Rose by Jill Marie Landis Read Free Book Online Page B

one-horse town. The lady at the boardinghouse didn’t take to having a ‘breed’ living under her roof. I have to admit, it’s convenient living at Flossie’s, although the decorating isn’t exactly to my taste.” He rolled up a Wanted poster lying atop the desk and used it to swat at a fly hovering above the empty bean bowl.
    “If ya got an empty cell here in the jail, that’s good enough for me for a spell.”
    Kase laughed. “Sure. Welcome to it. Nobody’s been locked up in it for weeks.”
    “In that case, I think I’ll go stretch out for a bit, ‘cause I’m as tired as a tomcat that’s been walkin’ in mud. I’ll jes’ see to my horse and bring in my gear ... Marshal.”
    “Go right ahead. It’s about time I made the rounds anyway.” Kase pulled on the gold chain that dangled from the watch pocket in his denims. He flipped open the lid of the timepiece and noted the time before he snapped it shut. He stood and shoved the watch back into his pocket. “Train’s late. Must be on account of the big meeting in Cheyenne.”
    “What for?”
    “It seems a lot of folks are pushing for Wyoming to become a state.”
    “Plan on things changin’ a mite?” Zach wanted to know.
    “Here?” Kase laughed and moved toward the door. “Not very likely.” He nodded toward the solid plank door with a small barred window in the wall behind his desk. “Make yourself at home.”



Chapter
Three

    Rosa ran a shaking hand over her hair to make certain most of it was still upswept and in place and reached down to collect her valise. The small Guide for Italian Immigrants she had purchased in Genoa slipped from her lap to the floor, and she quickly rescued it, opened the valise, and shoved the pamphlet inside.
BEWARE OF OVERLY FRIENDLY PEOPLE.
THROW AWAY ALL WEAPONS YOU MAY HAVE.
SPEAK IN A LOW VOICE.
DO NOT GET EXCITED IN YOUR DISCUSSIONS.
DO NOT YELL OR WAVE YOUR HANDS ABOUT.
DO NOT SPIT ON THE SIDEWALK.
BEWARE OF STRANGE MEN OFFERING PROPOSALS OF MARRIAGE.
    The list of admonitions in the Guide seemed endless. And silly. Still, Rosa had tried to memorize them all. She intended to make Giovanni proud of her. Had he changed very much over the past three years? Perhaps, she thought, he had become as outgoing and confident as the Americans she had seen on the streets of New York.
    The train began to slow with a screech of brakes and a hiss of steam, and through the window beside her, Rosa watched the station at Busted Heel appear at last. A long platform fronted a tiny building near the railroad tracks. Beyond the depot, the town stood in profile against the empty landscape. A few ramshackle wooden buildings stood in two straight lines divided by a wide thoroughfare. As she stepped from the train onto the firm footing of the wooden platform, she took a deep breath and filled her lungs with the warm, dry air of Wyoming in summer.
    There was no sign of Giovanni on the platform.
    Disappointment assailed her, doubt that was soon followed by forgiveness as Rosa realized her husband had no way of knowing exactly when she would arrive. His only alternative to not meeting her would have been to greet every train that stopped in Busted Heel.
    The conductor stepped down to ask for the brass tag needed to identify her trunk, which was stored in the baggage car. Rosa reached inside the deep pocket of her dress until she found it. Following the man’s directions, she moved out of the sun and stood alone beneath the overhang that fronted the small building perched on the platform.
    A slight movement to the right caught her eye and she watched as the stationmaster opened the side door and stepped out of the building that served as both ticket and telegraph office. The look on his face was one of doubt, but his stride was purposeful as he moved toward her.
    “Have you got the right stop, miss?’ His brows knit with worry as he peered over spectacles that rode precariously near the end of his nose.
    “Come dice