Read Online The Bride Raffle by Lisa Plumley - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lisa Plumley
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Gus had exited. Élodie would be tickled if Owen fetched her from Mrs. Archer’s place early today.Deciding to do just that, he gave the closest horse one last pat. Then he headed upstairs for a washup and a fresh shirt, the better to fetch his daughter without also affronting her nose.
Cheered by the thought of seeing his little girl again, Owen took the stairs two at a time, headed for that washup, stripping off his sweaty shirt as he went.
Snugly tucked into an unfamiliar bed, being ridiculously fussed over by an assortment of unfamiliar but very sociable women, Daisy sighed. She wanted to catch Thomas’s eye. She wanted her brother to step in and put a stop to all this commotion, since her own protests had gone nowhere. But at the moment, Thomas appeared to be engaged with an animated Miss Reardon in one corner of the room. He didn’t seem capable of noticing anyone else.
Wistfully, Daisy watched her brother and Miss Reardon. She couldn’t help feeling entranced by them. The look of adoration in Miss Reardon’s eyes appeared quite naked…and quite profound, too. It must be wonderful to be looked at in such a way, Daisy thought. It must be wonderful to be listened to, as Thomas was being listened to just then, as though happiness began and ended with the sound of your voice and the content of your thoughts.
Whatever it took, Daisy had to make sure her brother didn’t fritter away his chances with Miss Reardon. But for now…
Well, for now, Daisy had to decide how to cope with this unexpected situation. Her cookery and homemaking expertise had been raffled off to one lucky winner. The commandeering Mrs. Archer had instructed everyone to bring Daisy to the home of that as-yet-unmet winner, Owen Cooper. And no one except Daisy had disagreed with that plan. So now it was done.
Daisy had been unable to protest with any efficacy as she’dbeen shepherded, woozily, through the streets of Morrow Creek and brought here, to a modestly furnished but clean set of rooms above a flourishing livery stable on Main Street. So far, all she’d been able to glean about the mysterious Owen Cooper was that he was a stable owner, a widowed father and a “hard man.”
This last bit of information, breathlessly conveyed by Miss Reardon, had done little to set Daisy’s troubled mind at ease.
“Is he…respectable?” Daisy had ventured during their walk to the stable. “Is he kind? Is he very awful at cooking?”
She hoped he was dreadful at it, so he would appreciate her skills doubly. Also, she hoped he was old, feeble and wholly unable to follow through on the lewd gestures his townsmen had seemed so fond of making during the raffle drawing.
But surely Thomas would protect her from anything like that. Wouldn’t he? Thomas would never knowingly put her in harm’s way. He trusted his neighbors and friends—including Mr. Cooper. That meant, to Daisy’s way of thinking, she could, too.
“I daresay Mr. Cooper is atrocious at cooking!” Mrs. Sunley had cast Daisy—and her unsteady posture—an assessing glance. She’d frowned. “But then, you never know. It’s devilishly hard to discern these things just by looking at someone, isn’t it?”
Miss O’Neill had elbowed her, a movement Daisy had felt plainly, on account that Miss O’Neill had been guiding Daisy with her other arm. To Daisy, Miss O’Neill had offered a smile. “I have no doubt Mr. Cooper’s prospects will be immeasurably improved by your arrival here in town, Miss Walsh. We’re all looking forward to seeing Mr. Cooper…progress in that area.”
At that, all four women—and the adorable little girl who’d accompanied them—had exchanged eager, knowing looks.Those looks had puzzled Daisy then and still did now. She took their cryptic glances to mean that Owen Cooper needed improvement in some area, but she couldn’t imagine what it was.
“Won’t he be upset to find me ensconced in his home?” Daisy had protested as the foursome—with
Cheered by the thought of seeing his little girl again, Owen took the stairs two at a time, headed for that washup, stripping off his sweaty shirt as he went.
Snugly tucked into an unfamiliar bed, being ridiculously fussed over by an assortment of unfamiliar but very sociable women, Daisy sighed. She wanted to catch Thomas’s eye. She wanted her brother to step in and put a stop to all this commotion, since her own protests had gone nowhere. But at the moment, Thomas appeared to be engaged with an animated Miss Reardon in one corner of the room. He didn’t seem capable of noticing anyone else.
Wistfully, Daisy watched her brother and Miss Reardon. She couldn’t help feeling entranced by them. The look of adoration in Miss Reardon’s eyes appeared quite naked…and quite profound, too. It must be wonderful to be looked at in such a way, Daisy thought. It must be wonderful to be listened to, as Thomas was being listened to just then, as though happiness began and ended with the sound of your voice and the content of your thoughts.
Whatever it took, Daisy had to make sure her brother didn’t fritter away his chances with Miss Reardon. But for now…
Well, for now, Daisy had to decide how to cope with this unexpected situation. Her cookery and homemaking expertise had been raffled off to one lucky winner. The commandeering Mrs. Archer had instructed everyone to bring Daisy to the home of that as-yet-unmet winner, Owen Cooper. And no one except Daisy had disagreed with that plan. So now it was done.
Daisy had been unable to protest with any efficacy as she’dbeen shepherded, woozily, through the streets of Morrow Creek and brought here, to a modestly furnished but clean set of rooms above a flourishing livery stable on Main Street. So far, all she’d been able to glean about the mysterious Owen Cooper was that he was a stable owner, a widowed father and a “hard man.”
This last bit of information, breathlessly conveyed by Miss Reardon, had done little to set Daisy’s troubled mind at ease.
“Is he…respectable?” Daisy had ventured during their walk to the stable. “Is he kind? Is he very awful at cooking?”
She hoped he was dreadful at it, so he would appreciate her skills doubly. Also, she hoped he was old, feeble and wholly unable to follow through on the lewd gestures his townsmen had seemed so fond of making during the raffle drawing.
But surely Thomas would protect her from anything like that. Wouldn’t he? Thomas would never knowingly put her in harm’s way. He trusted his neighbors and friends—including Mr. Cooper. That meant, to Daisy’s way of thinking, she could, too.
“I daresay Mr. Cooper is atrocious at cooking!” Mrs. Sunley had cast Daisy—and her unsteady posture—an assessing glance. She’d frowned. “But then, you never know. It’s devilishly hard to discern these things just by looking at someone, isn’t it?”
Miss O’Neill had elbowed her, a movement Daisy had felt plainly, on account that Miss O’Neill had been guiding Daisy with her other arm. To Daisy, Miss O’Neill had offered a smile. “I have no doubt Mr. Cooper’s prospects will be immeasurably improved by your arrival here in town, Miss Walsh. We’re all looking forward to seeing Mr. Cooper…progress in that area.”
At that, all four women—and the adorable little girl who’d accompanied them—had exchanged eager, knowing looks.Those looks had puzzled Daisy then and still did now. She took their cryptic glances to mean that Owen Cooper needed improvement in some area, but she couldn’t imagine what it was.
“Won’t he be upset to find me ensconced in his home?” Daisy had protested as the foursome—with
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