Sadie parked the family’s buggy outside the mercantile. It was a hot afternoon, and she was already perspiring. Luckily, her errand would not take long, and she had a quiet evening ahead of her in which she planned to relax and mend the drapes.

She walked into the shop and greeted the owner. Charles Campbell had lived in town ever since Sadie was born, and she always enjoyed seeing him. They would occasionally talk about her ma, since he was one of the few people around who remembered her.

“Hello there, Miss Shaw,” he said in a friendly voice. “What can I get you today?”    

“Sugar and flour, please,” she told him. She circled her loose locks of hair behind her ears, remembering that she still needed to take Grace up on her offer to style it up nice.

“Coming right up,” Charles said, and disappeared into the back of the shop.

While she waited, she thought about where she might find Grace. She’d left the cabin the night before and hadn’t returned. This happened frequently and Grace invariably returned home eventually, but that didn’t stop Sadie from worrying each and every time that something bad had happened to her.

Charles carried out the bags of sugar and flour and placed them by her buggy as another customer pulled up. “I’ll be just a minute, Miss Shaw, and then I’ll help you get those goods in the buggy and strap ‘em down for you.”

“Oh, don’t bother. I can take care of it. Thank you, Mr. Campbell,” Sadie said.

Charles looked at her doubtfully but then nodded and turned to assist the other customer.

Grasping two sides of a burlap sack, she tried to lift it with no luck. She was surprised by its weight. It seemed much heavier than the last time she’d purchased it. With a grunt, she redoubled her efforts and half-lifted, half-dragged the flour toward the back.

“Let me help you with that,” a man’s voice said. In the next moment, the sack was being removed from its spot on the ground and heaved into the buggy.

Out of breath from the brief exertion, she turned to the good Samaritan and panted, “Thank you.” He was very tall, and she had to crane her neck to look at his face, which was shadowed by a Stetson.

He swept the hat off his head. “Still working as hard as ever, I see.”

Sadie realized then who it was. Shocked, she opened her mouth to speak, but words failed her completely. The skinny boy was gone, replaced by a man with broad shoulders and thick arms. His eyes were still dark and intelligent, but his expression was one of a worldly man, not a lost child, and his jaw had become squarer and more pronounced. His clothes were of subtle high quality, with a seam ironed in the front of each trouser leg. A black vest brought out the crisp whiteness of his shirt, and a western-style tie coiled properly around his neck.

“Hello, Sadie,” Wade said, his deep voice foreign to her. “Been a long time.”

“Yes,” she managed. “It has.”

His gaze raked her from head to toe, likely taking in every unruly detail of her appearance. She smoothed the skirt of her plain brown dress, realizing with wry discomfort that it was the same dress she’d worn to do her chores five years ago when Wade had been living with them, though she’d had to let out the bust and stitch material to the hem of the skirt to lengthen it.

Sadie dropped her gaze, embarrassed. Normally when she went to Main Street for an errand, she at least wore her nicer dress, and she cursed her luck at seeing Wade again when she hadn’t spent a modicum of time on her appearance.

He cleared his throat. “Why isn’t one of the twins here helping you? You shouldn’t be loading the goods yourself.”

She shifted on her feet, feeling even more embarrassed. It felt like she had failed in some way at teaching the twins manners. “They had some business to attend to, but I’ll ask one of them next time.”

He nodded and looked past her at the trees and hills in the distance. “Forgot how hot it is here,” he mused. “Hot and sticky.”

Relieved for talk of banal matters, she agreed, “Yes, sure is, ‘specially in July.” She removed her bandana from the pocket of her dress and wiped her face. “When did you arrive from Sacramento?”

“Late last night,” he replied. “I checked into the Brynn Hotel.”

Sadie thought about inviting him to stay at the cabin, but then decided against it, assuming he would want much nicer accommodations now that he was a rich man. The cabin was small and much more dilapidated than when he’d seen it last. Sadie wasn’t able to keep up with every loose nail and broken board.

“Have you seen Grace or the others yet?” she asked.

He shook his head. “No. I was on my way to the cabin when I spotted you struggling with the supplies. Recognized you right away.”

“I suppose I haven’t changed much. You, though… You look all grown up.”

He smiled and heaved the other bag into the back of the buggy, then slapped his hands together to rid them of the stray flour. “You look grown up too, and prettier than ever.”

Heat crept into her cheeks. She wasn’t pretty in the least, never had been, and no one knew that better than Wade. She hadn’t entertained hopes that he’d be kind to her, but she hadn’t expected him to be cruel either. She pursed her lips and turned away to perform a useless chore of checking the wagon wheel, which she wasn’t surprised to discover was as round and wooden as usual.

Wade cleared his throat. “I’m not pleased to see you wearing such a worn-out dress, Sadie. I thought I was sending sufficient money to buy any material you might need to sew frocks.”

She stifled a gasp at his criticism and turned back around to offer him a sharp retort. However, when she looked into his eyes, she realized he was regarding her without mockery; rather, he looked concerned and confused. He was thinking like a businessman, wondering how his money was being put to use.

The tightness in her shoulders softened. “I don’t need new clothes to do chores, Wade. I assure you the amount you’ve been sending us has been more than sufficient.” She swept her hand toward the goods in the buggy. “We have plenty to eat. We have shoes and dusters for the winter. And when you see Grace, you’ll have proof of your money being put to good use where clothes are concerned. She wears the latest fashion.”

His expression relaxed somewhat. Reaching out, he captured the sleeve of her dress in between his thumb and forefinger, rubbing it thoughtfully.

She drew a sharp breath at the closeness of his touch. The knuckles of his fingers brushed against the inside of her wrist.

“This material is very thin,” he said. “I insist you buy or sew a new dress, even if it’s just for chores.”

Warmth washed over her. She felt like someone was seeing her for the first time in ages, and she found herself willing to obey. “I’ll go shopping for material tomorrow.”

He nodded and dropped his hand from her sleeve.

Attempting to recover her composure, she looked away, aware that he was still watching her. “Grace is… She’s somewhere here in town,” Sadie stammered. “I was about to go looking for her.”

“I’ll join you in your search then,” Wade replied. His near-constant gaze on her was unsettling. He wasn’t glaring at her, but he was studying her with intelligence and a keenness and made her feel like he was looking right through her. She couldn’t help but fear he didn’t like what he was seeing.

She walked into the empty street, with Wade walking beside her. “She might be at the restaurant,” Sadie said. “She’s taken a shine to Jimmy. Remember him from school? His ma is the cook there.”

“I remember. Jimmy Cooper… Is he courting Grace?”

“I’m not sure. Grace doesn’t tell me much about her social life. But I’ve never known her to stay interested in one boy for long. If he is courting her, who knows how long it’ll last.”

“Ah, that sounds like Grace,” he said in a fond voice.

“She’s going to be tickled pink to see you. She talks about you all the time and tells us all about your articles in the newspaper. The letters from you are her most treasured possessions.”

He didn’t respond, and when Sadie glanced at him, she noticed he was staring at the ground with a pained expression. This surprised Sadie, since she would have thought the news would make him happy. He stopped abruptly and touched her arm, bringing her feet to a halt as well. His light touch sent shockwaves throughout her body.

Their eyes locked when he spoke. “I’m not entirely sure where to begin, Sadie, but there are some things we need to talk about.”

She blinked. Fear gripped her, for she guessed what he wished to discuss. She felt herself nodding, to which Wade responded with small smile. Breaking eye contact, she stared past him into the distance, trying to settle her beating heart.

Sadie spotted Grace then. Her spirits sank as Wade followed her gaze. Grace was shimmying out the double doors of the saloon with a man on either arm. It dawned on her then why Grace had been so secretive about her social life. She was entertaining men in a saloon? Did that mean… Sadie couldn’t finish her thought. She felt even more deflated, remembering all the times Grace hadn’t come home at night over the last few months.

“Is that Grace?” Wade asked, his voice incredulous. “Over yonder, comin’ out of the saloon?”

A shriek of her sister’s laughter reached Sadie’s ears, as Grace playfully slapped the arm of the cowboy to her right. Sadie winced. She felt ashamed and responsible for how Grace was behaving, and she hated that Wade might think less of Grace, when the girl held him in such high esteem.

“She’s had a hard time since Pa died. Went a little wild, I suppose,” Sadie said in her defense.

“Hmm,” he intoned. He continued to stare at Grace with a look of parental disapproval.

“Can we just walk around the restaurant for a minute?” Sadie asked urgently. She strode ahead and hoped Wade would follow. He did. When Sadie stopped and turned to face him, words tumbled out of her. “I just… I don’t want her to see you now. She won’t be able to handle it if you’re disappointed in her. She thinks so highly of you.”

His expression softened. “Of course, I understand.”

“Thank you,” Sadie said, relieved.

“But I’ll be talking to her about this at a later date,” he added, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t think we should allow it to continue. Do you?”

“No,” Sadie agreed. “It certainly can’t go on.”

In that moment, she and Wade were allies, just like they’d been at certain times back when they were the two older kids responsible for the younger ones. She felt a measure of relief at not having to face this problem alone. It seemed too large for her and certainly out of her realm of experience.

Sadie was by most people’s standards only a hair’s breadth away from being a spinster. No man had ever sought to court her. She knew this was because she was plain to look at and, besides that, she didn’t go to town for social activities. She didn’t have the first inkling about how to have a conversation with Grace about her behavior with men. With Sadie’s limited experience, it wasn’t as though she could provide her sister with a favorable alternative.

Sadie couldn’t help but wonder if things would have turned out better for Grace and the rest of them if Sadie hadn’t framed Wade for the theft half a decade ago. Perhaps he wouldn’t have been so heartbroken after Clyde’s death. Perhaps he would have chosen to stay with them. A lump formed in her throat, which took considerable effort to swallow down. “I’ll go fetch Grace. Meet us by the buggy in a few minutes?”

“Yes, I’ll see you there,” he agreed. He sounded sad, and she wondered if perhaps he had the same thought about how things could have been different if he’d stayed.

Sadie marched up to Grace and her two male companions. Grace’s eyes widened upon seeing her sister, and she quickly murmured her goodbyes to the men. Once the sisters had reached the buggy, Sadie sighed. “Grace, you can’t be seen spending time in the saloon. No good man will marry you if he hears tell you’re ruined.”

Grace waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about me, Sadie. Those men have been nice to me, so I’ve been nice to them. That’s all.”

Sadie scoffed. “Of course they’ve been nice to you. Who wouldn’t be nice to you? You’re the easiest person in the world to be nice to.” She stared into her younger sister’s sparkling green eyes, framed with kohl liner and shaded by dramatically dark eyelashes. It seemed silly now that Sadie had worried about what Wade would think of Grace putting on makeup, when he’d witnessed her doing something so much more scandalous.

Grace tilted her head. “Are you feeling well, Sadie? You look flushed, like you might have a fever.”

“Oh, yes. I’m perfectly well,” Sadie assured her. From the corner of her eye, she saw Wade striding toward them. She nodded in his direction. “I’ve got a little surprise for you. Look who’s here.”

Grace turned. A moment later she gasped. “Sakes alive! Is that Wade?”

“Sure is,” Sadie said, unable to stop herself from smiling. “I saw him earlier and we arranged to meet here.”

“I can’t believe it!” Grace cried. She lifted her skirts with both hands so they didn’t drag on the ground and ran, closing the distance between them. She squealed with delight as Wade swept her into his arms and twirled her around. Grace’s entire being was alight with excitement as she strolled hand-in-hand with him back to the buggy. Her eyes danced, and a delicate blush covered her cheeks. Wade was less effusive, but he was very happy to see Grace as well, judging by his broad smile and the adoring look he focused on her.

“Tell me everything,” Grace said to him. “How was your journey? How long are you staying?”

Wade chuckled. “My journey was unremarkable, as all the best journeys are, and I haven’t yet decided how long to stay. I’ve arranged with my employer to post feature articles from here, so I can earn a reduced salary that’ll hold us over.”

“You must remain with us for a very long time. We have so much to catch up on,” Grace said. “You’ll stay at the cabin, of course?”

“Sure, if no one minds,” he replied. He glanced at Sadie. “I’m fine at the hotel if it’s any trouble.”

“Not at all!” Grace exclaimed. “You can have your old cot or sleep in Pa’s room.”

Wade’s smile faltered, just a bit, which Grace immediately noticed. She wrapped a hand gently around his arm. “Wherever you want to sleep is fine, Wade. Whatever makes you comfortable.”

Sadie nodded her agreement with Grace, regretting that she hadn’t invited Wade to the cabin in the first place like Grace had done so easily.