Hattie Read online

  Will had been performing with the rodeo for nearly two years, and he loved it. While his family thought that his interest had just been a passing lark, he knew that he had found his home.

  When he was on a horse, performing dazzling tricks, no one cared or even seemed to notice that he only had one arm. They cheered and hollered for him for his abilities, not for his differences. He knew that if he’d stayed in the small town he’d grown up in, people would treat him as if he were damaged. Here on the road with the other cowboys and performers, everyone was unique. Instead of being judged for their differences, they were celebrated.

  When he’d fallen for Hattie, he had briefly considered leaving the show. It paid good money, and he had nothing to spend it on, so he’d been able to save a good amount. He had enough to support Hattie, if her judgmental father ever gave him a chance.

  But then Will realized he could never leave the Wild West show. He felt more at home there, with Robert, Jessie, and the others, than he ever had in the small town he’d grown up in. Night after night, he got to do the things he loved, all in front of a lively, thrilled audience. It was his dream, and he was lucky to still be able to physically do the job. He intended to stay with the rodeo as long as he could ride a horse and rope a steer. And he hoped that would be a long, long time.

  Still, he couldn’t shake the thought of Hattie Sanders from his brain. He had traveled enough places to know that she was special, one of a kind. Robert said there would be other women in the next town, and there surely would be. But none of them would be Hattie.

  As Will fed and watered his horse, a plan formulated in his mind. After he ate breakfast, he borrowed one of the rodeo’s wagons and rode into Nowhere.

  The mercantile was bursting with activity, and Will waited for the proprietor to finish helping several customers. He didn’t want anyone to overhear him—it was a small town, and word traveled fast.

  “Excuse me,” Will said to the man behind the counter. “I think you can help me with a personal matter.”

  Lewis blinked, surprised by the request. The man in front of him had a hook in the place where his right arm should be. “How can I be of assistance?”

  “I’ve heard that you are related to Hattie Sanders,” Will began tentatively.

  “That’s true. I’m her brother-in-law. Is she all right?” Lewis looked worried.

  “She’s fine. I think.” Will hadn’t seen her since the night Cletus had chased him away. Now, Lewis looked downright uncomfortable. Will realized he needed to get to the point. “I’m hoping you can help me deliver a message to her.”

  “What kind of message?” Lewis was baffled. Why was this stranger asking him for help?

  Will sighed. It was apparent that he was going to have to lay out the whole, sordid story. “How long do you have?”

  Lewis looked around the mercantile. After the burst of activity, the customers had all left. The mid-morning rush was over. Instinctively, he walked to the front of the mercantile and closed the blinds. “I don’t know you, but you seem awfully troubled. Have a seat.” He gestured to a pair of armchairs that were on display.

  Will nodded gratefully and sat down. Lewis did the same. “To make a long story short, I’m in love with Hattie. Deeply.”

  Lewis looked surprised but recovered quickly. “She’s a wonderful young woman. All of Ruby’s sisters are very good with our little ones. It’s a great family.”

  “And I’d love to be part of that family, except there’s one big problem.” Will looked at Lewis meaningfully. “Cletus and Edna Petunia hate me.”

  Lewis nodded in understanding. “They can be rather . . . overprotective. I think it’s because they adopted the girls so late in life. They know that they’re lucky to have a big family, and they would do anything to protect their daughters.”

  “That makes sense,” Will said. “But they’ve forbidden us to see each other. We leave town tomorrow. What am I going to do?”

  Lewis paused, perplexed. “I’m not sure what you want me to do to help. I feel for your situation, but I’m not particularly influential with my in-laws. We’re family, and we love each other, but I can’t convince them to do something they don’t want to do.”

  “All I’m going to ask you to do is simple,” Will explained. “I’ve written a letter to Hattie. Can you get it to her today? I don’t have time to wait for the postal service.” He pulled a slim envelope out of his pocket and extended it to Lewis.

  Lewis gulped. “I’d have to think of a way to get it to her without her parents seeing. If they found out, they’d never forgive me.”

  “I understand the risk I’m asking you to take is a big one. But I’m in love, and I have no other options. I heard from some of the men in Bagley that you run this mercantile and you’re a fair and honest man. I thought I owed it to myself, and to Hattie, to at least try.” Will stood up. “I need to go now. I appreciate your time, and I humbly ask you to consider my request. I’ll leave the letter with you.”

  Lewis stood up, too, and the two men shook hands. As Will walked out of the mercantile, Lewis bit his lip. He understood Will’s predicament all too well. When he was courting Ruby, there was nothing—not even a troublesome former fiancé—that could have stopped him from pursuing her. On the other hand, he did not want to incur the wrath of Edna Petunia and Cletus Sanders.

  Lewis tucked the letter into his pocket and opened the blinds to the mercantile. He had a decision to make.

  Hattie pulled each piece of clothing from the line and folded it into neat piles. Her punishment for meeting Will in the middle of the night was not over, and she was exhausted from the chores and cranky since she hadn’t been able to socialize with any of her sisters for days. Katie and Theresa tried to find opportunities to talk to her or keep her company while she did her tasks, but Edna Petunia would often scold them, telling them they were a distraction. They had even told Lewis that Theresa would work in Hattie’s place at the mercantile, so Hattie didn’t even have the chance to go to her normal work place.

  It was going to be another long day at the Sanders household. Edna Petunia had given Hattie a list that was two handwritten pages, front and back. There was no way Hattie would be able to complete all of it in one day.

  Hattie sighed and squinted up at the sun. Suddenly, she heard hoofbeats. A wagon approached in the distance. She frowned. They weren’t expecting anyone today.

  As the wagon got closer, Hattie saw that it was her brother-in-law, Lewis, driving. Hattie smiled. Lewis was a kind and funny man. Talking to him would be a welcome break from her endless list of responsibilities.

  As Lewis pulled the wagon to a stop and began to climb out, Hattie walked up to him. Before she got close to him, Edna Petunia came racing out of the house and elbowed her way in front of Lewis.

  “Lewis, what are you doing here?” Edna Petunia cried. “Hattie, back to work!”

  “Yes, Edna Petunia,” Hattie sighed. She returned to the clothesline, but she was close enough to overhear Lewis’s conversation with Edna Petunia.

  “I received a new shipment of oranges, and I know how much you enjoy them.” Lewis gestured to a crate inside the wagon. “Where would you like me to put them?”

  “Oh, thank you, Lewis!” Edna Petunia said. “Follow me into the kitchen, I have just the spot.”

  Lewis gathered the crate from the wagon and walked behind Edna Petunia toward the house.

  As Edna Petunia passed by Hattie, she stopped. “Hattie, you look so sad. Would an orange cheer you up?”

  Hattie was too surprised to respond.

  “Lewis, give her an orange from the crate,” Edna Petunia commanded.

  Lewis quickly did as Edna Petunia had requested.

  “Thank you,” Hattie said gratefully.

  “You’re welcome,” Lewis replied. Edna Petunia continued into the house. Before Lewis followed her, he handed Hattie a folded slip of paper. “Don’t tell anyone I gave you this.”

  Hattie took the paper in confusi
on.

  Edna Petunia called back to Lewis from the front door. “This way, Lewis! I don’t have all day!”

  Lewis looked terrified. “Don’t show this to your parents!”

  Hattie nodded quickly even though she had no idea what Lewis was talking about. Lewis raced after Edna Petunia. Hattie could hear the oranges bouncing around in the crate as he ran toward the house.

  Hattie set her orange down near where she was folding the laundry to save it for later. She unfolded the piece of paper Lewis had given her. What could be so important that it would be in a note that she wasn’t allowed to tell anyone about?

  Her heart raced as she saw the sloping signature at the bottom of the page—Will Hart. He hadn’t forgotten about her after all! Maybe there was still hope.

  As Hattie read the letter, her heart sank. Will was once again asking her to risk everything by seeing him one last time at the final Wild West show before the troupe left Bagley. Hattie yearned to see Will again and give him a proper send-off, but there was no way her parents would allow her out of the house for any reason, let alone to see a man she was forbidden to see perform in a rodeo.

  Still, she had to admit that Will’s words were persuasive.

  Hattie,

  I enjoyed our moonlight picnic more than you will ever know. You are smart, funny, and kind—not to mention beautiful. In my many travels, I have never met a woman like you. I understand that your devotion to your family will prevent you from joining me on the road. It’s the biggest regret of my life that we can’t be together, but I admire your strength of character and conviction to stay with your family. I hope very much that you will consider seeing me one last time at the final Wild West show tonight. It would mean a lot to me if you met me near the tents just before the performance begins.

  If you cannot come, please know that I will never stop loving you, Hattie Sanders.

  Will Hart

  Love! Will still loved her. Hattie couldn’t believe it. She wanted to stow away in Lewis’s wagon and ask him to drop her off at the fairgrounds then and there so she could declare her love for him, too.

  Edna Petunia and Lewis came out of the house, and Hattie quickly folded the letter and looked around for a place to put it. Not finding one, she stuffed it into her bosom.

  Edna Petunia eyed her suspiciously. “Hattie, you don’t look like you’re folding laundry!”

  “Just taking a break to stretch, Edna Petunia!” Hattie called back. She made a show out of holding her arms out to the sides and waving them around.

  Edna Petunia shook her head. “I don’t know what’s gotten into that bastard,” she said loudly.

  Lewis coughed. He knew that Edna Petunia had some peculiarities of speech, but that one in particular he had never fully gotten used to. “I had better get back to the mercantile.”

  “It was awfully nice of you to come just to bring me oranges,” Edna Petunia said. Suddenly, she turned sharply and looked back and forth between Hattie and Lewis. “You said the shipment came in today?”

  Lewis fidgeted. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “I thought Hattie told me that shipments only come on the days she works. And today’s not one of her normal days.” Edna Petunia spoke in an accusatory tone.

  Lewis swallowed hard. He was in trouble now. Edna Petunia and Cletus had always treated him kindly, but he had heard enough stories about the Sanders family to know that he did not want to find out what happened when you were on their bad side. “I, uh—” Lewis stammered.

  Hattie thought quickly, hoping to come up with a solution to Edna Petunia’s question, but she had bent the truth so frequently in the past few days, she had nothing left.

  Lewis backed up toward the wagon.

  “I see what’s going on here!” Edna Petunia declared, planting her hands firmly on her hips.

  Hattie looked down at the ground mournfully. She had already been punished more severely than her parents had ever disciplined any of her sisters before. Was Edna Petunia about to make it worse?

  Instead, Edna Petunia began to chuckle. “You came here to see Hattie and make sure she was doing all right. You’ve been worried about her since Theresa has been working at the store. That’s it, isn’t it?”

  Lewis let out a deep breath of relief. “Yes! That’s it!”

  Hattie nodded. “It was kind of you to check on me.”

  “Any time, Hattie.” Lewis tipped his hat to her. “Now, I should get going.”

  “I understand,” Edna Petunia said.

  As Lewis rode off into the distance, Edna Petunia looked at her daughter with a stern expression on her face. “Is there anything else you’ve been keeping from me, Hattie?”

  Hattie felt like two forces were tugging her in opposite directions. It might be a relief to explain to Edna Petunia that Will truly cared for her and wanted her to meet him at the rodeo that evening. On the other hand, she knew she needed to keep Will’s correspondence a secret. Lewis had warned her not to tell her parents anything. She already knew how judgmental they could be, and she didn’t want to give them any more reasons.

  “No, Edna Petunia,” Hattie said quietly, looking at the ground. She hated feeling dishonest. But something deep inside of her kept telling her that she was meant to be with Will, and if she was just a little patient, everything would work out the way it was supposed to.

  7

  When Cletus came home from work, he granted Hattie a brief reprieve from her chores. “You’re doing a good job, dear. You can take a break after dinner as long as you get back to work first thing tomorrow morning.”

  “Thank you, Cletus.” Hattie went up to her room to change for dinner. As she passed the large clock in the hall, she realized that if she wanted to get to the rodeo before the show started, she would need to leave quickly.

  All through dinner, Hattie tried to think of a reason her parents would take her to Bagley or a way she could sneak out to the fairgrounds. None of the plans she thought of had any chance of working.

  As Theresa chattered about working in Hattie’s place at the mercantile, Hattie was withdrawn and quiet all throughout dinner. After dinner, Theresa helped Katie and Hattie with the dishes while Edna Petunia and Cletus retired to the formal parlor.

  “All right, Hattie—are you going to tell us what’s going on with you?” Theresa asked.

  Hattie didn’t even think about hiding the truth. “Will Hart invited me to see him again this evening,” Hattie explained. “I want to go, but I can’t!”

  Katie gasped. “He still cares for you!”

  “What are you going to do?” Theresa fretted.

  Hattie shook her head sadly. “The more I think about it, the more I realize that I can’t go. He wants me to run away with him, with the rodeo. I could never do that to Edna Petunia or Cletus. And I wouldn’t want to live that lifestyle. I like my life here in Nowhere.”

  Theresa nodded and passed Hattie a dinner plate. “I understand, Hattie.”

  Hattie dried the plate off with a rag and put it back in the cupboard. Working with her sisters made her feel comfortable and happy. Although a part of her would always wonder what the life of a rodeo cowboy’s wife might be like, she was content with the way things were in Nowhere. She knew she was making the right choice. She just hated that it felt so bad.

  After the girls had finished washing and putting away the dishes, they joined their parents in the formal parlor. Cletus taught the girls a new card game, and the girls giggled as he lost hand after hand. Theresa won easily, but Cletus declared it beginner’s luck. Hattie’s heart sang as she looked around at her family. Back at the orphanage, she would have never thought a home like this was a possibility. It was hard to say no to Will Hart, but she knew it was the right thing to do to choose her family.

  Soon, Hattie found herself yawning and excused herself to her room. She fell asleep quickly, but soon, she dreamed restlessly. In her dreams, she was in the middle of an arena, and the entire town was looking at her and laughing, making fun of
her. Hattie looked down at the ground, and there was Will Hart, lying on the ground, howling in pain.

  Hattie kept trying to ask Will what was wrong, but he wouldn’t answer.

  Hattie woke up from the dream in a sweat. A panicky feeling weighed on her chest. She tried to close her eyes and get back to sleep, but her body wouldn’t let her.

  She remembered Will’s hand moving across her body, and the way his lips had tasted against hers. Would she truly never see him again? Hot tears stung her eyes as she imagined the rest of her life without him.

  She had made up her mind. She was staying with her family. So why did it still hurt so badly when she thought about a life without him in it?

  Hattie rolled over, trying to get comfortable. Her thoughts drifted to the horses. She could take one of them and slip off into the night, returning before dawn. It was risky if she got caught, but if she was careful enough, her parents would never know.

  Hattie thought about it for a while. She decided it was worth it if she got to see Will one last time.

  Hattie saddled the horse and set out in the dark, feeling terrified but also thrilled at the possibility of seeing Will. She held a lantern as they galloped toward Bagley. She tried not to think of how much trouble she would be in if Edna Petunia and Cletus found out about her evening exploits.

  As she raced toward the fairgrounds, the rest of the crowd was headed in the opposite direction. Hattie’s heart sank as she realized she had completely missed the show. She had hoped to catch the grand finale, especially one of the parts where Will did especially impressive tricks, dazzling the audience on horseback.

  Hattie hoped that Will would still be there and hadn’t already left town. She didn’t think it was likely that the entire Wild West show would pack up in the middle of the night and leave, but stranger things had happened.