Read Online Mary's Men by Stephanie Beck - Free Book Online Page A

have to shift again. As long as Mary kept smiling, he’d make it work. He fluffed the pillow and settled between the sheets. Paul shifted and took half the blankets.
    They needed a bigger bed.
     

Chapter 7
     
    Mary set aside the ledger she’d been going over while simultaneously cursing Paul. Incorrect arithmetic, messy handwriting, backtracked additions and subtractions. Did the man even own a calculator? She groaned. She’d need two acres tilled to make up for cleaning up this chaos.
    The sound of tires on gravel gave her a reprieve from the books. She closed the cover and pushed to her feet. Before she reached the door, Thomas stepped in with a bottle of wine and a grin on his face. She’d sent him off a bundle of nerves, ready to console and encourage him if necessary. Celebrating was better.
    “You’re looking at an employed man,” Thomas said, holding open his arms.
    She squealed and ran to him, thrilled to celebrate their first milestone together.
    Paul stepped into the house right at seven, just as he’d promised. Unlike his twin, Paul was filthy. None of Thomas’s spark showed on Paul, but when he looked up from taking off his boots he smiled. “Good news, I take it?”
    “I got the job.” Thomas set Mary down. “It’s not exactly what I wanted, but it’s a six month commitment with an option to sign on after. It might only last six months, but I’ll have a steady paycheck until then or until I can find something better.”
    Paul nodded. “Nice. I’d say let’s eat steak, but we did that last night.”
    “I found a chicken in the freezer.” Mary hugged Thomas’s side. “It’s already baking. I’m so proud of you.”
    She tried to temper her excitement for Thomas with her commiseration for Paul. It had taken only a cursory reading of the books to understand the other twin’s enterprises weren’t going nearly as well. From what she’d seen he scraped together paychecks by the skin of his teeth and paid himself next to nothing. Celebrating with one and loving another through hard times shouldn’t have hit so soon, but for the first time in her life, Mary jumped into something with both feet. She’d be the wife, the comfort and support.
    She hugged Paul when he got close. “Hey. Did you have a good day?”
    He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “It was a long one for sure. I need to get Jack his last check tonight.”
    “Good,” Thomas said. “That guy is an ass. You’re better off without him.”
    Paul’s lips tightened. “Yeah, I am.”
    The financial situation fresh in her mind, Mary didn’t know how accurate that was. From the grim line of Paul’s face, she’d bet he planned to fill the gap himself. She’d only been in the family, been his wife, for a few days, but the bricks were stacking in around them. She could tell him it wasn’t physically possible for him to work an eighty-hour week or she could try to pick up a few herself.
    Mary wrapped her arm around Paul’s waist. “Well, if you need stalls cleaned, you let me know. I might have toned these arms on weed pulling, but they’ve been known to wield a mean shovel. I’ll get the check ready for you to sign.”
    “I’m going to have to put you on my accounts,” Paul said, taking a seat beside Thomas. He elbowed his brother. “Congrats. I mean that. You worked your ass off.”
    Pride swelled in Mary’s heart. She didn’t expect full agreement all the time, but loved seeing their respect and kindness.
    Thomas cleared his throat. “I also ran into Mom in town. She’s going to come for a visit tomorrow night.”
    Mary froze. In the heat of the challenge and of the moment, she’d forgotten the little detail of family. Aunt Marcy gave her blessing, no matter what she did. She hadn’t considered Paul and Thomas’s family other than their accepting cousin, and she seriously regretted the oversight.
    “Is she… Does she know about all of this?” Mary asked.
    Paul and Thomas looked at her in tandem, their