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collapsed back into her chair.
    Tilly picked up the bracelet Ray was making. “Well, as far as I heard, he’s not going to marry her quite yet. Word is that he promised his mother he’d court Miss DuCastille for two weeks and then he’d decide.”
    Tilly was repeating things she’d already overheard, but Ray wasn’t going to admit to snooping.
    “So, what am I supposed to do?” Suddenly, a sinister thought occurred to her. “I could sneak into her room one night and cut off all that pretty gold hair. Or—”
    Tilly held up her hand, trying to hold back a laugh. “No, no, no. None of that, Raychelle.”
    “Then what, Tilda ?”
    Tilly scrunched up her little round nose at the sound of her full name.
    “Let’s think… What is it about her that makes her the perfect wife for Billy? Why did his parents choose her?”
    Ray thought on it.
    “Well, she’s pretty, speaks proper, stands as straight as a May Pole, and has manners like Mrs. Ducharme.” Basically, she was everything Ray wasn’t.
    Tilly nodded.
    “So, she isn’t you.”
    Ray’s gaze snapped to Tilly’s. “Yeah, so?”
    “Well, if that’s the kind of woman Billy wants, why not become like her?”
    Ray opened her mouth to speak but shut it again, unsure what she was supposed to say.
    Tilly grinned as though she’d just come up with the best idea since spurs.
    “It’s a perfect plan. I’ll call for Dora; she’s about your size and she has loads of dresses you can use. Pretty ones. We’ll at least get you looking like a proper lady in no time.”
    Ray looked down at her plain leather skirt, her faded and worn shirt, and scuffed boots.
    “Well, I guess I could use a few new dresses—but I don’t want to be beholden to Dora. I’ll pay her whatever the dresses are worth.”
    Tilly’s grin grew ever wider.
    “Oh, this is going to be such great fun. Billy isn’t going to know what hit him!”

Chapter Five

    B illy tossed the last hay bale from the wagon and climbed down, eager to finish up his chores and find Ray. He had a lot to tell her, lots of details about his forced courtship with Miss DuCastille.
    But he hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Ray the last two days and, to say that was unusual, was an understatement. Usually, she was underfoot all times of the day. In between completing her chores with the sheep and him working hard to make sure the breeding program ran smoothly, Ray would pop in unannounced and stick around for however long she had free. Sometimes, she’d help him with his work or would chatter his ear off. At other times, she’d try to talk him into leaving the chores alone and going down to the creek or into town, or out to the field behind the homestead to just be together .
    Basically, if she wasn’t working or sleeping, she was with him.
    But today…
    Today, she was absent. Again. And he felt it. Deep down.
    He didn’t have time to dwell on the empty feeling in his gut. His ma appeared over the rise from the house, waving excitedly.
    Oh, boy. What now?
    He didn’t have the heart to hear her spout on about how wonderful or lovely or marriageable Rebecca DuCastille was. He loved his ma, more than his own life, but the woman had become much too invasive. He couldn’t go anywhere without her asking him to take Rebecca with him to “get to know her better” or “to court her properly”.
    Rebecca had been there for three days already and he’d spent more time with her than he had to spare. It wasn’t as though she were an unpleasant woman—on the contrary, she really would make some man a perfect wife. He just didn’t know if it was him.
    He pulled off his gloves and met his mother on the rise. “Ma. What can I do for you?” Polite, be polite. He chanted the words she’d instilled in him. She only wants what’s best for you…
    “Good afternoon, dear. Your father has concluded his business for the day and has asked me to go to town for dinner at the hotel.”
    The Dry Bayou Hotel was a large, whitewashed