Almost as bewildered as she was the day she’d arrived in Spanish Fort with no money, she rolled the kinks out of her neck. Even though she now had money in her purse, and quite a bit more tucked away in the lining of her rolltop chest, the feeling was the same: absolutely bewildered and lost.

“I’m alone,” she blurted out, “and there’s no one in this town like Miz Raven to rescue us like she did.

” As soon as the words left her mouth, she wished she could take them back.

After all, she was the one who was almost six feet tall, and supposedly had a temper to go with her red hair.

She shouldn’t be worrying Daisy at this point.

“No, but I’m with you,” Daisy said in a firm voice. “We’ve got each other.”

Lily bent slightly and slipped an arm around Daisy’s shoulders. Her smaller friend was like a lit stick of dynamite with a short fuse. “Yes, we do, and we will remember what Miz Raven told us.”

“‘Remember, this is an adventure and a new start in life,’” Daisy quipped.

“That’s right,” Lily agreed, and wished the words came from her heart as well as her mouth. “Who knows? If the chance comes up, we’ll even help with women’s rights like Miz Raven is going to do in London.”

Daisy tucked an errant strand of curly blond hair back into the bun at the nape of her neck. “I’m ready to dive right in whether we get an open door to do so or not. But I have to admit, I already miss the others, and the dust hasn’t even settled from the train yet.”

“Me too.” Lily dabbed at the sweat on her forehead with a lace-trimmed handkerchief.

She craved a long, cool bath, with maybe some lavender-scented soap like the kind she favored at the Paradise—the brothel she and the other six women had left behind almost two weeks ago.

“We’ll hear from them as soon as they get settled, and we are so far from the Paradise that no one will recognize us. ”

“If they do, shall we shoot them?” Daisy asked with a twinkle in her eyes. “Remember when old drunk Cooter came to the gates and Jems threatened to shoot him?”

“I hope it doesn’t come to that, but it’s a very real possibility.

By now Cooter has probably dropped dead from too much liquor.

” Lily was glad that a little of Daisy’s spunk was rubbing off on her.

“Remember, we have to sell the story that we are sisters traveling together. Until now, it has been an adventure for all seven of us on this journey. But it’s time for us to forget the past.”

“Do you really think anyone is going to believe that we are sisters, or even related? Look at us. You are almost six feet tall, have red hair and green eyes. I barely come to your shoulder and have this mop of blond hair and blue eyes. Maybe we should say we are cousins,” Daisy said.

“I agree,” Lily said with a nod. “Cousins, then. Do you remember the last words Miz Raven told all seven of us when we mounted up on the horses and rode away from the Paradise?”

“‘You are strong. You are independent ...,’” Daisy quoted loudly as she popped up on her feet and spoke as if she were delivering a rousing, inspirational speech.

Lily wrapped her arms around her short friend and gave her a quick sideways hug. “‘And you have the ability to change the world.’”

Daisy raised a fist to the sky. “And we will do just that right here in Autrie, Texas. Get ready, folks—we have arrived.”

“Amen, cousin. Preach on.” Lily giggled and then checked the time on her gold pocket watch, a gift from Miz Raven on the morning they had left town.

“Two o’clock. We shouldn’t waste time. Maybe someone in the train depot can help us get our things to a hotel.

” She cocked her head to one side and listened intently.

The noise of the town reminded her of bees buzzing around a hive, but she could hear something else, and it seemed to be coming closer and closer.

She turned to see a wagon pulled by four horses coming their way.

A tall, dark-haired man sat on the buckboard, and he flashed a bright smile when he was close enough.

“You ladies need some help?” he asked. “That was the last train of the day, so the stationmaster has most likely already left.”

“Yes, we do,” Daisy answered.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“To the nearest hotel,” Lily replied.

“I’m going that way, and I’ll be glad to take you.

” He hopped down off the buckboard and hoisted the first steamer trunk onto his shoulders as if it were nothing but a feather pillow, then loaded it onto the back of his wagon.

Even in the heat, he wasn’t breathing hard when he finished.

“But the nearest one is no place for decent ladies like yourselves. I’ll drive you to the Crockett Hotel and help you get these trunks inside. ”

Lily often saw men with big muscles, but very few that towered above her, and none had ever called her a decent lady —at least, not since she’d gone to work in the brothel five years ago.

Maybe Miz Raven, the very sophisticated madam of the Paradise, was right when she’d said that if the seven women who worked for her got far enough away from Spanish Fort, they could start new lives as proper women.

“My name is Matt Maguire,” he said as he placed the second heavy trunk beside the first one.

“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Maguire,” Lily said. “This is Daisy Lindberg, and I am Lily Boyle.”

“Likewise,” he said with a nod before he put his hands on Daisy’s waist, set her on the buckboard seat, and then did the same for Lily.

Lily had never had a man pick her up without at least a little groan. Or have enough wind left in him to whistle as he hopped up onto the buckboard. A shiver skipped down her spine, and more sweat popped out on her neck at the same time. “Do you do this kind of thing for a living?”

“No, ma’am.” Matt flicked the reins to get the horses moving. “I just came into town to get a few supplies for my ranch and visit awhile with my Uncle Elijah, who runs the wagon yard.”

“You must live fairly close, then?” she asked.

“About two hours west as the crow flies or on horseback, but it takes a little longer to get from there to town in a wagon,” he answered. “What brings you ladies to Autrie?”

“We are going to put in a seamstress shop,” Daisy answered from the other end of the buckboard.

“The ladies will definitely like that,” Matt said. “I’ll tell all the folks out at the ranch that there’s going to be a place to have their clothing made right here in Autrie.”

“We will also make men’s shirts.” Lily noticed that even though Matt’s chambray shirt was faded and had a few stains, few women wouldn’t see anything but the way his broad shoulders and chest stretched the seams, as well as the buttons.

Matt tried to steer the horses around a hole big enough to bury a full-grown possum in, but the back wheel slipped right down into it. Had Lily not grabbed Daisy and jerked her back, she would have been thrown out into the road.

“Sorry about that,” Matt said. “We’re almost there. The main street of town is always busy, but the spring rains made a lot of holes in the road.”

Lily’s head felt like it was on a swivel as she tried to take in the shops on both sides of the street. “How big is this place?”

“The town itself has about eight hundred people. There’s two churches, one at either end of the main street.

The school is that way, close to Preacher Jones’s place of worship.

” He nodded straight ahead. “It goes all the way to the eighth grade. ’Course, we’ve got our own little building where the children can learn out on our ranch.

Post office is to your left, and as you can see, there’s a general store, several saloons, and that big place is the courthouse.

One hotel is also a bar, and”—he lowered his voice to a whisper and kept his eyes straight ahead—“shady women work there. That’s why I said I’d take you to the Crockett.

It’s respectable. Where do y’all come from? ”

As she tried to banish thoughts of Matt’s shoulder against hers, Lily held on to Daisy even tighter when they hit another hole in the road.

“Up in the northern part of the state. Have you lived here your whole life?” she said, once the ride had smoothed out.

“I was born out on the ranch when less than fifty people lived in Autrie. The railroad caused the growth,” Matt said.

Lily sensed longing for the simpler days in his tone. “The town we lived in was booming at one time,” she told him. “But it’s slowly dwindling down to nothing but empty buildings and a few folks hanging on only because that’s where they were born.”

“I understand that very well,” he said. “I liked it better when there were fewer people to contend with around these parts. Used to be, there wouldn’t be a half-dozen wagons or people on the street when I came in from the ranch.

I’m glad I don’t have to put up with all this noise and hustle every day. ”

When she and her friends went to town for supplies, Lily had often seen men with guns strapped to their hips standing outside a saloon in Spanish Fort, as well as the scantily clothed women flirting with them.

Evidently, no matter where she went, the people were basically the same—just more of them in a bigger place.

Women hurried from one store to another with their children in tow.

They sped past the women who made a living entertaining men as if they might catch some dreaded disease, just like they did with the saloon ladies in Spanish Fort.

She had always wondered if, deep down, they really appreciated the women for taking care of the bedroom duties they didn’t like.