Lorelei — Celia Yeary

~ Western romance short from bestselling author Celia Yeary ~Mail-order bride Lorelei Hastings arrives by train in Trinity Hill, Texas. Instead of a handsome dark-haired man who looks rather prosperous, a tall, muscular man wearing dusty work clothes greets her. The man is Daniel Carpenter, a livery owner. He explains the banker ordered two brides to choose between, and he's already made his choice. Lorelei is the "leftover" bride. She is furious, but has no recourse except to drive home with the big blond man who speaks very little. Excerpt:"All right, I'll just lay it all out. No need to beat around the bush. You see, ma'am, Mr. Teasdale ordered two brides, and since he's paying for both, I have to take the leftover. You."Now she backed up a step and sucked in a breath. "My lands, whatever on earth are you talking about? And you're calling me a leftover?"Sorry. Bad use of a word." He removed his beat-up felt cowboy hat, twirled it in his hands, and then replaced it on his head. He shifted his weight. "See, it's like this. I couldn't afford a bride, so he made a deal with me. He would take his pick, and for the nominal fee of shoeing four horses for him, he'd let me have the leftover. Uh, I mean, the one who got left. over."Feeling a little sick and very confused, Lorelei sank to the edge of the trunk. Popping out her handkerchief, she carefully re-folded it and held the cloth in her lap with both hands. She smoothed her hair on one side, straightened her spine, and sighed heavily.