Read Online Rebellious Bride by Lizbeth Dusseau - Free Book Online Page B

snapped
indignantly.
    “Well,
you’d better mind your man- ners so he stays that way,”
Darcy shot back. “You wouldn’t be wanting to steal him away from me, would
you?” Abigail said.
    “ Naw . He’d be fun, I’m sure. But he’s yours, and he ain’t the type to go funning around with other women.” She almost sounded disappointed.
    “No, I
don’t suspect he is,” Abigail readily agreed.
    “That
still doesn’t mean you should abuse him,” Darcy said.
    “Abuse
him! It’s my butt that’s been burning.”
    Darcy laughed
and grabbing Abigail’s hand, they moved towards the house. “You got
anything to eat inside, I’m famished,” she declared.
    Darcy was one
person that would never change, and Abigail was glad of that. She couldn’t
believe how much she missed her glorious face and wry wit. Darcy always had a
way of seeing things differently than her, and Abigail was glad of that
    “My, my,
look what the cat drug in,” Aaron said, on seeing their houseguest that
evening. “How did you manage to find us?”
    “It’s not
too hard,” Darcy said. “You don’t really cover your tracks.”
    “You
know, I’ve been warned about you, Miss Greenwood,” Aaron said playfully.
    “Warned,
why’s that?”
    He snickered.
“If Abigail’s Daddy knew you were here, he’d probably come up here and run
you off.”
    “Well, he
has no right to do that. And I know you have a soft spot in your heart for
me,” Darcy declared.
    “That I
do. So how’s your Pap?”
    “Aw. He’s
still kicking, but way on the other side of the state. I’m on my own now. Have
been for about a year or so. No troubles, no worries. Can be a pretty good life
that way.”
    “But what
are you doing?” Aaron asked earnestly. “How do you live?”
    I have a job,
or at least I had a job. Between jobs right now, I guess. But one will come up
soon. Maybe even here. Meantime, I have some cash stashed, and it keeps me in
grits.”
    Aaron
chuckled. “Just keep your fin- gers out of the til ,” he said.
    “Oh,
you’ve taught me that lesson already,” she said with a smile. Her eyes
were green, or at least that was what they appeared, though in the light from
the fireplace, they simply glowed with happiness and mischief, just as they
always had. For the Barrows, it was a treat to have her with them for awhile.
    “You
going for a picnic?” Aaron asked one morning, seeing the two young women
about to leave the house.
    “Yep, up
on the ridge,” Darcy said, brightly.
    “Shush,”
Abigail said, nudging her friend with her elbow, hoping that her hus -band hadn’t heard the destination.
    “The
ridge?” Aaron asked. His eyes narrowed as he looked at his wife.
    “She
didn’t mean the ridge, she just meant the meadow,” Darcy corrected
her-self. “We’re going to the meadow just above the rise.”
    “Listen
to me, no mountain climbing for you two, it’s just too dangerous.” He
repeated a warning he’d given Abigail a dozen times already.
    “C’mon
Aaron,” Darcy argued. “You know, old sure-foot me?” She was
putting on her flirtatious attitude, practically batting her eyelashes the way
Abigail might. It was quite a charming addition to her repertoire of artful
postures to get what she wanted.

    “Did
Abigail suggest this?” Aaron asked. “She’d better not.”
    “Oh, no!
It was all my idea.”
    “And she
was going with you?”
    “Well, we
hadn’t really decided on anything. I guess she was trying to talk me out of it.
Said you didn’t like her going off that far?”
    “That’s
right. And the same goes for you. I’m much too busy with the mill, to be
chasing after you. You’ll get lost, or some mountain lion comes after
you.”
    “You
think I can’t take are of myself?” Darcy
protested.
    “I’m sure
you can. It’s my wife I worry about.”
    Abigail
bristled. “You know, Aaron, sometimes you treat me like I’m a little
kid,” she said, stomping her foot.
    “Sometimes
you act like a little kid,” Aaron