Unlikely Angel

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

There was a change in John Calder after that picnic, one his friends could not help but notice. The first thing they took note of was that it seemed nothing could upset him, nothing at all. Billy tried his darnedest and just could not rile their typically brooding and hair triggered friend. And then that was the next thing they took note of. He wasn’t brooding. Most of the time he was smiling for no apparent reason.

One day, perhaps a week after the changes to Johnny were first noted, Pat found himself alone with his smiling friend. Hound Dog had left the both of them in charge in his office while he went to run some errand or another. Pat didn’t really care what the marshal was up to; just that he finally had a chance to find out what was going on with Calder. It’s not that the changes upset anyone but for a man to change that drastically, that quickly, well, it had some of the guys worried a little.

Cora was harping about it and Pat thought he could ease her worry. He didn’t know why she didn’t ask herself, the two of them were close as blood siblings after all. But she didn’t and it gave him the chance to be a hero of a sort for her. And if he was being completely honest, Pat was worried too. He’d never seen Johnny like this. Someone, Pat couldn’t remember who, had suggested that Johnny might be in love but they’d seen Johnny in love before. It wasn’t always a pretty sight and it surely never had him this mellow.

“Johnny,” Pat began with some caution. “Me and the others was kind of wondering something.”

Calder was sitting, just sitting, placidly and peacefully-and smiling. Pat was starting to find it almost creepy.

“What was you wondering, Pat?”

“Now that I got you here to ask you, I’m not sure how to go about it.”

“Give it a shot.”

Pat was beyond perplexed. Normally if someone wanted to say or ask something and even beat around the bush a little they’d get some agitation from Johnny. He took a deep breath and tried to put into words what was concerning the entire Hunter homestead.

“You just don’t seem yourself lately. I guess we aren’t complaining a lot because you’re less moody but then you’re always smiling. I feel like we don’t even know you anymore.”

Johnny laughed long and hearty. He’d wondered what was up with Billy being such a pest lately and the others’ sideways glances at him. Well, he just wasn’t bothered by things and couldn’t bring himself to fake it for appearances sake. Now he just had to figure how to put what he was feeling into words when he didn’t entirely understand it himself.

“I guess Cora probably told you that I decided to take care of Susan. It’s not official, not like I’m changing her name or anything but I made a promise to be like a daddy to her.”

“Yeah,” Pat replied. “She told me that and I think that’s real good of you too. I don’t know which of you’s getting the better end of the deal. I think she’s as good for you as you are for her.”

“You said a mouthful there, Pat. Thing is, I never realized a lot of things before. I thought I was in love a couple of times but I wasn’t. I see that now. It wasn’t real. See, what you got with Cora, that’s real so you probably already know the things I just figured out.”

Pat’s brow furrowed, “I’m not sure I’m following you.”

“When you really love someone, it don’t matter if they love you back and it don’t matter what they can do for you. All that matters is that you love them and you do for them.”

Pat nodded, it wasn’t a lesson easily learned for anyone and he’d surely learned it the hard way himself. It had bewildered him when Cora had refused his proposal but he came to understand that she wasn’t there to be what he envisioned her to be. She was there to just be what she was. For a time he wasn’t sure if he had fallen for the girl she was or the one he thought he wanted her to be but he knew now that he’d never want her to change for him or anyone else.