Unbridled Dreams

by Stephanie Grace Whitson

  While others grabbed the bay’s reins to keep him from bolting, Belle fell to her knees beside her unconscious friend and tried to shield her from the rain. Shep ran up and, crouching down, laid two fingers alongside Helen’s neck to check for a pulse. Satisfied, he ran his hands over her arms and legs. Apparently convinced there were no broken bones, he scooped her up and ran for the nearest shelter—the dressing tent.

  Ma knelt over Helen, smoothing her pale forehead and murmuring comfort.

  “I don’t think anything’s broken,” Shep said. “Her pulse is strong. But—” He gulped. Belle glanced up at him. Was he really almost in tears?

  Ma checked again for broken bones. When Helen inhaled sharply and let out a moan, Ma smiled. “I think she mostly just got the wind knocked out of her.” She dabbed at a cut along Helen’s hairline with a clean cloth. “She’s gonna have a headache, though. Maybe a black eye.”

  Helen moaned again, then tried to sit up.

  “Lie still,” Shep said. He grabbed one of her hands and held on. “You’re gonna be fine. Just lie still until Doc Miller gets here.” He looked toward the grandstand. “Where is he, anyway?”

  As if on cue, the doctor arrived, muttering while he worked. “She’ll have quite the headache . . . doesn’t needs stitches . . . no broken bones. . . . pulse is good . . .” Finally, he looked up. “She’ll be fine,” he said.

  Belle reached for Shep. He pulled her close. Sighing with relief, they both looked down on Helen.

  The arena manager came into the tent. “Thank God,” he said when Doc Miller gave his report. He glanced at Shep. “We’ll just skip the race in the second act tonight. Crowd’s thin anyway.”

  “No need to do that,” Helen protested. Wincing and rubbing her neck, she sat up.

  “You are one crazy female if you think you’re riding tonight,” Shep said. Both the doctor and the arena manager nodded agreement.

  “Not me,” Helen said. Grimacing as she rubbed her shoulder, she pointed to Belle. “Her.” She glanced from the arena manager to Shep and back again. “You know she can do it. It’s just a little race. All she has to do is stay in the saddle.” She nodded toward the outdoors. “And look. It’s clearing up.”

  The arena manager stepped to where the wardrobe tent canvas had been rolled up to admit light near Ma’s work area and peered up at the sky. He glanced back at Shep. “Blue sky peeking out. Bill had you keepin’ an eye on her”—he nodded at Belle—“so I’ll make this your decision.”

  Belle thought it took about ten years for Shep to finally look her way. “Take it nice and easy,” he said. “Just get yourself and Diamond through the race in one piece. Let Dora take the lead.”

  Belle let out a whoop of joy and leaped into his arms.

  Laughing, he returned the hug before pulling her arms from around his neck and saying, “And remember . . . let Dora win.”

  CHAPTER 17

  THERE IS AN APP OINTED TIME FOR EVERYTHING. . . .

  A TIME TO WEEP, AND

  A TIME TO LAUGH; A TIME TO MOURN, AND A TIME TO DANCE.

  Ecclesiastes 3:1,4 NASB

  Belle was too worried about Diamond slipping and hurting himself to enjoy her debut. By the end of the race she was so covered with the mud flung into the air by Dora’s mount she could hardly tell what color she was wearing. She could taste the arena dirt, and swiping at her face with the sleeve of her mud-caked shirt only made it worse, but as Belle sat astride Diamond and looked up into the smiling faces of the enthusiastic crowd and listened to the applause, she got goose bumps. “Good boy,” she said to Diamond, and leaned down to pat his mud-caked neck. “Good boy.”

  Someone in the front row of the stands held something out as Dora took her victory lap. She accepted it, then trotted her pony to where Belle waited.

  “W-wave,” she said, and handed Belle the rose. “You d-did great.”

  Belle waved.

  “Take a bow,” Dora said.

  Standing up in the stirrups, Belle took off her hat and waved it to the crowd. Together, the cowgirls wheeled their horses about and rode out of the arena. As far as any of the spectators knew, they had just watched Texan Helen Keen lose a race to Montana Girl Dora Spurgeon. Which was fine with Belle. She wanted Liberty Belle’s first moment in the arena to be perfect. She wanted reporters watching her every move and writing articles about her. She wanted Bill Cody to be so glad he hired her that he offered her a raise. And she wanted to be among the chosen few who regularly entertained dignitaries visiting the Wild West. And so an incognito performance was just fine with Belle. For now.

  While she might remain unknown among the spectators tonight, the wranglers on the back lot had no intention of ignoring Belle’s debut. They hooted congratulations and joked about her “mud-mount” and her “fancy costume.” They teased Dora about winning a fixed race and hollered for Belle to try harder next time. By the time Belle and Dora had ridden back to where they could dismount and get cleaned up, Belle was happier than she’d ever been. Sliding to the ground she reached for a hackamore just as Shep walked up.

  “Thought you might be stuck to the saddle,” he said with a grin. He picked a glob of mud off her hair. “You, Miss Belle, are a bona fide mess. Not to mention your horse. Didn’t he used to be gray?”

  Belle laughed and nodded. “He did. And I used to have red hair and freckles.” She looked down at her mud-spattered clothes. “And we might be a mess, but we’re happy messes.” She patted Diamond’s neck. “He knows he did good—don’t you, boy?”

  Diamond whickered and bobbed his head up and down.

  “Well, you both did great,” Shep said. “You even followed orders.”

  “I didn’t have a choice,” Belle retorted. “Diamond’s no racehorse.” She grinned. “Just be glad I wasn’t riding Lady Blaze,” she said. “I might not have been able to help myself. Not with that crowd cheering. It’s amazing.”

  “As good as you imagined?”

  “Better,” Belle said.

  Shep nodded. “I’m glad you had fun.”

  “Well, I did. Thank you for letting me ride tonight.”

  He squeezed her hand. “You earned it.”

  Was it her imagination, or was he leaning in to . . . Nope. He wasn’t. Or, if he was leaning in to kiss her, he’d thought better of it. He let go of her hand. “Gotta get back over for the Final Salute,” he said. Then he patted her shoulder. As if she were his kid sister. “You’ll be riding in it before you know it.”

  “That she will.” It was Helen, moving slower than normal but obviously feeling better. “Now git along, little doggie,” she said to Shep. “You promised me a steak supper in town tonight, and I want it sooner rather than later.”

  Philadelphia

  June 10, 1886

  Dear Momma and Daddy,

  I’ve had my debut! Not exactly the way I had planned, and no one knows it was me, but I took Helen Keen’s place this past week in the pony race in the second half. I rode Diamond, and of course that means we lost every time, but the audiences don’t care, and honestly, neither do I. Helen has been under the weather. But she’s better now, so I doubt I’ll have another chance to perform until after we settle on Staten Island and Cody, Salsbury, and Sterling finally agree that Liberty Belle and Diamond are ready.

  Not long after I took Helen’s place, they let me ride in the Decoration Day parade in Washington, D.C. Everyone seemed to think I should have the practice before we get to the big city of New York. I think they were testing how Diamond would react to street noise, but if they were worried, they aren’t anymore because Diamond was perfect. He acted like he’d been doing parades all his life. And we rode right past the White House!

  The crowds here in Philadelphia have been so big that right now as I am writing to you, I can hear the carpenters hammering away, adding more seats to the grandstand. People arrive via stage from three different parts of the city to see the Wild West, and in addition to the stages, the railroad is running special trains out
to us. Shep says that if it keeps up at this pace the Wild West will play to over a hundred thousand people before we have moved on.

  This past Sunday Shep took me into town. He said that Liberty Belle should see the Liberty Bell. Ha. It is hard to imagine that Benjamin Franklin once walked the very same streets. We saw where he used to live and then rode the ferry across to the zoo and ended our day in the city with the cyclorama of the Battle of Gettysburg. It made me cry to think of all those brave men dying in battle.

  Daddy, did you remember to order new boots from Mr. Brady? I’ve had Monte’s repaired twice. You can send them to me in care of the Wild West, Erastina, Staten Island, New York. Now that we are settled in, I am hoping to receive at least a dozen letters from home—letters I imagine following us across the country but arriving just after we’ve left a certain station. At least I hope that is why I haven’t heard from you. I am not exactly homesick, but I do miss you. BOTH OF YOU.

  Your affectionate daughter,

  Irmagard a.k.a. Belle

  As the evening sun dipped toward the horizon in the west, Willa dragged her kitchen chair outside and sat down to reread the letter Charlie had brought out from town. Irmagard “wasn’t exactly homesick,” but she missed. . . . both of them. Willa’s eyes misted over when she read that. She folded the letter and tucked it back in its envelope.

  She supposed it was understandable for Irmagard to be infatuated by someone like Shep Sterling. Still, the frequency of the man’s name in all her letters was concerning. Willa wondered why Otto hadn’t attended to shipping the boots. Irmagard obviously needed them. If he was going to support this phase of his daughter’s life, the least he could do was follow through and see that she had the proper equipment. As the sun sank behind the distant horizon, Willa decided it was time to go into town. Time to purchase train tickets. Time to visit Irmagard.

  “Glad to see you still want them,” Dan Brady said, as he set Irmagard’s new boots on the counter. “I was beginning to wonder. They’ve been ready for a couple of weeks. I sent word over to the bank, but Mr. Friedrich hasn’t been in.”

  “Would you have them shipped to this address, please,” Willa said, and handed Dan a slip of paper on which she’d written Irmagard’s address in New York.

  Brady perused the address and whistled low. “Is she riding in the show?”

  “She filled in for one of the other young women, who was indisposed,” Willa said. “But I believe her own debut has yet to happen.”

  “Still,” Brady said, “you should be proud. It’s not every young woman who has that kind of grit and spunk.”

  Willa mumbled something noncommittal and left the store thinking that grit and spunk were not exactly the character qualities uppermost in her mind when she was raising her red-headed daughter. From Brady’s she made her way to the dressmaker’s.

  “Have you begun the new ensemble I’d ordered for this fall yet?” she asked.

  “I’m sorry, ma’am, but I—”

  “Good,” Willa interrupted. “I won’t be needing it after all. I’d appreciate it if you could just carry the payment I made as a credit on your books. I’m certain I’ll need some work done in coming weeks. I’m just—well. Things are little uncertain at the moment regarding my plans for the fall..”

  Miss Avery nodded. “Actually I’d thought that might be the case.” she said. “When I saw that the house was closed up, I thought I should wait to begin until I’d heard from you again.”

  Closed up? The house has been closed up? Just because Ella Jane and Samuel married and left town is no reason— “Well then,” Willa said, “I’ll be in touch. Now if you’ll excuse me.”

  She left the shop quickly, climbed into her buggy, and drove to the house. What was this nonsense Ellen Avery was spouting about her and Otto closing things up? Otto said he was living at the hotel, but she hadn’t really taken that seriously. After all, he was the one who’d wanted the big house in the first place. She couldn’t imagine him ever really giving it up.

  She pulled the buggy beneath the portico and went to the side door, surprised when she could not look inside. Someone had drawn every drape in the house. Her heart pounding, Willa unlocked the door and let herself in. Every stick of furniture in the house had been covered with drop cloths. Ella Jane’s room was empty. The kitchen was in order, but both icebox and pantry were empty. Someone had set a mousetrap beneath the kitchen table. He’d really done it. She let herself out and locked the door.

  Willa drove to the bank. After all, Otto should know she’d been at the house in case someone reported seeing a woman snooping around. Of course everyone in North Platte recognized Willa Friedrich’s horse and buggy. She didn’t really believe anyone would report a “suspicious person” snooping around the house. But it wouldn’t hurt for Otto to know that in spite of his betrayal, she could be civil. It also wouldn’t hurt for everyone to see that the Friedrichs could effect a civilized separation.

  “He’s been staying over at the hotel since closing up the house,” Wilber said.

  Willa nodded. “I know.” She paused. “I’ll just wait in his office until he returns. If you don’t think it’ll be too long?”

  “Well, ma’am, I couldn’t say exactly. But you won’t want to wait in there. Mr. Friedrich’s in Denver. Didn’t say when he’d be back.”

  The Wild West arrived in New York sometime during the night of June 25. Belle awoke the instant the train stopped moving. She lay for a few minutes listening to the now familiar sounds of pulleys and hammers, whinnies and hoofbeats, as supply wagons were unloaded and tents raised. When it was clear she wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep, she climbed out of her berth and began to dress.

  “You’ve certainly come a long way since your cowbell days,” Helen said from her upper berth. She reached down and ruffled Belle’s hair. “In case you haven’t noticed, it’s still pitch-dark outside.”

  “But they’re putting up the tents. Our tent. Aren’t you sick of living on this train? And think of it—there’s an ocean out there! And the city of New York! And the bridge! Who can sleep thinking about all of that?!”

  “Apparently no one stuck in a Pullman with you,” Mabel grumbled. With a dramatic sigh she turned over, telegraphing her intention to try.

  Belle grabbed her boots. “Well, you three can sleep all day if you like. I’m going to go see if Diamond’s unloaded yet. Maybe braid his mane for the parade. Do you think Ma would let me have some ribbon?”

  “For crying out loud,” Mabel said. “Will you hush?”

  Rolling her eyes, Belle did an exaggerated tiptoe for the door, sitting on the bottom step to pull on her boots. Helen wasn’t far behind.

  The dressing tent was already up. Helen and Belle were among the first Wild Westers to arrive, but Shep and Monte soon popped in, and just as Belle was asking Ma Clemmons if there might be some red fabric she could tear into strips and braid into Diamond’s mane and tail, Dora Spurgeon ducked inside, too.

  “Nope,” Ma shook her head. “I’ve got no red fabric to spare.” She reached for a box. “But let’s see what we can rustle up.” She opened the box and with mock surprise said, “Well, lookee here.” She pulled out a dark blue split skirt, matching vest, and a red shirt. Draping the vest and shirt over her arm, Ma held up the skirt. “Looks to be about your size, wouldn’t you say?”

  “It’s perfect.” Belle caressed the soft blue fabric, then held the skirt up to her waist.

  Shep reached behind a folding screen and produced a hatbox holding a new fawn-colored Stetson with a scarlet hatband. “Approved by Mr. Salsbury as required,” Shep said with a smile.

  “And h-h-here,” Dora said, and pulled a white kerchief out of her pocket. “I p-p-put those b-beads on the edge. S-s-ilver, so they shine in the l-lights.”

  Tears welled up as Belle looked at her circle of friends. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “That’s all right,” Ma Clemmons said, “because there’s no time for a speech anyway.” S
he handed Belle a pile of red, white, and blue ribbons. “At least not if you’re going to get that horse’s mane braided in time for Liberty Belle’s first official parade.”

  “Excited or scared?” Shep joined Belle at the ferry railing.

  “A little of both,” Belle said. She motioned toward the city. “That’s an amazing sight for a girl from Nebraska.”

  “That’s an amazing sight for anyone from anywhere,” Shep said.

  He pointed across the water to a small island. “Bledsoe’s Island. Liberty Enlightening the World. Most of it still in crates around the base.”

  “Can we go over there sometime?”

  “I’ll take you first chance we get,” Shep said.

  Monte spoke up. “Too bad Orrin Knox won’t be around for that.” He held one hand up and swept it across an imaginary banner. “Liberty Belle meets Liberty.”

  They all laughed, then Shep nodded in the opposite direction of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge. “If you’re real nice to me, I might even see my way clear to take you to see the bridge close up. But you got to be real nice. It costs three cents to cross it on the pedestrian walkway. I wouldn’t want to waste my hard-earned money on just anyone.”