Excerpt from Short-Straw Bride

Could she read his thoughts? Was he frightening her? 'Cause he was sure as shootin' scaring himself.

"I didn't mean to make you angry, Travis," Meredith said, her expression more stubborn than fearful, thank the Lord. "But I can't promise to do something that may violate my conscience."

Angry? What was she talking about? "I'm not mad at you, Meri."

Her brow furrowed. "You're not? I could have sworn you were counting to ten or something, trying to keep your temper in check."

Travis nearly laughed aloud. His sweet, innocent wife had no idea what he'd been trying to keep in check. And he wanted to keep it that way. At least until he learned how to control it a little better.

"I promise I'm not m-"

Meredith's gasp cut him off.

"Oh my stars!" Her panicked eyes darted past him to the house and had him reaching for his rifle to confront the threat. "My cornbread!" She grabbed a fistful of skirt and sprinted down the path and across the yard.

                                    ~ Excerpt from Short-Straw Bride by Karen Witemeyer.

Note: For those readers who've read this book, you might be wondering why I picked this scene to share on my blog. While I chopped off the beginning paragraphs, this scene had me laughing out loud which rarely happens when I read books.