Free Brides and Betrayal (Reconciled and Redeemed Book 1) by Michelle Lynn Brown Page A

out the dresses for tonight’s event. “I could have strangled that doctor for suggesting that could be the cause...”
    “But it is for sure not this Seth guy’s...”
    Holly cut Anya off. “No! I mean...technically it could be. But you don’t get sick that fast, right?
    Anya stared at her for a moment. “You are a tangled ball of guilt - like yarn with too many knots. No wonder you look like a mess!”
    Holly couldn't disagree with her, but for now, there wasn’t anything she could do about it. So instead, she threw herself into work, trying to keep her gnawing guilt at bay. But as soon as she stopped working, she felt it nipping at her heels.
    She was bone tired, both physically and emotionally, by time they wrapped up their event that evening. As she helped Anya unload the last of the dresses from the van, all she could think about was how she couldn’t wait to go to bed - she just wished she didn’t have to go home.
    As if reading her mind, Anya said, “You need to tell Hunter.”
    Holly put the dresses back on their rack, ignoring her friend’s suggestion.
    “Do you hear me?”
    “Yes, I heard you.” Shaking her head as if she was shaking off the idea, Holly added, “But telling him will just hurt him. Telling him is about me getting relief - and I’ve already been selfish enough. I would only hurt him.”
    Anya stared at her for a moment, her ebony curls swaying as she shook her head. “Is that what your crazy head has been telling you?”
    When Holly didn’t answer, Anya went on. “Yes, Hunter is going to be hurt, but you can’t keep this from him. You lie and when he finds out, it is going to be worse. You keep lying and he will never be able to believe you.” She pointed at Holly and added, “But you tell him the truth and you ask him for mercy.”
    “Are you kidding? Hunter would never show me mercy. He would hate me until my dying day. He would hate me like he hates his mother.”
    “He does not hate his mother. He is hurt by his mother, and doesn’t know how to forgive her.” Anya wrapped her arms around Holly. “I know it is like being out on a boat and me telling you to jump out and swim. But telling him the truth is what God would want - not lying.”
    “And if I drown?”
    “You don’t ever drown with God.” Anya laughed and added, “But your legs might get hurt because you are doing the doggy paddling.”
    Holly shot her an ungrateful look, to which Anya replied. “What makes you upset? You sinned, and that makes consequences. I’m not going to put the sugar on the coat!”
    With a weary chuckle, Holly corrected, “You mean, you aren’t going to sugarcoat it.”
    “That is what I said.”
    Later that evening, Holly walked into the house with her friend’s words still whispering through her heart. The confession was one thing, his anger was another thing - a part of her knew she could handle that. It was the consequences that had her worried.
    She came to a halt in the dining room, where Hunter stood next to a candle lit table holding a bouquet of flowers.
    “What are these for?” Holly reached out to take the flowers, but her fingers fell short. Unworthiness sapped her strength.
    Placing them in her hands, he leaned down and kissed her. “Because you are beautiful and you are my wife.”
    Her blue eyes searched his, and that smirk still played about his lips. Her heart sank. He is still hoping I am pregnant. What happens when he finds out that I am not? And then I am supposed to tell him the truth? Holly thought wryly , that will be like salting his wounds.
    His words pulled her from her thoughts. Brushing her hair back with his fingertip, he took an unusually slow amount of time to trace her cheek. Tenderness and love were evident in his touch, and instead of filling her with bubbling happiness, it made her want to throw up.
    As he cupped her cheeks, his love pouring from his velvety blue eyes, she felt the bile rising in her throat at her gall. How dare you let him