The Runaway Bride Read Online Free PDF Page B

with
folks.”
    Sean frowned. “I appreciate your concern, but I’d be taking a
chance with anyone I hired. Lorelei has agreed to go back with me, and I’ve got
to get her moving before she changes her mind or gets a notion to take off on
her own again. Miss Elmira may not be my first choice, but she is the only
option.”
    “It’s your decision and I respect that.” Pastor James gave a
reluctant nod. “Do what you have to do. Just keep an eye out for trouble.”
    They walked back to the crowd. Sean met Lorelei’s inquiring
look with an affirming one of his own. His shoulders relaxed from the tension he
hadn’t even realized was there. Things were finally going according to plan.
Like Pastor James advised, he’d keep an eye out for trouble. It wouldn’t be hard
to do since he knew exactly what it looked like—a dark-haired beauty with the
knack for getting under his skin in all the wrong ways.
    * * *
    “Lorelei, wake up. We’ve been robbed.” Sean’s words
filtered through her consciousness, rousing her with a start.
    Lorelei pushed the mass of dark curls from her face. Her
hairpins had disappeared and Miss Elmira had refused to part with even one of
her ribbons to help out a bedraggled fellow traveler. After two days of
traveling, the woman had turned out to be as mean as she was peculiar. Lorelei
realized Sean knelt at her side, so she propped herself on her elbow and frowned
at him. “Was anyone hurt? Is Miss Elmira all right?”
    “If I had to speculate, I’d say Miss Elmira is feeling pretty
good right about now.” He crossed his arms and glared out into the woods. “James
was right about her. She must have taken off in the middle of the night, and my
wallet went with her.”
    “ Miss Elmira robbed us?” She
glanced around to find her valise, but it was gone.
    “Yes, and it’s a little unsettling because she must have
touched me to get my wallet and I never even felt it. In fact, I’ve never slept
so deeply in my life. You don’t think that tea she gave us…”
    “At this point, I wouldn’t put it past her,” Lorelei said with
a stifled yawn. “At least she left your horse.”
    He nodded. “She had her own horse. Besides, horse thieving is a
hanging offense.”
    “What do we do? Should we go back to the Brightlys?”
    Sean moved toward the fire he’d built and poured himself a cup
of coffee. “I’m sure they’ve moved on by now. It would take longer to catch up
with them than to simply keep going to the nearest train station.”
    “But we don’t have any money!” She threw her bedroll aside and
began to pace. “I suppose I could ask my father to wire us some once we get to
town. That’s probably the only option.”
    “I was kind of hoping you might say that,” he admitted.
    She sighed as she sank down onto a log across from him. “I
can’t believe I’ve been robbed twice since I left Peppin. What is wrong with this world?”
    He glanced at her over his steaming cup. “An impulsive young
woman ran off to California alone. That’s what’s wrong with the world.”
    She groaned. “You’d think there might be a grace period for
fifteen minutes after I wake up, but no! You have to let me know you disapprove
of me before I even have my coffee. I got that message a long time ago. Now, hand it over.”
    “Get your own.” He nodded to the tin cup resting on the ground
next to the coffeepot and ignored her rant. “At least she left us enough
supplies to get to town.”
    She poured herself a cup, then blew away some of the steam. “I
wish she’d left a letter of authentication, as well. ‘To whom it may concern.
This letter is to verify that in addition to my work as a thief I also dabble in
conartistry—’”
    “Conartistry?” Sean frowned, which was the closest thing to a
smile she’d seen all morning.
    She held up one finger and shook her head. “Let me finish. ‘I
also dabble in conartistry by convincing young men
and women that I am an adequate chaperone before