Rebecca (Angel Creek Christmas Brides #15) - Lily Graison Page 0,2

beat when she saw two uniformed officers and the baker staring at the train.

The door across from her led to more tracks. Could she get off without being seen? The ticket in your hand will be more freedom than that door will.

She studied the ticket again. She'd never been out of Charleston her entire miserable life. Maybe a change of scenery was what she needed. A new start somewhere no one knew her.

Hazel patting the seat beside her brought her head back up. Staying on the train would be the fastest way to get away from the baker, and maybe getting caught was a sign. As horrible a life that she'd led, she still believed in fate. No matter what happened to her, she knew things happened exactly as they should.

Was getting on this train one of those defining moments meant to set her on an alternative path?

It was possible. Heaven knew life here in the city was no picnic and with it getting colder, she was facing another winter spent peeking into the windows of the houses near the bay, longing for things she'd never have. How many days had she spent staring into those houses, knowing the people inside them were warm and well-fed and had more money than they'd ever know what to do with? She'd never be rich, but maybe in a new city, she'd be more than a lonely orphan known only as Rebecca—the girl who lived under the bridge.

She gave Hazel a tentative smile and took the seat beside her before glancing out the window. The baker and the two officers were making their way through the crowd again, still searching for her, she assumed. A single tie held the small curtain above the window up. She pulled on it until it fell, covering the window and concealing her behind it.

She breathed a sigh of relief and leaned her head back, closing her eyes while trying to calm her racing heart.

More ladies crammed inside the train car. Hazel’s high pitched voice rang out over the commotion happening on the street as she greeted each one. This girl talked faster than those fake doctors who tried to sell their miracle medicines out of the back of their wagons.

Long minutes passed as Hazel and several other women talked, all going to different cities, it seemed.

“Are you all right?”

Hazel’s soft voice and a small nudge against her arm brought her eyes open. Rebecca straightened in her seat. “Yes, I’m fine.” She smiled at the others when they all sat staring at her.

“Not getting cold feet, are you?” Hazel laughed. “If so, it’ll pass. I was so wound up last night I couldn’t sleep. I’ll nod off at some point so give me a good poke if I start to snore.”

“Okay.”

“You still haven’t told me your name.”

She glanced at the ticket in her hand. The fear she'd run into Diana Hale on the train made her fold it in half and cram it into her bag. “It’s Rebecca.”

“Well, it’s a pleasure meeting you, Rebecca. Maybe we’ll end up living near one another.”

“Perhaps.” The other three ladies introduced themselves, the back and forth between them and Hazel enough to make her sit up and listen. Curiosity wasn’t a friend of hers. It always got her into trouble, but as Hazel and the others started talking about stagecoaches and steamboats, a barrage of questions filled her mind.

The train jolted, then started to move. Where was Diana Hale going? Asking anything about this trip would let the others know she wasn’t a part of their little group, so she said nothing. The chatter was constant and Rebecca only half-listened as she peeked out the window, grinning as they left the station and the baker behind.

“Do you have someone waiting or are you just going hoping to find a match?”

The question came from the woman with blonde ringlets who sat across from her. She didn’t remember what her name was. She hadn’t cared enough at the time to remember. “I’m sorry, what?”

The blonde smiled. “I said do you have someone waiting or are you just trying your luck?”

Waiting for what?

Rebecca bit her lip and pondered the question, sweat trickling down the back of her neck. The brunette sitting beside the blonde piped in with, “I’m just trying my luck. I was told it wouldn’t be a problem.”

The blonde nodded as the others said they had someone waiting. When they all turned to her again, she froze. “Um...I’m hoping to get lucky, too.”

Hazel