Page 65 of My Heart Will Find You

Esmeralda was the last one. Etta hadn’t talked to her, hadn’t done anything directly for her, but her life had been altered. She’d felt an obligation to Alice, who she’d helped raise, but now she was free to retire to her own family. She gave Etta a little bag of chili powder.

“Thank you for taking such good care of me,” Etta said. Esmeralda nodded and stepped back.

All of them parted as Max came forward on his horse and leading another one. It wasn’t sweet-tempered Tulip. He seemed to know what she was thinking. “This is her daughter, Daisy. Not old and not plain.” His eyes were twinkling.

It was Cornelia who laughed, then the others joined in. It looked like they’d all heard the story of what she’d called Etta. Best was that their laughter said it wasn’t true.

Pat gave Etta a boost into the saddle, and the mare followed Max as they rode out.

“Happy honeymoon,” Cornelia called out, then threw a handful of rice at them.

Etta turned in the saddle and looked at the line of people. She’d come to love them all. She watched until they were out of sight, then she turned to Max. “I’m afraid I’m never going to see them again.” There were tears in her eyes and her voice shook.

“If this trip is too much for you, let me know. I’ll get you a rocking chair and you can sit on the porch.”

“If you think that I—” At that moment Daisy decided to start prancing and Etta nearly fell off. “How do I stop this?”

“Pretend she’s one of the humans you boss around. That should put her in line.”

Etta would have made a retort but instead, she jerked the reins and said, “Stop it!” The mare obeyed.

“Just what I said.” Max gave his horse a nudge and started moving quickly. Etta was right behind him.

12

About three hours into the journey, Etta was ready to stop.No wonder we need to go to the gym in modern times, she thought.Everything in our lives is so easy.

She had no idea how Max knew which way to go, but he seemed to be sure of it. A few times she saw in the distance towns about the size of Garrett, but Max avoided them. “There’s no need to look for trouble,” he said.

“What kind of trouble?” she asked.

His eyes twinkled. “I meant a delay.”

“You mean the lure of saloons?” she retorted, and he laughed.

She followed him as closely as possible. A few times, he pointed to things. There was a flock of wild turkeys, grouse flew up, and she saw stands of wild plums. Lester had always loved dealing with game, and sometimes they had specials with them. Maybe on the return trip she could do some cooking.

They went at a steady pace, not a run but not a walk either. Her inner thighs gradually adjusted and fell into place in the big saddle. She hoped they’d stop for lunch. But no. Max pulled fried meat pies from the bag Martha had given them, handed her one, and they kept on going.

Etta thought,Is Wyatt Earp worth all this? What exactly did he achieve?But she knew it was her aching joints that were talking. She had a quest and she needed to complete it.

In the late afternoon, it started to rain. Etta began looking right and left for one of the little towns where they could stop. At the first sight of one, she yelled, “Max!”

He didn’t turn, just put up his hand, then waved for her to keep going. They weren’t stopping.

“Right,” she muttered. “Fifty miles a day or bust.”

One thing Etta knew about Kansas was why it produced so much fabulous food. Sunshine and rain. They were great when you could sit in a window seat and read Jane Austen for the thousandth time, but being outside, in the rain and sun, was not so pleasant.

Etta had on one of Max’s mother’s hats. It was really pretty: a fine quality Italian straw, wide brimmed, trimmed with a blue ribbon. It leaked. Rain drizzled down her face, onto her neck, and into her shirt. But that didn’t matter since the sweet, fertile, life-giving Kansas rain was drenching every inch of her body.

She tried sending silent mind messages to Max.Please stop. Please.

He didn’t hear her. Twice, he twisted to look back at her, seemed satisfied that she was still alive, then nudged his horse forward.

Between clouds full of the glory of Kansas liquid sunshine and the evening sky, Etta couldn’t see anything. She put her head down and let her mare follow Max’s horse.

When Max finally did stop, Etta was too wet and cold to appreciate it. He put his hand on her thigh and she opened her eyes. He held up his arms, she fell forward, and he caught her. Her legs gave way under her, and he pulled her up. He was laughing at her, but she didn’t care.

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