Letters and Love

Chapter Twenty-Six: Noah

Finally! I'd kissed her, and she hadn't been repulsed by my awkwardness. The pain of my nose hitting her nose faded quicker than the embarrassment that it had happened at all.

Naturally, Mrs. Harper was ecstatic when she heard our news. She insisted that I remain for supper. I had the feeling that Marshal Westler would make himself at home and eat the meal I'd left cooking, so I accepted.

I returned home that evening with my thoughts in a whirl. There were three days until it would be Sunday. That would be plenty of time to organize any details, wouldn't it? I wasn't sure what there was that needed to be planned. It wasn't as if there was a wedding party that would happen or a wedding feast, like my sister had insisted upon when she married.

Though I hadn't attended any weddings since I'd come west, I had read about some in the newspapers that had made their way to my town from Cheyenne. The couple would meet in front of the preacher, say their vows, and that was that. If they had friends in the town, maybe there would be a celebration. Music, dancing, but I knew better than to expect that.

The sun was still just above the horizon when I pulled up to my place. Westler was sitting on the front porch. The sight of his rifle on his lap made my heart sink. What had happened now?

"You were gone long," Westler called out. Was that disapproval in his voice or was I just being paranoid? "I thought you were just taking your lady and coming right back."

His words made me feel like a truant school boy, and I did not appreciate it. Why would I need to answer to him concerning what I did and where I was? "The neighbors asked me to stay for supper," I responded. Not that I felt like I needed to explain myself. "You look like you're expecting trouble."

"Your neighbor stopped by again," he said, s​etting his rifle aside. "And your potatoes burned while I was dealing with him."

The loss of food was immaterial. "Burns was here?" I asked as I climbed to the ground.

"He and some other of your neighbors."

Worse and worse! "Who was with him?" If more of my neighbors were willing to ride with Burns for what I could only assume was not a congenial conversation, I needed to know who they were. Had they intended to cause trouble? Burn down my house? Worse?

Lynch me?

"No one mentioned any names," Westler answered. "They were looking for you. That's all they said."

Of course they were. Heaving a sigh, I pinched my nose. The day had been going so well. I should have known it would all come crashing down at some point. "Did they say why they were looking for me?"

"They didn't give an exact reason, but they insisted they needed to know when you would be back."

Given that Mr. Jones had approached me when I was with Elizabeth to speak to her about the rumors, maybe they hoped to interfere with my marriage? In any event, it hadn't been a cordial visit.

"What did you tell them?"

Westler shrugged. "That you weren't here and I couldn't say when you would be back. It took a while before they finally left, but none of them were very happy about it." He stood up and shook his head. "Burns' brother wasn't with him, so I'm wondering if he's moved on from the area."

That seemed like an improbable leap of logic. "So are you planning on leaving?" I asked.

"No must yet. If I stick around, I might be able to learn something from Jake Burns," Westler responded. "I have to say that staying here has been an interesting thing. It's not every week I get drawn into such a dramatic situation."