Beth’s mind raced. This was insane — marrying a stranger she’d met twenty minutes ago, moving to an isolated ranch with two children who didn’t know her, entering a legal bond with a man who’d just admitted he couldn’t love her. But what choice did she have? Six days until the next train. Seventeen cents. Nowhere to go. Nobody who wanted her.
If I agreed, she said slowly, what would you expect? Honest work. Help with the house and children. Respect. He…