by Emily Woods
“There, there. Don’t worry about anything, dear. You are safe and very welcome here. I was possibly a bit hasty in scolding you, but I do love my brother very much. I’m certain you will find him a man worthy of your affection. Just give him a chance. Now, I really must be off, but Jackson should be along shortly. Go out with him and listen to what he has to say. I’m sure he’ll explain everything to you, but then it will be your decision whether or not to overlook his faults and see who he is now.”
Margie gathered her gloves and hat and departed a few moments later. Charlie was left alone with her thoughts and her now cooled-off tea. She gulped it down and reflected on Margie’s words. Finally, she decided to look for more guidance from an even wiser source and went up to her room.
Picking up the worn Bible that she’d had since her childhood, she thumbed through to find some of her favorite passages. The pages fell open to Isaiah and she began to read.
“Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”
Her heart thrilled at the peace that suddenly stole over her. God was watching over her situation and was going to do something amazing. She skimmed over to a place in Jeremiah. “I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
Her breathing hitched a little and her eyes stung with unshed tears. The words were so intimate, so personal that she felt they were for her alone. God loved her, and would not leave her to fumble around by herself, but she needed to seek his will.
“Lord,” she whispered, “please give me wisdom for what to do about my life. I need Your guidance today. Give me the right words to say and ears to hear without prejudice. In Jesus name, Amen.”
Now she was ready to see Jackson, and was determined in her heart to give him a second chance.
9
Shortly after lunch, Charlie heard the front door open and recognized Jackson’s deep voice reverberating in the front foyer. Her heart rate increased a little and she recognized that she was not only nervous, but also excited about their meeting.
When she descended the stairs, his eyes turned up and she noticed the apprehension there. Had her behavior last night caused that? Aware that it might confuse him if she were to be suddenly very affable, she instead took a middle of the road approach.
“Hello, Jackson,” she said politely and noted the surprise on his face at the use of his first name. She had been very formal last night, and he was likely wondering at the change. She decided to cover her behavior with an excuse. “I’m afraid you caught me at my very worst last night. I’d had a hideous trip and the confusion over the transport put me in a rare foul mood. Please forgive me.” She gave him a demure smile and when he responded with a broad one of his own, her heart turned over slowly in her chest. Her breath caught at the warmth in his smile and the compassion in his blue eyes.
“I most certainly will forgive you. Of course, I will. It was my fault for not taking care of business properly, but I’m a one-track mind kind of man. I let myself get consumed with one idea and everything else shoots clean out of my head. It’s probably my biggest fault and you had to learn of it right away.” He was clearly anxious to make amends so she nodded in what she hoped was a gracious manner. He held out his arm and she slipped her hand through it as they headed out the front door.
“Beautiful day,” she murmured appreciatively.
“I’m so glad that you’re feeling better today,” he remarked with a grin. “To be honest, I don’t have a lot of experience with women outside of my sister, so I didn’t know what to expect today.”
His sincere words pierced her wall of propriety. “I was a little beside myself yesterday, but I am much better now.” She ached to ask him about the information that Johnny Kingston had revealed to her, but she knew it would be prudent to wait. Also, from the impression she got from Margie, she suspected that there might be a lot more to the story than what she’d heard.
“It’s a great day to see the city,” he commented. “I’ll just take you up and down the main street and then we can stop for coffee at the hotel. Does that sound okay?”
It was sweet of him to defer to her, and she felt more of the ice around her heart melt. He was very charming and when he turned those sky blue eyes on her, she felt a tiny shiver race down her spine. His hair was still a little long, but she found she liked it that way and to her chagrin, wondered what it would be like to run her fingers through it. Her face flushed slightly and she turned her head away. For the first time in her life, she wished she had a parasol. In the past, she found it silly to shield herself from the sun, but now she could have used it to hide her flaming face.
“So, this here’s the mercantile. Ned can get just about anything you need or want. He carries a regular supply of most things, but we can order whatever you need.”
It was so clear that he wanted to please her, and he was smiling so earnestly at her that she wondered if she had him completely wrong. Still, it wasn’t the time to dispel the rumors. Instead, she forced herself to make small talk. Her voice caught in her throat.
“That’s wonderful, but you’ll find that I’m not at all high-maintenance. Although my parents were not poor, we didn’t indulge in a lot of luxuries.”
“That’s good news for me, then,” he said with a grin. “A sheriff’s salary doesn’t allow for a woman with overly refined tastes.”
Smiling at his attempt at deprecating humor, Charlie allowed her defenses to come down a tad further. “Just because I’m from the East doesn’t make me very refined, I’m afraid. My mother loves me dearly, spoiled me I’m sure by allowing me to do as I pleased and never tried to make me into a society lady. I hope that doesn’t disappoint you.”
He gave a small chuckle. “Not at all, Miss Henderson. I’m right glad to find you a regular kind of woman.” He winced slightly at that comment. “Uh, I hope that didn’t sound like an insult, ‘cause I surely didn’t mean it that way.”
Now it was her turn to chuckle. “I take it as a compliment, Jackson. And please call me Charlie. I don’t even know who Miss Henderson is.”
His shoulders relaxed and one side of his mouth turned up in a mischievous grin. “Well, I think she might have been the woman that I was introduced to last night, but unless I’m mistaken, she’s not here anymore.”
Charlie gave in and allowed herself to laugh lightly. He had hit the nail on the head. “Yes, I believe you’re right. I was rather a cross, prudish madam, wasn’t I?”
“I won’t comment, if you don’t mind. I finally seem to be on your good side, and I’d like to stay there.”
As they strolled through the town, Charlie noticed how many people greeted Jackson with great deference. People wouldn’t be so respectful to someone who was a drunkard and a gambler. Johnny Kingston must have gotten the wrong end of the stick or possibly was in possession of very old information, but she still needed to hear it straight from Jackson.
When they reached the hotel and went in for some refreshments, she felt it was the right time to broach the subject.
“So,” she began after they were seated, “did you find out any more about my mysterious escort from yesterday?” She purposely kept her voice light. She didn’t want to reveal how important the conversation would be to her deciding whether or not she would stay here.
A deep frown crossed Jackson’s face, and she found it made him terribly handsome. “No, but I’m not giving up. I don’t know whether to thank him or arrest him, but I’m working on tracking him down. He, uh, didn’t do anything inappropriate, did he?”
“Well, no, he didn’t do anything, but he did say some…disturbing things,” she replied, watching
his face for a reaction.
Concerned, he leaned forward slightly. “Can you tell me what? Maybe it’ll help me find him.”
“I don’t know about that, but I will certainly tell you, Sheriff,” she smiled a bit, trying to add a bit of levity to the conversation. His expression had turned so serious that she could see he was now in his professional mode. Her addressing him in this way didn’t seem to faze him. He merely nodded at her to proceed. “Well, he talked a lot about you and seemed to know you well.”
He was taken aback momentarily. Just at the moment, the server appeared and Jackson waited for him to finish pouring the coffee before responding. “And what did he say?”
She tread very carefully now and forced herself to sound more cheerful than she felt. “Oh, he knew that I had come here to possibly marry you and expressed great surprise at that. He seemed to think that you were not as respectable as I can clearly see that you are.” She pasted a wide smile on her face in the hopes of conveying a dismissive manner.
However, his frown deepened and his eyes shifted from hers to somewhere over her head. “And what did he tell you?” His voice was calm, but void of emotion.
“Ah, well, he mentioned that you were rather a, uh, free spirit and um, didn’t think that you were the type to settle down.” She stumbled to find more polite words, but felt that Jackson wouldn’t be satisfied with such a vague description. She was right of course.
“Please speak plainly, Miss Henderson, so that I can answer the charges he made against me.”
She didn’t miss his use of her more formal title, but felt that he was unjustly offended. She hadn’t said anything horrible. Still, she made an attempt to change the subject.
“Maybe we should just forget it. He was obviously wrong and perhaps just having a bit of fun. Maybe it was a childish prank. Some people have a very odd sense of humor.” Her voice came out in a rush and she really did want to drop the subject. Why had she thought it necessary to question him?
“Let me guess,” he started, a chill in his voice. “He said I was a drunk, a gambler, a womanizer and a no-account, correct?”
She blinked a few times and then nodded miserably. “And that you took bribes in exchange for overlooking criminal activity. I didn’t know what to think. You didn’t show up and then this man appeared…” She let the sentence dangle, unsure of how to finish it.
Jackson straightened and took a long gulp of the coffee, seemingly unaware that it was still burning hot. “That explains a lot, then.”
“What do you mean?” she asked in a shaky voice. “What does it explain?” Just last night she was unsure if she even wanted to pursue a relationship with this man, but now, after having spent an enjoyable afternoon with him and feeling deeply attracted to him, she was worried that her careless words had spoiled her chances.
“Your behavior. You believed the words of a stranger before even checking to see if what he said was true.” His words were like steel, cold and hard.
His anger suddenly ignited her own and the trickle of fear she’d experienced was replaced with a spark of irritation. “Well, how could I know what to believe? I came here fully expecting to find you on the platform and instead I have to deal with some buffoon who is slandering the man I wanted to marry. And now, you guessed what he said without my telling you a single thing.”
“Oh, you told me something alright. Your posh way of speaking wasn’t lost on me. Well, you know what? He was partly right. I used to be like that, but I’m not anymore.” He pushed his chair away from the table and stood up abruptly. “I need some air.”
He spun on his heel and angrily strode out the door. Too late, she realized that she didn’t have any money and that he’d left her with the bill. When the waiter came over, she was too upset to even speak. However, she held up her chin as he looked at her expectantly. “I suppose you know that the man who just left is Sheriff Davis. He was called away suddenly. I expect that you can add the coffee to his bill?” She spoke so imperiously that the poor waiter could only nod and pull out her chair as she began to rise.
Out in the streets, she felt her mood waiver from anxious to furious to sorry. The swirl of emotions propelled her forward, back in the direction of the house. She blinked away hot tears, unsure if they were caused by her frustration or sorrow. Had she just slandered a man? His righteous indignation would lead her to believe she had. Was there any coming back from this? Her heart plummeted at the realization that she may have very well lost the one man who would fulfill her dreams.
10
“Sheriff!” an urgent voice called out from behind Jackson. It was William, well recovered from the incident a few weeks earlier, and anxious to make up for his error. “I think I seen one of them men that was talking about the bank robbery that other time. He’s down at the saloon buying drinks for everybody.”
“Are you sure, William?” As much as he wanted to trust the boy, he didn’t want to be made to look like a fool twice in one week.
“Cross my heart and hope to die!” the boy replied with great fervor. “Please come!”
Jackson jogged down the street to where the saloon was in full swing despite the early hour. He cautiously pushed open the door and glanced around inside. William had described the man in question and he had no trouble finding him sitting in the midst of a number of fellow drinkers, all of them laughing raucously.
“Help you, Sheriff?” the barkeeper and owner asked gruffly. He bore no ill will towards the man, but knew that Jackson’s presence made his customers uneasy.
“Nope,” he replied calmly. “Just looking around.”
The large man grunted and moved away. There was no use in rushing him. Jackson wouldn’t leave until he was ready, and now, it appeared that his focus was on a stranger who was boasting about how he’d help fool an unsuspecting lawman.
“He stood there with the dumbest look on his face like he didn’t know what was going on. Meantime, Cliff got his buddy to grab the man’s intended. He was supposed to bring her back to our hideout, but he chickened out and left her at the man’s house. Still, it was hilarious to see the look on the man’s face.”
“Where was that at?” one of the others asked.
“Some hick town named Boozy or some such.”
All the men went still. “Didja mean Bozeman?” one asked.
“Yeah, that’s it I ‘spect. Dumb name for a town, anyway.”
“Uh, and where do ya think you are now?” the barkeeper suddenly interjected, not liking the way Jackson was looking at the man as he moved closer.
“Well, shoot, ain’t I in Butte? ‘Nother kind of silly name, but not as bad as that other ‘un.”
Uncomfortable laughter was heard as the men all slowly moved away from the stranger and Jackson moved closer.
“Hello, there friend. That was a good story. Were you at the bank when the sheriff went in, all stupid-like?”
“Heck, no, but I heard tell of it from one man who was there. He did the funniest impression.”
The man imitated what he thought had transpired and seemed oblivious to the fact that Jackson was the only one who was still listening to his conversation.
“Oh, yeah. That’s pretty funny all right. Listen, friend. How much have you had to drink today?”
“Not nearly enough. Where’s that barkeeper at?” He swung around in a drunken stupor and ended up on the floor, still laughing wildly.
“Well, I think maybe you have had enough, seeing as you don’t even know what town you’re in. Butte is about eighty five miles from here.”
“Is that right?” The man was in a sitting position and looked around him curiously. “Well, then, where am I?”
“Oh, you’re in Bozeman,” Jackson informed him, watching with some amusement as fear crept into the man’s eyes. “And I’m the sheriff around here.”
Now the man was truly frightened and scrambled to his feet, searching for the exit. “Haha,” he forced himself to laugh. “Uh, I actually wasn’t in on that pra
nk I was talking about. I just heard tell of it from one of my friends. Sorry about that.”
“Sorry? Well, if you weren’t in on it, then I guess there’s no reason for you to be sorry. In any case, I think it would be real helpful if you would come with me and we can get it all straightened out. I have to tell you that you just made my day.”
Without waiting for a reply, Jackson grabbed the man’s arm and hauled him out of the saloon and down the street to his office. Satisfaction shot through him, just as much for the capture of this man as for finding out the answer to the mystery that he’d been doing his best to ignore.
“Well,” he muttered to himself, “at least one good thing happened today.” He finally understood why his trip to Livingston had been thwarted, but now he was no longer sure that he cared.
Charlie ran down the street back to the house. Once she was allowed entrance by the maid, she flew up the stairs and threw herself on the bed. Tears streamed down her face for several minutes as she contemplate the agonizing mistake she’d made. What had she been thinking? Of course Jackson was an honorable man. Why had she been so eager to believe anything different? Finally, she sat straight up and marched over to the wash basin.
She spoke sternly to her reflection. “Enough of this Charlotte Anne Henderson. You will not feel pity for yourself. If you’ve made a mess of things, then you need to fix it.”
After splashing some water on her face, which reduced the redness if not the splotchiness, she felt a little better. The front door announced the arrival of not only the mistress of the house, but also her young children who rambunctiously scampered about with the usual exuberance of youth. She hadn’t met them last night or this morning as she’d risen rather late and they had been taken out with their nanny, but she was anxious to do so now.