her arm. “Hurry up, Carrie Daly. Let’s eat some breakfast and get going. I don’t want to miss a minute of Race Day.”
Carrie tied an apron over the dress she’d bought for Henry’s wedding. Griff had seen her in it before, of course, and it was too fancy even for today, but it suited her coppery hair and blue eyes, and she wanted to look her best for him. She sliced the bread she’d baked yesterday, set out jam and cheese, and poured milk for the boys. They downed their food like prisoners at a last meal, but her stomach was so knotted and jumpy she couldn’t swallow a single bite.
She wanted Griff and Majestic to win the race. And she wanted him to stay—but that would take a bona fide miracle. Please, Lord. If it’s all the same with you, find a way to keep Griff Rutledge in Hickory Ridge.
She made a tray for Mary, filled a water pitcher, straightened Mary’s coverlet, and emptied the foul-smelling chamber pot. Mary moaned and stirred, her broomstick-thin arms thrown across her face.
When Carrie finished hitching Iris, and the boys were aboard, she went inside to wake her sister-in-law. “We’re leaving now. Is there anything you need?”
Mary grunted and sat up. “Maybe my knitting?”
Carrie handed her the small ball of yellow yarn and her needles. “We’ll be back before dark.”
“Oh, and maybe another glass of milk. If it isn’t too much trouble.”
Suppressing her irritation, Carrie fetched the milk and escaped before Mary could think of other things she needed. She handed Caleb the lunch basket she’d prepared for them, climbed onto the wagon, and picked up the reins. “Well, boys, we’re off.”
“I can’t wait to get to town,” Caleb said. “I’m getting some candy at the mercantile with the dime Mr. Chastain gave me. I’ve been debatin’ all morning, and I still can’t decide between peppermint sticks or sarsaparilla.”
“Caleb made me a darn good slingshot, Carrie Daly,” said Joe, producing it from his pocket. “Last night I run off a possum with it.”
Taking a small, smooth stone from his pocket, he fitted it into the slingshot and drew it taut. The rock sailed across the road and thudded against the fence railing.
Carrie grinned. “That’s a powerful weapon, all right. But you must be careful, Joe. Don’t aim it at anything you don’t intend to hit.”
“No, ma’am, I won’t.” Joe held tightly to the side of the wagon as they left the farm behind and rounded a curve. “Carrie Daly, is your brother ever going to come back home?”
“Of course he is—when your new sister or brother is born. Then I suppose you’ll all be moving to Chicago.”
“I hate Chicago,” Caleb said.
“How do you know? Have you ever been there?”
“No, but I’ve seen pictures. All it is, is a buncha big ol’ buildings. There’s no grass or cows or trees.”
“Their city parks are full of grass and trees,” Carrie told him. “And there’s a big lake for boating. And a train station that’s a hundred times bigger than the one in Hickory Ridge. I think it sounds pretty exciting.”
As they passed the country church, the wagon jostled over a stretch of rutted road, nearly upending their lunch basket. Joe set it to rights.
“I don’t care if they have a million trains,” Caleb said. “They’s no mountains or hollers or fishin’ creeks or nothin’. No sir, I’m stayin’ right here.”
“But we don’t even have a school here,” Joe said. “I want a school. Mama says if we stay here we’ll always be poor as church mice. She says we’ll never become men of quality.”
“Becoming a man of quality has everything to do with character and very little to do with where one lives,” Carrie said. “We have plenty of men of quality right here in Hickory Ridge. Dr. Spencer and Mr. Chastain are two of the finest men I know.”
“And Mr. Rutledge,” Joe said.
Carrie blushed. “Yes. Mr. Rutledge too.”
At last they arrived in town. Wagons, horses, and rigs of all descriptions lined the main road. Crowds of people moved along the sidewalks, admiring the displays in the store windows. A knot of people crowded into Nate’s bookshop. Through the window, Carrie spotted Nate and Rosaleen talking to a customer. She caught Nate’s eye and waved. He smiled and nodded before going back to his customer, but she watched him a moment longer. Had his reservations about his new wife been resolved? She drew up next to a fancy rig and tethered Iris.
“Can I go to