Husband Wanted by Charlotte Hughes

Author:Charlotte Hughes [Hughes, Charlotte]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-02-24T05:00:00+00:00

“Where the hell could she be?” Clay asked, standing in the door of the dining room where Louisa was serving breakfast.

Frannie shook her head. “I’ve no idea. I looked in her room, and she’s gone.”

Greta caught the tail end of the conversation as she came into the room. “Are you asking about Mandy?” she said. When they both nodded, she went on. “The child got up with the chickens this morning. Said she was too excited to sleep and wanted to go for a walk. I told her there were bicycles in the garage if she wanted to use one.”

“Did you see which way she went?” Clay asked.

“She was headed toward the Elderberry place.”

“Oh, no!” Frannie said, turning to Clay. “What if she talks to somebody? “You know what a gossip Maude Elderberry is. What if she finds out the truth?”

“Oh, my,” Greta said. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Let’s go,” Clay said, leading the way from the kitchen to the foyer. Walter, coming down the stairs in his bathrobe, called out.

“Where’s the fire?” he asked.

“Mandy’s gone out bike riding this morning,” Frannie said. “We have to find her before she has a chance to talk to anyone.” They were out the door before the older man could question them further.

They climbed into Clay’s car. Once they had their seat belts fastened, he started the engine and peeled out of the circular drive, then drove the quarter-mile distance to the Elderberry place.

“I knew this would backfire on me,” Frannie said. “That’s what I get for lying to Mandy.”

Clay covered Frannie’s hand. “Let’s not assume the worst. For all we know, the cat is still in the bag.”

Frannie looked at him. “What?”

“Never mind.”

They both spied Mandy standing beside a corral of horses on the Elderberry property. “Oh, no!” Frannie said. “We might be too late.”

Clay braked and turned sharply to the right, spitting gravel as he did so. Mandy, who was talking to the Elderberry’s oldest son, looked startled at first but smiled the moment she recognized them. She hurried over.

“Dwight was just showing me his horses,” she said. “Aren’t they beautiful?”

Frannie got out of the car, searching her daughter’s face for some sign that she knew the truth. She saw nothing. “Yes, they are beautiful,” she said. “We were worried about you, Mandy.”

“Worried about me? Why?”

Frannie knew the girl would think it odd that she was upset over a simple bike ride; she couldn’t very well tell her the real reason she was anxious. Fortunately, it seemed the only thing Mandy and Dwight had discussed was horses. Frannie smiled as she pulled a strand of blond hair from her daughter’s face. “I guess I’m just being overprotective,” she confessed. “Are you hungry? There’s a big breakfast waiting back at the house.”

“I’m starved,” Mandy told her. “Let me say good-bye to Dwight and grab the bike.”

Frannie climbed back into the car and sighed her immense relief. “I don’t think she knows anything.”

Clay looked relieved as well. “Good. We’ll just have to watch her more carefully.

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