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town girls rile her. Besides, she didn’t want her brothers, especially Jordan, to know she’d ruined another of Coralie’s dresses.
    She shoved her fingers through her unruly black curls. Addressing Sadie, Jessie paced the length of the barn. “I’m in a fix now, girl. Jordan’s going to hit the roof when he finds out whatI’ve done. What he sees in her, I don’t know! I’ll sure be glad to leave her and the rest of those snooty girls behind. Just think, in a few more weeks, there’ll be no more Coralie to give us grief.”
    Jessie closed her eyes and concentrated on taking slow, even breaths to keep the anger at bay, but it did no good. She kicked an empty pail sitting in the middle of the path with the pointed tip of one boot. It flew across the barn and bounced off the opposite wall. The noise sent several barn cats scurrying for cover. The horses, safe in their stalls, kept wary eyes trained on her, and at the back of the barn, the one remaining cow mooed in annoyance.
    She planted her hands on her hips and glared at the animal audience. “That Coralie Baker makes me so mad I could just spit! Just because her pa owns the mercantile, she thinks she’s better than the rest of us!”
    A soft woof from the barn door drew her attention. Fearing that one of her brothers had come to see why it was taking her so long to do her chores, she whirled around, then breathed a sigh. It was only Sadie barking at an overturned tub, her rump high and her tail wagging. Suddenly a tiny black-and-white paw shot out and swiped the dog’s snout with tiny, sharp claws. Sadie backed off with a whine.
    “Best leave them kittens alone, Sadie,” Jessie advised. Gathering an armful of sweet-smelling straw, she carried it into Shilo’s stall and spread it over the freshly raked dirt floor. Her mare nickered softly and butted her huge black head against Jessie’s shoulder, letting her know she understood. Jessie leaned against the animal.
    Coralie’s barbs had hit home. She glared at her dirty, work-roughened hands and broken fingernails, then frowned at her equally filthy clothing, comparing her attire with the stylish dresses worn by Coralie, Becky and Sarah.
    Suddenly the fight left her. Raw pain rose to the surface to devour her anger. Tears pooled in her eyes, blurring her vision, but Jessie set her jaw. She wouldn’t give Coralie the satisfaction of making her cry. She lowered herself to the bed of fresh straw and ran her hands through her short, disheveled curls.
    How she longed to own a pretty, fashionable dress. “Pale blue,” she mused, “or perhaps lavender, with lots of frills, lace and ribbons.” Her one and only dress was a plain brown calico—and ugly to boot. She glared at a piece of shredded straw and tossed it away in disgust.
    As much as she hated that dress, she couldn’t ask James for fancy clothes. Not one of her brothers would understand, and she’d rather die than admit she was jealous of Coralie and the other girls. Sadie whined and nosed her way onto Jessie’s lap. “Oh, Sadie.” She moaned, burying her face in the dog’s silky fur. “I do so want to go to the social tomorrow night. It’ll be the last time I see Elliot, but I don’t dare,” she whispered, “not after last time.” Her face flushed with remembered humiliation.
    She’d fled the dance to return home, where there was no one to witness her tears. After tossing her mother’s ruined dress into the corner of her room, she’d taken the shears to her hair, hating the unmanageable thick strands that had contributed to her downfall. By the time her brothers had returned from town, her bruised and tender heart had been hidden from the world once more.
    They’d been very upset that she’d cut her hair. It had previously been her only concession to being a young woman, but she’d ignored them, keeping to herself how betrayed she’d felt—by her own yearnings. There wasn’t anyone who’d understand that the emerging butterfly of