Seducing Susannah: The Bride Train

by E. E. Burke

  “We don’t have to marry if we take the job?” Delilah held a blue scarf across her right cheek. He’d glimpsed the scars beneath, which looked like burns, apparently from some terrible accident. She was still a pretty woman, and the men out here weren’t picky. She had to know that if she wanted a husband, she could certainly have one.

  “Your agreement calls for you to marry one of the settlers. Should you decide not to marry, you will be responsible for the cost of the fare, plus expenses. If you marry one of the soldiers, he could pay your expenses. That is another option.”

  The two ladies agreed to take the matter under consideration, and he took his leave.

  Riding into town, Ross pulled his watch from his vest pocket. He still had enough time to introduce Danny to the horse before leaving town. He’d made the boy a promise and intended to keep it.

  He found Danny sitting on the steps of the rail car with his chin propped on his hands, looking glum.

  “Why the long face?” Ross asked as he dismounted.

  “Momma told me to sit and wait until Mr. Valentine gets here.” The boy said it as if sitting still and waiting equated to being roped and tied. Ross couldn’t disagree.

  “Is she inside?”

  Danny rolled his eyes. “Doing up her hair.”

  Ross fought a smile as he thought about how he would enjoy undoing her hair. “Primping is a woman’s prerogative.”

  “Her what?”

  “Means she has a right to it, being a woman.”

  Soldier bobbed his head.

  Ross laughed at his horse and asked, “You agree?”

  Danny stood with a look of longing in his eyes. “Can I pet him?”

  “Sure you can, come on over.” Ross motioned Danny closer, and the horse lowered its head. “Put out your hand, let him smell you. That’s right. You can stroke his nose.”

  Danny’s smile lit up his face. “He’s got a soft nose!”

  “Yep, and very sensitive.”

  The horse sniffed the boy’s hand and blew out.

  Danny giggled. “What’s his name?”

  “Soldier.” Ross patted the horse’s neck with fondness. “I owe him my life. He carried me through the war and even took a bullet. He’s a tough soldier.”

  “I like him.” Danny showed no fear as he reached up to stroke the buckskin’s flat cheek.

  “You know what? I think he likes you too.” Ross was glad he’d brought old Soldier around to meet Danny. The horse was gentle and patient, and he liked children.

  “Can I ride him?”

  Ross hesitated. Susannah hadn’t liked the idea, though she might not object if he walked the horse and kept the ride brief. This would show that he could be trusted to keep his word to Danny, as well as keeping the boy safe.

  He helped Danny into the saddle, adjusted the stirrups, and took the reins. “Hold on tight.” He walked soldier in a large circle while Danny clung to the saddle horn, wearing a huge grin, which just confirmed that this was the right thing to do.

  The door to the rail car opened. As Susannah stepped out, surprise registered, followed by blatant fear. She rushed down the steps, holding her skirts, and ran in their direction.

  “Danny, get down from there!”

  Soldier threw his head, and had Ross not been holding the reins securely, might’ve pulled away, possibly reared. The old horse knew the whine of bullets and roar of cannons, but he wasn’t as familiar with a woman’s high-pitched screech. Ross held the reins taut, speaking soothingly to the horse before he addressed the panicked woman running at them.

  “Don’t charge us. You might spook him.”

  She jerked to a halt. “Take my son off that horse.” Her voice quavered, and her face had gone from flushed to pasty white.

  “I’m all right,” Danny chirped. “Soldier is a nice horse. He won’t hurt me.”

  Ross wasn’t about to argue with a potentially hysterical woman. “Let’s get you down.” He lifted Danny to the ground. “Go on, now,” he said in a low voice. “You can see Soldier later, when your Ma isn’t so scared of him.”

  “Go inside, Danny,” she said sharply. “Wait there until Mr. Valentine arrives.”

  “But, Momma—”

  “Don’t argue with me.”

  Danny threw a pleading look over his shoulder.

  Ross dipped his chin in agreement with the boy’s mother. Not because he thought she was right; he was simply smart enough to know better than to disagree with her in front of Danny.

  The boy trudged up the steps and jerked the door shut with a bang.

  Ross walked the horse over to where Susannah stood with her hands clutched in front of her and her chin tilted up. He should’ve guessed the problem, but she hid her anxieties behind a brave face. “You’re afraid of horses.”

  She took a step backwards, confirming his statement. “I’m more afraid of someone who puts my son at risk without consulting me.”

  “Danny only sat in the saddle for a few minutes while I held the reins. Soldier is well-trained and gentle.”

  “You said he could be spooked.”

  “Any horse can be spooked if provoked, but that doesn’t mean it’s dangerous.” Ross knew he’d be wasting his breath to continue arguing with her about this. He could work on changing her mind later, after he’d softened her resistance to him. “I won’t let Danny near the horses again unless you say so.”

  She dragged her attention away from the horse to his face, and seemed to be searching for an answer to some unspoken question. Distress played across her features, a look of pain he couldn’t interpret or understand, and it tore at him to see her so fearful and uncertain. “My cousin was thrown by a horse. The fall broke his neck.”

  That explained it.

  Ross longed to put his arms around her and assure her the same thing wouldn’t ever happen to Danny, but he wasn’t God, and at the moment, she wasn’t ready to welcome an embrace. He could only ask her to have a little faith in him. “I’m sorry to hear that. Sometimes people get hurt because they don’t know what they’re doing, or they’re on a horse they can’t control. Sometimes it’s an accident. But I know this horse, and I was in control. I wouldn’t endanger Danny. You can trust me, Susannah.”

  Chapter 5

  The rumbling wheels of the train would’ve put Susannah to sleep if she hadn’t been so nervous sitting next to Ross—Mr. Hardt—the man who’d hired her to be an office assistant. She had to remind herself of their respective roles and not allow her mind to wander to places it shouldn’t…such as how solid his arm felt when he leaned against her shoulder to look out the window, or how intoxicating was the brisk scent of his cologne.

  “Are you enjoying the scenery?” His low voice near her ear triggered an outbreak of goose bumps. Susannah sat up straight.

  “Yes, it’s very…” To be honest, she hadn’t been noticing the scenery, although it was pretty much the same—an expansive stretch of grassland, broken by the occasional thicket when they passed by creeks.

  “Lush?” he suggested.

  His attention wasn’t directed out the window; he was looking at her bosom.

  She was beset with an odd sense of anticipation when she should’ve felt nothing but revulsion. “Monotonous.”

  He lifted his gaze, holding hers, reminding her that some snakes also hypnotized their prey. “I wouldn’t want you to become bored.”

  “That’s very unlikely.” She could guess what he might suggest as entertainment. The thought sent another thrill shooting through her, provoking a blush. Why did it have to be this man who stirred her senses and tempted her? Heavens, he was more dangerous than his horse.

  When she’d seen Danny astride the beast, she had overreacted. She knew it, yet she couldn’t help it. Riding horses and hunting, those were things men taught their sons—not that Danny would ever be Ross’s son. That was beside the fact. She couldn’t deny Danny the skills he would need out here, probably sooner than later, and she would have to rely on a man to t
each him. Ross had asked for her trust. She just wasn’t sure he deserved it.

  Ever since they’d left town, she’d been having second thoughts about traveling alone with him. She’d been a young fool once, but to be an older fool would be the ultimate folly.

  The private car they’d boarded featured an office with a desk at one end, and at the opposite end were two sets of richly upholstered benches, which faced each other. With plenty of places to sit, the aggravating man had chosen the seat right next to her.

  “Do you mind sitting there?” Susannah indicated the opposite bench. If she faced backwards, she was certain she’d become ill. “Or I can move to the another seat to give you more room, so you can look out the window?”

  “This works fine for me.” He shifted to the rear-facing bench and stretched out his legs, brushing her skirts. He had to be doing that on purpose.

  She tugged her wool skirts out of his way and withdrew a fan from her satchel. When they’d started out, the windows had been wide open, but smoke from the locomotive had gotten so bad that she’d asked him to close them. She wasn’t sure which was worse, the cinders or the heat. He had to be suffering too in that black three-piece suit.

  “If the current temperatures are any indication, summers are warmer here than in Philadelphia.”

  “Much warmer. You’ll want to switch from wool to cotton.”

  Her lighter dresses were too old and faded to wear in public. She lowered the fan, not sure what to say without sounding pathetic. “I’ll have to see what I have.”

  “Are you in need of new clothes?”

  She snapped her fan shut. “That’s a very personal question, Mr. Hardt.”

  Ross casually draped an arm over the back of the bench with the same deceptive laziness she’d seen exhibited by a very large cat when it was watching an unsuspecting mouse. “Haven’t we gotten past formalities? I thought we were on a first-name basis.”

  “You are my employer. It isn’t proper for us to be familiar.”

  “And you are a proper lady.”

  “Yes, I am.” She turned her attention outside, more annoyed with herself than she was with him. Hadn’t she suspected he might use this opportunity to take advantage of her? And still she’d come along, and in fact, actually looked forward spending time in his company. In only a matter of a few days, he’d managed to slip past defenses she’d spent years constructing. A proper woman wouldn’t be so weak.

  “It’s good to hear you reaffirm what I’ve observed.”

  Was he making fun of her? A quick glance revealed a flicker of laughter in his gaze, and she clamped her jaw tight. He couldn’t appreciate what she’d sacrificed in order to establish a good reputation. She wouldn’t allow anyone—most certainly not a rascal in gentleman’s clothing—to ruin her, and destroy her son’s life in the process.

  “You’re irritated. Why?”

  “If I tell you, you’ll dismiss me.”

  The amusement faded from his eyes. “I won’t do that. You have my word.”

  Could she trust him to honor it? This would be a good test of whether his assurances were only words, and it was time she established clear boundaries. If by doing so she lost her job, so be it. “I believe you have formed certain assumptions about me that are not true.”

  “What assumptions?”

  Her face remained too warm. “Must I explain?”

  “Yes, you must.” He shifted forward and planted his hands on his knees, his expression serious. “Because it seems you’ve formed some assumptions about me as well.”

  She certainly had, only she wasn’t sure how to broach the subject; an illicit affair wasn’t something one discussed. Thus far, Ross hadn’t outright approached her, like Mr. Leech, the factory manager, who’d offered her a generous stipend in exchange for sexual favors—and he hadn’t been the first man to assume she could be compromised.

  “Why did you offer me this job?”

  “To help you, seeing as it was my fault—partly—that you are in such a dire situation.”

  “That didn’t seem to bother you before.”

  Her bold observation elicited a frown. “Many things I’ve had to do bother me.”

  She searched for the truth in his face, which remained as unreadable as a rock. “Is that so? One wouldn’t surmise as much from watching you.”

  “Because I don’t wear my heart on my sleeve?”

  “Because you don’t often act like you have one.”

  He leaned back and folded his arms over his chest without breaking eye contact. The challenging look she’d become used to seeing transformed into something less bold, not quite as confident.

  Regret squeezed the air out of her lungs. How many times had she desired to take the proud man down a few pegs? She found no satisfaction in it now. “I’m sorry, that was a terrible thing to say.”

  “Don’t apologize for speaking your mind.”

  Speaking her mind wasn’t the reason she’d lashed out. She didn’t trust his motives, and this hold he had on her senses frightened her. But fear didn’t give her license to insult him. “In light of your generosity, my remark was unkind.”

  He gave a soft snort. “You don’t owe me pretty words, Susannah. I much prefer the truth. Believe it or not, I find your honesty refreshing.”

  Her conscience winced at the undeserved praise. Over the past seven years, she’d constructed a life propped up by deception. He wouldn’t find anything about her refreshing if he knew the truth.

  He shifted forward again and reached out, perhaps intending to touch her, but rested his arms on his knees instead. She was relieved he’d changed his mind, being fearful that his touch would melt her resolve. “If I’ve offended you, I beg your pardon.”

  An apology from Ross Hardt had to be rare. That he would offer one in this instance made her feel worse than ever. What a coward she was, unable to look him in the eye and be truly honest. She should be begging his pardon for being a fraud.

  “You don’t…offend me.”

  “That’s good to know. It’s much easier to court a woman who doesn’t find me offensive.”

  Susannah’s mouth dropped open. Had he just said he intended to court her?

  His firm lips, usually drawn in a straight line, twisted into a wry smile. “You look surprised. I thought I’d made my interest clear.”

  “You…your interest? Y-yes,” she stammered, still in shock. “But…I thought…”

  “That I’m missing a heart?”

  Oh, she deserved that dart after her previous insult. She still wasn’t over her shock at his pronouncement, having assumed his intentions were dishonorable. Rather than berating her for a second misperception, he deflected it with dry humor. She returned the same, having no earthly idea what to say. “I suppose there is sufficient evidence to assume your heart exists.”

  “Would you consider investigating further to be certain you can find it?” A teasing glint lit the deep blue in his eyes.

  He was flirting, outrageously. How different from the harsh, humorless railroad agent she’d met six weeks ago. Maybe the real Ross Hardt wasn’t the man he showed himself to be to the world? If so, she liked this one much better. In fact, she was beginning to like him a little too well. Should she choose to play this game, she would do so at great risk. He had taken a risk by announcing his intentions, even after she’d berated him for endangering her son and told him she thought he was a heartless scoundrel.

  Susannah looked out the window rather than reveal her doubts and vulnerability. “Why didn’t you make your interest known before now?”

  “You weren’t a position to accept my suit. Why do you think I offered you a job?”

  Her lips twitched. The rogue. He was impossibly arrogant, presuming she’d be so grateful she would welcome him with open arms. She had to admit—to herself at least—she was tempted.

  Would he be a good father? She wasn’t sure. Although she’d seen how careful he was when dealing with Danny, and how kind. Her son obviously lik
ed him. She also appreciated his frankness, and admired him for placing a high value on honesty, which also troubled her because she couldn’t risk sharing the complete truth about her past. Not yet. That would give him too much power over her. He might have a softer, more playful side, but he had also shown that he could be hard-hearted and unforgiving. Working alongside him would provide an opportunity to determine whether he could truly be trusted.

  With a deep breath, she put on a smile, and prepared herself to take a small step into the age-old ritual of courting. “Perhaps I should investigate, though I wouldn’t imagine your heart is in danger of being lost.”

  * * *

  Ross congratulated himself for gaining Susannah’s permission to court her. He hadn’t felt this good since he’d broken his first horse. The skittish mare had thrown him a few times too. Likewise, Susannah had balked earlier when he’d taken Danny on a short ride, and again when he’d slipped onto the bench beside her. He knew without a doubt she was attracted to him, but that didn’t mean she would welcome his advances, and she’d let him know in no uncertain terms what she thought of him. Her blunt assessment of his character—which he had to admit, wasn’t far off—had unseated his confidence for a moment. He’d managed to recover and climb back in the saddle, so to speak.

  After a rocky start, things had smoothed out for the remainder of the trip, and they enjoyed a pleasant conversation. Nothing particularly personal, but their discussion touched on interesting topics, such as her perspective on women’s rights. It was no surprise to him she was a suffragist. He had no objection to educated women being given a voice in government, but he played Devil’s Advocate because it gave him a chance to see how her mind worked. He looked forward to having a smart wife who cared deeply about worthy causes.

  “I hope I’ve convinced you to be more open-minded about expanded rights for women, especially those that pertain to our children.” Her cheeks were a delightful shade of pink, showing her passion for her subject.