Lawman Read Online Free Page B

from the station hands for a Christmas
gift last year. She looked at the little gun again, thought better
of keeping it out of reach, and slipped it into her skirt pocket
instead.
    "But I can't let him do this again. It's
taken me two years to replace what he lost last time he found my
savings. At this rate, by the time I get my dressmaker's shop, I'll
be too old to see what I'm stitching."
    She added a bottle of rose water and a wad
of lacy handkerchiefs, then closed the satchel. "Besides, the
Websters are set to head back east on Saturday's train. If I
haven't gotten the money to them before then, they'll sell their
mercantile to Mr. Meyer the butcher next door, and my chance will
be gone."
    She'd managed to hide the fact of her
missing money from Jedediah and his wife, and had somehow convinced
them they needed a re-written purchase agreement—due to all the
changes—before completing their transaction. With her promise to
have a new contract drawn up and delivered to them later in the
week, they'd left on the morning express only minutes earlier.
    But Megan knew she couldn't put them off
with excuses for long.
    "Three days isn't much time," Addie said,
coming to stand beside the bed. "What if you can't find your papa
by then? You're hardly familiar with town, and—"
    "I can do it."
    She had to do it. She'd dreamed of
her dressmaker's shop for so long now, dreamed of something her
very own to feel proud of. Something secure to keep her safe. She
couldn't give up when it was almost within reach.
    Addie's gentle hand touched her shoulder.
"Sheer grit might not be enough."
    "I don't see why not."
    With a sigh, Addie smoothed the brown
worsted shoulder seam it had taken Megan a week straight to sew
correctly. The shaping technique had been new and difficult to
master, but in the end she'd done it.
    Determination had worked then. It would work
again.
    "Maybe you should've told Joseph the truth,
Megan," Addie went on. "Told him your plans for your shop. Maybe
none of this would've happened at all."
    "And maybe it would've happened even
sooner." Megan shook her head and picked up her wide-brimmed
traveling hat, then carried it to the looking glass. "I've got to
do this on my own."
    "It ain't like you're alone." In the glass,
Addie's reflection twisted her apron hem. "We all would help ya' if
we could."
    Pausing with her hat on but untied, Megan
met Addie's gaze. Her fingers trembled on the wide grosgrain
ribbons in her hands, making them flutter against her dress. "I
know you would," she said quietly. "And I love you for it,
Addie."
    She turned, ribbons whirling past her
shoulders. "I just plain love you for no reason at all," she said,
catching Addie's spare, strong shoulders and pulling her close for
a hug.
    With no mother she could remember well, and
a father more often afield than underfoot, she didn't know what she
would've done without Addie nearby. Sniffling, Megan kept her
forehead buried against Addie's familiar, crisp apron for a moment
longer, then squeezed once more and stepped away.
    "But I'm still heading to Tucson to bring
papa back—and my nest egg money—and this time I won't take no for
an answer."
    She tied her hat ribbons beneath her chin
and scrutinized the effect in the mirror, comparing it with the
illustration she'd seen in the latest Godey's from Fort
Lowell. For an ordinary straw bonnet, it looked right fine with the
embellishments she'd added. The thought that she looked nice gave
her the extra courage she needed to face the highbrow ladies in
town—and their wagging gossips' tongues.
    She pulled on her mother's old linen
gloves—the only pair she'd ever owned—and turned to face Addie.
"Well? How do I look?"
    "Like you outta take Mose along with you for
protection," Addie answered sourly, crossing her arms again. "Them
ruffians in town will take one look at you and toss you over their
shoulders for Maiden Lane."
    What a thrilling notion! "Do you really
think so?" Megan asked, pirouetting in