To Love A Cowboy

Chapter 3

To Love A Cowboy

Chapter 3


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Stevie followed Leo into the small church in Cedar Ridge as they made their way to their usual pew at the back of the building. The familiar scent of wood greeted her, and for a moment, she felt a wave of comfort wash over her. It was a sanctuary from the chaos that had taken over their lives in the past few weeks. Behind her, Billie, Sophie, and Tessa followed closely, their footsteps muffled on the worn wooden floors.

It was only the five of them today. The church usually filled with the hum of the town's families, but with the recent uptick in cattle rustling plaguing the neighboring ranches, many families had been forced to stay home. Grandpa had stayed behind to watch over the ranch, and Uncle Jamie had taken up watch at Ephraim's place. With more cattle than ever being reported missing—spread out across nearly every neighboring ranch—no one could afford to let their guard down.

Stevie smoothed down the dark grey trousers that clung to her legs as she slipped into the pew. The fabric was worn, but it was sturdy enough for the work that needed doing. She knew the others were looking at her. The seats were sparse in the back, and they had chosen a spot just beside the aisle. Stevie looked up and met Tessa's gaze.

The young girl smiled shyly. Stevie had noticed lately that Tessa had taken to following her more and more. The girl had even elected to wear trousers today, much like Stevie had, a choice that wasn't as common among the girls of Cedar Ridge, particularly not for church. But then again, times were changing, and so were the people who lived through them.

"You're looking like one of us now," Billie teased Tessa gently, her voice low enough to be heard only by their small group. Stevie gave a half-smile but couldn't help but feel a touch of pride. She knew it was more than just a fashion choice for Tessa—it was a small act of rebellion in a town where the girls were expected to dress modestly, to sit quietly and pray, to be prim and proper. But today, Tessa had chosen to dress in a way that made her feel more like the women around her, who worked the land, protected their families, and kept up the day-to-day chores of running the ranch. It was the way they all had to act now, with the rustlers getting bolder.

Tessa's gaze lingered for a moment before she dropped her eyes back to the ground. Stevie could tell she was thinking about the situation—how uncertain everything felt. There had been whispers about the rustlers, about who might be involved, and about how little the law seemed to do about it. Cattle had always been important, but now, with more and more animals disappearing, it felt like the entire town was on edge.

The church was quiet, the only sound the creaking of the wooden pews as people settled in. Pastor Baker, an older man with a kind heart but a wary look in his eyes, stepped up to the pulpit and began his sermon, his voice low and steady. Stevie found herself drifting in and out of focus, her mind drawn back to the ranch, to Ephraim and his injuries. Her thoughts were interrupted by the soft touch of Tessa's hand, resting gently on her arm.

"I don't want to be afraid," Tessa whispered. "But I'm scared."

Stevie looked at the young girl, her heart aching for her. The weight of the world seemed too much for someone so young, but Stevie knew it wasn't just Tessa who felt this way. The entire town was filled with fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of the rustlers, and fear that things would never go back to the way they once were.

Stevie reached over and squeezed Tessa's hand. "We're in this together," she said, her voice low but firm. "We'll look out for each other."

Tessa nodded, her grip tightening slightly around Stevie's hand, and for a moment, the tension in the room seemed to ease, if only just a little.

it seemed to be only a fraction of a second later when a gunshot echoed from outside, everyone got up nearly at once and Stevie held onto Tessa and Sophie, a scream echoed across the small building as chaos erupted.

~~ ~~ 

Ephraim looked across the room at the large clock that hung above the mantel in his front room, 3'oclock the girls should have been back by now... Even if the pastor managed to go on and on they still would have been back by now. Perhaps they went to the mercantile to do some shopping? but wouldn't they have told him? Stevie had said that they would go to the morning service and then be back before lunch... so where were they now?

He got up and made his way outside, he crossed the yard to the barn.

"Woah, you should be resting" Jamie said as he saw him walk into the barn he followed not far behind Ephraim "Stevie will tan your hide, and mine if she sees you out like this."

Ephraim stopped, not that he was going that fast he felt very unsteady on his feet with his injuries. "They should have been back by now..." he stated

"They're strong women, they will take care of themselves and your sisters" Jamie said confidently "The last thing any of my nieces need is someone getting in their way trying to rescue them, sides I'm sure they went to the mercantile or Billie found an animal in need"

"But what if something happened?" Ephraim questioned

Jamie looked at the road leading to town and saw dust being kicked up "I bet that's them now"

Ephraim followed where Jamie had pointed, and saw a wagon in the slight distance, he instantly relaxed. As the wagon drew nearer he realized that only Leo and his sister's were in the wagon. Where was Stevie? 

"Ephraim!" Sophie said as she jumped from the bed of the wagon "There was a shoot out across from the church..." 

Jamie immediately looked at his niece "Where are Stevie and Billie?" he questioned

"Helping the wounded, They're okay." Leo clarified "Just some rowdy cowpokes fighting, but three people got shot, and some wayward bullet's managed to make its way in the church and got old man Winslow"

"It was utter chaos" Sophie added "people running and screaming!" she said excitedly as if this was a good thing.

Ephraim scolded her "Honestly, these people are someone's family Soph."

Sophie glared at him "I realize that, but it was all rather exciting, not a lot happens here" 

His gunshot wound would say otherwise, he thought but tried his best to ignore that. He looked at Tessa her hair was braided under her hat and she sported men's trousers, he smiled, Stevie and her sister's were rubbing off on her. He wanted both his sister's to be strong, and independent. to be true women of the west like the Steele sisters were. 

Sophie still had a lot to learn but if this is the change he saw already he was sure that there was still hope for his sister's to adapt and be able to survive, to thrive here. 

He felt a tightening in his chest he thought was pride but as he looked down and saw blood he felt queasy he looked up at Jamie as dizziness washed over him, his vision went dark and the world went black.

______Author's note_________

Welp I am back, after a long 2 years here I am! I managed to lock myself out of my Wattpad account and email! but I finally got back in after being able to charge my old iphone- I am so happy to be back, I've uploaded the original versions of my letter's of change series and I plan on tried to update often (Ideally once a week) 

Stay tuned a lot to come <3