"Idiot."
I should have given Elizabeth a proper kiss. Knowing Mrs. Harper was right there had kept me from acting as I might otherwise have been inclined. Regret followed me all the way home. I would have to think of some way to make amends the next time I saw her.
Now that I had met her, I wasn't sure what I was expecting. Without a doubt, Elizabeth Garrison had exceeded anything I could have imagined. She was even more charming in person than she had been on paper, and she certainly had spunk!
Mrs. Royal had been the only other person to defend me while I was in person to hear it. It was both embarrassing and reassuring for me to just sit while a beautiful woman gave Jones what-for! The question was if it would do any good or just cause more trouble.
There was a sadness in her eyes when Elizabeth smiled, and I had to remember that she had just suffered the loss of her mother. Not to mention leaving behind friends and family to join me. We would take as much time as we needed to decide if we suited each other.
She had listened to my tale of coming west with interest. Maybe since she hadn't had a similar journey, as many of my neighbors had made, she didn't find it boring.
All these thoughts went round and round my mind as I drove onto my property. The sight of an unfamiliar horse standing in front of my porch set me on edge. I brought the wagon to a halt, lowering my right hand to where my rifle rested under my seat. "Evening," I called out. "Can I help you?"
"Evening," the stranger sitting on my porch steps responded. He raised both his hands as though to show he held no weapon. "I'm not here to cause any trouble, Mr. Coleman."
"How do you know my name?"
"You wrote a letter to the Marshal's office in Cheyenne," he said. "My name is Jack Westler. I'm a US marshal."
The flash of his badge eased some of the tension in my shoulders, but not entirely. "I didn't think my letter would do any good," I said as I climbed down from my wagon. A vague memory flashed through my mind of seeing him climb off the stage after Elizabeth had. "You came in on the stage."
"I did. I would have spoken to you then, but I saw you were meeting a lady." He glanced around. "Family member?"
Why oh why couldn't I keep from blushing like a schoolboy? "Not exactly. She is the lady I intend to marry," I informed him. "She's staying with some of my neighbors, the Harpers, until the preacher comes around."
Marshal Westler nodded. "Congratulations. She was a gracious and charming lady during our journey."
"Thank you. What are you here about?"
"Your letter. You know, you and your town really ought to think about hiring a sheriff," he said as he stood up. He tipped his hat back as he glanced at the setting sun. "A marshal isn't always available to solve problems."
"A sheriff costs money, and we haven't had enough trouble the past few years to warrant that." But I knew he was right. Towns attracted people, and some of those people were not always honest citizens. "You might mention it to someone in town, like Collins at the general store. If you read my letter, you know I'm not well thought of right now and any suggestion from me will be ignored."
He grunted and then looked around the yard. Shrugging my shoulders, I led my team towards the barn. "What, exactly, in my letter brought you here?" I asked over my shoulder.
Marshal Westler followed me. "You said Owen Burns is here."
"Did I? The only Burns I know is Jake Burns and his family." I paused, trying to think back. "His brother is here, but he told me he was called Port. I don't know if that's really his name or not. Why? Is he some kind of criminal?"
"Owen Porter Burns is wanted in connection with a bank robbery in Cheyenne a few months back. A man was killed in the robbery. We knew he'd headed north, but lost his trail. Your letter has been the first we've heard of him."
A chill went down my spine. "Well." I cleared my throat. "I suppose that explains why he seems so amenable to shooting me in the back."
"Have you seen him?"
"Not in person. And I can't even swear it was him who shot at me, but given everything that has happened, I assume it was him," I added, for the sake of being completely honest. "I'm sorry. I don't know more than that."
"No. I suppose it was a long shot that you would be around them, given what you said in your letter."
Inside the barn, I began to remove the harnesses. "The evening I was almost shot was the first time I'd seen Jake Burns. I'd gone to his place to resolve this misunderstanding that has been going around, but his wife threatened to shoot me for trespassing."
"Tell me about Owen Burns."
While I put my horses away, I told the marshal about how the man who was apparently Owen Burns had approached me. It only took a matter of minutes, since the conversation had been brief. Once I was finished, I couldn't tell what the other man was thinking.
"In your letter, you said you'd done nothing to antagonize your neighbors. You're sure about that?"
"It's really stupid," I warned him before I explained just what had happened over the summer. To his credit, Marshal Westler didn't bat an eye. "I could understand if they were disappointed and angry, but they've ruined my reputation. I can hardly go into town anymore."
"I can imagine." Marshal Westler leaned against the barn door. "There's few people who would take kindly to a man taking advantage of a woman, let alone a teenage girl. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who would protest such a man being hanged for his crime."
A shiver of alarm went down my spine. "I didn't take advantage of anyone!"
He waved away my protestation. "Your problem is you can't prove it."
It was such an obvious statement that I didn't make a response. I knew there was no proof I could bring forward that would convince anyone. It was my word against that of Miss Burns.
And it had already been made clear that my word was worth mud.
"What kind of reception do you think I would get if I rode out to the Burns' place this evening?"
He wouldn't be that stupid, would he? "I think it highly likely that you would get shot for your trouble," I said honestly. "When I went there, all I wanted was to get an explanation for what they had been saying about me. Mrs. Burns was more than willing to shoot me out of the saddle. If you go there intending to arrest Burns' brother..."
I let my voice trail away. If he didn't come to the same conclusion as I did, then that didn't speak much for his intelligence.
"True," Marshal Westler said, heaving a sigh. "It can never be straightforward, can it?"
Was that a rhetorical question, or did he expect me to answer? I offered my opinion either way.
"I thought there was some misunderstanding that had happened when I first heard about it. You know, someone simply misheard one word and then a mountain was made of a molehill. I was not expecting to have almost all of my neighbors turned against me."
The man grunted. "Well, I'm afraid I can't do anything about that."
"Well, I had to try," I said with a shrug. "Any advice you can give me?"
"Keep your head down and avoid them."
"Yeah, I've been doing that, and they tried to shoot me in the back." I couldn't keep from snapping, though I knew it wasn't his fault. "I'm sorry. This whole thing has had me tied up in knots. There doesn't seem to be any right way to handle it."
Again, he just grunted to acknowledge me. "Well, I guess I better head out. There's no hotel here? Any boarding house?"
"I'm afraid not. We're barely big enough to be called a town, you know." Holding back a sigh, I left the stall. "You can stay with me. Unless you prefer to sleep out under the stars."
"I was prepared to, but I'll take you up on your offer. I appreciate it. Can I bunk down my horse?"
"Sure. I can make room."
With a nod, he headed back to where he'd tied his horse. Well, hopefully, he would be happy with eggs and salt pork for dinner because that was all I had in my house.
~*~
It felt unusual to have someone in my house with me. It had been years since I'd shared a home with anyone, let alone a person I had just met. Granted, it was something I would have to become accustomed to since I expected to marry Elizabeth.
To his credit, Marshal Westler was a polite guest. He didn't object to the simple meal that I made and even helped clean up. He unrolled his bedroll in front of the fireplace.
So he had a front-row seat, as it were, when a gunshot rang out and the glass of one of my few windows shattered. The sound brought me out of sleep and I rolled out of my bed. I heard Marshal Westler scrambling on the floor in the kitchen.
"Stay down," I hissed, though I'm sure he was smart enough to know that. I crawled out to join him. A faint glow came through the windows, probably from a torch or lantern. At least it made it easier to get around.
"Come out, you yellow-bellied rebel! Or I'll burn you out."
The shout came from outside and sent a chill down my spine. Burn me out?
"Who is it?" Marshal Westler asked in a whisper.
"There's only one family that has been angry enough to do this," I answered, grabbing my rifle from the corner where I had left it propped. "I can't say for sure that it's them, but I don't know who else it can be. Burns' brother has been the only one of late that has taken exception to me being from the south."
He muttered something under his breath that sounded a lot like, "You would be, wouldn't you?"
"Get out here, Coleman! Do you want to lose your house this time? Do you think someone will help you rebuild again?"
"Stay down," Westler said, crawling towards the door. "I'll deal with this."
What? "How will you..." I didn't have time to finish my question before he pulled the door open. He kept to the side, clear of any gunfire.
"Who's out there?" he called out.
There was a long pause. "Who are you?"
"The name's Westler," the marshal responded.
Again, there was a pause. "Where's Noah Coleman?" This time, I could recognize Jake Burns' voice. He sounded wary, almost confused, to hear a voice that wasn't mine.
"Don't you know? He was in town earlier to meet his bride to be," Westler informed him. His tone was casual, betraying nothing of the tension he must have been feeling. "I'm just here to look things over for him. What's your business here?"
Was being a good liar part of being a lawman?
For a third time, there was a pause, and I imagined the two brothers were consulting each other on what they should do. Did they dare carry out their plan when there was a witness on hand to reveal it was their acts? Would they try to excuse themselves?
It wasn't long before I had my answer.
"Sorry to have disturbed you," Jake Burns said. There was a laugh that sounded forced. "We have just a kind of rivalry going with Coleman. Just a bunch of fool men up to no good, as my wife would say."
"Well, a man would like to get a decent night's sleep," Westler called back, allowing himself to sound disgruntled. "I'll let Coleman know you stopped by."
"No need for that. When will he be back?"
"Hard telling. His lady seemed set on convincing him to go back east to join her family."
I bristled on Elizabeth's behalf, though I knew Westler had his reasons for spinning this tall tale.
"Look, you best explain this to Coleman when he gets back," Westler continued. "I don't want to be held responsible for a broken window. You know how hard it is to get that out here."
"Sure, sure. Again, sorry to have bothered you."
A moment later, I heard the sound of horses running away, and the glow faded away. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. Westler closed the door and rested against it.
"Well, that was close," he commented.
"That's putting it mildly," I responded, still unsure of what had just happened. "Was that really wise?"
"Probably not, but I thought it was the best way to handle it." In the moonlight, I saw Westler run his hand through his hair. "It's not like I wanted to start shooting. I need to take Owen Burns in alive if I can."
Which made sense. He had a reason to be here, and it wasn't to protect me.
"Did you see if he was out there?" I was ninety percent sure both Burns' men had been out there. After all, Owen Burns was the one who took offense to where I was from. Jake Burns had never mentioned it.
"I could see there were two men, and that's all." Westler finally stood up. He groaned and put his left hand against his back. "I'm getting too old to be crawling around on the floor."
"Well, thanks for keeping my house from getting burned down," I said sincerely, getting to my own feet. "It would have been difficult to rebuild at this date."
"Your neighbors wouldn't help you out again?"
"I can't rely on my neighbors' goodwill to rebuild my home time and again." I wasn't as selfish as that. No one owed me anything in life. "I don't want my friends and neighbors to be punished for associating with me."
"Seems like a lot of trouble over a girl."
"I agree." What else could I say? This was a situation that had been blown out of proportion, and why? Because I had refused to marry a child? I hadn't harmed anyone. It wasn't as if I were the only single man in the territory. There were bound to be many men lining up to marry a girl like Annie Burns.
"Well, I'm hitting the sack again," Westler said with a yawn. "Tomorrow is shaping up to be a busy day."
How he could think of sleep was a mystery to me. I returned to my bed, but sleep didn't come.
Had Jake Burns escalated matters because Elizabeth had come? Would she be hurt because of this ridiculous mess? Maybe I should have asked her to put off coming.
And the question that still remained was, what could I do about it?
~*~
To whom it may concern,
These past few months there have been many rumors circulating about me. I have done my best to give my side of the story, but few of you have listened. Maybe you won't even finish reading this. Maybe you've even stopped already, but I will tell my story nevertheless.
When Jake Burns approached me to offer his daughter to me as a wife earlier this year, I refused. Miss Annie is a fine girl, but too young for a man like me. I already had in mind to get a wife from the east. Never did I look at Miss Annie Burns as anything other than my neighbor's daughter.
Since that time, I have been shunned by all who I thought were my friends. I have been looked on as a villain. My barn has been burned to the ground. I have been shot at. And now riders came in the middle of the night to burn down my house.
I do not know how it came about that everyone believes I trifled with Miss Annie Burns. It is my word against hers on this matter...
I am about to be married. I hope you will accept my wife with the kindness you once showed me.