Sitting in the second stagecoach, Pearl felt the horses suddenly surge with power as the coach came around a corner. The scenery was beautiful with mountains and pine trees but she knew danger lurked in the woods. The driver had informed them that mountain lions roamed the area and to always be on the lookout.
Growing up on a plantation, she had sometimes experienced bears, but never mountain lions, and the thought terrified her.
The memory of her family and the prosperous plantation they owned gripped her chest as grief filled her. She missed them all so very much.
But she was beginning a new life.
On this trip, she’d quickly realized that she had a whole new world in front of her, and while she missed the sea breezes of Charleston, she had no desire to be a whore. Her family was all dead; she was alone and this was the perfect opportunity to start anew.
As they pulled into town, she realized that Treasure Falls was a small community. No wonder they needed women. There couldn’t be more than ten buildings in the entire town.
And nowhere was there a gambling hall.
A roar came from the side of the road and she saw them. Men. At least fifteen stood waiting for the coaches to arrive.
Nerves gripped her stomach and she glanced at the other women in her carriage. They were all sitting with clasped hands. One woman had her rosary out and was saying a prayer.
With a sigh, she gazed at the men who were so excited and smiled. A handsome man, his temples sprinkled with gray, his arms muscular and well-defined, stood toward the back of the line and she couldn’t help but stare at him. Beside him stood a frowning young man wearing a black hat with his arms crossed over his chest like he wasn’t certain he wanted to be there.
Something drew her attention back to the first man. Why wasn’t he married?
Or could he be a widower? Licking her lips, she felt the stagecoach come to a halt and realized the women in the first carriage were alighting.
They were about to begin their new lives.
She glanced at the women she’d traveled with. Some of them, she couldn’t wait to be parted from. Some of them, she would miss.
“Ladies, this is it,” she said softly. “We’re about to meet our future husbands.”
“Look at those men,” Alice said. “They’re acting like animals. Disgusting.”
And that woman, she could hardly wait to part from. Did she realize that she just called the man she was about to marry disgusting? Lonely men who, from the looks of the town, had very few women to choose from. They were joyous and she liked the fact that they were happy to see them.
Mary sniffled. “I’m so afraid. I should never have done this.”
That was all Pearl could take.
“Excuse me, ladies,” she said, standing. “My future awaits me.”
The driver opened the door. A smile spread across her face and she pushed her long auburn hair off her shoulders.
Yes, she was nervous, anxious, and eager all at the same time. Right now, she couldn’t wait to see who she would meet.
Stepping out of the stage, the driver helped her alight.
“Thank you,” she said. “You’ve taken good care of us.”
“Good luck, ma’am,” he said, tipping his hat at her. “My pleasure.”
With a deep breath, she followed the women in the other carriage to meet the men, her eyes set on only one. The older man in the cowboy hat. Something drew her to him. Something she’d never experienced.
“Hello,” the first man said to her.
“Hello,” she said and walked on down the line past everyone until she reached the older cowboy with the graying sideburns.
“Pearl Tuttle,” she said, gripping his hand, staring into the darkest, greenest eyes she’d ever seen.
“Anthony Sanders,” he replied, smiling at her. “Ma’am, all that auburn hair of yours is beautiful. They say redheads are trouble. Is that true?”