Second Chance Brides by Vickie Mcdonough

door.
    Butch sent another frantic glance her way, but then he narrowed his gaze at her, sending caterpillars crawling up and down her spine. She could say he slipped, but her friends would get in trouble and be mad at her. Butch deserved being in jail, didn’t he? Her chest still stung from where he’d whacked her.
    She turned and trudged toward home, unable to look at him any longer. If he did deserve being in jail, why did she feel so bad?

     
    Garrett kicked the door shut with his boot and carried Miss O’Neil farther into the office. A whiff of a soft floral scent whispered around Mark as she passed by, teasing his senses. He clenched his fist as thoughts of Annabelle surfaced.
    To Miss O’Neil’s credit, she didn’t seem to enjoy being in Garrett’s arms, but rather sat stiff. Prim and proper—at least as proper as could be in such a situation. For some reason he couldn’t pinpoint, that made him happy. But why should he care?
    Garrett set her down in Mark’s chair, not his own, he noted. What was she doing here? He checked her ring finger and relaxed a smidgeon. Surely if Garrett had married the woman, she’d be wearing a ring. He tried to imagine his joke-playing brother and the shy Irish gal together, but the puzzle didn’t fit.
    An ornery grin revealed Garrett’s straight teeth, and his eyes gleamed. Something in the pit of Mark’s stomach curdled.
    “Here’s your surprise, brother.”
    Miss O’Neil’s gaze jerked up to Garrett’s face and then to Mark’s. She looked as stupefied as he. Mark cleared his throat. “What are you talking about?”
    Garrett crossed the room in three long steps and plopped down in his desk chair. “Did you forget I told you I had a surprise?”
    “I don’t understand.” Miss O’Neil raised her hand and pinched the bridge of her nose.
    “That makes two of us. What are you talking about, Garrett?”
    Mark leaned against his desk and crossed his arms, keeping his back to Miss O’Neil. It was best he didn’t look at the pretty woman. His expression would only trouble her, anyway.
    Garrett leaned back and put his feet on his desk, looking smug. “You were complaining about breaking your wrist and not being able to keep up with the bookwork. Miss O’Neil needed to find work, so I offered her a job. Solved two problems at once.”
    “Well, she can’t stay. I’ll figure out something else.” Mark crossed his arms and clamped his teeth together. He didn’t need daily reminders of how he’d messed up his life.
    Miss O’Neil gasped.
    Garrett dropped his feet and rested his arms on his desk, all teasing now gone. “We need her, brother, and she needs us.”
    Mark closed his eyes, knowing the Irish gal couldn’t see his face. How was he going to get out of this situation without hurting her feelings? But then it was probably already too late for that.
    He pushed up from the desk and paced to the door, spun around, and strode back to his desk. As much as he didn’t like it, he could actually see the ingenuity of Garrett’s plan. They were already paying Miss O’Neil’s room and board, so if she worked for them, they might be out some additional money, but it wouldn’t be nearly as much as if they hired someone else to keep the books and still had to support Miss O’Neil. And he didn’t want just anybody knowing the state of their finances. The one favorable thing about Miss O’Neil was that she knew few people in town. He glanced at her, wincing at her troubled expression.
    “There’s been some mistake, I’m thinkin’. You’d best be helping me back to the boardinghouse, Mr. Corbett.”
    Garrett pursed his lips and stood. “Now see what you’ve done. You’ve ruffled her feathers.”
    Mark stopped right in front of his brother. “You could have at least discussed this with me first.”
    Garrett leaned closer. “There’s nothing to discuss. We need her, and she needs a job. It’s simple.”
    Mark didn’t see anything simple about the situation.