Read Online Mail-Order Groom by Lisa Plumley - Free Book Online Page B

city’s theater owners out of thousands of dollars in extortion money too outrageous not to print. Especially given the shocking detail that Ruby Reed had willingly seduced those theater owners herself in order to set them up for her husband’s extortion demands. The fact that their daughter, dancing sensation Savannah Reed, hadn’t been involved in their schemes hadn’t mattered one whit. To everyone who read the papers’ breathless daily reportage, Savannah was as good as guilty, too. She was a “Ruthless Reed,” as the papers had deemed the family after her parents’ arrest. That was all that seemed to matter to anyone.
    That, and the fact that a glorified dance-hall girl couldn’t possibly be considered marriageable by any decent man.
    â€œI know you’ve put a pile of faith in your marriage plan,” Mose said. “But do you honestly believe changing yourname will be enough? You could have done that much without a husband.”
    â€œOnly by lying. And I refuse to do that any more than necessity demands.” Uncomfortably Savannah thought of the show of feminine frailty she’d carried out for Dr. Finney. If she were truly that delicate, she’d never have survived this long on her own. “Surely I’ll be forgiven the occasional fib, given the circumstances. Besides, it’s not as though I set out to find myself a mail-order groom on purpose, you know. The idea didn’t even occur to me until I met Mr. Corwin over the wires. When we struck up our friendship, I felt truly blessed to have found a kindred spirit.” She cast a wary glance at the other room, where Adam was sleeping. “The fact that our marriage will allow me to finally have a real home life is just an additional benefit. I promise I’ll make him happy, too. He won’t regret marrying me.”
    Already she could picture the scene—the two of them, hand in hand, leaving the church as husband and wife. The wives and mothers and women of Morrow Creek welcoming her, as a happily married woman, into their quilting circles and sewing bees. The men in town tipping their hats respectfully at her…instead of offering her that hungry, unsettling leer she’d grown used to back in the city. Dreamily gazing past her telegraphy equipment, Savannah imagined herself raising children, fussing over her husband, celebrating Christmases and birthdays as a family.
    That was all she truly wanted—all she’d ever wanted. But she couldn’t have any of that if she were still Savannah Reed, The Seductive Sensation of the New York theater circle. Yes, men had wanted The Seductive Sensation. But they hadn’t wanted to marry her. They hadn’t wanted to be seen with her in daylight.
    Like Warren Scarne, they’d only wanted to use her.
    â€œI have a lot of love to give!” she assured Mose. Morethan anything, she hungered to love and be loved. Her heart fairly pounded with the necessity to give to someone special. “I know I can be a good wife to Adam. And he can be a good husband to me.”
    â€œHumph.” Her friend frowned. “He’d better be good to you, or I’ll know the reason why. That’s for certain.”
    Smiling, Savannah patted his arm. “There you go protecting me again. I promise, Mose. I’m much stronger than I look.”
    Dubiously he raised his eyebrow.
    â€œI am! I’m very strong. Since we came out west, I’ve gotten quite good at swinging an ax to split firewood. I’ve learned to haul heavy buckets of water, drive a wagon, fix the shutters—”
    â€œBaltimore’s not that far from New York. What if he finds out the truth about you—or knows the truth already?” Mose jabbed his chin toward the other end of the station, where Adam slept in peaceful unawareness. “What will you do then?”
    â€œIf Adam were going to recognize my name, he would have done so right away. He would