Read Online Lone Star Wedding by Sandra Steffen - Free Book Online
Authors: Sandra Steffen
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she was. All her life, all sheâd done was lecture Maria about the importance of studying and furthering her education. Hannah didnât know how to have fun. She didnât know how to dress, that was for sure. Maria couldnât begin to fathom what the man with the impressivebiceps, long, lithe legs and interesting face saw in Hannah. Her sister usually only attracted computer geeks and nerds.
When sheâd first seen Hannah and the man disappear behind closed doors, Maria had thought that maybe Hannah had changed. She should have known Miss High and Mighty wouldnât know how to keep a man busy for more than five minutes. She was probably still a virgin, for Godâs sake.
Not Maria. Sheâd always known what a womanâs body was made for. She had breasts to die for. Men used to tell her that all the time. It had been a while since sheâd heard it. Oh, how she missed it.
Lately her life had gotten out of control.
Why couldnât things just go her way for once? Nothing ever did. And she was so tired of working, so tired of living in that awful trailer in Leather Bucket. So tired of people who refused to take her seriously.
Just look at her. She was only twenty-three. She should have been having fun. Sheâd found the perfect way to get ahead and make those uppity Fortunes give the Cassidys their due. Her mother had refused to listen. So had Cole and Hannah. So Maria had taken things into her own hands. It had been a good plan. Brilliant. But then things had gone wrong. So wrong.
Now she was stuck in that dingy trailer in the dowdiest town in the country, working two menial jobs to make ends meet. And when she wasnât working, she was taking care of the baby. Life had been so much easier when she was a child.
Sheâd felt a tiny pang of homesickness when sheâd first happened to glimpse Hannah. For a moment sheâd wanted to go to her older sister the way she had when they were kids. Back then she used to give in to the loneliness and unhappiness that had dogged her whole life and knock onHannahâs door. Good old boring Hannah was usually studying, but she always smiled at Maria, and invited her in. Sometimes, Hannah would brush Mariaâs hair for a long time. Maria would stare at her reflection in the mirror, mesmerized, smiling only when Hannah told her she was pretty.
âBut remember, Maria,â Hannah used to whisper. âPretty is as pretty does.â
Maria rolled her eyes all these years later. What did Hannah know?
Maria was the one who was going to have the last laugh. She was! Her plan to present the Fortunes with an offspring had gone awry. She had spent months trying to get into one of the younger Fortuneâs bed in order to get pregnant. It had all been for nothing. Sheâd been forced to go to a sperm bank for what sheâd needed. It hadnât been fun, but she hadnât done it for pleasure. Sheâd done it to ensure that at least one Cassidy got what she deserved: a portion of the Fortune dynasty.
At last it had seemed as if something had gone right. Sheâd know that a certain Fortune bachelor had donated to a sperm bank years before, and she had asked for just the right donor profile⦠All sheâd had to do was have her baby, and wait for the right time to present the Fortunes with another heir.
The christening for Matthew and Claudia Fortuneâs son, Bryan, had looked like the perfect family affair to unveil her little surprise. Sheâd put her baby in the crib in the nursery, then joined the party, waiting for the perfect moment to present her son. But when she had returned to the nursery, her baby was gone. Kidnapped. Sheâd panicked. Who wouldnât? She didnât know what to do. She only knew that nobody would give a damn about her child, certainly no one would pay his ransom. So she did theonly thing she could to protect her child. She picked up baby Bryan and crept away with him.
Now they
When sheâd first seen Hannah and the man disappear behind closed doors, Maria had thought that maybe Hannah had changed. She should have known Miss High and Mighty wouldnât know how to keep a man busy for more than five minutes. She was probably still a virgin, for Godâs sake.
Not Maria. Sheâd always known what a womanâs body was made for. She had breasts to die for. Men used to tell her that all the time. It had been a while since sheâd heard it. Oh, how she missed it.
Lately her life had gotten out of control.
Why couldnât things just go her way for once? Nothing ever did. And she was so tired of working, so tired of living in that awful trailer in Leather Bucket. So tired of people who refused to take her seriously.
Just look at her. She was only twenty-three. She should have been having fun. Sheâd found the perfect way to get ahead and make those uppity Fortunes give the Cassidys their due. Her mother had refused to listen. So had Cole and Hannah. So Maria had taken things into her own hands. It had been a good plan. Brilliant. But then things had gone wrong. So wrong.
Now she was stuck in that dingy trailer in the dowdiest town in the country, working two menial jobs to make ends meet. And when she wasnât working, she was taking care of the baby. Life had been so much easier when she was a child.
Sheâd felt a tiny pang of homesickness when sheâd first happened to glimpse Hannah. For a moment sheâd wanted to go to her older sister the way she had when they were kids. Back then she used to give in to the loneliness and unhappiness that had dogged her whole life and knock onHannahâs door. Good old boring Hannah was usually studying, but she always smiled at Maria, and invited her in. Sometimes, Hannah would brush Mariaâs hair for a long time. Maria would stare at her reflection in the mirror, mesmerized, smiling only when Hannah told her she was pretty.
âBut remember, Maria,â Hannah used to whisper. âPretty is as pretty does.â
Maria rolled her eyes all these years later. What did Hannah know?
Maria was the one who was going to have the last laugh. She was! Her plan to present the Fortunes with an offspring had gone awry. She had spent months trying to get into one of the younger Fortuneâs bed in order to get pregnant. It had all been for nothing. Sheâd been forced to go to a sperm bank for what sheâd needed. It hadnât been fun, but she hadnât done it for pleasure. Sheâd done it to ensure that at least one Cassidy got what she deserved: a portion of the Fortune dynasty.
At last it had seemed as if something had gone right. Sheâd know that a certain Fortune bachelor had donated to a sperm bank years before, and she had asked for just the right donor profile⦠All sheâd had to do was have her baby, and wait for the right time to present the Fortunes with another heir.
The christening for Matthew and Claudia Fortuneâs son, Bryan, had looked like the perfect family affair to unveil her little surprise. Sheâd put her baby in the crib in the nursery, then joined the party, waiting for the perfect moment to present her son. But when she had returned to the nursery, her baby was gone. Kidnapped. Sheâd panicked. Who wouldnât? She didnât know what to do. She only knew that nobody would give a damn about her child, certainly no one would pay his ransom. So she did theonly thing she could to protect her child. She picked up baby Bryan and crept away with him.
Now they
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