The Marshal's Ready-Made Family Read Online Free PDF

tackled her chores with vigor, hoping the physical exertion would ease her mental turmoil.
    Her face damp with perspiration, Jo spread another bale of hay while the wagon lumbered up the driveway, stopping only when her visitors halted before the barn.
    She pinched off her gloves and met them on the drive.
    “JoBeth!” Cora called.
    The little girl leaned out of the wagon and wrapped her arms around Jo’s neck. Marshal Cain met Jo’s gaze over the girl’s shoulder, and her breath strangled for a split second. There was something heady about having those dark eyes focused on her. She’d seen him every day this week, and his effect on her had grown rather than blunted. Each time she saw his face, her heart pounded, and her head spun as though she’d been twirling in a circle.
    Attempting to break the mysterious spell, she squeezed Cora tight and pulled her from her perch, then set her gently on the ground.
    Six-year-old Maxwell, Jo’s youngest brother, bounded down the driveway, his knees pumping. “JoBeth, JoBeth!” he called. “Are they here yet?”
    “Peas and carrots, Maxwell. Look with your own eyes. Can’t you see? Slow down before you run us over.”
    Her brother skidded to a halt before them. He wore his usual uniform of a tan shirt and brown trousers with a pair of red suspenders. A crumpled hat covered his dark hair. “Who are you?” he demanded of Cora.
    The little girl clutched her rag doll close. “I’m Cora.”
    “How old are you?” Maxwell asked.
    “Five.”
    The front door swung open and Mrs. McCoy stepped onto the porch. “Who do we have here?” She descended the stairs, her fingers busy unknotting the apron wrapped around her waist. “Gracious, you must be the prettiest little girl this side of the Mississippi!”
    “Our guests have arrived, Ma.” Jo tucked Cora against her side. The McCoy clan could be overwhelming, and Jo didn’t want the girl spooked.
    Maxwell dashed up the stairs and tugged on his mother’s skirts as she approached them. “That’s Cora. She said she’s five years old.”
    Edith McCoy smiled, her expression full of unspoken sympathy. “We’re pleased to have you. Why don’t you come on inside.”
    Edith labored up the walk, her gait stiff, and Jo sighed. Her ma’s left hip sometimes acted up, but Edith McCoy never complained. Complaining wasn’t ladylike. When Jo was younger, her ma had dressed her in frills and lace, but that hadn’t lasted. Despite being a paragon of feminine qualities in an untamed land, Edith had never swayed her daughter into fripperies.
    Her ma waved them toward the house. “Welcome to our home, Marshal Cain. I hope you like pot roast.”
    The marshal flashed a wry grin. “Just as long it’s not fried chicken.”
    “I see you’ve taken the fried-chicken tour of all the single ladies in Cimarron Springs.” Edith chuckled. “I figured I’d wait until the spring and let you enjoy a pot roast for a change.”
    Maxwell danced around them, his scuffed boots kicking up a whirl of dust. “Cora! Cora! The barn cat just had kittens. You wanna see them? Their eyes are open and everything.”
    The little girl tugged on Jo’s hand. “Can I?”
    Jo waited for Marshal Cain’s nod of approval. “Of course you can.”
    Maxwell spun around, and Jo caught him by the cuff of his shirt. “Cora isn’t from the country, so you be nice. No spiders, no frogs, no beetles...”
    “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Maxwell rolled his eyes. “I know guest rules.”
    “Not just any guest. Cora is a special guest. I want you on your Sunday best.”
    “I’ll be good.”
    Jo released Maxwell and planted her hands on her hips. “I bet Reverend Miller would have a thing or two to say about your Sunday best.”
    Her youngest brother scowled. “He boxed my ears last week.”
    “That’s because he got to you before I did.” Jo pointed a finger. “Now don’t get Cora’s pretty pink dress all dirty.”
    “I won’t,” Maxwell grumbled.
    Edith McCoy sighed