Читать книгу Settling The Score - George McLane Wood - Страница 46

Chapter Nine

That was when Jeff Nelson and Ed White began becoming good friends, some five years back. Ed was a good man; he’d proven to be loyal, predictable, and very methodical. He was a little slow sometimes on certain things, but he was handy and knew lots of practical things that came with being observant, watching what went on around him and picking up easy, simple ways to make things work. Ed was just a good old boy. He had stayed on at the ranch even after Jeff went to jail, and he’d helped Sally with all the ranching chores until Murphy sent his men there to beat Ed badly and run him off. It’d taken Ed a few days to recover from the beating. When Ed could finally sit a horse, he’d ridden back to the ranch intending to help Sally with her chores because he knew that’s what Jeff was expecting from him. Sally made him leave for good because she knew Murphy would have him killed the next time he caught him there.

Then, afterward, Sally wasn’t there anymore, and there was no ranch. So Ed just hung around Jasper while Jeff was in jail, picking up odd jobs, living off the café’s trash can leavings, and keeping the stable cleaned out so he could sleep in the loft. Then out of the blue, Jeff had sent him some money and a letter in the mail by way of the banker saying for him to buy two horses and come meet him at the prison gate and he could have his job back. Ed had hurried and was waiting at the jail when the prison people had let Jeff walked out the gate. Ed’s eyes got teary when he saw his boss coming toward him. Now they rode west and kept riding and walking, mostly walking; they mustn’t lose Ed’s horse, not in this country. The wagon road grew wider. Long ago many wagons had crossed through here, all headed west, into the sun, looking for land. Some found land to keep forever—for their own graves. Others had found land to own, to farm on or grow beef on and grow their children on, before they passed on.

A man was lucky to find a good woman, in this country. Well, Jeff had found his woman! “Oh god, I miss you, Sally. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you,” Jeff murmured. Jeff remembered the first time he’d met Sally. Her papa was the Methodist preacher in Jasper. She was in the store and asked the store clerk for some ribbons, when Jeff went in to pick up his supplies. Jeff smiled and tipped his hat. She smiled back. He couldn’t help noticing she was about the prettiest woman he had ever seen. Where did she come from? He asked Jed, the clerk, after she’d left the store. Jed had told Jeff her name and who she was, and no, she didn’t have a husband as far as he knew. Jeff made a point to watch for her whenever he was in Jasper, and one day, he got his chance to talk to her. That was their beginning. “God, it’s been a long time since I was with a woman.”

“What’s that you said, Jeff?”

“Nothing that would interest you, old friend,” Jeff replied. He was looking far to the west. He squinted and pulled his hat brim down low to rest his eyes from the sun’s glare.