Rebellious Bride Read Free Page B

would be for the best.”
    Lil sat down next to her and reached for her hand, squeezing it. “Don’t say that.”
    “But it’s true Lil. What kind of life can I give this baby?” She covered her flat stomach. Since she was only three months along, it would be a couple of more months before she began to show and be unable to work.
    “I talked to the Hogans,” Lil told her. “They’re willing to take the baby and raise it as their own. Adele Hogan hasn’t been lucky enough to get pregnant yet, and she and her husband are desperate for a child. They’re good people.”
    Bibi wiped a tear from her eye. “Why are you helping me?”
    “Why shouldn’t I? When you see people in need, you reach out and help each other. That’s the way of things. Someday you can return the favor.”
    Bibi laughed and wiped away another tear. “That’s not likely.”
    “You never can tell. You could do something that would be the turning point in my life.”
    Both women laughed then, and Lil hugged Bibi. “Will you rest for at least two weeks? It should be two months, but let’s try two weeks and see how things go.”
    “Susie ain’t gonna like this. It’s her place and she don’t like moochers. She expects all her girls to work.”
    “And what will happen when you begin to show?”
    “Off to the kitchen in a flash to cut, peel, and bake until I deliver,” Bibi explained with a deflated sigh.
    “Leave Susie to me. I’ll take care of her.”
    “No one takes care of Susie but Susie.”
    Lil patted the young girl’s hand. “Don’t you worry. Just rest and take care. I’ll stop by in a few days to check on you.”
    “Lil?” Bibi’s voice stopped Lil as she reached for the knob. “Thanks.”
    Lil smiled. “You’re welcome. Now rest and take care.”
    Lil closed the door and hurried to Susie’s office on the lower floor of the saloon, next to the taproom. To get there she had to walk partway through the barroom—not that it bothered her. She often entered that way instead of through the back entrance, it being quicker, though only at the least busy hours; she wasn’t a complete fool. Many of the townsfolk were accustomed to seeing her there. They all knew she was seeing to Doc Talbert’s patients for him.
    It was early afternoon, and the saloon was nearly empty, so Lil felt comfortable walking through the taproom to Susie’s office. Jim, the barkeep, was busy readying the place for this evening when every table, ten in all, would be filled to capacity and the long, ornate mahogany bar would be lined shoulder to shoulder with men. That was one time when Lil stayed away or used the back door if necessary.
    Lil knocked and opened the door to Susie’s office at the same time. “Busy? I’d like to have a word with you.” Not waiting for an answer or refusal, Lil took the seat next to the desk.
    Susie placed the quill pen she was holding back in the inkwell and casually leaned back in her Queen Anne-style chair. “Business or pleasure?” she asked with a feline smile.
    Lil couldn’t help but admire the lady, though that word was rarely used in reference to Susie. But it wasn’t a lady’s respectability that Lil admired; it was her intelligence. “I don’t recall ever coming here for pleasure.”
    Susie’s smile changed to one of respect. “That’s what I like about you, Lil. You challenge people right back and don’t blink an eye when you do it, which leads me to suspect that I’m not going to like what you have to tell me.”
    Lil didn’t falter in her response. “Bibi has to stay off her feet and off her back.”
    “Reason?” Susie stood up to her five-foot-seven-inch height, intimidating to some, especially since she had a perfect body, a face to match, and beautiful white-blond hair that made her the envy of every woman in Little. She also chose her clothes wisely. Instead of garish colors she chose subdued shades that hinted and teased like the soft mauve she now wore, which clung temptingly to