Mail Order Mishap: Christian Romance (Kansas Brides Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

plainest, cotton, day dresses, light blue in color and with white lace around the neck and cuffs. She carried her parasol to protect her light complexion from the sun. As she strolled along the wooden walkway she met several people, each of which nodded to her as they passed. Amber smiled in return. What a friendly town, she thought. How quaint.
    She wondered what Margaret was doing at that moment in time back in Richmond.
    She peered into the window of the General Store and caught her own reflection. She was still Amber Wakefield of Richmond, Virginia, even though she felt like an entirely different person.
    Next, she walked on toward the livery, where she watched a man brushing a tan horse. He turned and noticed her watching him. She started to turn away when he called to her. “Hey there,” he said.
    She stopped and turned back. “Hello.”
    He stood up. He was a tall, lanky fellow, with bright red hair and freckles, and looked to be about forty. It was difficult to tell ages in Kansas, where so many had dried skin from the sun from spending so much time outdoors. His bright blue eyes made him look friendly enough, so she approached him.
    “You must be new in town,” he said. “My name is Cal Edwards.”
    “Hello, Cal. I’m Amber. I came here as a guest of Charles Turner, my intended.”
    Cal threw his head back and laughed. “Charles Turner? You must be joking!”
    Amber felt confused. Why would he laugh like that? There was nothing the matter with Charles‒he was a handsome, single, young man. “Excuse me?” she asked.
    Just then a burly, hairy man poked his head out of the livery door. “Bring that horse in, Cal, before you brush him bare. I’ve got six stalls that need cleanin’.”
    Cal jumped up. “Yes, sir!” He waved to Amber and led the horse through the livery door.
    Confused at the encounter, Amber kept walking. She crossed the street and headed back toward Mrs. Smith’s house, but walking on the opposite side of the street. She walked by the Showdown Saloon, looking up at the roof where a large mug of beer glinted in the sunlight. She’d just walked past the swinging doors when a man came out and whistled. Impulse made her turn around, though she later wished she hadn’t. Another man joined him outside of the building and the two of them stood there, eyeing her as if she wore no clothes. She turned back and walked faster, but she could hear their long, heavy steps behind her.
    “Hey, ain’t you the classy one? How about havin’ a drink with me and Moe?”
    Amber didn’t know if she should decline or keep walking. She sped up her pace, but their sizeable strides were no contest for her. They soon caught up and got in front of her, blocking her progress.
    “It ain’t polite to ignore an honest invite,” one of them said.
    “No, ma’am, it ain’t,” the other said.
    With her pathway blocked, Amber began to panic, while trying to appear calm on the outside. Both men were unshaven, with crooked and missing teeth, and their smell made her want to retch. She turned and began to walk calmly in the other direction, but they soon caught up again, directly in front of the Showdown Saloon’s swinging doors.
    “A classy lady like you should be friendlier, don’t you think so, Pete?”
    “That I surely do agree with, Moe. How can we cure that?”
    The one called Pete reached out and grabbed her upper arm. “C’mon, missy, have a drink,” he said, and he pulled her toward the swinging doors. She resisted, and he pulled harder to compensate.
    “Let go of the lady!”
    The three of them jumped and spun around as the owner of that voice exited the saloon, but she was unable to see the face of her protector since Pete was standing in front of her. Before Amber knew it, Pete had been thrown onto the street, head first. It was then she recognized her rescuer as Garrett Turner. He reached to grab Moe by the collar, but he ran between the buildings, hopped on a horse, and raced away. Amber turned