Chapter 9

Another long day of riding seemed shorter with Colt and Doc around. They amused Jessie with stories of what they had done through the years, making her laugh harder than she had in a long time. She found that they had a way of making a story come to life. She hadn’t expected Colt to be an animated storyteller, but he was quite entertaining.

There was something strange about the man. Her mother had taught her to look deeper into people, and though Jessie was not a good judge of character, she found that reading people was something that she possessed her mother’s knack for. Something about Colt Kidd spoke of an underlying heartache that had aged the young man that he was. He put on a convincing brave front, but beyond that, in the deep, searching looks that he sent upward every once in a while with a few blinks of his eyes spoke to the contrary. Her curiosity had nearly gotten the better of her a few times, but she had managed to restrain the flow of questions that had threatened to burst from her mouth.

She knew all to well how hard it was to conceal a broken heart. Her hand flew to her abdomen in an effort to conceal her stomach at the thought.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have tea cakes today, sweetheart.”

“You know, you might catch a good man someday if you’d lay off the sweets some, Jess.”

“You sure you want all of that, honey?”

These things had been uttered periodically from her family over the years. Though she knew that they meant well, that fact didn’t stop the words form stinging. Even worse had been things that Adam had said to try to discreetly hint to her figure.

“We’ll split dessert tonight, dearest.”

“I was thinking we could take brisk walk today instead of riding. It’s better for us.”

While his words had hurt her, deep down she thanked him for bringing the truth to light. Her current state of being plump wasn’t desirable to a man, let alone a fiancé. She had taken great efforts to making herself look skinnier while he was around. She would sit at a certain angle, stand with her hand placed in front of her in an effort to draw attention away from her stomach, and she had even tried squeezing into a smaller dress once. That had proved to make her appear even fatter than she had originally been. Someday she would have to figure to make Adam proud. She wouldn’t stop until she was desirable.

*****

“Myra! Myra!” Missy burst through the front door of the Steele home without as much as a knock.

Myra turned in her seat at the piano in the parlor to get a better view of her friend as she burst into the room.

“What’s happened, Missy? You’re causing such a scene!”

Missy inhaled deeply. “Myra, I’ve come with news of an important nature.”
Myra stood calmly from her seat and smiled. “I’d love to hear it. Would you like some tea or coffee?”

“Throw your hospitality out the window and listen to me, Myra! Sheriff Adam has returned and there is no other person with him. Either he has lost your daughter or has given up on the search altogether. I doubt that he even looked further than New Mexico…” Missy continued her rambling as Myra’s thoughts turned elsewhere.

Adam hadn’t found Jess? Whatever would they do now? There was nothing more that they could do if Jess’ own fiancé hadn’t found her trail.

“What is the meaning of the commotion?” Jacob’s voice echoed down the hall and Myra composed her thoughts as her husband entered the room.

She needed his steady presence right now.

“Adam has returned and Jess is not with him,” she explained.

Jacob’s eyes widened. “He’s returned without her? Why, I outta go down there and wring his scrawny neck…”

Myra directed her eyes toward Missy, signaling that his tirade must wait until they didn’t have company. Jacob silenced, and dipped in a bow to Missy.

“I came as soon as I heard,” Missy said.

“Thank you, Missy. Wee appreciate it.” Myra saw their guest out, and then returned to the parlor and to her husband’s comforting arms.

“I don’t know what I would do if I lost her, Jacob,” Myra confessed, allowing tears to flow down her cheeks, thankful that Jacob didn’t need her to be strong for him.

“I’m sure she’s just fine, love. We’ll find her. I’ll go out and search myself. I’ve trusted the search in another man’s hand when Jake and I ought to have done it ourselves in the first place,” Jacob told her, stroking her hair.

Myra pressed her face into the fabric of his shirt where is stretched over his solid chest. How would she handle her entire family being gone from her? Jess had been her daughter, but she had been a rock for Myra when she couldn’t find it in her to trust Missy with something. Jacob was the one who held her together most days as of late, and Jake was the sane one, the one who had kept his head through this whole ordeal. How would she handle being alone?

She answered her own question. She would handle it like a Steele should, with strength from the Lord and courage enough to hold her own.

While part of her wanted to don her riding skirt, go out, and search for herself, the stronger part of her knew that Jess, wherever she was, was in the Lord’s hands.

*****

Colt smiled as Doc told Jessie yet another one of his stories around the campfire that night. Doc had a way of blowing stories out of proportion, but they were entertaining nonetheless.

“Sounds like you’ve had an interesting life,” Jessie grinned. “God’s been good to you.”

“That he as, Miss Jessie. He sure has,” Doc agreed.

“How did you come to be a Christian, Miss Steele?” Colt asked, hoping that the question he asked wasn’t too personal.

Jessie smiled and glanced at the ground. “It was in a storm. I’ve always been amazed by thunderstorms. There’s so much power in them and as a little girl I had heard thunder called so many things. My brother told me that it was the devil snoring. Daddy had teased that it was God building another mansion in Heaven. I had worked up the belief that thunder was God’s way of reminding us how powerful he was. As a seven year old child, I began to see how powerful God really was. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was alone in my room, watching the rain beat on the water in the pond out behind out house, and I got to thinking really hard. I had heard how to be saved so many times that I knew the words like the back of my hand. I occurred to me that I wasn’t saved, that I hadn’t prayed to God repenting of my sins and asking him to come into my heart. It scared me. I remember running downstairs in the middle of the night to my parent’s room, begging them not to let me die before I got saved. I told them that I didn’t want to live with the mean ole’ devil. I’d never seen my daddy grin so wide, even if he was half asleep. I knelt there beside their bed, with Daddy on one side and Momma on the other, and asked the Lord into my life. Of all the nights I’ve slept through since then, I’ve never slept as good as I did that night.”

Colt smiled as she concluded her narrative.

“What about you?” she asked him.

“Me? Well, it’s not really an exciting story. When I was about ten, we were having a little service with the Coopers in their parlor one Sunday and Sherman talked about hell. We walked home that day and I hadn’t fidgeted that much in my whole life. My Ma knew that something was wrong, so she asked me what was eating at me. I asked her if hell would hurt much. She seemed to think that was funny, but told me that it would hurt a lot. That did nothing for me, as you probably guessed. I couldn’t sleep that night, and I was wild with worry the next morning. At the breakfast table, I told my Ma that I didn’t wanna hurt forever, that I wanted to be happy and live in heaven when I died. She grinned at Pa and told me that if I was sure that I wanted to be saved, she would help know how to do it. About an hour later, she knelt with me and we prayed together. Daddy sat with us, but it was mostly Momma who did the talking. There was something about the way her eyes lit up when she talked about God that made it all seem so real to me. As time went by, God became more of a lifeline me rather than a way to escape eternal fire. Now I don’t know what I’d do without him. It’s funny how God always finds you when you’re at your lowest and about to break.”

Jessie nodded her agreement. “That’s the truth. Does Mr. Cooper still hold services over at his place?”

A loud snore echoed through the night air, interrupting Colt’s reply as both of their gazes jerked in Doc’s direction.

Colt chuckled. “He’s heard my story a million times. Guess it puts him to sleep.”

He put his boot under Doc’s shoulder and turned him on his side to stop his snoring. With that done, he answered Jessie’s question.

“He actually doesn’t believe in God anymore. His wife died about ten years back and he’s resented God ever since. His daughter was the same way, but she got saved a few months ago.”

“I’m sad to hear about you boss. I am glad that his daughter came to her senses. Has he seen God in her?” Jessie asked.

Colt shrugged. “Sherman sees what he wants. He’s got a head of brick. It doesn’t matter who said what, if he doesn’t believe it, it’s not true.”

“That’s sad to hear.”

Colt nodded.

“Doc tells me that you and your boss’ daughter used to be the best of friends,” Jessie commented.

Colt looked up at her. “We were. Until she… she got married.”

He focused his gaze back on the ground as the all too familiar stab of emotional pain hit him in the chest. They had stopped being best friends when she had rejected him. That wasn’t exactly something he was willing to up and tell a virtual stranger.

“I hate that. Friends are too few and far between to give up so easily,” Jessie told him.

“They are if their husband could drive you in the ground like a thumbtack with a single punch and hit a gnat in a whirlwind with a revolver.” Colt poked at the ground with a twig.

“Ah, he’s a gunfighter?” Jessie asked.

Colt nodded. “He’s a good man. Saw him break down and get saved before my very eyes.”

Jessie smiled. “So much salvation around here.”

Colt looked up at her and grinned. “Not a bad thing.”

“Nope,” Jessie shook her head. “It sure ain’t.”

Colt pulled out his blanket and laid it on the ground. “Well, I reckon I’ll get some sleep. We ought to get into town around noon tomorrow.”

Jessie sighed. “It’s about time. Not that you two aren’t entertaining enough, but I’m ready for a nice soft bed.”

“I don’t blame you a bit. You’ll get the finest one in Plateau if I have anything to say about it.” Colt lay back on his blanket and pulled the blanket up to his chin to ward off the cold.

He saw Jessie smile as she lay down. “Thank you, Mr. Kidd. That sounds heavenly.”

“Call me Colt?”

“Sure. Call me Jessie?”

“Yep. Goodnight.” Colt rolled over on his side.

“Goodnight.” The last, accent soaked word echoed through the night air from Jessie’s lips as Colt closed his eyes, allowing sleep to take him over.

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