McKenna, (Sweet Western Historical Romance) (Nevada Brides Series Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

last beau, the banker, Jake.
    “I suppose I should think about this overnight, but unless we all want to have our grandfather set us up with crotchety old men, I think this proposal is looking better all the time.”
    “I thought you said our grandfather told you he wouldn’t help us?” Penelope asked.
    “He suggested we all get married, remember? I mentioned this before.”
    Cadence sat in the corner as always. She was quite shy, and their parents’ passing had taken its toll on her in particular. She was quite close with Mother, while McKenna was closer to Father, but McKenna had no choice other than to keep things going at the store. Well, when they’d had a store.
    “What do you think, Cadence?”
    “What are you asking me for? It seems like you’ve already made up your mind. First Mother and Father are gone, and now you’re leaving, too,” Cadence cried as she jumped up and ran from the room.
    Abigail stopped McKenna from going after her sister. “Leave her alone. She’ll be fine,” Abigail said. “I’ll handle Cadence if you decide to leave, but it will be hard on her.”
    “It will be hard on all of us,” Penelope corrected. “But Abigail is quite capable of handling things here, until you send for us, which I really hope you do at some point. I think Nevada sounds exciting, a wild frontier ready to be explored. How will you get there, horseback?”
    McKenna fingered her satin gown. “I surely hope not.”
    “I bet not, sister,” Abigail said. “I can’t imagine you being anywhere dusty or dirty. It’s just not who you are.”
    “I-I know, but I’ll just have to get used to it is all.”
    “And hot. It will insufferably hot there,” Kayla remarked.
    “I’ll be sure to pack only my lighter dresses. If I go, I mean.”
    “And Father’s pistol,” Abigail said. “I insist you take it.”
    “But I don’t know how to shoot.”
    “You mean Father never taught you?” Abigail asked with raised brow. “Now that I find hard to believe, but I’m sure Cole would be happy to show you. Or perhaps not, if he worries you might just shoot him.”
    “From what I know of the man already, I hardly think I need to do that. Unless he decides not to live up to his end of the bargain and keep the marriage in name only, like he told me.”
    “So, you’re actually going to do it, McKenna?” Kayla asked. “Marry this stranger and go out west with him?”
    “I’m not sure just yet. I told you I was thinking about it still.”
    “Don’t press, McKenna. This is something that should be thought about long and hard, perhaps over a cup of tea. I just got the most wonderful blend yesterday from Betty Nash. She told me she received a shipment from India,” Abigail said.
    “India?” McKenna asked. “I had no idea the Nashes were that cultured.” This assumption was due to the fact that the Nashes didn’t dress according to their station in life. Why, people who didn’t know them might think they were very much part of the working class. They were always so friendly and lived right next door. She’d have to ask them to look after her sisters when she was gone, if she decided to go. Oh, who was McKenna fooling; she was so ready for an adventure, no matter where it took her. She wouldn’t allow herself to think about Cole any more than a means to her end. As a married woman, she’d have more freedom than an unmarried one did. Even though he was appealing to her, McKenna simply wouldn’t entertain the thought that she could fall in love with him. No, love certainly wasn’t part of this. It was a business arrangement and that was all.
    McKenna excused herself. Upstairs, Cadence rushed forward with a rustling of her satiny dress, giving her a quick hug before going back to her room. She didn’t know if that was a sign of her acceptance about her leaving, or her sorrow at losing another member of her family. She was hard to judge, and McKenna leaving would be difficult for her.
     

 
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