Free The Barefoot Bride by Joan Johnston

the trunk where she had packed a second, older pair of boots. She had to take nearly everything out to get to the bottom of the trunk. When she did, the boots weren't there.
    Molly's spine straightened with a snap. She whirled to confront a grinning Patch. The girl was positively
gloating.
    At that moment, Whit arrived in the doorway with Nessie and shared a conspiratorial glance with Patch. Then he turned and stared at Molly. One look at her son's outthrust jawtold Molly the whole story. Whit must have told Patch about the second pair of boots. He might even have helped Patch find them. How could he do such a thing?
    Molly's throat tightened until it hurt to swallow. What chance did this marriage have if their children were so set against it? How angry they must be, how frightened and confused, to connive so desperately to prevent it! She looked around the room but had no idea what she was looking for.
    She sought out Seth's gray eyes but found no answers there—only more questions. There was admiration in his gaze and, more disturbing, desire. His eyes were haunted, hungry.
    Molly had no idea it was her breathless-ness, her pinkened cheeks and the spark of fury in her brown eyes that had excited Seth. She felt a stirring deep within her, a response to his magnetism that was raw and primitive. It was unsettling to want a man—a perfect stranger—this way. She balled her fingers into fists to hide the fact they were trembling. The constriction in her throat eased, replaced by the thrumming of her pulse. She couldn't drag her eyes away from the man standing before her.
    Seth gave her an encouraging smile andsaid, “You look beautiful, Mrs. Galla—Molly. I can't imagine what more you could need to do. Shall we go?”
    Molly curled her naked toes against the varnished deck. She couldn't very well admit she hadn't any shoes to wear without explaining what had happened to them. She couldn't do that without causing the confrontation Patch so clearly desired. For better or worse —and both despite and because of the children—she made her choice. She cleared her throat and said, “I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be.”
    Molly felt the first stirring of satisfaction when she saw the astonished look on Patch's face. If Patch Kendrick thought being barefoot was going to slow Molly Gallagher down, she had another think coming!
    Patch followed glumly behind her father and his mail-order bride as they headed down Front Street toward Schmidt's Hotel. Whit had been shooting dark looks at her ever since they left the
Viola Belle.
Dang it all! It wasn't her fault Whit's mother was still going to marry her father. Patch had done her level best to give Molly Gallagher a disgust of her, but the ding-dang woman had been too dumb to take a hint. She hadthought pushing her father's mail-order bride into the Missouri would be enough to send her packing. That had backfired when Whit shoved her father in after the woman.
    She had hoped Molly Gallagher might be one of those women who fainted at the sight of blood. But she hadn't been that lucky. From what Patch had been able to see through the plate-glass window of the Medicine Bow Saloon, Molly Gallagher had passed her nursing test with flying colors.
    That was when Patch had devised the plan to leave the consarn woman barefoot, certain that no
lady
would ever think of crossing a portal unless she was completely dressed. Durned if that plan hadn't failed as well!
    Patch was good at using her wits to get what she wanted. She had hoped to provoke the detested Mrs. Gallagher into making a scene about being barefoot. Her father would be disgusted by the woman's ranting and raving and change his mind about marrying her. But that Mrs. Gallagher was danged smart. She hadn't fallen for the trap.
    Instead, at this very moment Molly Gallagher was walking barefoot up the main street of Fort Benton on Seth Kendrick's arm. And Patch couldn't say a word about it without getting herself into trouble!
    Patch