Mail Order Bride

Chapter 9

              Cassie couldn't hold the tears at bay anymore. "I believed her even though I knew Brent would never have done something like that to me." Cassie let out a sob. "I should have told him. The whole town knew and he hadn't figured it out yet.

               "Then about a week before the wedding Leslie made another trip out to the barn except this one was during the day. All the hands had the day off and she thought that Brent was going to be in town for the day."

              Cassie paused before she told Anna the rest of what had happened. "She was having another rendezvous with the same hand. Brent had finished his business in town early and when he came home he went to the barn to put everything up except he'd found her - much like I had - with the hand in the barn on a hay bale in that same compromising position. I'd never seen him angrier he left the barn and went into their room. He took all of her stuff and through it out onto the front lawn."

              "By then Leslie had realized that Brent had caught her. She tried to tell him that it was the hand and he'd been trying to rape her, but he hadn't bought it for one second. That was where I came in. I told him that she was lying and not to believe a word I said. That just enraged Leslie more. She tried to slap me but Brent had grab her hand told her that if she even thought about it he'd be calling the cops and have her hauled off to jail." Anna couldn't help but be awestruck by what Cassie was telling her.

              "She threw her ring at him after that and left with all of her stuff. Brent was so angry. He fired the ranch hand that he'd caught her with and then after that he'd gone back into the house and he drank himself into a stupor."

              "Wow." Was all Anna could say, she felt so bad for Brent and the way he'd been treated by the woman he'd loved. Who could be that conniving and evil?

              Cassie whipped at the tears on her face. She gave Anna a sad smile. "I just wanted you to know why my brother shies away from love. I think that if anyone can help him heal his heart and help him to love again, it's you."

              Anna was reeling from what Cassie had just said. "Thanks, I think."

              "You're welcome."

              They continued looking through the store, but Cassie's confession about Brent's past love life had created a little bit of an uncomfortable tension between the two of them.

              Both Cassie and Anna found pieces of décor that they couldn't live without. "I think I can make my room a little homier with some of the stuff I bought," Anna said as they exited the store and began walking down the street.

              "It doesn't feel like home?" Cassie questioned Anna.

              "It does. It's just that I'm still adjusting and some of my stuff hasn't arrived yet so I can't really decorate the way I want to and make it feel like home.

              "Oh." They passed by a little café and Cassie pulled Anna with her. "Let's go in here and get some lunch before we go to our appointments at the nail salon." Annie agreed.

              When they walked in the café they were led to a table, and told that their server would be coming by soon to take there order. Both of them were starving from all the shopping they'd done.

              Cassie's nose was still buried in the menu looking at her meal options when Anna spoke. "Cassie is it okay if I ask you something and you not get mad or offended?"