Indiana Goes West (Mail Order Brides of Pioneer Town, Book 1) (5 page)

Indiana’s attention was forced away from
Misty when Morgan placed a basket in front of her. Morgan kneeled
down next to Indiana and uncovered the basket. “I’ve brought
cheese, bread, and pastries.” He smiled sweetly at Indiana. “It was
such a good idea for Uncle Charles to suggest we all go on a
picnic. I am so glad your lovely mother gave permission for you and
your sisters to attend.”

Indiana smiled back and desperately tried to
stop her heart thumping. A butterfly landed on Morgan’s arm and
Indiana focused her attention on the beautiful blue and brown
insect. She wondered why her mother had indeed agreed. Could there
be hope that her mother saw Morgan as a more suitable suitor than
Mr. Hollway? That seemed too good to be true. Sure, her mother had
mentioned it once, but had not again, and Indiana scarcely dared
broach the subject.

Indiana was shocked back to reality by her
sister Leah’s scream. She looked up to see Leah in the distance
pointing to the ground but Morgan was still kneeling beside her.
How embarrassing! He must think I’m an idiot, going off into my
own world like that.
Still, there was no time for further
thought, as Morgan took Indiana’s hand to help her up.

His touch was more like a caress, and Indiana
nearly snatched her hand away with surprise at her reaction to his
touch. Stirring tingles coursed through her entire body from the
top of her head right down to her toes. Morgan kept holding her arm
until they reached Leah.

Leah was pointing to cracks in the ground in
the grass between the trees. “Look at all those cracks,” she said
with some distress. “I’ve never seen cracks here before.”

Montana, Misty, and Mr. Mills came over. Mr.
Mills pointed to some plants at the edge of the nearest crack.
“Look, all those plants are dead.”

Indiana looked at the plants which usually
had deep green leaves and pretty white flowers. They looked as if
someone had left them in a fireplace.

“They’re newly dead, too,” Leah said.
“They’re green at the bottom, and only the ends are dead.”

Morgan took Indiana’s arm once again. “I
don’t think we should stand so close to these cracks.”

At Morgan’s suggestion, everyone moved back a
fair distance.

While they were watching, steam suddenly
burst through the cracks, causing everyone to jump. Mr. Mills
started forward, but Morgan restrained him. “I don’t think we
should go close, Cody. We should all stay back. Let’s head back to
our picnic spot and have lunch.”

“Mr. Mills and I were going to collect
wildflowers near the fountain next to the plum trees,” Misty
said.

Morgan put his hands on his hips. “Mind you
keep away from the cracks, and watch out for more cracks, too. I’m
sure they’re not safe.”

Indiana admired the way Morgan had taken
charge. She was looking at him with admiration when he turned
around and caught her gaze. Indiana lowered her eyes and looked at
the ground.

Morgan, Indiana, and her sisters, Montana and
Leah, returned to the place they had chosen to have lunch, and they
all sat on the soft grass. The air was sweetly scented with
blossoms. Morgan handed a plate to each person in turn.

Indiana felt almost guilty at her enjoyment.
She cast a quick glance at her sisters, but they were deep in
conversation, and both had their backs to Indiana and Morgan.
They’re pretending to look out to sea,
Indiana thought.
It’s obvious to me that they’re trying to give Morgan and me
some time alone, but I hope it’s not just as obvious to
Morgan
.

After Indiana had consumed a plate of food,
she noticed that her sisters had gone.

“Where are Montana and Leah?”

“They’ve just walked over there.” Morgan
gestured to the sisters who had moved further away and were still
looking off to sea, their backs still firmly turned.

“I had better go and fetch them.”

Morgan stood up. “They’ll come back when
they’re hungry for pastries,” he said.

Indiana stood up, too abruptly for the heat
of the day, and was momentarily overcome with dizziness. She
swayed, and Morgan caught her around the waist to steady her.

The sun was shining around them, and the air
was heavy with sweet floral scents. Morgan still had his hands on
her waist and he pulled her toward him. Their eyes met and locked.
Neither could look away—they were trapped in each other’s gaze.

The sound of running caused the pair to break
apart, just before Misty and Cody Mills burst into view. Indiana at
once realized that Misty suspected that the two of them had kissed,
judging by the expression on Misty’s face, but she didn’t care. She
was too elated to have confirmation of Morgan’s feelings for
her.

“The fountain’s dry!” Cody exclaimed.

Indiana at once was overcome with a feeling
of utmost dread.

* * *

Morgan was on cloud nine. It seemed to him in
his heightened romantic state that flowers and butterflies
surrounded Indiana as he approached her. He wondered if she had
fallen in love with him as certainly as he had fallen in love with
her.

When he came to her upon the soft grass, he
kneeled down beside her, opening the picnic basket full of culinary
delights. He had tried to concentrate on the contents of the
basket, but could not keep his thoughts from her milky white skin,
flushed by the golden light of the grove. She seemed to him bathed
in the colors of honey and milk.

He finally touched her soft face, flushed
with the bright heat of the day. He delighted when he saw her love
for him reflected in her eyes.

How could he resist kissing her any longer?
Her lips were giving and bountiful, and looked like the richest of
ripe plums. Oh, how he wished he could be married to her.

Morgan was, however, at the same time
concerned by the strange tremors, and the cracks that had newly
formed in the ground. What could this mean? Was some strange
catastrophe about to descend and shatter his newfound
happiness?

Chapter 10

After another long, arduous day, Indiana
found herself sitting between her sisters in the palatial dining
area of the Palace Hotel known as the Tapestry Room. The private
dinner party was likely reaching its end, but Indiana would not let
that stop her enjoying the fun while it continued. Although her
mind was currently preoccupied with thoughts of her future and
where she might be living in just a matter of weeks, the chance to
put those fears aside for one more night of freedom was too much to
pass up.

The conversation around the table was
animated and light-hearted, even though she was only really
somewhat there in her mind. “Indiana!” her mother said again, her
eyes burning fiercely.

“I’m sorry,” she said, snapping out of her
moment of contemplation. “I was just admiring the beauty of this
room. It’s so fascinating. I love the lamps especially.” Indiana
nodded at the fixtures that hung from the walls as she spoke, her
smile only fading during the moments when she had consciously
forgotten to maintain it.

“I do believe Mr. Walton is asking you a
question,” Deborah said, grimacing as she folded her arms.

“My apologies, Mr. Walton,” Indiana said,
hoping that Charles would not be offended by her moment of
abstraction.

“Oh, it isn’t a bother at all, my dear. I was
just asking your mother if any of you have ever traveled west,”
Charles said, his smile showing no signs of ire or dismay. “I
realize that you can’t get any further west than San Francisco,” he
added with a chuckle, “but I mean ranch land, such as Wyoming.”

Indiana breathed a deep sigh of relief,
watching her mother carefully. “Unfortunately, I cannot say that I
have. Not around parts like where you’re from, at least,” she
said.

Charles took a second look. “Really? Well,
then that is a complete shame. San Francisco has been very lovely
every time I’ve had the pleasure to do business here, but back in
Wyoming is where I feel at home. Then again, I don’t deal with the
gritty ranch life like my nephew does,” he said with a chuckle,
earning a sharp glance from Morgan.

“Uncle, I fear you embellish a little too
much sometimes,” Morgan said, glancing at Indiana with a smile that
could only be meant for her. “I merely run the business and enjoy
the lifestyle. The ranch hands do all the hard work.”

Charles Walton shrugged. “Perhaps, but you’ve
been on some of the cattle drives and such, have you not?”

“Every rancher must learn the trade, but I do
not think details of such things are of any interest to these fine
ladies,” Morgan said, bowing his head as he looked over the table
at each of them.

“You might be pleasantly surprised,” Deborah
said, her voice loud and authoritative as it tended to be in
crucial times. “All my daughters wish to travel and see the world
one day. Am I not right?” Without so much as a hint of hesitation,
all three women nodded in unison. “See? I am sure they would all
desire to hear all about life on a ranch. Am I mistaken?”

Again, all three of girls responded
simultaneously. “You are not mistaken, Mother.”

“Good,” Deborah replied, letting out a deep
sigh of gratification. She then turned to Morgan and flashed a
broad smile. “Please, feel free to tell us all about your ranch. I
am sure the country is breathtaking! I don’t know about my
daughters, but I myself am more than ready for a change of scenery.
We hardly know what life is like outside of Nob Hill.”

“Well, it is certainly a change of pace
compared to life out here,” Morgan said. “Take this hotel for
example. Could you imagine an establishment like this back in
Pioneer Town?”

“Well, we do have our share of fine hotels
and businesses,” Charles said, “but Wyoming is a calm, serene type
of place to live. People come to San Francisco for the glitz and
glamour, but that doesn’t mean those things don’t exist in other
places just because they aren’t as well known.”

Morgan nodded. “Yes, you’re right, Uncle, but
I meant that we’re accustomed to a much different way of living
than here. It is a life that I would never want to pass up, but I
do hope to share it one day, if I were to be so lucky.”

“I am sure you will find a beautiful lady who
is well suited for you,” Deborah said, as her gaze suddenly fixed
on Indiana.

Indiana glanced back at her mother but didn’t
respond.
What’s all that about?
she thought.

“Alas, I’ve been trying to find him a
suitable match for quite some time, but he always refuses to
entertain the notion,” Charles said.

“Uncle!” Morgan said, “may we please return
to a more appropriate topic?”

Before Charles could speak, a server
approached the table, pulling his attention away from what he was
trying to say. The man held a large platter of drinks atop his
hand, balancing it steadily. “I hope I’m not interrupting, sir. I
was waiting for you to finish before I disturbed the
conversation.”

“No, thank you,” Deborah said, her gaze not
nearly as friendly toward the man as Charles’s was. “We are in the
midst of a private conversation.”

Indiana almost felt bad for the server, but
he seemed to be well-equipped to handle the attitudes of high
society. Before she knew it, he was gone, and several new glasses
of sparkling liquid lined the table’s surface.

“Morgan, I believe you were about to tell us
all about the ranch and your home before we were interrupted such,”
her mother said crossly.

“Yes, of course, Mrs. White. For starters,
the weather is a bit more temperate than it is here. During summer,
the nights cool off rapidly.”

“That sounds fascinating,” Leah said. “We’re
so accustomed to the heat that we get here most of the year.”

“Not all of Wyoming is like that, though,”
Cody Mills said, adding his take on the topic. “We have quite a few
mountain ranges and plains located throughout the state, so
depending on where you visit, it could be fairly cold even during
the warmest times of year. That’s partly why the population is so
low, I’m sure.”

“Yes, but that’s what makes what you
gentlemen do so profitable right now,” Charles said.

How interesting
, Indiana thought,
having never really wondered about what life might be like in
another part of the country. Even though her marriage agreement to
Cade Hollway was all but set in stone, she had not given any
thought to how life would be on his ranch in Texas. Her focus had
instead been centered on the man with whom she would have to share
it.

“Getting back to how things would be on my
ranch,” Morgan said, “we have lots of land, acres and acres.
There’s a beautiful creek down by the house, but it’s mostly just a
nice, peaceful spot where I go to think when the day’s been too
long.”

“That sounds absolutely stunning,” Montana
said, gasping. “Do you have a rose garden? I’ve always wanted to
start my own, but Mother says playing in the dirt is for servants
and peasants.”

“Actually, a rose garden is something that we
don’t have. I suppose you could attribute that to my lack of a
woman’s input,” Morgan said, his voice vibrating with laughter.
“But there is a field of wildflowers about half a mile from the
creek I was just talking about. Sometimes the cattle graze out
there, creating the most beautiful setting you will ever see when
the sun sets behind them,” he added.

In her mind, Indiana was painting the picture
exactly as he described it. She could see the orange hues of the
sun overtaking the pale blues of the evening sky. While cattle were
never of course seen in Nob Hill, the gentle beasts looked like
close friends of hers as they grazed in the grassy knoll of her
thoughts.

“How remarkable that sounds. Please, tell me
again why all the people run off to Texas instead of Wyoming,”
Deborah said.