Staking Their Claim Read Online Free

“Jenny? It is Jenny, right?” He seemed to be trying to process what was happening. “Where’s your brother? Where’s Will?”
    Tears stung her eyes. “He’s dead.”
    Cody let her go and stepped back. “What? How…”
    “He took a fall from his horse. At first we didn’t think it was bad. He walked home but complained that his head hurt and went to bed early.” She wiped a tear away. “He didn’t wake up the next morning. The doctor said there was bleeding inside his brain.”
    “God, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. He’d been writing. He was going to follow me out.”
    “I know,” she said.
    “But wait,” the Englishman was speaking again. “So what are you doing here? You can’t be more than sixteen, wee little thing like you.”
    “I’m eighteen! An adult!” She glared at him. “And it’s not right, asking a lady her age, Mr.… whoever you are.”
    “Simms, my dear,” he said. “Nigel Simms.” Nigel removed his hat, stepped back, and bowed in a courtly manner as Jenny stared at him in annoyance.
    “Nigel’s a friend of mine,” Cody explained. “I was looking forward to introducing him to Will. I never expected this…”
    “Well, neither did I.” She looked around the room and then back at the men, her eyes registering her dismay. “Will talked about how easy it would be, coming out here and finding gold. He said you just come out and stake your claim. I knew it wasn’t a place for a woman, but after he left, I had to try. I had to come honor his dream…”
    “Hold on,” Cody interrupted. “You mean to say you came out here on your own?”
    “And why not?” Her blue eyes flashed with indignation. “I’m grown now. So what if I want to come in my brother’s stead? It’s what he would have wanted!”
    “No,” Cody said, putting his hands on his hips. “It is not what Will would have wanted. No man would want his sister in a mining camp. How long have you been here? One, two days? You should have known this was no place for you as soon as you stepped off the stage. Have you even seen another woman here?”
    Jenny thought back to May, moaning and writhing under two men. Horrible, wanton May.
    “No,” she lied, rather than admit she’d been in a whorehouse.
    “Right,” Cody said. “And you know why that is? Because most ladies know better than to set foot in a place like this.”
    “It doesn’t matter,” Jenny said stubbornly. “I’m not leaving. I staked a claim for my brother. It’s his! In his name!”
    “You staked it as an imposter, Jenny!”
    “I don’t care! It’s still his! And I’m going to mine it.”
    “The hell you are,” Cody said. “Come tomorrow, you’re going back to Oklahoma on the train.”
    “I can’t!” she said, balling her fists up. “There’s nothing for me to go back for. When Will died, the farm passed not to me, but to my aunt and uncle.” Her chest was heaving. “All they care about is money. If I go back, my aunt will make me marry Rufus Platt.”
    “Fat Rufus Platt?” Cody asked. “Roy Platt’s son? Your brother hated him!”
    “I do, too!” she said. “But Rufus is from a wealthy family and my aunt is hungry for the connection. She doesn’t care that Rufus is fat and already bald and mean as a bucket of rattlesnakes to boot.” She sniffled. “Will would roll over in his grave to think that I was given to that awful man. But if you send me back I’ll have no choice. So I’m staying.”
    Cody fell silent. When he spoke again, his voice was firm. “All right. I don’t want to dishonor Will’s wish for you. You’ll stay, but only until we can figure this out,” he said. “You’ll stay with us.”
    Jenny felt herself grow uneasy. “What do you mean, with us? ”
    “This boardinghouse is dangerous. Nigel and I have a place together. It’s not a tent, but a cabin. You’ll come stay there. We’ll protect you. If you stay here, you’ll end up raped, or forced to work at Cora’s when your money runs