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

“I’ll grab the flour,” Charlie said.  She took a stepstool, dragged it to the kitchen cabinet,  stood on it, opened the top cupboard, and grabbed the sack of flour.

Leo said, “Hey, what’s that metal thing?”

Charlie slammed the cupboard door quickly shut.  “It’s nothing.  Now, I’ll make you the fluffiest flapjacks you've ever had.”

“I saw a big gray metal contraption up there.”  Leo walked over to open the cupboard.  “Why, it’s a safe.”

 “Pay it no mind,” she blurted.  She crossed her fingers behind her back so she could tell a lie.  “It was a wedding gift. We haven’t used it yet.  We’d hardly settled in when Jesse had to leave.  We’ll use it someday.”

“Do you have any maple syrup?” he asked, walking back to the table.

“No, sorry.  I’ll have to make you the same quick syrup mother used to make us when we were kids.  Brown sugar in boiling water.  You’ll love it.”

“What time do you think Sophia will be home?  I can’t wait to see her.”

“I’m sure she and Sean will be back by lunchtime.  They planned to have breakfast there.  Sterling’s Mill is a lot bigger than Sunset Creek, and they have a lovely eating place.  Sophia and I ate there the other day when we picked up the furniture.”

Around noon, Charlie took Leo to Sophia and Sean’s.  Sophia explained Sean’s absence: “Sean went to visit Anna Barringer, the sheriff’s wife.  She’s taken a turn for the worst. He picked up Pastor Smith and rode out there to be with Anna and Sheriff Geoff.  Since Anna is Sean’s cousin, he’s naturally concerned.”

Leo and Charlie stayed to chat with Sophia until sunset before returning home.  Leo wanted to turn in early since the long ride there had tired him out.

One thing bothered Charlie: Shep growled every time her brother tried to approach him.  She supposed it was a good thing, so she didn’t scold Shep or make him stop.  He was a watchdog after all, and Leo was a stranger to Shep.

Charlie awoke early and dressed hurriedly.  She wanted to put on the coffee and make the batter for more flapjacks since Leo had enjoyed them so much the day before.  She called him several times before peeking into his bedroom to find it empty.  Charlie checked outside to see his horse was gone, and she was angry that he’d left without saying goodbye.

She pushed the stool up to the cupboard to get the flour.  She’d just have to make flapjacks for herself since she still had syrup left.  Charlie opened the cupboard, removed the flour, and gasped dropping the flour sack on the floor—the safe with all their money was gone.

The fire Jesse had spotted belonged to a Texas Ranger and two of his friends on their way to Hays.  They invited him to share the camp with them, and it felt like old times to Jesse as they sat by the fire, telling stories.  In the morning, they traveled together for a few miles, and then the men went off in different directions.

Jesse had lost Leo’s trail. He poked around in different small towns, but no one admitted to having seen four strangers.  Jesse wasn’t one to give up, but he was getting closer to Sterling’s Mill and Sunset Creek, and that caused him considerable worry.

He stopped at Sterling’s Mills and got a hotel room for the night. Jesse asked all around town if anyone had seen four strangers, but no one had.  He wondered if he should stop in Sunset Creek to see Charlie, or ride on, trying to pick up Leo’s trail. He wound up going to bed without having decided.

In the morning, he went to the eating house to have a large breakfast; having had little to eat on the trail, he was starving.  Over a meal of eggs, ham, beans, and homemade bread, he decided that he’d continue trying to pick up Leo’s trail.  If he stopped at home, he’d only have to leave again, and that would upset Charlie.  The sooner he caught these criminals, the better.

He pushed away from the table in preparation to leave when Roy Barkley strolled in.   Roy’s eyes met Jesse’s, and they stared at each other.  Finally, Jesse walked over to Roy.  “If you aren’t too busy, we have a date.”  Jesse fondled the grips of his pistols in their holsters.

“Now, listen, Jesse—I left town so we wouldn’t have to meet again.  I won’t be bothering you or your wife, so why not let bygones be bygones?”

“Because there’s nothing worse than a friend who stabs you in the back. That’s why.”

Roy stuttered.  “I-I h-had to do it.  I-I was broke, I owed rent, and my w-wife was nagging me.  I had to find a way to get some money.”

“There’s a simple solution, Roy: get a job.”

“I tried, but there was nothing in Sunset Creek.  I’m working here, at the lumber yard.”

“Where do you want to have the gunfight?” Jesse asked.

“I don’t want one,” Roy said. “I’m sorry.”

“You planned to catch me in an embarrassing situation so I’d have to marry Delia.  Then, I suppose, you’d knock me off and split my worth between you. I’d say that’s a good reason to call you out.”

Several diners frowned at the sound of their loud voices.

“Let’s take this outside,” Jesse said.

Out on the street, Jesse stopped and turned to Roy. “There’s a field behind the church.  We’ll go there and settle this the hard way.”

“A-are we shooting to kill, Jesse?”

“Isn’t that what a shootout is for?” Jesse snapped.

Jesse was walking toward the church when he heard a shot, and he spun around to see Roy holding a smoking gun.

There was a sharp, murderous pain in his back.  “Shooting a man in the back? You lily-livered chicken,”