A Chance at Love by Beverly Jenkins Page A

sunshine.
    â€œThat was Carrie’s and Jimmy’s pa, Loreli,” Bebe told her.
    â€œAre they friends of yours?”
    â€œCarrie is. Jimmy likes to put crickets down girls’ collars.”
    Loreli smiled.
    Dede asked, “Why won’t Mr. Diggs let them live in their house anymore, Loreli?”
    â€œI guess their pa hasn’t paid back some money he borrowed from the bank.”
    â€œWell, I think that’s mean.”
    Loreli had to agree. Whatever his beef with the bank, Peterson still had five children to provide for, and Diggs hadn’t seemed sympathetic in the least. Loreli understood that banks were in business to turn a profit, and although she had no idea how much Diggs had helped the Petersons in the past, she thought surely the bank could’ve held off until the man harvested his crops. Was he really being punished for being a member of the Knights of Labor? Loreli didn’t know much about the inner workings of the group, however, she was aware that the Knights let members of the race join their ranks, and that they advocated equal rights and pay for women.
    Bebe said, “If I was rich, I’d give Carrie’s pa all the money he needed.”
    Hearing the genuine tone in Bebe’s voice, Loreli asked her, “Would you?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œI would too,” her sister declared proudly. “I like Carrie.”
    Loreli decided she liked Carrie as well, if only because the twins did. The girls had already proven to be good judges of people; after all, they’d known better than to call Rebecca Appleby a friend.
    â€œWhen I grow up,” Dede said, “I’m going to be rich so nobody can tell me not to live in my house.”
    Loreli thought that a logical goal. She’d been poor and she’d been rich. Rich was better.
    Next stop, the seamstress shop, owned by Mildred Tate. A bell on top of the door tinkled out their entrance. The tiny shop was filled with fabrics, dress forms, and notions. As Loreli and the twins stood a moment taking it all in, a woman who looked to be in her late twenties came hurrying out of the back. She had short, sparse hair, a tall, birdlike body, and her brown face was as long as and homely as a mule’s. She smiled upon seeing the twins but stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of Loreli. “Hello, girls,” she said, then asked warily, “Who’s this with you?”
    Bebe declared proudly, “This is Loreli, Miss Millie. She’s going to be our new mama.”
    The woman’s eyes widened with surprise, then her lips tightened. “Hello,” she offered stiffly to Loreli, looking her up and down. “You came in with those mail-order brides, didn’t you?”
    Loreli sensed the woman’s distaste. “Yes. Name’s Winters, and you are?”
    â€œMildred Tate. Rebecca Appleby and I have been best friends since childhood.”
    â€œWell, now,” Loreli cracked, “isn’t that something?” So this was a friend of Rebecca’s.
    â€œYes, it is, isn’t it,” Millie shot back coolly. “So, you and Jake are getting married?”
    Loreli assessed Mildred Tate and remembered the banker Diggs saying everyone in town was waiting on Rebecca to saddle Reed. “Looks that way.”
    â€œWhen?” the woman demanded sharply.
    Loreli thought Mildred Tate not only rude but nosy as well. Even so, Loreli refused to let this mule-faced Millie rile her into acting rude in return, at least not in front of the girls. “A week from Saturday. We’re here because the girls need dresses.”
    â€œOh, really?” the woman replied sarcastically. “And you came to me?”
    Loreli held on to her patience. “I’m told you’re the best seamstress in town.”
    The mule smiled smugly. “I am the only seamstress in town.”
    Loreli wanted to shake the snide smile off the hussy’s face. Not in front of the