Read Online Yesterday's Bride by Susan Tracy - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Susan Tracy
Ads: Link
just before the white liquid spilled over the sides.
"No, Flora didn't like me messing about in her kitchen. I taught myself after I went to New York. I didn't want to eat all my meals in restaurants, even if I could have afforded it, so I bought a cookbook and learned by the trial and error method." Her soft mouth lifted at the corners. "Mostly error."
Leigh told him that Betty Pender had come by.
"That was neighborly," he commented. "What did you think of her?"
"I liked her very much, Jason. She's nice. But…" Leigh's fork toyed with a piece of quiche.
"But what?"
"Well, I was a little uncomfortable with her. I don't like pretending to be something I'm not, and besides that, I wasn't sure I was supposed to be meeting the neighbors like any ordinary wife. Won't it be embarrassing for you when I leave in a few months?"
Jason's lips tightened at her words and she could tell that he was angry.
"That's not your concern, is it?" he answered her coldly and transferred his attention back to his plate.
They ate in silence after that, but Jason's good humor seemed to return by the end of the meal, helped by Jody's innocent jabbering. Considering it as good a time as any, Leigh broached her idea of painting the living room.
Impassively he heard her out, his eyes on her delicate, expressive features.
"It's all right with me as long as you don't neglect Jody. She's why you're here, not to interior decorate."
Leigh was not at all deflated by his dampening words. "When can I buy the paint?" she asked eagerly.
Jason said that he would take her and Jody to Harrellsville with him the next day.
"But I have work to do, so be ready to leave when I am," he warned before turning to ask Jody about the intriguing paste-picture hanging on the kitchen wall.
Determined not to keep Jason waiting, Leigh was up and about early the next morning. She dressed Jody in a pretty pink cotton frock and gave her a picture book to look at while she examined her own wardrobe. Some choice, she thought, surveying the two dresses hanging in the closet. The black dress was much too formal for a morning's shopping, so it would have to be the green again. Sighing, Leigh took it off the hanger and slipped it over her head. The dress was plain, but well cut and the soft jersey fabric clung attractively to her slender figure. She touched her mouth with pale pink lipstick, brushed her hair until it was smooth and shining and turned to see if Jody was ready for breakfast.
The little girl was excited and happy at the prospect of an outing, and she asked Leigh if she might be allowed to buy something for herself.
"Of course, darling," Leigh assured her with a wide smile. "Oh, wait." She picked up her handbag and rummaged around inside it for some coins. These she put into Jody's own tiny purse of yellow quilted cotton and pulled the drawstrings tight before hooking it onto the child's arm.
Jody chattered all the way into town, asking Jason a thousand questions and speculating about what she would purchase. The big, luxurious car ate up the miles and before much time had passed they were there.
Harrellsville was not a city like Raleigh, but rather a large town. Jason dropped Leigh and Jody off at a hardware store and gave them instructions on how to walk to his office when they had finished their shopping.
Leigh wasn't sure what kind of paint to buy, but a clerk helped her. Accustomed now to New Yorkers' rapid speech, Leigh liked the man's slow drawl and his long pauses between phrases, as if he were thinking carefully about each word before he uttered it.
After selecting three gallons of cream-colored paint, a brush and roller, some sandpaper and a can of turpentine, Leigh asked the clerk if she might leave her purchases there until she could return later with the car. He smilingly assured her she could, so she extricated Jody from the stack of folders she had been playing with, straightened them into a neat pile once more, and off they went.
A few yards
"No, Flora didn't like me messing about in her kitchen. I taught myself after I went to New York. I didn't want to eat all my meals in restaurants, even if I could have afforded it, so I bought a cookbook and learned by the trial and error method." Her soft mouth lifted at the corners. "Mostly error."
Leigh told him that Betty Pender had come by.
"That was neighborly," he commented. "What did you think of her?"
"I liked her very much, Jason. She's nice. But…" Leigh's fork toyed with a piece of quiche.
"But what?"
"Well, I was a little uncomfortable with her. I don't like pretending to be something I'm not, and besides that, I wasn't sure I was supposed to be meeting the neighbors like any ordinary wife. Won't it be embarrassing for you when I leave in a few months?"
Jason's lips tightened at her words and she could tell that he was angry.
"That's not your concern, is it?" he answered her coldly and transferred his attention back to his plate.
They ate in silence after that, but Jason's good humor seemed to return by the end of the meal, helped by Jody's innocent jabbering. Considering it as good a time as any, Leigh broached her idea of painting the living room.
Impassively he heard her out, his eyes on her delicate, expressive features.
"It's all right with me as long as you don't neglect Jody. She's why you're here, not to interior decorate."
Leigh was not at all deflated by his dampening words. "When can I buy the paint?" she asked eagerly.
Jason said that he would take her and Jody to Harrellsville with him the next day.
"But I have work to do, so be ready to leave when I am," he warned before turning to ask Jody about the intriguing paste-picture hanging on the kitchen wall.
Determined not to keep Jason waiting, Leigh was up and about early the next morning. She dressed Jody in a pretty pink cotton frock and gave her a picture book to look at while she examined her own wardrobe. Some choice, she thought, surveying the two dresses hanging in the closet. The black dress was much too formal for a morning's shopping, so it would have to be the green again. Sighing, Leigh took it off the hanger and slipped it over her head. The dress was plain, but well cut and the soft jersey fabric clung attractively to her slender figure. She touched her mouth with pale pink lipstick, brushed her hair until it was smooth and shining and turned to see if Jody was ready for breakfast.
The little girl was excited and happy at the prospect of an outing, and she asked Leigh if she might be allowed to buy something for herself.
"Of course, darling," Leigh assured her with a wide smile. "Oh, wait." She picked up her handbag and rummaged around inside it for some coins. These she put into Jody's own tiny purse of yellow quilted cotton and pulled the drawstrings tight before hooking it onto the child's arm.
Jody chattered all the way into town, asking Jason a thousand questions and speculating about what she would purchase. The big, luxurious car ate up the miles and before much time had passed they were there.
Harrellsville was not a city like Raleigh, but rather a large town. Jason dropped Leigh and Jody off at a hardware store and gave them instructions on how to walk to his office when they had finished their shopping.
Leigh wasn't sure what kind of paint to buy, but a clerk helped her. Accustomed now to New Yorkers' rapid speech, Leigh liked the man's slow drawl and his long pauses between phrases, as if he were thinking carefully about each word before he uttered it.
After selecting three gallons of cream-colored paint, a brush and roller, some sandpaper and a can of turpentine, Leigh asked the clerk if she might leave her purchases there until she could return later with the car. He smilingly assured her she could, so she extricated Jody from the stack of folders she had been playing with, straightened them into a neat pile once more, and off they went.
A few yards
Similar Books
