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One
Wren Michaels,where in the world are you?
Message number four out of thirteen total in her cell’s voicemail box blared in her ear before she quickly deleted it. She wasn’t going to listen to the rest. There was no doubt the others would be from her best friend, same as the few she had already listened to. When Wren drastically decided on the next steppingstone of her future, it was one that her friend Hadley didn’t agree with. She loved her friend to pieces, but they would just have to agree to disagree and even if Shelbie wasn’t on her side, Wren was following through on her plan regardless.
She really couldn’t blame anyone for thinking she’d gone crazy; she felt like it was a bit out of the norm for any person, but it was also just what she needed. A new life, and a fresh start far away from the family that had never approved of her or anything she’d ever done. And no way would they approve of this. That’s why she wasn’t telling them she had answered a want ad in the newspaper for a cowboy wanting a wife.
“Who really does that anymore?”
It never really crossed her mind but apparently it was a thing because
She hadn’t given more than a couple seconds of thought on the opportunity she noticed in the paper on a Sunday morning before she called the paper and left a message with her response. The man in question had called her back within the hour and they’d worked out a plan. Two people that had never met and she was going to travel cross country and marry a man and have his baby.
She smiled.
“It might actually be crazy enough to work.”
Was it wrong that she was excited about what she was doing? A man wanted to marry her, just because she answered his ad. No preconceived notions, no emotions involved, at least for now. She hadn’t even seen the guy but at least he sounded nice on the phone. She just had to agree to get pregnant right away, which wasn’t a problem for her. She’d always wanted to have a family. The events leading up to the family was her biggest obstacle, but he was taking that off the table for her. Why wouldn’t she be glad.
He was offering her all the comforts she could want for, for a lifetime: a home and everything she needed just by becoming his wife. What he didn’t mention, and she didn’t ask about was whether she would need to work or at least work on his farm. But she was willing to do either. She wasn’t afraid to pull her own weight.
At last, the loudspeaker announced what she was waiting to hear.
Now boarding number 409 to Rock Creek, Wyoming at gate four.
The same sentence repeated two more times.
Just hearing her destination made her a little nervous but she pushed through it. Wren gathered her suitcases and rolled them to the gate. Once in the line, she fished her ticket out to check in, and was ushered right out the door to the waiting men who grabbed her luggage and stacked them in the compartment under the bus just like an assembly line. She proceeded onto the bus to find her assigned seat, that ended up being a window view and by the time they took off, the bus wasn’t full enough for her to have anyone sitting next to her which she was excited about.
The drive was going to be a long one and she would arrive sometime in the next two days give or take a few hours. Some might wonder why she would be taking the bus so far away instead of a plane, but she needed that time to herself. She’d sold her car so she had extra money just in case that would end up being an issue between herself and Hudson because while he said she would want for nothing; money wasn’t exactly discussed specifically. When she decided to start over, she meant that literally. She also didn’t want any ties to her parents or their money, so she was on her own. All she needed was her online bank account, a couple credit cards and a bus ticket.
Wren texted Hudson when she got settled in her seat. She pulled out the sandwich she’d packed for dinner then her plan was to sleep the night through once they’d switched from New Jersey transit to the Greyhound bus.
“Wyoming here I come.”
Hudson Rivers satin his F250 in the parking lot of the bus station in Buffalo waiting for the woman to arrive that had agreed to be his wife. He was nervous. So much so that he’d been digging at the side of his thumb where the skin met nail. It’d be bloody soon enough and sore tomorrow.
He almost couldn’t believe that he was going through with such a hair-brained scheme. He blames the alcohol and his friends for coming up with the idea in the first place. In all truth though, it was probably the only idea that would work for him at this point. He was running out of time. He was only a little surprised someone agreed to it.
His phone vibrated on the dash where he’d laid it.
“Hello? Wren? Is everything okay?”
She’d just wanted to check in and let him know they were running fifteen to thirty minutes behind. The last bathroom stop took longer than the driver anticipated.
He’d had the pleasure of talking to her several times since she’d agreed to relocate but this time, she sounded pretty much worn out. Hudson wouldn’t be surprised if she slept for a whole twenty-four hours once they made it to his ranch. If it's what she would need, he would gladly leave her to it. They had plenty of time after the wedding to get acquainted.
She’d said so herself, but he really hoped she didn’t mind getting married right away. It was one of the few important steps to ensure his ranch would stayhispermanently. The second step wouldn’t be as easy, so they’d have to work their way into it.
Hudson sat in his truck for another half hour or so until he saw a greyhound pull into the big lot beside the building. That had to be her bus. He took a deep breath and set off in that direction, figuring it might be the decent thing to do, to greet her when she climbed form the bus.
He was shocked at the number of people that got off in the tiny cow town of Buffalo, but then finally a tiny scrap of a woman appeared, not any taller than up to his shoulders with long, dark flowing hair and a very sleepy face. Beautiful, but sleepy.
Hesitantly he approached the woman, hoping he was right, and it was Wren.
When she turned, a weak smile appeared.
“Are you Hudson?”
