it together.
“How’s Mary doing?” Pearl asked.
Hallie looked into the back of the rocking wagon. There, nestled among the meager belongings they managed to throw together, Mary Sinclair slept fitfully. In the two days since they’d left the decrepit cabin she shared with Chester, Mary had done little
but
sleep and sob. Whenever they stopped, mostly to rest the horses and to get whatever respite they could manage, Hallie nearly had to force Mary to drink. Even now, her pale cheeks were stained with tears. Hallie and Pearl began to fear that she would waste away before their very eyes.
“I don’t know if she’s ever going to get better,” Hallie said and sighed.
“She will once she’s spent some time away from Chester,” Pearl assured her.
In Hallie’s mind, the image of Pearl shooting the man, the bullet exploding into his leg and his yelps of pain and threats following them until they were out of earshot, suddenly flashed. She’d known a few mean men in her life, but Chester Remnick might very well be the worst.
“Do you reckon that he intended Mary to be his wife?”
“Men like Chester are a dime a dozen,” Pearl spat. “They don’t give a good goddamn where they put their pecker! It wouldn’t have made any difference to him if she was his stepsister or his half sister. It wouldn’t have mattered if she were willing or not, because
she
didn’t matter.”
“I just can’t believe it.”
“What you don’t want to believe is what that bastard did to that poor girl,” Pearl snarled. “Damn! The more I think about it, I shoulda just gone ahead and killed him.”
While Hallie couldn’t bring herself to agree with Pearl’s wish that she’d killed Chester, she knew her friend was right about one thing; it was hard for her to imagine what Mary had been through. Each of them had her own cross to bear; maybe Mary’s was the heaviest of all.
“Where will we go now?” Hallie asked, her voice weak with worry.
“We’ll go wherever this road will take us.”
“But how will we know? How will we ever be able to—”
“We’ll manage,” Pearl insisted, taking the younger woman’s hand in her own. “All that matters is that we’ve left Whiskey Bend. When we get somewhere else, when we find a place to settle, we’ll just
know
that it’s the right place for us. Then we’ll do our best to carry on and start over. Besides, not a one of us will be alone.”
“You’re right.” Hallie nodded and she knew it to be true in her heart.
“Damn right, I am.”
As they moved further down the road, a slight breeze rustled the thick green leaves on the trees and parted the high grass like waves roiling the ocean. Hallie sighed. Even though she felt comforted by having Pearl beside her, she knew that she wasn’t as strong as the older woman. She couldn’t do what Pearl had done many times before; she couldn’t just let it go.
Turning slowly, she looked over her shoulder, giving one last look back.
Hallie woke from a fitful dream, her hand clutching her chest. In her nightmare, there was Chester, spittle forming on his lip as he cursed them, a smoking rifle barrel, and then dark crimson blood. Even as she fought to catch her breath, she swore that she could still smell the copper tang of Chester’s wound.
Will I ever get a good night’s sleep again?
Looking to the sky, she took in the blanket of stars that covered her. Nestled among them was a quarter-full moon. To the east, there was a dab of light on the horizon; it would soon be daylight. Hallie was tired and uncomfortable. Even in the midst of a hot summer, nights like this were cold. She shivered, rubbing her hands along her arms, trying to stimulate some warmth.
Suddenly, a stick cracked behind her.
Hallie turned to the sound, frantically searching the darkness for some sign of what had caused her heart to hammer like a rabbit’s. In the predawn light, she could make out only some of her surroundings; Pearl lay on the ground next
“How’s Mary doing?” Pearl asked.
Hallie looked into the back of the rocking wagon. There, nestled among the meager belongings they managed to throw together, Mary Sinclair slept fitfully. In the two days since they’d left the decrepit cabin she shared with Chester, Mary had done little
but
sleep and sob. Whenever they stopped, mostly to rest the horses and to get whatever respite they could manage, Hallie nearly had to force Mary to drink. Even now, her pale cheeks were stained with tears. Hallie and Pearl began to fear that she would waste away before their very eyes.
“I don’t know if she’s ever going to get better,” Hallie said and sighed.
“She will once she’s spent some time away from Chester,” Pearl assured her.
In Hallie’s mind, the image of Pearl shooting the man, the bullet exploding into his leg and his yelps of pain and threats following them until they were out of earshot, suddenly flashed. She’d known a few mean men in her life, but Chester Remnick might very well be the worst.
“Do you reckon that he intended Mary to be his wife?”
“Men like Chester are a dime a dozen,” Pearl spat. “They don’t give a good goddamn where they put their pecker! It wouldn’t have made any difference to him if she was his stepsister or his half sister. It wouldn’t have mattered if she were willing or not, because
she
didn’t matter.”
“I just can’t believe it.”
“What you don’t want to believe is what that bastard did to that poor girl,” Pearl snarled. “Damn! The more I think about it, I shoulda just gone ahead and killed him.”
While Hallie couldn’t bring herself to agree with Pearl’s wish that she’d killed Chester, she knew her friend was right about one thing; it was hard for her to imagine what Mary had been through. Each of them had her own cross to bear; maybe Mary’s was the heaviest of all.
“Where will we go now?” Hallie asked, her voice weak with worry.
“We’ll go wherever this road will take us.”
“But how will we know? How will we ever be able to—”
“We’ll manage,” Pearl insisted, taking the younger woman’s hand in her own. “All that matters is that we’ve left Whiskey Bend. When we get somewhere else, when we find a place to settle, we’ll just
know
that it’s the right place for us. Then we’ll do our best to carry on and start over. Besides, not a one of us will be alone.”
“You’re right.” Hallie nodded and she knew it to be true in her heart.
“Damn right, I am.”
As they moved further down the road, a slight breeze rustled the thick green leaves on the trees and parted the high grass like waves roiling the ocean. Hallie sighed. Even though she felt comforted by having Pearl beside her, she knew that she wasn’t as strong as the older woman. She couldn’t do what Pearl had done many times before; she couldn’t just let it go.
Turning slowly, she looked over her shoulder, giving one last look back.
Hallie woke from a fitful dream, her hand clutching her chest. In her nightmare, there was Chester, spittle forming on his lip as he cursed them, a smoking rifle barrel, and then dark crimson blood. Even as she fought to catch her breath, she swore that she could still smell the copper tang of Chester’s wound.
Will I ever get a good night’s sleep again?
Looking to the sky, she took in the blanket of stars that covered her. Nestled among them was a quarter-full moon. To the east, there was a dab of light on the horizon; it would soon be daylight. Hallie was tired and uncomfortable. Even in the midst of a hot summer, nights like this were cold. She shivered, rubbing her hands along her arms, trying to stimulate some warmth.
Suddenly, a stick cracked behind her.
Hallie turned to the sound, frantically searching the darkness for some sign of what had caused her heart to hammer like a rabbit’s. In the predawn light, she could make out only some of her surroundings; Pearl lay on the ground next
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