Free Bride by Midnight by Linda Winstead Jones Page B

that she was a coward, but such important news should be delivered in just the right way.
    As she often did, Lyssa opened the store along with her father. The shop was next door to their home, and while it was small and always had been, Cyrus Tempest was known for offering fine goods at reasonable prices. Business had been slow lately, she admitted, thanks to a new merchant setting up shop in town, but so far they had managed to meet their needs. Still, with her own troubles behind her, she could see the worry on his face. He looked older, more haggard, and she felt guilty for getting so wrapped up in her own troubles that she hadn’t seen what was going on at home.
    Was he worried about the baby, or had the decrease in business hurt more than he’d let on?
    Surely he would welcome the news of her marriage, as he had welcomed the news of a baby. Life would go on as it should. She would do what she could to help his business and then she could start a new life knowing that he, and her stepmother and her brother or sister, were well off and happy.
    And she... well, one step at a time.
    Shortly after opening, Edine Lair—Lyssa’s greatest friend in the world—stepped into the shop, a baby on her hip, a toddler’s fat little hand clutched in hers. With child again, she never seemed tired or frustrated, no matter how hectic her life seemed to be. Her dark hair shone and was held perfectly in place. Her skin always had a fresh, healthy glow. As she walked into the shop, Edine caught Lyssa’s eye and grinned widely.
    “I’m so sorry I missed the wedding! Yesterday was impossibly hectic.” Her easy smile widened. “And where is the lucky groom this morning?”
    I have no idea....
    Lyssa’s father groaned; Edine’s smile died quickly.
    “Not again,” Edine said. “Lyssa!” She glanced around the small store, making sure there were no customers present to overhear. “What happened this time?”
    “Kyran left me for a woman he met on the road.” The words didn’t hurt the way they had yesterday. She didn’t feel hate for Kyran or for the woman who had stolen his heart. She’d never loved him and he had never loved her, so his heart had been available for stealing, she supposed.
    “Oh, no!” Edine rushed toward Lyssa. “And today is the day. You’re twenty-three! It’s too late!” Of all her friends, Edine had been the biggest believer in the prophecy. She had always been Lyssa’s most loyal supporter, the one shoulder available for crying upon when a potential groom died or ran off.
    Like many Columbyanans, Edine was afraid of magic. Witches terrified her. In the minds of many, there was little difference in the powers of a witch—whether she declared herself good or bad—and those of the evil Isen Demon. After the war with that demon, many had turned their backs on magic altogether. Edine among them.
    Edine shifted the baby and released the toddler’s hand to give Lyssa a hug. The hugs were not what they had once been, thanks to the baby and the huge belly and the fact that the eldest child took the opportunity of his newfound freedom to run toward a display of carved wooden boxes. He knew some of them played music.
    Lyssa was getting ready to rush after him when she saw her father step in and intercept the child, lifting him with a smile.
    He beamed at the boy, much happier than he’d been just moments earlier. The worry seemed to melt from his face, along with several of the years etched there. Perhaps he was already imagining his own son.
    “I’m all right, truly,” Lyssa said, reassuring her friend. “What will be, will be.” She was anxious to tell Edine all about Blade, but not before she told her parents. And goodness knows the questions she wanted to ask her friend were not ones she could put forth in front of her father. A woman-to-woman talk was most definitely in order, and soon.
    “That awful awful witch!” Edine whispered harshly.
    Before the conversation could continue, the door