One True Love (Cupid, Texas 0.5) by Lori Wilde Read Free Book Online Page A

have the right to vote, they should have the right to lead if they wish.”
    “I don’t want to lead,” I said, not wanting him to think I was manly.
    “Everyone,” Penelope called downstairs. “Gather around so you can witness my grand entrance.”
    John and I grinned at each other and in unison we moved to the bottom of the stairs. I marveled at how we fell into step together, side by side.
    Mabel came from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron and smelling of vanilla. “What’s all the fuss about?”
    John waved with a flourish to the top of the stairs where Penelope had appeared.
    She stood on the landing, posing with a dramatic flair in the stunning mint green dress. It was sleeveless, quite scandalous indeed for the likes of Cupid, and it had a straight loose bodice that dropped all the way to her hips. The hem hit her just a few inches below her knees, exposing lots of leg adorned in silk stockings. On her feet, she wore high-heeled shoes, and on her head sat a floppy mint green hat decorated with white lilies of the valley.
    “My heavens,” Mabel muttered, “The world is turning topsy-turvy.”
    I stared at Penelope, awestruck. She could have stepped straight off the pages of Harper’s Bazaar . Until this dancing thing, I had tended to think of Mrs. Bossier as matronly. She was well and properly married and had two children, but right now, she looked no older than I. Her passion for dancing shone like a beacon from her eyes.
    No way would I dare tell her that when she appeared at the Ladies’ League event dressed like this, whether she earned hundreds of dollars for the charity or not, she would not regain her lost position with that tight-lipped crowd. In fact, appearing dressed this way might be her social undoing.
    I wondered why John did not point this out, but I shouldn’t have been surprised. I’d already noticed he wasn’t the type to put restrictions on the behavior of others. Which was better? Warning his sister of her potential downfall or giving Penelope her independence and allowing her to make her own mistakes? I’d grown up in a world marked by distinct right or wrong. This gray area confused me.
    “You would look amazing in that dress, Millie,” John murmured so low that I was certain I had misunderstood him, but I couldn’t stop a sweet thrill from sweeping over me.
    Penelope spread her arms wide. “Ta-da.”
    John cupped his curled fingers over his mouth as if he were speaking through a megaphone and said, “Here she is folks, straight from Chicago, to grace our modest hamlet with her incredible dancing skills, the thoroughly modern Miss Penny.”
    In that moment I saw them as they must have been as children, loving and teasing each other.
    “Oh, John, you’re making fun,” Penelope protested, but her cheeks turned a dark shade of pink and she started walking sideways down the stairs, regal in her flapper clothes. She was the bravest woman I knew, daring to do something most women wouldn’t have the courage to pursue.
    And that’s when one of Penelope’s high heels slipped out from under her and sent her plunging down the length of the stairs.
    A LL THREE OF us ran to Penelope; John and I, being younger and quicker, beat Mabel to her side.
    But Mabel, being bigger and older, muscled us away. She knelt on the floor, scooped Penelope up in her plump arms, and cradled her back in the crook of her elbow. “Good Lord, ma’am, what on earth was you thinkin’? Parading down the steps in those heels.”
    Concern pulled John’s lips tight. “Sister, are you okay?”
    Tears sprang to Penelope’s eyes and she grabbed for her ankle. “Ow, ow, ow.”
    I looked down at her right ankle that was swelling big as a cow’s udder, and plastered my hand over my mouth.
    Penelope’s gaze met mine. “It’s not that bad, is it?”
    I shook my head.
    Penelope reached for John’s arm. “Get me to my feet. I have to see if I can stand.”
    “Penny, that’s not a good