Had she decided to reject his suit entirely? Had she already been welcomed into their bosom? He'd expected her to seek him out. Was this silence her answer?
"Name the restaurant, and I'll catch up with you," he told them. "I have to find her."
Breanna strode down the sidewalk,which was bustling now with people. She had no destination in mind, but she was receiving curious looks from nearly everyone she passed. No doubt it was the way she was dressed. Had anyone in Chicago ever seen a real cowgirl before?
Walking aimlessly wasn't going to fix anything.
But where should she go? Her parents had told her the name of the hotel where they'd rented rooms. She could go there and rest awhile. Even lie with a cold compress on her eyes like some dime-novel heroine.
She wished she could phone Cecilia, but she knew she'd have no privacy once she was back with her family. The children would be swarming around. Her brothers would want a full accounting of the danger she'd faced. And Pa would likely want reassurances that Adam hadn't compromised her in any way.
Cecilia would know what to do. She'd known almost from the moment she'd arrived in tow with Oscar and Sarah that she'd wanted to be a teacher. She'd gone after it with single-minded fervor.
Breanna didn't know what she wanted. Was it adventure that she longed for? Or Adam?
She was confused. And heartsick.
And then across the street, a woman on the sidewalk hailed her with a raised hand.
Ma.
"There you are." Ma was huffing as she bustled up to Breanna. "Going like the devil's on your tail. I was in the hotel lobby and saw you through the window, and I'd like to never catch up to you."
Breanna felt the sting of sudden tears.
Ma seemed to see it. She didn't embrace Breanna, which would've brought them on. She laced her arm through Breanna's elbow and fell into step beside her. “You’re exhausted. Let’s go and get you cleaned up. I’ll shuffle the rest of them away so you can rest.”
Breanna felt the exhaustion in every fiber of her being. But—“I don’t think I can sleep.”
Ma looked at her. And seemed to know it wasn’t the race adrenaline that was keeping her up. "There's a little cafe down the corner. Let's grab a cup of coffee and a moment without your pa listening to every word."
Breanna allowed Ma to tow her to the glass-windowed establishment. Smells of fresh-baked goods and strong coffee assaulted her.
Ma found a pair of empty stools at the counter in the back, and Breanna slumped onto one of them.
She barely even noticed a waitress approach and fill their coffee mugs. Ma offered a hushed, "Thanks."
Breanna curled her hands around the mug, letting the coffee's heat seep into her.
"What happened with your young man?" Ma asked. No preamble. Just straight out.
"Nothing," Breanna said. "I found him in the livery. With his family. And I..." She sighed.
"Ran away again?"
Ma's gentle words stung.
"Adam called me a coward in Iowa." She'd been angry then. Denied it.
But maybe he was right.
Ma settled one hand over Breanna's wrist. She still hadn't drunk a drop of her coffee.
"When I first met you,” Ma said, “I found you shocking."
Breanna had been young, too young to understand the adults around her. But she could well imagine what the prim and proper Penny had felt back then.
"We were hooligans," she admitted. "Me most of all." She'd always been trying to catch up to her brothers.
