Read Online Poppy: Bride of Alaska (American Mail-Order Bride 49) by Cassie Hayes - Free Book Online Page A

one he had was a shrug. Her face lit up like a child’s at Christmas.  
    “Then let’s ask him!”
    “Have you come down with a fever? First of all, we aren’t going to talk to the man. I am. Alone. Without you. Secondly, I don’t give a hoot why he’s done anything. I just want to restore our family’s status and see justice done.” At the little frown line gouged into her brow, he quickly added. “By the courts, not myself.”
    Another soft curl popped free from her restrictive bun when she shook her head. His heart tripped in his chest remembering how the other one felt skimming across the back of his hand.
    “Don’t be silly. I know better than you how to talk to thieves and scoundrels. Besides, any man who’s done wrong is always more ashamed when a woman is around.”
    Truer words were never spoken.

Chapter 7

    The hot pressure from Matthews lips still lingered on hers, reminding her of the unexpected intimate embrace long after they left the school in the carriage they’d arrived in only minutes before. Her fingers kept fluttering to her mouth like moths to the flame he ignited there. Each time they inched toward her lips, she’d snatch them back, hoping he wouldn’t notice.  
    He’d taken her completely off-guard by the kiss, and her instinct had been to push him away, fight him off. But then her body took over and melted into him before she could tell it to do otherwise. Traitor!
    It’s not like she’d never been kissed before. Boys back in Lawrence were always trying to steal kisses from her, and sometimes they succeeded. Those fellows rarely made it away without a black eye or some other damaged body part, but they continued to try, fools that they were.
    In all that time, never had a kiss so completely overwhelmed her like the one Matthew had given her. Her knees had nearly buckled and all she could think was how grateful she was for the big strapping arms holding her. Only when he pulled back to gaze into her eyes did some part of her old self perk up.  
    It would have been so easy to fall under the spell of that delicious gaze, but she’d spent too much of her life protecting herself from men to trust the affection she saw there. Her instincts finally took over, delivering a lesson Matthew wouldn’t soon forget. But was that what she really wanted?  
    A lump formed toward the base of her throat. What she might want or not want hardly mattered. All he wanted was to get back to his old, privileged life in Boston. So even if — if — some attraction to the man had taken root in her heart, that path would only lead to heartbreak. Better to stomp on that little bud and save it from the pain of life.
    Matthew pulled the two-horse team to a stop along a row of shops on the wide, muddy main street. He sat stock-still, not even looking at the store where he’d seen his Russian. A simple ‘Dry Goods’ was painted in the middle of its broad window.  
    Poppy shivered next to him in the brisk afternoon air but didn’t bother him with useless words. Sometimes a person needed to collect their thoughts before they went into battle. She could relate.
    With a lurch, he heaved himself out of the carriage and strode up the broad wooden walkway, leaving Poppy to fend for herself. The nerve!  
    “Matthew! Wait!”  
    Worry over what he might do — or worse, what the Russian might do — brought a flush of sweat to her skin as she clambered down and ran after him, heedless of what anyone watching might think. She’d had Russian neighbors as a child and they took their brawling seriously. Bursting into the shop right after him, she caught his arm as he pulled back to hit the shopkeeper.
    “Matthew, stop!”
    “What is da meaning of dis?!” roared the burly, older Russian. One hand held a boy behind him, shielding him, while the other was balled up into a massive fist. The man looked as if he had plenty of experience fighting, and Poppy guessed that he was only holding back because the boy was