A Bride at Last Read Online Free Page A

showing up occasionally at the Bible studies on Wednesday nights. He had more reasons to attend than just to impress Nadine, but he hadn’t been ready to admit his seeking to anyone.
    Nadine was indifferent and Clint’s ego was provoked. He wasn’t used to having girls indifferent tohim. Consequently he began to show up earlier for dates, seeking out Nadine, talking to her, drawing her out. He found he spent more time talking to Nadine about serious issues while he waited for her sister than he did with Sabrina. He enjoyed their time together and thought Nadine did, too. He knew it was time to break up with Sabrina when he found himself loath to leave Nadine when it was time to leave the house with her sister.
    He had gone out with a number of girls when he left Derwin, but none of them challenged him intellectually the way Nadine had. None of them had her appeal. Nor did they ever keep him at arm’s length as she did.
    Now she was working for him, and it seemed that the intervening years, with all the sadness they had brought to her life, had once again put a prickly shell of defensiveness around her. He had returned to Derwin with the hope of seeing her again, raising their relationship to another level, but each of his overtures had been rebuffed. After his first weeks here, he held back, sensing that Nadine was still dealing with the grief of her mother’s death.
    Their relationship had become a cordial business one, but in the past few weeks he had begun to see glimpses of the Nadine he’d always loved.
    Clint shook his head at his own thoughts. Regardless of his feelings for her, he had a job to do.
    He walked back to his desk and, snapping open his briefcase, pulled out the letter he had received yesterday from Skyline Contractors. Correction, hethought. Skyline Contractors’ lawyers. He didn’t look forward to discussing it with Nadine.
    “I made pancakes, Nadine,” said Grandma as Nadine came into the kitchen.
    “Pass, Grandma. I’m not in the mood for a big breakfast.”
    “You never are,” complained Danielle, looking up from the newspaper.
    Nadine tugged open the refrigerator door and pulled out a carton of yogurt, a container of milk and an apple. She juggled the three items, carefully set them on the table, then dropped into a chair. Last week’s newspaper was spread out on the table. Grandma was reading the first section, so Nadine grabbed the other.
    She opened the pages, skimming over the stories that she knew almost by rote, stopping at her kindergarten feature.
    She thought she had done some pretty effective work with the pictures she had taken. She had pasted them in a montage of children’s faces, eager, expectant and excited. The mix had energy and exuberance suited to the first day of a new venture. It was the kind of picture she knew parents cut out to put in their child’s scrapbook.
    “Listen to this item from the ‘Court Docket,’” Grandma said, her voice scandalized. “Holly Maitfield fined for allowing her dog to roam the neighborhood unleashed. Again.” She clucked anxiously.“They’re going to put that poor mutt in the pound one day.”
    “They’ll have to catch him first,” murmured Nadine, skimming over the text opposite her feature. Halfway through she sighed in frustration. Another typing error. She had missed that one. Clint would be annoyed. Maybe that’s what he wanted to see her about this morning.
    “That’s an amazing picture,” commented Grandma, leaning over to look at the paper.
    Nadine couldn’t help but glow. In this line of work people commented more often on what the reporter had done wrong, rather than right. Her grandma’s compliment warmed her. “Thanks, Grandma. I had a lot of fun with this feature.” She smoothed the picture with a proprietary air and turned it so her grandma could see it better. Nadine was about to turn the page when her grandmother stilled her hand.
    “Wait a minute, I want to read ‘About Town.’” Danielle held