Mail Order Sass by Alix West

Author:Alix West [West, Alix]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-12-21T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Six

Will

Charlotte was filled with surprises, he decided as he watched her. They stood atop a tower overlooking the Fort Worth Stockyards. Most people wouldn’t find the filth and dust and constant, frantic mooing of the cattle of any interest, but she took it all in, her pretty eyes filled with wonder.

“I’ve never seen anything so amazing,” she shouted over the din. “What will happen to the Travis animals?”

“They’ll be driven North.”

Her brows lifted in surprise.

“It’s a long trip for them and they’ll lose weight along the way. When they get to wherever they’re going, they’ll be put out to pasture to fatten up again.”

Will leaned against the railing. Below them the cattle crowded in pens and pushed against each other to reach the feed troughs. A few fights broke out, but they were short-lived. Most of the animals were too tired to cause much of a fuss. It helped that there weren’t any bulls around to assert dominance.

“I’d like to take my bride for a nice dinner at the hotel.” He took her hand in his and they descended the steps to the offices below. Cattle men and cowboys filled the rooms, talking cattle prices and rain and land sales, the conversations he usually enjoyed.

He drove the wagon through the streets of Fort Worth and left it with the hotel’s livery barn. Silas and Mary were staying with Mary’s sister, and the rest of the cowboys would bed down at some flophouse or a whorehouse. He didn’t ask his men questions about what they did in town.

The doorman greeted him. “Mr. Travis, so nice to see you again. Mrs. Travis, good evening to you.”

“Evening, Frank. Have dinner sent to the room. Let the chef choose something for my wife and me.”

Inside the room suite, Charlotte watched him warily. She had packed a small valise and stowed it on the buckboard. It sat in the corner next to his bags. He imagined she might want to wash and change into something clean, but she waited, nervously, as if she needed instructions or permission of some sort.

“You like the room?” he asked.

She nodded and pursed her lips.

“I always stay in this suite. Let me show you what I like best.”

He beckoned her to the French doors that led to a balcony. Dusk settled, and a few stars twinkled above, but what he wanted to show her was the courtyard below. He led her to the railing and pointed to two fountains on opposite ends of the courtyard. They bubbled and gurgled, the soft sounds somehow drowning out the noise of the busy city around them.

“It’s beautiful,” she murmured.

She let out a soft moan and rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m so tired, I could fall asleep standing.”

“You can have the first bath. I’ll wait.”

She lifted her gaze to meet his. In the shadows, he couldn’t see her expression well, but he knew she was wary, expecting him to pounce on her.

“Go on, Charlotte. I’m not going to trouble you. Not tonight.

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