Redemption

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Jessie tried to hold back a smile as Doc hummed the tune to an old cowboy song beside her. The man always had a song of some kind in his head.

“How long have you been playing music, Doc?” she asked.

Doc looked over at her. “Since I was a wee little feller, I guess. My old man had a knack for the strings, and I guess he sorta passed it on to me.”

“Don’t get the wrong idea, though,” Colt spoke up on the other side of her. “It wasn’t always what we considered music, but he’s gotten real good a plucking those strings, hasn’t he?”

Jessie smiled; proud that Colt had paid his friend a substantial compliment. “That he has,” she agreed.

Doc waved their compliments off with a wave of his hand, his face turning a little red at the direction the conversation was going.

He wasn’t an overly handsome man, with his skin tanned to the consistency of leather and his brown hair bleached by the sun, but he had a kind heart behind boyishly shiny brown eyes. To Jessie, an outward appearance meant nothing if the person behind the face was ugly. In her eyes, Doc was an attractive man who would someday need a good woman by his side. He was only about a year or two older than Colt, so he still had a few years left to sweep a young lady off her feet. Too bad she hadn’t heard of a single female around the Dottie Belle Ranch beside the aging cook.

However, she knew quite a few women back in South Carolina whom she would love to introduce to the likes of Doc Dawson.

“What’re you grinning about over there?” Colt’s voice broke through her thoughts.

She glanced over at him. “Just thinking, is all.”

“Mmm, that’s what scares me,” Colt teased with a smile.

She laughed. “Don’t worry, I wasn’t devising an evil plan or anything.”

At least not yet.

“Psh, I don’t believe it for a second.” Colt shook his head.

“Do you play any instruments, Miss Jessie?” Doc asked.

Jessie shifted her gaze to the man. “I play a little piano, but I’m afraid that it’s not worth hearing at the moment.”

“Eh, you’ll get better,” Doc nodded.

“My mother is teaching me. Daddy usually heads upstairs while Jake goes hunting when the time for lessons comes around.” Jessie smiled fondly at the memory of her family.

Doc smiled. “I’m sure you’re not that bad.”

“No really,” Jessie nodded. “I scare away the neighbor’s cat.”
Colt chuckled to her left and Jessie smiled.

A longing settled over her - a longing to see her family and know that they were okay, to let them know that she was okay.

She knew they were probably worried sick about her. She just hoped that they knew she was cared for… somehow.

*****

Myra looked at her attire in the mirror. Her riding outfit hadn’t been used in a while, but that was all about to change. Adam had permanently given up the search for her daughter, and she wasn’t about to let that happen. Jacob was equally angry, but he was still thinking about the next course of action while she was planning to not lose any time getting out to New Mexico herself.

“What are you doing, woman?”

Myra spun around at the sound of her husband’s voice.

“I… um… I’m going to search for our daughter myself,” She turned to the doorway and walked out, hearing his footsteps behind her.