Free Yankee Mail Order Bride by Susan Leigh Carlton

depot,” she said.
     
    “He was there. You just didn’t see him. He rides off to the side, so he isn’t so easily seen. He can see someone before the man handling the wagon, and join up if need be. Actually, if there was anything, he could defend better from the side than with the wagon. That way, we could establish a crossfire. We haven’t had an incident in a long time,” he quickly added.
     
    “So, there really is an Indian threat,” she said.
     
    “A small chance, I guess,” he allowed.
     
    “I would like to go, the next time a trip is planned. I need to write Mama a letter to let her know how I’m doing,” Anna said.
     
    “Okay, I’ll ask the folks what they need and we’ll go in. It will be a nice break in the routine.”
     

Chapter 13:  Cheyenne
     
    Cheyenne…
     
    The streets of Cheyenne were uneven and bumpy. Churned up by wagon wheels, herds of cattle driven through town to the cattle pens where they would be sold, and possibly loaded. Dust swirled around and coated everything and everyone with a layer. Ladies crossed the streets holding the hems of their dresses out of the dirt and mud.
     
    Anna and Josiah went into the general store, where Josiah introduced Anna to the storekeeper, Asa Johnson, and then gave him the list of supplies he needed. Meanwhile, Anna walked around the store, looking at the bolts of cloth, buttons and other items of interest. She spied something in the corner that caught her interest. She went back to the storekeeper. “Is the piano for sale? Would it be all right if I played it?” she asked.
     
    “The Blackjack Saloon had that shipped in, but they went bust before it got here. Sure, go ahead and play. No one has touched it since it came in,” he said and went back to gathering up the order.
     
    Anna went back to the corner, and pulled the bench to the front of the Steinway upright piano. She sat, arranged her dress, intertwined her fingers and bent them back to stretch them. She began to play a relatively new hymn, Blessed Assurance, her eyes closed as her hands moved gracefully over the keyboard. She then played one of Tchaikovsky’s latest compositions, the likes of which had never been heard in Cheyenne. Not until she had finished the piece was she aware of the several patrons of the store that had gathered to hear her play. They clapped, and several were heard to say, “Beautiful”.
     
    She went to the storekeeper and said, Thank you for allowing me to play. It’s been so long, and I do enjoy it.”
     
    “Believe me, it was my pleasure, Mrs Moore.” Anna then looked at the toys, and picked something for Rebecca and then into the candy case, where she asked for jelly beans, for Beulah and Rebecca.
     
    When she moved away, Josiah asked if the piano was for sale. “I can make you a really good price on it. It has been here nearly a year and no one has taken any interest in it.” They negotiated a price and Josiah paid to have it delivered to the Diablo.
     
    “Anna, I don’t really know, but do you sew? Do you need any dresses or other clothing. You only had the one trunk, and surely you could use other things.”
     
    “I do sew. I’m fine, I don’t want to be an expense to you. I’m okay,” she said.
     
    “Anna, what I had is now ours. If you need or even want anything, just give it to Asa,” he said.
     
    “If you insist, I could use some unmentionables, and I could get a pattern or two, and some cloth. I could make Rebecca a dress too.
     
    “Somewhere in the house, Ma had a Singer sewing machine,” he said. “She used to make all of our things. I can remember her sitting in front of that machine, just singing to the empty room.”
     
    “Since Papa had a clothing business, we always had sewing machines in the house. Mama and the housekeeper both sewed,” Anna said. She went back to the bolts of cloth and found some she liked, along with lace and buttons. She bought two patterns for herself and two for Rebecca. “Now,” she