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thoughts of finding Jacque and Jean and finishing what Lindsay had started. Outwardly,
she did her best to maintain a detached air. To her heart, and most especially her body,
the simple chore amounted to delicious torture. She was especially careful with Lindsay's
ribs, frowning at the bruise and knowing how badly it must hurt.
Lindsay closed her eyes at Ginny's ministrations.They felt wonderful, making her feel not
just well cared for, but cherished.She sighed. If I didn't feel like crap I'd never be able to
keep from moaning at how fabulous her hands feel on me. Ginny gently dragged the towel
down her back, lifting her hair and giving it a good squeeze before drying her neck. The
towel moved lower, caressing the skin on her bottom before reaching her thighs.
Lindsay moaned.Okay, I was wrong.
Ginny grinned to herself at the sound.When she was finished, she drained the tub and
tossed the towel and sheet from their bed into a laundry hamper, grabbing a fresh sheet
for Lindsay to wrap up in.
"Thank you, Ginny."
"You're welcome.C'mon, let's get your hand taken care of and you in bed.You've got two
days to rest up before we're catching a train out West. That's the next time we can
duplicate the stops the orphan train made without losing too many days."She and
Christian had spent the latter part of the afternoon on his phone with the station master,
mapping out a schedule.
"Wonderful.IÉ umÉI probably shouldn't hang around Queens or the entire State of New
York for a while."She couldn't be sure that the police weren't looking for her.
"Mmm...probably not."Ginny couldn't help but smirk."And now it looks like we'll have
money for two tickets."
"What? Tickets?" Lindsay exploded.She reached up to touch her split lip, which was
stinging from her sudden outburst."Ouch."She tasted blood.
Ginny waggled her finger at Lindsay."Don't yell."
Lindsay made a face.
Ginny sighed."Or pout.Not that you can pout." She crossed her arms over her chest."We're
buying two tickets and sitting with the other passengers.You are not jumping on and off
trains."
"But-"
Ginny's glare silenced her.Lindsay gulped. "Fine."She wanted to say more, but she didn't
dare.She did, however, roll her eyes in a last, rather pitiful show of defiance. If the guys at
the tracks heard about this she'd never live it down.
"Let's go.Here," Ginny wrapped her arm around Lindsay's for balance."Yeah, that's it.Lean
on me."
And so she did.
Chapter Nine
"Well, here we are." Christian gave a tug on the reins, and the buggy carrying him, Ginny,
and Lindsay rolled to a stop. Dozens of wagons were packed in around the station,
crowding the street. Horses' hooves stamped, splashing in the icy mud as the beasts
snorted in the cool, smoky morning. Several teams were clearly agitated by the throngs
of New Yorkers determinedly pushing their way to and from the platform. Steam engines
arriving and departing hissed loudly and their wheels screeched. Conductors, who
controlled the crowds with whistles and booming voices, shouted out various train
numbers and destinations, but even their voices were drowned out by the long wail of
train whistles that sounded off regularly.
It was deafening.
Ginny grabbed their bag and allowed Christian to help her out of the buggy. The young
woman was wearing men's clothing and a new cap they'd purchased the day before, the
kind the paperboys wore. "Thank you," she said in a raised voice so that Christian could
hear her.
He just smiled and offered his hand to Lindsay. When it became clear she couldn't take it,
he moved forward and put his hands on her waist, helping absorb some of the shock as
her feet hit the wooden boards that had been placed over the sidewalks so that people
wouldn't have to wade through the deep mud. Two days of above freezing temperatures
and the streets looked more like pigsties than roads. The stench of horse dung and mud
filled the air.
"Thanks, Christian," Lindsay told him sincerely, a little embarrassed that she'd needed his
help. Her ribs protested her every move but her fingers and the crookedly sewn cut on
her knuckles had already begun to slowly heal. Her lip was no longer swollen and the cut
had scabbed over, though the skin around it was still tender.
The trio stood awkwardly. They had become good friends in a short amount of time and
this was good-bye. "Christian," Ginny began, not knowing quite what to say. "I can't ever
repay your kindness. From the bottom of my heart, thank you."
Christian flushed with pleasure. "You're welcome."
Feeling uncomfortable, Lindsay clasped Christian's shoulder and offered her own thank
you before pushing her way up onto the platform and heading towards the ticket office. In
her pocket was a list of the cities they needed to stop in.
Christian blinked, watching Lindsay hurry away. "Well, I didn't expect that."
Ginny sighed a little as Lindsay disappeared. "I don't think she's had a lot of friends,
Christian. She doesn't know what to do."
"Ahh& " He wrapped his arm around Ginny's shoulder and led her to the corner of the
station where they could talk without having to constantly move aside for passersby.
"Saying goodbye is always hard, especially when you know you won't be seeing the people
again."
A tiny crease appeared on Ginny's forehead. "You don't know that."
"Don't I? There's nothing here calling you back. I should imagine the lures of the West
will capture both your fancies." His gaze drifted back to where Lindsay had been
swallowed up by the crowd.
Ginny gave him a fond, somewhat sympathetic look. "She's easy to care for, isn't she?"
He shrugged one shoulder, acknowledging a simple truth. "You both are."
Before Ginny could answer Lindsay reappeared with two tickets. She looked a little lost,
which for some reason Ginny found endearing. Here was a person who'd spent most of
her life in boxcars and around train stations and who'd never ridden with the other
ticketed passengers, even once. This was going to be an adventure.
Lindsay extended her hand to Christian and the man took it in his but didn't squeeze.
"Be safe, String Bean."
Lindsay nodded. "You too." Then, on a whim, she leaned forward and pressed her lips
gently to his ear. "What you're doing with the children is more important than you know.
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