Billionaire Flawed 1(116)

He prayed that’s what Minnie was and that she wouldn’t feel pushed upon by having Ruthie come home.



Joe pulled up to the post office just five minutes later, sliding down from the saddle and throwing the rope over the hitch, more to keep Sally from following him inside than keep her from straying. He ignored the two steps that led up to the post office, taking them all in a single step.

His long legs carried him to the front doors of the building in only two more steps. He pushed the door open and went inside, marveling at how much cooler it was in the building. He wasn’t sure why it felt cooler, considering there were lanterns aflame all around the room.

He went directly to the clerk and set some paper money on the counter. “I need to buy a ticket to be sent to the East.”

The clerk looked up at him through narrow blue eyes as sharp as his long narrow nose. “You can’t buy a train ticket here, son.” Joe pressed his lips together to keep from smiling. He was fairly certain the clerk was at least ten years younger than his 35 years.

“Okay, where is the clerk that sells train tickets.”

The clerk leaned out the window toward him and pointed to the left. Joe looked over and saw a window like this one on the other side of the room. “That’s the one. You gotta go over there to buy a ticket.”

“And then I come back here to send it to the East?”

“Yes.” The clerk nodded curtly.

“Okay, Edward.” Joe leaned slightly to read the silver and gold name tag the clerk was wearing. Edward flushed as if not sued to hearing the sound of his own name.

“Okay. Thank you, sir.”

“I’ll see you really soon,” Joe teased and moved off to buy his train ticket at the other window.

The window shade was up but the chair was empty. Joe stood there, looking into the room behind the counter, waiting for someone to come and attend to him.

Moments later, the same clerk from the post office sat in the chair in front of him and stared at him.

“How can I help you, sir?”

Joe blinked at him, stunned into near silence. Then he had to suppress valiantly the urge to bust out laughing.

“Aren’t you…aren’t you…” he swallowed his laughter. “I need a ticket to come here from South Carolina and I need to send it there for a woman to come here with it.”

The clerk nodded. “I can give you the price and let you purchase the ticket, but you will have to send it by taking it over to the postal office and letting them deal with that.”

“Won’t you…” After a moment, he stopped. It was going to be the same clerk.

He wasn’t going to laugh. He just wasn’t.

****

Chapter Four

Minnie’s heart was in her throat. She gripped Billy’s hand so hard, he was starting to fuss. “Mama, you’re hurting me!” He kept whining and she would loosen her grip.

“I’m sorry, baby.” She kept soothing him. She pulled him up on her lap and held him so he could see out of the window. “Look. Do you see all that passing scenery? You see that tree…oh, there’s it’s gone, isn’t it?” She smiled, wrapping her arms around his tiny body as he leaned toward the window.

“Look, mama, look!” The baby slid from her grasp to climb onto the bench next to her and stand there, his small hands gripping the short windowsill and pressing his nose against the glass. “Look, mama!”

“I see it, Billy boy, I see it.” She tried to make her voice as soft as possible to counteract his loudness. She reached out and steadied him on the chair. “Don’t fall now. You don’t want to get hurt, do you?”

“No, no. No no.” Billy shook his head in response but didn’t turn his head away from the window. He just pulled back a little and rested in the comfort of his mother’s secure hold. “It’s a tree!” He surged forward, almost jumping out of her grasp and she snatched him back.

“Now Billy, I just told you to be careful! You’re going to fall and bump your head!” She pulled him back so he had to sit on her lap. Restless, he squirmed and tried to get back to the window, off his mother’s lap. “Billy, you must calm down!” Minnie felt her nerves beginning to frazzle. Billy was just being his normal self and he was a very active little boy. What if Joe was unable to accept a mischievous little boy like him?

“He’ll have to,” she whispered. “It’s both of us, not just me.” But she felt guilty anyway because she hadn’t mentioned Billy to Joe and wasn’t in the least bit secure he would accept the child. She wished suddenly that her little boy wasn’t so active.