Give My All to Jessie (Third in Outlaw Series)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Five

Langley traveled alone for weeks. A little more than two weeks after leaving Jessie at Grimms Cross, he was nearly through the Colorado Territory. He'd been lucky, he supposed. There had been no Indians, no gangs, no snakes and no danger.

It had been a long, boring and uneventful trip—maybe he wasn't so lucky.

He'd had plenty of time to think. Plenty of time to look to his right and miss the sight of Jessie riding beside him. Her gold-streaked hair would be shimmering in the sun and she'd have that teasing smile on her face as she goaded him about his love of reading, or his politeness.

That woman had ripped his poor heart clean out of his chest and stomped it into the ground. Langley knew good and well that he'd never get it put back together as good as it had been before Jessie had come along. He'd never be over her.

Langley was running low on faith, hope, food and daylight one cool late September evening when he saw chimney smoke in the distance. He hoped it was a homestead, and he hoped even more than whoever lived there would allow him to sleep in the barn and leave with a full stomach.

He'd been living off jerked beef, hardtack and the occasional rabbit for a while and he was ready for some real food.

Langley rode over a small rise and saw a house and barn come into view. It was little more than a rundown shack and the barn was a bit rickety but Langley liked it. It reminded him of the home he and his mama had shared in Louisiana. There was a garden plot behind the house and while it had already been harvested, Langley thought it looked like they'd grown quite a bit. It made him wonder how the wheat and barley crops had done back home.

He rode toward the house and was within calling distance when a woman stepped onto the porch with a broom in her hands. She was tall for a woman and large bodied beneath her worn pale blue gingham dress and white apron. She had pale skin and her brown hair was pulled back tightly in a bun.

From this distance, she appeared to be around his pa or Uncle Jeremiah's age. Thinking about Jeremiah put a sour taste in Jeremiah's stomach so he quickly dismissed those thoughts.

"Hello ma'am," Langley called out.

The woman looked up with surprise. "Well, hello sir. How can I help you?" she asked, leaning against her broom.

Langley got down from his horse and put his hat in his hands. "My name is Langley, ma'am. I've been traveling for a couple of weeks on my way home to the Dakota's. I sure could use a barn for my horse and I to sleep in and a good meal if you can spare it."

"Of course, I have both," she assured him, smiling warmly as her silver eyes sparkled. "But there is a town only about an hour away in that direction and they'll have nicer accommodations."

Langley sighed. "If it's all the same to you, ma'am, I'm not feeling up to a trip to town just now. I've got money and I'd pay you for your hospitality."

The woman waved his hand to dismiss his words even as he spoke. "Nonsense. Go put your horse in the barn and then come on in the house and we'll scrounge you up something to eat."

Langley watched her disappear into the house. He led his gelding to the barn and got the horse comfortable for the night, giving him fresh hay and feed.

Langley walked back out into the late afternoon sun. Days were getting shorter and the nights cooler as October neared. Langley stepped onto the porch and knocked on the door.

"Come on in, honey. Surely you don't plan on standing on that porch all night," the woman called.

Langley stepped inside and took in the sight of the cozy one room cabin. There were plenty of feminine touches with the colorful afghans and quilts draped over the worn furniture.