Chapter Three

Lucas couldn't believe this was happening. First, he received news that his dear sister was missing somewhere just north of Flagstaff, and now he was confined to a passenger train with Gail. How did his life get out of control?

Gail, who had exchanged her wedding gown for a sensible travel dress, gestured to the man at the back of their car. "That's Officer Jefferson. My father hired him six months ago. He recently bought some stock in my father's company. I don't think he'll be working here for longer than a couple of years." She opened her drawstring purse and pulled out a handkerchief. "It's warmer on these trains than I remember." She dabbed her forehead. "I know this isn't the best way to start a marriage, but at least we're together."

She gave him a smile so wide that he was reminded of how much she loved him. So as not to disappoint her, he returned her smile then gave her arm an affectionate squeeze since he'd seen other men do that with their wives. Even if he didn't love her, he still had to play the part. He owed it to her and her parents for saving his family from financial ruin. He was just glad that the number of times they would need to change rail lines would prevent them from getting a sleeping car. There was no danger of having to consummate the marriage any time soon.

She placed her handkerchief back into her purse then pulled the strings to close it. "What a way to start our new life together." She set the purse in her lap. "I realize this isn't a honeymoon. We're here to rescue your sister. As happy as I am to be with you, I hope you understand that I am worried about your sister. I don't want to see anything bad happen to her. Maybe we'll get lucky and find out she's been rescued when we get there."

"That would be nice."

After a moment, she glanced out the window. "I suppose we should at least enjoy the scenery. This is the first real adventure I've had in a long time. Have you ever been west of Pennsylvania?"

"No, I haven't."

She chuckled. "It's funny, isn't it?"

"What's funny? The fact that I've never been west of Pennsylvania?"

"No, I didn't mean that. I meant that it's funny how we spent so much time talking about the people we know and the things there are to do back home that we haven't really talked about ourselves."

There had been a reason for that. He hadn't been particularly interested in learning about her, nor did he think his life had been all that interesting, either. In fact, if she had known more about him, she might have discovered his financial situation, and if she had known that, her father wouldn't have allowed the marriage. It'd been easier to steer the conversation to the superficial things she'd just mentioned.

Since he had to respond to her comment, he thought for a long moment then asked, "Are you happy with your life in Pennsylvania?"

"Yes, I'm happy with it. I'm especially happy knowing you love me." She gave him another one of those smiles that let him know how much this marriage meant to her.

He ignored the pang of guilt that twisted his stomach.

"We share Pennsylvania with everyone we know," she continued. "This is the first thing we'll share that is just between us. It'll bring us closer together."

Considering the fact that they were sitting closer together on this train than they had at any time in the past, it was already working. He hoped she didn't expect him to kiss her while they were on a train surrounded by strangers. Yes, they were leaving Pennsylvania, but they weren't leaving civilization.

"Do you want to play a game where we get to learn more about each other?" she asked.

"Is this a game where all we do is talk?" He was sure the answer was yes, but he needed to be sure before he committed to it.

She nodded. "It's a basic game. My nanny taught it to me when I was a child. You say a word, and the other person says whatever word comes to their mind. Would you like me to start?"

Since it sounded simple enough, he gestured for her to start.

"Alright," she began. "What do you think of when I say the word ‘yellow'?"

"Money." When he realized how vague that was, he explained, "Because gold is yellow." When he realized it was his turn to give her a word, he said, "Blue."

She giggled, glanced around them, then leaned toward him to whisper, "My garter belts were blue." She leaned back and continued in a louder voice, "They say brides should wear something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. My mother let me wear her pearl necklace, and that was also a borrowed item. My gown and veil were new. The belts I just mentioned were blue. In fact," she lowered her voice again, "I'm still wearing those."

Judging by the secretive manner she spoke of the garter belts, he figured they had to be some kind of undergarment. He shook the thought off. He'd rather not think of it. He was doing good to sit this close to her.

"Let me think." She tapped her lips for a moment then grinned. "I know. Paper."

"A will."

Her eyes grew wide. "A will?"

"Well, they write out a person's will on paper."

"Yes, but we signed our marriage certificate today on paper."

Oh. Yes, that was true. They had signed that piece of paper right before going to the luncheon at his mother's. Noting the way Gail's smile faltered, he hurried to say, "If you had said ‘pen', I would have thought of the marriage certificate. That pen made the marriage official on the paper." When he realized that he had inadvertently mentioned the paper, he took her hand in his and squeezed it. "Did I tell you what a lovely bride you made?"

Her smile returned, and he breathed a sigh of relief. That was close. Whatever word she said, he must direct it to something to do with her or the wedding. He couldn't keep thinking about his father's debt and the reason he had to marry her. Whether she realized it or not, this game had a way of bringing out a person's true thoughts about things.

"I have a word for you," he said, eager to make up for his blunders. "Music."

"Mrs. Van Horn. I want to say I thought of everyone who played music at our wedding today, but I first thought of Mrs. Van Horn because she taught me how to play the piano when I was a child."

"Mrs. Van Horn is an excellent organist. I can't think of anyone better to take that spot during the ceremony."

"Yes, but Mrs. Carmichael and Mr. Garrison played beautiful music on the violin and flute, too. It's really not fair of me to leave them out."

"I don't see why it matters. They're not on the train listening to us."

"What if word gets back to them that I thought of Mrs. Van Horn first?"

"Who will tell them?" He gestured to the people around them who were occupied with their own conversations. "I won't."

Her worried frown relaxed. "Thank you."

He chuckled. "I don't know why you worried."

"Because every little thing you say about someone can get back to them. It's as my parents say, ‘Mind your tongue. You don't want to upset certain people. Even if they're not in the room, rumors spread faster than fire.'"

He certainly understood that. It was why he spent a good two months letting it accidentally slip that he fancied Gail before he asked her if he could court her. He had hoped that when her friends and cousin talked to her, they would bring it up, and the plan had worked. It would have looked suspicious if he approached her without sufficient warning. Her father would have looked into his financial situation right away. Those two months had established the foundation for their courtship.

"Well," he began, "you can say what you really think when I'm around. I won't say a word to anyone. If there's one thing I can do, it's keep a secret. Now, it's your turn. Give me a word." And whatever word she chose, he was going to make it something romantic.

"Alright." She thought for a moment then said, "Flowers."

He had hoped she would make it harder for him so he would have to think of a clever way to bring up something from their wedding, but since this was an easy one, he gave the correct answer. "Your bouquet."

"I'm surprised you didn't mention the flowers in the church. They were all over the place."

Now, this was more of a challenge, and he liked it. "Who could have noticed those flowers when you were the one holding the bouquet?"

She blushed and let out a shy giggle as she lowered her gaze to her hands. "That's very sweet of you to say."

"It's easy to be sweet when it's the truth."

She opened her drawstring purse and pulled out her handkerchief to dab her forehead. "I heard a woman in love could get warm from all the blushing she does, but I had no idea I could get this warm."

"Do you want me to stop telling you how much I love you?" he asked, making sure his tone was playful so it would add to her feeling of being loved by him.

She giggled harder. "You're a bit of a cad, aren't you?"

"Only around you." Then, because it seemed like the appropriate thing for a newly married man in love to do, he let his hand rest on her arm.

He had thought her face was bright red before, but now it was even more so. He should probably stop. While he wanted her to be the blushing bride, he didn't want to embarrass her. People would start looking over at them if they continued on with this banter.

"I'll be good," he assured her and removed his hand from her arm. "We'll save the rest of this for later when we're alone."

Thankfully, that wouldn't be for a while. Granted, it would have been best if she had stayed in Pennsylvania, but since she had insisted on coming along, he was stuck. All he could do was make the best of the situation. The longer he could put off the intimate part of their marriage, the more time he had to prepare himself for the big moment. Despite the situation with his sister, he was glad Pennsylvania was a long way from Arizona since it gave him the perfect excuse not to do anything private with his new wife.