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

by Cassidy Hanton

  Blossom gave him a nod before turning to Betty one last time, remembering they weren’t alone.

  “Thank you for allowing me to help you,” she said. “It’s been a lovely day. You have a beautiful home and I’ll try to visit you more often now that I know where you live. Do take care.”

  She led the way over to her horse with Chester following close behind. He was very close, their hands brushing twice before he sheepishly stepped further away. Blossom found herself wishing he hadn’t, though she didn’t know what might have happened if they had touched again.

  After all, they were just friends, weren’t they?

  He waited for her to untether Merryweather and then they started down the path. Her horse trailed beside her on her right with Chester on her left. A faint trail led the way to town, empty except for them.

  Above, the sky was bluer than the flowers in the basket that Chester carried for her. Just a few puffy white clouds lingered nearby as though to tease them. A soft breeze trailed through the air smelling of fresh hay and damp earth. Her shoulders relaxed as they went along.

  “Thank you for your help.” Chester interrupted the silence slowly. “I know Betty thanked you, but I thought I should do the same. It was kind of you to stay when you helped them and kept me company.” His eyes trailed up to hers when she stole a quick look.

  Her cheeks flushed as she shook her head. “I was happy to help. The Bretts are such fine people. To find you along the way was just, well, a pleasant surprise.” Blossom cleared her throat as she tried to find something else to say. “Anyways, I had been thinking about you.”

  She could feel his eyes on her again. “Oh?”

  Inhaling deeply, Blossom nodded but didn’t look back at him. The thoughts had been toward the back of her mind, but there nonetheless. She couldn’t help but be curious and wish for clarification. The two of them hardly knew each other, but she felt that she at least deserved some answers.

  “I was hoping you might better explain about… everything, I suppose.” She bit her lip. “You didn’t… well, I was only curious, I suppose. And we were interrupted the other night by your friend.”

  “He’s not a friend,” he amended quickly. Chester glanced around before shaking his head. “Elijah can’t be trusted, Blossom. I only pray you never have to see him again.”

  Her hands fiddled with the reins as she led her horse. Her eyes glanced over toward Chester, wondering what he was thinking. There was a past that he seemed very intent on hiding from her. But it made no sense. There didn’t need to be secrets between friends.

  Blossom knew there was only one way to find out. She had never thought of herself as bold, but lately she was being proven otherwise. A moment passed and then she asked him the question. “Is he part of the reason everyone in town looks at you strangely?”

  She kept her eyes when he glanced over.

  “Didn’t I tell you enough?” Chester asked with bitter amusement.

  He had told her the other night that if he explained his past, that she would see him differently. He was ashamed of it and didn’t like the memories. If she learned the truth, then perhaps she would look at him like everyone else did. Blossom considered the possibility but couldn’t believe it to be true. Already she had seen the goodness in him. He was kind, helpful, and generous. All the truth would do was show the whole of the man.

  “I trust you more than anyone else in town,” Blossom decidedly told him after a moment. “You’ve done more to help me in a short amount of time than I feel anyone else has. Though it’s been a short while, I think you should be ready to trust me.”

  Chester chuckled. “You’re very persuasive.”

  She beamed at him, grateful for the compliment. Blossom opened her mouth to speak, but decided against it. The two of them walked quietly side by side for several minutes. From the tension in his shoulders, she could tell he was building up his resolve. He took a few deep breaths and then spoke up.

  “My parents died of a sickness just a few days apart. I didn’t know what to do, only that I didn’t want to stay there any longer. I had an older brother, Lowry, who had made friends with a few other men. Soon I was spending time with them as well. The two of us joined them permanently once our parents had passed. I didn’t think that we would do much, but soon we were robbing people and committing other small crimes. It became a gang before I realized what was going on.”

  There were layers and layers of guilt within his voice. Blossom didn’t know what she had expected, but this was more than she had anticipated. Her heart pounded, trying to imagine such a grim life. It made sense now how much he was trying to help others, showing remorse and helping however he could. She glanced up at the young man who shoved his hands in his pockets and kicked the pebbles he came across.

  She stayed quiet, wondering if he might share more.

  Chester sighed. “When everything grew worse, I left. I ran off in the middle of the night with just my own belongings and my horse. If I tried to stay and talk to any of them, I knew they would convince me to stay. But everything had changed, Blossom. I couldn’t stay there anymore. If I did… well, I couldn’t. Elijah led the gang. He’s the one who came by the other night.”

  Her mouth opened in surprise. But again, she closed it. She hadn’t expected that. Tightening her hold on Merryweather’s reins, Blossom remained silent as she digested his words. There was so much she didn’t understand, so much she could hardly comprehend. Chester had been through so much in his short lifetime. Surely, he didn’t deserve that.

  “You never really leave Elijah unless he says you can.” Chester sighed. “I guess my days of hiding are over.”

  A quiet calm settled over him. He grew lost in his thoughts, she could tell, and she wanted to bring him back to her.

  When he said nothing more, Blossom gingerly touched his shoulder as she asked, “What will you do?”

  He shrugged. “Something. He said I have to pay. I don’t have much, but I’ll give him whatever he wants, I suppose. But I’m not going back to him or the others. Not even my brother, Lowry.”

  Blossom couldn’t help but be impressed with him. She hadn’t expected to learn so much so quickly about Chester. But now the pieces fell in line and she better understood what weighed heavily on his shoulders. Slowly she digested all that he had said, trying to imagine how he could feel.

  Chester didn’t deserve those troubles. Blossom shook her head in disbelief over what she had just heard.

  Though she was glad to know that he trusted her with his life story and secrets, she wished she could be of better help to him. She hadn’t had enough personal life experiences to understand his situation.

  But she was empathetic and tried to think of something she could say. If only she could find something perfect to say.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chester’s Humility

  He didn’t mean to tell her so much.

  But Blossom was pretty, and talking to her was so easy. She had the sweetest face. From her button nose and her dimples, the young lady was plainly a beauty. He didn’t even know why she was giving him a minute of his time.

  Yet she did. She was cheerfully spending time with him and listening to him when he talked. Her smile was the most charming thing he had ever seen. And when she looked at him with her brown eyes, the rest of the world disappeared.

  Chester shuffled his feet along as he thought about what he had said to her. Blossom was so easy to talk to that the words just slipped out.

  He couldn’t help himself. They were taking the long path around town without going in the streets so there was no one else around. The setting sun spread warm colors across the skies. It helped ease the tightness in his shoulders.

  Perhaps he shouldn’t have said so much. Or he could have made up some story that would sound believable. Maybe that’s what he should have done so she wouldn’t know how terrible he had been or how foolish he had acted in the past to get to where he was then. If only he had been smarter, then l
ife would be simpler and without any such trouble. He just didn’t want Blossom to think him a bad person.

  He kept his hands in his pockets as he walked. Though he kept glancing at Blossom to see what she might be thinking, it was difficult to guess what she was thinking.

  Her brow was furrowed and she chewed on her bottom lip.

  She looked more perplexed in that moment than anything else, and that didn’t help Chester understand anything.

  Not that she was his biggest problem. Definitely a concern, but not his biggest problem.

  That would be Elijah.

  Chester heaved a sigh as he tried to think again about what he was going to do about Elijah. The man wanted him to pay. He hoped that meant money. If it didn’t, then he didn’t know what it meant or what he would do. Part of him wished Lowry had shown up instead of Elijah.

  But Lowry would do what Elijah told him. While their leader didn’t like to get his hands dirty, Chester had seen it in Elijah’s eyes the other night.

  The man wasn’t messing around and he wasn’t going to send a messenger to do what he wanted to do himself.

  Most likely, Elijah hadn’t told Lowry where Chester was. Instead, he was going to harass Chester until he decided he was done. The man had done it before and he would do it again.

  Now it was Chester’s turn.

  He shook his head at the memory, trying to think. Since he left, he had to pay. Family and friendship meant nothing to Elijah. The man felt betrayed, used, and cheated even after all this time. It wasn’t as though the two of them had ever felt close.

  It was Elijah’s pride.

  There wasn’t much that Chester had ever really known about Elijah. Just the basics of what everyone else in the gang knew about his rough life and what he had decided to do with the rest of it. Chester wondered if it was all true or not, since Elijah had never confirmed it. But it sounded in character along with the man, and it was unlikely he would say otherwise.

  The man had known little kindness in his life. It was clear he didn’t know what it was. Or if he did, he had no desire to put it to use. That frustrated Chester. Most of the men in the gang had given up on others and become rather rough.

  Even Lowry had changed during the years they spent with the gang. Though he offered friendship, it had started to feel fake and strange.

  Chester thought of his brother with guilt. He wished he could have done something to help his brother. Maybe he should have forced Lowry to come with him, since he knew Lowry would not have left them willingly. Lowry was too eager to join the gang and be part of the trouble.

  A knot formed in his throat as he wondered what would happen next. Somehow, he worried it wasn’t going to be good.

  The silence continued between them as they walked. The desert air was cooling down, bringing a soft wind blowing against the bare skin on his neck between his collar and hair. He wished he knew what he could do. It would bring him some semblance of peace. Then he would have this whole situation fixed. There would be no surprises in the dark and he wouldn’t have to look over his shoulder.

  Chester slowed down to look around as they walked. They were just out of town, but there could still be people nearby and watching them. He never liked that feeling. It had a tendency to stalk him every time he left his home. His shoulders would tighten and his spine tingled as if reminding him that he was never safe no matter what he did.

  He glanced at Blossom, wondering what had compelled him to tell her so much.

  Though he hadn’t told her everything, he had told her plenty. More than he had expected. Taking a deep breath, he tried to imagine telling her everything else.

  But he couldn’t. Chester doubted he would ever be able to tell Blossom what exactly had made him leave. That was more than he could share. The pain still stuck with him. Part of him was wondering if he would ever get over what had happened. His chest tightened at the past emotions that tightened in his gut.

  Shaking his head, he sighed. Chester dropped his hands, realizing he shouldn’t have told Blossom anything. Now she would treat him like the others in town.

  She wouldn’t want to be around him and he would lose his only friend. He scolded himself in shame for being so careless.

  The thought was just running through his mind when something warm and soft crept across his palm. Chester stiffened to find Blossom entwining her fingers with his. He looked over at her incredulously, stopping before he knew what he was doing.

  But whatever it was, this felt natural. This felt right.

  Blossom looked at him with a sympathetic smile. Then she leaned over and kissed his cheek. It felt like a whisper on the wind or an angel brushing its fingertips across his face.

  The two of them stood beside one another, not saying a word for what felt like an eternity. Chester’s heart pounded as he wondered what that meant. He could still feel her soft lips on his face. He worried he was too dirty for the likes of her. He swallowed hard, trying to think.

  “I know you’re a good person,” Blossom told him softly but firmly. Her eyes searched his as she offered him a smile. “Everyone comes with a past, good or ill. It doesn’t matter what happened. It only matters what you’re doing now.” She inhaled deeply as she looked him right in the eyes to show that she meant every word.

  Chester could hear it in her voice.

  She really meant that. She didn’t care about his past, absolving him of his sins as she reminded him that he wasn’t cursed to be his past nor always live in it. Chester didn’t know what to say.

  A heavy burden slowly lifted off his shoulders. He could breathe deeply for the first time in a long time. His chest hammered against his ribs in an attempt to escape and fly away.

  The shock slowly began to wear off as he marveled over this new sensation tingling throughout his body. Blossom’s kindness did something to him that he didn’t know could happen.

  She was kind without guile, encouraging him to be who he had worked so hard to become.

  Chester wondered how she could see anything in him, but he couldn’t bring himself to speak. Emotions overwhelmed him, leaving him struggling to breathe. It had been a long time since someone decided not to judge him.

  This was different from the Bretts, he thought. They knew nothing of his past and simply appreciated his help. But Blossom understood a little more and accepted him as though none of it mattered. She didn’t care about the past, just about the present and who he was when he was beside her.

  He felt like he was finally being seen, as though he had been wearing a mask for years. With the heavy load off his shoulders, Chester felt as though he could fly. It was an incredible feeling. He tried to restrain his emotions as he looked at Blossom and Blossom looked at him.

  But it was too much. She was too much. Though he sucked in a breath, a tear escaped his right cheek. And then another, since the way had been made clear. Before he could brush it away, one fell down on his left cheek.

  Chester inhaled deeply and stepping forward, he embraced her. Only then did he pull his hand from hers.

  He wrapped his arms around Blossom gently, speechless over her kindness. Immediately she followed up to squeeze him firmly in response.

  She was warm and soft, but solid as a rock without wavering. Blossom swayed a little side to side, turning slightly. Chester followed the movements as he closed his eyes. He wasn’t sure he had ever known such comfort. Though part of him knew he should feel ashamed over this display of emotion, he also realized he didn’t ever want to let go of Blossom.

  He felt like a caterpillar wrapped in a safe and warm cocoon. It would be nice to never leave again.

  But he knew that would not be appropriate.

  When she gave him a tender squeeze, he managed to take a breath. His throat knotted up but he forced himself to speak.

  “Thank you, Blossom.” His voice was raw and coarse, near to breaking. It was already taking all of his strength to keep from turning into a little boy all over again, with tears and crying. “Thank
you.”

  She gently removed her hands on his back, so he let her go. Chester rubbed his face quickly before dropping his hands down to his side. A blushing, sheepish show of emotion made its way onto his face.

  But seeing Blossom’s flushed smile as well, he decided he didn’t mind some small embarrassment. This was Blossom Everett, after all, and she was good through and through. He decided right then that he could trust her with anything.

  “I’m here for you,” she told him softly. Then she gave him a wink and nudged her head back toward the trail for them to start walking again.

  He cleared his throat and stepped forward as well. The moment was over and it was time to move on. It took a minute for the lump in his throat to go away.