Bride Blunder Read Online Free

introduce ourselves.”
    â€œWell, Grandma Ermintrude wasn’t feeling up to making the trip to town, and I’m sure after a long stage ride, my bride-to-be, as you put it, will be worn out.” Gavin silently blessed Grandma for her wisdom in avoiding a spectacle. “So the introductions will have to wait a little while.”
    â€œSounds like a glimpse is all you’ll get.” Miss Collins sounded amused, but Gavin didn’t mind. She’d been helpful, pointing out something he was now determined to avoid.
    â€œEveryone knows the wedding isn’t today.” Adam Grogan made a show of male support. “And he’s right to take her to get to know his grandmother before making the town rounds.”
    â€œGlad you understand.” Gavin decided on the spot to charge Adam only half rate for the next load the farmer brought to his mill. You couldn’t put a price on easing a man’s way, but you could show gratitude. “When the time is right, you’ll all be glad to have her as part of the town.”
    â€œThere’s bound to be curiosity about her.” Mrs. Reed’s pale green eyes danced with it even as she spoke. “But it’s not bad. We don’t let any of the gossips grumble about her staying with your grandmother until you wed. It’s known you’ve made arrangements to sleep elsewhere.”
    â€œMiss Chandler won’t be looked down on,” Mrs. Grogan chimed in, and for the first time, Gavin realized he was catching a peek into the power structure of the women of the town. How things ran. It seemed Opal Grogan, Clara Reed, and even young Midge Collins carried considerable weight.
    It made sense, considering their connections. Mrs. Grogan linked two previously feuding farms—Specks and Grogans, the two most powerful properties in town. Mrs. Reed and Miss Collins were related to the town doctor and owner of the only mercantile. Not to mention they were all young and friendly.
    Daisy would do well to make friends of them. She’d feel more at home with companions her age, and they’d ease her way.
    â€œThank you. She has a real heart for others, and it will do her good to know she already has friends in Buttonwood.” That did the trick. The married women beamed at him, and Miss Collins quirked a brow in acknowledgement. Gavin felt his first smile of the day tug on the corners of his mouth.
    â€œIf you’d like, we could make up a small dinner party,” Mrs. Reed offered. “Myself, Saul, Midge, Opal and Adam, and, of course, Josiah and Doreen.” She listed everyone present, plus the owner of the mercantile and his wife. “Something private to ease her into things before church on Sunday perhaps?”
    â€œThat’s a wonderful idea!” Mrs. Grogan chimed in. “Or even afterward, to get to know her better. Whenever she’s comfortable.”
    â€œWe’d like that.” Gavin barely got the acceptance out before he spotted what looked like a brown cloud on the horizon. The stage was coming—an hour early.
    ***
    Now, Midge wasn’t a great believer in the loving-kindness of the Almighty, but she didn’t question His existence. And she’d hatched a few theories of her own over the years.
    One of them was that every single person got a gift at birth. Not the myrrh or frankincense or gold mentioned in the Bible for baby Jesus—although gold would have been nice, mind—but a different sort of gift. A talent, perhaps. Whatever gifts people received got pointed to the sort of things they’d think were important.
    Midge even extended her theory to the realm of matchmaking. People’s talents had to match up—not be the same, but they had to mesh right or a couple wouldn’t work out. Adam and Opal—both peacemakers, but neither of them weak enough to be walked over. That worked. Clara loved on people once they got close. She matched up with Saul, the