ROMANCE: Badass Boss (Billionaire Alpha Bad Boy Romance) (Western Mail Order Bride Calendar Contemporary) (21 page)

Chapter 2

Traveling Far From Home

Misty traveled on a combination of stagecoaches and trains to get across the land to the ranch where she was headed. She would stop every few hundred miles in a big city to leave a telegram for Jonas and tell him of her progress. She did not have time to wait for a reply, but she was hoping he got the notes to tell him she would be arriving. She was scared, and elated at the same time. She knew that this was supposed to be some grand adventure, and she was already tired of traveling after just a few days. She wasn't sleeping well on the trains, or coaches and she was worried something bad would happen to her.

Being a female traveling alone was a very risky thing for her to do but she hadn't been able to afford a travel companion and the money Jonas had sent needed to go to her father. Once her father had seen the money she'd put into his hand before she left, he'd stopped telling her he didn't think it was a good idea. He swallowed his pride and accepted what she'd given him for their family. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to get them through half the winter if he was careful with it. If she could send just a little more, she could at least get him through the winter.

Misty stepped out of the telegram office and was headed back to the train station. As she walked she was looked in all the windows of the shops. The bigger cities she passed through had more people and shops to look at it.

It broke up to monotony of traveling, but she had never seen such shops before in her life. She marveled at some of the things in the windows. Wondering what a few things were for, since she had never seen them. She had passed a few bakeries and other shops selling food stuffs. They left her feeling hungry and a bit depressed that she did not have the money to try any of the things she saw.

A bit dejected, she hung her head while heading the rest of the way back to the train to ride it to the next stop. She had seen a beautiful dress, but knowing that she'd never afford such finery, she just window shopped and looked at it. Maybe her husband to be would indulge her since Christmas was coming and he'd get her a new dress.

After sending her last telegram, she was happy that she was nearing the end of her journey. She was walking and not really paying attention to the people around her. If she had been, she might have noticed the foul smelling man following her. He had been trailing her since she had left the telegram office. He was a grimy looking man, as if he hadn’t had a bath in years. You could smell him from fifteen feet away and it was strong enough to knock out an ox.

A glint flashed in his eyes as he spotted the empty alleyway Misty was about to cross in front of. He had been following her long enough to know she was alone. A young woman traveling alone was an easy target for a man like him. He quickened his step to intercept her as she started crossing the alley.

Grabbing Misty by the arm, he roughly steered her into the darkness between the buildings. When she started to protest he put his dirty hand across her mouth to silence her. Leading her deeper into the darkness he pushed her against the wall of the building.

“Such a pretty thing you are, to be traveling all alone. I’m going to enjoy taking you.” His voice rasped out of him like a stagecoach on gravel. His breath smelled of rotting meat and decay, and if he had more than three teeth, Misty couldn’t tell. His hands were feeling her breast and groping at the buttons of her dress.

Misty was terrified, she had never been in a situation like this and she didn’t know what to do. When she started to scream, he covered her mouth with his own. The smell making her gag, and she closed her mouth very tightly. He was a big man and didn’t have any problem holding her small frame to the wall. His hand went under her dress and started to feel up her thighs. Blinded and frozen by fear, she couldn’t do anything to stop this man from doing what he wanted. Standing there trembling, she couldn’t make her mind or body work to stop it.

Misty heard an audible click, and the man abruptly stopped what he was doing. Opening her eyes, she saw the barrel of a revolver pressed to her assailant’s head. The man had his hands raised and was trying to peer at the gun holder. His pants had fallen to hang around his ankles, because he was in the process of removing them.

“Am I interrupting?” Asked a deep voice. The gun held steady at the other man’s temple. The stranger’s eyes had not left Misty since she opened them.

“Yes, you are. Now go on, this ain’t none of yer business.” The smelly man stated. His head bent to the side as the revolver was pressed deeper into his temple.

“I wasn’t asking you. You just shut your mouth, before my gun goes in it.” He said in a cold voice. Speaking more softly to Misty he asked, “Are you ok, Ma’am? Is the man bothering you?” The look in his eyes said he knew the answer, but wanted her to speak for herself.

“Y…Yes.. He is bothering me.” Misty said with a tremble in her voice. “He attacked me and I didn’t know what to do.” She finished as the tears started rolling down her face. The dirty man had started to run and tripped while she spoke. He scrambled upright, and grabbed his pants to pull them up.

“You’ll pay for this, stranger. Mark my words.” He hissed as he turned and ran into the shadows. Her savior continued holding the gun in his direction until he was gone from sight. Spinning it around his finger twice, he slid it back into the holster on his hip. He averted his eyes from Misty, so that she could pull herself together. Righting her dress and wiping the tears from her face. She still sniffled occasionally but was getting back under control.

“Ma’am, if we are going to make the train, we need to head back there soon.” He stated softly but firmly. Misty’s head snapped up and looked at the man. It dawned on her that she had seen him on the train, perhaps a dozen rows in front of her.

Misty nodded and he held out his arm, as if showing her the way back. On the walk back to the station, he told her that he saw her on the train. He had been looking around when he noticed the man pull her into the alley. He apologized for not making it sooner, which she brushed off. She was just glad the he took the time to help her. He gave her a few tips on how to handle that situation if it ever arose again. Ways that would leave her attacker wishing he had chosen a different victim.

Back on the train, he escorted her to her seat, and then returned to his own. She appreciated the man saving her, and she hoped that the man she was about to marry was as half as decent as the man who'd saved her, and she learned a valuable lesson about being alone and not paying attention to her surroundings. She wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

She hoped Jonas was as decent as he sounded. She was worried that she would travel all this way and he would end up being a hideous ogre, or some evil villain who lied to get her out there.

He was paying for her trip, and he would send her father some money as a gift for letting him have his daughter, which was a nice gesture. It would definitely help her family back home.

Traveling wasn’t the most comfortable thing she had ever done and the train was hard for her to sleep on. She kept having these images of the train flying off the track and crashing. She decided that she much preferred a carriage or riding a horse where she had some control of the situation.

Surviving the train ride had her thankful to put her feet on the ground when she arrived at the station where Jonas was supposed to be meeting her. She had sent him a letter describing her long chestnut curls, her green eyes, and her small stature. She was a curvy package that barely hit five feet two. She was short, but according to the looks and occasional comments she had gotten since growing up, she apparently had all the right parts despite her shortness. She was shy when it came to her looks, but apparently she should have taken more care with what other people thought, at least until she figured out how to defend herself.

Having grown up conservatively she’d been taught not to show them off, or use them. That a woman's worth had nothing to do with the size of her waist, but rather what she could offer to her family and household as a productive member who could contribute. Where she grew up, if you didn't have a strong back and the ability to survive harsh climates, you were worthless to your family.

“Miss Misty Sue Allen?” A young boy asked as he stared up at her before moving towards her. “If you are, I'm here to pick you up.”

Misty looked at the boy and realized he was speaking to her and nodded. She wondered why Jonas didn't come get her himself and felt a little disappointed that he wasn't meeting her at the train.

“That would be me.” She replied and smiled at him as she walked over to pick up her luggage that they had finally unloaded from the train onto the platform. "Who are you?"

“I’m the son of Sir Elderwood’s housekeeper. I am here to help you get back to the house. So let me grab your luggage for you and we’ll be on our way. Master Jonas couldn’t come himself, he had something come up.” The boy looked apologetic and Misty gave the young boy a smile, but inside, she still felt nervous she hadn't met him yet and would have to wait longer to meet the man she was supposed to marry. Putting on a brave face she turned to face the boy and pretend like she was more confident than she was really feeling right now.

“That’s okay, lead the way. Is he nice? I mean not to imply he wasn't a gentleman or anything, I just don't know much about him.” She told him smiling at him and realized she was actually shorter than the boy was when he helped her with her luggage. She sighed, sometimes she hated being so tiny. She had always wanted to be tall and thin but had ended up the opposite.

“I think he's nice, but he can be a stubborn man at times.” The boy told her truthfully. “He's big on honesty and holds people to high standards. He usually doesn't change his mind once he makes a decision, he can be stubborn. But he's very smart.”

Misty nodded at him and then after taking her luggage, she followed the young lad to the carriage. It had a single white pony pulling it, and the horse looked like it would not go very fast. Misty did not mind, she was just glad to be off the train. She knew she did not have much, and felt nervous that Jonas might be turned off by the poor background she'd come from, even though he was already aware of her history.

Though she had been honest in her letters, the reality of poverty often didn't touch those who lived comfortably. Unless they had had firsthand experience with it, or had seen it themselves and what it actually looked like. She was not ashamed of working hard to survive, but her threadbare clothes ashamed her a little bit. Trying to make clothes last longer than they should and no money to replace the ones she had outgrown, ruined, or wore out. She had noticed the boy eyeing her clothes but he was at least polite enough not to comment aloud.

The boy was silent the entire way home, which took just over an hour because of how slow the pony walked. Misty was tired and thirsty by the time she got there. The sun was beating down on them and she had not thought to bring a hat. Where she was from it would have been freezing by now, and here it felt like she had too many clothes on.

She had taken off her jacket within minutes of being in the carriage. Her nose was sunburned slightly, not used to exposure for that long. She knew she would get freckles, after getting sunburnt as a child when not paying attention to how long she had played outside with her sisters. She felt homesick for a few minutes, missing her father and family. She knew she was doing the best thing possible for them, but it did not mean she would not miss them anyways.

Turning down a long drive, Misty could see the house in the distance. The house was impressive when they got up close. She could see tons of outbuildings and small houses surrounding the few acres near the big house. The big house itself consisted of brick and wood, with large windows, which were a luxury she was unaccustomed too. They had curtains and a big wrap around front porch and the house was three stories high.

Shocked, all Misty could do was stare at the building for a few moments before regaining some of her composure to go inside.

The boy carried her bags up the stairs. “You’ll be in a guest room on the second floor. Sir Elderwood and his children reside on the third floor, and his office is on the first floor. The second floor is for staff and guests. We also have an attic and a cellar under the house. The attic is the playroom for the children and the cellar is where our icebox and storage is. The kitchen is off the back of the house. If you need anything, just ask my mother. Her name is Irene. I guess I should have told you my name too. I’m John. If you need anything from me, I’m here for you too.”