Wanted redemption, p.9
Wanted: Redemption,
p.9
The bacon was starting to pop in the pan. Milam went to grab the eggs from the bowl where she stored them and realized there was only one left. “I need to go get eggs from the chickens. Can you watch the bacon and I’ll be right back?”
“Of course.” Charlotte got up and went to the stove to watch the bacon bubble up in the pan.
Milam took the bowl and went out the back door to the chickens that were in a small coop on the far side of the property. Hattie had talked Tess into bringing the birds over to the house so Charlotte could experience the joy of the freshest eggs possible.
Charlotte agreed that there was nothing better than an egg with an almost orange yolk. The only thing that was better was when she would dunk her toast into the set yolk and watch rivers of dark yellow spread across her plate. Her mouth was watering just thinking about it.
She heard the back door open. “That was qui… You!” she exclaimed. Standing at the door was Mr. Shippenbottom/Clemmons, or whatever name he was going by now.
She turned to run to the front of the house, but he was too quick, pulling her back by her hair. He pulled her hair so hard it forced her to turn her head to try to get a little relief from the strength of his grip.
He wasn’t the same man she knew before. Gone were his handsome features, replaced by ruddy skin and pox marks on his face. His hair was unkept and he had a wild look in his eyes. His jacket smelled of soot and burned wood.
“You stupid harpy,” he growled in her ear. “You couldn’t just take the potion and be done. Now you have other people involved.”
“It was you, wasn’t it?”
His mouth broke out in a wicked smile, revealing decaying teeth. “Of course, it was me. You ruined me, Charlotte. We had a good thing and you ruined it. I was left with nothing and the things they do to you on that prison train.” He gave a shudder. Remembering she was there, he pulled her close and pressed his cheek against hers. “But I’m back now. And I’m going to give you and that no good squid exactly what is coming to you.”
She struggled against his grip, but he pulled harder on her hair, causing her head to tilt back. “You are hurting me,” she said through clenched teeth.
“Don’t worry, love, it won’t hurt for much longer.” Charlotte stomped on his foot as hard as she could, he released her for a moment, but then tightened his grip on her head. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
He turned her around so her back was to the cook stove. He couldn’t hold her hair in this position, so instead he squeezed her cheeks together as hard as he could. Her lips shot out like one of those fish she remembered seeing on the shore down in New Harbor. The fish was thrown on a pile of rocks with many other fish. It gasped for its last breath until the light went out of its eyes and it stopped moving.
Charlotte felt herself start to gasp. “I had hoped I had given you enough to kill you that first night. But the stupid Chinese man didn’t make what I needed. Instead of opium, he gave me bitterweed. So, I left the vial, knowing that you would take it if it was there.”
She felt herself going faint. She tried to focus. Focus on anything. She replayed the words she saw in Harris’ journal… Brave, courageous, a fighter. She imagined he was saying the words directly to her. Harris’ image faded, and she saw Will in his place. She needed to be brave for Will. She needed to be courageous for Will. She needed to fight.
Charlotte flailed her arms around. There had to be something she could grab.
“You aren’t that strong, Charlotte. Not even you, can resist the lure of it once it gets into your system.
He pushed her until her hips rested against the wood stove. She felt the heat penetrate her skirt. It was only a matter of time before her skirt would catch fire. “You know, it would be so much easier if you would just take this yourself. But I know that’s not your way. Why you even fought me when I gave you your first taste of laudanum so many months ago.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him pull a vial out of his pocket. No!
Shippenbottom squeezed her cheeks harder forcing her mouth to open. He removed the cork from the bottle with his teeth and attempted to pour the liquid into Charlotte’s mouth. She groaned and tried to turn her head. The liquid splashed on her cheeks.
“You, battle-axe. Stop fighting.” He grunted as he tried to hold her face in place while still holding the bottle. Charlotte felt the tears in the corner of her eyes as the pressure against her face was immense.
Suddenly she heard the sound of the bacon in the pan. It was still on the stove. She reached for the handle, not caring if it burned her or not.
Shippenbottom was determined. He started to pour the contents of the bottle into her mouth. Charlotte pressed her tongue against the back of her throat to prevent the liquid from reaching her stomach.
Help me, Jesus, she thought as her fingers blindly reached for the pan. Suddenly with a strength she didn’t know she possessed, her hand wrapped around the handle of the hot pan. The smell of burning flesh hit her nostrils as the metal seared itself to her skin. Ignoring the pain, she spit out the liquid in her mouth, hitting Shippenbottom in the eyes, and swung the skillet as hard as she could.
She heard him scream as the bacon grease contacted his face and eyes. He released Charlotte and pushed her on the floor. She scrambled up and ran for the door.
The pain in her hand was immense. She held her arm as close to her as possible as she tried not to focus on the pain.
She needed to get help. Will, she thought. She headed towards the Marshal’s office. She had just rounded the corner when she saw the Marshal, Brawny and Will running towards her. Behind them was Milam, who was holding her hand to her face.
Will sprinted past the Marshal and wrapped his arms around Charlotte. “Are you alright? Did he hurt you? Where did he go?”
Alex joined them. “Milam told us you were cornered by Shippenbottom. He punched her, but she was able to get away and run to get us.”
Charlotte pointed to the back yard. “He was in the kitchen. I threw a pan of hot grease on him. It was the only way I knew how to escape.”
Will kissed her on the forehead. “I’m so proud of you. You are so brave.”
Alex slapped Will on the shoulder. “We need to go get him.”
Will released Charlotte and ran behind the Marshal to the door leading into the kitchen. There were signs of a struggle. The greasy pan lay on the floor with bacon fat covering the flooring. There was no sign of the man.
“He’s going to need to get help if he was burned. That isn’t something he’ll be able to take care of on his own. He probably headed to Chinatown to get help.”
Will agreed with the Marshal’s assessment. “Let’s go,” he said. “Tonight, he pays.”
It was early in the morning when the Marshal and Will returned to the house. Charlotte had never been so relieved to see anyone walk through her door.
After the pair left to chase after Shippenbottom, Brawny went to fetch Doc Childs. Chelsea was already at home where the Elliot family was staying. Doc bandaged up Charlotte’s hand and attended to Milam’s eye.
“Do you want something for the pain?”
“No,” Charlotte said somberly. “I’d rather be reminded of it.”
“I’ll make her some willow bark tea if she needs anything, Doc.”
Robert nodded and started gathering up his supplies. There was a knock on the door and Will entered, followed by the Marshal.
“It’s over,” he said looking harried.
“What happened? Where is he?” Charlotte asked, her voice trembling.
“He’s lying out in the middle of the field next to Chinatown.”
“It wasn’t my intention to shoot him,” Alex said. “He pulled out a pistol and I had no choice.”
“So, Will is free to go?”
“He was never arrested in the first place.”
“What?” She was in shock. “Then why was he there in the first place?”
Alex stepped forward. “Zhang told us what had happened in Chinatown. Shippenbottom was paying as little as he could to try to move opium back down to New Harbor. There was a fight between him and the maker, resulting in the burner being overturned. I tried to convey that to the men that were gathering, but they were out for blood. I was afraid they were going to lynch Will, so I had him come to the jail. With him in bars, I was hoping that the real culprit would come out.”
Will stepped forward. “I’m sorry I lied about that. I just needed to make sure you were safe.”
“I’m just glad it is over. He tried to pour that vile stuff down my throat, but I spit it out.”
“If you start having symptoms of relapse, let us know and we’ll make you a tonic to help with the jitters.”
“Thank you, Dr. Childs.” Will showed everyone to the door and returned to see Milam and Charlotte still sitting at the table.
“I think it is time to go to bed. It is almost time to get up.”
“Are you staying?” Charlotte asked. She didn’t want to be alone in the house. She knew Milam was there. But it was just too much.
Will gathered up Charlotte in his arms. “I’ll sleep on the chaise in the sitting room. It looks like a very comfortable place to sleep.”
Charlotte laughed. “It is.”
“And hopefully tomorrow, Pastor James should return, and we can have him marry us.”
“You still want to marry me, Will?”
“More than anything. I love you, Charlotte and I look forward to being with you the rest of our days.”
Charlotte allowed herself to be wrapped in his embrace. Everything was going to be all right. She had been redeemed.
Epilogue
5 month, 12 days, 4 hours and 7 seconds.
That was the amount of time Charlotte Daniels had been Charlotte Tuckering. Pastor James did return to Silverpines the following day and they were married in a small ceremony in the Pastor’s sitting room.
The Cutler’s did buy Charlotte’s house and she was able to purchase the land, sharing it with the Elliot’s and the Child’s. Will, Dawson and even some of the men came to help build four small cabins which would allow the couples to live almost next to each other. The fourth cabin was for Milam, who was thrilled in her role as nanny to the children.
Charlotte became closer to Hattie and her relationship with Tess was repaired. Charlotte even had a new adopted granddaughter in baby Anna and a grandson in their adopted son, Kijab. Plus, there would be one more, now that Hattie announced she and Robert were expecting another baby.
The town was growing. Luther wrote a letter to the state agency stating how Charlotte was not responsible for the taxes, since the building was in her husband’s name. He offered for Will to pay the back taxes and allow the state to transfer the business into the Tuckering name.
Will’s first job as undertaker was to bury the body of Shippenbottom. They buried him in a pine box, in an unmarked grave where the field and Chinatown met. He didn’t deserve to be buried in the cemetery. No one attended that rainy day when they shoveled the last spade full of dirt over his coffin.
Charlotte was sitting outside her cabin, reading from Harris’ journal. She and Tess took turns reading them. These were love letters to both her and her daughter. Will had no jealousy from the deceased man. In fact, he said, as he read the journals, he could see everything that Harris saw in Charlotte.
“Are you ready?”
Charlotte nodded. She slipped her hand inside Will’s and allowed him to help her stand. “Let me get my hat, that sun is shining something fierce.”
Charlotte placed the journal next to the chaise, which Will insisted they bring to the cabin. It didn’t fit the décor, but he was determined. She grabbed her bag and her hat and headed back outside to the wagon. Everyone had piled in the back, sitting on blankets.
Will helped her into the front of the buckboard. The trip to town was short, but Tess and Hattie led everyone in song for the ride. The wagon stopped in front of the apothecary. The windows to the clinic next door were covered by brown paper.
“I cannot wait to see.”
Robert let Charlotte know that a hospital was going to be built, which meant that he and Dr. Tory were going to have to spend more time there. With Hattie wanting to raise the children and be in her herb garden, it made sense to combine the clinic and the apothecary into one building.
That meant one thing…
Will hopped down from the wagon and reached up to help Charlotte down. His hands slipped around her waist and he held her with one arm as they looked at the paper coated windows.
“One. Two. Three,” they cried in unison.
Dawson and Brawny tore down the paper. Charlotte could see that the building was still under construction. The walls inside had been removed and opened up, allowing for one large space.
But it was the painting on the window that took Charlotte’s breath away. A picture of a Victorian lady, flowers and a coffee server were painted on the window looking out. Next to it, in big letters it said: “Miss Charlotte’s Tea Emporium.”
Charlotte lifted her sleeve to her eyes as emotion overtook her.
“Do you like it?” Will asked.
“I couldn’t imagine anything nicer.”
She turned into Will’s embrace. “Have I told you how much I love you?” Will asked.
“I think you just did.”
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The End
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Read more by Christine Sterling
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3. Her Secret Shame
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5. Her Secret Husband
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About Christine
Christine Sterling is the creator of the wildly popular Pinkerton Matchmaker Series and the Proxy Bride Series. She is an author in multiple collaborations, including: Cowboys and Angels, The Widows of Wildcat Ridge and Silverpines, where her book Wanted: Medicine Man won best historical novel of 2018.
She writes sweet and wholesome historical western novels and published her first book in 2017. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, a spoiled Shih Tzu, a knucklehead German Shepherd, and too many rescued barn cats to count. She has been writing stories since she was 8 years old when her grandparents gave her a Sears & Roebuck typewriter with a hard-plastic cover for Christmas in 1977.
She spends her time writing, helping others to write and publish their first book and weeding her half-acre organic herb garden. Her favorite things are a good cup of tea, a movie that will make you cry and hearing from her readers.
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For George McVey
Thank you for letting me come along for this wild and crazy ride! Being a part of the Silverpines series has been such a blessing. Thank you for believing in me and my stories and I can’t wait to see what the future holds of us for our writing projects.
Wanted: Redemption
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are all products of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblances to persons, organizations, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
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Wanted: Redemption ©2019 Christine Sterling
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Christine Sterling, Wanted: Redemption
