Free Mail Order Baron (The Brides of Tombstone Book 3) by Cynthia Woolf Page A

walking on the shady side streets. There wasn’t the hubbub of Main Street. There were few people and she could walk at her own pace. She was crossing Fremont Street to get on to Main Street, when she turned and saw a wild buggy came careening toward her from down the block. With a gasp, she jumped to get out of the way just in time and fell into the dirt, landing on her hands and knees.
    Her heart pounded in her chest and her hands shook. She had some scrapes and her dress was torn, but she could have been killed and the driver never stopped. Never even looked back to see if he’d hit anyone, but she saw the side of his face as he passed. It was Tom. He was trying to kill her.
    Molly took two deep breaths and walked quickly on shaky legs to the Tombstone Hotel. She let herself in to their suite and rested her back against the closed door. Ben wouldn’t be back for a while, and she was more than a little alarmed. What if a child had been in the street? What if that accident wasn’t an accident at all?
    Tom Marlow flashed across her mind. Tom was driving that buggy, she could swear to it. She should tell Ben about Marlow. Today’s incident was a random accident, nothing more. It wasn’t Tom. Molly, do not let your imagination run away with you. Tell Ben. Remember no secrets.
    She looked down at her dress and held the fabric out from her body. The skirt was torn where she’d hit the dirt on her knees. Unfortunately, the dress wasn’t the only thing torn up. Her hands were scraped and bleeding. She pulled up her skirt to see her knees and there were gashes from rocks and bruises were already forming. Still, she considered herself lucky.
    Molly went out to the front desk and ordered a bath be brought to her room. Fifteen minutes later, two men arrived, one with buckets of water, the other with the tub which she had them put in the living room. They moved the table and chairs, replacing them with the tub.
    After the men had finished bringing more water and she had it to the temperature she wanted, she put up the privacy screen and disrobed. Her muscles were already starting to ache. She had just stepped into the tub and was sinking into the hot water when Ben came in.
    He came around the screen. “Well, this is a welcoming sight. My wife in the all together…” He stepped closer. “Are those cuts and bruises on your knees? And you’re hands, you’re bleeding. What the hell happened?” He stormed closer and knelt by the tub.
    “I was nearly run over by a buggy. When I landed on the ground, I scraped the palms of my hands and my knees. See.” She raised one leg out of the water. “Ben,” she took a deep breath. “There’s something you need to know.”
    “I’m listening.” He stood and scowled but said nothing more.
    She put her knees back down in the water and let the warm liquid soak away her pain. “When I worked as a secretary at the bank in New York, I discovered my boss, Tom Marlow, was embezzling. I worked with the police, and he was arrested and sent to prison. I had already decided to become a bride to marry as far away from New York as I could get after he was arrested. He made threats against me and I feared for my life. That’s why when Mrs. Black at Matchmaker & Co showed me your picture and told me about you, I chose you. Because you were so far away, I didn’t think Tom would ever find me.”
    “Continue,” he said quietly. He stood at the end of the tub, his arms crossed over his chest and looked down at her.
    “I was notified the day before I boarded the train west that Tom had escaped from prison. I didn’t think he could ever track me here, but he did. I ran into him a week after we were married. He said he would be watching me. I thought I could handle it, although now I don’t know what I was going to do.” Her voice quivered and her mouth was dry. “And after this incident today, I’m sure it’s him. I think he’s trying to kill me.”
    “Did you see the driver?”
    “Just