Calico Brides by Darlene Franklin Read Free Book Online Page B

guest, blushing whenever he glanced in her direction.
    With Pa, Haydn discussed the finer points of Pastor Fairfield’s sermon, taken from the love chapter in 1 Corinthians. “I try to love my wife like that. The way Christ loved the church.” Pa pointed a fork at Haydn. “That’s what I will expect from the men who marry my daughters.”
    Gladys could have sunk through the floor at that statement. What would Haydn think?
    Haydn gave her a passing smile. “I don’t blame you, sir.” He didn’t say anything to suggest he had any intentions toward Gladys at all.
    The boys more than made up for Haydn’s lack of interest in her, monopolizing his time from the moment they finished eating.
    “Go ahead and talk with our guest.” Ma tried to shoo Gladys out of the kitchen.
    “I can’t.” Gladys pointed out the window. “He’s out there playing with the boys already.” Touching her collar again, she thought of the extra minutes she had spent on dressing this morning. Waste of time, as it turned out.
    About the time Georgie tired of the game and stomped his boots at the door to shake off the snow, Pa met Haydn at the door and led him to the barn. Gladys took her time drying the dishes, her glance darting to the window more times than she wanted to admit.
    When the two men exited the barn, Haydn headed down the street without returning to say good-bye to Gladys or her mother. Gladys stayed rooted to the spot until Pa came in.
    At a single shake of his head, Gladys ran up to her room, holding back her tears until she could sob into her pillows.

    When Haydn first overheard Gladys’s comment, he decided to excuse himself from his visit to the Polson house. But faced with Mrs. Polson’s friendly insistence and Gladys’s hopeful face, he’d felt helpless to refuse. Maybe he had heard Gladys’s words out of context.
    Unwilling to risk his heart, he sat as far as possible from Gladys at the dinner table. He spoke to her only when he had to. He never expected her to be money hungry, but Grandfather’s warning had turned out to be prophetic.
    In spite of his resolution to keep his distance, Haydn couldn’t help being drawn to the family. Who could resist little Georgie, who clung to his arm and sent snowballs across the yard with great abandon and bad aim? Or young Gordon, eager to prove his coming manhood? Even the two girls, Grace and Glenda, had charmed him with their blushes and giggles. They were the kind of younger sisters Haydn wished he had.
    Not a one of them seemed curious about how much money he had or didn’t have. As Haydn whisked the boys back into the house to dry off before they got too cold, Mr. Polson appeared. “Care to join me, Mr. Johnson?”
    Although phrased as a question, the gleam in Gladys’s father’s eye told Haydn he’d better not refuse. Inside the barn, Haydn’s horse neighed a greeting, and Haydn stroked its nose.
    After Mr. Polson’s comments about loving his wife as much as Christ had loved the church, Haydn could guess what was coming. What timing. The first time a father took him aside to ask, “What are your intentions toward my daughter?” happened within days after Grandfather laid down the stipulation that Haydn marry before year’s end.
    Gladys’s father took his time getting around to the point. At last he took a seat on a bale of hay and gestured for Haydn to join him. “When I was courting my wife, I was a bundle of nerves. I never imagined what it was like for her father. Now I think it’s even worse.” He smiled. “Gladys is our eldest, my firstborn. I love all my children, but for three years, until Grace was born, we poured all our love and energy into Gladys. So if anyone were to hurt her in any way…” He left the sentence dangling.
    Haydn gulped. What had Gladys said to give her father reason to think he was courting her? All he had felt was a passing interest, a curiosity, no more, a feeling born of proximity and new surroundings and his grandfather’s