The Sweetest Mail Order Bride (Sweet Creek Brides Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

but it can tip over. Then whoosh! Fire. Trouble does find you girls, doesn’t it?”
    “It’s the pony this time. Honest,” Gracie explained from Pumpkin’s back, seated behind her sister.
    “Back, Pumpkin!” Hope grabbed the reins, the pony obliged and the three of them returned to the boardwalk. Steeled horseshoes clanked on the wooden planks as they rode away.
    “That is the funniest thing I’ve seen in years.” Laughing, with her hand to her middle, Clementine leaned out the door as if eager to take in every last bit of amusement she could.
    “I should sell tickets to the Gracie and Hope circus,” he commented dryly. “If I did, I’d be rich by now.”
    “I’m starting to see why you can’t find a wife.”
    “At least you can see my plight. Trust me, you should be counting yourself lucky this didn’t work out for you.”
    “I’m starting to see that.” She swiped a tear of laughter from her eye.
    Mrs. O’Hurley popped her head around the corner. “Tell me that pony wasn’t trying to get in here.”
    “Technically only her front hooves were in. The rest of her was officially on the boardwalk.” Clementine flashed a smile at the older woman. “Although she did have her eye on the lampshade, but I saved it.”
    “I’m indebted to you. That’s my favorite lampshade.” Effie O’Hurley arched an eyebrow. “Caleb, if there’s dirt on my new carpet, you’ll pay to have it cleaned.”
    “Of course.” He jammed his hands into his denim pockets. He was frustrated, he was overwhelmed, he was tired from a long day. And he couldn’t stop watching Clementine as she exchanged words with Effie, asking if there was anything she could do to help out in the kitchen. She really wanted to make herself useful, no pay or credit to her bill required.
    Of all the women his father and the girls had to pick, why did they have to find such a nice one? He wished he could dislike her, it would make it much easier to turn around and walk away. But that wasn’t what kept him from going.
    “Mrs. O’Hurley is going to get help whether she wants it or not.” Clementine swept toward him, lovely in simple calico. Her blond ringlet curls bounced as she came to a stop in front of him. “I don’t know if I should thank you for paying for my stay here or if I should refuse it like I did your offer of money.”
    “You should accept it. You have your future to think about. Will it be another mail-order marriage?” He didn’t know why his chest ached when he asked that.
    “It will have to be. I’m twenty-seven years old.” She shrugged one slender shoulder. “It’s not easy at this age. Men want younger women. I’ve been told I’m well past my bloom.”
    “Not from where I’m standing.” He wanted to reach out to her—he couldn’t explain why. Was she as lonesome as he was?
    Maybe it was the doctor in him, the man wanting to fix what hurt in other people. Maybe it was something emotional, coming from a deeper place in his heart, a place he didn’t understand. The words rolled off his tongue before he could stop them. “Come have supper with us tonight. The girls would be delighted.”
    She blinked, as if shocked beyond words. As if nothing could astonish her more. “Uh—I was going to help Mrs. O’Hurley.”
    “She has hired staff. She won’t miss you. The girls will.”
    “I, uh—” She searched for words and was unable to find them.
    “It’s just a neighborly invitation,” he clarified. “If I know the girls, they talked Hattie into making something special for you, betting that this all was going to work out.”
    “Hattie?”
    “She’s our housekeeper. It wasn’t easy finding someone to look after my twins. They have a reputation.”
    “Really? I haven’t noticed.”
    “Funny. They’ve chased away more than a few housekeepers in their time. You were brought out here under false pretenses. They weren’t honest about what you might be getting into.”
    “It’s practically fraud.”