Mail Order Bride: Bitter & Pregnant, An English Widow Heads Off to Her Cowboy Rancher In California (A Clean & Wholesome Historical Romance) Read Online Free PDF

produced.
    Jack asked, "We all set, then?"
    "Indeed," said Horace.
    "Get back on the wagon," said Jack.
    "I thought you said we were having
breakfast," complained Horace.
    "It's somewhere else," said Jack.
    The three of them, rather reluctantly, got on
the wagon. This time, instead of sticking to anything that looked
like any sort of path, he drove right into the desert. He stopped
and grabbed Jeanne and pushed her down onto the ground. When
Francine jumped off the wagon to help her, Jack tripped her and she
landed flat on her face.
    Before Horace could do anything, Jack hopped
back into the wagon and punched him out. Seconds later, he was
riding away, leaving Jeanne and Francine to die in the desert.
     
     
    Joseph was quickly losing hope. He was still
bound and the food and drink were gone. Henry had gone silent and
spent most of his time lying in a corner and softly sobbing.
Occasionally, he would ask about his horse, but Joseph had no
answers for him. When he heard the door open, he started yelling,
but it was to no avail. Their captor was completely ignoring him
and when the door opened a man was shoved inside, his hands and
feet similarly bound.
    "I hate America," he said.
    "You're British," said Joseph. "You wouldn't
happen to be with Jeanne Harrow, would you?"
    "It depends on who's asking," said the man
warily.
    "My name is Joseph Clauson and I'm a
prisoner."
    "That makes sense," said the man. "The other
Joseph Clauson wanted to be called Jack."
    "Jack,” spat Henry from he corner. He rolled
over a little. "How's my horse? How is Matilda?"
    The man stared blankly at Henry and then to
Joseph. Joseph got his meaning. "Matilda is the horse. An old nag,
still healthy enough but not as healthy as Henry would like. You're
Horace, aren't you? The man who sent the telegraphs?"
    "I am," said Horace. "We need to get out of
here. He left my wife and Jeanne out in the desert to die."
    "He left Jeanne?" Joseph was furious. "He
left a pregnant woman in the desert to die?"
    "And my wife," added Horace.
    "Jack will answer for all of this," said
Joseph.
    "He will," said Horace. "Do you have any
ideas? Oh, by the way? Your horse is being mistreated."
    "I hated Jack before, but now I hate him even
more," said Henry and despite the sentiment, Joseph was glad to see
him being fairly functional and not despairing.
    "We'll see justice done," said Joseph. "First
thing we need to do is figure out how to get out of here and then
we can find a way to run him out of town or arrest him."
    "Good," said Horace. "I just met the guy and
I'd rather just meet him once to tell him to shove off. Let's start
planning."
     
     
    Jeanne was absolutely furious, at both Jack
and herself. She had known the man was dangerous, why did she let
him drive her into the desert? This had all been a presumably
well-laid plan that involved getting Thackery's money and then
ditching the evidence. The only real boon they currently had was
that they weren't dead. Francine was bleeding from her nose but
seemed otherwise undamaged and Jeanne had fallen in such a way that
kept her child safe.
    She was lying on the ground and she rolled
over a little and saw two sets of wheel-tracks going through the
desert, with hoof-prints between them. Jack wasn't nearly as smart
as he thought he was. Jeanne stood up, helped Francine stand up,
and then Francine started prodding Jeanne's stomach.
    "I think your child is all right," said
Francine, slightly nasally. She poked her own nose and sighed. "Not
broken. Good, good. What are we going to do? Should we go and find
someone to help us?"
    "Bugger that," swore Jeanne. "There's no way
I'm letting that man make a fool out of me and then letting someone
else take care of it for me. He's one man. We can deal with him and
his machinations."
    "Yes! Very true," said Francine. "Do you
think Horace is all right?"
    "I'm sure Horace is fine," said Jeanne,
though she secretly thought that Jack might have done something
violent to him. "We'll find him