Porcelain White (Book 1)

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

New Discoveries

John Webster strolled down the street, feeling elated. She was beautiful, and she was going to stay right here in Redwood. The image of her soft porcelain white hair curling around her brown eyes just made his heart stop. He had been nervous to talk to women. He was polite but never able to get past the first few uncomfortable moments of conversation. With Isabel, it was different. John felt the need to protect her, to take her in his arms and never let anyone harm her.

As he walked towards the saloon, he looked in over the swinging doors and saw his Captain involved in yet another card game. Even Captain Pichon was not going to ruin this wonderful feeling. He crossed the street and found a bench to wait for his Captain. Too many nights, John waited to ride with him back to the fort or break up a fight the Captain had started over cards.

Sitting in the darkness, he thought of Isabel, and memories of when he first arrived in Redwood came to mind. He was ten years old when John and his mother and father traveled from Wisconsin to Minnesota. An army friend had offered his dad a job as a bank teller. It was a new start for them after the War. They first lived at the hotel, and then they moved into a small room above the café on the edge of town.

The church at the end of the road through Main Street doubled as the schoolhouse during the week. He went to school until his graduation from 8th grade. His mother worked at the café during breakfast and lunch hours.

John was fourteen when both his mother and father passed away that same winter of influenza. They died a month apart.

He looked towards the Redwood Hotel, and John remembered when he found himself living back at the hotel. Maude was there for him. She got him through a terrible time in his life.

His dad's sister came out to Redwood when she heard that Agnes Webster had succumbed to the flu. She tried nursing her brother Henry, but he died less than three weeks later.

His Aunt Clara made him stay away from the small apartment for fear of the disease spreading to him. He spent most of his days hanging out at the blacksmith shop. The smithy worked with his brother, who handled all of the harness and leatherwork. John learned how to tan leather, fix boots, and make gloves. It took his mind off the new realization that his life was changing.

After his father passed away, his Aunt Clara decided to stay in Redwood and take care of John. She was offered a job by Maude to work in the kitchen at the Redwood Hotel. Life fell into a nice routine, and John continued to work with Gus and Pete in the harness shop.

At age eighteen, John signed up for the army, and the military board assigned him to Fort Smith outside of Redwood. Now four years later, here he sat waiting for his Captain and counting down the days until he was officially done being a soldier. By the end of the year, he would be a civilian and twenty-two years old. He wanted to open a shop to make gloves, vests, and coats out of leather. He had accumulated many tools, and he had socked away his pay for the past four years.

Noise erupted from across the street and knocked John out of his daydreaming. A fight had broken out, and John knew his Captain was involved. He jumped up, ran across the street, and tried to pull his Captain out of the fray.

"He cheated me. I want my money back," yelled a sodbuster.

The gamblers scuffled into a fight knocking over the table. A pistol fired in the air, and there stood Shereen.