West of Pecos by Ralph Compton

Author:Ralph Compton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group

17

Constance Waldron did not like to impose on people, particularly people she did not know, and she did not know Ruth Kittle that well. When Kit offered to put her daughters and her up in rooms at the rear of the emporium, Constance politely declined. They could make do up in the valley, she said, and would live in a tent until the men returned. But Kit would not hear of it.

“Stay alone up there with just your girls? Didn’t the Comanches and Mort Sayer teach you anything?”

Constance had been offended by the suggestion she could not take care of her own, but before she could defend herself, Tom, who had overheard, surprised her by saying, “I think Kit has the right idea. With Bob gone, there won’t be any men around. You two should stick together so you can look out for one another.”

Just then Bret Adams cleared his throat. “My pa is leavin’ me here to watch over them, Mr. Waldron. I won’t let them come to harm.”

“That’s nice,” Tom said.

There were times, Constance had reflected, when she wished her husband had more tact. The boy was only offering to help and Tom made it sound as if Bret was barely out of diapers. “The girls and I will be fine at the valley. I have your revolver and I can shoot.” Shortly before they left Ohio, Tom had taken her out into the fields and taught her how to load and fire the Starr. He set six bottles up for her at ten paces and she shattered three of them in twelve tries.

“Please, Connie,” Tom said. “I don’t often ask for much but I’m asking now. It would take a great worry off my shoulders.”

It was true. He rarely asked a favor. So Constance felt compelled to agree. But now, with the men gone over a month, she yearned more and more for the green valley that would soon be their new home.

Kit was dusting shelves in the dry goods section when Constance came down the narrow hallway from the back. “Have you seen that youngest of yours?” Kit asked. “She promised to give me a hand cleaning and she’s nowhere around.”

“Sally is probably off with the others,” Constance said. Her girls and the Adams boys had been spending a lot of time together, a circumstance with which she was not entirely happy in light of Heather’s continued interest in Bret.

“Can I ask you a question?” Kit said. “Be honest. Do you like me?”

“I beg your pardon?”

Kit turned from the shelves. “Ever since the men left, you’ve clammed up. You’re not as friendly as you used to be. I have the impression you don’t care for me much and I’d like to know what I did to cause it. I was hoping we would be friends for a long time to come.”

“It’s not you,” Constance said. “It’s this whole situation. I don’t feel comfortable, and I guess it shows.”

“I’ve done all I can to make you feel at ease.

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