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but I have to do this myself."
    She continued shoveling until all the dirt was returned to the hole and a long mound covered the spot where her mother rested.
    "I know this isn’t the time to speak of such things, Shinonn, but I was wondering what you were planning to do now that you’re alone. I mean, are you going to stay on, living alone in that house of yours?" Grady asked as the two of them trudged back to town after the funeral.
    "I haven’t had too much time to think about it, to tell you the truth. But, no, I don’t much like the idea of living in the house alone."
    She couldn’t help but notice the look of relief that swept across the young man’s face. Now, what does he have in mind, she wondered?
    Putting his hand on her shoulder, he stopped walking and gently turned her to face him.
    "You may not have been doin’ much thinking about it, but I’ve been doing nothing but thinking. That is, what I was wondering is, I think you ought to be getting married. You ought to settle down, have your own family." The poor man blushed scarlet as he clumsily took her hand.
    "I’d be the happiest man in the territory if you’d be my wife, Shinonn."
    "Oh, Grady, I haven’t even thought of marriage! Why, I’d pretty much decided I’d never get married.
    Oh, please, I don’t mean to hurt you! It’s just that, ... well, I’ve never been free for a day of my life! Oh, how can I explain without hurting you?"
    "Don’t worry about me. I didn’t want to upset you or nothing. I just want to take care of you. Why, you’ve been takin’ care of someone all your life. I just thought it was about time someone took care of you for a change."
    "You’re just about the best friend anyone ever had, Grady Hobbs. Can’t we just keep on being friends?
    Do we have to change things now?"
    "No, of course not," he answered with a rueful grin. "Come on, let’s get back to town. We’ll catch colds for sure if we stay out here in this wind much longer." He put a protective arm around her shoulders and began walking down the deserted road.

    ***
    "I’ve been thinking about what you said yesterday, about me living alone in that old house, Grady,"
    Shinonn greeted the blacksmith when he came to work the next morning. "Let’s go back to the house for some coffee and a talk before we get to work. I’ve got a business proposition for you."
    He looked at her curiously but held his questions until they were sitting in her small but tidy kitchen.
    "Well! And what is this ‘business proposition’?"
    "How much money do you have saved up? Oh, I know I’m being awful nosy, but this is important. How much do you have?"
    "Nearly four hundred dollars, why?"
    "How would you like to own your own business? I’ll sell all of it, blacksmith shop, the livery stable and this house for half of what you’ve got saved. What do you say?"
    "Sure, I’ll buy it from you, if that’s what you want. But not for no piddling two hundred dollars. You take three-fifty or we forget it. Even at that I still feel like I’m skinning you."
    "You got a deal! Let’s shake on it."
    "But what are you going to do? Three hundred-fifty dollars ain’t all that much. It won’t last forever, you know."
    "I know that, but it’ll take me where I want to go. I’m going out west, Grady. I’m getting out of this godforsaken place at long last."
    "You must be crazy! A girl can’t just get up and take off like that!"
    "This girl can. I sat here and watched my brother take off, free as a bird, and nobody thought a thing about it. Well, it’s my turn now. I’m eighteen years old and I’ve never seen any place but this dirty little town and a half dozen towns just like it. I’m going, Grady. One way or another, I’m going. Your money will help me do it better, but even if I don’t sell out to you, I’m still getting out."
    "I’ll give you the money, you know I will. But you don’t know how rough it can be on the trail. It’s hard enough for a man, but it would be flat