Mail Order Bride: Deception (Historical Western Romance): Clean Romance Series (Western Mail Order Brides Book 1) by Samantha Price Read Free Book Online Page B

gave it to me.”
    Jed ran his fingers over the stubble on his chin. “What color were the traveling cases?”
    “Brown, just like most other traveling cases.”
    “When was the last time you saw them?”
    “Just before I got here. I dozed off, and when I opened my eyes, I noticed that they were gone. I asked people nearby, but they hadn’t seen anyone take anything.” Leah took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She never thought one little lie, pretending she was Victoria, would develop into so many.
    Beth leaned forward. “What chance would Victoria have of getting everything back?”
    “Next to none, and that’s the truth. Things like this happen all the time.”
    “Oh, dear.” Leah did her best to look upset, and Beth stroked her arm.
    Jed blew on the wet ink. “I’ll send this off to where it needs to go. You might get lucky.”
    “Is that all now, Jed?” Beth asked.
    “That’s all I need at this stage.” Jed stood up when both women rose to their feet.
    “Thank you, Mr... ”
    “I’m sorry, Victoria, I didn’t introduce you properly. This is Jed Palmer.”
    “Jebediah,” he said with a chuckle. “I prefer plain old ‘Jed.’”
    “Well, thank you, Mr. Palmer.”
    He lowered his head and gave a big smile. “You can call me ‘Jed,’ if you wish, everyone else does.”
    Leah nodded. “You must call me Victoria then.”
     
    * * *
     
    On the second night of Leah’s stay in Dodge City, Austin and Violet came to dinner again at Mrs. Wright’s house.
    Leah had offered to help Mrs. Wright with the clean up afterward, but Mrs. Wright insisted that she should not lift a finger. Both Beth and Mrs. Wright shooed her out of the kitchen. With Austin busy tending to Violet, Leah wandered back down to the corral to look at the black horse again. She leaned on the railing, and waited for the horse to come to her.
    Leah was so engrossed in staring out at the horses, that she barely had time to react when strong arms wrapped around her. She turned to look up into Austin’s face as he stepped back from placing his coat around her shoulders. “Thank you,” she said softly. She couldn’t help but feel warmth when he was around. He seemed such a trustworthy, pleasant man. Good stock is what her mother called people such as he.
    “So…” he leaned against the railing, and stared out at the horses. “How do you feel about our arrangement now?”
    The way he said it made her question everything. “Good,” she replied. She thought that he must think otherwise, or he wouldn’t have asked the question. “You?” Her voice quivered.
    “Good, great, in fact. After all, you’re great with Violet and…” he hesitated, “I think that we get along pretty well.” He smiled.
    She let out the breath she’d been holding on to.
    “Just wanted to make sure you weren’t thinking about running.” He chuckled slightly.
    She shook her head. “I’m not.” It was partly true; she did not want to run, but she could not be naïve. In the end, she would need to leave before she was found out to be an impostor. Again, she mentally berated herself for not being honest. His family was an influential one, so surely Austin would be able to find her a job, and a place to stay? Now, it was too late, too late to say who she really was. Here was a man who she might have been able to fall in love with, but he’d never be interested in a woman who was a trickster. It was only a matter of time before her secret would be revealed. She knew from going to church with the Bradburys that the Bible said, Nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest: neither any thing hid, that shall not be known. Her days of being Victoria were numbered.
    The closeness of Austin made her feel a little weak. It would be wonderful to have a man to take care of her, a strong man to put his arms around her, and to love her. How she wanted to be loved one day by someone such as Austin.
    “It’s the fourth of July next week,” he said.