Chapter Eight
June adjusted her bonnet to better shield her eyes from the bright sun as she rode down main street, . The cool shade from the awning of the general store enveloped her, and she felt suddenly happy. Her legs were sore from the long day’s ride into town.
She wasn’t sure how she felt about how long it took her to ride here. She wasn’t used to being this far away from people, or on a ranch, no matter how pretty it was. Or peaceful.
Just then, familiar feminine voices perked up her ears, and she urged Suzanna past the general store. That could only mean—
“Over here!” It was Etta, standing beside Ada at the dress shop that was next door to the general store. They were looking in at one of the front window displays.
“June!” Etta called again.
June froze. She hadn’t heard her real name used in a while now.
“Annabelle!” Ada hissed at Etta, following it up with a much louder fake laugh.
June’s breath escaped from between clenched teeth. They’d be caught eventually, but they didn’t have to risk it so early like this! She dismounted quickly and tied Suzanna to the hitching post before shooting a warning glance at Etta. “Be careful!”
Etta didn’t seem to mind. Her fresh curls bounced as she waved June off.
Her smile was bright—and annoying. Even Ada’s mood seemed different.
More improved. Giddy. It might have been nicer to see them so happy, but June could hardly say the same for herself.
Seth Whitman was a thorn in her side: telling her what to do, bossing her around, gone all day and then all night.
What was the point of being married to someone like that?
She walked reluctantly over to her two friends. “Afternoon,” she greeted them with a curtsey—which still felt strange.
“How are you?” Etta asked, and immediately June felt annoyed.
Clearly not as good as you.
“Tired of married life already,” she murmured, which garnered no response from either girl.
Good.
“Well? Shall we?” Ada gestured to main street. Together, the girls began walking the streets of town, as they’d planned to do earlier that week. A day of shopping—at least, that was what June had told Seth.
June’s face scrunched up as they passed the saloon,. It was only midday, but the place was already noisy, and the smell of whiskey and tobacco wafting from the open door was so intense that she nearly choked.
Etta coughed and plugged her nose. “Goodness!” she whispered, nasally.
June shook her head. “Just breathe through your mouth.”
Somewhere inside, a piano was playing loudly, and the drunken cheers of men drifted out to the street. June enjoyed piano, so that at least was nice—but the saloon, like everything else in town, was occupied mostly by men, and awfully rowdy men, from the sound of it.
Still, June couldn’t help her curiosity. She slowed as they passed the open door and craned her neck to try and get a look inside.
There were only two women in sight. The first was standing with a mop next to the staircase.
She was an older, gray-haired woman with large breasts and an equally large boot-shaped nose.
The second was a woman who looked to be about June’s age—and very beautiful, but she sitting at the far corner of the bar, on the lap of a man with the nicest white hat June had ever seen.
She wondered how he kept it so clean in a nasty place like that.
“Do I have six heads?” Ada asked June hotly, and June noticed a handful of men now staring them down from the front porch of the saloon.
“I feel the same way we did on the first day in Fort Davis… men staring at us all strange,” Etta murmured, avoiding eye contact.
June shook her head again, trying her best to ignore them both, and the saloon altogether. She was there to enjoy the afternoon with her friends. She hadn’t seen them in days. The ranch wasn’t exactly a hop and a skip away. The ride to town took hours.
As they passed the alley on the other side of the saloon, June saw a tall man leaning against the wall. He stood there proudly, confidently, puffing a large cigar and scowling through his long, grizzled beard as they walked past.
June spared him one more glance, and then looked down at her feet.
“Let’s get to the bakery…” She trailed off, grabbing her friends, tugging them along a bit faster as they passed the man.
She could feel his eyes on her as she walked by, and a chill ran down her spine.
He looked just like the kind of man they’d do well to avoid.
That much was certain. Her steps were determined as she did her best to take in her surroundings, something she had learned to do long ago.
She picked out a few more men loitering around, but the further they went into town, the more men she saw who seemed to be doing an honest day’s work.
“So, Annabelle,” Etta said in a sing-song voice as they arrived at the bakery. “How has it been with Mr. Whitman?”
June hesitated, fiddling with the hem of her sleeve. “Complicated,” she admitted with a deep sigh. “He’s… stubborn. Hardheaded as a mule.”
“He can’t be so bad!” Ada laughed.
“Come on, I’ve heard he’s a good man,” Etta encouraged as the girls walked inside. “That loaf looks great!” she exclaimed happily as she pointed to one of the loaves behind the counter. June watched as she paid for the loaf, as well as two more.
She felt proud of the fact that Etta was buying her own food now.
The three of them had been broke almost their entire lives. Barely two nickels to rub together—and now Etta was buying each of them a loaf as she paraded around town with nice jewelry and beautiful clothes. It truly warmed June’s heart.
Even if it was temporary.
Etta led them to a table at the far side of the bakery near the window, where they sat down and divvied up the bread.
“Come on,” Ada continued to badger June. “Tell us something good about Mr. Whitman.”
June groaned. “I guess he works hard, and… I don’t know. Sometimes he’s not so bad.”
Ada laughed so harshly that it sounded like she was choking on a hairball. “Sounds like you’re both cut from the same cloth. What about you, Etta? How are things with Henry?”
Etta’s face softened, a rare smile gracing her lips. “Henry’s kind.”
“And Jack?” June huffed, glancing at Ada.
Ada’s cheeks turned pink, and she waved a dismissive hand. “Jack’s fun. He keeps me laughing, and he’s not as serious as I thought he’d be. It’s… easy with him. Natural.”
“It’s easy?” June repeated, astonished. “You’re the most difficult person I know! How is it easy?”
Ada waved her hand. “You say that because you don’t have to deal with you like the rest of us do.”
June scoffed, but it was more to hide the fact that she was a little envious of the other two. Ada and Etta seemed to be finding their places in this strange new life, while she still felt like an outsider. She knew it was probably better that way.
Better not to get too attached.
“Sounds like you’ve both got it figured out,” she said, more bitter than she’d intended. The truth was, the two of them didn’t have a clue. They’d lost sight of everything. Trey could still find them—and they still owed him. Not to mention that the real brides could still come any day.
Etta reached across the table, her hand brushing June’s. “It’ll get easier,” she said softly. “Seth’s a tough nut to crack, but so are you. Give it time.”
June nodded, but her doubts didn’t leave.
She wasn’t sure if there would be a lot more time to make it work with Seth.
“Speaking of tough nuts…” she began, steering the conversation away from herself.
If they wanted time, there was one thing they needed to discuss. “We need to talk about the letters.”
The mood at the table shifted as the reality of their situation set in once again.
They were all living a lie, no matter what two of the three girls felt. None of the husbands knew their real identities, or their pasts.
“We have to make sure those letters get to the right place,” June said.
A stiff tension settled over the other two. Their smiles had completely faded.
“So what do we do? How do we know if they get them or not?” Etta asked eventually, worry creeping into her voice.
June understood why. Etta had clearly fallen for Henry.
It might have been a na?ve thing to do, but it had happened regardless; and as much as June was annoyed about it, she could still understand.
She understood that her friends deserved a real chance at this new life, and that they wanted to take it if they could.
She glanced around the bakery, ensuring no one was within earshot, before speaking her next thought. “We need someone that knows exactly where the letters go—someone that we can trust.”
Ada’s brow furrowed. “Do you have someone in mind?”
“Louise,” June said simply.
It was a risk, but the woman had been nothing but kind to them since they’d come into town.
Ada and Etta exchanged an uncertain look and then turned it on June. She met both their gazes levelly. Fortunately, this was one thing she was certain about. Louise had a sharp tongue and even sharper wit, but her heart was made of gold. If anyone could help them, it was her.
And June knew it. She just had to convince the other two that she was right.
“Do you think we can trust her?” Ada asked. “She blabs a bit…”
“We don’t have much choice,” June insisted. “She’s clever, and she knows everything about everyone.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Ada groaned.
But Etta was nodding slowly. “Maybe if we tell her the truth, she’ll understand. She likes us and she’s kind.”
Ada grumbled a bit more, but between Etta and June, they convinced her without much more complaint. And so they went—back down the street, all the way to their first “home” in Fort Davis.