Redemption In Red Desert: A Clean Western Historical Romance Novel

by Ember Pierce

  * * *

  Even with the side work that Duke drummed up for him shoeing other people’s horses, there was no way he would have nearly enough.

  * * *

  Maybe Graves would understand if he explained the situation. Kristian was feeling so frantic that he actually convinced himself that the other man would see reason.

  * * *

  “My father isn’t giving me my allowance anymore,” he began.

  * * *

  “I know that,” Graves countered. “That’s why you’ve been borrowing from me.”

  * * *

  Kristian nodded. This was good, he reasoned. Graves knew the situation he was in, so that would mean leniency. Right?

  * * *

  “I’m working on the ranch now for a regular wage. I have solid money coming in,” he said.

  * * *

  “That’s good,” Graves said. Kristian watched as he began to pace again—slower this time, which made the movement all the more unnerving.

  * * *

  “I have the money coming to me… eventually,” Kristian said. “I don’t get paid until the end of the month, but as soon as I do, I can make my first repayment.”

  * * *

  “Unfortunately, that’s just not good enough,” Graves replied.

  * * *

  Kristian felt his heart stutter in his chest. There was something in the tone of the creditor’s voice that was deadly serious.

  * * *

  He licked his dry lips, his mind still racing. There still had to be a way to reason with the man.

  * * *

  “I just need more time,” he said. “My circumstances have changed since I first took out the loans.”

  * * *

  “Here’s the thing, Kristian,” Graves said. “I don’t care what your excuses are. You owe me the money that I lent you in good faith.

  * * *

  “You knew you’d have to pay me back when I came calling, didn’t you?”

  * * *

  “I did,” Kristian said, reluctant to admit anything at the moment. He was still wracking his brain for a way to convince Graves to give him more time.

  * * *

  “It’s just… I’d really appreciate more time to pay you back.”

  * * *

  Graves rubbed his whiskered chin again. “Here’s what I’ll do,” he said. “I’ll give you two weeks to pay me back in full.”

  * * *

  Kristian blinked. Two weeks?

  * * *

  That would pass by like nothing, and there was no way that he could get enough shoeing jobs to cover the difference of what he would make in wages from the ranch.

  * * *

  He stopped trying to calculate it all out. “What happens if I can’t pay it back in full in two weeks?” Kristian asked.

  * * *

  Graves had begun to walk away, but when he heard Kristian’s question, he turned around. He looked him straight in the eye and said, “You don’t want to find out.”

  * * *

  Then he turned and stalked out of the alley, leaving Kristian in the shadows.

  13

  Kristian couldn’t breathe. He felt like something was squeezing the life out of him, suffocating him from the inside out.

  * * *

  He leaned against the side of the saloon as he tried to get his bearings. The world seemed to have tilted on its axis, and though this wasn’t the first time he had felt this way in this alley, it was the first time he had felt this way sober.

  * * *

  He longed to go into the saloon to obliterate the way he was feeling, but he knew he couldn’t do that. He had responsibilities now.

  * * *

  Besides that, he didn’t have the money. With Graves mad at him, he didn’t have anywhere to borrow the money, either.

  * * *

  Kristian shook his head hard to clear his mind. He had to stop this line of thinking. He paced from one side of the alley to the other, walking faster as his thoughts raced ahead of him.

  * * *

  Okay. Okay. He could do this. Kristian ran his hands through his hair, trying to focus on what he should do. Next steps. That was what John would have focused on.

  * * *

  What came next? He exhaled until he felt like his lungs might turn inside out. Kristian slumped down against the wall.

  * * *

  Pacing wasn’t making him feel any better, but neither was sitting still. He couldn’t focus.

  * * *

  What did he know about the situation? He owed Graves O’hara a lot of money, more than he had been keeping track of. And now Graves wanted the money back.

  * * *

  Kristian had known that was coming, but he hadn’t thought it would be so soon. He had no good way to earn the money.

  * * *

  Even with his new side job, he had no way to know when he would get enough work that money couldn’t be counted on to come in for this debt.

  * * *

  He also knew that Graves had a certain… reputation for being tough on people who didn’t pay him back. Kristian had to be honest with himself. He was scared.

  * * *

  Kristian got to his feet. The only thing he could think to do was to go to see Otto. His friend had always been a good ear to bend, and he might have some good advice.

  * * *

  As Kristian stepped out of the alleyway, he blinked in the bright sunlight. How could the world seem so cheerful when something so dark and cold had just befallen him?

  * * *

  When he was sure that Graves had gone from the area and wasn’t waiting to ambush him again, Kristian made his way to Otto’s office. The shingle bearing his friend’s name was out, indicating that Otto was in and not out on a house call.

  * * *

  Stepping inside the front room, Kristian called, “Otto? Are you in?”

  * * *

  “In the back,” Otto called back. When the doctor came out to the front room and saw Kristian, he frowned.

  * * *

  “I’m going to pull my shingle in. You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Sit down, sit down.”

  * * *

  Slumping down in a chair, Kristian let out another long exhale. He hadn’t realized how weak he was feeling until he was seated.

  * * *

  That scared him almost as much as the thought of having to pony up the money to repay Graves in two weeks. Kristian felt vulnerable, which wasn’t an emotion he was used to feeling.

  * * *

  Without any preamble, Otto sat down across from him and said, “Tell me what’s wrong.”

  * * *

  Kristian opened his eyes wide and said, “Graves cornered me outside the general store. Well, he yanked me into the alley. He wants his money back.”

  * * *

  Otto frowned. “You’ve been borrowing money from Graves O’hara?”

  * * *

  “My father cut off my allowance,” Kristian admitted. “Before Bonny came. That was when things were really bad.

  * * *

  “I didn’t want to stop living the way I was, so I started borrowing the money. Graves made it easy.”

  * * *

  “How much do you owe him?” Otto asked.

  * * *

  With a groan, Kristian buried his head in his hands. “I don’t know the exact amount. I have to add it all up when I go home.”

  * * *

  “Okay,” Otto said. “Can you give me a rough estimate?”

  * * *

  Blood pounded through Kristian’s temples, making his head ache. He felt ashamed and confused. How had he let his life slide so far into disarray?

  * * *

  He had thought that things had been turning around when he married Bonny. Bonny! What would she think when she found out about all of this?

  * * *

  He groaned again, but told himself to focus. How much did he owe Graves? After a few laborious calculations, he said, “At least t
hree hundred dollars.”

  * * *

  “Three. Hundred. Dollars?” Otto sat back in his chair, a look of disbelief on his face. If the situation hadn’t been so dire, Kristian might have thought his friend funny.

  * * *

  “As best I can figure,” Kristian said.

  * * *

  “How?” Otto spluttered.

  * * *

  “Drinking and gambling.”

  * * *

  The words hung in the air. The admission was not a surprise to Otto, surely, but all the same it made Kristian wince.

  * * *

  To be so reckless, so careless, in the moment hadn’t caused him a second thought. Now that he had some distance, though, Kristian wasn’t sure what had possessed him.

  * * *

  Except, deep in his gut, he knew—the pull was still there. He dropped his head to his hands again, longing for a time when life hadn’t been so confusing and so complicated.

  * * *

  “Okay,” Otto said slowly. “We can fix this. I can help. I have enough money to pay O’hara off. Then you can pay me back.”

  * * *

  Kristian was stunned. That had to be Otto’s whole savings. No one had that kind of money in this town.

  * * *

  The offer was tempting. He could pay Graves back in full so there would be no threat of violence hanging over his head, and Otto would let him pay back the new debt in a reasonable manner.

  * * *

  But… there would be a new debt, and Kristian knew that debts between friends often ended the friendship. That wasn’t what he wanted with Otto.

  * * *

  Besides, he was trying to forge a new path for himself.

  * * *

  He took a deep breath. “Thanks, Otto. I really appreciate the offer. I do, but I just can’t accept. I got myself into this mess, and I’ll have to get myself out.”

  * * *

  Otto pressed his lips together in a way that let Kristian know that his friend didn’t like this response. He wanted to say something, that much was clear to Kristian.

  * * *

  Finally, Otto said, “I really don’t mind. It’s the least I can do after everything John and your family have done for me over the years.”

  * * *

  Kristian considered this. It was true that the whole family had taken Otto in as one of their own when he first came to town, but that didn’t mean Kristian should accept the money.

  * * *

  John would certainly be against any kind of loan. Thinking about how John would react to Kristian’s decisions had become his touchstone for what was right in life.

  * * *

  “No,” Kristian said as firmly as he could muster.

  * * *

  “I have to stop depending on everyone else to get me out of trouble. I have to start acting like a man and deal with my problems myself.”

  * * *

  “It’s not about acting like a man and going it alone,” Otto argued. “That’s what family is for.”

  * * *

  As touched as Kristian was by the sentiment, he shook his head. “Borrowing from family and friends never ends well. You know that as well as I do.”

  * * *

  Otto sighed. “Maybe here, but where I am from, when someone in our family is in trouble, we band together to get that person through. The whole village comes together.”

  * * *

  “That’s great in theory,” Kristian agreed. “But that’s not going to happen here, clearly. There is a way for me to move forward with this. I know there is.”

  * * *

  Both men sat back in their chairs as they let the weight of the situation settle over them. The silence stretched on for a long time, and Kristian wanted to ask his friend what he was thinking, but there was also a part of him that didn’t want to know.

  * * *

  Eventually, Otto said, “Well, you have to figure out a way to make all that money in two weeks. What are you going to do?”

  * * *

  Kristian knew his friend wasn’t saying that to be unkind. Clearly. Otto had offered to help him out of the situation, and Kristian was glad his friend was trying to help him focus.

  * * *

  “I have no idea,” Kristian admitted. “Duke said he’d recommend me for shoeing jobs, but I have no idea when any will come in.

  * * *

  “Besides that, my father isn’t going to pay me until the end of the month. Still… there had to be some way for me to find some extra work.”

  * * *

  “If I hear of anyone looking for some odd jobs to be done, I’ll put in a good word for you,” Otto said.

  * * *

  Kristian felt a rush of good will toward his friend. He smiled at him. “I don’t know how I am going to do it, but I’m determined to make it happen.”

  14

  After bidding Bonny goodbye, Kristian made his way up the road toward town. He was heading in for the third day in a row to look for extra work.

  * * *

  He hadn’t told Bonny or his parents why he was going to town, but he made vague excuses about helping Otto with a project at his office. No one questioned him too closely, since he was getting all his work around the ranch done early in the day.

  * * *

  He was also home in time for supper so Bonny didn’t complain, although he did notice that she gave him curious looks as he left.

  * * *

  The day was hazy, with a stiff wind blowing sand and dust through the air to such a degree that Kristian pulled his kerchief up over his mouth and nose.

  * * *

  By the time he got to town, he was exhausted from walking into the wind. Sweat dripped down his forehead and into his eyes, blurring his vision.

  * * *

  He stepped into the livery stable to get a breath of fresh air and a dipper full of water.

  * * *

  Duke raised a hand from across the stable in greeting. After Kristian had freshened up, he headed across the space to talk to his friend. Duke was mucking out a stable.

  * * *

  “Good to see you,” Duke said. “I haven’t heard of anyone looking for a farrier yet, but I’ll let you know when I do.”

  * * *

  “Thanks, I appreciate that,” Kristian said. “I need to get a few odd jobs going.”

  * * *

  Pausing in his cleaning, Duke regarded him for a long moment. “Funny you should say that,” he said. “My hired man just quit on me.”

  * * *

  “Is that so?” Kristian asked, trying to quell the excitement rising in his chest. Working here would be the perfect solution.

  * * *

  He knew how to do all the work that would be required of him at the livery stable, and Duke would certainly work with him so that he could schedule both his ranch work and this job.

  * * *

  But was Duke offering him a job? He didn’t want to let his hope show on his face.

  * * *

  “You know, if you could commit to four days a week helping me out around here, I’d pay you a good wage,” Duke said. He let the offer hang in the air between them.

  * * *

  “You’ve got yourself a deal,” Kristian said. The two men shook hands, and agreed that Kristian would start the next day.

  * * *

  He was feeling pretty good as he stepped back out into the dusty, windy day.

  * * *

  Then he caught sight of Graves O’hara walking toward the saloon, and he found himself frozen on the street. His chest tightened and he was having trouble getting a full breath into his lungs.