Serial Western Romance Novel – Page 3

Go West~Chapter 47

Go West

By DiVoran Lites

Chapter Forty Seven

Ellie

The day after the musicale, Ellie went to the kitchen to help Molly with breakfast. She had awakened late and missed coffee with Aldon.

“Where is Aldon?” she asked Molly, who was scrubbing the top of the Acme stove with great fervor.

“I haven’t seen him this morning. Chief is gone, so I suppose he’s gone, too.” Molly words came crisp and cut off.

“Maybe he’s gone for Sherriff Oates.” Ellie said.

“Why would he do that?” Molly went on working and did not turn to look at her. Ellie realized that the older woman was annoyed.

“Oh, he didn’t tell you?”

“There was no time for him to tell me anything. He took out of here right after the refreshments, last night.” Getting down on one knee, Molly applied her energy to something in the oven.

“What’s wrong? Didn’t you sleep well?” Ellie asked.

“You’ll have to ask Aldon.” Molly got up and washed the rag in a bowl of ammonia. “It ain’t none of my business.”

“Molly, please. I can’t ask him anything if he’s not here.”

“We saw you last night.” Molly whirled to face Ellie, rested her fists on her hips with the rag hanging in her fist, glared.

“Yes?” Ellie took a deep breath to slow her racing heart, but she knew what Molly was getting at. She and Enrico had been seen.

“Me and Aldon saw you spooning with Enrico on the back porch.”

“Spooning? Ellie!” Grandmother came in through the swinging door. “How could you. Your mother and I taught you better.”

“You’re a real packet, Missy.” Molly, ignored Hester, and glared straight into Ellie’s eyes. “You and Enrico smooching on the porch.”

“I can only imagine what you saw.” Ellie conceded but I do know what you’re talking about.

“For your information, young lady, we don’t like such goings on in this house.” Molly’s mouth looked like a cinched up purse.

“Enrico…” Ellie paused searching for the right words. “…was trying something with me.”

“A likely story!” said Molly. “I’ve seen you two laughing and flirting.”

“What did you think you saw” Ellie motioned for her grandmother to come to her side and put her arm around the portly waist.

“I don’t think, I know what I saw,” Molly folded her arms over her chest still holding the rag, and ready for battle. “You were all cozy against the coats and…and… I can’t say any more.”

“You didn’t see what happened next.” Ellie’s lips felt dry. Please, Lord, help me explain without shocking them.

“Aldon saw it too, that’s probably why he took off without telling anyone where he was going.” Molly sniffed as if she smelled something bad.

“You should have watched a little longer.” Ellie said.

“So, you think I’m a nosy-parker, do you?”

“No, I think you’re a good woman trying to protect you family.” Ellie didn’t want to shock the two older women, but she didn’t know how to defend herself without telling the truth.

“He was forcing me against the coats. If you had watched for a few more seconds you would have seen me knee him,” said Ellie.

“You mean you kicked him where he lives?” Molly’s mouth opened and closed, her eyes grew large. After a short pause, a small, “ha,” escaped and she began to laugh in little bursts as if she were trying to hold back. “You didn’t want anything to do with him?”

“That’s what they taught us in the ambulance corps where we worked with all kinds of men.” Ellie smiled at Molly’s amusement.

“So the young whippersnapper finally got his comeuppance? Did you hurt him good?” Molly said relishing each word.

“I was looking for Aldon when Enrico grabbed me and shoved me against the coats.”

“I see,” Molly nodded slowly. Ellie knew Molly didn’t believe in saying sorry, but that was all right as long as they could remain friends.

“You ought to be ashamed of yourself for thinking my Ellie would spoon with anyone.” Now Grandmother Hester changed sides to defend her granddaughter.

“Yes, ma’am.” Molly patted Ellie’s shoulder thoughtfully. “I understand now.”

“You did nothing wrong, dear,” Grandmother said.

“I’m going up to the pond, and see if I can find him,” Ellie nodded. “Grandmother, will you ask Mother to help Molly cook breakfast?” Hester nodded and at the same time, Lia came into the kitchen.

“I’m going with you,” said Lia.

“No! Why?”

“Because I have to tell him something,” she said.

“I want to go alone.” Ellie said in a voice that she hoped would hold Lia off.

“I’m tired,” Grandmother said. “I’ll send your mother down.” She left the room walking slowly and Ellie saw in a flash that Grandmother was going to need some extra care in the years to come. When had she grown so old? Her hair was white, her face lined, and her shoulders stooped. I’ll have to think about all that later, she thought. Right now I’m going to find Aldon.

DiVoran’s Promise Posters, Paintings from Go West as well as other art can be purchased as note cards and framable art

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Go West~Chapter 46

Chapter 46 on Track

Go West

by DiVoran Lites

Chapter Forty Six

Aldon

When Aldon realized he was shivering, he thought he’d better get the quilt over his legs. He found the board Nancy used to cut food on and set himself up on the cot. In a few moments warmth crept into his body and he began writing his letter to God.

Dear Heavenly Father,

The line-cabin is chilly, but I don’t mean to complain. I came away so fast after seeing Ellie and Enrico that I forgot my jacket, my bedroll, and my sidearm. When Molly took me to see what was going on between the two of them, she had my best interests at heart, but, Lord, I wish I’d never seen it. Sir, now that I have a chance to start thinking instead of only reacting, I know I’m as desperate as a misused bronc and as unseeing as a newborn kitten. I need your help.

As you know, heavenly father, we got a letter from Bill that told us he was heading home. I’m sure you know that he has a wife and that he has been married for almost a year. I wish I had known he’d be here to take care of the ranch, Nancy and Molly. I could have asked Ellie to marry me. I could have gone to California and got a job as wrangler with the movies. It’s all too late. Ellie will be gone. Joe and Dieter will marry, but I’ll be alone for the rest of my life. I should have told Ellie that I love her. I don’t care if she is a mehanician from back East, a flapper, or a society lady. She is smart, kind, loving, and wonderful, and I was a fool to miss my chance with her. Protect her, please, Lord, or Enrico Solano, will break her heart. She doesn’t deserve that. It helps to talk to you. I know you hear, and I know you will answer, thank you.

Now, as always when he was finished telling the Lord how he felt, and asking him for help, he began to feel his spirits lift. A different concern seeped into his mind. He recalled a pastor once quoting someone who said, “Do the next thing.” What was the next thing? Oh, yes, he had to deal with the rustlers. He sat with the pencil in his hand until he could think out a plan. Suddenly the whole story was clear. He jumped up and checked the cabin, then seeing again his letter, picked it up. He turned it over, and read Ellie’s list again. Knowing no one could see him, he lifted it and gently kissed the place where it said, Glacier Lilies. Then as he scanned his own writing, more peace flooded back into his soul. Folding the paper into a small packet, he snapped it into the breast pocket of his shirt where it would be safe. He could read it again if he started to slide into the quicksand of self-pity. He whispered another prayer to the only person in the cabin with him, the Holy Spirit.

He grabbed his hat, and ran out to Chief. He was so embarrassed to see that he had left him saddled and uncombed, that he promised him to ride gently and to dish out some extra oats when they got to town

As he rode he tried to put thoughts of Ellie out of his mind. One thing he did know, though: he still loved her. But I also know, Lord, that it won’t do any good to try to hang on to her, even in my mind. She has made her choice and I have to live with it.

His God assignment, as he saw it, became more urgent as he headed down the mountain. He must see Sheriff Oates to talk before someone from the round-up, probably Dieter, got on the party line and told the whole valley about the attack. Aldon knew the men who lived here, and knew they’d deal harshly with the young rustlers. They would, without thought or conscience, become outlaws to protect their livelihood.

He and Chief picked their way down the upper slopes and onto the road past the ranch. The sun had begun its slow ascent over the peaks but as he passed the ranch, he knew he didn’t want to wake anyone. Maybe Ellie was already in the kitchen, but he wasn’t ready to see her, so instead of stopping for an automobile, he urged Chief who was acting frisky to move past the ranch at a canter.

He rode through the sleeping town to the church where Quentin Rudd had recently risen from his bed. The pastor invited Aldon to stay for breakfast, but all he’d come for was to tell him where he’d be in case anyone was looking for him.

When he stopped at the Fitzgeralds, he asked Mr. Fitzgerald to take Chief to the livery, unsaddle him and comb him down. He walked the few blocks to the railroad station and boarded the train when it came. He slept a little. When the train pulled into the Artesia station, he got down. Soon he was on the main street of Artesia, leaning against the hitching post across the street from the Sheriff’s office, waiting for Oates to come down and unlock the door.

DiVoran’s Promise Posters, Paintings from Go West as well as other art can be purchased as note cards and framable art

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Go West~Chapter 45

Go West

by DiVoran Lites

Chapter Forty-five

Aldon

Everyone settled in as Enrico and Lia began to sing an aria, which Aldon thought sounded like cats fighting. When he and Ellie played music they had created, however, he knew that his heart was going to burst right out of his body.

Nancy had a piano piece, though none of the other, older folks participated. The German girls and the two-man, oomph band drew raves of applause and laughter as they played, “She’s too Fat For Me,” an old traditional they all knew and thought was hilariously funny.

Some of the people filed into the kitchen, but Aldon and Ellie were inundated with compliments and handshakes. Eventually, more people stepped between them, separating them until they were no longer in the same room. After seeing that all the chairs had been replaced, Aldon went looking for Ellie, but he found Molly instead. She lay in wait in the hallway and when she saw him, she motioned for him to follow her to the door between the kitchen and the back porch. She pointed at the window.

Aldon stared at a scene that he had never expected to witness. There, pressed against the coats, hanging from their pegs, stood Ellie with Enrico leaning against her and holding her wrists above her head. Ellie stood as still as a rabbit with her eyes closed tight. At the sight Aldon turned and made his way out the front door without hesitating or looking back.

The next thing he knew, he was on Chief, urging him to run, which his obedient horse was happy to do. They scrambled up the mountainside until it got so steep that Chief had to slow down. Aldon wanted to ride forever, trying to cool the angry fever inside, but he calmed himself enough to realize he could ride the horse to death. When they arrived at the cabin, he tied Chief to the porch rail and strode through the front door, slamming it behind him.

It was now two A. M. and the night was so dark he wondered why he hadn’t fallen off the shelf road or got stuck in a gully on his way here. He knew he had no chance of sleeping, so he found matches in a tobacco tin, struck one, turned up the wick on the kerosene lamp and lit it. As he laid the King Albert container on the table, he wondered how long it would be before the pack-rats returned and stole it. Was there no safety for anything or anyone? He sat at the table with his head in his hands. Then looking up he saw the Bible tucked under a shelf, picked it up, and opened it to the middle. He began to read Psalm 51.

“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin,” He paused, calmer now, knowing His heavenly Father was near. Suddenly he recalled Pastor Rudd’s suggestion that people who had something on their minds could write letters to God, who is always waiting to hear from them. That’s it, Aldon thought who better to talk to than my heavenly Father?

He opened a drawer again and found a piece of scratch paper and a stub of pencil. One side of the paper had a list on it. He recognized the writing immediately. It was Ellie’s. She had written the names of the wildflowers he had told her about at round-up: Glacier Lily, which they’d seen growing near an old snowdrift, Monument Plant, that grew only in moist years and then waited between twenty and sixty years for a full rainy season to bloom again. She had listed lemon, rose, and red Indian Paintbrush. She had written down everything he had told her! He felt a tightness in his shoulders as the anger boiled again. Why did she write it all down as if she cared when all the time she planned to run away with Enrico?

Go West~Chapter 44

Go West

by DiVoran Lites

Chapter Forty Four

Aldon

Now that they were home from round-up, it was time for Signora Solano’s musicale. While the ladies primped, Aldon asked Ellie’s grandfather to help take the dining room and kitchen chairs into the big front parlor. Seraphina, who had been roaming the house looking for something to do, asked if she, and the kitten she clutched to her chest, could help. Aldon glanced at the older man who grinned and winked. Aldon could read Mr. Morgan’s heart then, and knew he was remembering his granddaughter’s childhood.

“Sure you can. Dust with this.” Mr. Morgan took a large white handkerchief from his pocket and gave it to Seraphina, who put the kitten down and began to run the cloth over the baseboards. The kitten, doing his part, crouched, wiggled, and pounced making Seraphina’s giggles tinkle through the room like a merry brook.

Loud voices alerted Aldon that his cousins had arrived with Eva and Olga from town. When he heard the chiming of the young women against the roar of the men, he thought back to two small pigtailed girls arriving for the beginning of school not knowing how to speak English. As he strode to the back door to greet them all, he recalled that the girls had worn home-made traditional German costumes for school plays. They’re wearing them still he thought as he approached. But bigger sizes and more filled out. From the way the girls clung to Dieter’s and Joe’s arms, Aldon sensed that their bachelor days were limited. Instead of teasing with a knowing look, he stifled his envy.

Dieter, who was as tall as Aldon and much beefier, jammed his shoulder against his cousin’s, delighting in putting him off balance so he’d have to take a step. Dieter had been doing that since they were ten years old and Aldon had never thought it funny.

“Did you call Sheriff Oates?” Dieter asked.

“Come out here, for a minute,” said Aldon knowing there would be no talking to the boys as long as they were showing off in front of the girls. Joe followed telling his date to go on in and take his tuba with her. She hefted it willingly, as a stout housewife would hoist a basket of laundry.

The men followed Aldon to the barn where he turned suddenly and said, “I wish you’d keep your mouth shut, for once.”

“What are you goin’ on about? We got to bring in the Sheriff or get up a posse to go up the mountain after them squatters. Somebody coulda got hurt, plus they’re don’t you know they’re the ones what stole those five cattle we’re missing.” Dieter always spoke his mind. Aldon only hoped none of the other men would hear him. If they did, and formed a posse, he could see a lynching in the future.

“Yeah,” said Joe. “We got to do somethin’ ”

“Okay, here’s what I’ve been thinking,” said Aldon. “Number one, we can’t do anything about finding those fellows in the dark. Number two, they aren’t going anywhere; they’re not what you’d call adventuresome types. They’ve been on that mountain their whole lives, I doubt if they’d know how to read a map or buy a train ticket.”

“We goin’let them go?” Joe asked.

“No, I’ve already told you, we’ll let the sheriff deal with it. We are not going outside the law and we’re not going to tell anyone. You got that? So don’t’ say another word about it.” He felt better after making sure they wouldn’t stir up trouble he wasn’t ready to handle. To change the subject he asked where they had found the tuba and the accordion they had brought.”

“Ma took it in her head to clean the attic and when she found the instruments, she told us to get rid of them, but instead we fixed them up. We had to order some new bellows ‘cause the mice had been at them, but then we didn’t have no trouble putting them back together.”

As they went through the kitchen and into the front parlor, Aldon wondered where Ellie was. He hoped she was all right and that she would be down soon. He tried never to worry, but the thought that she was leaving dug worry holes in his brain. Knowing nothing in life would ever compare with the simple happiness of being in her company, he was overwhelmed with grief and an awful helplessness.

Finished with their conversation they went back to the parlor where last-minute practicing and tuning of instruments were almost deafening. As Mrs. Fitzgerald and her son, Kenny, settled themselves at the piano the room grew still. Coleen and Kenny both played by ear, and they had practiced together most of the boy’s life. Their duets were now the sensation of Clifton. When they began the lively, “By the Sea,” everyone began to clap.

Ellie came in as the piece ended and Aldon, who had been standing by the piano checking out the crowd, rushed over to greet her. He wanted to hug her, but didn’t dare for fear that she would be angry with him for making another scene.

DiVoran’s Promise Posters, Paintings from Go West as well as other art can be purchased as note cards and framable art

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