The Pony Express Romance Collection by Blakey Barbara Tifft; Davis Mary; Franklin Darlene

Author:Blakey, Barbara Tifft; Davis, Mary; Franklin, Darlene [Blakey, Barbara Tifft; Davis, Mary; Franklin, Darlene; Hickey, Cynthia; Lee, Debby; Lang, Maureen; Schlachter, Donna; Stevens, Connie; Thomas, Pegg]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 4822926
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2017-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Adora counted the money she kept hidden in the small box in her bureau drawer. In the two years prior to leaving home, she’d saved money from birthdays and holiday gifts from her grandmother, even sold a favorite gold bracelet. But the two-hundred-dollar fare to reach San Francisco had put a huge dent in her funds from the start. Not to mention purchasing meals along the three-week journey.

Without the teaching position that would have provided not only a modest salary but also free room and board, even Adora’s frugality hadn’t allowed her to save much. Roseleen allowed free rent because of Adora’s work in the kitchen but paid so little above it that Adora had been able to set aside only twenty dollars in the entire six months since her arrival.

In total, she possessed not even a third of what she would need to go home. At the rate she was able to save, it would be a year before she would have the money she needed.

Echoes of Dirk’s offer to pay her fare replayed in her mind. How tempting it was to accept! But she reminded herself that to receive such a gift would seal their future together. Was she really ready to do such a thing? Dirk was fine in so many ways—good-looking, polite, and obviously generous. She certainly enjoyed his company. Yet there was something that held her back, some unnamed hesitation to jump ahead with marriage.

An image of Mr. Nolan came to mind, proving she was certainly attracted to the man. Was she incapable of falling in love with just one man, with a kind of love that would last forever, and forsake all others? If she’d met him before Dirk, perhaps she’d have fallen in love with him. Hadn’t Mr. Nolan proved himself worthy of any woman’s attention with the noble way he’d handled his brother’s misfortune? Traveling across the country to fulfill one’s own promise was one thing, but to do so on behalf of another spoke to his true, obviously chivalrous, character.

Adora shook her thoughts loose. She’d had reservations about marrying Dirk before meeting Mr. Nolan. Sometimes men weren’t all they presented themselves to be. She had only to think of Mr. Glassbrook—on a school board no less—to know sometimes appearances weren’t authentic.

Besides, she may not have promised to marry Dirk, but they certainly had an understanding. He was the only gentleman she’d allowed to come calling, which had surely led him to believe she thought more highly of him than any other. That demanded an amount of loyalty, even if she and Dirk had spent the last two days—Monday and Tuesday evenings—seeing some of San Francisco with Mr. Nolan.

She’d enjoyed their company despite fears left over from the school board fiasco. Adora had almost expected Mr. Glassbrook or his wife to leap out with a wagging finger and shout: “Courting two men! She’s unfit to be an example to the precious youth of our city!” It cut to the quick that Mrs.