Read Julia: Bride of New York (Amercan Mail-Order Bride 11) for Free Online

human being. It’s against the law. And I’m the law here.”
    The man waved his finger in Fletcher’s face. “Then I’ll sue you. You stole my bride.”
    “You gave her up.”
    “I changed my mind.”
    “Stop!” Julia moved between the two men and, with one hand on each chest, pushed them apart. “Mr. Johnson, if I have to work my fingers to the bone for the rest of my life I will pay you whatever it was you spent from you pockets to get me here. But I will not marry you.”
    She turned to Fletcher. “And I told you twice I will not marry you. I won’t be a pawn in a game nor an object of pity. I will make my own way. I have a job to do, and if you gentlemen will kindly stop this nonsense, I would like to get to work.”
    Both men stared at her as if she’d grown horns. A fitting description, Fletcher thought. She was tough, all right, all fire and brimstone. And so much to admire.
    Johnson pointed at Fletcher. “This isn’t finished, Sheriff.” He slammed out of the office and strode past the window.
    “Why didn’t you give him the money back?”
    Fletcher smiled. “I had it right here in the desk, but he got me so riled up, I forgot.”
    “I will not marry that man.”
    “I agree. He’s not good enough for you.”
    Julia flushed and gestured toward the box on his desk. “Our breakfast is getting cold.”
    They sat across from each other, the old, wooden desk between them. Julia removed flapjacks, eggs, potatoes, bacon, and warm bread. She added a small crock of butter and a pitcher of syrup. “My goodness, they gave me a lot of food.”
    “I usually eat a big breakfast, and then nothing until supper. I don’t always have time to eat during the day.”
    Once they were through with their meal, Julia gathered the dishes and placed them back into the box. “I’ll return these to the café.”
    Fletcher nodded and pulled out a pile of papers from the desk drawer. Once Julia left, he leaned back in his chair and tapped his lips with a pencil. So she turned him down once again. Every time she told him, “No, I won’t marry you,” he became more determined to have her. What once had begun as a “what the heck” type thing had grown into him seriously thinking Julia was the woman for him.
    Oh, he didn’t kid himself that things would be quiet and calm with the woman. That happened to be the attraction for him. Laura had been quiet and calm. They’d had a nice, uneventful, pleasant life.
    There was something about Miss Julia Benson that fired his blood. He imagined a lot of arguments over the years with a woman as feisty as she was. And many sessions of making up afterward.
    Although, if they did marry, he would need her agreement that there wouldn’t be any children. He couldn’t face that again. Of course, there were still ways to share intimacy and not conceive a child. The method wasn’t foolproof, but so far his widow friend hadn’t turned up pregnant, so it was possible.
    Perhaps what Julia needed was some courting. He seemed to have a habit of just blurting out the idea of marriage to her. After one rejection from Johnson, her pride could use some wooing. Yes, that’s what he would do. Flowers, candy, dances, church picnics. That’s what he and Laura had done when they were courting.
    He smiled and returned to his work, rifling through the latest stack of Wanted posters.
     
     
    Luckily, Julia didn’t encounter Mr. Johnson on the way back and forth with the dishes. He was truly a difficult man. Life with him would have been quite unpleasant. She thanked her lucky stars the man had rejected her before she found out how truly mean he was.
    When she returned to the jailhouse, the sheriff wasn’t there. He’d left a note on his desk that he’d been called away to help the sheriff in Hamilton, the next town over. He told her in the note to just clean up a little bit. He also had left her coins to buy her dinner and said he would be back in time for supper.
    She truly hated taking the