Free The Escape by Susannah Calloway

the edge of the porch, feeling the earth awaken around her. She loved the mornings in Burrow Creek—the way the dark sky slowly opened to daylight; the way the dew clung to the thin blades of grass; the way the insects began their circular patterns of flight.
    The vast space filled her with more companionship than she had ever felt amidst the bustle of the big city back home. It made no sense, but this untamed expanse of country was planting itself firmly in her soul.
    She smiled.
    “What’s funny?” Garrett said, coming outside to join her.
    “Nothing,” she answered, looking at him. “You’re finished eating already?”
    “More interested in being out here. Would you like me to bring out a chair?” he asked, suddenly solicitous. “It will be more comfortable than that very crude bench.”
    “My brother-in-law made this very crude bench, and I happen to think it’s beautiful.” Betty sat down, careful to balance herself in the middle as the bench had a tendency to wobble.
    Garrett’s eyebrows rose. “Suit yourself.” He perched beside her and took her hand in his. “We need to make plans,” he said.
    Betty pulled her hand from his grasp and clasped her hands in her lap. “I don’t understand why you continually say we . There is no we .” Betty heard her own clipped tone, and a tremor started deep in her stomach. Be brave. Be brave. Be brave .
    “Of course, there is a we !” Garrett exclaimed. “I’ve followed you across the entire country to take you back! Mother is awaiting us both!”
    “She’s going to be waiting a long time.”
    “Betty! You can’t possibly be serious. Look around you—you’re in the middle of nowhere!” He leaned toward her and his pupils were dark and large. “Don’t tease me.”
    Before she could react, he pressed his lips to hers. She gasped and shot to her feet. “How dare you!” she seethed. “How dare you touch me!”
    He yanked on her arm, pulling her back to the bench. “I do dare touch you. We’re practically married.”
    His face became a blur, and she grabbed at the cabin wall behind her to steady herself. She gasped in air, and her vision cleared.
    Lou rushed out of the house. “Betty! Are you all right?”
    Betty swallowed over the metallic taste in her mouth. “I’m fine.” She gave her sister an intense look. “Please leave us. I need to finish this conversation. I will finish this conversation.”
    Lou gave Garrett a deadly glare. “I will be right inside this door. Do you understand me?”
    Garrett raised both hands. “All right! All right. I understand fine. Everything’s fine. You can go do whatever-it-is you do.”
    Betty nodded at Lou, and grimacing, Lou stepped back inside, leaving the front door wide open.
    Garrett rubbed his legs. “Perhaps I’m going too fast. I know you weren’t expecting me here in Wyoming Territory.”
    Betty opened her mouth, but he put his hand to her lips. “Don’t say anything. Just hear me out. You owe me that, don’t you? Look how far I came.”
    Betty felt just dizzy enough to obey. This wasn’t going as she intended. She had planned to send him packing with a few cutting well-rehearsed sentences. Instead, she found herself struggling to remain upright and to breathe.
    “If we marry, your son will inherit the entire Rochester estate. You do understand that, don’t you? It will be his birthright.” When she began to speak, he rushed on. “Edmund would want it that way. You know he would.”
    Garrett held out his arm, indicating his surroundings. “Edmund would never want his child raised in this godforsaken land. He would want his child raised in his own home. In Boston, where he belongs.”
    Betty blinked. Garrett was right on that front—Edmund would want his child to have every material advantage possible.
    Garrett—evidently sensing he was getting somewhere—continued. “Betty, I would be good to you. I can provide you with comfort, ease, and social position. Think of the benefit to