The Unknown
by Patricia Henry
Chapter Twenty Five
Jess dismounted and tied his horse to the hitching post.
�You sure you don�t want me to go inside with you?� Slim asked.
�I got to talk to her alone,� Jess said then entered the cabin.
Gwen was at the stove, stirring a pot.
�Jess!� Ronnie ran to him and hugged him. �I sure missed you!�
�Howdy, partner. Say Ronnie, you think you could give me a few minutes with your ma?�
Ronnie nodded. �You going to stay, aren�t you, Jess?�
�No.�
Ronnie�s eyes teared.
�I tell you what,� Jess said bending down so he was on eye level with the child, �there�s a man out there named Slim. When I was in town, I got you a bag of candy. You tell him to give it to you.�
Ronnie�s sniffed. �You did?� For a second the child forgot about Jess and focused on what Jess had bought him.
�You better get out there. Slim�s got a sweet tooth.�
As the door closed behind Ronnie, Gwen never looked. Not even a glance at Jess. Instead she kept her back to him. �That was kind of you. It�s been two days. I didn�t think you�d be back. It�s been a couple of days and-�
�Jonesy needed to rest before we started back to Laramie.�
�What are you doing here, Jess?� she asked bluntly. �I never expected to see you again.�
�Thought you might want this.� Jess tossed the money onto the table.
She peeked over her shoulder, then turned as if in a whirlwind. �What-�
�Reward money from the stage line.�
She looked up at him with wonder. �You�re giving the reward money to me?�
�Slim and I talked-it�s yours. Should be enough to start a life somewhere else.� He wasn�t sure if she�d cry. She didn�t. �Why Gwen?�
�Why what?� She finally looked at him.
�Why didn�t you tell me the truth?�
Her gaze dropped off his face. �I didn�t know at first.�
�But you did find out. And you were going to let me kill my best friend.�
�That�s not true! I begged you not to-� her voice died away as she chocked on her words.
�You knew telling me the truth would stop me from drawing on Slim. But you didn�t. Instead you told me lies about him. Lies that he was the Sheriff, and wanted to kill me.�
She swayed nervously on her feet.
�You wanted me to run so I wouldn�t find out the truth. I could have run for the rest of my life. Always looking over my shoulder, even though I wasn�t wanted. Why Gwen? You seem a decent woman.�
He expected tears. He expected an apology. But what he got from her; he never expected.
Her anger rose so high that her cheeks turned red. �You ever been scared? Really scared. Scared so much that you�d do anything to feel safe?�
�Are you scared?�
�I got a young boy to raise. And I got no more money. No relatives. No friends, at least here. And this life here. I can�t ranch. The land is too poor. The mine died out a long time ago. My husband couldn�t realize that. But I did. Very soon after we arrived here. Don�t you understand, I couldn�t live on this land. I �spect I would have made a deal with the devil if he had come along. But instead you did. I wish I could have met you under different circumstances.�
�I got a feeling that a woman like you would have never looked at man like me...under different circumstances.� He waited but she didn�t deny what he had said. Finally he started to turn away.
�Jess?�
He faced her.
She ran into his arms. �I am so sorry. I am so very...�
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