“Could be important, depending on what rights still attach to it.”
She nodded slowly.
“Then I'd like copies of every relevant filing.”
The clerk looked surprised.
“That may take some time.”
“I have time.”
He smiled faintly.
“Very well.”
The cowboy stood beside her while the clerk prepared the records.
He could have answered for her.
He knew several of the local surveyors.
He understood how ranchers fought over water.
But he let her ask the questions.
She noticed.
As they left the courthouse, she looked toward him.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For not speaking over me.”
He seemed genuinely confused.
“Why would I?”
She smiled sadly.
“You'd be surprised how often men do.”
The cowboy opened the wagon's side rail.
“Well, you seem to know what you're doing.”
“Not everything.”
“Then we'll find the people who do.”
She studied him.
“We?”
He paused.
“If you'd like.”
The woman looked into his eyes.
“Yes,” she said softly. “I would.”
Their next stop was a small dressmaking shop on the edge of town.
The woman needed additional fabric to repair the hem of her brown dress, which had been damaged during the journey.
She also wanted to purchase material for a heavier winter gown.
The shopkeeper was a thin woman with silver spectacles and a measuring tape hanging around her neck.
When the customer entered, the shopkeeper looked surprised.
Then she smiled.
“Good afternoon. What can I help you with?”
The woman explained her requirements.
The shopkeeper listened thoughtfully.
She did not laugh at the measurements.
She did not pretend that ordinary patterns would fit without modification.
Instead, she began asking practical questions about fabric, comfort, and construction.
The woman felt herself relaxing.
They spent nearly an hour discussing wool, cotton lining, seam allowances, and the difficulties of finding fashionable clothing for a body of her size.
The shopkeeper admitted that she had little experience producing garments requiring so much material.
But she was willing to learn.
The woman offered to help with pattern adjustments.
By the end of the conversation, the two had discovered a shared interest in sewing.
The shopkeeper mentioned that she struggled with her business accounts.