His Brother's Wife Read Free Page A

didn’t
hold that predatory glint she’s seen in so many of the men she’d
known in her life. He didn’t look like a wealthy rancher but she
supposed he wouldn’t if he worked his land instead of just hiring
others to do it for him.
    When he did nothing more
than stare at her in return, she looked away. The boy had climbed
down from the wagon and was staring at her. His face was bright
red, as was his hair, and Grace gave him a smile. His blush
deepened before he looked away.
    She managed to snap out of
her stupor and returned her gaze to the man in front of her. “I was
beginning to think you weren’t coming.”
    “It’s a long trip into
town and that old mule can only go so fast.” His gaze moved from
her face to her breasts to her hips before coming back up. Grace
would have been offended if it hadn’t caused such a delicious
tingle to run laps up and down her spine. She averted her gaze,
watching the boy as he kicked at the sidewalk with the toe of his
boot. He was young, long legged, and thin. He’d yet to put on any
muscle she could see. He favored her new bridegroom in facial
features but that was about it. Their coloring was completely
different.
    She smiled again, pleased
her trip hadn’t turned out to be a total mistake and settled her
gaze back on those soft green eyes of the man standing before her.
“Will we marry now or at some later date? Is there a preacher in
town?”
    He grinned at her before
turning to the boy. “You want to go hunt down that
preacher?”
    Ellie chose that moment to
stick her head out the door of the stagecoach station. She gave a
chuckle in Grace's direction before saying, “The preacher ain't
here.” Nearly everyone in the stagecoach station was hovering in
the doorway of the building. Ellie was smiling, amusement flashing
in her eyes. “He left yesterday morning.”
    “Are you sure?” the youth
by the wagon asked.
    Ellie laughed before
nodding her head. “Afraid so.” She glanced at them all before
looking toward Grace’s bridegroom. “Afternoon, Rafe. I hear there’s
to be a wedding.”
    “Seems so.”
    Grace turned. She stared
up at her bridegroom, the man she knew just spoke, but he didn’t
answer to the name Jesse. “You prefer to be called Rafe?” she
asked.
    He nodded. “Yep. It’s the
name my Ma gave me. Everyone uses it.”
    The snickers started
again. Grace took a step to the side so she could see everyone at
once and her fatigue started to take its toll. She was getting
irritated as well and her confusion was growing. “All right. I’ll
call you Rafe as well.” She smiled at him before asking, “How long
will we have to wait to be wed?”
    “A while I suppose. The
Preacher doesn’t get around to these parts but every few months.”
Rafe repositioned his hat again, glancing over his shoulder to the
boy. “But don’t worry. Jesse will do right by you. He sent for a
bride and he’s determined to have one.”
    Now Grace was confused. She looked at Rafe, then
Ellie and the men standing in the station, before turning to look
at the wagon. The redhead boy was still standing there blushing and
Grace felt as if she was being pulled in endless circles. Ellie
chuckled one last time before ushering the men back into the
building and leaving her alone with Rafe and the boy. “It’s been an
extremely long day," she said. "I’m afraid I’m a bit
confused.”
    “About what?”
    “Well, everything.” Grace
sighed. “Are you Jesse Samuels?”
    “No. I’m Rafe Samuels.
Jesse’s brother.”
    Grace’s eyes widened. “Oh!
Well, that explains my confusion.” She laughed, trying to mask her
disappointment. “I thought you were my bridegroom.”
    Rafe smiled, those fine
white teeth of his gleaming. His gaze traveled the length of her
again, stopping to linger on her breasts for long moments before
meeting her eyes. “I’m sorry to say I’m not. There’s your groom.”
He turned and pointed toward the wagon.
    The redheaded boy was still there,