Cinders' Bride: Mail Order Brides of Texas Read Free Page A

carry her upstairs above the mercantile.”
    Judge Gleason turned his gaze to Shannon. “Are you and John Hardy married?”
    She shook her head and winced from the pain. “No. But I came from New York to marry him. He said he was a wealthy rancher and you can imagine my shock to find him as the saloonkeeper. I told him I couldn’t marry him. He backhanded me hard enough to send me flying across the room, hitting the wall. He said if I didn’t want to marry him, he’d make sure no one would ever want me. He cut my face and said I could work off my debt upstairs.”
    Cinders didn’t want to feel sorry for her, in fact he wouldn’t have gotten involved with her if it hadn’t been life threatening and if it hadn’t involved John Hardy. The slimy bastard tried to buy his land out from under him. He nodded in satisfaction, he finally knocked Hardy down a peg or two.
    Tilting his chair back on two legs, the judge eyed Shannon for a while before he turned his gaze on Cinders. He righted the chair. “I’m hungry. Eats!”
    The gathering crowd filling the restaurant had the flimsy walls practically bursting. “Damn, can’t even get Eat’s attention.” He put two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. Silence ensued. “All you gawkers leave. If you’re not buying, you’re loitering. Now git before I get mad.”
    There was much grumbling from the crowd as one by one they filed past the trio and out the door. A well-rounded man with uncombed hair and overgrown beard hurried to the table. Grease and flour covered his apron.
    “I’ll have your breakfast ready faster than a prairie fire with a tail wind.”
    “I appreciate that, Eats. This here is Miss McMurphy. Why don’t you bring her and Cinders here something to eat too.”
    Eats nodded. “Nice to meet you, miss.”
    “Thank you.” Her voice was barely audible.
    “Now the way I see it is you have two choices, miss. You can either marry John or Cinders here.” He looked at Cinders with humor in his eyes.
    Cinders stood up. “Now wait a minute. I said I’d hire her. No one said anything about getting hitched.”
    Shannon’s face turned a deep shade of scarlet and Cinders silently cursed. He didn’t want to make her feel unwanted but he didn’t like to be told what to do.
    Judge Gleason combed his gray hair with his long fingers. “Sit down, Cinders. I can’t make you do anything you don’t want to do.” He paused as Cinders sat. “Of course, she could always work for John or become his wife. After all, he did pay for her to come out so she does owe him.”
    “I don’t see why she can’t work for me.” He hoped the judge could hear the annoyance in his voice. He didn’t want or need to be hog-tied to any woman again.
    “Cinders, you know how it all works. You have to marry her so you don’t sully her good name. You know how the gaggle of women around here are. They’ll treat her no better than a whore.” He stopped talking and turned to Shannon. “No offense, miss.”
    Shannon nodded and her eyes dulled as she stood. “Thank you for coming to my rescue, Mr. Cinders. I’ll always be grateful, but this is my mess. I accepted his proposal, and I’m going to keep my word.” She stepped from the table and started for the door.
    “Hell, I’d rather you marry me than go to John.”
    She stopped and turned around. “You are a kind man, but I can’t saddle you with my problems.”
    His eyebrows rose. “You’re choosing John Hardy over me?”
    “It’s not a choice, really, it’s more of a duty. And I wouldn’t want you stuck with me. I have a pretty good idea of what my face will look like once the bandage comes off. It’s not fair to you.”
    The sadness in her voice touched him and he couldn’t let her go. “If you’d rather, it could be a marriage of convenience.”
    Her dark eyelashes fanned her face as she closed her eyes. She wanted to say yes, he could tell. “You’ll be wanting children,” she said
    “No,” he said