Two Wanted Men [Badlands 2] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour) by Elle Saint James Page A

attended considering all the people in town who’d known him. Worst of all, the services, memorial, and marker commission had been paid for by her new “intended” Ben. Her eyes closed at the dire possibility that she’d actually have to marry him.
    She’d waited endlessly for a message from Luke or Reese, but thus far none had come. She wasn’t sure how long it would take for them to reach their property let alone contact her, but hopefully it would be soon. She couldn’t hold off the hated nuptials much longer.
    Worse, doubt regularly crept into her mind about whether they truly wanted her to be with them in South Dakota but didn’t last long. Was that why she hadn’t heard from them in all this time? Shaking her head at the horrible idea, Miranda refused to give into melancholy thoughts about their love for her.
    They did love her. She knew it.
    After being kicked out of her home with two changes of clothing and a few pieces of jewelry from her mother, Miranda had been given the choice of jail or staying with Ben’s married brother on the north end of town. Because it was further away from Ben, she’d chosen his brother’s house. The room she used was tiny, and likely a former storage area, but this arrangement suited her better than being under Ben’s watchful eye at all times.
    The plan she formulated still depended on receiving a message from her two lovers. If she’d found herself with child, the circumstances of her life would have been better, but two weeks after Luke and Reese had gone, she knew she didn’t carry their child. At the time, she’d been both relieved and saddened. But she’d still been under the false assumption that the mayor wanted her to be the doctor in town.
    A sound coming from the front of the house signaled that the house was waking up. Ben’s brother John and his wife, Hanna, had graciously allowed her to stay until the wedding.
    Miranda hated to disillusion them, but she’d sooner die than marry Ben Colby.
    She heard louder voices and rose to help out. Tip toeing down the short hallway, she paused when she heard her name whispered.
    “I just don’t like it, that’s all,” Hannah said. “What if them letters are from her kinfolk? Her father died. She should get to see them.”
    “Ben said they weren’t from kin, but some men she used to know.”
    “Where did she meet men? She’s lived here always.”
    “They was strangers passing through a couple of months ago. Ben said the letters didn’t say where they were at or he woulda gone after them.”
    “Strangers or not, he shouldn’t pry into her mail or hide them from her.”
    “It don’t matter, anyway. He’s going to be her husband and he can look at her letters if he wants to.”
    “But he didn’t let her even see them. And besides Ben was gettin’ them letters before they was ever engaged to be married. How many does he have now, three? It ain’t right not to let her see them.”
    “Don’t raise your voice. You’ll wake her up. She don’t need to know about some letters from other men no matter when they came. She’s marryin’ Ben. Now stop talkin’ about it.”
    Miranda realized her mouth hung open and closed it. She retraced her steps back to her small room and hid inside.
    Ben was holding her letters. Bastard. The only other person in her family who might write was an elderly aunt in Philadelphia . More likely than not, Ben held letters from an address in South Dakota .
    Seething anger dictated her actions, Miranda packed her single bag with both changes of clothes and all her worldly possessions that consisted of a gold necklace and bracelet from her mother, a battered compass in a small box given to her father once as payment for saving the man’s life and the scrap of paper Reese had given her. She sat on the tiny bed and waited until John left the house. Sneaking past Hanna posed a more difficult challenge, but Miranda was determined.
    The knock on her door startled her. She took a deep