Sister's Choice Read Online Free PDF Page B

toe of his shoe caught on the edge of the carpet. He leaped forward, right in Maggie’s direction, and the contents of the two glasses of punch he was holding flew into the air. The red punch made a perfect arc. Everyone else nearby scurried out of the way, but Maggie was a step too late. The punch splashed upon her, right in the middle of her bodice and down the front of her skirt.
    “Oh my!” exclaimed Evan as he caught his balance. “Look what I have done!” Juggling the two now empty cups in one hand, he plucked his handkerchief from his pocket with the other and tried to blot up the mess on Maggie’s dress. Realizing how unseemly that was, he turned as red as the punch and became more flustered than a fox caught red-handed in the chicken coop.
    “It’s okay,” Maggie tried to assure him, taking the hankie from him to finish the blotting.
    “I’ve ruined your dress,” Evan lamented.
    “Not at all. Look, it is practically the same color as the punch!”
    Mabel Parker came up to them. “Come with me, Maggie, and I will help you clean up.” She put an arm around Maggie and led her from the parlor.
    Maggie didn’t think she needed any help, but Mabel probably thought it her duty, since this was her home and it was her brother who had caused the mishap.
    They went upstairs to Mabel’s room, and Mabel produced a bottle of clear liquid she said was a good stain remover. She dabbed it on the worst of the spill, then used clear water to clean up the rest. Though there probably wouldn’t be a stain, Maggie would have a big wet spot down her front during the rest of the evening.
    “It’ll dry quicker than you think,” Mabel said, being unusually considerate.
    For a country girl Mabel had always been rather snobbish, Maggie thought. She was sophisticated and charming in her store-bought clothes, but she had always made Maggie feel like a silly child. Maggie wondered how she had turned out as she did because her parents, though rich, came from farming roots, and though her mother did at times “put on airs,” she was, in dress and manner, just like everyone else in the community. And now Maggie saw that even her brother, for all his years in the city, was just as unrefined as his parents.
    “There’s nothing more to be done, but thanks for your help, Mabel.”
    “You’re welcome.” Mabel’s brow knit.
    “Is something wrong?”
    She seemed hesitant to respond, then said, “I’m worried about my brother.”
    “He’s probably just nervous about being the guest of honor,” Maggie suggested.
    “If only that were it, but you wouldn’t understand, dear.”
    This was the kind of statement that always irked Maggie. Mabel could be so condescending.
    “Are you worried he’ll have his heart broken by Tamara Brennan?” Maggie asked, just to prove she might understand more than she was given credit for.
    Mabel blinked in surprise. Maggie had hit it exactly right.
    “What do you know of that?” Mabel asked.
    “Well, it’s obvious. He turns red every time he looks at her, or worse, trips all over himself when she is near. That’s probably why I got punch spilled all over me.”
    “And he hasn’t got a chance with her because she is here to snag Colby.”
    “What!” That was what Maggie feared most.
    “You are so perceptive, I am surprised you didn’t guess that, as well.”
    “I guessed,” Maggie admitted, her stomach sinking. “Has . . . has Colby spoken for her?”
    “Both the mothers are manipulating matters, though I am sure Tamara and Colby know the real purpose of the visit.”
    “That can’t happen!” gasped Maggie. Just the other day at Ellie’s quilting party it seemed as if Mrs. Stoddard was trying to push Colby and Ellie back together. That hadn’t bothered Maggie too much because she knew Ellie’s love for Zack was solid. What was Mrs. Stoddard’s game? Hedging her bets all around?
    “What do you mean? Oh, of course. You have a little crush on Colby, don’t