Read Online Constance: Bride of Florida (American Mail-Order Bride 27) by Patricia Pacjac Carroll - Free Book Online

perhaps more.”
    “Well, then I guess it will be goodbye here aboard the Journeys end .”
    She glanced at him. Her answer had taken the wind out of his sails. “Yes, I guess it will be. How is your stomach feeling?”
    He grinned at her weakly. “As long as the seas are smooth, I’m alright. I do confess, I have never seen anyone take to sailing as you have.”
    “I am as surprised as anyone. I do love it, though. The way the sun rises out of the ocean and then sinks beneath her waves to make way for the moon.”
    Cooky brought their food. “I’ll miss you. It’s been a joy to cook for you, Lassie. You keep that gold star.”
    “The food has been excellent, and I will miss you, too. I haven’t heard, do you know when we will be there?”
    “Tomorrow. Captain said as long as everything goes as planned, we’ll dock by eight o’clock in the morning to catch the high tide.”
    “Tomorrow morning? Oh, I had no idea we would arrive so early.”
    Mr. Briggs stared at her with a look akin to a wolf spotting a fresh meal. “If whoever it is you are meeting won’t be there, I’d be happy to show you around.”
    Startled by the change in his demeanor, she shook her head. “No, it won’t be a problem. I can tend to myself.” That part was true. She had since she was fourteen. While pleased that she could now speak above a squeak, her mouse-like nature yet lingered. What if E. Ferris refused her? What if he took one look at her and sent her back like an incorrect order? She let out a worried sigh. What was she going to do?
    “Is everything all right?”
    She glanced at him and saw his wolfish eyes hiding behind his kind words. “Oh, I’ll be fine.”
    She hurriedly ate the food Cooky brought her and then excused herself. She needed to decide what she was going to do. First, she’d take a nap. Lots of problems could be dealt with during a nap. At least, on board the ship, it had seemed that way.

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    Drake pushed the pad away and set his pencil down. Another day finished. He’d managed to clean up Father’s desk and make some advantageous deals along the way. Mother was holding her own and gaining some strength.
    Doc warned that she would need rest and care and that her heart could give out at any time.
    Drake hated that warning. Yet, wasn’t that how they all should live. One is taken at sea, another at birth. Best to live as if it’s your last day, he figured. Then laughed when he looked around his father’s office.
    Yeah, that’s what I’m doing.
    He still longed for the tall sails and wide-open sea, but his family needed him. He thought Edgar and Edwin might resent his taking over, but they hadn’t. Indeed, they’d welcomed him and his ideas with open arms and minds.
    And then there was Kimberly. He’d found himself looking and thinking about her more every day. By the bright sparkle in her eyes when he came near her, he thought she might be thinking of him, too.
    She was everything a man could want. Beautiful, never a hair out of place, and organized. Perfect for him. Except for one problem. His bride was on her way from Boston. Constance Penny. What was he going to do with her? And how was he going to explain her to the family?
    A dark part of his heart hoped that she’d fall in love with one of his brothers instead. After all, he’d signed all the wires and letters with E. Ferris so she wouldn’t know it was him. Edwin wasn’t interested in anyone yet as far as he knew.
    The clock dinged. Time to go home. He gave a sideways glance at the calendar and shook his head. Well, Journeys end was due to come in a week from now. That gave him seven days to decide what he was going to do.
    Kimberly seemed to be pure loveliness except that to have her meant he’d be bound to the store. Not that she’d ever said anything of the kind, or had reason to, but she wasn’t the type of woman who’d let him sail the seas and leave her.
    Then there was Constance Penny. A mail-order bride he’d never met. That