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inside her was the
     need to never be in the situation they’d been through in Beckham again.  “But Wesley
     is poor.  He’s just a sheriff.”   She knew the words sounded bad, but she didn’t have the words to express all the
     turmoil she felt inside.
    Ellen sighed.  “I know that.  But don’t you think you should be attracted to the man
     you marry and not just his money?”
    Malinda frowned.  How could Ellen think that money mattered more to her than love? 
     Didn’t she know her at all?  Didn’t she understand the overwhelming fear she’d felt
     when they couldn’t find the money she’d been certain their father had hidden somewhere? 
     “I really like Wesley, but I’m afraid of being poor.”
    “You know if Wesley ever has financial problems, his brother is a banker, right? 
     I’m sure Patrick wouldn’t let his brother live on the streets!”
    “You don’t even know him yet.  How can you say that with such certainty?”  Malinda
     needed time, and it’s all she could think about.  How could she make such an important
     decision in a few minutes?  She needed to think about whether or not she could ever
     leave her children destitute.  Their father had been the best man she’d ever known,
     yet he’d still left them with no money.  She couldn’t let that happen to her children.
    Ellen’s face turned red with anger.  “Why don’t we do this?  We’ll give it some time. 
     We’ll ask them to give us a month to see who we want to marry.  I know that Wesley
     is attracted to you and Patrick is attracted to me.  I’m sure they’ll agree to it.”
    Malinda nodded.  A little time was all she needed.  Time to get over the fact that
     her husband would be poor.  Time to get to know Patri ck to be sure he’d help them if something happened.  “That makes sense.  I need to know if I could fall in love with Patrick before I marry
     him.”  What I really need is to know that Patrick would help my children and me if anything
     were to happen to Wesley.
    “Do you think they’ll be angry with us?”
    Malinda shrugged.  “Probably not.  I mean, they want to be happy in their marriages
     too, right?”   She hoped they wouldn’t be angry.  If she had met Wesley under any other circumstances,
     she was certain they’d already be standing before the preacher, but she’d been certain
     she’d never have to worry about money again, and to make such an abrupt change was
     confusing her.
    They met up with the men in the parlor after the trunk had been carried up the stairs.   “We have something we’d like to ask you,” Ellen began .  She looked like she was uncertain about the conversation and Malinda reached out
     and squeezed her hand.  She could see now that Ellen was worrying.  She wouldn’t have
     recognized the look before their discussion on the train, though.
    Patrick smiled at Ellen as if he’d never seen anyone so beautiful .   Malinda was certain her sister would be marrying the banker, but she just wasn’t
     sure if she should marry immediately, or wait a bit.   “Certainly.” 
    “We’d like to have some time to get to know you.  I’m sure you noticed that we both
     automatically paired off with the wrong person.  Would you be willing to put off the
     weddings until we know each other better and can decide who we think we’d be better
     matched with?”  Ellen’s voice faltered as she asked.  Malinda knew she didn’t want to put things off. 
     She wanted to marry Patrick immediately.
    “How long are you asking for?”  He looked like he was annoyed at the thought of waiting, but Malinda knew he wanted to
     marry Ellen.
    “A month ? ”
    “ No.  That’s too long.  How about two days?” Patrick countered.
    Ellen looked surprised.  “That won’t work!  We’d have no time to get to know either of you!  How about three
     weeks?”  Why did Ellen look like she was enjoying the conversation?
    “Three days .”
    Ellen folded her