The Whippoorwill Trilogy - Sharon Sala Page 0,16

boys who came running past.

“Look where you’re going!” a man yelled at the boys, then realized it was Letty and turned his back to her, as if it no longer mattered that she’d almost been knocked down.

The slight was nothing she hadn’t suffered before, but it still made her angry.

Yeah, you pretend you don’t know me now, but just wait until you come knockin’ on my door again. I might be too busy for your miserable dollar.

She stepped off the sidewalk, ignoring the dust swirling about the hem of her dress and she headed for the store on the other side of the street. Several wagons were parked nearby and she frowned, wishing she’d paid closer attention to how busy it was. She wasn’t in the mood for shocked expressions and cold stares from the homesteaders’ wives who considered her less than the dust beneath their feet.

She slipped inside without calling attention to herself and began to circle the room, fingering the new shipment of cloth and eyeing the colorful tins and boxes along the shelves as Matt filled orders for customers at the counter.

Just when she thought she was going to escape detection, she heard a muffled gasp and then a snort of disapproval. She looked up and found herself face to face with the one and only Sophie Hollis.

Willing to ignore the fact that they were touching the same bolt of cloth, Letty dropped the fabric she’d been eyeing and turned away, but not before she heard Sophie’s indignant hiss.

“How dare you?” Sophie muttered.

Letty turned. “How dare I what?”

Surprised by the harlot’s cavalier attitude, Sophie’s face reddened. She dropped the other corner of the fabric as if it had become disgusting, but found herself locked into Letty Murphy’s stare.

“I do not converse with your sort,” Sophie muttered.

It hurt, but Letty would have died before she’d acknowledge the slight. She shrugged.

“If you don’t want an answer, then don’t ask the question,” Letty said.

She gave Sophie a slow once-over then lifted her chin and strode directly up to the counter and spoke to Matt.

“Did my order come in?”

Matt eyed the red flush on her cheeks, then the woman in the back of the room, and figured the best way to avoid a fire was to remove the tinder before the match was struck.

“Shore did, Letty. I got it all packed up for you here under the counter. It’ll be two dollars and thirty-seven cents.”

Letty counted out her money, laid it on the counter and started to pick up her package when she felt a presence behind her. Before she could turn around, a man had reached over her shoulder, lifted the package from the counter and cupped her elbow.

“Miss Murphy, I hope you will allow me to carry this for you?”

Even before she turned around, she recognized the voice and her heart began to pound. It was Gentleman Jim. He’d come back!

She turned with a smile, aware that all eyes were on her. “Why, yes, thank you Mr. Dupree. I would appreciate your help.”

Dupree was wearing a white linen suit and a broad-brimmed Panama hat especially for her, and had come into the store just in time to hear the interchange between Letty and the other woman. While there wasn’t anything he could do to change what had happened, he could give her a graceful exit. He tipped his hat to the gawking women, and then smiled down at Letty as he led her from the store.

Letty’s heart was still pounding and she was starting to feel faint. Maybe she should have eaten that steak before she did her shopping instead of waiting until later. Curious, she glanced up at the gambler and felt her heart skip a beat.

“I figured we’d seen the last of you.”

His smile slipped. “I hadn’t planned on returning.”

“Then why did you?” Letty asked.

“Because of you,” he said softly.

They crossed the dusty street in silence. It wasn’t until they’d gained the shade of front of the White Dove Saloon that Letty found the nerve to speak.

“What did you mean by that?”

Dupree handed her the package. “You, dear lady, have haunted my dreams. Will you have dinner with me? The hotel fixes a fairly decent meal.”

“Now?”

He nodded.

“Why? Why me?”

He shook his head and then smiled. “If I knew the answer to that, I might have kept riding,” he said. “So will you?”

“If you’ll give me a few minutes to fix myself up, then yes. I can’t go out with my hair like this.”

He fingered the thick brown