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L ily, Daisy, and Beulah gathered with droves of other women to see Sally Anne and Molly off on a bright Monday morning two weeks later.

An aura of excitement mixed with a touch of sadness filled the air.

When the train whistle blew from a mile down the tracks, Sally Anne grabbed Lily and hugged her tightly.

“Laverne and Oscar could never have children. They are so excited to have a houseful of daughters now,” she whispered. “I’m glad the ladies chose to get out of the business they were in, but it was their decision, and I would have supported them either way.”

“You do know that your property is tainted now, don’t you?” Lily asked.

“It’s been tainted since the day Oscar brought Laverne home, and my folks refused to let other people’s opinions matter. I was just a newborn baby then. Maybe that’s what helped form my own attitude about what others think,” Sally Anne replied.

The train came to a loud, screeching halt in front of the platform, and a porter hopped out. “These trunks going?” he asked.

“Yes, sir, and here’s our tickets.” Sally Anne handed him what the stationmaster had given her.

Then she turned to the crowd and raised a fist in the air.

“Thank you all for this send-off. Molly and I will do you proud, we promise. Together!” She blew kisses to the women, and then she boarded the train.

Molly hugged Frannie one more time and then took a step back. “I was afraid to leave the saloon that day, but I’m glad we did.”

“So are we,” Lily told her. “Look what one little decision has caused.”

Dozens and dozens of fists went into the air as Molly climbed aboard. The shouting resounded louder than the train’s engine. “Freedom for us all!” Frannie said as she raised her hand a second time and started a chant: “Together! Together! Together!”

When the noise died down and the train disappeared, the women headed back to their homes. Almost everyone was gone when Edith turned and grabbed Lily in a fierce hug. Tears flowed down her cheeks and dampened Lily’s shirtwaist. “Tell me she will be all right.”

Lily patted her on the back and said, “She and Molly will be fine, but I do feel sorry for anyone who gets in her way.”

Edith leaned back and looked up at Lily’s face. “The judge is really angry. He’s threatening to kick you and Daisy out of his store when your month’s rent is up.”

“I would guess what he’s most mad about is the fact that Frannie isn’t at the saloon anymore,” Lily told her.

The tears dried up in an instant, and Edith’s expression changed from sadness to pure unadulterated anger. She turned around and focused on Lily again. “Now, what were you saying?”

“Do you remember the day that Daisy and I went into the bar to buy a bottle of whiskey and Frannie and Daisy got into a fight?”

“Did I hear my name?” Frannie asked from a few feet away.

“Yes, you did,” Lily answered and motioned for her to join them. “Tell Edith about the judge.”

“He is ... I mean, was ... one of my best customers. He used to tell me that if I wasn’t who I was, that he would take me out of that place and marry me tomorrow,” Frannie said.

Daisy’s expression spoke volumes when Lily glanced over at her. In that single moment, Lily had no doubts that Daisy was completely over Wesley Martin.

“How could he have said all those words at the church when he was seeing you?” Edith asked.

Frannie shrugged. “We hear ... heard ... sweet things like that all the time—but we don’t have to listen to empty words anymore.”

“Why’s that?” Edith asked. “And why are you saying was and heard ?”

The women began to walk back toward town in groups, but Edith kept her feet planted on the train platform.

“We will not be working as prostitutes anymore,” Frannie said.

“Sally Anne offered us a choice of entertaining men or working for Laverne and Oscar at her estate,” Lula answered.

“All of you?” Edith asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” Ruby replied with a nod.

“We love it on the ranch,” another woman added.

Edith chuckled. “I wonder where the almighty pious judge will go now for his bedroom romps.”

“Well, it won’t be to my bed,” Frannie declared. “I’m done with that life, and men in general.”

“Who would have thought that all this change could happen so fast?” Edith started back toward town with the last group—Lily, Daisy, Beulah, Maggie, and the four remaining women who had worked for Otis.

Maggie stopped off at the parsonage. Edith left the bunch when they reached her house.

“We would like to visit with you about making us some clothes,” Frannie said in a low voice. “Is now a good time?”

“Absolutely, but don’t any of you sew?” Daisy asked.

“I do, but ...” Lula said. “And there is a sewing machine at our new place, but ...”

“We don’t know how to make pants, and Oscar says that we shouldn’t be working with him in the fields in a dress,” Frannie finally finished for her.

“So I guess we’re going from scantily dressed saloon girls that some women won’t even speak to, to women wearing pants whom they won’t speak to either. ”

Daisy pointed up at the sky. “The sun is about halfway to telling us that it’s noon. Laverne will most likely be needing you soon, so let’s get on in the shop and get all four of you measured for your new britches.”

“Another step in the rising sun?” Lily asked.

“I would say so,” Daisy answered.

“What does that mean?” Lula asked.

Daisy explained the comment. “Our mission is kind of like coming out of darkness and into the light, but it’s not all at once.

It’s like the rising sun that comes up a little at a time.

We broke through dawn when we lived at the camp for those few days.

Now you are pushing up the sun in the sky even more by putting in an order for pants. ”

Frannie opened the door and stood to one side to let the other women go in first. “If wearing pants helps the cause, then we will wear them with pride.”

Frannie and her friends were barely out of sight when the shop door opened. When Lily looked over her shoulder, a rush of heat filled her whole body.

“Well, hello, Matt,” Beulah said. “We weren’t expecting you today. The pickin’s are slim right now, but I’ve got supplies on the way.”

“Evenin’, ladies,” Matt said. “We went by the store, but it was locked up. We brought a couple of butchered sheep to help you get through until you can get your store restocked, Miz Beulah. If you don’t need the meat, we can let Uncle Elijah have it to deliver to other folks.”

“And if you have any left, we need a big sack of sugar,” Claude said, but he didn’t take his eyes off Daisy.

“We’re picking apples and peaches to put up pie filling for the winter months.

If you don’t have it, we can add the sugar later, but the cobblers taste better if the sugar is put in at the time of canning. ”

“I’ve got a couple of big bags left, as near as I can figure,” Beulah said. “I’ll take all that mutton you brought. It will probably be gone before the day is done. For those who fight against sheep farming, our townsfolk sure do like a leg of lamb and mutton chops. How’s Alma and the girls doing?”

“Missing you,” Matt replied. “Why don’t you ride out and see them this week?”

“If it’s not raining or another sandstorm doesn’t come around the bend, I just might do that,” Beulah said.

“My next shipment of supplies doesn’t come in until Thursday, so I suppose I can lock up the store and spend a day at the farm tomorrow.

Lily, why don’t you and Daisy go with me?

We can take the wagon and make a day of it. ”

“We should stay here and work on Frannie’s order,” Daisy said with slight sigh.

Lily laid a hand on Daisy’s shoulder. “One day shouldn’t make that much difference, and we could sure use a day out of town.”

“That’s wonderful,” Beulah said with a wide grin. “I’ll tell Elijah to get my team hitched up and ready. We’ll leave right after breakfast. I could maybe help Alma in the kitchen with dinner and supper.”

“After we unload the mutton at your store, we’re going on down to Uncle Elijah’s to see him. We could tell him to have your wagon ready to save you a trip,” Claude suggested.

“Thanks,” Beulah said. “The store isn’t locked, so just put the meat in the kitchen and I’ll get it cut up and ready for sale after a bit.”

“We can do that,” Claude said and tipped his hat toward Daisy. “I’ll be looking forward to showing you around tomorrow.”

As soon as they were gone, Beulah frowned. “Those are the best of men. Don’t y’all go breaking their hearts.” She shook a finger at each of them in emphasis. “Now, y’all let me get on back to my place and get word out that I’ve got mutton for sale.”

Miz Raven’s voice popped into Lily’s head. Or letting them break yours.

“We’ll be very careful,” Daisy promised. “And we’ll see you first thing tomorrow morning.”

Beulah gave them a curt nod and closed the door behind her.

“Should I clean up the coffee cups or start cutting out pants?” Lily asked.

Daisy sank down on the sofa and leaned her head against the back. “I’ll get out the patterns. We’ll have to adjust them for women—but, Lily, we’ve got to be up-front and honest with Matt and Claude tomorrow. We need to nip whatever this is that’s going on between us and them in the bud.”

Lily plopped down beside her and propped her feet on the table in front of them in a very unladylike fashion.

“What if one or both of them is another Oscar?” She picked up Beulah’s fan she had left on the wide sofa arm.

No matter how fast she moved the air, it did very little to cool off her face and neck.

“What if they tell us they don’t give a damn what we used to do but that they really like us? ”

“You think there’s a snowball’s chance in hell for that to happen?” Daisy asked. “Women like us don’t get those kind of chances.”

“Laverne did,” Lily argued. “And look at the great situation for Frannie and the others with them now.”

“That’s a one-in-a-million thing,” Daisy scolded.

“But what if—”

“Then I would be on the first wagon train headed north to cooler country with Claude,” Daisy said.

“Why do you say that?”

Daisy told her about Claude’s dreams and how they matched her own yearning to travel and live in a place that had snow in the winter. “I never wanted to come south from Spanish Fort, but I really didn’t have any other choice, and we are such good friends.”

“My dream has always been simply to be loved and respected,” Lily admitted. “I didn’t think that would ever be possible after what we’ve done. I guess we’ve both been hiding dreams that can’t come true. I can’t imagine you not being here with me, Daisy, no matter what happens in the future.”

“I feel the same way. Remember when we told Frank we were cousins?” Daisy said. “Look at us. Do we look like we share a single drop of blood?”

“No,” Lily giggled. “We do not, but he believed us. And cousins of blood aren’t necessarily as close as sisters of the heart.”