Jesse by Barbara Goss (best romantic books to read TXT) 📗

Mill lumber yard.   We’re moving there, but I owe Horace Gladstone rent for the flat behind the saloon.”

“That’s wonderful news.  I wish you the best.   Are you taking Miss Delia with you?”

“Yes, she’s coming.  She has a job in a saloon there called The Watering Trough.  We have a small flat above the barber’s shop, and we’ll split the rent.”

Sean rubbed his chin.  “I see.  Well... ” he hesitated as he tried to think of how to handle things.

“Hey, I’ll ride back here on my first payday and pay back the money.  I won’t let you down.”

Sean reached into his pocket and counted out two dollars.  Before handing it to Sean he said, “I’ll give you the money, and I won’t expect it back on one condition: you leave Sunset Creek as quick as you can, and don’t come back.  You and Jesse are my friends, and I’d rather you both stayed alive.  I’ll need a promise from you.”

“Oh, I promise.  We like it just fine in Sterling’s Mill.  We plan to leave as soon as I pay Horace.  That will be in about an hour.  The women are all packed and ready to go.”

Sean handed him the money.  “If I’m ever in Sterling’s Mill, I’ll look you up.”

Roy waved and mounted his horse.  “Thank you.”

“It’s Sunday, Jesse.  You need to put your suit on,” Charlie said.  When Jesse grimaced, she said, “C’mon... you promised.”

Would he ever be able to resist her when she smiled up at him like that? “So, I did.”  Jesse went back to his room to change.

Charlie could see that Jesse felt uncomfortable in the church pew, so she reached over and squeezed his hand.  She left her hand on his. He turned his hand, palm up and gripped hers tightly.  Charlie hoped the sermon would be a brilliant one, and it was.  She noted that Jesse seemed interested in Pastor Smith’s sermon, and that made her smile. Charlie knew, deep down, that Jesse was a good man.  Life had hardened him, but she’d soften him again, and she knew he’d find God, too.

As they were leaving the church, Sean called Jesse over to his buggy and whispered,  “I need to talk to you about something urgent.  Can you stop over as soon as you can, and don’t bring Charlie?”

“What’s up?” Jesse whispered.

He saw Sean gaze over at Sophia and Charlie, talking a few feet away.  “It’s something I don’t want the girls to hear.”

Jesse readily agreed though he was filled with curiosity.  “Say, Charlie might be too curious if I go to her sister’s house without her—can you get Sophia to visit Charlie?”

 “That’s a good idea.”

“That way I can excuse myself and come over.”

“Don’t tell her you’re coming here,” Sean said.

Doubly curious, Jesse said, “I suppose I can make some excuse.”

“I’ll send Sophia over after we eat dinner, then.”

Jesse sat on an overstuffed settee at Sean’s house, anxiously awaiting what he had to say that was so private.

Sean came in with two glasses of lemonade.

Jesse took a glass.  “Nothing better on a hot day than lemonade.  Thank you.”

Sean sat in an armchair across from Jesse.

“What’s up?” Jesse asked.

“You won’t believe this, but please promise me you won’t say a word to anyone, especially Sophia and Charlie.”

“I promise,” Jesse said after a long sip of his drink.  “Now, what is it?”

“I stopped at the sheriff’s office yesterday to ask after his wife, who is my cousin.  She’s been ill.  As I stood over his desk chatting with him, I noticed a familiar name on a wanted poster.  Geoff said it had just come in. There’s no bounty on this man yet, but I need your help to find him and bring him in before someone else does.”

Jesse shrugged.  “I can do that, but why the secrecy?”

“The wanted man is Leo Manning.”

Jesse gave Sean a confused look before the name dawned on him.  “Holy... ” Jesse had been about to use profanity, but after that day’s sermon, he thought better of it.  “Holy horse droppings!” He remembered from his marriage license that Charlie’s name was Charlotte Manning.

Jesse rubbed his forehead.  “This is not good.”

“I know. I thought of you right away, so I told the sheriff to hold off on putting up the wanted posters.  I promised him you’d bring him in.”

“What did Leo do?  I thought he was in New York.”

“Here’s the story the sheriff gave me: Leo and a few friends formed a gang.  They rode from New York to Kansas, causing havoc along the way.  They committed minor crimes at first, like robbing small stores or stealing clothes from clotheslines and other trivial things.  Then, they robbed a bank in Dodge City—armed robbery!  The sheriff in the bank got shot, though he didn’t die.  If you don’t find him, someone else will, and he might be shot and killed. ”

 “Whew,” Jesse said.  “Are you positive this is Sophia and Charlie’s brother?  Manning is a rather common name.”

“I’m positive, especially after the sheriff said he was from Niagara Falls, New York.”

“Yeah, that would nail it.  It’s a fairly small town.”

“So, you’ll bring him in?  I'd prefer alive if we want to stay married.”

“I can track him and bring him in, but will our wives be all right with that?  How do I tell Charlie that I brought her brother into the law so he could spend years in jail?”

“It’s better than if Leo and his gang commit more crimes and the wanted posters go up all around town or they put a bounty on him, and he’s brought in dead,” Sean said. “Next time someone could die, and his poster would read, ‘Dead or Alive.’ You need to find him before he does