A Fake Frontier Marriage to Last Forever (Preview)

Prologue

Sylvia Hartley woke up abruptly, sure she had overslept. Her dreams had been fraught with danger. She ran and ran and ran but when she looked over her shoulder, she couldn’t see but did feel the dread, deeply rooted in her soul.

Who was she running from? Why was her sleep so restless? Always paranoid and afraid. Sometimes she didn’t even want to go to sleep.

Sylvia rushed to get her clothes on. She pulled off her nightdress, feeling the chill in the room but ignoring it as she shivered, pulling on her underclothes, an underskirt and then yanking the dress over her head. She didn’t bother attacking her wavy blond hair with a brush. She hurriedly took a hair-tie and pulled the locks back into a ponytail that ran down her back almost to her waist. A few whisps of shorter hair surrounded her face. She yanked on a fabric work hat and hastily grabbed her socks and boots.

What would her boss say about her being late for work? It was her first job in Cheyenne, but she couldn’t leave without saying goodbye to the ladies she’d worked with before getting the job as a telegraph operator at the railroad headquarters. They were her friends, after all.

Victor Thornton was such a picky man. He never complimented her, even though she was one of the best workers he had. She didn’t mind cooking and helping to clean the kitchen. And now she’d been working as a telegraph operator, something she thought would keep her in the loop about everything going on in Wyoming and maybe even the other states in America.

She shuffled down the hallway, hopping on one foot as she pulled over one sock and then the boot. She switched and put her sock and boot on the other foot. Once she had both socks and boots on, she adjusted her hair, pushing the strands up under the hat.

As she moved down the stairs from her room on the second floor, Sylvia could hear the ladies in the kitchen laughing about something. It was a soothing sound hearing their joy. That was an emotion that wasn’t in her life much.

Sylvia rushed through the door, pushing it open hard.

“Oh!”

She slid to a halt when Betty, who had been on the other side of the door dropped the plates in her hands. They crashed to the floor.

“Oh no!” Sylvia cried, reaching for Betty, who clapped both hands on the sides of her face. “Are you all right?”

Betty nodded as Alice and Linda came running. The plates had shattered on the floor. Fortunately, there were only three.

Sylvia went to her knees, avoiding the shattered pieces while at the same time picking them up and putting them in her apron, which she was using like a sling.

“I’m so sorry, Betty. I hope you didn’t get cut.”

“I didn’t,” Betty responded, her cheeks flushed. “You just startled me, that’s all.”

“I’ll pay for these if Victor takes them out of your pay.”

“Victor Thornton isn’t going to know anything about this,” Linda, a large woman with a strong personality and the head of the kitchen, stated firmly. Alice grabbed a broom from the corner and brought it over.

“Back up, back up, ladies. Let me get them; don’t pick them up with your hands!”

Sylvia pushed to her feet. “Too late,” she said, heading for the trash bin. She dumped the pieces into the bin, brushing them into it. One of the pieces sliced into her finger and she let out a small whimper. She put the side of her bleeding finger into her mouth.

“Oh no!” Betty said, coming up beside her. “Here. Let’s put a plaster on that. I’ll get the kit with the bandages inside. Now don’t you worry, Sylvie, I’ve had this happen to me a bunch of times. It’s not that bad, is it?”

The ladies surrounded her as if she’d cut off her finger. This was the only place she really felt cared for.

“I’m sorry, ladies, I only came in to say goodbye. I’ve got to get to the office. I’m already late!”

“Yes, of course! I knew you’d love that job; I just knew it!” Alice threw her arms around Sylvia while Betty and Linda held onto her hand and put the bandage on her sliced finger. They followed up Alice’s hug with their own.

“My goodness, you’re going to be so late! You better go!”

With lots of kisses blown and smiles and wishes of good luck, the three ladies pushed a small fabric bag with a sandwich and an apple inside and saw her off through the servants’ entrance on the side of the house.

Sylvia rushed into the office ten minutes later, out of breath and blushing at her tardiness. The woman who ran the office, Caroline, was waiting for her at her station.

“I’m so sorry!” Sylvia said breathlessly. “I’m so sorry. I overslept.”

“It’s all right, dear,” Caroline replied, smiling in a friendly way. “It happens. I was just ready to cover your station if you didn’t come in. Looks like you’ve already got a notice. You know what to do. I’ll leave you be.”

“Your… your uncle doesn’t need to know about this, does he?” Sylvia asked, looking around for said uncle, who ran the telegram office, as well as half the town.

Caroline patted Sylvia on the shoulder and quietly replied, “No, Sylvia. No one will tell him. I promise.” With that, Caroline left the room, heading into her own office around the corner.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Sylvia picked up the telegram and sat in her chair. She opened it up and her breath caught in her throat as she read it.

She jumped when the door slammed open and the large imposing figure of Victor Thornton blocked the light from the sun outside. His eyes dropped to the telegram in her shaking hands.

“Good m-” She couldn’t say anything else. He stomped over to her and snatched the telegram from her hands, running his eyes over the words.

“This was not meant for you, Sylvia.”

“But I didn’t know-” How was she supposed to know her boss wanted this particular telegram before she even arrived at work? How did he know?

“I was coming to retrieve it myself!” Victor barked, making her jump. “You’re late and you’ve gotten your hands on my telegram the moment you enter the building. That’s bad luck. You will be moved!”

Chapter One

Jasper Hartley stood to the side, leaning against the pole that held up the roof of the walkway in front of the general store. He could hear his partner and best friend, Finn Murphy inside, talking loudly with the shopkeeper’s daughter, who he’d quickly found out was called Vanessa.

“Then the boulder went rolling right over the edge. Slammed against the ground so hard, can’t believe it didn’t start an earthquake!”

Jasper listened to Vanessa laugh and reply, “You’re so lucky, Finn. Anyone else would have been crushed by that boulder. How’d you get so lucky?”

“I was just born this way, I guess!” Finn responded and they both laughed together.

A small grin propped up the corners of Jasper’s mouth, but he wasn’t feeling very joyous. He pulled a small black and white photograph from the back pocket of his trousers and stared at it. When he thought about Sylvia, his sister, he saw her in full color, heard her laughter, her soothing words when he was hurting. Now he was hurting and she wasn’t there to comfort him. If she was there, he wouldn’t be heartbroken in the first place.

It had been a month since Sylvia was taken away. Victor Thornton, her boss, had given no good reason for her disappearance, only that she’d been transferred to another office. He never answered where she was sent or how Jasper could get in touch with her. No matter how contrite Jasper acted, though he didn’t feel contrite, Victor never gave him more than a vague answer, saying he would have Sylvia get in contact with him soon.

“Soon” never came. A letter from her never came. He hadn’t seen her for a month and was apprehensive about her welfare. What if Victor had hurt her, maybe killed her and hid her body? No one wanted to hear his theories or thoughts on it. Not even Finn, who kept saying Sylvia was just living her own life, not concerned about her brother right now. Finn tried to make a joke out of most things. That was just his personality.

“So whereabouts am I going to find the Iron Summit Railroad headquarters, huh?” Finn was now asking Vanessa.

“My pa said its north of town near the rail lines. You shouldn’t have too much trouble finding it. They’ve got a huge sign out there. A huge sign. You won’t miss it.”

Finn was suddenly behind him, pulling on his elbow.

“Hey,” Finn stated, “it’s time to come back to reality, buddy. We gotta go.” His eyes dropped to the photograph before Jasper stuffed it back into his pocket. “Don’t worry, Jasper,” he said, lowering his voice and sounding serious for once. Jasper gave him a curious look. “I’ve got a good feeling,” his friend continued. “We’re gonna find your sister, too. I know it.”

“Ya do?” Jasper asked, genuinely hoping Finn was right. “Why? What makes you think we’ll find her?”

Finn grinned wide. “Because we ain’t lookin’ for her.”

It was odd logic, but Jasper decided to rely on his friend’s optimism.

Fifteen minutes later, Jasper still had his sister on his mind.

“It’s not just my sis I’m worried about,” he was telling Finn as they rode north on horseback. “It’s my pa. He’s been so worried about her, it’s starting to affect his health. He doesn’t eat right, he doesn’t have any energy, he just mopes around, carving his little figurines. He wouldn’t have any money if he didn’t sell those toys, you know. That’s the only thing that keeps him going. It sure isn’t me.”

Finn looked over at him, loosely holding the reins in one hand and the other holding onto a long piece of wheat sticking out of his mouth as he chewed on the end of it.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Finn asked.

“I’m not keeping him alive. Sylvie was always that sparkle in his eye, the light of his life. I was just there as the heir, to keep things going. He’s losing weight, feeling ill all the time… Ever since she stopped responding to his letters, he’s just… shut down.”

“It’s not your fault. She’s a grown woman. She’s got a life of her own.”

Jasper knew Finn was just trying to make him feel better. “It is my fault in a way. She might be grown, but she was my responsibility. Pa wasn’t capable of looking after her. She needed a mother and he couldn’t be a mother. I couldn’t either of course but… I should have advised her not to come out west and try to make it on her own. She was responding to an ad, for God’s sake. An advertisement for a piddly job in a kitchen.”

“I thought she was working for the telegram office.”

“She moved to that job from the kitchen work. I gotta say I really think she liked the kitchen more than the telegraph office.”

“The office just gave her more prestige and education, right? And more money?”

Jasper grinned slightly. “Yeah, more money. That was a big seller for her.” His grin disappeared when he thought about the long weeks since he’d seen her last. “It’s been too long, Jasper. She knows how we worry. She should have been writing to us. I tell you, she’s in danger and I gotta find her.”

“When we start working on the railroad, we’ll have plenty of money to do just that. And maybe your pa will give you some extra if he knows you’re lookin’ for her.”

“I’m not tellin’ him,” Jasper responded, shaking his head. “I don’t think he needs any extra reminders that she’s gone. If I think she might be in danger, I know pa’s thinkin’ the same thing.”

“She got transferred, right? Maybe she’s just enjoyin’ her new life. Maybe she’ll resent her brother and her pa interfering. You ever think of that?”

Jasper shook his head, glancing at Finn. “Nah. She loves us. She never accused us of interfering. She knows we wouldn’t do anything to hurt her or get in her way.” Jasper sighed. “But yeah, I mean, I reckon the older she gets, the more freedom she might want. She doesn’t have to answer to us. But she knows how much we love her and want her to be happy.”

“I’m tellin’ you, we’re gonna find her in Cheyenne. I understand your worry but really, she’ll be there. I’ll bet you anything.”

“Don’t make that bet, Finn. You never know.”

“We’ll have to make camp about halfway between here and Cheyenne. When we get to the ISR headquarters, we’ll try to find her. Picture this. She comes running out when you get there and throws her arms around you and gives you a big hug and kiss on the cheek. Hey! You think she might give me a hug and a kiss?”

Finn’s gentle sarcasm and pretend attraction for Sylvia, who was aloof with his best friend, made Jasper smile. “She’s not interested, Finn.”

Finn slapped his chest with his hand over his heart, pretending to be mortally wounded. “Oh! How can I live on! The most beautiful woman in the world is constantly rejecting me! I must end my life now!”

“Don’t you dare,” Jasper grumbled, pretending to be upset by his friend’s words. “I’m already without my sister. I don’t want to be without my best friend, too.”

“Ah, just teasin’. You know I feel like yer little sister is like my little sister. I wouldn’t breach that trust for anything in the world. I’m just tryin’ to make you laugh.”

“Thanks, Finn. Really.”

Finn waited a moment before saying quietly, “She’s gonna be there, Jasper. It’s her job. If she ain’t there, I’ll eat my hat.”

Chapter Two

That night, Jasper and Finn sat in front of the fire they’d built, both silent as they pondered their own thoughts. Jasper hadn’t been able to take his mind off his sister. Their father was nearly beside himself with worry. The last moment at his father’s cottage, right before Jasper headed to town to meet up with Finn, it had been obvious from the look on his pa’s face that he was about to break down.

“Pa,” he’d said as he was heading out the door, “you don’t need to be so worried. Not yet. It won’t do any good to worry. You’ll only make yourself crazy with stress. Think positive until I send you a telegram with an update. Then, if the update is not good, you can worry. But until then, while we don’t know what’s going on, it’s only going to make you feel bad, your head and stomach will hurt, your sleep will be disrupted.”

Jasper could still see the look on his father’s face, the distraught sorrow that he’d already allowed to take over most of his thoughts. He shook his head, grabbed Jasper by the shoulder and pulled him into a tight hug. Jasper wrapped his arms around his father and squeezed him in return.

“It’s gonna be all right, Pa. I’ll bring her back with me. I promise.”

He’d heard his pa choking on his tears.

“There’s just as much chance that I might lose you, too, son,” his words rang in Jasper’s ears, affecting his heart at the same time. “What will I do? First, I lose your mother. Then your sister. Now… you are leaving on what could be dangerous… a dangerous mission to find your sister. I don’t…” His voice cracked. Jasper heard the sobs his pa was suppressing. “I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose you, too. What will be the point of living then? There will be none.”

Jasper had pressed his head down into his father’s shoulder, determined not to shed any tears right in front of the man. He wouldn’t disappoint his father. He couldn’t.

“I’m gonna bring her back,” he’d said in the most confident voice he could muster. “I’m gonna bring her back, Pa.”

“You with me, Jasper?” Finn’s voice cut into his memory, snapping him away from the past back into the present like a released rubber band.

He sniffed hard and realized he had tears sliding down his cheeks. He roughly wiped them away with the back of his hand, sniffing a few more times.

“Yeah… yeah, I’m here. I’m just… thinkin’ bout my pa. Told you how worried he is. Can’t get it off my mind.”

Finn nodded, his face displaying an unusually serious expression. “Well, I’m sure he is. About both of you.”

“Yeah. What… what will happen if I don’t find her? What will happen if something happens to me?”

“Ain’t nothin’ gonna happen to you, buddy. I mean it. We’re well armed and trained with our pistols. We ain’t goin’ to battle. This ain’t a war. We’re just checkin’ out the place where your sister went to work, that’s all. Right? That’s what we’re doin’.”

“I’m… I’m responsible for her, though. I always was when we were kids. You remember how hard I was on her. How I always kept an eye out on her. Never wanted her to stray far from me at the schoolhouse.”

Finn nodded. “Yeah, you hovered over her. But ya felt ya had to. Yer pa was workin’ hard. He didn’t know what was goin’ on with her or with you. You had to be her pa when your pa wasn’t there to protect her.”

“And you,” Jasper stated. “You were always there for her.”

Finn shook his head. “I wasn’t there for her,” he replied. “I was there for you. I was protectin’ you because you were protectin’ her. I reckon that’s what I’m still doin’. I came along to help ya find her but I’m guardin’ you, ya know what I mean? I have to protect you. You’re my friend.”

Finn had never had a family of his own. His parents had died when he was young and he’d grown up under the watchful eye of his aunt and uncle, who were well-meaning but had no children of their own. They’d treated Finn like he was another adult from the age of eleven. It had created a strong independent streak in him that Jasper had always admired and strived to attain for himself.

He’d learned a lot from Finn, who was a year older than him, now 25. Finn had been forced to learn most of his knowledge on his own. Through thorough and intense observation of the world around him. As a result, Finn pointed out things Jasper would never have noticed.

“When we get to Cheyenne tomorrow, what do you plan to do? I mean, who are you talkin’ to at the headquarters?”

“I’m gonna start with her boss,” Jasper answered Finn’s question. “Victor Thornton. That’s who I’m aimin’ to speak to anyway. Don’t know if he’ll be there or if he’ll have time for me but he’s the one who ought to know where she is, right?”

Finn shrugged while nodding his head. “First yer gonne see if she’s workin’ and if not, you’ll get to her boss. That sounds about right. Or maybe she’ll have a supervisor, right? Another woman in the department that might know where Sylvia is and why she ain’t been writing to her pa and her brother, makin’ them extremely worried about her. How long has it been since either of ya got a letter from her?”

Jasper ran one hand over his mouth and chin, pulling gently on his trim beard, thinking back.

“Well, it’s been at least a month. Four whole weeks. That’s why I decided to come. She wouldn’t just stop writing. That’s not her and you know it. If somethin’ had changed, I just know she’d tell us. She always has before. That’s why we know Victor’s not the best type to work for.”

Finn sat forward, holding the palms of his hands toward the flames. He clapped them together and rubbed them. “Victor Thornton,” he said the man’s name like it was a mystery. “What did she say about him?”

Jasper thought about the first letter he’d gotten from her when she’d moved from her kitchen job to the telegraph office of the railroad headquarters. “She said he’s a hard man to read. Not real friendly. Stiff and all business.”

Finn shrugged. “Maybe that’s how he keeps his employees in line.”

“She works with his niece, Caroline. Or for her. She was only in the office for a little while, less than a month, as I recall. She said Caroline is nice. Gets along with everyone in the office, including the employees from the trains. The men who work on the trains. They all love Caroline, according to Sylvie.”

“That’s a good sign. If the niece of the owner of the whole railroad is a nice lady, she might be lookin’ out for Sylvia.”

“That’s a nice thought,” Jasper responded. “But if she was lookin’ out for Sylvie, how come I ain’t heard from her? She’d still be writin’ to us if somethin’ bad didn’t happen to her.”

“You sure think somethin’ has happened to her. I can tell.”

Jasper heard the grave tone and knew his friend was taking the matter seriously. He nodded. “Yeah. I really do.”

Early the next afternoon, Jasper recalled his conversation with Finn from the night before as the two rode alongside a small creek, heading for a bend in the road that would take them over a wooden bridge to get to the other side of the water.

As they got closer, he could hear the impending rumble of a train barreling down the tracks in the distance. The trees were too thick. They couldn’t actually see the train or even the tracks, but the sound was unmistakable. What sounded like a gunshot went off, startling their horses.

Jasper held onto the reins as tightly as he could, grabbing for the saddle horn. He missed and felt himself falling from his horse, his hand slipping against the solid leather piece of the saddle.

“Whoop!!” he let out a strange sound as he tumbled backward. When he hit the ground, his first thought was pain sliding up his spine. His head fell back and smacked against the cold, hard ground.

He turned his head just in time to see Finn dropping from his horse with a terrified look on his face and his friend running toward him. He could see Finn saying his name, but the sound came from a tunnel far, far away.

Everything went black.

Chapter Three

Caroline Thornton stood in the kitchen, following her lunchtime routine with her maid and best friend, Clara. The head cook in the mansion was Esther, Clara’s mother, who had been like a mother to her since as far back as Caroline could remember. She and Clara had grown up together as a result of her parents’ death in a freak railroad accident.

Esther came over to her and grabbed her flour covered hand. Surprised by this action, Caroline met Esther’s jovial blue eyes with astonishment.

“You know if your uncle catches you working in here with us, there will be trouble. Why can’t you act like a normal heiress and let us serve you?”

Caroline heard the humor in the older woman’s voice and smiled. “Oh, I’ll not get in trouble. Uncle Victor won’t do a thing to me. He wouldn’t dare.”

Esther grunted, giving her daughter the side-eye. “Eh, I wouldn’t put it past him, the old bugger. He ain’t exactly the nicest of men.”

“All right, Ma, that’s enough. Caro knows what she’s doing. Leave her alone.”

Esther threw both hands up in the air, shaking her head. “I ain’t sayin’ a thing. I don’t like to put people down but sometimes, y’know, I swear that man needs to be put in his place.”

“I do that frequently,” Caroline replied, knowing full well she found her uncle to be harsh, abrasive and unfriendly nine times out of ten.

“Well, if you’re gonna be in here with us, how about you grab a broom and sweep up all the flour my daughter is throwing on the floor like it’s free?”

Clara blanched, sucking in a sharp breath. “Ma! I’m not throwing it on the floor! I wouldn’t want to get in trouble with Mr. Thornton”

Her mother flapped one hand in her direction. “You know I’m just teasin’ ya, darlin’. But you do need to be a little sparing with that flour. Mr. Thornton will be very upset if we don’t make it last at least another week or two and the sack’s gettin’ a bit low.”

Clara nodded. “All right, Mah, I’ll be more careful.”

Esther walked past her daughter and gave her a gentle pat on the cheek. “I know you will, my precious one.” She turned to Caroline. “Actually, Caro, if you would take these trays out to the offices and deliver them for lunch, I’d be so appreciative. You know everyone loves it when you deliver. You’ve got such a genuine smile. Everyone loves you!”

Caroline grinned wide, delighting in the compliments. If there was one thing she appreciated in life, it was that people felt free to compliment her. She’d grown used to accepting compliments with little to no fanfare.

“Thank you, Esther, I think I will. I need a bit of an ego boost today. My hands are tied where it comes to my uncle and I’m a bit worried about the state of affairs around this place.”

“You shouldn’t be worryin’ about anything like that,” Esther said, placing trays on the surface of a rolling table. The table had two shelves underneath. Lunch trays had already been placed on those shelves. Esther gently pushed the rolling table toward Caroline, who caught it with one hand.

“I know. I do, though. What if I have to take over chief operations one day?”

Esther grunted. “You think your uncle is gonna leave this place to you?” she scoffed. “For you to run? Not hardly. He will have you married off long before then.”

Caroline didn’t like to think about that. She knew she would someday have to marry and that in all probability, her uncle would choose her husband. That was something she dreaded. Her uncle would not choose anyone for their looks or personality. He would choose a man that would bring him more money. She didn’t need Esther to tell her Uncle Victor was a greedy, sanctimonious pig. She knew that already.

“Hurry and come back so we can have our lunch, Caro,” Clara called out as Caroline pushed the rolling table through the swinging door. “I’m already starving to death. Look how skinny I am already!”

Caroline let out a belly laugh as she went through the door, looking over her shoulder at Clara, who seemed to be intensely surveying the size of her small waist. Her mother fussed over her, gently slapping Clara’s hands, making her daughter react while laughing.

The rolling table halted abruptly, and Caroline swung her eyes around to see that her uncle was standing in the way, glaring at her through narrow eyes.

“What are you doing?” he demanded. “How many times have I told you to stay out of the kitchen?”

“I had to go in there with Clara, Uncle,” Caroline responded, defiantly, feeling as though the balloon of happiness that had been around her had popped, putting pressure on her whole body. “Clara and I always make our lunch together. You know this.”

“It doesn’t look like you’re preparing your lunch or eating it with Clara,” Victor boomed in his gruff voice. Despite that voice, Caroline was keenly aware that her uncle was an attractive man. His outside didn’t match his inside. In fact, they were polar opposites. How could a surly, unpleasant man like him maintain such a uniquely good-looking presence? Her uncle attracted a lot of women and was very good at fooling them into loving him until he was ready to dismiss them from his life. Which he always did.

Even then, he had women fawning over him and wanting him to take them back

Caroline wasn’t fooled by his outer appearance though. She knew the man he was inside. Though she was grateful he had taken on her care after her parents died, there had always been something sinister about him that made her uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry, Uncle,” she said, softening her tone. Irritating him wouldn’t do her any good, no matter how much she wanted to tell him what she thought of him. “I wanted to help Esther. She’s working on a… a special meal for you tonight so I wanted to take some of the burden off her shoulders. I was in there with Clara anyway and-”

He cut her off with a loud snort. “All right, all right, I didn’t ask for an article about your morning. If you do not plan to go to the office today, you need to be in your room, looking through magazines or coming up with the design for your wedding dress.”

The words coming out of his mouth made her feel a bit sick inside.

“I have chosen someone for you, and I want you to be prepared when you meet him.”

Caroline swallowed the bile in her throat. The last thing she needed to do was vomit on her uncle’s shoes. He would never forgive her for that.

“Are you talking about Dalton?” An image of the repulsive older man sprang to her mind, making her stomach turn even more.

“I am.” How could he have such a proud, confident look on his face? She didn’t want to marry Dalton Crane. He was her uncle’s ruthless enforcer, a man with a brain as sharp as his wit and personality. He was what Caroline thought of as an evil genius. He loved to hurt people. It brought him pleasure.

At thirty-three, Dalton was established in the railroad community as one of the most heartless men who ever existed. Everything was about money to him. Absolutely everything. She would not find love with a man like that. Not even if she was married to him for a hundred years.

“You know I don’t want to marry Dalton Crane, Uncle Victor.” She made sure her words didn’t come out sounding like she was whining. “I don’t love him. I can never learn to love a man like him.”

“He will fiercely protect you. That’s what we need for you. That’s what I want for you. He’s not angry or bitter. He will fall in love with you, and you will fall in love with him. It will be as I’ve said.”

Caroline had to work hard to keep her anger down. He would be relentless about this. She could already tell. It was time to formulate a plan to get out of this situation.

That time had come. He’d left her with no other choice.