Journey of the Bride by Mary Fox Read Free Book Online Page B

and sent him her sweetest smile. “ That sounds good, ” she told him. Inside, she cheered. Outwardly, she let him take her hand and kiss the back of it before he took his leave of her presence.
     
    Once he was gone, she laughed, and she noted the pleased smile on Gerald ’ s face as well.
     
    “ You know this isn ’ t over though, right? ” he asked her.
     
    “ I know, ” she admitted. “ Far from it. ”
     

Chapter Two
     
     
     
    “ I still can ’ t believe you sent her away, ” Paul told Brandon as he stood next to the broad man. Brandon was standing with his feet just slightly apart, his arms crossed over his chest as he surveyed the men working around him. He seemed to be ignoring Paul, but Paul knew he heard every word. The way his jaw twitched at the mention of Courtney ’ s name proved it. The heated spark in his eyes was another clue as to his regret.
     
    And Brandon regretted his actions. Maybe not for the reasons Paul believed — whatever he believed — but he did regret his actions.
     
    Courtney had been a lovely addition to the ranch from the moment she ’ d crossed the home ’ s threshold. She was a warm essence in the house, her bright and cheery attitude something that had been missing since his ma died.
     
    He knew she had thought he ’ d been ignoring her, and in a way, she would have been correct. He had tried to. However, her being the only female amongst a group of males, it had been hard to do. She drew his eye like a flame did a moth. She ’ d always looked beautiful, even with her hair wild from slaving over a hot fire and her sleeves rolled up well past her elbows. It had taken everything in his body not to force himself upon her again.
     
    His groin ached for her and he salivated for the chance to kiss her again.
     
    She wasn ’ t something he could have though. She came from a finer society where women didn ’ t have sex casually. They married into money and bedded their husbands only for the heirs they ’ d produce.
     
    That was not his style, not the way he ’ d been raised. He ’ d always known that women were something to be cherished and loved — often and without abandon.
     
    There was no way Miss Courtney le Brush would ever willingly want such a life. He ’ d had no other choice but to send her home, back to whatever family she ’ d had before she ’ d accepted Paul ’ s offer to be Brandon ’ s wife. She was back where she belonged, in a society that she ’ d been raised in, among the kind of people that doted on her as they doted on his brother.
     
    No matter. That didn ’ t stop Brandon from missing the woman ’ s company, or her cooking. He missed her with an ache that was physical. There was no way he ’ d ever tell Paul that though. His brother was already determined to drag Courtney back here whether Brandon wanted him to or not.
     
    “ She doesn ’ t belong here, ” he said instead. It was true enough.
     
    Paul laughed. The sound was both mocking and grating. “ Doesn ’ t belong here? ” he asked. “ Brandon, no one belongs here. Not even you. Everyone makes due with what ’ s happening to them, makes the best of it. Others make choices that lead them to better lives. ” He coughed as a horse trotted past, kicking up dust and dirt into his mouth. “ Miss le Brush made her choice when she answered my ad. Not her father. Her. She answered the ad. She wanted a different kind of life than she was going to have at home, and she decided she ’ d rather have that kind of life here. Is that so hard to believe? ”
     
    Brandon closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers, and heaved a deep sigh. “ That ’ s neither here nor there, ” he said. He frowned at his brother. “ How long do you think she would have stayed here before she was unhappy? Before she was wining that she wanted to go home? That she would rather live in the city then be married to a working rancher like myself? Hmmm? ”
     
    His