“I can’t tell you why, Bob. But that’s how it is.”
“And you still hate Houck?”
“Ump-ha. Except—sometimes.” She did not explain that elusive answer. “But it don’t matter about how I feel. When he comes back I’ve got to do like he says.”
June broke down and began to weep. The boy’s tender heart melted within him.
“Don’t you. Don’t you,” he begged. “We’ll find a way, li’l’ pardner. We sure will.”
“How?” she asked, between sobs. “There ain’t—any way—except to—to marry Jake.”
“You could run away—and work,” he suggested.
“Who’d give me work? And where could I go that he wouldn’t find me?”
Practical details stumped him. Her objections were valid enough. With her inexperience she could never face the world alone.
“Well, le’s see. You’ve got friends. Somewhere that you could kinda hide for a while.”