Read Online Mail Order Annie - A Historical Mail Order Bride Romance Novel (Mail Order Romance - Book 1 - Benjamin and Annie) by Kate Whitsby - Free Book Online Page A

work, Anne left all the breakfast dishes and the pan of left-over food on the table to go down to the creek to gather her thoughts. The lapping water soothed her fevered brain somewhat, and she managed to pray a brief plea for guidance. She stared into the hypnotic ripples of the pool, and lost herself in the skating of the water striders on its mirrored surface. But she could not shake off the weighty persuasion of Webster Forsythe. His certainty that the beauty and goodness she viewed around her only stemmed from the malicious influence of her own selfish vices that corroded every sight and sound she encountered until they all looked ugly and profane. The conundrum reminded her of an old story she once read about a wicked troll who invented a magic mirror that reflected everything good and praiseworthy as trivial and distorted. Then this troll’s minions shattered the mirror into a million tiny shards, which floated on the wind and lodged in the eyes and hearts of unfortunate people, changing their vision and their feelings to misinterpret the world into its opposite. These people took delight in laughing at the misfortunes of others and hurting helpless animals. They destroyed beautiful flowers and scoffed at the tears of the unfortunate. Now Anne felt the stab of such a shard of glass in her own heart, and the sting of tears in her eye felt as sharp and agonizing as broken glass. She could not rid herself of this warped outlook, no matter how she cried or prayed. Finally, she blew her nose on her apron and stood up, brushing off her skirts, and vowed to leave the valley. She could not think where she would go or how, but perhaps if she walked over to the Forsythe Ranch and threw herself on their mercy, some option she had not considered would present itself. At least then, she would get away from here, and maybe her thoughts would clear.
                  Firm in this resolve, she hurried back to the cabin, planning how to pack up her things, now that her trunk was destroyed. Maybe she could borrow one from Mrs. Forsythe, against her promise to pay for it at the first opportunity. As she neared the cabin, she heard a strange, unfamiliar rustling sound, and she slowed her pace as she rounded the corner. Then, at the front yard, she realized that the noise came from inside the cabin. She stopped short when she saw the door standing open. She wondered if Moran had come home unexpectedly, and trembled at the prospect of explaining her decision to him. But suddenly, the smashing of crockery and the clattering of objects striking the wooden floor punctuated the snuffling, shuffling sound, and Anne tiptoed up to the door to see who might be inside.
                  At first, the lack of light inside the cabin rendered her unable to discern anything, so she stole closer, lowering her head under the lintel and stepping in to peek around the room. A scene of mayhem and destruction met her eyes. The breakfast dishes lay scattered across the floor, with the iron pan turned upside down under the table. The shattered pieces of several crocks from the top shelf above the stove carpeted the floor, and their contents dusted the worn boards and walls of the room. Odd footprints spread the flour dust and sugar in all directions. Only by following the image of these prints in the direction of the lean-to did she comprehend that the intruder must be in there. The door to the lean-to displayed a curious figure that Anne could not identify. She stood in the room for a long minute, staring at the peculiar shape in the doorway of the lean-to, trying to figure out what it could be. It looked to her like an enormous furry ball with two feet at the bottom. The grunting noise undoubtedly came from it, but she could make out no mouth or nose or eyes. Anne decided to take one more step toward it, but before she put her plan in motion, the noise stopped abruptly and the creature froze in place. Then it started to hump itself from