Read Pioneer Love: Damaged Hearts Head West: Mail Order Bride 5 Bundle for Free Online Page A

raised her hand to his lips and kissed it and then with a bow he turned to leave.
    Anna stood silent for a few minutes, feeling guilty for forgetting the man she was here to marry. He was a kind man and she had completely disregarded him in favor of his brother. She stood fiddling with her bracelet when Ian cleared his throat. She jumped a bit and looked at him. He seemed to have cooled off a bit but still didn't look like his usual, happy self.
    Anna worried about him. How had she been so stupid to spend so much time with Ian? To let him think that she liked him, which of course she did. Was she so foolish that she would fall for the first man who showed her some attention? It seemed so and she did not know what to do. Ian ignored her and went to stand behind the counter; his arms folded his eyes staring at the wall. Anna waited a few moments for him to say something but when he didn't, she couldn't help but ask, "Is something the matter, Ian?"
    Ian didn't look at her. "No, everything is fine. Just remind me that to win a girl's heart I need to give her jewelry. I hear that works wonders."
    Now, it was Anna's time to get angry. "I beg your pardon? Are you saying that my love can be bought with some jewelry? How little do you think of me? After all Ryan is the man I came here to marry and if he gives me gifts, I cannot reject them. That would be rude and insensitive when he has been nothing but kind to me.”
    His eyes had not moved from the point on the wall. She wondered if he would create a crack there if he kept staring. She knew that she was to blame for this. That maybe she had been too familiar, but it was such a new experience for her. To have someone accept her and treat her as an equal and there was something about Ian that set her pulse racing. But it was wrong, Ryan was back now and maybe this was the time to draw a line. “Never mind,” she snapped. “I don't need to explain myself to you. Good day, Mr. Ian." With a swirl of skirts, she turned to leave the room.
    "I'm sorry, Anna,” Ian called out. “I shouldn't have said that it wasn't what I meant."
    "It's perfectly fine, Mr. Ian,” Anna threw over her shoulder without even pausing. “You made yourself perfectly clear." And with that she was out of the room. She raced up the stairs as fast as her bad leg would carry her. Stumbling and limping along and racing to beat the tears. At last she made it to her room, she barged through the door threw herself to the bed and let the tears come. How could life be so cruel? To let her find a man that she could love only to be promised to his brother.

Chapter 10

     
    Anna was ashamed that the tears would not stop. Hour after hour she poured out her heart. Asking God what she should do and how she could have got herself into such a difficult situation. Eventually, she wiped away her tears and sat up dissected every reason there was for Ian to say what he had said. Why was he angry with her?
    It did not matter she could not come up with an answer and Ryan was home now. She got up and changed her dress, washed her face and made sure that her hair was tidy and piled high on top of her head. She would not let what Ian had said bother her anymore. Nor would she let Ryan wait for her when he had said he would see her for dinner.
    So, it was for this reason that she straightened her shoulders and headed down to dinner. Ian and Ryan were both in the room when she arrived. They had been talking about his travels but seeing her, Ryan stood up, abandoning the conversation. He greeted Anna with a bow and when he had helped her to sit down, he began talking to her.
    She answered his questions as best she could, smiled if she needed to and made sure that she did not look at Ian. Ryan was attentive, charming and regaled her with tales of his trip. All the while Ian was being awfully quiet and so far he hadn't made a single joke all night. Anna tried to ignore it, tried to concentrate on Ryan. Laughing at his tales and smiling as