Chapter 5

5

C ASS C OUNTY , T EXAS , WEST OF Q UEEN C ITY

Letty leaned over her horse’s neck and urged her to greater speed. “Come on, Shadow. Fly!”

The black mare needed little encouragement. She enjoyed racing through the forest as much as Letty did. Rusty bounded through the trees on a parallel path, his reddish-brown fur blending with the tree trunks and making him hard to spot. A fact she appreciated after last week’s scare.

She’d avoided the ridge all week and did her best to discourage Rusty from roaming in that direction, though controlling a wolf’s movements was about as easy as controlling where rain would fall. He howled incessantly if she tied him up in the yard and paced with clicking nails all night when she brought him inside. Grandmother had insisted she quit trying to stifle the animal and just let him roam where he willed. Rather ironic since Grandmother had been stifling Letty’s movements for the majority of her life. Although, to be fair, those boundaries only walled her off from people. Grandmother gave her free rein to explore the miles of woods surrounding their home. She hadn’t even suggested that Letty forgo her morning rides after her encounter with the loggers.

Shadow knew the trail well and galloped through the trees until she reached the small stream that served as their finish line. With a graceful leap, the mare soared over the shallow ravine. For a single heartbeat, all of Letty’s troubles suspended as she floated in midair, the sweet taste of liberty dancing through her blood. Then hooves met earth, rear met saddle, and the burdens of reality fell back upon her shoulders.

“Good girl, Shadow.” Letty leaned forward and patted her mare’s neck, trying to hold on to that feeling of flying for just a moment longer. But as the horse slowed, and the wind against her face weakened, the worries she’d been outrunning caught up to her.

Every moment of the last fifteen years had been leading up to the day she turned twenty-one. The day they returned to Houston and a life she barely remembered. A life she wasn’t sure she wanted anymore. Cloudy memories of a big house, servants, and rooms filled with shiny things offered little enticement. She much preferred a cozy cottage surrounded by God’s creation over a society that judged women by their beauty, connections, and ability to converse about the weather.

Grandmother had been trying to prepare her to reenter the world she’d left behind. Educating her in the classics, bringing home newspapers so they could discuss current events, thumbing through fashion magazines. Letty enjoyed their spirited debates, especially on the topics of women’s suffrage and child-labor reform, but the more she learned about the outside world, the less attractive it became.

When cornered, Letty would admit that there were a few aspects of society she’d likely enjoy. Large bathtubs filled with water hot from built-in pipes. Ice cream parlors. Donning a pretty dress and dancing with a handsome gentleman. Dancing with Grandmother outside their cabin while Rusty howled along to whatever tune Grandmother hummed usually ended with both women hunkered in laughter. What would it be like to hear the strains of a real orchestra while gliding around an elegant ballroom? Although, she imagined she would enjoy square dancing in a barn with a kindhearted cowboy just as much. Maybe more.

In truth, the only thing that truly drew her to Houston was the thought of seeing her mother again. But even that was fraught with uncertainty. Fifteen years with no communication. No affection. No comforting touch or shared smiles. Grandmother did her best to keep Mama’s memory alive in Letty’s mind, talking about her often, sharing opinions she thought her mother would hold on the food they were eating or the articles they read. They mentioned Mama in their prayers, and Letty wished her goodnight by blowing a kiss to the photograph on the mantel every night before going to bed, a habit Grandmother had encouraged from the time she’d been small.

Letty did her best to hold on to the fuzzy memories, but when she’d left after the fire, it felt like Mama had died, just like Daddy before her. Did Mama feel the same about her? Had they grown so far apart that no amount of time would restore the closeness they’d once shared? What if Letty proved to be a disappointment? Unfit for society. An embarrassment.

What if ... Letty swallowed, the gentle swaying of her horse unable to soothe the sharp jabs of the dark thoughts she’d battled for years. What if Mama had married someone else, started a new family, and no longer had any need for a discarded daughter? She rubbed the aching spot on her chest that took to throbbing whenever those old insecurities found a crack in her defenses.

Rusty suddenly appeared on their path, tongue lolling, eyes dancing as if sunshine and a good run were all he needed to make him happy. The ache in her chest lessened just a bit as the corner of her mouth edged upward.

Thanks for the reminder, Lord .

Worrying about tomorrow only served to steal the joy from today. And this day was far too fine to squander. Letty turned Shadow toward home and let her eyes drift closed as an autumn breeze rustled through the pines.

I feel like Abram, embarking on a journey into the unknown. I freely admit that I have no idea what’s best for me, for my family, for the businesses Daddy built and all the people those companies employ. Grandmother’s done her best to prepare me, but I know I’m not ready. I’m too young , too inexperienced, too ... afraid of disappointing the people who depend on me. I need you, Lord. More than I’ve ever—

Rusty’s bark interrupted her prayer and snapped her eyes open in time to see him dash off toward home. Shadow tensed and champed at her bit. Had Rusty set her off, or had something else spooked her?

Letty scanned the trees for danger, her instincts flaring. Something was definitely wrong. But what?

Shadow lurched into a canter, and Letty let her run. An unseen urgency pushed her from behind, like a hand to her back.

Was this the Spirit’s nudging that Grandmother had told her about? Letty heard no message spoken in divine words, but a compulsion to hurry built inside her. One that couldn’t be ignored. She needed to get home. Now.

Shadow burst out of the trees, and Letty got her first look at the cabin. Rusty pawed at the front door as if trying to get inside. As soon as Letty drew close enough, she reined Shadow in and slid from the saddle. Rusty bounded sideways and jumped, planting his front paws on the window. Letty ran up behind him, placing a hand on his back. That’s when she saw her grandmother, fallen on the floor by the kitchen table, a bowl overturned with shelled peas strewn about like beads from a broken necklace.

“Grandmother!”

Letty flung open the door and ran inside. Heart racing, she dropped to the floor where her grandmother lay crumpled on her side and took hold of her hand.

“Grandmother?” She patted her hand with sharp taps. “Can you hear me? It’s Letty. Open your eyes.” Please open your eyes. I can’t lose you , too.

Grandmother moaned, her body moving slightly as her eyes fluttered open. “Letty? Wh-what happened?”

“I don’t know. I just got home and found you on the floor. Can you sit up?” She wrapped a supportive arm around the older lady’s shoulders and started lifting her off the floor.

Grandmother tried to bat Letty’s hands away, but the swats held no strength. “Of course I can sit up. I just...” Her breathing grew ragged as she struggled to rise. “Need ... to catch ... my breath.”

Letty set her chin. “What you need is a doctor.” Using the table as leverage, she shouldered her grandmother’s weight and managed to get them both onto their feet.

“No doctor.” Grandmother wobbled, though whether the cause was dizziness or a lack of strength, Letty couldn’t determine. “I’ll not put you at risk. It’s just ... indigestion. I’ll be fine after a nap.”

How many bouts of “indigestion” had her grandmother suffered lately without telling her? Knowing how stubborn and protective her grandmother was, Letty figured it was safe to assume there’d been several.

Arguing would serve no purpose at the moment, so Letty said nothing, just helped her grandmother to the bedroom.

“Sit down here.” Letty lowered her grandmother to the mattress of the large bed they shared, not liking the paleness of her skin. “I’ll take off your shoes and unpin your hair so you can have a nice long rest, all right?”

“Don’t need to fuss,” Grandmother insisted, her words slow and deliberate, as if they commanded all the energy at her disposal.

Letty hurried to make her grandmother as comfortable as possible, even as her panicked mind tried to piece together a plan.

They needed help. Medical help. Yet they also needed to stay hidden.

No, not they. She needed to stay hidden. People in town knew Iris Hood. Sending a doctor to tend to her might give away the precise location of their cabin, but if Letty stayed in the woods, no one need ever know that Iris had a granddaughter. It could work.

It had to work.

Her grandmother began to slump. Letty caught her and assisted her down to the pillow. She lifted her feet onto the bed and tucked them beneath a lightweight quilt.

“Rest, Grandmother. I’ll take care of everything.” She leaned down and placed a kiss on her grandmother’s forehead.

“You’re a ... good girl ... Letty. I love you.”

Tears rushed to her eyes, but Letty blinked them back. “I love you, too.”

“Everything ... fine.” Grandmother’s eyes slid closed. “You’ll ... see.”

The moment her grandmother slipped into sleep, Letty rushed from the room, nearly tripping over Rusty in the process. He whined, the sound so mournful, her chest ached. She patted his head and rubbed his ears. “Stay with her, boy. I don’t want her to be alone.”

Rusty padded over to the bed, his nails clicking on the wooden floor. When he reached the rag rug at the edge of the bed, he circled once, then lay down. His head remained up, though, his gaze on Grandmother as if he understood the vigil he’d been assigned to keep.

Letty pulled her hood low over her forehead and wrapped her cape more securely around the dark-green calico of her dress. She’d never ridden to town, but she knew the road Grandmother took every other week. Trees lined it on either side. She need not ride out in the open.

She couldn’t fetch the doctor herself. Not only because it would reveal her existence and threaten everything Grandmother had fought to protect, but she had no idea who he was or if Queen City even had a physician. She could fetch someone else, though. Someone who knew the town and understood her need for confidentiality. Grandmother’s sole ally. The coconspirator who helped them send letters and photographs to her mama. Stewart Darby. Senior porter at the T&P Depot and one of Grandmother’s childhood friends. Letty had been instructed that if anything ever happened to her grandmother, she was to seek out Mr. Darby at the train station.

Well, something had happened.

Letty strode out of the cabin and closed the door behind her. Her fingers trembled as she reached for Shadow’s reins, and her stomach clenched as she climbed into the saddle.

How many times had she longed to visit Queen City? To attend school with other children. To make friends. To pretend she was a normal girl instead of one being hunted for her fortune. Yet as she turned Shadow east, her heart pounded so hard the beats poked holes in her courage.

Glancing back at the cabin, Letty inhaled a shaky breath and shored up her resolve. Grandmother needed help. After all the woman had done for her over the years, Letty would not fail her now that the time had come to return the favor.

Facing forward in the saddle, Letty clicked her tongue and set off for town.