She Was 250 Pounds, Bleeding in the Dirt, and Everyone Just Watched—Until a Stranger Knelt Down and Said, “No One Will Hurt You Again.”

Chapter 2

Gideon carried her past the apothecary without slowing. Through the window glass, the druggist’s pale face watched them go, and he made no move to come out. The whole street made no move. Saloon doors hung open, and men stood in the shadows of the porches, hats low, mouths shut, their eyes following the stranger and the heavy woman as though they were watching weather.

Iris’s face burned beneath her bruises.

“You can put me down,” she said. The words came out thin, more plea than offer.

“I could,” Gideon agreed. “Where would you go?”