“Van Buren,” Mei answered. “It’s a might risky going around Fort Smith for us, but we got us a contact there. We’ll lay up, maybe collect a job or two, then be on the move again.”
“Hm…” Violet stared out into the wilderness. Mei noticed her vacant expression.
“That don’t seem to satisfy you,” she pointed out.
“No…well…I don’t know.” Violet shifted in Maple’s saddle. “I suspect we’ll only be in Van Buren…how long? A day, maybe?”
“Just about.”
“But where are we really headed?” Violet pried. “Is this all y’all do? Go from place to place, doin’ jobs? No home to go to, no family?”
Mei fell to silence. She focused on the road ahead of them, her own hat keeping her face dim with shadow. Yet there was a reflection of the red earth in her beetle black eyes. “Mostly,” she finally said. “We got
