His Heartbroken Bride (The Brides of Paradise Ranch - Spicy Version Book 4) Read Free Page B

Josephine was a shade faster than Mason. She surged forward, throwing out her arms so that Libby could sag against her. “Oh, my dear, sweet girl. I’m so sorry. It’s all right now, you’re all right.”
    Libby let out a long sob, then seemed to pull on some inner strength to stand straight and wipe away the tears that had fallen on her cheeks. “I’m all right,” she gasped, wet eyelashes fluttering. “I’m all right. I’m here now. That’s all that matters.”
    “And we’re here for you,” Josephine said, hugging her tighter.
    “All aboard,” the conductor called from the stairs leading up to the train car that Libby and her boys had climbed down from. The train let out a sharp whistle, and steam puffed around the engine.
    “Hold on a second.” Cody hollered, jogging up to the side of the train.
    Mason ignored him. Whatever his brother’s problem was, Libby needed him more right then.
    Surprisingly enough, in spite of her tears, Libby didn’t ignore Cody. She turned to him right as Cody was calling out to the moving train, “Where’s my bride? I was promised a bride.”
    “Sorry, son,” the conductor called back as the train picked up speed.
    Cody chased it for a few feet before the pile of luggage that Athos Strong had unloaded from the baggage car got in his way.
    “One moment.” Libby held up a finger to Josephine, slipping out of the comfort of her arms.
    She fluttered a quick glance up to Mason. The prickles down Mason’s back returned fourfold, but with them, his heart spun in circles. Libby turned away and marched after Cody, hands clasped in front of her.
    “Cody,” she began so softly that Mason was certain whatever she was going to say would be bad, bad news. “I’m afraid she’s not coming.”
    Cody twisted away from the baggage and the departing train. He’d already shoved one hand into his hair, and as he turned around to face Libby, mouth hanging open in shock, he let his arm drop. “What?”
    Libby shifted her weight from one hip to the other, glanced down, then dragged her eyes up to meet Cody’s. “Miriam Long. Your bride. She’s…she’s not coming.”
    “But she was supposed to be on that train. She sent a letter saying she would be and everything.”
    Mason inched to the side so that he could watch Libby’s face during the exchange as well as his brother’s. For someone who had just burst into tears, she seemed so self-assured now.
    “I spoke to Miriam on the train,” she said. “We talked about…things.” For just a moment, Libby glanced down, pink glowing on her face. “She told me that she was having second thoughts, that she didn’t think she could marry a man she’d never met after all.”
    “But…but you know me. We go way back,” Cody insisted. “Couldn’t you have told her I was a good man?”
    “I did.” Libby nodded, then did her best to smile at Cody.
    Mason’s breath caught in his lungs. So much misery of her own, and here Libby was trying to comfort his brother—who probably deserved a little of his own medicine after what he’d done to Wendy. Mason’s estimation of Libby rose even higher than the heights it already occupied.
    “I’m sorry.” Libby reached out and touched Cody’s arm. “But believe me. It’s better to be sure about something like marriage so that you don’t come to regret it later.”
    She twisted her head ever so slightly to the side, lowered it and her eyes just a little. A few more inches, and she’d be looking right at him. Mason’s heart skipped a beat. Was she trying to tell him something?
    No, of course not. What had—or rather, hadn’t —happened between them had been almost ten years ago. Libby and Teddy were happy, in love. They were…or had been.
    “Aw, shucks, Libby,” Cody burst out all of a sudden. “You’re wearing black. Did something happen to Teddy?”
    The spell of Cody’s troubles was broken, and Libby’s face crumpled back into tears. She nodded, pressing a hand to her