Free The Brides of Chance Collection by Cathy Marie Hake, Kelly Eileen Hake, Tracey V. Bateman Page B

they all chimed in on the “Amen.”
    Daniel kept hold of Ginny Mae, but he had his hands full, trying to keep her from sticking her fingers into his bowl. Miriam reached over, scooted his bowl farther to the right, and grabbed a small tin plate from the center of the table. That plate had tiny bites of chicken, vegetables, and little fingers of buttered bread on it. They were all the perfect size for Ginny Mae to pinch with her chubby baby fingers and eat all by herself. Miriam set the plate down in front of the baby, but she said nothing.
    “Well looky there,” Bryce said. “Hannah used to do that for Polly.”
    Daniel’s head swiveled sharply toward Bryce. His eyes burned like coals. Bryce stared at his brother for a long moment, then cleared his throat. “I do believe I need the butter for my bread.” He jabbed Titus in the ribs. “Gimme the butter.”
    Gideon wasn’t sure whom to kick under the table first: Daniel for being mean as a chained bear or Bryce for sticking his foot in his mouth yet again.
    The plate was a good idea. He hadn’t spied it because it was on the other side of a canning jar filled with wildflowers. The last time they’d had flowers in the house was when Hannah was still alive. She’d gotten a fistful of them and spoken wistfully about the big, fragrant blossoms back home. It hadn’t occurred to him that she was homesick; but as he thought back, that would have been about the time she’d written to invite Miriam to come. Besotted as Daniel was, all of them figured he kept Hannah happy. The fact that she’d been carrying a second child so quickly certainly reinforced the notion she felt every bit as contented about her life and marriage as Daniel was.
    Gideon paused, his spoon halfway up to his mouth. He’d not thought about Hannah for months. She’d been like a rainbow—pretty but fleeting. Insubstantial. Foul as Daniel’s mood had grown, if he knew his brothers were thinking of his wife, he’d have spoiled for a nasty fistfight.
    As for Miriam…well, Gideon vowed to be sure she and her trunks made it on the very next voyage back toward her parents. At the moment, her luggage occupied a chunk of the floor over by the window. She’d pulled her outfit today from the larger of the two trunks.
    An uncharitable thought arced across his mind. For being a pretty gal, Miss Miriam sure worked hard at looking homely. He’d held her. He knew her shape. It had plenty to recommend it to the opposite gender. Instead of fancying up that slate job with a lacy collar, fancy buttons, or doodads, she’d left it painfully plain. She’d proven she could wield a needle with great skill, so why did her gown bag a bit on her? Had she been ailing? Had she lost weight?
    He sent the bowl of the fancy salad her way after taking a generous second helping. “You’d best eat up, Miss Miriam. From the way your gown fits, I’d guess you had a bit of trouble keeping your meals down on the voyage here. We’ll need to fatten you up in the next few days ’til you leave.”
    “Leave!” Logan half-shouted.
    “You’re going? Say it isn’t so,” Bryce said. To Gideon’s disgust, his brother looked like a lovesick calf.
    “I—”
    “She has to go,” Gideon cut in before Miriam grabbed the chance to put in her two cents’ worth.
    Paul scowled. “She just got here.”
    “Yes, I did. Since this involves me, I—”
    “Ought to stay,” Titus finished for her as he set down his coffee mug with a decisive thump . “It’s downright cruel to stick her back aboard a vessel this quick. We’ve all heard how difficult a voyage is, and she’s not even rested up and recovered.”
    Daniel glared at her. “She can lie in her berth day and night if she’s all that worn out.”
    What little color Miriam’s face held seeped away. “I refuse to be locked in a cabin for weeks on end again!”
    “Locked in a cabin!” Logan and Paul bellowed in outrage together.
    “Now, Miss Miriam,” Gideon said through