Page 35

S aturday morning brought a bright sun glaring down on a town that seemed to have lost its heart and soul. Not a single wagon, nor horse, was on the street. Even the piano in the saloon was quiet.

A gust of hot wind caught a strand of Lily’s red hair and blew it across her face.

She tucked it back up under her wide-brimmed straw hat.

Even though, at high noon, the heat was already reaching that unbearable stage, she didn’t mind.

She was going home to sleep in a real bed, take a real bath, and wash what was left of the sandstorm out of her hair.

As she walked with the other women behind Beulah’s wagon, she wondered whether they had accomplished something lasting or if, little by little, the ladies would all slip right back into old habits and patterns.

“You are frowning,” Daisy said. “Are you upset that Sally Anne and Frannie are riding in the wagon with Beulah?”

“Not at all,” Lily answered. “They are making a statement.”

“Then what is it?” Daisy pressured.

Lily lowered her voice. “I’m hoping that this isn’t just a passing fancy. I won’t be able to bear it if, in a week, things are right back where they were before we went out to the camp.”

“We did what we could,” Daisy reminded her. “Now it’s up to all of them to see it through.”

“You are right.” Lily shivered in spite of the blistering heat. “Does the town seem strange to you?”

“Like a ghost town,” Daisy said.

“And this is Saturday, when things are usually busy.” Lily nodded toward the saloon, where Otis was standing outside with his arms crossed over his chest. “Doesn’t look like he’s happy.”

“Don’t look like it,” Daisy said with a smile.

When Otis saw Frannie sitting in the wagon beside Sally Anne and Beulah, he shouted swear words harsh enough to cause another sandstorm. That’s when Frannie said something to Beulah, and the wagon stopped.

All three women hopped down from the buckboard and stood together in front of Otis. He spit a string of tobacco on the sidewalk at their feet and swore again.

Frannie squared up her shoulders. “You will watch your mouth in front of these decent women and children.”

“Or what?” Otis snarled.

“Or I will borrow Beulah’s frying pan and knock some sense into your thick skull,” she answered.

“I can lay my hands on it without even getting back up on the buckboard,” Beulah said in a no-nonsense tone. “I’ll even give it to you just in case you need it later on down the road. But if you do use it, be sure to wash the blood off the back side before you use it to fry chicken.”

When Otis doubled up his fist and raised it toward Frannie, all the women behind the wagon moved forward in a semicircle around her.

“Lay a hand on her and the sheriff will never find your body,” Amanda said.

“You are all fired,” Otis snapped.

“No, we are not. We quit the day we walked out of here and these women took us in and treated us like sisters,” Frannie said. “Thanks for the offer of the skillet, Beulah, but I won’t need it. Lily gave me one of the pistols, and it will do a more permanent job.”

“You are not to ever walk through the doors of my saloon again,” Otis spit the words out like they were poison. He left footprints in the sand that had settled on the boardwalk outside the saloon when he stormed back inside.

“Thank you all,” Frannie said once things had quieted. “But y’all don’t have to go all the way to Sally Anne’s place with us.”

“Together!” Amanda called out, and the rest of the women echoed and returned to their places behind the wagon.

“One hurdle jumped over,” Lily said, and hoped that what just happened was an indication of the women’s determination. Tomorrow, when families were supposed to sit together in church, would tell the real tale.

Daisy went into the shop ahead of Lily and sighed loudly. “I’m so glad to be back. I’m going to draw up enough water for a proper bath in the kitchen and give my hair a good washing.”

“I’ll fire up the stove and heat up a kettle for you,” Lily offered.

Daisy tossed her hat onto the sofa and headed toward the kitchen area. “Thanks, but no thanks. I want a cold bath. If you want a warm one, then you can heat water, but remember that it’s going to make the whole place hotter.”

“A cold one sounds wonderful,” Lily agreed and removed her hat.

“I’ll help you get the water. We should be finished by the time Beulah comes around to go with us to Hattie’s for a hot meal, and then on down to Sally Anne’s place to see what kind of house she is giving Frannie.

Do you really think those women can make a living in this town?

Or that Rachael and her coworker can manage a school for girls? ”

“They will survive like we did when we went to the Paradise.” Daisy realized that she admired Frannie for giving a fancy brothel a try. It wouldn’t be easy, but she and her girls only had to entertain one man each a night. Surely Otis wouldn’t mind losing that many men to the new brothel.

She and Lily had just finished having a nice cool bath and getting dressed when Beulah yelled from the front of the shop, “Is everyone decent back there?”

Daisy opened the door between the shop and living quarters. “We are decent, but we had to put our hair up wet.”

“So did I,” Beulah chuckled. “As dead as this town is, I don’t imagine anyone is going to notice. Hattie isn’t going to really open the café until tomorrow, but she’s whipping up something just for us tonight. She should have it ready when we get there.”

Daisy picked up her hat. “I’m starving, but having a bath was worth not getting supper until now.”

Hattie met them at the café’s door and then locked it behind them.

“Elijah shared a slab of cured bacon with me, so we’re having that with pancakes, eggs, and fried potatoes for our early supper.

I thought that coming home would be ...

” She paused. “Well, I don’t know what word to use, but I miss the noise of the camp already.

And it seemed strange to cook for four people tonight instead of helping Maggie prepare for an army each evening. ”

“Same here,” Beulah said. “The shelves in my store are pitiful since Elijah brought so much to the camp to help feed the women. I won’t starve, and neither will Lily and Daisy, but I won’t have anything for you, Hattie, until the train brings supplies.”

“Don’t need anything more. I’ve got plenty of staples, and Elijah has said he has a fellow that can keep me supplied with pork and beef.

” Hattie motioned toward a table set for four.

“I don’t have ice or even thick cream for your tea, but there’s plenty of sugar, and you can sprinkle a little cinnamon on the top if you want more flavor. ”

“What can we do to help?” Daisy asked.

“You can come on back to the kitchen and help me bring in the platters,” Hattie answered. “Lily, you and Beulah go on and take a seat.”

In less than a minute, two large platters were on the table, and Hattie and Daisy were seated.

“Y’all go on and help yourselves. You’ve got to be hungry.

I’ve been nibbling the whole time I was cooking.

Do you think we really did any good out there, or will things go back to like they were by fall? ”

Lily piled her plate fuller than was polite, but she really was hungry, and she was among friends.

“I was thinking the same thing. Daisy said that we did what we could. Now it’s up to them to carry on.

But Daisy and I don’t have a wedding to keep us busy the rest of the summer.

We may just be making cotton dresses and maybe some hats to sell in Beulah’s store. ”

Beulah loaded her plate even more than Lily had. “She’s right, but I’m worried about Edith. Sally Anne was her ...” She frowned.

“Her princess?” Daisy asked.

“Yes,” Beulah said. “Exactly.”

“Edith is tough as nails,” Hattie said with half a chuckle. “She will survive. Wallace best be careful until Sally Anne leaves or Edith might pack a trunk and go with her.”

A wave of jealousy washed over Daisy. She wished that she was going off to England, but when they had all offered to go with Miz Raven, she had agreed that they could do more good right there in Texas than they could in London.

Sally Anne opened the door to her two-story home and motioned for Daisy, Lily, Beulah, and Hattie to come inside. To the left of the wide foyer was an opulent sitting room with a piano in the corner. The whole setup made Lily lonesome for the Paradise.

“The ladies are upstairs checking out the bedrooms,” Sally Anne said.

“Mama and Daddy wanted a big family, so they built this house in preparation for lots of children, but all they got was me. Come on in the kitchen and let me introduce you to Laverne, my housekeeper, and her husband, Oscar, who takes care of the gardens as well as the ranch and does whatever else Laverne tells him to do.”

“I heard that.” Laverne smiled at all of them. She was a short, round woman with gray hair done up in a bun on top of her head and had sparkling brown eyes. “And our Sally Anne is right on the button. She has explained what she is going to do and how this house could have some changes.”

“I’m Oscar.” He held his big hand out toward Lily. He was only a little taller than Laverne and had a full head of snow-white hair.

Lily shook hands with him. “Nice to meet you both.”

“We’ll take care of Sally Anne’s new friends just like we’ve always done with the whole family,” Laverne said.

“I’ll bring some tea and cookies to the living room.

You know, I never did want her to marry that judge.

Our Sally Anne has got too much fire in her to settle down to cookin’ and cleanin’ and takin’ care of babies.

When she gets to be president of this country, all us women might even have the right to vote and choose how we will make our living and be treated. ”

“I wouldn’t doubt it one bit,” Beulah said.

“How come I never met you before now?” Hattie asked.