The Badger City Gang [Bride Train 7] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read Online Free PDF

maid wouldn’t easily find a husband in the States. But things were different in the Territory. A man was lucky to find a woman who could cook, take care of the cabin, and birth his children without dying. Decent looks were a bonus. Kate had attitude. Most men would accept her as she was, then try to change her. Some would insist she change, and destroy her spirit. He’d tell his brother and cousin to let her be for a bit and see what she came up with.
    “Yer cantankerous, ornery, and talk back to menfolks.”
    She met his eyes with a stiff jaw. She nodded as if she was a dowager, all regal and snooty.
    “Yes, I am. And I have no intention of changing.”
    “Don’t want no woman who cain’t stand up fer herself.”
    She didn’t smile, but at least she wasn’t scowling at him anymore. “Is that true?”
    He nodded, meeting those light brown eyes of hers. “Yep, and I’m a man of my word.” He waited, tense and eager, as she made up her mind.
    “All right, then. I’ll go to Virginia City with you and…”
    Her words trailed off when he slowly shook his head, grinning in relief and eagerness. He braced himself as the train began to brake. He waited to speak between the screams of the brakes.
    “We ain’t goin’ that far.” He looked right into the eyes of each woman, pointing his gun at Kate as he did so. They stared back like stunned sheep.
    “Y’all keep quiet, now. Me and Kate’ll be leavin’ soon’s the train starts up again.”
    “But, how can we leave when the train’s moving?” asked Kate.
    He winked at her white face. “We jump.”

Chapter 5
     
    “Are you mad?”
    Katharine wanted to say more, but the barrel of his cocked pistol made her shut her mouth tight. While she’d hoped for adventure, jumping from a moving train was something that should only happen in a book, to someone else. While she’d loved to dream of being a heroine having wild adventures, she had never considered the practicalities.
    “Nope.” Her captor smiled and winked. It made him look far too attractive. “I need a wife, so I’m’a robbin’ this here Bride Train. I want you, you said you’d come, so git ready.”
    “Are you part of a gang?” asked Clarabelle, her eyes wide.
    “Yep. The Badger City Gang.”
    The train lurched. She grabbed the edge of the bench with both hands to keep her feet. Other women screeched and fell into their seats. Her captor, kidnapper, or whatever he wanted to call himself, easily kept his footing. He stood there, legs braced wide, showing his size and strength.
    He would never fit in a drawing room or be invited to a social activity. Father might hire him to clean the stables, but that was as close as he’d come to their home. But teach him to speak well, put him in a good suit, and women would swoon while men gnashed their teeth in jealousy. Her brothers would never gain the aura of complete confidence that emanated from him.
    She called herself an adventuress. She came west determined to find passion, love, and a real home in this wild, rugged land. So how could she hold her head up if she didn’t take this chance for adventure? In spite of the man’s gruff bark, there was something about him that made her want to prove she could be as wild as she claimed. But she would not bow down and give in like her mother.
    “I take orders from no man,” she informed him.
    The shrill hiss of escaping steam filled the carriage, making it impossible to talk. As he waited for it to stop, he looked her over. She winced, thinking of her mussed hair, wrinkled dress, and atrocious laddered stockings. She sat and put on her boots. He kept looking even after silence descended. When she finally met his eyes, he winked.
    “You’ll take them from me.”
    His slow, sensual growl sent shivers down her spine. Worse, it made her belly quiver in a most unsettling way. It felt the same as when the junction of her thighs was pressed against his hard body. Obviously, he was a determined man who got