Manitou Springs by Claudia Hall Christian

Author:Claudia Hall Christian
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: family drama, serial fiction, intense, denver, strong female character, denver cereal
Publisher: Cook Street Publishing [email protected]

Driving Heather’s Subaru, Blane pulled into the Castle parking lot to find Sam and Delphie waiting for him. Sam got in the front seat, and Delphie sat behind Blane in the passenger seat. Blane scowled at Sam, and Sam shrugged. Blane nodded.

Blane got out of the car and opened the door to the car. Delphie gasped in terror and leaned back. Blane grabbed her arms and pulled her from the car. Blane hugged her tight. Delphie started to sob. Blane held on until she was able to breathe again. Without saying a word, he helped her back into the car and he got in to the driver’s seat. He started the car and they drove out of the parking lot.

“Where to?” Blane asked.

“Turn right on Colfax,” Sam said, his voice choked with emotion.

Blane looked at him.

“You’re just . . .” Sam sniffed.

Blane gave him a soft smile and he started down Colfax. Without asking, he stopped at Voodoo Donuts for sustenance and coffee. They drank coffee and ate buttermilk bars. By the time they’d reached 6th Avenue, Delphie had recovered herself. She moved to the middle seat so that she could chat with Sam and Blane.

They took the I-70 far up into the mountains and turned off onto CO-91. They passed the summer bare Copper Mountain Ski resort and drove to I-24. They passed the turn off to Ski Cooper and the Colorado Trail. When they reached the edge of town, Delphie leaned forward to talk.

“We should probably prepare you,” Delphie said.

“For what?” Blane asked.

“Well . . .” Delphie started. She looked at Sam. “Evergreen Cemetery is an old cemetery. There are graves dating back to the 1870s.”

“My family has been in Leadville basically forever,” Sam said. “We have a family plot there. I buried your father there.”

“His entire family is there,” Delphie said. “Jake’s been here only once. The place drives him crazy because . . . uh, there are so many souls wandering around — Indian hunters, the ten men from the Avalanche . . .”

“Miners from the Homestake,” Sam said. “A hundred men died there. Only ten were buried at Evergreen Cemetery.”

“John Telfer’s there,” Delphie said.

“Killed in the Spanish-American war,” Sam said.

“Why him?” Blane asked.

“His family hermetically sealed him in a coffin with a glass top,” Delphie said. “It was open to the public until someone’s scumbag brothers vandalized the site.”

“That would be my brothers,” Sam said.

“Telfer’s always wandering around,” Delphie said. “You know how Jake won’t waste his living time on the dead?”

“Uh huh,” Blane said.

“He got that from old John Telfer,” Delphie said.

“Was it Telfer?” Sam asked. “I thought it was that Sheriff.”

“Marshall George O’Conner?” Delphie asked. “Maybe. The Marshall was killed by the deputy he was going to fire.”

“Another relative?” Blane asked Sam.

“Surprisingly, no,” Sam said, with a shake of his head and a laugh.

“James Bloodworth,” Delphie said with a nod.

“Will Mr. James Bloodworth be there?” Blane asked.

“Deputy,” Delphie said. “He wasn’t fired yet. And, no, he’s not there.”

“Would you like to stop and get something to eat?” Sam asked.

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