Read Indiana Goes West (Mail Order Brides of Pioneer Town, Book 1) Online
Authors: Ruth Hartzler
Tags: #christian, #grace, #indiana, #westerns, #mail order bride, #genre fiction, #frontier and pioneer, #christian westerns
Indiana Goes West (Mail Order Brides of Pioneer Town, Book 1)
Indiana Goes West
(Mail Order Brides of Pioneer Town, Book
1)
Copyright © 2015 Ruth Hartzler
All Rights Reserved
Smashwords Edition
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* * *
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to
any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The personal
names have been invented by the author, and any likeness to the
name of any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
This book may contain references to specific
commercial products, process or service by trade name, trademark,
manufacturer, or otherwise, specific brand-name products and/or
trade names of products, which are trademarks or registered
trademarks and/or trade names, and these are property of their
respective owners. Ruth Hartzler or her associates, have no
association with any specific commercial products, process, or
service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise,
specific brand-name products and / or trade names of products.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
The ground was still shaking, and Indiana
couldn’t believe it. It felt as if the earthquake had been
stretching on for hours, although it had likely only been minutes.
She was outside, atop a massive hill, buildings on either side of
her. She had rushed out into the street when the ground had begun
shaking. She wasn’t the only one with that idea.
Indiana looked down the hill to see people
running from their homes. Some appeared to be yelling, but Indiana
could not make out what they were saying. It was hard to hear
anything other than the sound of falling buildings. Indiana had
never imagined that damage had a sound, but now she heard it as
buildings crumbled and even exploded. It was as if a war had broken
out all around her.
Just then, Indiana heard a loud and terrified
neighing coming from behind her. The young woman turned just in
time to see a great black stallion bearing down on her, the
carriage still attached to him. The carriage was rocking back and
forth, two of its four wheels rising into the air before it would
rock back the other way and then slam onto the hard dirt of the
road.
Indiana jumped out of the way, and the horse
and carriage went thundering past her. The horse’s eyes were wide
as he struggled to gain purchase on the road, but he finally
galloped madly in the direction of safety. Indiana hit the ground
hard on her stomach, but rolled to her side out of harm’s way.
Up the street there was a raging explosion.
Indiana snapped her head around at the sound. The side of a
building blew outward, the chunks of plaster illuminated by orange
flames. She climbed to her feet, but soon she was on the ground
again, knocked down by a large man in black boots and with a wide
brimmed hat.
“Hey!” Indiana said, but the man didn’t stop.
She tried to stand again, but there was a swarm of people around
her, as strong as a raging river. Every time she was almost up, she
was down again. Feet slammed into her side, stepped on her hands.
One woman stepped right on her, scrambling over her. Indiana knew
she had to get off the street, or at least out of the center of it.
The ground was still shaking, and everyone was rushing down the
hill to the sea, trying to get out of the still crumbling city.
Indiana began to move on her hands and knees,
crawling around the crowd of legs and feet. She reached the side of
the road, and pressed herself against a building there, trying to
protect her head.
When the crowd thinned somewhat, Indiana
stood, bracing herself against the building. She was bruised, and
her head was pounding, a sharp pain that she didn’t think would
ever subside. She took one tentative step away from the wall just
as the ground shook more violently, and the alcove above her
crumbled.
Indiana ran. She was shaky on her feet, her
vision blurring, the pain in her head making her want to do nothing
but lie down and go to sleep. Of course, she realized that wasn’t
an option.
Finally, the shaking eased a little, and
Indiana found herself halfway down the large hill.
Most of the smoke came from a building that
was half in flames. The fire was red and hot and licked up along
the side of the wood. The heat was intense.
Indiana took a deep breath, but inhaled
smoke, thick and gray, and dirty looking. She coughed, closed her
eyes and then opened them, trying to wipe away the blurred
vision.
“Come with us,” some passing people called to
Indiana, but she shook her head.
“I have to find someone,” she said. And it
was true. Even amidst all the excitement and danger, Indiana had
been thinking of just one person. She had to find Morgan. She had
to make sure he was all right. If he had been killed, as she was
sure countless others had been, she didn’t know what she was going
to do. The thought of him lying dead somewhere was almost too much
to bear. She stood in the street, wondering where he could be.
After an interval, she hurried down the street. All around her, the
city burned.
Chapter 2
Weeks earlier
Indiana rubbed the dust from the shutters out
of her eyes. “I’m sure Mother just wanted us out of the way while
she organizes her dinner with Mr. Walton. Now stand still! Your
shawl’s covered in dust.”
Montana fidgeted while Indiana dusted her
down. “I hope you’re right,” she muttered between coughs.
The sisters were on their way home to their
mansion on Nob Hill. When they reached the bank corner, Indiana saw
an elderly man sitting on the pavement. The man stood at their
approach, and asked Indiana for money. Indiana at once obliged. The
elderly man thanked her profusely and hurried away.
Montana gasped in shock. “Indiana, what have
you done?”
Indiana at once tried to reassure her younger
sister. “Don’t worry about it.” A breeze stirred and lifted a
little pile of dust. Indiana, distracted for a moment, watched as
it eddied upward, and then was suddenly uneasy, as her gaze led her
to a man standing under an awning. He was well dressed and very
handsome, and what’s more, he was staring straight at her. “Who’s
that man, Montana? I haven’t seen him around here before.”
Montana looked around. “What man? Where?”
“Shush.” Indiana looked again, intending to
nod covertly in the man’s direction, but the man wasn’t there.
“Never mind. Perhaps I imagined him.”
Montana giggled. “Imagining men isn’t good.
Speaking of men, I hope Mr. Morgan Chase comes to dinner this
evening.”
“Morgan Chase?” Indiana slowed her pace.
Montana took Indiana by the arm and swung her
to face her, while at the same time waving away the disappointed
store keeper who had approached them. “Haven’t you listened to a
word I’ve said?” she said in lowered tones. “Take my advice and bat
your eyelids at Morgan, or Mother will have you married off to that
horrible Mr. Hollway before you know it.”
Indiana groaned. Mr. Cade Hollway, a wealthy
rancher from Texas, had put an advertisement in the San Francisco
edition of the
Matrimonial News
. Much to Indiana’s horror,
her mother had responded to the ad, offering Indiana as a wife to
Cade. Indiana, however, had not known anything of the matter until
her mother had made the arrangements. Indiana had flatly refused to
board the train for Texas, and so her mother had invited Cade to
come to San Francisco to fetch Indiana.
Mr. Cade Hollway had a rough manner, and was
possessed of no social niceties. He was at least twenty years older
than she was, she figured, and she could already tell that he had a
temper. There was not one redeeming point about the unpleasant Mr.
Hollway, no matter which way Indiana looked at it. She figured that
her mother liked him simply as he was wealthy.
Indiana stomped her foot. “Father wouldn’t
have made me marry!”
“Father’s not here, is he?” Montana, as
always, was straight to the point. “Mother can do whatever she
likes. Of course, the only reason Mother’s looking for husbands for
us is because Father died. We don’t have any brothers, so Father’s
whole inheritance has gone to our male cousins. That’s why we’re in
this mess. If you want to marry for love, you’ll better hurry and
find someone before you go back with Mr. Hollway to his ranch.”
Indiana made to protest, but then pondered
Montana’s words. It weighed heavily on her heart that her mother
was pressuring her to marry Cade Hollway. What if she could find a
man she was attracted to? Then her marriage problems would be
solved, and she would be rid of the terrible Cade once and for all.
“I’d have to act quickly,” Indiana said to herself, but aloud.
Montana was clearly puzzled. “What are you
talking about, Indiana?”
Indiana ignored the question, as another
thought occurred to her. “If this Mr. Morgan Chase is so good, why
don’t you want him for yourself?”
“I have my reasons.” Montana shrugged her
shoulders, and then added, “He’s good looking, tall, and of course,
Father’s old friend Charles Walton is his uncle.”
Indiana smiled to herself. “Aha! You don’t
want Mr. Chase because you have a crush on someone else! Who is
it?”
Montana’s face showed her exasperation. “Oh,
stop jumping to conclusions, Indiana. Mr. Chase is very wealthy,
and he owns a lot of land in Wyoming. Besides, who would you rather
have, him or Mr. Hollway?”
Indiana gave a little shudder of distaste.
“Since you put it that way, but there must be something wrong with
him.” Ignoring Montana’s annoyed look, Indiana continued, “And even
if there isn’t, he might not be attracted to me.”
Montana dismissed the remark with a wave of
her hand. “Men are always attracted to you, Indiana.”
* * *
Mr. Morgan Chase stood in the shade, watching
the beautiful lady give money to the beggar.
What’s more, she
appeared to give without any hesitation
, he thought.
Perhaps
San Francisco isn’t such a bad place after all, if at least one
wealthy person here is so generous to the poor.
Morgan walked on.
That young lady is the
only generous person I’ve seen since my arrival,
he thought.
She’s not only
g
enerous, she’s beautiful
.
Chapter 3
Indiana’s youngest sister, Leah, met Indiana
and Montana at the entrance to their house, a lavish mansion on Nob
Hill.
“Mother’s in an unpleasant mood,” Leah
whispered in warning.
The sound of shouting emanated from the
sumptuous reception room. “I’m not paying that amount. This is
extortion!”
Three men hurried out of the house, their
faces red. They were followed by the sisters’ mother, Mrs. Deborah
White. Her face was likewise red. She turned to face the sisters.
“Can you believe that? The plastering work they did on the cellar
cracked in the latest tremor, and now they want to charge an even
larger sum than last time to repair it. No one can afford those
prices! Well, your cousins will have to pay for it. The house is no
longer my responsibility.” Deborah snorted in a most unladylike
fashion. “Indiana, where’s my crystal decanter?”
Indiana’s voice trembled, despite her earlier
daring. “The store is closed today, but I can send a maid to get
the decanter tomorrow.”
