Read Online Not the Marrying Kind by Christina Cole - Free Book Online Page B

were close
in age, they had little in common, yet they’d forged a bond of
friendship over the years simply by virtue of the fact they lived
within shouting distance of each other. In a place like the
Colorado Territory, friendships were based more on geographical
factors than on shared interests.
    Her real friends had been the ranch hands,
the old foreman, Mike Morrissey, and most of all, of course, her
brother, Robb. Not a day went by that she didn’t miss him and
wonder again why the good Lord had taken him away. But she wasn’t
supposed to question God’s will, just accept it.
    She wasn’t supposed to question Mama’s will
either, but that didn’t stop her. She cocked her head and peered at
her mother. “What’s Lucille doing here?”
    “I invited her, honey.” Mama stepped
forward, linked her arm with her daughter’s and proceeded to march
Kat toward the stairway. “I know you get tired of listening to me
harping about things,” she said with a teasing smile, “so I thought
Lucille would be the perfect one to help you learn how to become
more of a lady.”
    “Mama, I don’t—”
    A sharp look cut off any protest. “Sooner or
later, Katherine, you’ll have to accept the inevitable. You’re
going to need a husband, and Reverend Kendrick is the best prospect
you’re going to find.” The woman’s sigh lingered in the air as they
climbed the stairs. “Goodness knows, honey, you’ve spent so much
time roping and wrangling, the other fellows in town don’t even
think of you as a female. You’re fortunate Reverend Kendrick is
willing to have you for a bride, otherwise you’d end up a miserable
old maid, all shriveled up and unhappy.”
    Being shriveled and unhappy sounded
preferable to being Mrs. Virgil Kendrick. Mama, of course, wouldn’t
see it that way. Kat kept her mouth shut.
    Lucille smiled when Kat stepped into the
room. “Hello, Katherine. It’s good to see you.”
    “Yeah, well, we might as well get this over
with,” she muttered, taking her place beside the pretty,
dark-haired girl.
    Mama smiled her most beneficent smile and,
with a cheerful wave, disappeared from the room.
    As if on cue, Lucille rose to her feet and
started making tsk-tsking sounds.
    She shook her head. “Really, Kat, you should
at least try to act like a lady.” Disapproval showed in her brown
eyes. “Sitting all hunched forward with your elbows on your knees
is definitely not ladylike.”
    Kat stiffened. She drew back, folded her
arms over her chest, and huffed out a breath. “Look, Lucille,
you’re supposed to be my best friend. I can’t believe you’re
turning against me this way.”
    “It’s for your own good. I realize trying to
make a woman out of you is akin to that old adage of turning a
sow’s ear into a silk purse, but you have to grow up, Kat, and you
have to face the facts.”
    “Right. Prepare myself for the inevitable,”
she repeated dully. Suddenly the thought of Joshua Barron flickered
through her mind. Several times, as they’d worked together in
recent days, she’d caught him looking at her. Well, not just looking, but, raking his eyes over her with a long, slow,
sultry gaze that made her breath catch in her throat. He’d licked
his lips a time or two, which Kat took as a possible sign of
interest. Her heart thumped with a crazy beat.
    Marriage might not be so awful with a
handsome, virile-looking man like Joshua. Of course, a real man
would want a real woman, so maybe she should pay attention and
listen to what Lucille had to say. She now saw the wisdom in her
mother’s decision to enlist Lucille’s help. After all, who would be
better-suited to teach Kat the basics of femininity than the
prettiest, most popular girl in Sunset? Of course, there were only
a few girls in the whole Colorado Territory, so maybe Lucille’s
beauty wasn’t exactly legendary, but still, she knew more about
ruffles and lace and fancy frills than any other girl for miles
around. Plus, the McIntyre family