Chester didn’t move so she squeezed his hand. He jerked up and then she tugged him around so they faced each other. They were friends now, and friends didn’t keep secrets from one another.
At least, her friends didn’t. She frowned as she saw his brow furrowed. Blossom wondered what he was thinking. Though she didn’t want to be rude, surely he would feel better by talking to her.
“Who was he?” She asked for a moment. “He wasn’t very nice. Who was that Elijah?”
He jerked at the name. His hand slipped out of hers as he fixed his jacket and ran a hand through his hair. He did all of that without looking at her. Instead, his eyes glanced back toward the darkness and then in the other direction toward her home.
“It’s late,” Chester said as though he had just realized it was dark outside. His eyes looked everywhere but at her, almost as though he was avoiding her. “I should take you home.”
Blossom felt flustered at his response. He was completely avoiding her question. She blinked several times, grudgingly turning with Chester back toward her house before she looked up at him.
He wouldn’t look at her. She glanced back at where Elijah had gone, not understanding what he meant. “Chester? What is it? What did that man mean?”
He had said a lot of things. Most of them didn’t make a lot of sense to her. But she had noted Chester’s surprise and hesitation with Elijah’s greedy gaze.
Clearly there was something between them that had caused some tension. Both of them had just been waiting for the other one to do something. Neither of them had.
“He meant… nothing.” Chester sighed as he shook his head. “It’s nothing, Blossom. Come on. We should go. It’s late out and we should both be safely in our beds.”
As his pace picked up, Blossom had to lift her skirts to walk more quickly beside him. She tried not to be annoyed, only wishing he would make sense.
Soon they were halfway around the lake to her house. Her thoughts scrambled to keep up with her as she continued processing what had happened. But what she didn’t understand was the vague words that Chester had just said. All he had to do to help her was answer her questions.
“Chester, what aren’t you telling me?” Blossom tried again as they neared her house. She glanced at him, stumbling along the path. “I asked you a question.”
“And I don’t want to answer it,” he responded shortly. Then he shook his head. “Blossom, it’s only trouble. I’m walking you home and that’s that.”
The sternness in his words made her stop in her tracks. Her hands dropped to her sides as she stared at him. Only her father talked to her like that when he was irritated. To have someone like Chester use that same tone frustrated her immensely. It wasn’t that she was hurt, but rather confused.
They were supposed to be friends. Friends don’t treat each other like that. She had shared her thoughts and concerns with him after all they had been through.
But now, he was ignoring all of it as though they hardly knew each other. As if he knew better than her.
Blossom had never felt so affronted. She crossed her arms with a frown at Chester as he stopped suddenly when he realized that she wasn’t with him.
He turned with a befuddled expression on his face as though he had just realized what she had done. If she had been in a better mood, she might have giggled. But now she was irritated.
Chester glanced around, obviously wondering what she was doing.
She had been supportive of him when Elijah bothered them. But now that he had left, Chester was taking a turn at being rude. It wasn’t something she cared for.
“What? What is it?” Chester asked her distractedly.
He didn’t even seem to understand. Blossom huffed when he offered her no further explanation or details. “You’re being ridiculous. You’re being secretive and annoying and rude, Chester. I don’t know who that man was, but I’m glad he left. Except now you’re being rude like him, keeping secrets. Just so you know, you’re not a good liar.”
Chester’s mouth gaped open. His eyes widened before he blinked at her several times. “Oh, I didn’t think… I didn’t mean that. I- I’m sorry.”
“Good.” Blossom gave him a stern look as she glanced at her home up ahead. It was only a couple of yards away now. She shed his jacket and handed it back to him. “I accept your apology. But I can walk myself the rest of the way home, thank you.”
She wasn’t going to be taken advantage of if she could help it. Blossom raised her chin and stomped right past him. Though she was glad he had seen his error, she knew how her father could forget his mistakes and make them over again if she let go of it too quickly. Just for the night, she told herself, and then everything would be back to normal in the morning.
He didn’t stop her. But Blossom could feel his gaze on her all the way up to her house. At the door, Blossom dropped her arms and turned around. Her brow relaxed to show she wasn’t upset any longer. Seeing that he was still watching her, she waved softly before stepping inside.
Just like that, it was all over.
She collapsed in her bed, breathless and dazed. Blossom had thought that she might spend the evening praying to God for his grace and love during her struggles. But the night had taken turn after turn. She could hardly believe all that had happened.
For the rest of the night, Blossom stared at the ceiling as she thought about what had happened. Ideas and questions flooded her mind. But overall, she knew she didn’t understand nearly enough to know what was really going on. And she hadn’t liked the way Chester was being so secretive to her. She fell asleep at last, only to dream about him.
She woke up the next morning recalling bits of her dream.
It wasn’t very clear, only that they had been running around and she hadn’t had any answers. Blossom forced herself out of bed and to prepare food that morning as she found the questions flooding her mind again. There were no answers still, and she didn’t know what to do about it.
Part of her supposed she could forget.
But she didn’t want to. She set the table and gave her father a smile. As they sat down, Blossom realized that perhaps she didn’t have to go find Chester to get all the answers. She jerked her head up to the older man across the table from her. He had made a comment about Chester. Perhaps he knew what she didn’t. For a second she thought about trying to be clever about convincing him to talk. Except that she was still tired and not interested in playing any games.
“Father,” Blossom sat up straight. “What do you know about Chester Lornsen?”
He paused from bringing his spoon into his mouth. His eyes widened slightly as he set the food back down and made a face. “What are you talking about?”
“You know something,” she accused him. “You called him dangerous. You weren’t very nice about it. Why did you treat him like that? Chester has been kind to me, so I don’t understand why you don’t treat him kindly in return. Did he do something to you?”
Her father’s mouth opened and closed. “I never said that. I didn’t… What started this conversation, Blossom? Why are you asking?”
She could feel the flush rising to her face before she could help it. Blossom shook her head, trying to keep the attention off herself. She wanted answers and surely her father had them. “I mean it, Father. What do you know about him?”
First he cleared his throat. Then he glanced down at his food. Putting his utensils down, he drained his glass of water before sighing. “Let’s talk about that later, shall we? I promise I will,” he added when she opened her mouth to protest. He pursed his lips as a weary look crossed his face. “But I’m busy today and I would like to get it started on a happier note than this.”
Blossom weighed her options before grudgingly agreeing. She didn’t want to keep her father upset, especially after all that he had been through. She supposed she might be able to wait. “All right.”
“Why do you want to know?” Her father asked once he picked up his fork. “Blossom, has he said a
nything more to you?”
She was playing with her food when she shrugged. “No,” she said. She couldn’t decide if that counted as a lie or not. Chester hadn’t spoken much about his past or said anything to her about it. After their conversation last night, he had made it clear that he didn’t want to talk about it with her.
Because he hadn’t said much, Blossom felt that she hadn’t really lied to her father. At least, she hoped that it counted in that manner. She pushed the idea from her mind as she finished her food and cleaned up. There were chores to attend to. Turning to her father, she helped him get ready for the day so he could teach at the school. He told her about the tests he had devised and hoped his students would have some fun with them.
“Have a lovely day,” Blossom called as her father left for town.
She stood on the porch to watch him go. Her eyes studied him carefully to make sure he was walking well. She couldn’t bear to have anything like that fall of his happen to him again. Though the doctor wanted him resting, her father refused to stay put. Though she made sure he rested while at home, he refused to stay put forever. As he headed down the lane, she said a quick prayer to God to protect him.
Once her father disappeared, Blossom returned inside. She finished tidying up the home and made sure to pull some weeds from their garden.
But the chores hardly took her anytime and now that she was on her own, the questions about Chester wouldn't be silenced. There was so much that she didn’t know and didn’t understand. That man Elijah had been rude and coarse with them. The two men had been familiar with each other, she supposed, but it didn’t make sense. Had they said something about family? They don’t look related, she mused.
Unable to just stay put any longer, Blossom found Merryweather and decided to go for a ride. A good gallop with her dear horse always cleared her mind. She waved to her duck at the pond and then started off. Blossom wandered toward some of the trails she had always taken, but none of them were as relaxing as she had hoped.
It was time for another path. She tugged Merryweather toward town on the road. But they found an old overgrown trail nearby that kept the two of them right outside of the streets.
It was new to them with plenty of fresh air. Blossom motioned for her horse to take the lead, allowing them to go wherever the animal liked while she thought.
The sun grew high in the sky as Merryweather trotted along. To their left, houses and shops were built with dark wood. They were all straight with small windows and cheerful curtains.
She could hear voices in the distance from the streets, people talking and shopping and bartering. It made for pleasant background noise as Merryweather led them along through the valley.
Blossom found herself enjoying the trail, even as it reached a more used road. Or a little more used, she supposed. It widened out enough for a wagon, but hardly looked used any more than the trail. She noted fresh tracks in the grass but supposed she was in another section of town where maybe a few folks lived.
If anyone lived there.
She hummed, keeping an eye out for nearby farms and familiar faces.
With the town growing, there were people who she didn’t know very well. It was a strange feeling, but she didn’t mind. That just meant there were more friends to meet sooner rather than later. Like Chester. She was just thinking of him when she looked over and noticed a sweet little cottage with a large grove of trees.
“Arthur, dear, don’t pick them when they’re green. I told you, they’re too sour.”
“Yes, dear.”
Blossom recognized the voice and reached the gate to find Arthur and Betty Bretts nearby. This had to be their home. A smile reached her face as she remembered the dear couple. They were two of the oldest people in the area, but never acted like it with their enthusiasm and bright eyes.
Just as she noted the couple by the trees, she noted a third person on the other side of the house. There was a repetitive thwacking sound. Blossom pulled up Merryweather in surprise to find Chester there in the garden, cutting logs with an axe.
Chapter Thirteen
Chester’s Friends
The repetitive motion of cutting logs was relaxing.
Chester appreciated the hurling of the axe over his shoulder over and over again until the wood chopped in just the way he wanted it to. Once he got into the movement, then he could clear his mind. Either he could sort through a problem or just keep his thoughts blank.
The day was hot.
With the sun shining down, sweat dripped down his back. He had rolled his sleeves up, removed his vest, and loosened a few buttons on his shirt while trying to remain decent.
It was warmer than usual with summer right around the corner. But he found that he enjoyed it, feeling refreshed with the heat burning him. The day almost felt like a cleanse from seeing Elijah the other night.
His fingers slipped, causing the axe to miss the wood. He stepped back to avoid getting his foot sliced in two, shaking his head.
Just when he thought he had cleared his mind, that memory came back.
Elijah. Chester could hardly believe he had seen him again. He had almost been able to convince himself that it was all a bad dream, a nightmare chasing him from the past.
But it was impossible to deny and he couldn’t be so foolish to ignore it. The man was dangerous, inside and out.
He was asking for trouble and Chester knew that it wasn’t about to stop. Elijah was too persistent to just give up. The man was willing to pursue revenge until he got just what he wanted.
And though Chester tried not to worry about it, he couldn’t not worry. The man was stubborn and violent. He would eagerly go to extreme measures to get whatever he wanted.
I just have to give him enough of what he wants to make him disappear for good. But Chester didn’t have anything. He didn’t have a lot of savings or a lot in his little roomy shack. There was nothing to give, and that worried him.
There had to be something that could be done to get the man to go away for good.
For five years, there had been silence. Five years and he did nothing. Why wait until now? It didn’t make a lot of sense. No one had ever found him or sought him out for all that Chester knew. He had started to believe that his past was behind him forever.
Just thinking about the gang filled his stomach with knots.
A bitter taste came to his mouth and he grew angry with himself for having ever thought they were good men. With five years to reconsider his actions, Chester had gradually come to the realization that they were a gang in the truest sense, preying on others and taking what they wanted when they didn’t deserve it.
They were thieves and bandits, outlaws who kept to a lawless area and never struck the same town twice.
He had been such a fool.
Chester did everything he could to put his past mistakes behind him. He accepted he had been a fool to trust anyone, including his brother, who he felt certain knew exactly what had been happening from the beginning. Though Lowry was a good protective brother, he also carried with him the anger that had consumed their parents.
Nothing was ever enough for them or right enough or good enough. He had never been able to understand it. But now he knew he never would and he had to let go.
It had been getting a lot easier until Elijah showed up.
“Chester?”
The axe hit the wood with a loud thud, but he’d immediately softened its fall on the way when he heard his name called. With the axe stuck in the log, Chester glanced around in confusion.
Helping the Bretts cut firewood was one of the typical chores he tried to tend to on a regular basis. It only took him an afternoon and he had his own wood to chop anyways, so adding to it wasn’t much of a hassle. Betty had insisted he do it over in their yard when he cut their wood to save him the trouble of moving back and forth. He didn’t mind, enjoying being around other people a little more often.
But the voice didn’t come from either of the Bretts.
; Instead, Blossom Everett sat astride a lean dappled gray horse just outside the gate. Her shoulders were back and her chin was up to show what a beautiful figure she made in the sunlight. For a second, Chester wondered if he was imagining the view before him.
When he blinked, she was still there.
Dressed in a soft yellow dress and a straw hat, she offered a wave. He waved back in return before he knew what he was doing. The axe stayed put as he walked over to her while she climbed down from her horse.
“Good morning,” Blossom smiled as her cheeks tinged pink. With the sun shining on her, she looked like an angel. “I didn’t expect to see you today.”
He searched her eyes to find that she was indeed happy, unaffected from their last conversation. Chester wondered how she could forgive him so quickly for that night, but found himself glad of it. He offered a nod. “Nor I you. Good morning, Blossom. What are you up to today? I haven’t seen you ride here before.”
A Deal with the Cowboy’s Tangled Heart: A Historical Western Romance Book Page 11