Where the River Flows by McQueen Hildie

Author:McQueen, Hildie [McQueen, Hildie]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2015-11-20T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Viola stood next to a fence and watched little Grace running in circles chasing a butterfly. It was a beautiful day in Colter Valley. Spring was in full swing, the lush colors of wild flowers across the field made her smile. She'd never seen such stunning open spaces before. Just as she turned to go inside, Joshua came out. Bundle under his arm, he didn't see her, kept his attention straight ahead. Once he made his way down the porch steps, he headed away from her to where she assumed was the river's edge. The puppy caught sight of him and raced behind.

The kitchen would be her first target, and then she'd clean up the front room. If his sister and Sunshine came for a visit and found the house in it's current state, it would mortify her.

Hopefully by the time they did visit, they'd have the business of consummating the marriage done. If he refused, then she'd ask them to take her back to town. Surely in a place where he had to place an ad, she could find a more suitable husband. The judge could annul the marriage and she'd ask to work with Sunshine and help bake cakes until she found another husband. Or she could write her new friend Mabel, who'd promised to come for her.

As far as she knew no one in town knew about her yet, so perhaps it would be easy to start anew. And this time she'd have the advantage of getting to know a gentleman first.

Several hours later, she sat down to a cup of coffee on the porch. Her arms were sore and hands raw from cleaning and scrubbing. The kitchen gleamed and she'd yet to start cleaning the front room. The floors had been swept and scrubbed with soap and she'd washed the dingy kitchen curtain, which now flapped in the wind.

Although the larder was almost empty, there were beans and some dried beef, so she had them cooking. Along with some left over bread from the basket, it would make a suitable dinner meal.

She looked to a small hen house and picked up a basket from the porch floor. "Let's see what we've got." Before long she returned with enough eggs for breakfast and several more she could come up with some sort of meal if Joshua decided not to go to town for sundries the following day.

Four men who'd arrived earlier stood outside the stable speaking with Joshua. He motioned to the corral and two men went inside. They seemed to have come to an agreement and soon the men were riding off with several horses.

Viola pushed her hair away from her face and stood in front of the house attempting to make out the men's features. If they were local, perhaps one of them would be good husband material.

After the men left, she turned to go back inside, only to stop when Joshua called to her. He sauntered more than walked, his movements graceful and self-assured.

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