Saving the Gunslinger

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Thirty-Nine

"Damn Zach," Timothy shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. "You've got yourself a house."

Zachary used his bandana to clean the sweat from his face and neck and nodded as he stood in front of his home and felt pride fill him. Sure, it was just a barebone house with no paint, no furniture and not one ounce of a personal touch just yet but Zachary had a feeling that his Sam could turn any house into a home.

"So what color you gonna paint it?"

Zachary bid the work crew fair well as they loaded the last of their supplies on their wagon and headed off. "Don't know. Whatever Sam picks I reckon. The supplies for you house should be in by the end of next week."

"Yeah, thanks for helping me with it, Zach. I know you're probably eager to get the rest of the buildings around here done..."

Zachary simply shrugged and headed toward the barn where Blaze was waiting to be saddled. "I reckon you're gonna have a family soon and need a house. And we have enough done here that I plan on bringing in some cattle soon. We can fix up as we go."

"You gonna bring Sam out tonight and let her look at the place?"

"Of course," Zachary hefted up Tim's saddle and handed it to him before grabbing his own. "The woman has been chomping at the bit to see it finished all week."

"She picked a nice house for sure." Timothy tightened his mare, Kitty's, saddle.

Zachary grunted his agreement. The single story home was indeed nice. It had a front and a back door. The back door opened into a small entry room for storing coats and outdoor gear and for changing out of muddy boots to keep from tracking through the house according to Sam. That entry room led into a hallway with three rooms on either side. Two that would serve perfectly as bedrooms or a bedroom and an office and one that led to a water closet with a surprise he was excited to show Samantha.

That hallway opened up at the end to a large main room with a sitting room on one side and a kitchen on the other—the front door opened into the sitting room. Off the kitchen was a large pantry and a storage closet. And off the sitting room were two more bedrooms—one large master and one smaller.

Sam had done a real good job picking a home they could build a family in—and it had a completely different layout from the home he'd shared with his parents and sisters in that spot. But then again, she had known that and that was why she had picked it. His woman's ability to always think of others amazed him.

"What type of house did Eleanor pick?"

"She didn't," Timothy replied, hooking his saddlebag over Kitty's saddle. "She made me do the picking. The only input I got from the woman was that as long as it had sturdy walls, a roof that didn't leak, and actual floorboards instead of dirt, it would be a nicer house than any she had ever lived in growing up."

Zachary was chuckling as he led a saddled Blaze from the barn. "Well, you and Samantha can bond over the unhelpfulness of the partners you chose when it comes to making decisions surrounding home ownership."

The men hopped on their horses and pointed them toward town. Samantha would be getting off work at the post office and Eleanor would be finishing up her shift at the docs. Zach thought about the quiet woman. She'd been working at the docs for the entire week and Zachary knew that she faced judgment from time to time and some people avoided going to the doc's office unless they knew he was there himself to avoid dealing with her—but all in all she was fitting in and finding a place.