may enter.”
Eulis was all the way in the room before he realized Letty was naked from the waist up.
“Oh! Uh… I… you said to—”
“I know what I said,” Letty said, doused the rag back into the basin of vinegar and then swiped it across her breasts. “And don’t act like you’ve never seen these before.”
Eulis flushed. “Maybe so, but it wasn’t like I was tryin’ to sneak a peek. So don’t go gettin’ all prissy with me about them things. I sure as hell have seen better.”
Letty chose to ignore the slight to her physical appendages and pointed the vinegar rag in his face. “You said, hell.”
Eulis flushed. “It’s your fault,” he said. “You made me forget myself.”
She thought about it for a minute as she finished up her bath, then knew it was time for them to face a few facts.
“No, Eulis, you didn’t forget anything. You were just being yourself. Maybe the other day you were right about the preacher thing. I don’t think it’s working for either one of us.”
Eulis slumped against the wall as Letty tossed the rag back into the basin and reached for her shirtwaist.
“And don’t feel bad about cursing. I have back slid a time or two lately. Maybe the gold fields are the place for us after all.”
Eulis looked up. “You think so?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know, but if we go there, we’ll find out, won’t we?”
Eulis smiled. “Yeah. You’re right, we’ll find out.”
Letty followed Eulis out the door, taking care to stay a distance behind, just in case the vinegar wore off before the service was over.
Fannie Smithson was a blushing bride. She clung to Myron’s arm as if it was a lifeline, while accepting the good wishes of the citizens of Dripping Springs. They’d come out in good numbers to see this wedding and whatever fireworks came with it. Griggs had let it be known that he was enamored of his bride-to-be, even going so far as to defend her honor by punching out her ex-fiancé, Harley Charles. But it was nothing to what Fannie, herself, had done to Harley. More than one resident of Dripping Springs had seen Harley crawling out of the Smithson house on all fours. It was the talk of the town, and nobody wanted to miss the wedding in case there were more fireworks to be seen.
The wedding had commenced without problems, and just as the preacher was asking if there was anybody who knew why this ceremony should not take place, all eyes turned to Harley Charles, who was standing at the back of the crowd with Lola from the saloon on his arm.
He’d looked startled to be singled out, and responded angrily.
“What are you all looking at?” he yelled. “Griggs can have her. I damn sure don’t want her.”
There was a long uncomfortable silence. Fannie went pale and shrank back against Myron in humiliation. In turn, Myron took the affront to his intended as personally as if it had been said to him. He doubled up his fists and his face turned red from anger.
Eulis realized if he didn’t do something, there would be a fight before anyone could say, I Do. He shook his head at Myron, as if discouraging him from following through on what he was thinking, and then stepped forward to address Harley, himself.
“Amen, Sir, and from what I hear, the feeling was mutual. The Good Lord loves honesty. How astute of you to realize that the best man won.”
Laughter rippled through the audience. Fannie lifted her chin once more and cast a nervous glance in Myron’s eyes. When she saw him wink, she breathed a sigh of relief. Once more the preacher resumed his duties. Harley was old news and all eyes were on the bride and groom.
Due to the direction of the wind and the heat that had revived the skunk scent on Letty, she was standing at the back of the crowd. But she had seen the pain on Fannie’s face and knew first-hand the shame of being second best. And, since she and Eulis were giving up the preaching life and heading for the gold fields, she felt safe in giving Harley a little something to remember them by.
She sauntered up to where he was standing, eyed the woman on his arm as well as the henna rinse on her hair, and recognized her for what she was.
“Nice dress,” Letty said.
Lola gave Letty a hard look. Even though the preacher’s woman was wearing regular clothes,