A Deal with the Cowboy’s Tangled Heart: A Historical Western Romance Book

by Cassidy Hanton

  Though Chester worried that she would be upset from their last conversation, he was glad to find that she wasn’t. His smile widened, glad to see her more than ever.

  Shaking her head, her eyes skimmed over the garden and grove. “I haven’t,” Blossom admitted. He studied her, wondering how such a cheerful person lived in this world. “I didn’t know any of this was here. I had wondered where the Bretts lived, though. What are you doing in their garden?”

  Chester grinned when she asked him her question unabashedly, truly curious and without guile. “The Bretts are my neighbors. My place is just next door. I try to help out Arthur and Betty whenever I can. They’re getting older and they feed me more often than they should, so I like to return the favor. Today, I’m cutting their firewood.”

  “That’s very kind of you,” she offered. Then she stepped forward, glancing toward the couple in the nearby grove. The older couple could be heard faintly from where they teased each other while picking apples. “I do respect the Bretts. They’re such a lovely couple. Is there anything I can do to help as well?”

  Chester turned back to her in surprise. His mouth opened before he could think of anything to say. “Oh. You’re riding, Blossom. You don’t need to.”

  “I want to,” she countered. Then she looped her horse’s bridle through the gate to show him her two free hands. “See? I have the time, Chester. Put me to work and let me help the Bretts as well. What can I do to help?”

  He wiped his hands dry as he studied the young woman for a moment.

  She spoke in earnest. It caught him by surprise as he tried to think of something to say. Most women were content to stick with housework or taking a chance to relax. Or so he heard, since he didn’t spend a lot of time with them. Chester wasn’t sure what to do around Blossom. But he was awfully glad to spend time with her.

  Finally, he glanced around before noticing the rake nearby leaning on the edge of the house beside the front porch.

  “Right.” Chester turned back to her as he unlocked the short gate. He offered her a smile while waving her in. “I could use your help with the leaves in the garden. They have a broom somewhere around here…” He turned back to the house and led the way to find an old rake leaning up against the house. “Ah, here we are. Betty likes to have the garden tidied. Any leaves can be put in a pile to burn.”

  Blossom nodded as she accepted the broom with both hands. There was a look of determination in her chin as she smiled up at him. “Wonderful. I’ll get right to it.”

  A smile reached his face as well, unable to help himself. “Sounds perfect.” Chester reluctantly stepped away as he looked for something else to say. But he didn’t have any words for her. Reluctantly he returned to where he had left the axe and resumed his task.

  He picked up the motions all over again. But now it felt different. Chester couldn’t seem to clear his mind and focus. His hands kept fixing their grip on the handle. He never felt properly balanced. And it felt like he was being watched.

  So he turned around to look, but every time Blossom had her head down and was carefully brushing the dried leaves away from the garden.

  Chester couldn’t help but take a chance to study the young lady.

  She wore her dark blonde hair loose over her shoulders. They emphasized her almond brown eyes that usually sparkled or softened. He wasn’t sure what it was about her, but she was beautiful. Not in a mad and dizzying way, but in a comfortable way like the warm sun above them.

  “Well, well, well! What do we have here? Chester, I didn’t know you were bringing a lady over. If I had known, we would be eating, not working.” Betty had crossed her yard with her husband close behind over to their guests. “Miss Everett, isn’t it?”

  Chester turned red as Blossom glanced at him and then to the couple. “Please, call me Blossom. Hello, Mrs. Bretts. Mr. Bretts. How do you do? I hope you don’t mind. I was passing through and Chester here said I could be of some service.” The young woman motioned to her growing pile of leaves.

  That made Betty tut loudly. “Guests don’t work, that’s nonsense. Here, I’ll take the broom.”

  “If guests don’t work, then what does that make me?” Chester chuckled as he set the axe down to cross his arms and walk over to the small party. Any excuse to get a closer look at Blossom’s eyes were worth it. He grinned at them to show he was teasing them. “Besides, she volunteered.”

  Blossom nodded. “It’s true,” she informed them. “I like to offer my help where it is needed.” She swished her calico dress for emphasis, a hopeful smile spread delicately across her cheeks. Her heart-shaped face brightened at them.

  The Bretts glanced over at each other before shrugging their shoulders to show they didn’t mind.

  “Then eat an apple while you work,” Arthur suggested as he nudged his wife. “Or three, perhaps, so we can show our gratitude. We’ll be taking a bushel into town tomorrow to sell. It will keep you full and content.”

  He always sounded like he was going to sell something. Chester smiled to himself before he shook his head and glanced at Blossom who was beaming. Just like the sun.

  She seemed thrilled just to be there, let alone included. Everyone ate a few apples before they refocused their energy and efforts onto the garden. At least, he tried. It was hard to focus knowing that Blossom was so close.

  The Bretts went inside, allowing Chester and Blossom to resume their duties.

  “How long have you lived here?” She asked a few minutes later while she was washing up. “Next to the Bretts, I mean?”

  Chester hesitated, pausing from his labors.

  Though he wanted to get the work done, the idea of talking with Blossom again was irresistible. She had found a fallen flower and tucked it behind her ear. It matched the pale blue embroidery on her sleeves.

  “A few years.” He offered a smile as he wiped his brow. “And you? Or have you lived here all your life?”

  Her cheeks grew pinker. “Was it really that obvious?”

  “It just means that you are very familiar with Livingsfield,” Chester said. Then he surprised them both by giving her a wink. He hadn’t thought he was so brave. His heart pounded as he wondered how she would take it. “I’m surprised then you haven’t been over here before.”

  Blossom grinned. “You have a good point, Chester. I’m not certain how, but I suppose my father always thought this was further than I needed to go. I have all I need at home or in the town square. Perhaps I never came over here because I didn’t know I needed anything else.”

  “Perhaps. Well, I’m glad you did.” The words spilled out before he could help himself. “It’s nice to see you again.”

  Chester worked slower as they talked, timing his throws in between words. Blossom worked neatly and tidily around him as she went, pulling the leaves together in a perfect little pile. Most of them were shades of green and a few were yellow.

  It never ceased to amaze him just how colorful the world could be. A lot of things surprised him lately, for good and ill.

  He could feel her eyes on him again, most of the time when he was handling the logs and couldn’t look up. Blossom usually turned away from studying him in time, but once he caught her.

  Her eyes were trailing him curiously with a crease in her brow. When he looked back over his shoulder, her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed before she turned back to the nearby leaves.

  Chester wondered what she was thinking. He thought about asking her as they talked about the town, but he didn’t. If she had something to say, he decided, then she would say it when she was ready.

  She seemed happier than he had seen her so far, which brought him a sense of relief and comfort. It was nice to see her happy. It just made her look prettier than she already did. Blossom was smiling, eager to talk and work.

  Then he remembered that they hadn’t had much of a chance so far to communicate in any other sense. First, her father had collapsed on the road. Then they had a moment in the street and then the other nigh
t where Elijah threatened him.

  “Chester?”

  Jerking to attention, he whirled around with the axe in both hands. Chester was glad he kept it low as Blossom cocked her head at him from just a few feet away. She was leaning lightly on the broom before the large pile of leaves.

  “What is it? I’m sorry, my thoughts were elsewhere,” he stammered.

  The smile on her face widened as she shook her head. “There is no need to worry about that. I know what it’s like. I just wanted to let you know I finished this pile. What would you like me to do now? Is there anything more I can do to help?”

  He set the axe down, wondering why she was still there. He had a lot of questions he would like to ask her. Why she was there, what she was doing, and why she hadn’t left. Chester wanted to know more about her too, about what else she did in her free time and about everything else she loved in her life. But he decided to answer her question first instead.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Blossom’s Time

  Blossom wasn’t entirely certain what compelled her to stay.

  She could have kept riding on with Merryweather. But something compelled her to slow down.

  Chester was a good man. She cared for him, as private as he could be, and the Bretts were good people.

  But once the leaves were cleaned up, she helped Chester carry the firewood into the house. Then he trimmed the nearby trees and she collected twigs.

  Most of the work wasn’t very hard, just slow and steady effort. The Bretts were lovely people, but in their older age it was harder to carry heavy things and bend down too often. So Chester led the way, letting her know about the work that needed to be done.

  It was clear that he was often at the Bretts’ homestead taking care of their home.

  He knew where every tool could be found and where to put everything away. When the basket had a loose handle, he pointed out how she had to be careful in handling it in order for it not to fall apart.

  The animals all recognized him and eagerly came over for food and attention. Then he knew a lot about where everything was kept and put away in the shed and around the porch.

  There was a path along the grove of trees. Over there was where Chester had gestured to his home. Until then she hadn’t realized she had no idea of where he might live.

  The longer she spent with him as the day progressed, the more Blossom had questions for him. She was beginning to realize how little she knew about the man. It only made her more curious.

  Her ponderings had made her work slower as she would glance over at Chester to try and guess the answers. When he caught her looking, however, she tried to put the thoughts away.

  “You’re too kind, dear,” Betty beamed at her when she had cleared out the weeds after brushing away the leaves. The older woman was taking a break on her porch while seated in a rocking chair. She looked rather tired, Blossom thought, though happy. “You’re saving Arthur and me from having to kneel down and work in the dirt. My flowers are looking lovelier now than ever because of you.”

  The compliment made Blossom blush. She shook her head as she set the basket down. Chester was just sitting on the bottom steps of the porch nearby as he cleaned off the tools they had used over the last couple of hours.

  “You’re too kind,” Blossom informed Betty with a shake of her head. “I’ve hardly done anything.”

  Betty Bretts was one of the kindest women whom Blossom had ever known.

  For as long as she could remember, the older woman had passed around little daisies to the girls at church if they came to say hello to her. As they got older, she would stick the flowers in their hair. And as young women, she would recruit them to help gather flowers for the little girls. She also shared all of her best recipes and delivered meals to families around town practically every week, and would stop by to help out with new mothers and struggling families. Essentially, she was just a lovely woman.

  “Nonsense. Turn around and look at my garden. Do you see all those colors? There’s something refreshing about seeing the dirt below as well, no longer crowded with weeds and leaves. It’s very satisfying. My bluebonnets are looking better than ever. You’ve spoiled them.”

  Blossom laughed with her. “They deserve to be happy. They need people like us to take care of them. And yes, they are looking very lovely. I’ve never seen them look so tall.”

  She could feel Chester eyeing the two of them. When she looked over, he had a small smile of his own on his face though he kept his head ducked down.

  Grinning, Blossom turned back to the older woman.

  “Indeed,” Betty sighed contentedly. Then she turned over to Blossom with a thoughtful look. “Do you have any bluebonnets at home, dear? Perhaps you should take a couple with you when you go.”

  “Oh, I couldn’t possibly,” Blossom started.

  But the older woman raised her hand for silence as she shook her head. “I insist! Take that basket and collect a few for your own garden. They’re Texas flowers, you know. Everyone should have them in their garden. And it’ll also give you an excuse to come visit me again to return the basket and let me know how they fare with you.” Betty settled back into her chair comfortably and with a rather smug smile.

  Though Blossom considered arguing a little more, she decided against it. There used to always be bluebonnets in her yard since it had been her mother’s favorite flower.

  When she died, Blossom had lost the desire to tend the garden. All but the pansies died and she had yet to bring more than a few types of wildflowers into her garden. Bluebonnets had not grown under her windowsill since she had last hugged her mother.

  Her heart warmed at the idea, however, of having them again. It would feel as though her mother had returned. This would do her some good, she could feel it.

  “Thank you so kindly,” Blossom told Betty with a heartfelt smile. Then she leaned over to give her a hug. “Really. If my mother were here, she would be thanking you, too! I’ll be right back.”

  Blossom then took the basket back down to the garden where she gently dug up two of the plants. Digging her fingers into the dark damp earth felt so good. She had forgotten about that feeling.

  It reminded her of an early childhood memory where her mother was teaching her to garden then.

  “Can you smell that?” Her mother had cheered her on. “That’s the earth! It’s God’s home just for us. He gave us the ability to plant and grow things. Now it’s up to us to treat the world right and take care of it in return.”

  She smiled, looking at the beautiful flowers in her hands. Her mother would be thrilled knowing about this. Her heart filled with warmth, knowing that she was being watched over by her mother in heaven.

  Betty slipped away for a moment to dampen a towel that she could rest the flowers in until she made it home.

  Blossom glanced at the basket in wonder, shaking her head. A smile made its way up to her lips before she could stop it. This wasn’t how she had expected her day to turn out. But now she was glad that it had.

  “Thank you ever kindly,” Blossom told Betty. “And please thank Arthur for me. With the sun beginning its descent, I should start home. My father will be wondering about me. It was a pleasure to spend the day here. Thank you for having me, Betty.”

  “Are you certain you can’t stay for supper?” the woman pouted. “We have enough to go around, and it should be ready soon.”

  She shook her head. “Thank you, but I’m afraid that I can’t.”

  Chester set the tools down as he turned to face them. He cleared his throat noisily to get their attention. “I’ll walk you,” he offered.

  Blossom pulled the flowers close as she felt her heart patter. She wondered what had inspired him to want to do that.

  But she couldn’t say she minded. Chester made for excellent company. Though they had not spent much time together, and every time something trying happened, she couldn’t help but grow more curious and interested in the young man. There was something so endearing abou
t his stubborn jawline and clear eyes.

  “Wonderful,” Betty told them. “Company always improves a good stroll. Can I get you two anything for the road? Water or biscuits or something?”

  “Thank you, but no,” Chester chuckled as he wiped his hands on his pants.

  He cocked his head as he looked at Blossom. He was studying her thoughtfully as though there was something on his mind. A tingling sensation ran up her spine and warmed her soul. Even as a blush spread across her cheeks, she didn’t feel ashamed or embarrassed.

  She found herself thrilled at the idea of him looking at her. She wondered what he saw when he did.