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D aisy had made apple-spice muffins that morning, but so far no one had come into the store, and here it was nearly noon.

The window of the shop was open, letting the aroma of cinnamon waft out onto the sidewalk.

Lily took a bolt of calico from the shelf, got her patterns from the bottom of her trunk, and chose a simple one that wouldn’t take long to make.

“I’m not sitting on my thumbs waiting for women to come in and special order,” she declared. “I am going to make a day dress to go in Beulah’s store.”

“You are itching to get at that sewing machine, aren’t you?” Daisy teased.

“Yes, I am,” Lily answered. “I need something to keep me busy.”

“So that you won’t spend the whole day thinking about Matt Maguire, right?” Daisy asked.

“Is that why you were up at the crack of dawn making muffins and putting bread on to rise? Did that work to keep your mind off Claude?” Lily unrolled fabric across the table and then laid out pattern pieces with strategically placed knives, forks, and spoons to keep them flat for cutting.

“Absolutely,” Daisy admitted. “I dreamed about him last night. We were on a wagon train going west. That would never happen. He’s too devoted to the ranch, and we both know that we are going to be old maids with a cause.”

“I would call us ‘independent women,’ not ‘old maids,’” Lily argued.

Daisy handed Lily a pair of scissors. “What’s the difference?”

“The latter have probably never shared a bed with a man,” Lily informed her.

“Poor little darlin’s,” Daisy chuckled.

The bell above the door jingled, and both women whipped around to see Edith coming into the store with Sally Anne right behind her. Edith sniffed the air and smiled. “Cinnamon and coffee, right?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Daisy answered, hiding a wince at seeing her blond double. “Would you like a cup and an apple-spice muffin?”

“Indeed, I would!” Edith sat down on the sofa and pulled out a sheaf of papers from her purse.

Sally Anne said, in a husky voice that was nothing like Daisy’s, “I’m very anxious to see the brocade that Aunt Edith has been telling me about. I brought pages from magazines and newspapers to show you what I have in mind.”

Lily began to clear her things from off the table so that the two ladies could lay out their ideas while they had refreshments.

“Don’t mess up your job there,” Sally Anne said. “We can put everything on this nice table right here in front of the sofa.”

“Why don’t I get the brocade now?” Lily nodded toward the shelf where the whiskey sat on full display. “Then we can have coffee, and if you would like, we can add a little shot.”

“I would like that very much,” Edith said. “But Sally Anne likes wine, not whiskey.”

Of course she does. One of the wealthiest ladies in Autrie would sip wine, for sure, not throw back shots of whiskey or rum, thought Daisy.

Lily returned with the bolt of brocade and set it up on a kitchen chair. “Well, what do you think of this? Daisy and I are of the opinion that we can turn it into a lovely wedding dress.”

Sally Anne clapped her hands and beamed. “This is absolutely gorgeous, Aunt Edith. I simply love it, and it will be perfect with the design I have in mind. Wes is going to think an angel is floating down the aisle toward him.”

Daisy felt a stab of pain for having to design a wedding dress for the bride of the man who had stolen her heart.

Especially a bride who looked so much like her.

But the sting of the pure aggravation of not telling Sally Anne that her groom was a two-timing son of a bitch was even more bitter than the former ache.

“I hear this is going to be the wedding of the year—maybe the whole century,” Daisy said, but she was thinking that Sally Anne, in all her innocence, must have a brain the size of a hummingbird if she believed that Wesley was only in the saloon for the card playing.

“I suppose,” Sally Anne said. “I would have rather just got married quietly, but Wesley wants the big to-do, and there is a lot of planning involved. Thank goodness I have Aunt Edith to help me or I’d pull out all my hair.”

Probably to show off and put his name out there for a higher political position, Daisy thought, but she didn’t say the words out loud.

“Why did you choose September?” Lily asked.

“It’s a little cooler then, and just the thought of wearing a big, heavy wedding gown in this kind of heat gives me the vapors.

” Sally Anne fanned her face with her hand.

“I hear y’all are having your first women’s auxiliary meeting right here in this shop.

I’ve been spreading the word to all the ladies I know.

Aunt Edith tells me that it’s going to be a legitimate organization to raise money for the school but that it’s also going to be a place to talk about women’s rights. ”

“Hopefully,” Lily said.

“You never know what might happen if women stand together,” Edith said.

“I’ll get the coffee and muffins,” Daisy offered—anything to get away long enough to collect her thoughts and catch her breath.

Lily dragged two chairs over to the other side of the table in front of the sofa.

Even though she was sure Daisy had been swearing under her breath in the kitchen, when she returned she had plastered a smile on her face as she carried a large silver tray with four cups of coffee, four lovely lace-edged linen napkins, and half a dozen muffins arranged beautifully. Miz Raven would be so proud of her.

“These muffins are delicious,” Sally Anne gushed when she had taken the first bite. “Maybe we can exchange recipes at the women’s meetings?”

“Great idea,” Edith agreed. “And I’m so glad you like the brocade. When I saw it, I just knew that it would make the perfect wedding dress.”

Daisy took a seat and laid her sketch pad on her lap.

“I can work up a couple of designs from the pictures you have here, and then you can come back in to get measured in a few days. I’d say you could see them when we have our first auxiliary meeting, but I’m sure you don’t want anyone to even see a picture of the dress until you walk down the aisle. ”

Sally Anne took a sip of her coffee. “You are right about the dress, and about the coffee. It’s so much better than tea. My housekeeper and I have a cup every now and then. Maybe that will be something we talk about at the meetings. We can ask for the right to drink what we want, wherever we want.”

“Or buy a bottle of whiskey or wine without repercussions,” Daisy added.

Had it been any other woman, Lily would have been very excited to be working on a wedding dress, but visualizing the expression on Wesley’s face when he’d flirted with Frannie sure took the fun out of the job.

Poor Sally Anne had no idea what kind of future she was in for, but it wasn’t Lily’s or Daisy’s place to burst her little bubble.

Besides, she probably wouldn’t believe anything they would say against the judge, anyway, and telling her could cause their shop to lose their first paying customer.

Daisy talked as she completed a very rough sketch.

“So, from what I’m seeing, you want a fitted bodice with covered buttons up the front, mutton sleeves extending to a fitted wrist, and the skirt should be straight in the front and billow out into a cascade of lace ruffles in the back that will extend into a long train. ”

“Exactly,” Sally Anne said. “If I leave these ideas with you, can you have something for me to look at next week and take my measurements then?”

“I’ll sketch three different styles, and we will talk about what you want different and maybe what kind of lace you want.

We’ve got two bolts on the shelf right now.

If you want us to put both back until you return, we’ll be glad to do that.

” Daisy drew the whole time she was talking, then turned the sketch pad around for Sally Anne to see. “This is rough, but maybe like this?”

“Yes!” Sally Anne exclaimed. “But I would like to see a couple more just so I have options. And can I see the lace?”

Lily stood up, crossed the room, and brought down two bolts from a top shelf. She stood both of them up beside the brocade. “We could use a combination of both, and if you are interested, we could use the same for your dressing gown and robe.”

“Yes, yes, yes,” Sally Anne said. “And that purple silk would be wonderful for my bridesmaid’s dress.”

Edith laid a hand on her niece’s shoulder. “Don’t forget, honey, you have to invite your cousins on your mother’s side. Your mama would turn over in her grave if you slighted them, and the five girls will be hurt if you don’t ask them.”

“Do you have time to make six?” Sally Anne’s voice turned into a semi-whine.

“We can devote the next two months to nothing but your wedding,” Lily answered.

“But only if we have the material in the store,” Daisy added. “If we have to order it, there’s no guarantee that it could get here in time.”

She pointed at bolts of taffeta. “Those five fall colors will do fine—but don’t use the orange for Essie Sue. She’ll look like a big pumpkin.”

“Sally Anne!” Edith scolded.

“It’s the gospel truth,” Sally Anne argued. “But even though she’s a big girl, she’s got a huge heart, and of all my cousins, she’s the one I like best. She speaks her mind and doesn’t care what anyone thinks of her—but orange would be a horrible color on her.”

“We could use the mossy green for her dress,” Daisy suggested.