Big Sky Brazen by Dawn Luedecke

Author:Dawn Luedecke [Luedecke, Dawn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Western
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Published: 2013-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

The white house appeared warm and welcoming as they wheeled the wagon to a stop in front of the porch steps. The smell of fresh paint filled the air, and the lace-adorned windows glowed with the yellow light of candles inside, giving it a serene and pristine aura. Did the lady within match the building? DeEtte pictured a robust woman with pale hair and a doily headpiece, but she’d been wrong before—several times in recent weeks.

In three giant strides, John stood in front of the door and rapped hard. He glanced back quickly before the door opened to reveal a young, busty, blond woman. Her full skirts dusted the ground as if sweeping up dirt. The neck of her shirt buttoned all the way up to her chin. DeEtte couldn’t help but choke a little at the thought of such a restriction over her own windpipes.

John said a few inaudible words to the woman and she waved them inside the house and stepped back. He all but leapt to the ground from the top step and hurried to unfasten the tailgate. “Give me a hand with your sister?”

With a little assistance from Dolly, they helped her carefully into the house. The woman DeEtte assumed was Millie guided them to a room near the back of the first floor.

After DeEtte ensured her sister was tucked into her bed and there was nothing more she could do for her at the moment, she stepped out the door and silently closed it behind her.

“She’ll sleep sound in this room, and it’s close to the kitchen,” Millie said and motioned for DeEtte to follow her to the front of the house, where they found John in the sitting room. Their hostess brushed past her and bustled to the edge of the sideboard to pour tea.

“Now, tell me a bit about yourselves,” the precise woman said, as her skirts settled around the seat of her red velvet chair.

“Tage sent us here,” DeEtte blurted out, and almost missed the fleeting look of shock that slid across Millie’s face.

“He’s the farmer on the edge of town, is he not?” she said, taking a sip of tea.

“Of course he is. You…” DeEtte stopped short when John place his warm hand on her arm.

“I’m sorry. She wasted all her manners on the cattle. Trail shock, you know. First, do you have any other customers presently?” John flashed Millie one of his more charming smiles.

“I have one older woman who rents one of the main floor rooms on a permanent basis, and a nun who came in earlier today, but they are both asleep.”

“Excellent,” John exclaimed in a reasonable tone. “Now, what my lovely fiancée meant to say was that Mr. Whitestead sent us to your place and suggested we stay here. He mentioned a certain…arrangement you two have. Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with us. In fact, we would like to help in any way we can. You see, we have had some dealings with Vernon’s brother.”

Millie slid a calculating glare between DeEtte and John.

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