To Wed in Texas Read Online Free PDF Page A

thought a preacher should look like. Maybe it was his size, or the quiet air about him, but she’d never have guessed him a reverend.
    At the small second floor landing, he turned left and entered the first door. “The twins’ room is larger and has a small bed in it where Willow always slept, but I thought you’d like the privacy of your own room.”
    Karlee set the lantern down on a small chest of drawers. He hadn’t lied, the room was small yet neat and clean. Through the window, she could see a barn in the back and a garden plot, newly plowed, waiting for spring. Everything about the house was plain and simple as though it had been built only a short time before. A house to look like a home, she thought—walls, white paint, a porch—but something was missing. Somehow this little place with its square rooms and blank walls was not a home.
    Daniel put the trunk down at the foot of the bed. “I’ve only been living here a few months.” He seemed to have read her mind. “The house came with my assignment tothe church. The preacher who came before me was killed and his mother should have gotten the house, but she disappeared. After a few months they passed it along to me.”
    “Before that I lived with a farm family outside of town and rode a circuit to preach every Sunday.” He glanced around as though it were the first time he’d been in the room. “I hope you have everything you’ll need up here.”
    “Thank you, I’ll be fine.” She tried to hide the awkwardness of the moment by straightening the lacetrimmed pillows on the bed.
    “Main Street is only a few blocks from here.” He moved closer to the window. “Willow always walked with the twins, but if you like, I’ll hitch the wagon before I leave each morning. I’ll tell the bank and all the merchants Monday that you’re to charge whatever you need to my account.” He hesitated, as though choosing his words carefully. “The climate is warmer here. You may want to buy a few new dresses.”
    Karlee looked at her threadworn “best” dress. She couldn’t remember ever having had a new dress. It had taken great skill to cut this one down to fit her after Aunt Violet tired of it.
    When she didn’t say anything, Daniel paced in front of the window, making the room seem smaller. “Charge the things you need to me, but I’ll have the bank open an account in your name. I’ll deposit ten dollars a month. You’ll need your own funds.”
    She was speechless. No one had ever offered to pay her. Most thought just giving her a roof over her head should be payment enough. Except for the times she traveled, she’d never had any money.
    He frowned at her. “That might not be enough. I was just guessing.”
    “No!” Karlee answered. “It’s very generous. I readsomewhere the cowhands make that a month in Texas.” In truth, she’d read everything she could get her hands on about Texas.
    “Corralling longhorns may be easier than keeping up with the twins,” Daniel guessed. “But it’s your money to use or save as you choose. I’ll pay for anything you need while you’re here.”
    On impulse, Karlee closed the distance between them and hugged him lightly, placing her cheek against his for the briefest of moments.
    The muscles in his arms tightened beneath her fingertips. A twitch along his square jaw line reacted to her touch. He stepped backward so fast he almost toppled over the trunk.
    Karlee froze. She’d done something wrong. She’d been too personal. Should she apologize? Should she try to explain? How could she take back her action? They might have touched in the darkness when he’d comforted her, but this was in the light, and in her bedroom.
    She wished desperately she were alone. Then she could dig into her trunk and find one of her favorite books. She could lose herself in a story and no longer have to worry about doing the proper thing. In her stories, the characters knew what to say and do. In real life, when Karlee didn’t show