The Right Wife Read Free Page B

needlessly awakened from a sound sleep.
    “Make sure Verda gets off,” Thayer mumbled.
    “He’s so charmin’ when he’s drunk,” Verda said. “Don’t worry none about me, honey. I’ll get myself off and get a boy to take care of my bags.”
    “Good,” both men said simultaneously.
    “I’m getting off for a walk,” Aaron said. “Think I’ll get a box lunch. Do you want me to get one for you, too?”
    “Hell if I know.” Thayer sat up and ran his fingers though his thick black hair. “My head is pounding and my stomach is churning.”
    “I’ll get two. You’ll be starving before we reach Tuscumbia.”
     
    Maggie was thankful that Judith had finally worn herself out and fallen asleep. Micah, still sulking, seemed to be absorbed in watching the quickly passing scenery outside the window.
    She wondered how long the train would be stopped in Huntsville. She had heard some of the other passengers talking about getting off for lunch. She supposed they’d just have to eat the cold biscuits she had wrapped and placed in her bag before leaving Grovesdale last night.
    She’d bet that Mr. Aaron Stone wouldn’t be eating any cold biscuits for his noonday meal. She wished that she could stop thinking about that damnable handsome rogue. Every time she closed her eyes, she could see his face, hard and strong, like something chiseled out of granite. Every time she gazed out the window, almond-shaped green eyes stared back at her. She could not let this unwanted attraction change any of her plans. Even nodding hello to him would mean trouble.
    Before the train had actually stopped, the hustle and bustle taking place on the loading platform outside alerted Maggie that they had arrived. The sudden jolt awoke Judith, who wiggled restlessly. The child opened her huge, blue-green eyes and smiled up at her sister, on whose lap her strawberry-blond head lay nestled.
    “Where are we?” a sleepy Judith asked. “We can’t be in Tuscumbia already, can we?”
    “No,” Maggie told the girl who sat up and looked outside. “We’re in—”
    “Huntsville!”
    “Lower your voice, heathen,” Micah said, giving his little sister a look of warning.
    “I’ve got biscuits in my bag if either of you are hungry,” Maggie told them. “And I’ve got a little jug of water too.”
    “Oh, look there,” Judith said, jumping to her feet and leaning across her sister in order to reach the window. “It’s Mr. Stone.”
    “What?” Without thought, Maggie looked outside, searching for the big, blond man. Her heart raced out of control. What is wrong with me? she wondered. What kind of a spell has that man cast on me?
    She could barely see the depot for the crowds of people swarming about, men and women, black and white. Dozens of wagons, buggies, and carriages were lined up at the far end of the one-story structure. When she lowered the window, the aroma of food flooded the railroad coach, as the sounds of the sellers’ voices carried through the air.
    “Hey there, Mr. Stone,” Judith yelled as loudly as she could. “Hey, it’s me. Over here.”
    “Jude, will you please hush up,” Maggie said nervously, wondering what she would say to Aaron Stone. What would he think of her, of her sister? Oh, Lord, don’t let him hear Jude, she prayed silently.
    “He heard me.” The child beamed with delight. “Look, he’s coming over here.”
    Maggie stole a glance, her eyes devouring every inch of the rugged giant making his way through the crowd. His lean, square face was clean-shaven. His mouth was big and wide, his lips thin and straight as they parted in a generous smile. His teeth were pearly white against his weather-darkened skin.
    Oh, those eyes, Maggie thought, those hypnotizing green eyes. Deep-set eyes that slanted upward were surrounded by the longest straw-brown lashes she’d ever seen on a man, and the thick brows were an even darker brown.
    Wavy, golden hair curled about the collar of his fancy white-linen shirt.