The Cowboy's Tempestuous Irish Bride Read Free Page A

wasn’t going to get very far, but at least they weren’t shouting at each other. Maybe, just maybe, he had finally got the message about these potential suitors. He clearly wasn’t going to say that he was in the wrong so why push the matter? She disappeared back to the kitchen; dinner, was being prepared. She had learnt to get it done early, that way there would be time enough for her work at the Anchor. Half an hour later, she heard the front door slam shut. She outwardly breathed a sigh of relief, he was gone and she could relax. And yet part of her felt regret. Why couldn’t they sit down together and eat breakfast as father and daughter? Why couldn’t he say that his was leaving? And why couldn’t she wish him a pleasant day at work?

      She knew why.  

    Years of past history and hurt prevented it.  

    Six hours later she walked down the road with a smile on her lips. The compliments had been flowing from the regulars in the Anchor. One in particular, James, had taken a particular shine to her. Siobhan couldn’t deny that he was handsome and extremely charming. When he spoke it was as though they were the only people there in that room. When he said something nice, then her cheeks would color and she would go coy. In any normal situation, they would probably be courting. There was a problem though. James was the son of the biggest crook in the south of Ireland. If the father were a crook then it stood to reason that the son was a crook as well. As much as she was desperate to escape her father and as handsome and charming as James was, there was no way that she wanted to walk into a life of crime. Although, one plus side, it would certainly upset her father.  

    She opened the door to their home and immediately froze. She heard the soft murmur of her father’s voice coming from the sitting room. This could only mean trouble, she thought. She couldn’t recall a situation in the last ten years that her father returned home from work in the middle of the day. She marched into the sitting room and saw her father conversing with two men. A tall, powerful man that looked like he was accustomed to getting what he wanted, and thin man with rodent like features. All three immediately shut up when she entered the room. For some reason Siobhan immediately thought that they were debt collectors. Had her father been gambling?  

    “Oh yes, she is more than acceptable,” the rodent like man said to her father after a few seconds running his eye up and down her.  

    Siobhan ignored the comment, “Father? What are you doing home at this hour?”  

    “Where have you been?” Connor demanding, knowing perfectly well the answer.  

    “The market. I heard there was some new cloth come in, but it had all gone by the time I got there,” she lied instantly.  

    Connor moved towards her, looked her in the eye and said, “That is the last time you will ever disrespect or lie to me.”   Siobhan didn’t respond and she felt her face color just like when she was child. Her father ploughed on, his voice getting increasingly louder. “Do you think I don’t know about you parading yourself like a whore in that dirty tavern everyday? Did you? Of course I knew. I know about everything. I know the way you are saving that money in that old jam jar under the floorboards. I know you want gone from here. Well I want you gone from here more than I can possibly say. The shame you have bought on me with your insolence and lack of respect. And so, I have made both our wishes come true.”  

    “What?” Siobhan managed to spit and then her eye moved to the rodent man and his words, She is more than acceptable. Surely her father hadn’t arranged a marriage to him?  

    “You are going on an adventure Siobhan,” her father continued pointing at a pair of large carpet bags on the floor. Siobhan’s eyes grew wide as she finally saw the bags bulging at the large man’s feet. “I’ve done my best with you, I really have. But I