Chapter 44

I wonder if I’m only attractive to Ethan because I’m different from all the girls around here that he grew up with.A novelty.Then I bring myself back to topic.

“Are there any Indians?”I ask.“There were a few in my area,but most of them were forced West.”

“I think there are some,east of here,”Ethan says.“But I don’t hear much about them.”

“Sometime I’d like to see the town in the middle of the day,I mean besides going to the lunch counter,”I say.

“You’d get a lot of stares,maybe even questions.That’s the main reason I’ve been asking you to walk with me in the evenings.I didn’t think you’d be ready for all that.We’ll have to come up with some reason why you’re here.We can hardly tell people you arrived on a train with an escaped slave.”

“Maybe I’m not ready,”I admit.Hating myself,I allow my arm to brush against Ethan’s.He grips my hand,and I grip him back tightly.His hands are warm and smooth,not calloused from doing hard physical labor.