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The Boss's Bride
Brenda Minton
Leaving her cheating fiancé at the altar made Gracie Wilson famous in tiny Bygones, Kansas. Now the only things she can count on are her job at the Fixer-Upper Hardware store and the store’s handsome owner.Though Bygones’ runaway bride has boosted Patrick Fogerty’s business more than any sale could, his feelings for Gracie are more than professional. But with Gracie’s heart in pieces, he’s afraid to hurt her. Gracie must somehow find the courage to run toward the man of her dreams.
Talk Of The Town
Leaving her cheating fiancé at the altar made Gracie Wilson famous in tiny Bygones, Kansas. Now the only things she can count on are her job at the Fixer-Upper Hardware store and the store’s handsome owner. Though Bygones’s runaway bride has boosted Patrick Fogerty’s business more than any sale could, his feelings for Gracie are more than professional. But with Gracie’s heart in pieces, he’s afraid to hurt her. Gracie must somehow find the courage to run toward the man of her dreams.
The Heart of Main Street: They’re rebuilding the town one step—and heart—at a time.
“You okay over there?” Patrick’s strong, husky voice slipped through the cab of the truck.
“I’m tired but I’ll be okay.” But as Patrick pulled up to her house, her stomach tensed. Half a dozen cars were parked in the driveway—so much for sneaking home and talking to her dad first.
“Looks like company,” Patrick said, trying to sound cheery.
Gracie wished she could smile. “Looks like a lynching to me.”
She reached for the truck door, but hesitated. One last minute to catch her breath…or maybe one last chance to keep running.
“I’m with you, Gracie.” Patrick’s voice immediately stilled the knots in her stomach. It was odd, knowing that this man—her boss, practically a stranger—would be at her side, made Gracie feel more secure than she’d ever felt with her ex-fiancé.
Then, Patrick stepped out of the truck, and Gracie guessed she had to go, too. Time to stop running.
The Heart of Main Street: They’re rebuilding
the town one step—and heart—at a time.
Love in Bloom by Arlene James,
July 2013
The Bachelor Baker by Carolyne Aarsen,
August 2013
The Boss’s Bride by Brenda Minton,
September 2013
Storybook Romance by Lissa Manley,
October 2013
Tail of Two Hearts by Charlotte Carter,
November 2013
Cozy Christmas by Valerie Hansen,
December 2013
BRENDA MINTON
started creating stories to entertain herself during hour-long rides on the school bus. In high school she wrote romance novels to entertain her friends. The dream grew and so did her aspirations to become an author. She started with notebooks, handwritten manuscripts and characters that refused to go away until their stories were told. Eventually she put away the pen and paper and got down to business with the computer. The journey took a few years, with some encouragement and rejection along the way—as well as a lot of stubbornness on her part. In 2006 her dream to write for Love Inspired Books came true. Brenda lives in the rural Ozarks with her husband, three kids and an abundance of cats and dogs. She enjoys a chaotic life that she wouldn’t trade for anything—except, on occasion, a beach house in Texas. You can stop by and visit at her website, www.brendaminton.net (http://www.brendaminton.net).
The Boss’s Bride
Brenda Minton
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Delight thyself also in the Lord, and he shall
give thee the desires of thine heart.
—Psalms 37:4
In memory of my sweet friend Alice.
Friendships can be found in the most amazing ways at the most amazing times. I encourage you all
to take time for older citizens confined to
long-term care facilities. You’ll be blessed.
Contents
Prologue (#ua7cba619-364f-5c2a-bfaf-237fcddc6231)
Chapter One (#u505b7ee5-5643-52c1-b0f7-14656877cad4)
Chapter Two (#u7cd82bba-13df-5a68-84df-40f19127f3d1)
Chapter Three (#u3e227113-309d-5195-a257-f86eaddffdeb)
Chapter Four (#u62d557f1-5e79-5da1-b6fe-d4ff6a3722c1)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)
Prologue
Gracie Wilson stood in the center of a Sunday school classroom at the Bygones Community Church. Her friend Janie Lawson adjusted her veil and again wiped at tears.
“You look beautiful.”
“Do I?” Gracie glanced in the full-length mirror that hung on the door of the supply cabinet and suppressed a shudder. The dress was hideous and she hadn’t picked it.
“Of course you do. You look like a fairy princess.”
Gracie groaned. “Is this another height joke?”
Janie hugged her tight for one second. “Not at all. You look beautiful. And you look miserable. It’s your wedding day. You should be smiling.”
Gracie smiled, but she knew it was a poor attempt at best. The frown on Janie’s face confirmed it. She exhaled and looked again at her reflection in the mirror. Janie was right; a bride shouldn’t look sad.
“Gracie, what’s wrong?” Janie walked up behind her and peeked over her shoulder so that their reflections stared back at them.
“Nothing. I’m good.” She leaned her cheek against Janie’s hand on her shoulder. “Other than the fact that you’ve moved one hundred miles away and I never get to see you.”
What else could she say? Everyone in Bygones, Kansas, and probably for miles around, thought she’d landed the catch of the century. Trent Morgan was handsome, charming and came from money. She should be thrilled to be marrying him. Six months ago she had been thrilled. Five months ago she’d still been happy.
But then she’d started to notice little signs. She should have put the wedding on hold the moment she noticed those signs. She should have slowed down and not worried so much about what everyone else would think. And when she knew for certain, she should have put a stop to the entire thing. But she hadn’t. Because once the wedding wheels had been put in motion, she hadn’t known how to stop it all from happening.
It made her feel weak. And she’d never been a weak person.
“You’re not convincing me.” Janie smiled tenderly, a best-friend smile reflected from the mirror. Gracie turned to face her friend, the skirt of the dress pushing them apart.
“I’m just tired, Janie. I mean, it’s been a long three months of wedding planning, right?” Did she sound convincing?
“And Mrs. Morgan isn’t a dream of a woman to deal with.” Janie gave an exaggerated shudder to prove her point.
“Exactly.” Gracie twirled in the lace creation that had a skirt that made her look like a dinner bell or a Southern belle—she wasn’t sure which. “Do you care if I have a few minutes alone?”
“Of course not,” Janie gave her another hug. “But not too long. You dad is outside, and when I came in to check on you, the seats were filling up out there.”
“I won’t be long. I just need a minute to catch my breath.”
“Of course you do. And just think, after today you’ll be going to Hawaii and you’ll have a week on the beach to catch your breath. And then you’ll move to Manhattan and your new home.”
Gracie smiled and nodded her head, trying to pretend the idea excited her. A week in Hawaii. On the beach. With Trent.
Janie smiled back at her and then the door to the classroom closed. And for the first time in days, Gracie was alone. She looked around the room with the bright yellow walls and posters from the Sunday school curriculum. She stopped at the poster of David and Goliath. Her favorite. She’d love to have that kind of faith, the kind that knocked down giants.
She knew a few Davids. Ann Mars was a faith giant. And Miss Coraline Connolly. They both believed the town of Bygones could be saved. Not with stones and a slingshot but with new businesses and new people.
And of course those new businesses made her think of her boss at The Fixer-Upper. Patrick Fogerty, one of the most genuinely nice people she’d ever met.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Today was her wedding day. Instead of worrying, she had to remember back to when she met Trent and how love had felt then. Not how it felt now—sadly lacking because he’d not only pulled away, he’d betrayed her trust. A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.
“You almost ready, Gracie?” her dad called through the door.
“Almost.”
She opened the window, just to let in fresh air. She leaned out, breathing the hint of autumn, enjoying the breeze on her face. She looked across the grassy lawn and saw…
FREEDOM.
She shook her head at the word. That was the wrong word. A bride shouldn’t be thinking of freedom. She should be thinking of happy-ever-after with the man she loved. The word ached deep inside, mocking her. Love. It meant something, to love someone, to want to be with them forever. It meant loyalty.
She closed her eyes and thought back to that day one month ago when she’d meant to surprise Trent. She’d packed a lunch for them. She’d thought a picnic would be romantic. Instead she sat in her car watching him and then she’d eased out of the parking space, driving away as if she hadn’t seen anything. That moment had confirmed her suspicions.
It all added up. He had been seeing someone else while she’d been busy at home, planning their wedding. He had texted the other woman while they’d been sampling cakes at the Sweet Dreams Bakery. He’d called her while he and Gracie had dinner with his parents.
Gracie hadn’t known how to end a relationship just weeks short of the wedding.
But now she did.
Quiet as a mouse, she slid herself and the hoopskirt through the window. Once she stood on the grass outside the window, her heart began to pound. She thought about how wrong this was. She thought about all the money Mrs. Morgan had spent.
She thought of how things would have been different if her own mother had been alive and she’d had a woman to turn to, to talk to. If she didn’t feel so responsible for everyone else.
It hadn’t been her plan to sneak around the side of the church, to look out at the crowded parking lot. The limo was already decorated with cans, streamers and painted windows; two teenage boys were finishing up with cans of shaving cream. She hadn’t planned to slip away and then run as fast as she could down a side street.
But she did run.
And she felt freer than she had in months. She felt the breeze on her face, the coolness of the air, and knew she couldn’t marry Trent Morgan. But she didn’t know where to go or what to do now that she’d left her groom standing in the sanctuary of the church waiting for a bride who wouldn’t be walking down the aisle. She only knew that she couldn’t go through with this wedding.
Chapter One
The stockroom of The Fixer-Upper hardware store was dark, warm and strangely peaceful. Gracie sat on a stool, staring down at the white dress that hadn’t made it down the aisle. She shifted the skirt, all lace and silk, the type of creation she never would have picked on her own. The only things of her own choosing were her white cowboy boots with sequins and the crystal ribbon on the flowers.
She studied the bouquet Trent’s mother had picked, so different from the daisies Gracie had wanted. When Gracie had sneaked into The Fixer-Upper, she’d tossed the bouquet on a worktable. Even from several feet away, she could smell the sweetness of the flowers, a reminder that this had never really been her wedding. Even the yellow roses, which would have been okay, had been enhanced with a few exotic blooms. Mrs. Morgan had a thing for over-the-top.
From the church to the decorations, Trent’s mother had made all the decisions. Mrs. Morgan, wife of a prominent surgeon, had taken charge. After all, as Mrs. Morgan liked to point out, Gracie didn’t have a mother of her own to take care of these things. And because Gracie’s father’s granary was struggling, like every other business in Bygones, Kansas, the Morgan family had been footing the bill for their only son to marry Gracie Wilson.
