Behind a Lady's Smile Read Online Free PDF

finally New York.” It would cost a pretty penny, likely two hundred dollars for the two of them, but Mitch figured the jewelry would more than pay for the trip. And if it didn’t, he could take money out of the bank in Omaha.
    “How long will that take?”
    “A lot quicker than if we walk, that’s for sure. Once we set foot on the train in Sacramento, we’ll be in New York in about a week. Maybe we can get one of those Pullman cars and travel first class.”
    She looked a bit dismayed. “A week? I had no idea it was that quick.”
    “Could be longer, depending on if you run into any trouble. The problem is that the train stops, you see? And every time it stops, you sit there for a while and wait for people to get on and people to get off. Cattle get in the way. Rails need fixing. Train needs more water. All kinds of things could slow you down.”
    “How long does it take to get from New York to England?”
    Mitch grinned. “That’s the easy part. Less than two weeks after we get to New York, you’ll be saying hello to your grandparents. Now we just have to get you healed and ready for our big trip.” And the prize at the end. It was all Mitch could do not to rub his hands together. Everything he’d hoped for was finally within reach.

Chapter 3
    S omehow, and he wasn’t certain how it had happened, Mitch had created for himself a sort of living hell.
    Mitch saw the beauty in things; it was one of his gifts as a photographer, to see things other people didn’t. And at this moment, he was face-to-face with something he’d never seen in his life: a pretty girl’s face bathed in the morning sunlight.
    They’d left her cabin the day before, allowing her two weeks to heal and get used to her crutches. She could put some weight on the bad leg without any pain, so she hardly even used them now. He figured by the time they got to Sacramento, she’d be ready for a cane or maybe even able to walk about with that cast on.
    It had been slow going before they hit some flat ground and a trail. She never complained; never said she was tired or hurting or hungry. But as the day got older, her face got a bit more flushed and her progress slowed. When he couldn’t stand it anymore, he stopped to look for a nice place to settle in for the night.
    “You need to tell me when you’re hurting,” he said, more harshly than he’d meant to, but he couldn’t stand knowing she was in pain. “It’ll do no good if you get hurt and then we have to wait for you to get better.”
    “I do apologize, but I’m so anxious to get to England, I suppose my enthusiasm overrode my abilities.” She smiled as she leaned against Millie.
    Fancy talk. “No need to apologize, just be smart about it.”
    He looked up to see where the sun lay and figured it was only about three in the afternoon. Plenty of time to build a little camp and settle in. Tomorrow would be better because they’d left the roughest terrain behind and going would be easier for the girl.
    The next morning, as Mitch let his eyes wander over her face while she slept, he had a terrible feeling in his gut. Call it his conscience, something Mitch hadn’t known he had, but he didn’t feel quite so good about playing the hero now as he had a few days back. She was so damned trusting, looking at him with those big green eyes, following him no matter where he said to go. Hell, he could be bringing her to a slave trader for all she knew. It was a wonder she’d survived alone for all those months.
    They lay not a foot apart, her head resting on a blanket. They’d started off the night three feet apart, settled in by the fire, his back to her. But as the temperature dropped, she’d edged closer and closer until at some point in the dead of night, he’d felt her press against him. He knew she was half-asleep and cold and just wanted to get warm, but his body didn’t listen. He had a soft, feminine body pressing up against him and damn if it didn’t feel nice.
    Now, he was