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"Will there be lace, too?" Bonnie asked eagerly.
1 'Yes, here on the collar, and on the cuffs.'' Megan picked
up the dark blue dress and held it in front of the little girl. "See how pretty? It matches your eyes."
Bonnie grabbed a piece of lace and held it up to her face. "The white part, too!"
Megan laughed. "Yes, the white part, too." She leaned over and squeezed the child against her.
It had been over a week since Justin had first brought the thin, scared girl to her store. Since then, they'd spent most of their days together. Justin brought her to the store after breakfast and picked her up on his way home. There hadn't been a repeat of that first night, with Justin staying to supper, and then—she cleared her throat and searched frantically for her scissors on the table—what had happened later. She brought Bonnie back to the house, but she always returned her to the shop before sundown.
"This was your dress?" Bonnie asked, fingering the heavy cotton.
"Yes, when I was a little older than you. I'm going to cut it down. I think I only wore it one or two times, so ifs almost new. Ifs going to look much prettier on you than it ever did on me. You have such beautiful dark hair."
Bonnie smiled shyly, as if compliments were as foreign to her as regular meals had been. But in the last few days, her bruises had faded and her face had lost its pinched, hungry look. She smiled often and even laughed on occasion.
"We're going to a social, huh?"
"Yes," Megan said, laying the dress flat on her dining room table. She began to carefully tear out the neat stitches. "After church on Sunday."
"I've never been to church."
Megan stared at her. Never been to church? But the child was six years old. She opened her mouth to say something, then clamped it shut. Of course Bonnie hadn't. Who would take her? Her mother wouldn't have been allowed inside Landing's most sacred building, and Mrs. Jarvis hadn't taken the trouble to feed and clothe the girl decently. Why would she have bothered with the state of the child's soul?
"Ifs very lovely," Megan said, and smiled at her. "There's singing and the minister reads from the Bible. He
talks about God." She sighed. "Sometimes he talks a little too long, but he has a nice voice, so we don't mind."
"Is there singing at the social?"
"Sometimes. If s mostly a picnic to welcome Justin as the new sheriff."
Bonnie's big blue eyes got bigger. She laid her corn-husk doll on the table and leaned closer. "A picnic? I've heard about that. Is there going to be fried chicken?"
"Yes. And lemonade and cakes."
"Do I get some?"
"Of course."
"I'm glad Justin's the new sheriff," Bonnie said fervently.
Megan laughed. "I bet you are." She turned back to the dress and continued tearing out the stitches. Unfortunately, not all the townspeople shared Bonnie's enthusiasm. Justin continued to investigate Laurie Smith's murder and many citizens resented his spending so much time on something they considered worthless. She'd had an argument about it with Mrs. Greeley just yesterday. In a fit of temper, she'd told the older woman she should be grateful Justin cared that much. If anyone ever did in her husband for overcharging in his butcher shop, Justin would be sure to bring the man to justice.
Megan bit her lower lip. It had been a silly thing to say. She'd known that as soon as the words had slipped out. No doubt, news of the words she and the butcher's wife had exchanged were already spread all over town. Part of the reason she'd brought Bonnie back to the house had been to work on the dress, but the other had been to avoid her sister. It had rained yesterday, turning the path between town and the Bartlett house into a muddy trail. Colleen would never risk her shoes over a visit, so Megan and Bonnie were safe today.
At least Colleen and Mrs. Greeley seemed to be in the minority. There were enough new settlers to tip the scale in Justin's favor. He was also getting support from the most surprising places. Megan had been shocked when she'd found out Mrs. Dobson had been the one who'd suggested the social. The older woman had always talked about Jus-
tin's being as handsome as sin, and sin making its own kind of trouble. Maybe the widow didn't think trouble from sin that handsome was a bad thing. Megan smiled at the thought.
