Returning From Rhode Island (Pioneer Brides Of Rattlesnake Ridge 08) by Catherine Bilson

Author:Catherine Bilson
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Sweet Promise Press
Published: 2021-02-26T05:00:00+00:00

A lthough he’d enjoyed sitting with the Hollis and Winthrop families at the cafe, Grant couldn’t stop thinking about Astrid as he walked back to the boarding house after finishing lunch. How he wished he could have accepted the invitation to sit with her at church! Instead, he’d had to suffer through the service with his uncle’s widow constantly fussing beside him, dropping her hymnal half a dozen times and asking him to find the page.

Once he’d finally escaped Mrs. Garrett, Astrid was already rushing out of the church with her sisters and father. Grant went into the Cowboy Cafe after them on a whim, thinking perhaps he might be able to join the family, and Astrid’s smile of welcome as he stood in the doorway was everything he might have wished… until Sterling Hayden pushed past him and went to take the vacant seat at Astrid’s side.

Was the rancher courting Astrid? It sure looked like it from across the room; the man had seemed to hang on her every word, staring at her throughout the meal. She was well worth staring at in a gown the same blue as her clear, bright eyes; even if it wasn’t the latest fashion, Grant still thought she was stunning.

He was pretty sure Tess Winthrop, at least, had noticed his interest in Astrid. She’d made a few sly comments while they ate, probing delicately to find out if he was on the lookout for a wife and singing Astrid’s praises, talking about how hard she worked and how her father surely couldn’t have kept the ranch going without her help.

Barb Hollis had been listening avidly, and had obviously jumped to the correct conclusion, because she’d said dryly, “Didn’t think tall blondes were your type, Mr. Watson.” It was an obvious dig about his long-ago passion for Daisy Rockford, a close friend of Barb’s, who couldn’t be more different from Astrid physically.

“Intelligent, competent women are my type, Mrs. Hollis,” Grant had riposted.

She’d laughed and applauded him lightly. “Well said, Mr. Watson. Well, I will wish you luck… and your affections returned, this time around.”

He’d winced, pretending to be hurt by the verbal jab, but he was pretty sure Barb did genuinely wish him well. She’d been the piano player and singer at the saloon when he’d been deputy sheriff, and there’d been more than one drunken fool he’d hauled out and tossed in jail for the night after the man offered too much disrespect to Barb.

Mrs. Winthrop had come to his rescue with a change of subject, but with Astrid right across the room, he’d struggled to pay attention to the conversation. Sterling Hayden had been sitting far too closely to Astrid for his liking, and the rancher had even accompanied the Anderssens out after they’d eaten. From his seat by the window, Grant had been able to watch them walk all the way down the street to the general store, Hayden holding Astrid’s hand on his arm possessively. From the set of Astrid’s

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.