Redemption

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“Took a while, didn’t it?” Sherman asked, leaning against the doorframe of Colt’s office.

Colt looked up startled by the man’s sudden appearance.

“Um, yes sir. The wires were really loose. Took me a bit to tighten them back up,” he explained.

It was the truth. The wires were very loose, and it had taken him a while to fix them. He couldn’t tell Sherman about Jessie Steele. The man was paranoid about people being on his property after a gang threatened his daughter, but who wouldn’t be? Colt just couldn’t bring himself to but Miss Steele in that kind of danger.

“Oh, I see. Well, see that you get to work on those books right quick,” Sherman turned and walked out of the building.

Colt sighed with relief. That had gone over smoother than he had hoped. Sending a brief prayer of thanks to God for the spared argument, he went right back to the books in front of them.

Some of the men that he liked the most were going to have to be fired, and he didn’t like it at all. Sadly, the Dottie Belle didn’t have enough work to accommodate their pay. A lot of the cowboys were hard working and were good men, but these things happen. Besides, they could find work somewhere else, right?

Colt looked over a few more numbers but found that he couldn’t focus. Throwing his pencil on the desktop, he leaned back in his chair and groaned. He couldn’t get his mind off Miss Steele.

He remembered what she looked like, laying there with a pale face and lines on her forehead from the pain. She had long, tangled copper hair in the resemblance of some sort of style that had fallen out. The brief moments he saw her eyes, he could tell they were a vivid shade of green, like the grass in Montana pastures in Spring. She had a round, sweet face and her voice, though somewhat cracked, revealed a smooth yet thick Southern accent. She wasn’t much of a burden to carry, but he could tell that beneath the bodice of her dark blue dress was a slightly plump abdomen. She wasn’t excessively overweight, but just enough to be noticeable.

Bliss had never been overweight in her life. She was always stick thin.

Releasing a sigh and shoving the thoughts of Bliss away, he propped his boots on the top of the desk and took a book into his lap.

He ran over numbers and salaries for the rest of the day. By the end of it, he had a list of people who had to leave and one of the ones who had to go. It pained him to release some of the cowboys who had families to feed, but it had to be done. He would handle the firing part tomorrow with as much gentleness as he could. Right now, he needed a good nights sleep and to see how the patient was doing.

Walking up to the back door of the main house and entering into the kitchen, Colt smiled at Grace as she was washing the dishes.

“Sit down and tell me how life’s been doing for you,” Grace nodded toward the table.

Colt smiled and put one arm around the older woman. “I wish I could, Grace. Maybe tomorrow. I’ve got to get back to Granny.”

“Oh, that reminds me. There’s a canister of tea in the pantry I wanted to send her. Does she like chamomile?” Grace asked.

Colt nodded with a grin. “She drinks a cup every night.”

“Then grab it for her. It’s on the second shelf in the pantry,” Grace nodded toward a room adjacent to the kitchen.

Colt walked over and grabbed the canister, then stopped in front of the door. “I’m sure she’s thankful to you.”

“It’s my pleasure. You take care of yourself, ya hear?” Grace smiled at him, much like a mother would.