Free Where There is Hope [Taos Wolven Mates 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) by Tianna Xander Page B

her suitcase the last time she had gone on a trip. The airline baggage handlers had ruined her new suitcase and she’d had to buy a new one. Lugging a large suitcase through an airport was a difficult task with no handle and the wheels ripped off it.
    Amelie’s eyes rounded. “Treat my trunks as though they were the rubbish? They wouldn’t dare!” She packed the last dress inside, closed the lid then looked up with a smile. “You see? It is easy. We are fini. ”
    Easy wasn’t the word Hope would have used. She would never remember which compartment the pantaloons or those long shirts that Amelie called shifts went into. The stockings had another compartment as did her shoes, nightgowns, and dressing robes. Why these people insisted on wearing so many layers of clothing in this heat baffled her. Hope was sure she would expire from heat exhaustion in no time if they forced her to wear more than her dress and her own serviceable bra and underwear.
    Hope’s face grew warm at the thought of the state of her panties. Damn! Like it or not, she was going to have to wear those stupid, old-fashioned pairs of underwear. Thanks to Braxton and their incredibly hot ride into town, her previously serviceable underwear could no longer be considered anything but trash.
    With a sigh, Hope resigned herself to the fact that she would have to wear the ugly, oversized underwear as long as they held her here. What other choice did she have?

Chapter Fourteen
     
    “Are we ready to go? We’re burning daylight. I don’t want to have to spend more than one night on the trail,” Braxton said as he made his way to his mate’s side. “We’ll have to get Hope and the other ladies bedrolls. I don’t want anyone getting cold.”
    “Oh, no way.” Hope held up her hand and backed away. “I am not sleeping on the ground. If you think I am, you’re out of your mind.”
    “You won’t have to sleep on the ground, Hope,” Braxton said with a grin. “We have two large wagons you ladies can share. It will keep you up off the ground, and we have canvas to shelter you.”
    “I know you’re not talking about a covered wagon.” Hope held up her hand and backed away. “I have gone my entire life with neither seeing, nor riding, in something so antiquated. I don’t plan to start now.”
    “Antiquated? Our wagons are almost new. We bought them just before we came here from back east, a few months ago.”
    Hope looked around at the inside of the store, no doubt taking note of the workmanship and the way Amelie had stocked it so well. “Like I’m supposed to believe that you all built this and stocked it in only a few months?” She waved her arm toward the front door. “Did you think I didn’t see the building when we came in? It’s weathered far too much to only be a few months old. Come on, people. If you’re going to play like this town is new, it should look new, shouldn’t it?”
    “I know you think we are playing some sort of game with you, Hope, but I can assure you, that is the farthest thing from our minds. The town has been here for a while. It was built at the height of the gold rush, and when no one found the gold they were certain was in the area, they abandoned it. Our people found it and purchased it from the government. We want to make a life here.”
    “Uh, yeah, right. Okay. Let’s say I believe that.” She glared at them through narrowed eyes. “When do I get to go home?”
    “We only ask that you allow us to woo you, Hope. If you still want to go home after we have done all that we can to convince you to stay, we will find a way to get you home.”
    She didn’t look convinced, but at least she wasn’t demanding they take her home immediately.
    “If you don’t mind, we must go now. There are others we must collect along the way. We do not wish to lose any more of our people.”
    He didn’t add that finding people to join them and keep their secret was a difficult task. Not only did they live their lives