Wild Lilly Read Online Free PDF

fat, just strong, and sturdy like a blacksmith. The second was an equally large woman, with the same broad face, but her hair was light brown. Hauling a bucket from the back of the wagon was a young girl with strawberry- blonde hair done in braids, and the same broad face as the older women.
    “There you are! I am sorry to drop by unannounced, but I thought you might need a hand settling in. I am Mrs. Beechum, the mayor’s wife. This is my daughter, Maggie.” The girl smiled shyly from behind her mother.
    “I am Mrs. Kerns,” the brunette woman introduced herself as she hefted a pile of rags and a mop from the wagon. “Mrs. Beechum’s sister.”
    “I am so pleased to meet you. I apologize for the state of my home. I wasn’t expecting visitors yet,” Lilly apologized as a blush heated her cheeks. In the back of her mind, she kept on thinking of her mother’s hysterical reaction if she knew Lilly was entertaining the mayor’s wife in a sweat-soaked dress with black grease beneath her nails.
    Mrs. Beechum marched up the creaky steps with purpose, her kind brown eyes doing an inspection from the beams to the wood floor in one sweep.
    “Honestly, it’s better than I thought. Mostly dust and neglect. The roof still looks sound and I don’t see any animal droppings. You’re lucky your uncle kept the house so well sealed while he was gone.” Mrs. Beechum clucked her tongue. “Where are my manners? I am so sorry for your loss, dear. Jackson was a rogue, but he always kept his word and didn’t cause my husband any trouble.”
    Mrs. Kerns began to wet a rag in the sink and poured some baking soda on it. “Mr. Brooks did me a good service one winter. My husband was brought low by an illness. Mr. Brooks gathered together a group of men and cut us enough wood to get us through the cold season.”
    Lilly watched the women move about like an efficient cleaning army. She grabbed the horse brush from the bucket of grimy water and began to scrub off the stove again before one of the women beat her to it. “Thank you for your kind words, ladies. I admired my uncle very much. Every month he used to send my grandmother a letter, and we would read it together. I dreamed for days about what Uncle Jackson described in such vivid detail.”
    Lilly smiled fondly through the open bedroom door at the splendid brass bed with its feather tick mattress. Uncle Jackson had caused quite a stir when he brought the bed into town. It came from a store in Kansas City, already assembled, and gleamed in the sun as Jackson drove it down the main street to the cabin in the back of his wagon. He wrote about the envious stares from the women and the grumbles from their husbands as they asked where they might purchase such a fine bed.
    “Please don’t think I’m being rude, but my husband mentioned your run-in this morning down by the saloons.” Mrs. Beechum paused as she cleaned the globe of an oil lamp with vinegar. The sharp scent carried on the breeze from the windows.
    Lilly groaned and almost covered her face with her grease and soot covered hands. “I didn’t know where I was. I’ve never been in a saloon district before.”
    “Yes, well, I thought I might let you know the fashion of dress you were wearing is...a bit scandalous for this area of the country.” Mrs. Beechum set the lamp back down and moved on to the windows. “Please don’t think I’m being rude. I’m sure your dress is the height of fashion on the east coast. We just tend to be a bit more conservative in our everyday dress. Thank goodness Mr. McGregor was there to save you.”
    Lilly clenched her jaw and plunged the brush into the bucket of water. Their Mr. McGregor was an utter rogue. Who knew how long he’d been staring at her before telling her that her bosom was falling out of her corset. To make matters worse, those faded blue eyes made her insides tighten just as much as her nipples. Everything about his rough demeanor attracted her, and he was beyond