No One's Bride (Escape to the West Book 1) by Nerys Leigh Read Free Book Online

don’t follow God’s will, and sometimes they just happen and we may never know why until we can ask God when we get up there to Heaven. But sometimes they may happen to us so we can help someone else.” He squeezed Adam’s shoulder. “I know how much you’ve been praying for the right woman to come into your life. I don’t believe God could have got it so badly wrong.”
    Adam drew in a breath and straightened, grasping at the tiny glimmer of hope. “Maybe you’re right. I should have asked before I thought the worst of her. It was just such a shock.”
    “I’ll make sure everyone who was going to come knows the wedding isn’t happening. You can work out what to tell them later. If you want to stay for a while, you can. Irene won’t be here for another hour. I warn you though, if you’re still here when she arrives you’ll find yourself cleaning windows before you know what’s happening and you won’t be able to work out how she made you do it.”
    Despite his sour mood, Adam smiled. He knew just how persuasive Mrs Jones could be. “No, I should go back. I at least want to know why Amy did it. Thank you, Pastor. You’ve helped.”
    He left the church feeling much better, but as he walked back to the post office his trepidation grew again. What if he got in there and Amy didn’t have a good reason for destroying his dreams? He tried to focus on what Pastor Jones had said. Even if he never knew the reason this had happened, God was still with him.
    And if Amy wasn’t the one for him, he’d just save up for another year for the train fare and find the woman who was.
    Adam’s heart was racing as he walked into the parlour behind the post office. He tried to ignore it. Amy was where he’d left her, her head resting on her crossed arms on the table, face hidden.
    Guilt stabbed at him. He didn’t know what to do with it. He could almost hear his father saying to him, She’s the one who used you, boy. Why are you the one feeling guilty ? He hated it when he started thinking like his father.
    “Amy?”
    She lifted her head and wiped the back of her hand across her puffy, red eyes. Wordlessly, she pushed an envelope across the surface of the table towards him. Inside were banknotes totalling sixty-five dollars.
    “It’s all I have,” she said. “It’s the money I was going to use to buy a ticket and get a room once I got to San Francisco. I know it’s not even half what you paid to get me here, but I’ll find a job and pay back the rest as quickly as I can, I promise. I always intended to pay you back. I’ve packed my things. I’ll go to the boarding house.”
    Her bag was on the chair next to her. She didn’t have much to pack.
    Adam stared at the envelope. “Can you tell me why you did it?”
    She looked down at her lap. “There was a... situation in New York I had to get away from. Far away. I didn’t know what else to do.” Her eyes lifted to meet his. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. You have to believe me.”
    He hated himself for not answering, but he wasn’t sure if he did believe her. He’d gone from being certain she was the most wonderful woman in the world to not knowing her at all. But maybe that was the problem. How could he possibly know her in less than a day? His desire for someone to love had clouded his judgement.
    She stood and picked up her bag. “I’m sorry, Ad... Mr Emerson.”
    As she turned, the handle of the bag caught on the top of the chair, causing it to jerk from her grasp and fall to the floor. Something tumbled onto the wood, bouncing a couple of times before coming to a halt against Adam’s shoe. He bent to pick it up, a shudder going through him as he did so. Pulling at the groove in the metal, he watched the blade slide free from the handle of the folding knife.
    Had she meant to harm him?
    But then he saw the fear in her eyes, her shoulders trembling, and realisation dawned. “Amy, were you in danger in New York? Did someone hurt you?”
    She shook her