Billionaire Flawed 1(75)

Most people had already made their way in buggies toward town, and The Stanton. There weren’t a great lot of many travelers that tended to head so far east, and so only a few trips were able to bring the people to and fro. Joshua and Cora waited on opposite ends of the platform. Cora had her eyes shift through the clusters of people that remained, or those crew and men who still worked nearby.

Joshua Dansby, with his coat now returned from Mr. Stanfield, fixed at his hair, combing it back with his long fingers, and placing his hat atop. He straightened his collar and cuffs, buttoning his suit. He looked once again as if a man who would much sooner be attending an event at The Stanton, than a man who had been riding across country with his horse.

By now, what little tinge of embarrassment or nervousness Joshua had felt, seemed to have dissipated and he was well-ready to present himself to the incoming bride.

Perhaps it was his meeting earlier, with a woman so wild and untamed, that he felt ready to accept what came next. Anything seemed better than that. He hoped, at least, that she would be not entirely unpleasant to look at, though he had really paid no mind to age or looks. He needed a woman of good breeding if he was going to successfully convince his family…

“If you don’t mind me asking, Mr. Dansby,” Mr. Stanfield came and stood beside Joshua who was lost in his future calculations. “Who exactly are you looking for?”

Joshua pursed his lips, shifting his eyes to the side then back to Mr. Stanfield.

“Please don’t repeat this anywhere else, or to anyone else,” he began.

Mr. Stanfield nodded, assuredly. “Of course, Mr. Dansby. I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Joshua coughed and made his voice low, lowering himself toward the shorter Mr. Standfield. “I’m waiting for a woman.”

“A woman, Mr. Dansby?” Mr. Stanfield’s voice burled underneath his mustache.

Joshua feigned clearing his throat and stood once again upright, his hands fixing at his suit.

After a moment of silence, and perhaps trying to comprehend exactly what the young, brooding man meant, Stanfield’s red face soon puffed round at the sides with a smile.

“Oh, Mr. Dansby! Why, congratulations!”

Joshua’s face gave a hint of red, but he tipped his hat, using the shadow to hide any evidence.

Mr. Stanfield surveyed the crowd of people that remained near the post, and another group of people boarded a buggy, headed toward town.

“Mr. Dansby, perhaps if you described her, I can help you to locate her.”

“I’m afraid you know just about as much as I do, Mr. Stanfield,” Joshua muttered.

Mr. Stanfield’s eyes widened.

“Oh--oh my. Well then. Perhaps…”

The two of them scanned the area, and still no obvious choices.

“I don’t understand,” Joshua began. “She was definitely supposed to be on this train...she--”

Joshua stopped mid-sentence, an uneasy feeling now dawning on him.

He turned around to meet eyes with Cora on the other end of the platform, her face telling of her own kind of realization.

“You,” he shouted.

“You yourself!” she shouted back.

The two of them marched toward one another, livid at the notion.

“You lied to me!” Joshua called as he neared.

“You aren’t exactly a prize yourself,” Cora sneered.

Then, only a breath away, Joshua Dansby and Cora Sutton met, for the first time to each other, and the second time that day.



Chapter 4

“A deal is a deal,” Joshua Dansby paced outside, in front of the small house of the town minister.

“Exactly. A word is a word,” Cora folded her arms, her foot tapping in the grass nearby.

Joshua let out a snort. “And exactly how much is a word worth from a Cora LeBlanc?”

“Why does it matter? You live in the rugged wilderness,” Cora’s hands flew into the air. “Why do you need a fancy, French aristocrat in the middle of this dust heap?”

Joshua wiped at his jaw, a hand on his hip, sending a darting look to Cora.

“A girl like you would never understand.”

“Girl?” Cora was taken aback.

Joshua pointed his finger at her. “Yes, girl. You thought you’d take advantage of an opportunity, come here, get rich, live some hokey fairytale, did you?”

Cora rolled her eyes. “Believe me, this is anything but a fairytale.”

“You don’t understand,” Joshua sighed, and locked eyes with Cora. For the first moment since they had met, Cora thought she noticed real desperation and sadness in his eyes, and not the gleaming playfulness he first showed off before they knew. She looked away.

“My name is Joshua Dansby,” he said.