In The Lawman's Protection. Janie Crouch

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      “The main office is on the line and some bigwig asked for you by name.” The dark-haired woman in her midthirties, wearing the same uniform as George, walked into the small office and squeezed his shoulders, obviously urging him to stand. “Dude, just go. Rick’s got the call on hold in his office. He sent me in here to relieve you.”

      George just looked confused. “But who are—”

      The woman glanced over at Natalie and rolled her eyes with a look that screamed, Men. Am I right? “George, honey, I don’t know who it is. But I’m thinking promotion, so just go.”

      George stood. “Yeah, okay. A promotion would be good. Um, you’re okay here?”

      The woman rolled her eyes again before shooing him out. “No need to mansplain it. Lily’s got it handled.” Once George was out the back door, Lily turned back around to Natalie. “Okay! What can I do for you now that we’ve got the dead weight out of the room?” She winked at Natalie again.

      Despite the panic crushing down on her, Natalie had to smile at the pocket-size woman who’d handled George so deftly.

      “I need a ticket.”

      “That I can do. Where’re you headed and when do you want to go there? We’ve got some great sales coming up next week if you want to go north.”

      “No, next week won’t work. I know it will cost me more, but I need to go today.”

      Lily smiled. “No problem. Where to?”

      “What are my options?”

      “We have daily buses that go to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas. From any of those you can get to just about anywhere. Where are you ultimately trying to get to?”

      Natalie shifted back and forth, finding it difficult to look the friendly woman in the eye. “East Coast. Honestly, anywhere. But I was thinking Atlanta or maybe Philadelphia. I just need to get out of here today.”

      “I see. Well, do you prefer Atlanta over Philadelphia?”

      Atlanta would be less cold and didn’t tend to get snow. “Sure. Atlanta. But just...it’s important that I leave as soon as possible.”

      Lily nodded, a little more solemn. “Okay, hon. Let me see what I can find.”

      Natalie waited as Lily began typing. After a few moments, a frown marred her forehead and a minute after that she began to grumble.

      “Is there a problem?” Natalie finally asked.

      “There’s a California drivers’ strike affecting buses from both LA and San Francisco. So neither of those are available for the next few days.”

      “Okay. What about Vegas?”

      Lily nodded. “I’m checking that now.”

      The woman’s fingers flew along the keyboard. Her grimace didn’t reassure Natalie. “Completely full until Saturday. I’m so sorry, honey. What about flights? I know our municipal airport isn’t much, but they have some flights. Or renting a car?”

      Natalie could feel the panic clawing up inside her again. Neither of those would work; both required identification that would put her in the system, making note of where she started and where she ended.

      To her utter dismay she could feel tears welling up in her eyes. God, she could not lose it in the middle of this tiny busy station. She just needed to get out. She would hitchhike or walk.

      “No, that won’t work. Thanks for your help,” she muttered, trying to wipe her eyes before the tears fell.

      She was almost to the door when Lily called out. “Hang on there a second, hon, do you have any problems with trains?”

      Natalie stopped and turned slowly. “Trains?”

      Lily motioned for her to come back to the window and she did. “Look, you can’t mention this to anyone here, and we need to handle it before George gets back from his big promotion or whatever.”

      “The bus station sells train tickets?”

      She shook her head. “No, but we have access to information and ticketing about flights and trains in case of emergencies. Normally I wouldn’t even mention it, but since you need to leave today and can’t get out on a bus...”

      “I didn’t even know there were trains around here.”

      “Yeah, this one is a little weird. It’s actually a freight train, but it has one passenger car. Sells up to twelve seats that can recline for sleeping. It’s no frills...you have to bring food or grab some at the scheduled stops. One shared bathroom. But it’s not too bad. My cousin took it a couple months ago—she’s afraid of flying—and enjoyed it. Goes from here to Saint Louis. Takes four days.”

      A train. Natalie had never even thought of that possibility.

      “What would I need to get a ticket?”

      “Just cash or a credit card, just like a bus ticket.” Lily quoted the price, which wasn’t much more than a bus. “It only runs on Wednesdays, so you’re pretty lucky. But if you’re really trying to get out of here today, it sounds like it’s your best bet. As long as you don’t mind not having many people to talk to.”

      “Actually, that sounds kind of perfect. I just need some time to myself.”

      Lily grinned. “Every woman does at one time or another, sweetie.”

      Within five minutes Lily had printed her a ticket and given her directions to the train station. Natalie had to walk quickly to grab a sandwich and snacks at the grocery store and make it to the south side of town in time for departure. She was pretty nervous when she arrived at the train yard, hoping she hadn’t made a huge mistake. But an employee pointed her in the right direction and a few minutes later she was climbing into the passenger car with just five minutes to spare.

      She could barely believe her luck. It was perfect. Wide seats in groups of four—two each facing each other—with a table in the middle. They would be much more comfortable than the cramped constraints of a bus. Plus large windows where she’d be able to see as they crossed the country. There were three groups of seats, and Natalie’s ticket was for one of the empty groups. Even better. Maybe no one else would get on.

      There were only three other passengers. Across the aisle was an older woman reading a book and a younger man in a hoodie with headphones on sitting across from her. Natalie shifted so she could see the seats behind her.

      Her breath caught in her throat at the man sitting in the seat. He looked up from the papers and computer on the table in front of him to glance out the window as a whistle blew, giving Natalie a view of his carved jaw and strong chin. His brown hair was thick and full, a little messy like he’d been running his fingers through it.

      She knew she was staring but couldn’t quite help herself. There was a ruggedness about his face that drew her. He looked away from the window, catching her ogling, his green eyes pinning hers. Before she could look away with embarrassment, he nodded slightly, then resumed the reading of his papers.

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