Free Rebecca Hagan Lee - [Borrowed Brides 02] by Harvest Moon Page A

now that this man was Arnie Mason, but she didn’t know why Eamon had carried a photograph of him in his coat pocket. Tessa slipped the second picture back into the envelope and looked at the third. This one featured a smiling, fair-haired young man dressed in a plaid shirt and stiff denim trousers. Tessa studied the photograph again, although she didn’t need to. She knew what she’d see. She’d examined the picture over and over again since she left Chicago. It was a photograph of Liam Kincaid. A younger Liam, minus the attractive blond mustache he currently sported, but Liam Kincaid all the same. It, too, had been found in her brother’s coat pocket the day he died.
    Afraid to leave the envelope out where it could be found, Tessa went to the cupboard in the main room of the office. She located a small paring knife in the back of one of the drawers. After taking the knife to her bedroom, Tessa cut a slit in the left side of her mattress, under the sheets beneath her pillow, and placed the envelope inside for safekeeping.
    Now she had another reason to stay, she told herself. A reason besides Arnie Mason. David knew Liam Kincaid and that meant he knew more than he was letting on. It appeared that David might be useful in answering the questions that had plagued Tessa since her brother’s death. She had to keep close to David Alexander, lull him into a false sense of security, and find out how deep his involvement with Liam Kincaid went. And she had to stay with David Alexander in order to protect Coalie.
    Tessa finished her task and remade the bed. Tired, she struggled with the fastening of her dress until she finally opened enough buttons to shimmy out of it. The green calico was pretty and made of durable fabric, but it was not a dress Tessa would’ve chosen for herself. It wasn’t practical. Getting in and out of it without help was nearly impossible. She unhooked the petticoats at her waist, pulled her corset cover and chemise over her head, and tossed them onto the bed. She picked up the nightgown and sniffed it. It was clean. Thankfully, Charlotte hadn’t worn it.
    Tessa carried it with her into the office. Standing in front of the potbellied stove, Tessa worked at the knot in the laces of her stays. Once she had it undone, she took the big wooden spoon out of the cupboard, reached over her shoulder, and shoved the long handle between the corset and the laces, then wiggled the spoon back and forth. Where was the man when she needed him? Her arms aching from the effort, Tessa finally managed to loosen the strings. With a satisfied sigh, she pulled the corset over her head, then donned the comfortable nightgown. Gathering up her stays, Tessa returned to her bedroom and tucked it into the dresser drawer along with her other unmentionables.
    She straightened the bedroom, then went into David’s office to wait. Tessa stood next to the stove. The coffee pot and the covered plate of beans she’d left for David were still warming on the burners. Everything was as she’d left it. Now all she had to do was wait for him to return.
    She closed her eyes. It had been a long, horrible day and a night full of surprises. More than she’d bargained for. Tessa was exhausted, tired to the bone, but she didn’t dare fall asleep. Not yet. Opening her eyes, she sighed, then jumped in fright as something soft brushed against her ankle. Her heart pounding, Tessa looked down and recognized Greeley.
    “Don’t sneak up on me like that. I’ve had enough scares for one night,” she admonished the cat, before reaching down and lifting him into her arms. “You’d better watch yourself,” she warned. “I don’t much care for cats. Or their owners.” She pressed her nose against his orange fur for a moment, feeling heartened by his loud purr, then set him on his feet. Greeley trotted off down the hall. Tessa watched him go, then sat down on a chair beside the stove to wait for David Alexander.
     
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    David pulled his