Wild Lilly Read Free

coal engine.
    The train lurched forward, and she began her journey from Connecticut to Kansas. It was a long ride, and she brought her schoolbooks to read through for the trip. There was so much planning to do. She had a week to settle in and prepare, and then it would be time for school to start.
    She traced her fingertips over the alabaster cameo at her throat. It depicted a cream lily on a Wedgwood blue background, the only piece of jewelry she kept from her Grand-mère’s collection. She found strength in its carved surface. If Colette could board a ship to America with only the clothes on her back, and the smuggled jewelry hidden in her skirts, then she had no excuse for letting cowardly feelings stop her from chasing her dreams.
    This was a grand adventure, a chance to live the stories of the West she had read so much about. The idea of seeing a real cowboy was thrilling, and to live in a genuine log cabin was beyond exciting. She was finally going to be on her own, without chaperones watching her every move. Apprehension made her stomach tight, but she chased the feeling away with daydreams of cowboys like the utterly masculine ranchers she’d read about in her dime novels. Surely, it would not be as dangerous as her mother feared. Caldwell was an established town with a population of over 1,500 people. They couldn’t be that uncivilized.

Chapter Two
    Dance-Hall Girl

    Wagons stuffed with ranch hands and men on horseback filled the main street of Caldwell, even at eight in the morning. Lilly’s train had arrived in the station a half hour before and she’d taken the opportunity to freshen up and change out of her travel dress at the station. She received a message from the porter that her steamer trunks would be delivered to her house, and that Mayor Beechum would meet her at his office at eight thirty.
    Now she paced back and forth on the wooden sidewalk, too excited to stand still. This was the first time she had truly been on her own in the middle of a bustling town. No chaperone, no parent, no older sister telling her not to stare or get her dress dirty. The feeling of freedom intoxicated her.
    A dray packed with cowhides rolled by and she lamented her choice in dresses. The pale pink silk was already starting to attract a layer of brown dust at its ruffled hem. The sunlight burned down on her exposed shoulders, and she tugged her cream silk shawl closer to protect her fair skin.
    She wanted to look her best for the first meeting with her new employer, so she wore her most impressive dress for the occasion. But she was afraid she’d be a sweaty, dust-caked mess by the time he arrived. The sun glared overhead and she had to squint her eyes against the light, even with her bonnet on. She opened her parasol with a snap and smiled up at the lovely sight of light reflecting through layers of lace ruffles stretched tight over whalebone. The parasol had been a gift from her grandmother and the scent of her lilac perfume still clung to the fabric. Taking a deep breath of the familiar scent made her heart at once ache and, oddly, feel better.
    Her eyes darted up and down the street. To the left, the raised sidewalks bustled with activity. To the right, the walkways were nearly empty. The granite City Hall and jail were a natural dividing line between the two parts of the city.
    Twirling her parasol, she glanced at the big clock above the Southwestern Hotel. It was a three-story brick building with a wide covered porch that wrapped around its front. Mostly men, and a few women, lounged at the tables, eating their breakfast.
    With a small smile, she decided she had enough time to do a bit of exploring before she met the mayor. It wouldn’t hurt to get a feel for the town, and she could go anywhere she wanted. Force of habit made her hesitate and her mother’s voice scolded her not to be reckless and foolish. Lifting her shoulders, Lilly buried the voice of reason and let the muse of adventure lead her onward. She went