Train From Marietta Read Online Free

me, Eddy! He hit me in the face!”
    Eddy reached down and helped Katherine to her feet. She stood within his protecting arm and glared at the man tending the fire.
    “I thought I told you not to hurt her,” Eddy said.
    “Ah shit, I didn’t hurt her much. I was just tryin’ to keep her big mouth shut. Besides, she started it. Look where she bit me,” he said, and held out his hand.
    “He put it over my mouth, Eddy. What did he expect?” Suddenly the strangeness of the situation struck her. “Wait. Wait just a minute. What’s this all about? What are you doing here, Eddy?”
    “Just relax, Kate.”
    “I can’t relax! Why did he take me from the train? He’s been on the same train with me since New Orleans. Was he following me?”
    Squirrelly got up and threw a handful of sticks into the fire. “Would you believe how dumb she is? She got off the train all on her own when we stopped at the midway watering tank. I didn’t have to do a thing. Now she’s standin’ here thinkin’ that you come to rescue her. You got rocks for brains, sweetheart.”
    “Keep quiet, Squirrelly,” Eddy said with a hard look.
    “Do you know this slimy little worm, Eddy?” Katherine asked.
    Eddy was embarrassed and looked away from her. “Come on, Kate, get in the car.”
    It was then that she noticed the man sitting behind the wheel of the motorcar. He didn’t look at her. All she could see of him was a scar that ran down the side of his face. Eddy opened the back door of the car and stood waiting for Katherine to get in.
    “I don’t understand this! Please, Eddy, tell me what’s going on.” The fear that she felt when Squirrelly had taken her from the train began to return. She had so many questions that she couldn’t begin to count them, but two kept coming back.
Why is this happening, and why is Eddy here?
    “You’ll not be hurt, Kate, I promise.”
    “But I’ve missed my train.”
    “You’ll just be a couple of weeks late getting to San Francisco, that’s all. We’ll stay out here in the country for a little while. Maybe we can even do some hunting. They tell me there’s plenty of deer out here.”
    “You know I don’t like to hunt.”
    “Then why did you make all of those trips to John’s lodge if you didn’t like to hunt?”
    “I just went to keep him company and cook for him.”
    “Didn’t you ever use that expensive rifle he bought you?”
    “I shot some bottles and tin cans.”
    Eddy laughed. “The way John was bragging about you, I thought you had shot a moose!”
    “Well, I didn’t,” Katherine said with a frown.
    She didn’t like this. Not one bit. Edwin Jacobs had been courting her sister, Susan. She had never been attracted to him, although he was charming. Why was he here? How did he know this Squirrelly character?
    “Eddy, what is going on?”
    “Kate, please. Just trust me,” he answered, holding out his hand.
    In the end, she realized that she didn’t have a choice; she had to trust him or, at the very least, go along with him. She couldn’t get away. The only thing to do was bide her time and wait for her chance. She took Eddy’s hand and got into the backseat. He slid in beside her.
    After putting out the fire, Squirrelly got into the front seat, turned, and leered at her. He held up his hand and there, hanging from his fingertips, was one of her lace bras.
    “Look at what I got.”
    “Give that to me, you pervert!”
    “Pervert? What’s that mean? She talks pretty fancy, don’t she?”
    “Give it to her,” Eddy said sternly.
    Squirrelly grinned, showing a large gap between his front teeth. “And if I don’t?”
    “Give it to her now, Squirrelly.”
    “I got my orders from the top guy; I ain’t takin’ no orders from you.”
    “I’m in charge out here. You’ll take orders from me.” Eddy reached over and grabbed the bra from his hand. “How did you get this anyway?”
    “Oh, she gave it to me. She’s sweet on me, ain’t you, darlin’?”
    “I am not! My