Montana Sky: Mail Order Machinations (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Kirsten Osbourne Page B

blunt.” Esther put the biscuits into a bowl and covered them with a towel, before putting them on the table. 
    “I don’t know how to be any other way!”
    Esther eyed her sister for a moment.  “You were always so smart; Mother didn’t feel the need to drill manners and being a lady into you like she did me.  She obviously thought you would learn on your own.  Maybe you can learn something from me.”
    Coral made a face but finally nodded.  “All right.  I’ll do my best to learn from you.”

Chapter Seven
     
     
    After supper, Esther and Brody went for a long walk.  Walking along the ranch, he told her about his property and the men who worked for him.  “I’ve invited the men to come for supper to meet Coral. They’ll start coming tomorrow night, and there are four who will come every night through Saturday.”
    “I thought you said five men worked for you?”
    Brody sighed.  “The fifth man doesn’t think he’s good enough to marry.”
    “Not good enough to marry?  Does he realize she’s the daughter of a man who will spend the rest of his days behind bars for embezzling?”
    “I didn’t share my wife’s business with my employees,” he said stiffly.
    “Are you embarrassed of me?” Esther asked, her eyes wide at the prospect. 
    “Of course not.  I just don’t think it’s something you’ll want advertised,” he said, avoiding eye contact with her.
    She bit her lip, hating that he was ashamed of her past.  She’d been raised in one of the most affluent families in her hometown, and now she was almost a pariah.  The same things that had happened back home were being repeated here. “I see.” She wanted to turn away from him and run back to the house, burying herself in her bed to cry, but she was stronger than that.  Instead she continued to walk with him, acting as if nothing was happening.
    “My men seemed excited at the prospect of meeting an eligible young lady.”
    “Maybe Coral will marry soon then.” Suddenly, Esther didn’t want her sister to go.  She wanted her to stay with them forever.  Only Coral knew how she felt about their family’s shame.
    “That’s what you want, isn’t it?” he asked, surprised that she was acting strangely.  Now they were home, on his ranch, she seemed to be a different woman.  Was she not really the warm affectionate woman he’d gotten to know on their trip home?
    She nodded.  “It’s what I want, of course.  I want Coral to be happy.  But she’s my sister, and the only person I feel like I know well in the whole territory.  I guess it seems strange to have her go and live with someone else.”
    “I can understand that.”  To some extent he could.  But he wished she would rely on him and not on her sister. 
    As they walked, she grew more and more nervous about what their night would entail.  She certainly didn’t want her sister to hear anything. Finally, she decided she simply needed to talk to him about the problem and get it out in the open. “I’m not sure if I can go through with the wedding night,” she told him, her voice a mere whisper.
    “Why not?” he asked, stopping and turning to her. He did his best not to get angry, but he didn’t know how to stop it.
    “Coral will be right in the next room.”
    “So, we’ll be quiet.”
    She shook her head.  “I would be too self-conscious.”
    He closed his eyes, letting the disappointment wash over him.  “So you’re not going to be willing to consummate our marriage until your sister marries and moves out? I could demand my husbandly rights.”
    Esther met his eyes, her own sad.  “You could. I don’t know if I’d ever be able to forgive you, but you could.”
    He rubbed the back of his neck, nodding abruptly. “Hopefully, one of my men will want to court her.”
    “I hope so too. I’m not trying to be difficult, but I don’t think I could—you know.”
    “I understand.”  He took her hand and led her back toward the house. “We’ll