Defiant Heart Read Free Page B

heart. She squeezed theyoung prostitute’s hand. “Don’t give up. The wagon train doesn’t pull out ’til morning.”
    Toni peered closer, her luminous amber eyes searching Fannie’s face until Fannie was forced to turn away. “You were going to ask Mr. Tanner if you could join the wagon train too.” As though she knew the danger for Fannie should word get out, Toni kept her voice to the barest of whispers. “Weren’t you?”
    Fannie knew there was no point in denying the truth. She nodded. “I have to get my sister out of here, or Tom…”
    A barely perceptible nod inched Toni’s chin up, then back. “I understand. What will you do? You hear what Mr. Tanner said. I don’t think it’s going to be very easy to change his mind. Women aren’t allowed in his train without a man.”
    A fresh surge of anger tormented Fannie, bringing with it helpless frustration. “I’d rather be strapped to a hungry bear.”
    Toni grinned. “Me too.”
    A sense of camaraderie hung in the air between them, and Fannie warmed to the notion of having a companion on the trail. But only for a moment. She had her brother and sister to think of. She couldn’t worry about anyone else.
    If only the wagon master would stop being so unreasonable. Who did he think he was anyway? She should have told him just what she thought of a bully throwing his weight around. Just because she wasn’t a man didn’t mean she couldn’t do the work of a man. Did he honestly think she was going to cause trouble? Or was it just Toni’s profession? The man had been downright hostile to the prostitute. The thought raised Fannie’s hope. Perhaps if she met with himalone, she could reason with him. Show him she wasn’t the same type of woman as Toni.
    An uncomfortable image of Tom forking over fifty dollars for her invaded her mind. But she shoved it aside. No. She wasn’t the same. She couldn’t be. Her ma hadn’t raised her to be that type of woman. She would never give in willingly to any man.
    â€œExcuse me,” a haughty voice called, arresting Fannie’s attention, pulling her from thoughts of what she should have said to that varmint. “I’m ready to pay for my purchases.” The sour-faced woman who had swept aside her skirts at the sight of Toni now stood at the counter, tapping her foot with rapid impatience while her roving-eyed husband tried not to stare at Toni’s bare shoulders.
    Pressing her hand to Fannie’s arm, Toni leaned in close, and whispered, “I’ll be back later to find out if you’ve thought of a plan.”
    Before Fannie could respond, the fancy woman hurried away. Fannie’s face twisted into a scowl. She certainly didn’t need to be saddled with someone else to take care of. She had nothing against the prostitute. She had enough troubles of her own, to think about the rights and wrongs of other people’s lives. Besides, Toni had always seemed like a good sort. But that didn’t mean Fannie wanted the attention brought on by traveling with a harlot.
    How was she going to get out of this mess?
    But there was no time to think about it for now. The line at the counter had grown beyond the husband and wife and extended all the way to the door.
    For the next several hours, Fannie kept busy with the constant influx of wagon train customers. Most were friendly, some were not, and she made a note to beware of the more impatient and downright sour among them. One thing she’d learned over the past three years was that self-preservation demanded she pay attention to moods, attitudes, and body language. With Tom that could mean the difference between being left alone and being beaten black-and-blue. She preferred caution. It proved much less costly.
    Even now, she stayed on her guard. Every time the door opened, her heart picked up with a beat of fear. No telling when Tom