Indiana Goes West (Mail Order Brides of Pioneer Town, Book 1) Read Free Page B

envelope on her
raised knee as she waited. After five or so minutes, Wyatt stood
and opened the door, and Indiana got her first good look at the
other man.
    It was Mr. Morgan Chase, the man she had met
at dinner. He was as attractive and handsome as ever, his jaw still
impressive and square, his eyes still kind. He shook hands with the
banker once more, and then he turned and his eyes fell on
Indiana.
    “Miss White,” he said, smiling broadly and
nodding his head. He held a wide brimmed hat, the sort that cowboys
wore.
    “Mr. Chase,” Indiana said, standing quickly
and hurrying forward. She remembered herself just short of leaping
into the young man’s arms, and she stopped in front of him.
    “How are you?” he asked.
    “I am well, thank you, sir,” she replied,
though now that she was looking into his green eyes, she was more
than fine.
    “You have some business, Miss Indiana?” Wyatt
Greenfield interrupted, and for the first time in her life Indiana
was somewhat irritated by him. Not really of course, but she did
not want to stop looking at Mr. Chase.
    She turned to look at the banker. “Yes, my
mother wanted me to give you this,” she said, holding out the
envelope. She had no idea of the contents.
    “Come in then, please, Miss Indiana, and have
a cup of coffee with me. I need some this morning. I must confess
to oversleeping!”
    Indiana smiled at Wyatt. Of course, she would
rather speak with Mr. Chase, but she had no option. She turned to
him. “Mr. Chase, It’s a pleasure to see you again.”
    “Agreed, Miss Indiana,” Morgan said, teasing
her just ever so slightly. “I do hope I might see you again
soon.”
    Indiana blushed, but Morgan turned and headed
for the bank entrance. She stepped into Wyatt’s office.
    “I’ll get that coffee,” he said, hurrying out
of his office. She waited only for a few minutes. Soon Wyatt was
back, shutting the office door with his hip and setting a steaming
cup of black coffee on his desk in front of Indiana. He moved
around the desk with his own cup, and sat in his well worn
chair.
    He reached to the side for a nearby platter
of sugar and cream, and then set it on the desk between himself and
Indiana. She poured cream into her coffee, stirring it with a
silver spoon, her eyes watching the white cream mix with the dark
liquid, like clouds rolling across the night sky.
    Wyatt fixed his own cup with plenty of sugar
and took a sip. “Now,” Mr. Greenfield said. “How is your dear
mother?”
    “She is fine, thank you,” Indiana lied. Her
mother, of course, was far from fine. As she had not produced sons,
the family’s fortune had been passed to another family of three
boys. They were Indiana’s cousins, and she liked them well enough,
but not enough that she would be forced to marry an unsuitable man
just because he was wealthy.
    “And how is your lovely sister, Montana?” the
banker asked with a twinkle in his eye.
    “She is well as ever, thank you,” Indiana
said, noting how Wyatt’s face lit up at the mention of her
sister.
    Wyatt sipped his coffee. “And you? Everyone
always weeps for the widow, but we mustn’t forget he was your
father.”
    Indiana took a moment to think. It was true.
Most callers to the mansion had been so concerned with her mother,
that hardly anyone had spoken to her or her sisters. Leave it to
the kindly banker to set that right. Indiana found the truth and
spoke it. “I’m sad, but I feel all right. I would have liked more
years with my father. He was a great man, but life doesn’t always
go by our wishes, rather by God’s.”
    “Wise beyond your years,” Wyatt Greenfield
said with a smile. “I’ve always said that about you, Miss Indiana.
And you are acquainted with Mr. Chase?”
    “Yes, he came to dinner recently. His uncle
was a close friend of my father’s.”
    “He appears to be a most seemly gentleman,
does he not?” he said slyly.
    Indiana could not help but smile. “I fear as
though you want me to confess my