A Hero's Heart by Sylvia McDaniel Read Free Book Online Page A

know. It seems to fit you.”
    “It should; it’s my name. Find someone else to get hog-tied to. I’m not getting married for any reason.”
    She looked crestfallen. She wrung her hands in desperation. “I must find someone or we’re going to be stuck in this fort. What kind of life could I provide for us here?”
    Wade gazed around the small complex. It was teaming with people, mostly men and Indian squaws. He imagined Rachel and Becky stuck here, and knew that eventually they would be forced to work in the saloon or marry some randy soldier boy and bear him five or six kids.
    “Could you at least help me find someone?” she pleaded.
    Wade bristled. She wanted him to help her find another man to marry?
    “I’m not going to help you go through with this foolhardy plan of yours,” he responded angrily. “What if I talk to the wagon train’s leader? Maybe I could convince him.”
    Rachel laughed a derisive sound. “I don’t think so. He was adamant against single females. And if he did change his mind, it wouldn’t take Becky long to convince him he’d made a mistake.”
    Wade sighed. She was right. “Maybe you could hire someone.”
    Rachel shook her head. “No. He said hired men have been known to leave when the trail became too rough.”
    They were standing just inside the palisades; the guard tower loomed over them. Wade stared past the tower, towards Laramie Peak. He was broke. He would have to sell one of his horses, find a job or…
    He grabbed Rachel by the arm and spun her around to face him. “I have an idea.”
    She pulled back in fear, but he gently placed her arm in his and proceeded to stroll along the inside of the fence, as if they were a couple out courting. “What if you hire me to see you to Oregon for six hundred dollars and we pretend we’re married.”
    Rachel stopped and pulled her hand away from him. “That’s outrageous. Not only is it lying, but six hundred dollars is an excessive amount!”
    Wade grinned. “The idea’s not bad though.”
    Hands on her hips, she glared at him through the twilight. “You’re suggesting I play the role of your wife, lie to everyone we meet and then, when we get to Oregon, pay you for escorting us? What do I tell people after we get there?”
    “I’ll leave before we reach The Dalles. You tell everyone I’ve gone ahead to prepare our place, and then you receive word I’ve been killed.”
    “I can’t lie.” With a stomp of her foot she turned and started to walk away, leaving Wade behind.
    “Rachel,” he called after her. “That wagon train leaves day after tomorrow. If you don’t go out with this train, you’ll have to wait until next year or return home to Tennessee. How about five hundred dollars?”
    She stopped, her back to him. The mention of the wagon train’s leaving seemed to have sunk into her consciousness, and Wade watched and waited for her response. A coyote howled in the distance, echoing Rachel’s apparent frustration.
    Just when Wade was sure she was going to walk away, she said, “Four hundred dollars, take it or leave it.”
    Four hundred dollars would do a lot to help him locate Walker and get back on his feet. Wade strolled up to Rachel, took her hand and shook it. “It’s a deal.”
    The flag flapped in the breeze directly above Rachel. She glared at him, “Before you start counting your money, I have several conditions for this false marriage.”
    Wade grinned, knowing without her having to say, what they would be. “I’m waiting.”
    “No one will know, including Becky and the children, that we’re not truly married.” He nodded in acknowledgement. “Our marriage will be in name only. You will sleep outside.”
    “Rachel,” Wade said with disbelief, “no one will believe we’re newlyweds if we aren’t bunking together.”
    He moved in, closing the distance between them until they were mere inches apart. She trembled and pulled her shawl closer to her.
    Wade wanted to pull her into his arms and