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“Buy your whiskey and get out,” Frannie snapped as she went back over to the judge and sat down in his lap. “I didn’t want her to ruin my hair,” she announced loudly. “Sweet little churchified ladies like y’all should run along now.”

Lily extended a hand to help Daisy up from the floor, but she ignored it and rose to her feet with the grace of a boxer. She marched over to Frannie, drew back her fist, and was about to land her another black eye when Frannie ducked, and Daisy hit Wesley square on the chin.

Wesley shoved Frannie off his lap so hard she landed on the floor with a thud. Then he pushed back his chair so fast that it tumbled backward with a second hard thump. “You ... you ...,” he stammered as he knotted his own hands into fists.

“Do you have something you would like to say to me?” Daisy lifted her skirt and stepped over Frannie so she could get right in his face. “Or maybe you would like to tell Sally Anne that Frannie has been sitting on your lap. I could do that for you if you are too ashamed to do so.”

“You might do well to remember who owns your shop,” he answered as he stood up and headed for the door. The bartender grabbed a bottle of whiskey from under the counter, hurried over to Daisy, and shoved it into her hand. “You’ve got your whiskey. Now get out.”

Lily threw a silver dollar at him and looped her arm through Daisy’s. “That should cover the cost of it, plus some. We’ll be going now. Next time a woman comes in here, just sell her the whiskey and don’t make a big scene.”

“Or try to make a laughingstock out of her.” Daisy made a sweeping motion to take in all the room. “We have as much of a right to drink as all you men.”

“Ladies don’t drink,” Wesley said as he brushed past Lily. “Not coffee, and definitely not whiskey.”

Daisy’s hands knotted into fists again. Her breath caught in her chest, and she grabbed him by the arm. She pointed her finger so close to his nose that he jerked his head back. “And engaged men don’t visit women like Frannie.”

She didn’t even realize that Lily was beside her until she heard her voice. “We’ve done what we came to do. It’s time to go.”

Daisy put on her best fake smile and turned around to face a quiet bar. “Y’all have a nice day, now.”

As soon as they had cleared the saloon’s front porch, Lily heaved a sigh of relief. Frannie would have a black eye, and Wesley would sport a bruise, but neither one would need the doctor’s attention. Or worse, the sheriff’s.

“Do you feel better now?” she scolded Daisy.

“No, I do not. And for that matter, can you leave me alone? There’s still some mad left in my heart,” Daisy barked.

“You’ve at least let some of it out,” Lily said. “And that was a fantastic little smart remark at the end there.”

“I thought so, but mad that’s left over is still boiling,” Daisy told her and then smiled brightly when she saw Edith, Sally Anne, and Beulah coming toward them.

Edith gasped when she saw Lily with a bottle of whiskey in her hands, but Sally Anne ran over to the judge, who was a few feet from them.

“My sweet darlin’,” she crooned and touched Wesley’s face.

“It’s nothing to worry about, dear,” Wesley said. “Someone pushed me into the doorjamb as I was leaving the saloon. Don’t you worry your little mind about me, Sally Anne.”

“I’ll get some ice from Miz Beulah,” she said.

“Don’t bother. It probably won’t even bruise,” he said and took the short, blond woman’s hand in his. “Let’s cross the street. We can get a much better view of the show from the front steps of the courthouse.”

“Chicken,” Daisy whispered. “He just doesn’t want to be anywhere near me or the other folks filing out of the saloon. His precious Sally Anne might hear something that would burn her innocent little ears.”

“Did you really walk right in the saloon and buy that?” Edith asked. “And what’s that about my sweet niece?”

“Daisy was just saying how crossing the street like Sally Anne might give us a better view,” Lily covered, hoping that their impulsive act wouldn’t hurt the women in town.

“And yes, ma’am, we certainly did buy it,” crowed Daisy, taking the bottle from Lily.

A broad smile covered Edith’s face. “Your bold purchase is a definite strike in our favor and will bring even more ladies to our auxiliary meeting next week.”

“Do you think so?” Lily was glad for the support, but even more so that Edith hadn’t gone on to talk more about Sally Anne.

“Absolutely,” Edith whispered. “If you are willing to do that, then they’ll all see that you are committed to the cause. And besides, you’ve got whiskey now.”

“Hello!” Beulah waved. “Y’all about ready for the fireworks? We could drag some of your chairs out onto the sidewalk, and I brought sandwiches for us to have while we watch the show.”

“And some sweet tea?” Daisy held up the bottle.

Beulah’s eyes widened. “Sweet Jesus in heaven! Did you actually go into the saloon and buy that?”

“We did,” Lily answered.

“That was not a baby step,” Beulah said as she followed them inside the seamstress shop. “That could be considered a giant step for womanhood.”

“Especially not when Daisy and Frannie, a saloon girl, got into a fight,” Lily told her, taking back the whiskey from her shorter friend and putting it on the shelf in plain sight. “Since so many people have already seen me carrying this down the street, I don’t imagine that we need to hide it.”

Beulah picked up a ladder-back chair with her free hand and started across the room. “As women, we shouldn’t have to sneak around like Alma and I do with our letters. We should have as much freedom as ...” She stopped at the door.

“As everyone else, no matter what kind of plumbing is in their undergarments?” Daisy asked.

Beulah giggled. “Well said, my friend. We can discuss that more later, but right now let’s go outside and have some food. I brought ham sandwiches.”

They lined chairs up right under the window, and Beulah passed out sandwiches made with fresh bread and thick slabs of cured ham.

Then she took a jar of sweet tea from the bag and set it on the wooden sidewalk between her and Lily.

“It’s simply plain tea for tonight. Be best if no one smells it on your breath. ”

“We have a bottle sitting out for all to see,” Daisy reminded her.

“Yep, you do, and lots of womenfolk keep a bottle for medicinal purposes on their shelves or in their cupboards. The difference is that they send a male relative to buy it for them,” Beulah said between bites. “If y’all save that bottle for the meeting, it might loosen some tongues.”

Lily’s heart threw in an extra beat and her hands trembled slightly when Matt stepped out of the crowd and stood beside her. “Good evening,” she said, her voice echoing in her own ears, like it came up from the bottom of a well.

“Good evening to you, Miz Lily,” he said in a deep voice.

“Have you enjoyed the day?” Lily wished she could ask him more personal questions, but she didn’t know him that well—not yet.

You defied society by walking into a saloon, creating a disturbance, and buying a bottle of whiskey. If you can do that, you can ask him if he has a woman waiting back at the ranch or maybe taking care of a vending place at the festival, Miz Raven’s voice fussed at her.

“Yes, ma’am, I truly have. Claude and I hauled a few things for Uncle Elijah.

I was sorry I missed getting to bring those pews to your store.

But I’ve got to admit, I’m more than ready to go back to the ranch.

I’ve had enough excitement to last until the fall,” he answered.

“How about you? Have you had a good day?”

“A very busy day to have only opened our doors this morning,” she said.

“Evenin’, ladies,” Claude said as he joined them. He focused on Daisy. “I hear you had an eventful evening already.”

“News and gossip both seem to travel fast,” Daisy said.

Matt caught Lily’s eye and smiled. “So, you like a little nip of whiskey?”

“Yes, sir,” Lily answered without even a hint of a grin. “Do you have a problem with that?”

“No, ma’am, my mama still likes a shot before she retires. She says that it helps her to sleep and keeps her heart beating,” Matt answered. “How about you, Miz Beulah?”

“Your mama has got that right, but I think you were asking about my day, not if I take a little whiskey at night—for purely medicinal purposes,” Beulah answered.

“Seems like everyone needed to buy supplies of all kinds since they were already in town. Are you and Matt staying the night with Elijah?”

“No, ma’am,” Matt answered from the other end of the row of women. “We’ll be late getting back, but we need to be there to relieve the shepherds that stayed back to work while we came to town. We’ll be back for supplies soon, though.”

“That will give me time to restock my shelves,” Beulah said as an array of colors burst through the air. “Oh, look! There’s the first one of the fireworks, and it’s so pretty.”

“I heard today that the judge is planning an even bigger display than this at his and Sally Anne’s wedding,” Matt said.

“They’ll go off right after the sun sets while he and his new bride board the train to go on their honeymoon.

They won’t be back for a month, but the judge from over at Nechesville will be taking care of things in his absence. ”

“A man with his wealth can do things like that,” Beulah said.

“Sounds like an adventure, not a honeymoon, to me,” Lily said, and wished that she could be thinking about a lasting relationship with a good man—but she might as well fancy a trip to the moon.

“I agree,” Matt said with a nod. “I’m going to be a bit brazen and say that you look beautiful today in your red-white-and-blue outfit, Miz Lily.”

“Thank you, Mr. Maguire,” she said.

“That’s just Matt, please. Mr. Maguire is my father.”

After all the excitement of the whole day, the evening was a bit anticlimactic when the fireworks ended, and people began to load their families up in wagons and buggies.

Clouds had begun to move in from the southwest, and the distant roll of thunder said that another unusual July storm was on the way.

“You fellers be careful and dodge any lightning strikes on the way home,” Beulah said as she stood up.

“We’re probably going to get wet, but as hot as it’s been all day, the cool rain might feel good,” Matt said.

Claude chuckled. “Mama says that neither of us are sugar, so we won’t melt. Besides, rain in July is a rare thing, and it will green up the pastures for the sheep. Good night, Miz Daisy,” he said with a tip of his hat. “Maybe I’ll see you the next time I come to town.”

“That would be nice,” she replied as she stood, and after a few more pleasantries, the men left.

“What was that?” Beulah whispered when all three were in the shop and had closed the door.

“What was what?” Lily asked.

“Have y’all never been courted?” Beulah asked. “Matt and Claude were staking their claims by watching the fireworks with you. The only thing more definite is if you were seen taking a buggy ride with them.”

Daisy giggled. “We already did that.”

“Matt gave us a ride from the train station to the hotel the day we arrived,” Lily explained.

“Just be careful. Those are two good men, but ...” Beulah plopped down on the sofa.

“But what?” Lily asked.

“But I’m being selfish. You just got here, and it’s only natural that the bachelors in this area will flock around you, but I don’t want you to get serious about any of them just yet,” Beulah said. “And on that note, I’m going back home.”

Lily draped an arm around Beulah as she rose and walked her to the door. “You don’t have to worry about a thing, my friend. There’s not a man in the whole state that would want to marry independent women like us.”

“Thank God!” Beulah said with a laugh and a sideways hug before she left.

Daisy and Lily watched her walk away, and giggled at her reply.

“You really believe that about no one wanting to marry us?” Daisy asked.

“What do you think?” Lily answered with another question. “No one should go into a relationship with secrets. What would Matt and Claude do if they knew ours?”

“Run for the hills,” Daisy replied as she locked the door and headed across the room.

“Absolutely,” Lily said.

“But it’s kind of nice to be courted,” Daisy said with a sigh.

Lily covered a yawn with her hand and admitted to herself for the very first time in her life that she wanted a real relationship—maybe not with Matt Maguire, but with a good man who treated women right.