Once Upon a Mail Order Bride - Linda Broday Page 0,100
I shall miss San Francisco all that much.”
Addie liked this woman with determined brown eyes and what looked like a great deal of courage to keep trying in the face of disappointment. “Let’s get started on showing the world who you are and what you’re made of.”
Charlotte forced a laugh. “I’m all for that.”
Addie and Nora pulled the pencils from Charlotte’s hair and began the transformation. A short time later, they stepped back to view their handiwork. Addie was amazed at the difference.
Charlotte touched the hair falling around her shoulders in loose, shiny waves, then moved to the fringe of bangs they’d cut to soften her face. “I can’t believe this. I’m…I’m—”
“Pretty,” Addie supplied. “You’re a pretty woman, and don’t forget it.”
“Now, your clothes.” Nora went to where they hung, all in various shades of brown. “You need color, Charlotte. Lots of color. Greens, blues, reds, purples.”
Addie linked her arm through Charlotte’s. “You’re going shopping. A new dressmaker has come to town, and you’re sorely in need of her help.”
“But—”
“No buts.” Nora got on Charlotte’s other side and tucked her arm through Charlotte’s elbow. “It’s time to step out of your shell.”
They strolled down the street to Tara Quinn, Proprietress. Two hours later, they emerged with a stunned Charlotte. She faced Addie and Nora, tears in her eyes. “I can’t believe the big difference little things can make. I owe you both so much.”
Addie kissed her cheek. “It was all there. We just helped you find it.”
“You’re beautiful, Charlotte. Now step into life.” Nora hugged her. “Take back your power.”
Their paths separated, and Addie and Nora headed down the street. Nora went back to making plans. “We’ll begin decorating the big community barn Saturday morning. The men will hang whatever we need and arrange hay bales. I’m sure Ridge will help.”
“Bodie too. I think this will be good for him. He stays out on the farm by himself too much, and I worry about him sometimes. You know?”
“He seems a well-mannered young man.”
“I’ve never seen anyone so young with such a desire to help. All he needed was for someone to believe in him, and now he’s flourishing.”
“My Sawyer was that way. He seemed far older than his nine years. By the time we found him in an outlaw camp, he’d already been through hell and back.” Nora searched the buildings and corral, her eyes softening when she spied the boy with Jack. “This unforgiving land makes old men of the young. I hope that changes one day.”
Addie knew exactly what she was talking about. “Me too.” Her thoughts sprang to her half brother, and she prayed he was all right. If only she would hear from Zelda.
Addie went home after they parted, daydreaming about waltzing in her red dress with Ridge.
* * *
Ridge woke to clouds and rain on Saturday, and he watched Addie’s spirits fall as she worried about getting the decorations safely into town without the weather ruining them. By midmorning, however, the clouds moved out, and sunshine instantly improved her mood and his.
Chatting over dinner, Addie told them about Charlotte’s transformation. “Just wait until you see her.”
“Bless you for helping her. I know you and Nora have worked wonders.”
Bodie stared off into space. “I wonder if Violet can dance.”
“Son, you needn’t worry. Violet can do about anything anyone with sight can. She once walked a tightrope in a circus the kids put on and never fell.”
“Really?” Addie gave him a sideways look of disbelief.
“A tightrope? I’d like to have seen that.” Bodie urged him to tell more.
“Well, it was actually planks stretched between two sawhorses.” Ridge grinned. “But it was still pretty incredible.”
“She’s brave.” Bodie lapsed into silence, and Ridge imagined he was woolgathering about waltzing with a certain young lady.
Ridge did some dreaming of his own. He put an arm around Addie and prayed that one day he could be the kind of man he saw reflected in her eyes.
* * *
Ridge dressed for the dance and waited for Addie in the parlor with Bodie. She’d bathed, then locked herself in the spare room with strict orders not to bother her.
As if he were that brave.
He grinned. He liked this bossy side of her. Once the sun went down and they crawled into bed, she was all kitten, and he could make her purr in short order.
“How long do you think she’ll be?” Bodie fidgeted in the new shirt and pants he’d bought earlier in town. “I don’t think I can stand this wait. Why