Free Golden Colorado by Katie Wyatt Page B

show you,” Florence said, stepping into the room. She sat down on the bed and patted it, gesturing for Minnie to join her.
    With a sigh, Minnie turned from the mirror and sat down on the bed next to her friend, noticing that she held the classified section of one of Boston’s several newspapers folded in her lap.
    “What do you have there?” Minnie asked. “Did you find a job for me?” She had looked for a job as soon as she had recovered from the initial shock of the fire. Sadly, she had no specific skills on which to rely. Not only that, but she was indecisive, and always had trouble making important decisions. Since her family had died so tragically, and with such unbearable decisions in front of her, she had lost some of her trust in God.
    “Not exactly,” Florence admitted.
    “To be honest, Flo, I don’t have many things in my favor. I love to sew, but I’m certainly not a professional at it. I’ve never worked a day in my life. I don’t particularly like to be around animals, especially horses as you know, because they scare me. I can’t even earn a living as a nanny because most families have animals.” Tears once more burned in her eyes. “What am I going to do?”
    Before now, her family had always made decisions for her. Now that they were gone, she would have to learn how to stand on her own two feet. Somehow she would need to gain more self-confidence, be more self-assured, and make her own decisions. But how would she know she was making the right ones?
    “Have you ever heard of mail order brides?”
    Minnie stared at Flo. A mail-order bride? “You mean agree to marry someone who placed an ad in the newspaper for a bride?” she asked, her voice heavy with shock.
    Flo nodded. “It’s something to consider, Minnie,” she said. “After all, your only other choices, in my opinion, are much worse.”
    Minnie could only agree. A mail-order bride… she adjusted to the idea and realized that it just might — maybe — be a solution to her current problems. The thought of marrying someone she didn’t know was frightening, but was this the path God wanted her to take? She definitely knew that she didn’t want to travel to England. Her relatives didn’t want her. The old man? Why shouldn’t she grab at the only sure thing and marry the rich old man? She immediately shook her head. She’d rather die an old spinster living off the goodwill of strangers before she would agree to marry such a horrible person.
    “What do you think, Flo?”
    Flo shrugged. “I think you should consider it. I’ve circled a few of the more favorable ads. There’s an interesting one from a man living in Golden, Colorado.”
    “Colorado!?” That was so far. So far away from Boston, her few friends, the cemetery where her beloved family was buried.
    “Read this here,” Flo said, pointing to one of the circled ads.
    Minnie found it and began to read. “ James Thorton, seeking a wife. Consider myself clever and creative, an inventor, and not too hard on the eyes. I love chocolate, especially chocolate from Europe —” Minnie glanced up with a small smile on her lips. “I love Belgian chocolates,” she told her friend.
    “I know,” her friend nodded. She gestured toward the paper. “Keep reading, Minnie.”
    “ Love animals. Currently a miner, but want a beautiful wife for whom I can build a wonderful home in the mountains. I would like to have three boys …”
    Minnie glanced up at Flo, her eyes wide with surprise.
    “You want three boys too, don’t you, Minnie?”
    Could it be a coincidence? Or was this a sign from God? Her heart gave a little leap of excitement, the first since the tragedy had befallen. Did she dare? Should she take the chance? Was it possible? Did she have the strength and fortitude to leave her beloved Boston and travel thousands of miles west to the wilderness of Colorado’s mountains just to find a man who also liked chocolates and wanted three boys?
    Flo nudged her with her elbow.