Page 62 of My Heart Will Find You

It took them several minutes to slog their way to the saloon. For all that he was speaking to her, she could tell that things weren’t good between them. After all, she’d told him that she’d done all she needed to do. That she’d forgotten the biggest task, probably the most important, certainly the most difficult one, wasn’t going to be easy to explain.

He had every right to refuse to participate.

The inside of the saloon didn’t look like a place of sin. It looked tired and empty. It didn’t take much to realize that it wasn’t open to the public on Sunday morning, but for Max Lawton, it was.

He went behind the empty bar, got a couple of beers, and took them to a table.

It was silly of her and she had no right, but it annoyed her that he was so familiar with the place that he served himself.

She sat down at a table and took a drink. Warm beer. Yuck.So how to begin to tell him something he was going to hate hearing?she wondered.Lead into it slowly.“Everyone is enjoying Sally’s singing. I think she was part of my quest. By the way, that was smart of you to call it that. Very imaginative.”

“Why are you pouring sugar on me?” He gave her a hard look. “You have something else to do, don’t you?”

“Just one more thing, and it may be the true reason why I’m here.”

“What does that mean?”

How to lie without lying?“It’s what I need to do. What I must do. I have to rescue a man who is in deep trouble.”

“From what?” His eyes widened. “Please tell me it’s not from hanging.”

“Certainly not! I need to save him from what would probably be five years hard labor for horse thievery.”

“No,” Max said. “Absolutely not. I might help you save a murderer, yes. There’re always two sides to that, but not a horse thief.”

She didn’t know if he was serious or not, or how to proceed with her plea.

“Where is he?” Max asked.

“Van Buren, Arkansas. I have to get there during daylight on the third of May.” His silence made Etta know he’d reached his limit. “I guess I can take the train.”

“What happens when you get there?” he asked.

“I have to get him out through a hole in the roof of the jail.”

“A hole in the roof? A hole that no one has noticed? Even in the rain? Then you throw down a rope and pull him up? Little man, is he?”

“Not as big as you but close.”

Max looked at his beer and said nothing.

Etta stood up. “I guess I’ll go get a train ticket. I’ve discovered that if I say your name, I don’t have to produce any money.” She waited for him to reply but he didn’t. “I guess I’ll see you when I get back.”If I do return, she thought. She turned away.

“There is no train.”

She turned back. “What?”

“Van Buren is directly south of here. The train goes west, then south. You can’t get there in less than a week.”

“Maybe that’s all right. It probably won’t matter if he escapes on a different date.”

“I heard that the Van Buren court is being moved to Fort Smith. A week from now your friend will probably be moved there.”

Etta sat back down. “FortSmith? You mean a place with soldiers? With rifles?”

He nodded.

“I don’t know how to do that.” She drained her glass of beer. “With no train and no car, how do I get there?”

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