The Blushing Bride. Judith Stacy

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      Amanda had rehearsed her sales pitch on the way from Meg’s house this morning hoping Jason would go along with her idea to bring brides onto his mountain. And he seemed to be quite taken with the idea, so much so that he was starting to perspire.

      “Perhaps we should go into your office and get down to business?” she asked.

      “Now?” His eyes widened. “Right now? You and me? In my office? Now?”

      “If you’re not too busy, that is.”

      “Too busy?”

      Voices carried across the road as the loggers streamed out of the cookhouse. The men filed past, some tipping their hats to Amanda, some simply staring.

      Amanda lifted her satchel. “Should I approach the men now while they’re assembled? I have pictures.”

      “Pictures?” Jason reeled back.

      “Certainly,” she said. “Or would you like to go into your office first? Send for your brother, perhaps?”

      His eyes widened. “My brother?”

      She gazed up at him. “Wouldn’t you like to have him involved in this with us?”

      Jason looked horrified. “Miss Pierce, what the hell are you talking about?”

      “Brides.”

      “Brides!”

      “Yes, brides.”

      Gracious, was this man soft in the head? How much more plain could she say it?

      “I’m the owner of the Becoming Brides Matrimonial Service, Mr. Kruger. That’s why I came here in the first place.”

      He pulled off his hat and dragged his sleeve over his forehead. “That’s what this is all about? Bringing brides up here?”

      “Certainly. What did you think I meant?”

      “Well—” Jason ran his finger around his shirt collar. “Never mind what I thought.”

      Jason yanked on his hat again. “So you’re saying you didn’t come up here thinking I was going to marry you?”

      “No, not me personally,” Amanda explained. “In fact, under normal circumstances I would have disregarded your request for a Becoming Bride immediately.”

      His lines in his forehead deepened. “Are you saying I’m not good enough for your brides?”

      “Well, Mr. Kruger, we do have standards,” Amanda said. “But when I read how miserably alone you were, you sounded so pathetic I had to come up and investigate.”

      Jason pointed his finger at her. “It wasn’t me that wrote that letter.”

      “Last night you made it abundantly clear that you weren’t interested in a bride for yourself, and I do understand your rule about no women in the camp,” Amanda said. “But I couldn’t leave this morning without discussing it once more with you.”

      Jason sighed impatiently. “Look, Miss Pierce, I have a business to run and I don’t have time to—”

      “I have a business to run also, Mr. Kruger,” Amanda said. “The happiness of my potential brides is my business. I don’t understand why you won’t at least give my idea some consideration. It’s not like it wouldn’t benefit you as well.”

      “And just how is this supposed to benefit me?” He folded his arms across his chest, challenging her.

      “Several ways. First of all—”

      Amanda stopped as she noticed the loggers milling around the cookhouse door staring at her in silence. Jason saw them also.

      “Let’s talk inside.” Jason caught her elbow and steered her toward his office.

      Inside, Amanda dropped her satchel by the door. The room seemed smaller than it had last night. Quieter. More secluded. Jason seemed taller, wider, more rugged. She suddenly became conscious of the dress she wore, how it fit snug against her breasts, the fabric clinging to her skin.

      “Sit down?” Jason asked.

      The blustery anger she’d seen in him moments ago was gone now. He tossed his hat aside and gestured to the chair she’d sat in last night.

      She sat, and he eased himself into his chair behind his desk, leaned back and steepled his fingers in front of him.

      “You were about to tell me all the reasons I needed brides on my mountain, Miss Pierce.”

      His intense gaze riveted her to her chair, making it difficult to breathe. Amanda gave herself a mental shake. This was her chance. Her future—and that of her brides—depended on the outcome of this conversation.

      Amanda drew herself up a little straighter in the chair.

      “First of all, Mr. Kruger, there’s the stability of your crew,” she said. “Married men are more stable, therefore, you’d have less turnover among your men. It’s more difficult for a man to pick up and move if he’s got a wife and a home to take with him, so he’d be more likely to stay put.”

      Except for Gerald McGee, who’d left Meg and Todd with only a goodbye letter. Amanda didn’t want Jason bringing up that example so she pushed on.

      “Then there’s the safety issue,” Amanda said. “I’m sure it’s of concern to you when your men have time off. How safety conscious can they be returning from Beaumont after several days of drinking and—”

      Amanda clamped her lips together. Goodness, she’d almost said the word aloud.

      Jason’s eyebrows raised. “And what?”

      He watched her like a cat studying a cornered mouse. Amanda clung to her dignity, refusing to let her cheeks flood with color.

      “Another reason brides would—”

      “Hold on a minute,” Jason said. “You were talking about safety. Days of drinking and…what?”

      He was enjoying her discomfort. It showed in his eyes, plain as day. Amanda drew herself up with what she hoped was regal aplomb.

      “Socializing,” she said.

      “Socializing?”

      Jason Kruger knew what she meant, what she’d nearly said aloud. He was toying with her for his own pleasure, and Amanda was tired of it.

      “Yes, Mr. Kruger. Socializing. Mindless socializing. Days and days on end of nothing but thoughtless, incoherent, continuous socializing. Hour after hour of—”

      “All right, I got it.” Jason sat forward suddenly and squirmed in his chair.

      Amanda drew in a breath, calming herself, focusing her thoughts. “Next, there’s the financial matters.”

      Jason СКАЧАТЬ