Page 239 of Conveniently Wed
Flora shrugged. “Who cares who did it? Accept it as a gift. Now tell me how you met this man. Is he a friend from back east?” Flora squinted at Bruce, dragged her gaze up and down his length.
Bruce squared his shoulders and refused to blink before the demanding gazes of the Thomas couple.
“Nope. I didn’t know him back east. In fact, I met him yesterday for the first time.”
He couldn’t tell if Stella enjoyed shocking and surprising them or if the hesitation in her voice was from regret that their circumstances had driven them to this union.
Flora shook Stella’s arm. “You can’t be serious. And Pa married you?”
“Not only married us, he encouraged us to do so.”
“I must be missing something. Why would he do that?” Flora looked at her husband, and a message passed between them that had them both smiling. She spared a hard look for Bruce before she returned her attention to Stella. “Did he catch you in a compromising situation?”
Stella’s laugh seemed more embarrassment than amusement. “Of course not. Bruce brought his aunt with a burned and broken leg. Your ma didn’t want her to stay. The Zimmermans and their six children are there and very sick. You ma isn’t sure what is wrong with them but didn’t think it was a good place for an older woman with a burn or even for two young children.”
Flora shook her head. “Nope. Still doesn’t make sense.”
Stella drew in a deep, noisy breath. “Flora, there is more than one reason to get married. For some, it is beneficial to both parties to strike a business-like agreement. That’s the case here. I get to return to my home. His Aunt Mary gets a home where she will be taken care of.”
“I get to come home too,” Donny said.
Flora tossed her hands upward. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. The only reason to get married is because you can’t imagine life without the other person.” She scowled darkly at Bruce. “Stella is as good as a sister to me. You better treat her right.”
“Plan to.”
Kade’s look was hard. “I’ll be watching.”
“Feel free,” Bruce said.
“Enough of that.” Stella pulled Flora toward the house. “Come and meet Aunt Mary.”
“Fine.” They made their way to the house.
“Wait here,” Stella said at the door. “While we get her up.”
Bruce had fixed a stool and covered it with leather, padded by a bit of the hay he’d found in the pen. He picked it up and followed Stella inside as Flora and Kade tied their horses to the hitching post.
“I don’t think they approve of me,” he murmured. He set the stool by the soft armchair.
“Can’t expect they will after five minutes. Give them time. We all need time.” She cracked open the door of Aunt Mary’s bedroom. “Good. You’re awake. Do you want to get up and meet one of the Kinsley girls and her husband?”
“That would be lovely.”
Stella helped the older lady take care of her personal needs then together, Bruce and Stella positioned Aunt Mary in the chair in the front room.
“The stool is perfect. Thank you, Bruce.” She patted his cheek.
It made him feel like a young boy again, but he didn’t mind. Aunt Mary’s affection had turned him from a homeless urchin into a man, and now he was a man with a home and family. He meant to be the best man for the job he could possibly be.
Stella called the couple in and introduced them to his aunt.
Flora leaned over to greet her.
Aunt Mary caught the braid that hung over Flora’s shoulder. “What lovely hair.”
Kade chuckled. “For saying that, she will henceforth be your willing servant.”
Flora grinned at her husband, their affection obvious. Bruce dismissed the regret that his marriage would not offer him that.
