The Only Way Out - Book Two of the Western Girls Trilogy

Chapter 1

First Street Orphanage, Abilene Texas  

June 14th, 1856

"What are you thinking about?" Mallory asked.

Morgan was staring off into space again and seemed to be in a very far off  place this time. "Hm?" her head snapped around as she was pulled back to reality. "Oh, I was just thinking about my brother." she replied.

"Whatever happened to him?"

"He was killed in a shootout in town a couple years ago." Morgan said.

"Was he a gunslinger?"

"No." Morgan laughed softly. "No, he was trying to stop a little boy from running out into the road during a gunfight and he was struck by a stray bullet."

"I think I remember reading about it." Mallory said. "What a shame. That's how you ended up here, isn't it?"

"Yes," Morgan paused the scrubbing of the floor and looked up at her. "We were going to move west as soon as he saved up enough money."

"And now you're stuck here," Mallory sighed. "I'd have to say, that's what's most unfair about the whole situation."

Morgan nodded. "Very unfair."

Mallory sighed. "I guess Allison was adopted."

Now she had Morgan's attention. "What? Really?"

"That's what Ms. Desmond said. Her belongings were just gone the other morning. When I asked about it, she said she'd been adopted."

"I think it's strange that she wouldn't have time to say goodbye to the rest of us," Morgan said. She also thought it was odd that several girls now had disappeared in the middle of the night and Ms. Desmond's only explanation was that they had been adopted out of state.

"But don't you think it's odd that there seem to be a whole lot of people adopting sixteen and seventeen year old girls lately. I've never heard of such a thing."

"Yes, that does seem strange," Morgan replied. "Most people want young children so they can raise them how they want."

"I think something fishy's going on." Mallory said.

Morgan agreed, but there was no proof of anything and life went on as usual for a few more months. Morgan and Mallory became good friends and they often did their chores together. They also managed to convince Ms. Desmond to allow them to sleep in the same room, so they would speak every day, even if it meant whispering under the covers for a few minutes after the lights went out and the other girls in the room had fallen asleep.

Then, one morning, Morgan got up and looked over to find that Mallory's bed was empty. The bed was stripped of all its bedding and the chest beside it where Mallory had kept all of her belongings, was open and empty. There were no books, no clothes, and no sign of Mallory having just been there the night before.

"Ms. Desmond," Morgan saw the woman coming inside from the front porch. "Have you seen Mallory? All her things are gone."

"Yes, she was adopted," Ms. Desmond replied shortly. "I'm just returning from putting her on the early stage coach." She walked into her office and closed the door before Morgan could question her any further.

"Adopted?" Morgan said to no one but herself. She absolutely didn't believe a word of it. She and Mallory told each other everything and they had just spoken the night before while getting ready for bed. She had made no mention of anyone every having come to meet her or anyone who might have shown interest in adopting her. She was beginning to think something else was going on, but she couldn't even begin to guess what that might be. All she knew was it was all very suspicious.