The Right Wife Read Free Page A

thing?”
    Verda shrugged, her huge breasts shaking from the slight movement. “Don’t make me no never mind. If I ain’t welcome at my sister’s, I got other friends there. Men friends who’d be more than glad to see Verda again.”
    “Good. Good. Then that’s settled.” Thayer rested his shot glass on the small oak bar. “You probably wouldn’t enjoy Tuscumbia anyway.”
    Aaron felt the sudden movement of the train and knew they were under way. He wondered what Miss Maggie Campbell thought of the passenger car. This was probably her first train ride. Was she excited? Afraid? Why the hell should he care? He had to put that beautiful little witch out of his mind. Proposing marriage to Eunice should be uppermost in his thoughts.
    “You going on to Tuscumbia with Thayer?” the luscious Verda asked as she placed her half-nude body beside a partially aroused Aaron.
    “I’ve got business to attend to.” He wanted Verda to leave him alone. Even though he and Thayer had shared a woman on more than one occasion, he had no intention of slaking his desire for a virginal redhead with this overripe whore. Last night he had enjoyed their flirtation, but he had momentarily lost his taste for soiled goods.
    “Why don’t you put off that business? I got friends in Huntsville. We sure could have us a good time.” Verda’s bare foot stroked Aaron’s ankle and gradually moved up the calf of his leg.
    He wondered if Maggie’s feet were pale and soft. How would it feel to have her toes tickling his skin?
    When the seductive hussy reached out to touch his chest, Aaron caught her slender wrist, stopping her abruptly. “I’m not interested.”
    Verda smiled, shrugged, and slowly removed her womanly body. Aaron looked out the window, completely ignoring her departure, wishing he were in the passenger coach with the Campbell clan.
    Why are the Campbells going to Tuscumbia? he wondered. Did they have relatives there? What if Maggie were going to meet a future husband? Aaron knew it shouldn’t matter to him. If he had suddenly become so enamored of the idea of bedding a virgin, there were more likely candidates available. He was so certain that Maggie was a virgin, he’d bet his last dollar on the fact. Virginity was something that even the prestigious Eunice Arnold couldn’t lay claim to. Of course, her lack of innocence was quite proper since she was a widow.
    Marrying Eunice would be a step in the right direction, just as buying the old White Orchard plantation had been. He pictured himself as a country gentleman with a genteel mate and several well-bred offspring. He hadn’t told Eunice anything about White Orchard. When he proposed, he wanted it to be an extra surprise. By the time they were lawfully wed, restoration of the manor house should be complete.
    Intrusive thoughts of shimmering gold eyes and glorious red hair filled Aaron’s mind. Mile after mile passed as he sat gazing out the window of Thayer Coleman’s private railroad car. All the while he fantasized about making love to an ill-bred, outspoken girl who could mean nothing to him but trouble.
    Having made this same trip on many previous occasions, he recognized the outskirts of Huntsville. He had been so engrossed in his own thoughts he had forgotten to make certain that his friend’s current mistress was dressed and ready to disembark.
    After standing slowly and taking a long, much-needed stretch, Aaron looked across the car and saw a fully clad Verda watching his movements.
    “Just looking, honey. Just looking.” Her voice had a soft, almost childlike quality to it. “It’s a pity we ain’t going to get to know each other better.”
    Aaron reached over and gently nudged Thayer. His friend grunted and turned over. Aaron tried again, more forcefully the second time.
    “What the—” Thayer grumbled sleepily.
    “We’ll be in Huntsville in about fifteen minutes.” Aaron grinned. At this precise moment, his young friend looked like a grouchy child