Their Reluctant Bride (Bridgewater Menage Series Book 6) Read Online Free

assure you.”
    Knowing arguing would do nothing when it came to Olivia, Emily finally offered a small nod and went through an open doorway toward the back of the house.
    Once she was gone, Olivia spun on her heel and pointed to us as she whispered, “Be nice!”
    I held up my hands in front of me in a defensive gesture. “That wasn’t nice?” I whispered back.
    “You.” She pointed at Xander. “You have to say something. Talk. Have a conversation with the woman.”
    Xander’s mouth fell open slightly, but he said nothing.
    I stifled a small smile and went to open the front door when Mrs. Woodhouse returned.
    We helped the ladies into the wagon and I wondered why Olivia was so particular about us being nice to the woman. It wasn’t until the ranch disappeared over a hill did I discover why.
    “You know about the Bridgewater ways,” Olivia said. She and Mrs. Woodhouse sat beside me on the wagon seat with Xander sitting at the back of the wagon, his lower legs dangling off the edge.
    I glanced over at Olivia, surprised by her question. Their unusual customs were not well known and those from the ranch didn’t share the information. Many would find it wrong, illegal even. My parents had been careful as well, especially since they lived in Helena, a large city in comparison to Bridgewater’s open prairie. There was a reason she was speaking of it with Mrs. Woodhouse and I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like the answer.
    “Yes,” Mrs. Woodhouse replied.
    “Well, Tyler and Xander are looking for a wife.”
    No, I didn’t like the answer at all. I pulled up on the reins and stopped the horse. “Olivia,” I warned.
    “Olivia, I’m not looking for—”
    My cousin cut off the remainder of Mrs. Woodhouse’s sentence. “Nonsense. Your husband was a brute. A tyrant and a drunk. You aren’t mourning him and you need a husband.”
    To my surprise, Mrs. Woodhouse jumped down from the wagon and started to walk back toward her ranch. I gave Olivia a dark look, ready to chase after the woman, but Xander hopped off the back of the wagon instead.
    He followed her, then ultimately caught up with her, but they continued to walk away from us.
    I sighed. “Are you truly trying to play matchmaker?” I asked.
    Olivia didn’t look the least bit contrite and set her chin in an obstinate angle. “Yes. You need a wife and Emily is perfect.”
    “She’s just lost her husband. How could she be perfect if she’s clearly not interested?” I angled my head toward the direction she’d gone.
    “Her husband gambled and drank to excess. While she never once confessed it, I believe he hit her. He was cruel to her at the very least. She is not the least bit sorry he’s dead. In fact, if she weren’t such a nice person, she’d be dancing on his grave.”
    The idea of anyone hurting Mrs. Woodhouse made my hands clench. She was too small, too… dainty—even with her lush curves—to protect herself from the likes of a man Olivia described.
    “Then she can find a man she truly likes this time around. She’s young, beautiful. She’s a catch for any man in town.”
    Olivia grinned. “So you think she’s beautiful?”
    “Any conscious man would think so,” I countered.
    “Then you should offer for her.”
    I sighed, exasperated. “Why?”
    “Because you and Xander need a wife.”
    I shook my head. “We do not need a wife.”
    “I see the way you look at the couples at Bridgewater. Everyone’s happily married. It’s hard, I’m sure, for you to witness since no one else marries like we do. Like your parents. You want a marriage with Xander like all of us at Bridgewater. Admit it.”
    “Of course I admit it. I won’t marry any other way.” I put my hand up. “That does not mean that our bride should be Mrs. Woodhouse.”
    Olivia pursed her lips. “She has to marry.”
    My brows went up. “Again, why?”
    “The bank is taking the ranch. Debts, most of them I’m sure are because of her husband’s gambling. She has