Julia: Bride of New York (Amercan Mail-Order Bride 11) Read Free Page A

time.”
    Miss Benson’s raised eyebrows was her only response.
    “Well, what else are you going to do?”
    “Provide for myself as I’ve been doing for years now. And, unless you’re reneging on our deal, you did offer me a job at the jail.”
    He blew out a breath. “The jailhouse is no place for a lady.”
    “Yet you were going to toss me into a cell for vagrancy.”
    Damn if the woman wasn’t stubborn and ornery. Here he was offering her a way out of her dilemma, and instead of being grateful, she tossed his idea back in his face. “That was a threat because you were being stubborn about accepting help.”
    “And now I’m not accepting help by way of a marriage proposal you didn’t mean, that you think is the only way I can survive, and right now are probably thrilled to death I turned you down.”
    “Well, considering how ornery you are, maybe I am grateful you turned me down.”
    Miss Benson grinned. “I knew it.” She turned and headed toward the hotel door, shifting her weight from one leg to the other. “Please get me settled, Sheriff. I need to report to the jailhouse first thing tomorrow morning.”
    His growl, that turned heads as he stomped behind her, was his answer.
     
     
    If Julia wasn’t so spitting mad at the sheriff for trying to cajole her into another disastrous idea, she would have been grateful for his kindness. She knew he meant well, but she still hadn’t recovered from the humiliation of being left at the train station by the man who’d sent for her with a promise of marriage.
    She’d suffered enough comments and slurs over the years about her leg. She knew she’d been lucky when the wagon that had run over her hadn’t killed her. But without proper medical care, the bone had never healed properly and left her with a limp. Something she’d learned to live with, and most people who knew her well eventually ignored.
    In retrospect, she probably should have told Mr. Johnson about her limp when they’d corresponded, but in all honestly, she didn’t think much about it anymore. It had become just a part of who she was. A part that apparently was a major hurdle for him.
    The room she secured at the hotel was clean and spacious enough. In fact, it was bigger than the room she’d shared in Boston with Katie and Genny. Thinking of them left her a bit weepy. It had been hard leaving all the girls, but especially them. They had grown so close during the time they’d worked at the factory and shared rooms, it had been like leaving sisters behind. As soon as she got the opportunity, she would write them each a letter. Hopefully their mail order bride husbands turned out to be better than Mr. Johnson.
    She removed her coat and bonnet and hung them on the hook by the door. Even though it was only early afternoon, she felt the need for a nap. The anticipation, followed by the embarrassment she’d suffered at the train station, had worn her out. She also hadn’t been sleeping well the last few nights, wondering what her fate would be. Now she knew.
    Rejected, and left to her own devices.
    She removed her shoes and stockings, but before she could climb into bed, there was a knock on the door. Startled, since she knew no one in town, she eased up to the door and called softly. “Yes?”
    “It’s Mr. Johnson.”
    Mr. Johnson? What was he doing here? Hopefully he hadn’t had a change of heart and expected her to put on a smile and stand before the parson with him. Surely he wasn’t that much of a dolt. She opened the door, just enough to see him. “What?”
    He pushed his hand in the small space. “Here.”
    Not thinking, she took what he handed her. She looked down. He’d handed her a fistful of crumpled bills. “What’s this for?”
    “The sheriff said I owed you. I don’t figure I do, since you didn’t tell me you were a cripple, but he threatened me if I didn’t give you enough money to eat on.”
    Too flabbergasted to even speak, she stared at her hand as he turned and