Free Mail Order Rose (Mail Order Brides #1) by Cara Cabot

valley. There were more trees and vegetation on surrounding the road and Rose knew she was getting closer to the river. She stopped for a moment to catch her breath. In a short time now, she would see him again.
    After walking further into the river valley, she spotted the red bridge, and her heart skipped a beat. But she didn't change her mind, she knew that she'd made the right choice. She slowed her pace as she came to the bridge, scanning the area for Grant. She didn't see him anywhere. Perhaps he changed his mind, or had been delayed.
    And then just as she was upon the bridge, she saw him, stepping outside from the shaded cover of the bridge. He hadn't changed at all, not that she would have expected him too. He was finely dressed in a traveling suit, with the same dark hair, piercing green eyes she had known so well.
    “ Rose,” he said, almost in shock. “I wasn't sure if you'd come. It's been so long!” He ran to her and embraced her. The smell of him, so familiar to her, met her as she buried her face into his shoulder. She  took a step back, so she could look at him.
    “ Grant, I had to see you again. I want you, no I need you to tell me what happened, how Isabel came to be pregnant. I know you tried to tell me earlier and I didn't give you that chance, so I'm giving it to you now. I believed that you were in love with me. Make me understand how this could have possibly happened.”
    Grant looked sheepishly down at his feet, obviously embarrassed that she'd bring that up. He wanted to be behind them. But Rose's eyes were intense as she waited for an answer.
    “I don't want to even think about it, but if it is what you want, then fine, I'll tell you how it happened. I wasn't in love with her Rose, I didn't even like her to be honest. I was only with her once. Only once.”
    “ When? When did it happen?”
    “ The night of the Valentine's Day Ball. Remember you weren't feeling well, so your mother took you home early and I stayed there. Isabel stayed too, she saw me there without you and I should have seen it coming a mile away-but I didn't. She pounced on me, being sugary-sweet, you know how she is-saying that it was a shame you'd gone home and that she could help me fill out my dance card to 'protect' me from all the girls who would love to have a dance. It was the least that a good sister can do, she'd said. But the only one I needed protection from was her. She hung on me for awhile, I tried to ditch her at first, then just gave up. Some of the guys, George, Harry and Teddy, they'd smuggled in some whiskey to liven up the party and we were spiking our punch with it. I guess I must have had too much, because it got to the point that I didn't mind Isabel around at all. Everything she said seemed funny and I was...well, I was drunk. She said that she was starting to get warm and wanted me to walk her outside to get some air. I jumped on the idea because I realized that I didn't want anyone to catch on that I'd had too much whiskey and throw me out. If only I would have just went home, but I didn't. We walked to the park by the schoolhouse and I wasn't using my right judgment by if she wasn't doing her darnedist to tempt me. She pulled her dress down lower, was leaning on me, touching at me, laughing with me...she said the air outside was too cold, so we snuck inside the schoolhouse. And, well, to be honest, I was drunk and don't really remember the rest. I do know that when I woke up, I had the most splitting headache I've ever experienced in my life and the complete shock of seeing your sister next to me. I asked her if we'd done what I thought we did and she just laughed and said that it would be our little secret.
    But it wasn't. Every time she'd see me, she'd play with me, toy with me that she was going to tell you. It was torture. And then came the final blow-when she told me that she was pregnant. She knew that I would do the right thing no matter how much I loved you, that I would marry her so that our