The Bride Next Door. Winnie Griggs

left, Daisy took Kip for a walk. As usual, she grabbed a cloth bag so she’d have something to hold anything edible or useable she found along the way. At the last minute, she remembered she needed to gather the stuffing for her mattress ticking, so she grabbed a larger gunnysack as well.

      Once on the edge of town, she let Kip have his head and followed wherever the animal led, only redirecting him when he seemed headed for mischief.

      This was only her second day here, if you didn’t count the night she arrived, and already it felt familiar, comfortable. Everything was falling into place just as she’d hoped, even better than she’d thought possible.

      She could build a good life here. She’d already made a few acquaintances that, in time, she hoped could bloom into true friendships.

      The discovery of that door between her and Mr. Fulton’s places had been exciting, something unexpected and fun. Sharing a secret with him made her feel closer to him somehow, even if he didn’t feel any of that excitement himself.

      Too bad her employer-neighbor seemed unable to appreciate a bit of adventure. Did he realize how much he was missing by being so guarded? He seemed to like reporting on what was happening around him much more than experiencing it.

      Was that because he’d never felt swept up in the joy of letting his imagination run free, of focusing on the fun in whatever situation you were in? That was probably hard for him to do, what with his inflexible, cynical outlook on things. Instead of looking at that doorway as something fun and exciting, he’d seemed more concerned with how it might look if word got out about it. Looking for warts instead of dimples again.

      Then she caught herself up on that thought.

      She had no right to judge him. She had no idea what had made him the way he was. Maybe he’d never been taught how to have fun. Or maybe something had happened that made it hard for him to see the silver lining in things.

      Well, if that was the case, it was up to her to show him how to relax and not hold on to his need for control so tightly.

      Now, if she could just figure out how to accomplish that...