasn’t a good time. There was all that mail piled on David’s desk, and Ace, who seldom missed anything, wasn’t likely to overlook those return addresses. That would prompt him to ask questions—lots of questions—and right now, David had no answers. Sweat sluiced down the cleavage of David’s spine as he strode toward his office.
    Balancing Dory Sue on her hip, Caitlin waved, then lifted her blue skirts to gain the boardwalk. “Loafing as always, I see,” she accused teasingly, her cheek dimpling with pleasure as she went up on her tiptoes to kiss David’s. “And prickly, too,” she added with a smile when her lips met with whiskers. “How are you?” She leaned back to study him, her blue eyes filling with concern. “What a scowl! Where’s that famous grin I’m so accustomed to seeing?”
    David did his best to smile as he bent to peck his nieceon the forehead. Except for the jet-black hair Dory Sue had inherited from her father, she was the picture of her mama, delicate of feature, with big blue eyes and porcelain skin. She thrust out her chubby arms, saying, “Unca Day-Day! Unca Day-Day!”
    David chuckled and soon found his arms filled with lace-trimmed pink gingham and baby-girl softness. He pressed his nose to the child’s ebon curls to breathe in the clean, sweet scent of her. Over the top of her head, he met Caitlin’s questioning gaze.
    “It’s just been a troublesome morning,” he confessed. “Nothing serious, and even if it were, seeing all of you is just the thing to take my mind off it.”
    A flush of pleasure flagged Caitlin’s cheeks. She caught Little Ace by the arm as he tried to scale David’s leg like a miniature pole climber. “Wait your turn. Uncle David is saying hello to your sister right now.” To David, she said, “We’re hoping you can join us for lunch at Roxie’s. My errands won’t take long. I need a few things from dry goods, and then I’m taking the children to the cobbler shop to be measured for shoes.” She rolled her eyes. “Ace refuses to order any from Montgomery Ward. He says ill-fitting, mail-order shoes are bad for their feet.”
    David nodded. “I agree. Even if you specify the size they’re in right now, it’ll be a few weeks before the shoes arrive.” He handed Dory Sue back to her mother and swept Little Ace up to sit on his shoulder. “The way this little pistol is growing, his feet may be an inch longer by then.”
    “Or two,” Ace put in with a smile directed at his wife. “Stop fussing. I know cobbler-made shoes are more expensive, but Shelby can use the business.”
    “But, Ace, the kids will outgrow them in nothing flat!”
    “And when they do, we’ll have more made. I’m not a poor man who has to pinch pennies on his children’s footwear.”
    Little Ace chose that moment to grab David’s camel-brown leather hat. When the child put it on, his tiny dark head disappeared inside the bowl. When he pushed at the brim to peek out, everyone laughed.
    “I think you need to grow some before you steal UncleDavid’s hat, boy.” Ace fetched his son, returned David’s headgear, and set the child on his feet beside his mother. “No bargaining with Shelby,” he told his wife as he bent to kiss her cheek. “He’s a fair man, and the prices he quotes will