Two Wanted Men [Badlands 2] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour) (13 page)

She shook her head. “Nothing to thank me for. Just so you know, John went to help Ben with some sheriff work north of town bringing a criminal man from one town to another. Ben will be coming over this evenin’, so you can see him, but they won’t be back until dinnertime. That should give you time enough to get ready.”

Miranda grabbed Hanna in a quick, tight hug. She didn’t resist, but didn’t return it, either. “I’m grateful, Hanna.”

“Don’t be. We didn’t have this conversation. When I left for my friend’s, you were still in bed.” She turned and walked away without another word.

Miranda heard her leave the house five minutes later and ten minutes after that, Miranda also exited and headed into town. The three-mile walk to the north part of town invigorated her. Each step took her closer to possible freedom and salvation. Housed in the train station for convenience, the telegraph office was Miranda’s first order of business. She planned to send an immediate message, in the form of a plea for help, to
South Dakota
.

The sun had just cleared the horizon when Miranda entered the rail station office next to the telegraph window, which also housed the post office. She peeked in to see who manned the desk. She’d heard a new man had been hired last week. She wanted
him
to wait on her, so there wouldn’t be any questions as to why she was leaving town.

In the first stroke of luck since being escorted out of her home, the new man was indeed running the telegraph and train station. He had shocking wavy red hair and spectacles perched on his beak-like nose.

She headed inside and straight to the desk. “I’d like to send a telegraph to Luke Quinton or Reese Martin in
Campbell
’s Valley,
South Dakota
.”

The man handed her a piece of blank paper and pointed to the inkwell and fountain pen on the counter. “That will be two cents a word payable up front. Keep that in mind when you create your message.”

“I don’t have any money, but I do have a gold necklace—”

“Sorry, ma’am. I can’t barter for telegraphs. Cash up front or no message.” He reached out and grabbed back the paper and turned his back on her.

Miranda sighed and left the desk. She strolled over to the US Post Office. “Excuse me. Do you have any letters for me?” Perhaps Luke and Reese had miraculously sent her a letter with a train ticket inside. Her fanciful mind kept the awful reality of her situation just this side of endurable.

“Who are you, miss?”

“Miranda Herrington.”

The old gentleman’s eyes lit up as if with recognition. “Nothing’s come this week. But I’ll be sure and give anything over to the sheriff like the last three times.” He grinned and walked away.

She didn’t even have the few pennies it would take to send a letter to them. Besides the fact that it wouldn’t do any good anyway because by the time a letter arrived, she’d be dead or married to Ben and wishing she were dead.

She walked over to the third window and inquired as to the price of a ticket to
South Dakota
. “Thirty-six dollars, miss.”

“Thirty-six dollars? That’s a lot of money.” she hadn’t meant to raise her voice. The price might as well have been three hundred.

“Well, it’s a long journey and two modest meals each day are included in the first class price.”

“I don’t quite have that much. Are there any cheaper ways to get to
South Dakota
? Any cheaper tickets?”

“Nope. The lesser cost tickets are sold out. Stage coaches are slightly cheaper, but you have to provide your own meals and in my opinion, travel by train is much more comfortable.”

“I have no doubt you’re correct. I guess I’ll just have to find another way to get there. Thanks, anyway.” Miranda edged away completely dejected.

She walked outside and down the stairs to the east side of the building that hid her from the township with her modest bag clutched in one hand. She parked herself on a bench trying to figure out a way to get the money to head for
South Dakota
. Ben wouldn’t give her any. She couldn’t get a job to earn any money. A tear slipped over her lower eyelid as panic over her life threatened to overwhelm her.

“Excuse me, miss. Did I hear you mention wanting to go to
South Dakota
?” a voice to her left asked.

She saw a slender, gray-haired man standing next to her on the steps from the train platform. He was dressed in a very nice dark suit. “Yes. Why?”

“Are you married?”

“No.”
And I’d like to stay that way.
“Why do you ask?”

“If you still desire a trip to
South Dakota
, I might be able to arrange a trip with a particular stipulation if you truly want an adventure out west.”

Adventure?
“What sort of stipulation?” Truthfully, Miranda was ready to try anything to escape Ben and the unwanted marriage he had planned.

He looked from side to side as if ensuring no one else listened. “My name is Jasper Coggon. I’m a lawyer and I’ve been hired by two gentlemen seeking a mail order bride. Not to shock you, but they wish to…well…share a bride between them, if you understand my meaning. Is this something you’d be interested in?”

The memory of Luke and Reese “sharing” her slid into her mind with seductive desire. She completely understood bride sharing, but her intent was to share with Luke and Reese, not two other strange men. However, if she got all the way out to
South Dakota
and near her two men, it would certainly be better than waiting here.

Mind racing at the idea that she might actually be able to get away from Perrysburg and Ben’s distasteful marriage campaign, Miranda stood up and stepped closer to the lawyer. “And if I agree to this, how would I get there?”

His eyes widened as if surprised she was willing to go along without further persuasion. “Oh…well I’ve got the funds to get you to
Omaha
for now. I’ll pay for your train ticket all the way to
South Dakota
and a generous stipend of ten dollars is included with the signed mail order bride contract for your trip. Once in
Nebraska
, we’ll meet up with at least one other woman I’ve contracted with, then I’ll travel ahead and arrange the meeting between the parties for when you arrive on the next train.

“Once we’re all in
Campbell
’s Valley, final preparations for the wedding and such will be discussed. You’ll have to sign some papers so that you understand what’s expected of you. If for any reason you don’t suit, you’d have to pay back all the money for your ticket and find a way home.”

Perfect.
Once she got there, she’d tell them it wouldn’t work and do whatever it took, even wash laundry if necessary, until she’d paid them back. Most importantly, she’d be very close in proximity to the men she loved.

“I’ll sign whatever you need me to. When does the train leave?”

He squinted and pulled a gold watch on a chain out of his vest pocket. “In about an hour. If you’d rather, I can buy a ticket for you tomorrow so that you can pack.”

“No. I want to leave now.” She held up her bag. “This is all I have, anyway.”

From the case he carried, he extracted a rolled document with several paragraphs in essence saying she agreed to be a mail order bride and if she didn’t get on with the gentlemen selected, she’d be responsible for paying back the stipend and train fare to
South Dakota
. A thick line along the bottom edge was provided for her signature. Again from his bag, Mr. Coggon pulled out a corked ink jar and pen. She signed her name using the wooden bench as a flat surface and handed the freshly inked page back to him.

“Well, then if you’ll follow me, I’ll purchase your ticket and we’ll be on our way in no time.” He waved the paper she’d signed in the air a few times as if to hurry the drying of the ink and turned to go back inside the train station.

“Wait, Mr. Coggon,” she called out. When he turned back, she added, “I need to be able to leave on the train without anyone from town seeing me.”

His brows furrowed. “Are you wanted by the law, Miss Herrington?”

“No. But there is a man who has been pestering me to marry him. I don’t want to, but I don’t have any money. I just don’t want him to know where I went.”

Jasper nodded with a concerned look. “Not to worry.” He pointed to the back of the building. “If you wait on the other side of the platform, very few people if anyone will see you enter when the train arrives. I’ll get on the train with your ticket and meet you in the passenger car.”

“Thank you, Mr. Coggon. I appreciate what you’ve done for me.”

He nodded and smiled. “By the way, in case you wanted to know, the names of the two men you’ll be engaged to are Derek Brand and Logan Granger.”

“I’ll look forward to meeting them. My father passed away recently and I need a change of scenery.”
And I need to escape a marriage I refuse to participate in.

“I’m sorry to hear it.”

“Thank you. I’ll meet you on the train.”

Miranda wished she could see the expression on Ben’s face once he realized she was gone. She’d be a half a state away before he came home for dinner. He’d never find her.

* * * *

“You let her get away!” Ben was furious over Miranda’s absence from his brother’s house. After spending the entire day carting a low life horse thief around to another jurisdiction, he’d come back to his brother’s home expecting to have a nice dinner with family. He’d planned to get them to help push Miranda for a wedding date.

“I didn’t let her do anything. I went to my friend’s house for a spell and when I returned to make dinner, she wasn’t here.”

Ben’s gaze shifted to John. “I told you she needed to be watched.”

John’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t blame us, Ben. I was with you up in the northern county all day. Hanna was over helping the mayor’s daughter. Why didn’t you lock her up in the jail if you knew she was prone to running?”

“She isn’t prone to running. She’s in a fragile state since her father passed on and she can’t be in her right mind.”

Both his brother and sister-in-law were seated at the table. Ben wanted to round up some help and search for his errant fiancée.

John grabbed a fork and knife and cut into the beef on his plate. “After dinner, go into town and look for her then. She can’t have gotten far. She don’t have a dime and no one in town will help her.”

Ben steadied his breathing. John was right. She was probably at the cemetery crying over her dead father. Good riddance.

He finished the adequate meal Hanna served, saddled his horse and headed for town as the sun dropped beneath the western horizon. Damn that woman, she’d pay for all the trouble she caused. He had half a mind to drag her to the preacher tonight and get hitched. He’d have her buck-naked and impaled on his cock before the ink dried on the marriage papers.

Ben tucked that particular dream away as he approached the telegraph office. Once inside, he learned that she had been there but hadn’t had any money to send a message or buy a train ticket.

Satisfied he’d find her somewhere in town, Ben spent the next several hours searching every building, business and private home as his fury grew with each minute he didn’t find her.

He went back to the train station to verify their stories.

“Are you sure she didn’t have the money to get a ticket?” Ben asked the operator once more.

“No, Ben, I told ya before. She didn’t have the money for a telegraph let alone a ticket. She tried to give me some gold necklace, but I told her no bartering. Cash only.”