The Storekeeper Read online

  Everything he ordered had to be delivered by rail and loaded onto one of the stage coaches that came to town each week. A few deliveries were late, but most made it within a reasonable time period. Business began to pick up and he settled into a routine. Learning how to schedule better kept the customers happy and increased sales.

  He learned Katie liked horses, so he asked Sam to find him a good one he could train. It gave him a good excuse to spend time with the young girl. Sam agreed to give him a fair deal on a horse and saddle. The blacksmith delivered on his word. When Tom asked the little girl to help him train the horse, her excitement was so overwhelming, Harriet smiled and gave her approval. He also got a lot of help from Sam, whenever Harriet and her daughter were not around to see he did not know as much about horses as he pretended.

  Although he, Harriet, and Katie took their lunches at the hotel, he sat alone at a separate table, while Harriet and Katie dined together. When the widow and daughter left at the end of each work day, he took his evening meal in the hotel dining room, before retreating to his room above the store.

  After making his statement to Harriet about being a man of integrity and having honorable intentions, he felt he needed to refrain from showing any feelings for Harriet and her daughter. Although Harriet appeared to have become comfortable with their business arrangement, she continued to address him as Mr. Carland, and he continued to address her as Mrs. Hamby. Fortunately, for him, another man, a ranch foreman, who had shown an interest in Harriet, had so far gotten none back from her.

  At close of business, he asked to speak to Harriet a moment before she and Katie left for their little place outside of town.

  “I don’t expect many folks to be coming into the store tomorrow, so if you do not mine, I wish for you and Katie to stay home tomorrow.”

  Without asking any questions, Harriet nodded. “Thank you, Mister Carland.”

  He helped her and Katie get into their old tattered buggy pulled by their plow mule. He then untied the reins and handed them to her.

  The following day, the team of horses came lumbering through town pulling a dusty stage coach behind them. Tom left his general merchandise store and hurried down to the stage depot. He arrived to find what appeared to be an upset passenger, dressed in city clothes, having it out with the driver.

  “I’ve got a good mind to report you. You could have killed us all. You scared my wife half to death, when she looked out and saw us barreling toward that cliff.”

  The driver bowed up. “Look mister, I’ve been making this run for more than two years now. It might have looked like we was going over the edge from where you two was sittin’, but there was plenty of room to make that turn from where I was positioned up top. Besides, that route cuts off about two miles. As I recall, when you two boarded the stage, your wife demanded we arrive on time.”

  The man’s wife grabbed her husband’s arm. “Leave the man be, Porter. We have more pressing business to attend to.”

  After the couple walked away, the driver turned around and shook his head.

  “What can I do for you, fella?”

  “Do you have any freight for me?”

  “Oh, Tom, I didn’t recognize you. Say, could you give me a little longer to pay my debt off at the store. Dang eyes is going bad on me. They told me if I don’t get spectacles, I’ll have to stop driving the stage. Can you believe they charge a dollar for those things?”

  “Pay me whenever you can, Hank. I’m not here about your debt.”

  “Oh, right, you said freight.”

  Sure enough, the package he’d ordered from Boston had arrived. He signed for it and headed back to his place of business, hoping he hadn’t kept any customers waiting.

  Upon arrival, he opened the package, and admired it contents.

  Harriet and her daughter entered his store.

  Before she could get close enough to see what he’d been admiring. He rewrapped the package and hid its contents beneath the counter.

  “Why are you here?” He asked, trying not to act startled. “I gave you a day for yourselves.”

  “Katie and I stopped by to see if you planned on coming out to the festivities tomorrow?”

  She was referring to a celebration one of the ranchers was putting together outside of town. The rancher had been a long time friend of Harriet’s late father.

  “Yes, I do intend to be there.” He hoped he didn’t sound too abrupt.

  “I have a birthday tomorrow.” The young girl said.

  He threw his hands out and acted surprised. “Is that what the big celebration is all about?”

  Katie nodded.

  The fact that Harriet had stopped by to find out if he was going to her daughter’s birthday party could mean she had some feelings for him. He sure hoped so, but then again there was the possibility she was just being polite. He tried to look for any indication she might be attracted to him. It was a guessing game from his perspective.

  “Can I ride Lightning on my birthday?” Katie smiled and her eyes widened.

  Harriet’s daughter had taken a liking to his horse, and Lightning had taken a liking to her as well. On a recent occasion, after he felt his horse was well trained enough, he had held the reins and led lightning up and down the street while the young girl sat in the saddle holding onto the saddle horn.

  Harriet placed her hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “Mr. Carland might be traveling by buggy tomorrow.”

  “I hadn’t planned on—” He’d spoken before thinking. Was she hinting at something? “I’m sure the blacksmith would allow me to use a buggy from the stable, if I had a need for one.”

  “Mr. Carland, you better ride your horse. We would not want to disappoint Katie.”

  Women were hard to figure out. He reached for an open jar sitting on the counter and then held it low enough so the widow’s daughter could reach its contents.

  “A sugar stick might hold you over until the party?”

  The girl pulled a piece of candy from the jar. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome young lady.”

  Harriet smiled and grabbed the girl by the hand. “We’ll see you tomorrow afternoon, Mr. Carland. People will start gathering about two o’clock.”

  The next day, Tom closed the entrance doors to his store and hurried toward the end of the street.

  Sam was already sitting atop his horse.

  “Are you leaving now?” Tom asked.

  “Yep, the last buggy load left a half hour ago. Nothin’ going on here. Figured I might as well head out. Your horse is shod and ready to go.”

  “Thanks, Sam.”

  Tom retrieved Lightning from his stall, saddled him, and rode him back to his place of business. He returned to his room above the store to get cleaned up. Satisfied he was presentable; he grabbed the gift for Katie, climbed into the saddle and set out toward the bluffs.

  With time to think, he put it to good use. Should he tell Harriet and Katie how he felt about them? Or should he keep waiting, until he was sure Harriet had similar feelings for him? She was four years older than him. He hoped that didn’t matter to her. It sure didn’t to him. He was making a fair living from the store and could provide for a family of three. Heck, if the town kept growing, he might even make enough to build a house later on.

  Lightning shook his head and tried to canter, but he brought the horse back to a trot. There was plenty of time to get there. He leaned forward and patted Lightning on the neck.

  “You want to run don’t you? Well, not today. Not in these fancy clothes.”

  Gazing up at the sky in front of him, he realized how something bad happening in his life had made things turn out better for him. Less than a year earlier, he felt his future was staying in the East, where the large cities were. Then he received that message from his uncle. It sure had changed his life. So far, it appeared to be for the better. He no longer missed the big city life, and was willing to stay in Rock Gulch for as long as he thought he had a chance with Harriet an
d Katie.

  He eased down from the saddle and left his horse untied to graze on the grass behind the buggies and wagons. It appeared most of the residents of Rock Gulch had gathered west of town for the Saturday afternoon picnic and birthday celebration.

  With the new dress for Katie, wrapped in paper and secured under one arm, he strolled between two large wagons. Kids were running and playing. Men and women were standing around talking and laughing. A few men were tossing horse shoes at a stake that had been driven into the ground.

  The smell of food cooking made him tip his hat back and quicken his pace. He hoped Harriet might take notice of the new outfit he’d received from New York. He approached a group of people standing around talking.

  Dirk Thurman pointed his finger at him.

  “Would you look at that?” Thurman said, raising his voice above the chatter.

  The crowd hushed, parted, and turned to stare.

  “Storekeeper, those fancy new clothes ain’t gonna get you no mind from Harriet.”

  Tom stopped and gazed at the man who had made the comment. Maybe the eastern suit he’d gotten for himself hadn’t been a good idea.

  Thurman had made it known around town he wanted to court Harriet, but she had shown little interest in the ranch foreman, other than displaying good manners when he spoke to her. That hadn’t stopped Thurman from trying to keep any other suitors away from her. He decided to ignore Dirk’s comment and focus on the birthday girl.

  Katie sat in the in the saddle on Thurman’s horse. She waved at him.

  “Hi, Mr. Carland.”

  “Happy birthday.” He waved back at her.

  Thurman stood next to his stallion holding the reins. His face turned red.

  “Keep your distance from them, Carland, if you know what’s good for you.

  Dirk was making it clear he would not tolerate any competition, when it came to getting Harriet and her daughter’s attention.

  “Can I ride Lightning?” Katie asked, too young to realize she was making things worse.

  “I don’t see why not,” Tom replied.

  She reached her hands out for Thurman to help her off of his horse.

  Instead of getting her down from the saddle, Dirk threw the reins to the ground.

  “I’m going to teach you to mind your own business, storekeeper.”

  Thurman was a strapping six-foot-four and outweighed him by a good sixty pounds, but Tom stood his ground, preparing to take on the husky ranch foreman, even if it meant taking a beating. He wasn’t about to back down in front of the town’s folks, especially, Harriet.

  The blacksmith grabbed Thurman by the arm.

  “Leave Tom be, Dirk. There’s no cause for any trouble today.”

  “Not till I’m finished with him.” Thurman yanked his arm away so hard his hand slapped the horse.

  The stallion bolted and took off with Katie holding on to the saddle horn with both hands. The girl screamed. The horse galloped in the direction of the cliffs that overlooked Dry Canyon.

  Several men scrambled for their horses.

  Tom tossed the package to the ground, stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled. Lightning galloped to his side. Tom placed a foot in the stirrup, swung into the saddle, and gave chase.

  Lightning’s nostrils flared and his hooves pounded the ground faster and faster as if the horse knew what was at stake. He passed the other horses and began closing the gap behind Thurman’s stallion, but they were running out of ground as they bore down on the edge of the cliff. With a two hundred foot drop off, the canyon floor below meant certain death for Katie, if he couldn’t stop Thurman’s horse in time.

  Lightning’s head pulled up alongside Katie’s left leg.

  With ground running out, he wouldn’t have enough time to reach the station’s reins.

  “Give me your hand,” Tom yelled.

  She glanced to her side and reached her left hand toward him.

  He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to his side, before yanking back on Lightning’s reins.

  Lightning came to a stop, his front hooves inches from the cliff’s edge.

  Dirk’s stallion bolted, but couldn’t stop in time and plummeted to its death.

  Returning to the camp site with Katie clinging to him, Harriet ran to her daughter.

  A crowd formed around Tom, Harriet, and Katie.

  Words of praise rang out from the other men who had given chase. A ranch hand who had worked with Harriet’s late father turned to her.

  “That was bravest thing I ever saw. I thought both of ‘em was gonners.”

  The ranch owner responsible for paying for the celebration fired his gruff foreman the following day. Word spread and Thurman was treated like a leper by almost everyone in the area. Unable to get any type of work around Rock Gulch, Dirk tied a bedroll to a cheap saddle and rode out of town on a ten dollar nag.

  Two months later, on a Saturday evening, near close of business, with only the three of them in the store, Tom made a decision.

  “Harriet, there’s something I’ve wanted to ask you for some time now.”

  Appearing overtaken with surprise, she released a new pair of boots she had picked out for Katie, and let them drop to the floor. She pulled her daughter to her side.

  Katie stared up at her mother. “What’s wrong, Momma.”

  “I think Mr. Carland wants to ask me to marry him.”

  The little girl smiled and stared at him, “Are you?”

  He gazed at Harriet. “How did you know?”

  “Mr. Carland, you have a lot to learn about women.”

  “Does that mean you’d consider a proposal of marriage?”

  “Only, if it is from you, Mr. Carland.”

  Six months later, after a proper courtship, Tom and Harriet were married. Everyone in town showed up for the wedding.

  Wearing a pair of spectacles, the stage coach driver, assisted the passengers with their luggage. He then drove the newlyweds and Katie some forty miles to the east, where they boarded a train to New York City. After spending a week in the big city, all three agreed their future was out west in Rock Gulch.

  Three years later, Tom and Harriet established the first bank in town. While Tom ran the bank, Harriet took over running the general store. Katie learned to ride Lightning without any assistance from Tom, but he wasn’t sad for long. Their two-old-son would be sitting in the saddle soon enough.

  # # #

  Thank you for reading THE STOREKEEPER. I hope you enjoyed this short story and will consider leaving a reader rating and a short review. A few words from you, describing what you thought about the story, helps me learn what readers like or dislike about my stories. Reviews and ratings also help other potential readers make story selections.

  About the Author: Jim Davis writes mystery/suspense/thriller novels, romance, humor, and short stories. He lives with his wife in the Boston Mountains.

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  Other eBooks by this author:

  Portrait of Conspiracy

  As Tough As They Come

  A Woman To Die For

  Murder And Mayham

  The Ghost of Leonard Korn

  No Tears For Jack

  The Durley Incident

  Prom Friday

  Portrait of Conspiracy

  ( Excerpt: The First 3 Chapters )

  Chapter 1

  A fist sized lump formed in Philip’s throat when his eyes confirmed what his heart wanted to believe. Light reflected off the glossy surface of the art gallery brochure. An adorable little girl, a child he had never seen, gazed at her mother. The name of the painting, My Sweet Beautiful Rachel, erased any remaining doubt.

&n
bsp; Renée is alive. We have a daughter.

  The jet engine’s pitch changed and the plane began its descent toward Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Philip turned toward the young woman seated to his right. Through the window, a cloud passed in the distance. Wearing white jeans, a pink Hard Rock Café T-shirt, and matching flip-flops, he guessed her to be a college student returning home for a summer break.

  Her hand flipped through pages of Cruising World, the magazine he had purchased at La Guardia before boarding the plane. Appearing to be oblivious to his emotional reaction, he raised the brochure and asked, “Where did you get this?”

  She looked up from the magazine and said, “I’m not sure,” before lowering her head again.

  Not sure?

  “Please, I hate to trouble you, but it’s important.”

  She glanced out the window before turning her head toward him. “I took a shortcut through one of those big hotels with entrances on two different streets. Several pamphlets and brochures were in a rack. I liked the picture on that one, so I grabbed it on my way out. Sorry, mister, I don’t remember the name of the hotel.”

  “May I keep it?”

  She flipped through another page. “Sure.”

  He gazed at the portrait. Would it be enough to get the police to reopen the case? No one had been able to find anything, not even her car. All active searches ceased when legitimate private investigators quit taking his money.

  Statistically speaking, his wife was dead. Everyone involved in the case either felt that way or had said as much to him. Why had no one been able to find her? Confronting one possibility he had never considered, he tried to think of anything he had done. If she left voluntarily, why for God’s sake had she gone into hiding and kept his daughter from him? Rachel’s first words, her first steps; he had missed so much. He blinked away tears.