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

Chapter Fifteen

Charlie locked up the house without stopping to clean up the spilled flour from the floor.  She saddled her horse and galloped to Sophia and Sean’s, hoping that Leo might be there with the safe, but her heart sunk when she trotted down the path to their home and things were quiet and there were no horses hitched out front.

She slipped down from her horse and pounded on the door.  When Sophia answered,  Charlie flew into her arms in tears.

Sophia led her into the sitting room and onto a settee.  “Whatever is the matter?  Did something happen to Jesse?”

Charlie shook her head and continued crying.  Between hiccups, she said, “It’s Leo. He stole all our money.”

“What?”

“He found our safe and took off with it.  All of Jesse’s hard-earned money was inside.  What will we do?  What will Jesse do when he finds out?”

Charlie looked up to see Sean in the doorway.  “You heard?” she asked.

Sean nodded and rubbed his temples.  “My cousin, Anna, died last night. I got home late, and Sophia was already asleep.  I didn’t know Leo was in town.”

Sophia ran into her husband’s arms.

Charlie said, “I’m so sorry, Sean.”

Sean sat down and told Sophia and Charlie about Jesse’s secret mission.

“Evidently, Jesse lost their trail,” Sean said. “Was Leo alone?”

Charlie sniffled into her handkerchief, wiped her eyes, and nodded.  “Leo said his friends were at a place called Lilah’s.”

“Lilah’s?” Sean made a face.  “I’m going to saddle up and see if he went there to meet his friends.”

“I’m going with you,” Charlie cried.  “My gun is in my saddlebag.”

“Charlie!” Sophia shouted after her fleeing husband and sister.  “You can’t shoot our brother!”

“I will if I have to,” Charlie shouted back.  She'd meant it when she said it, but as she rode behind Sean, she knew she could never do it.  Her heart ached for Jesse.  He had known about Leo, and he’d said nothing.  His mission had been a secret because he didn’t want to upset her.

On the way to town, she prayed for Jesse’s safety.

They reined in their horses outside of a purple house with pink trim about a quarter of a mile from downtown Sunset Creek.  Numerous horses were tied outside, but the house seemed quiet.

“Stay here, Charlie,” Sean said as he slid off his horse.  “I’ll go in to see if Leo is in there.”

Charlie felt inside her saddlebag to make sure her gun was inside.  It gave her security.  It wasn’t long before Sean appeared.  Charlie could tell he had bad news by his expression.

She raised her eyebrows as she looked at him after he’d mounted his horse.  “Well?”

“According to Lilah, four men came in three nights ago, spent the night, and one of them left.  I’m supposing it was Leo. The other three are still upstairs.”

“Do you know this Lilah?”

Sean stifled a laugh.  “Not in the way you’re thinking.  We went to school together.  She came from a very poor family, and I’m not surprised she ended up in a place like this, but by the looks of it, she has a prosperous business. It's not a genteel business, though.”

Charlie was thinking while Sean talked.  So, Leo had run off to keep the money to himself.  Charlie didn’t know exactly how much had been in the box because she hadn’t counted it.  She had taken a few dollars out to buy things for the house, and it looked like a lot of money was in there.

“We have to find him, Sean. That’s all the money Jesse has to his name.”

“Let’s ride north to see if we can pick up his tracks.  It’s early, and few people have been traveling yet.”

In the late afternoon, Charlie and Sean came into the house to an anxious Sophia.  “We couldn’t find any trace of Leo,” Sean said.  He kissed his wife and held her in his arms.

Seeing Sean and Sophia made Charlie miss Jesse even more than she already did.  “I guess I’ll head for home,” she said.  “If you hear anything, please let me know.”

Instead of going home, Charlie headed for the sheriff’s office.  The deputy, Marcus Campbell, greeted her.  “What can I do for you?”

“Oh.  I was looking for Sheriff Barringer,” she said.

“His wife died last night, ma’am.  I’m in charge for a while.”

Charlie sighed.  “That’s right.  I’d forgotten. I’m so sorry.”  She turned to leave, and then swung back to the deputy. “I had a man steal some money from my cupboard early this morning.  His name is Leo Manning.”

“That name sounds familiar.” Marcus licked his finger and paged through his wanted posters.  “I have one for him, but it’s marked ‘hold.’”

“The sheriff marked it as ‘hold’ because Jesse Morgan, my husband, was keeping my sister and me from learning that our brother, Leo, was a wanted man, but we are now aware of it.  Jesse promised the sheriff he’d bring him in as a prisoner, but he evidently lost him.  You should post it now.  He needs to be found.  My brother is a criminal.”

Marcus nodded.  “It says on here that he has a gang with him: three other men.”

 “Yes,” Charlie said. “You’ll find them at Lilah’s Ladies.”

Marcus stood and grabbed his gun belt.  “I’ll get right down there.  Thank you, Mrs. Morgan.”

Charlie trotted home. She worried about how she might tell Jesse that her brother had stolen every penny they had.  Tears rolled down her cheeks.  If only he and Sean had warned her and Sophia.  Then again, would it have mattered?  Would she have turned her brother away when he arrived at her door?  She didn’t know how she would have reacted.  She hoped word would get out that the three men were caught, and maybe