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“I made the living room and kitchen one big room with the idea if I ever had a wife, she could talk to me while I fixed supper, or I could watch her while she cooked,” he said.

“You cook?” Lily was absolutely amazed.

“I love to cook, but I’m not one much for baking.

My biscuits are like rocks,” he chuckled.

“I see you checking out the curtains and the antimacassars. I do not sew or crochet. Abigail helped with those. Come on and I’ll show you the rest of the house.

There’s three bedrooms in case I ever do have a family and, of course, an outhouse out back. ” He blushed slightly.

Poor darling. If he turned red at the mention of a toilet, his face might burst into flames when he heard what she had to say that afternoon.

“Do you want to sit?” he asked. “I can make us a cup of coffee. We don’t use much tea out here on the ranch, so I can’t offer that.”

“No, but I would like a cup of water.” She sat down on the sofa. Just thinking about what she needed to tell him made her mouth as dry as if she’d sucked on a green persimmon.

“Coming right up,” he said and went over to the dry sink to dip a long-handled tin cup into a bucket of water.

He poured the water into a glass and carried it over to her. Their hands brushed when she took it from him, and there was that instant attraction again—something she could not deny. She really, really liked Matt, and could so easily find herself falling in real love with him.

But all good things must come to an end.

“Okay, I’m not very good with words, so I’m just going to blurt this out,” he said. “I like you a lot, Lily. I would like to court you.”

Lily patted the sofa beside her, and he sat down. “My real name is Abigail Carolina Boyle, not Lily.”

“Like I told you, I have a sister named Abigail and another who is named Carolina. I think I’ll just stick with calling you Lily,” he said with a grin.

“I would love for you to court me, but first you need to hear something,” she said and went on to tell him the whole story—how she had run away from an abusive fiancé and then landed at the Paradise for five years. “I’m not the sweet woman you think I am.”

“I figured that out when you killed a hundred snakes,” he said with a chuckle.

How could he laugh at a time like this? She frowned. She had just bared her soul to him and was ready for him to throw something, or at the very least toss her out of his house.

“I also figured out,” he said as he took her hand in his, “that you had been hurt sometime in the past, and that’s why you want to help all women to stand up for their rights—even those who worked for Otis.

By the way, what happened to them? Beulah said they’re living in Sally Anne’s house and that she took one of them with her when she left for England. ”

“They talked about setting up a brothel, but Sally Anne offered them a choice of that or working for her on the estate. They took the latter.” She paused.

“Did you hear me, Matt? I wasn’t any better than Frannie or any of those other girls.

The only difference is that I worked in a fancy place and the madam treated her girls with respect and love. ”

“Yes, I heard you,” he said in a serious tone. “I’m not your ex-feller, and I don’t give two hoots and a holler about your past. I do care about your future. Now, can I court you or not?”

Lily could hardly believe what she’d heard. “Are you serious?”

“Very much so, and a man like the one you were engaged to would be hanging by a length of barbed wire if he had done something like that on this farm. We take care of our women like they are made of gold and diamonds.”

“Then yes, you can court me,” Lily whispered.

“You have just made me a very happy man,” Matt said.

The first kiss was barely a brush across the lips, but the second one was so scorching hot that it left both of them panting.

“After that, I reckon we should go on and see the rest of the farm.” He started to stand up.

She pulled him back down. Her hands shook, and her pulse raced. “I agree, but just one more kiss to be sure that was real.”

“Glad to oblige,” he said with a grin.

Abigail cornered Lily as she left the outhouse that afternoon. “I read that article in the newspaper. We don’t need your kind of rabble-rouser out here on our ranch. I want you to stay away from my brother. He should be with a different kind of woman.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” Lily said past the lump in her throat. She’d thought that she had jumped the last hurdle by being honest with Matt, but evidently not. “You don’t believe in women’s rights?”

“I do, but not to the extent that you took it,” Abigail gritted out. “Stirring up trouble and taking those saloon women into your group wasn’t right.”

“So you are throwing the first stone at women who are often forced into impossible situations?” Lily asked.

Abigail narrowed her brown eyes and glared up at Lily. “How do you know they were forced?”

Lily shrugged. “I happen to know their stories.”

“Well!” Abigail hissed. “I don’t care about any of your sob stories. I just don’t want someone like you on the ranch.”

Lily managed a weak smile. “Maybe when you get to know me—”

“I will not change my mind.” Abigail stormed off toward the bunkhouse.

The lovely feeling tried to end right there, but Lily had fought rattlesnakes and lived through a horrid dust storm. She was not going to let a young woman who had been born into the lap of love ruin her day or her life.

When she reached the bunkhouse, Matt motioned her over to his side. “Miz Lily Boyle, I want you to meet my mother, Ruth, and my father, Seamus. Mama and Daddy, this is my lady friend that I’ve told y’all all about, Lily Boyle.”

“So pleased to meet you,” Lily said.

“We’re happy to finally see you,” Ruth said. “Matt said you were beautiful, but his words didn’t do you justice.” She looked like an older version of Abigail—short, dark hair, and lovely brown eyes. Lily wished that Abigail herself had given her even half as good of a welcome.

“Boyle!” Seamus said with a smile. “As good of an Irish name as Maguire.”

Lily smiled. “I don’t know about that.”

“We won’t argue names,” Ruth said. “We’re just glad to meet you. Matt, take her around and introduce her to the rest of the family. Don’t worry about learning all their names right here at first. You’ll hopefully be coming to the farm enough that you’ll get to know us all eventually.”

“Thank you.” Did the whole family know about Abigail’s position? Lily wondered. If so, how would that affect her relationship with Matt?

“I’ll see you soon,” Claude said as he lifted Daisy up onto the buckboard. “Matt and I have to come to town day after tomorrow for supplies. Maybe I could take you to Hattie’s for dinner?”

“I’ll look forward to it,” she said, wishing that even the looser rules at the ranch would let him kiss her one more time.

Matt put his hands on Lily’s waist and lifted her up to sit on the other side of Beulah. “Y’all be careful. You should be there before dark, but I wouldn’t want my girl to get hurt.”

“Let’s make this a regular thing!” Alma shouted from the bunkhouse porch. “Like tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow won’t work,” Beulah said. “But it could be a regular thing, like every other week on Sunday?”

“I’ll take it, and I’m holding you to it,” Alma said.

Beulah waved and then flicked the reins to turn the horses around. They hadn’t even left the ranch when she focused first on Daisy and then on Lily. “A dinner date at Hattie’s, and Matt called you ‘my girl’? You’ve both got some explaining to do. Daisy, you go first.”

Daisy hadn’t had time to talk to Lily alone, so she chose her words very carefully.

“Claude and I went down to a peaceful place by the river and talked all afternoon. He asked if he might court me, and I said yes.” She hadn’t said anything to Beulah about her dream to see more of the world and had only recently told Lily about Claude’s desire to live in a cooler place.

“Don’t hurt that young man,” Beulah warned. “He lost his wife and baby about five years ago.”

Daisy leaned back slightly and caught Lily’s eye. She gave her a brief nod. “We talked about that, and about my previous marriage, plus everything else. How about your day, Beulah?”

“It’s been lovely,” Beulah said. “Alma and Matt gave me a list of what they’ll need from the store, and I can deliver it to save them a trip into town, unless one of them is coming to Autrie for something other than supplies.”

“I hope that’s true,” Lily muttered.

Beulah turned her eyes toward Lily. “Your turn to explain.”

“Story is the same as Daisy’s,” she replied with a shrug. “Matt and I are attracted to each other, and we are going to see where it leads. If it’s just a flash in the pan, we’ll step back and be friends. If it’s more, we’ll figure that out later.”

“And how is that going to affect the women’s rights movement?” Beulah asked.

“Amanda and most of the women at the camp were married,” Daisy reminded Beulah. “But you don’t have to worry about us for a long, long time. Courting doesn’t mean that we’re ready to start cutting up that bolt of brocade.”

Lily nudged Beulah on the shoulder. “Right now, we have a seamstress shop in town, and they live two hours north of us. They’re busy raising sheep. We are sewing pants for Frannie and the others. The courting might be a hit-or-miss thing.”

“Well, you could see them every two weeks if you go with me,” Beulah suggested. “I do hate this drive with no one to talk to.”

“Count us in,” Daisy said without hesitation.

“Very well.” Beulah steered the horses to the left down a rutted path that could hardly even be called a road.

“We’ll talk about something else now. I told Alma all about the camp and how we did some good.

I can see how happy she and the girls are there at the farm.

Did you know that every so often, a wagon train parks out on the back side of their place by the river?

The people buy a sheep or two from the shepherds, and they always invite the ranch folks to come to their camp for an evening.

I guess it’s a big thing. Alma said that she baked a bunch of pies to take to the gathering last week.

She wants me to stay a couple of days next time another one comes and go with her and the girls.

I told her that I would. We can close up both our shops and take a little break.

Maybe you could bring some of the premade day dresses. ”

“Sounds great,” Lily agreed.

Daisy could hear the other two talking about the ranch, and she caught a word or a sentence every so often.

But she got lost in her thoughts about Claude’s dream of going north by wagon train.

Would she really go with him on a trip like that?

Days on end of traveling across what could be rugged land, only to start all over again in a new place?

Yes, I would, she thought, and sealed her silent answer with a nod.