Ghost Storm©

Free Online Short Love Story

Written by American Author Sky Taylor

A Romance Western Set in the Old West

"Storm’s brewing in the north. Looks like Old Man Winter’s round the bend," Jacob relayed to Westin as the wind mysteriously kicked up a powerful gust which wretched tumbleweeds from the outskirts of town, spinning them haphazardly down the dust-trodden streets of Northwitch.

Jacob’s deep voice had risen to a higher pitch in order to speak above the wind-gusts bellowing from the north. The force was so great that it was lifting up the bonnet of the covered wagon juxtapose to the men.

As suddenly as the wind had released its open fury, it had settled into a deadly calm, both men feeling as if they had witnessed a phenomenon.

As the dust from the dirt-ridden street evaporated, Westin narrowed his dark eyes towards the north, a woman in white suddenly appearing through the settling mist of dust, a white-fringed umbrella clamped in one hand and held towards her back.

Beautiful. She was so beautiful that Westin gasped.

"You met her yet?" Jacob pried, sanding a hand over a day’s worth of beard.

"No. Have you?" Removing his hat he shook his head slightly as if trying to loosen the cobwebs that had settled there.

"Her name’s Laurel Bishop," Jacob informed, watching Westin resettle the battered and well-worn cowboy hat back onto his dark head.

Westin watched the woman with skin so porcelain that it almost matched the whiteness of her dress and matching umbrella.  

Although he had never met his birth mother, he’d seen pictures of her. This beautiful stranger reminded him of those images. If his mother had not died of influenza, he pondered how differently his life might have turned out.

The beautiful woman had paused to insert a key into the door of one of the adjacent buildings and he noted it was where the cobbler’s shop had been situated.

"She’s here on a franchise," Jacob informed.

"Franchise?"

"Yeah, some new-fangled idea that took root in England before being adapted in the east. Now….that beauty is bringing it here, to Northwitch. Basically, she’s going to sell someone else’s wares and take a cut."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, fashions and such – or so I was told by the wife," Jacob mulled aloud. "Penny also said that the mercantile isn’t thrilled with the news. It’s going to ramp-up the competition. Old lady Bricker came close to assaulting Miss Bishop – but fortunately her husband halted things before they got too ugly. Or, so Penny told me. That old Bicker woman likes to bicker when it involves her mercantile."

Westin chuckled at the image that played before him. "Mrs. Bricker doesn’t weigh one-hundred pounds dripping wet. I don’t think she’s capable of killing a fly."

"Ain’t that the truth – but don’t she put on a powerful shine? Feel real sorry for Mister Bricker. That woman of his – why he has given her everything a woman could want. As the owner of the mercantile, he’s one of the most prominent and successful men in town. Course…his wife thinks she’s the sole owner, the way she acts. She’s always been a pain in his backside. But of course, if anyone knows a thing or two about that, it’s you Westin."

Westin batted his dark eyes at his friend, not wanting to be reminded of his past. Evil was best left buried.

 "Pa!"

Westin twisted his head as his son Jase approached in a running gallop, his mass of dark hair, which matched his own, flying in the breeze. His

son’s face was lit with a smile as he came to an abrupt halt a couple of feet from Westin’s dusty boots.

"Can I go visit with Danny Boy? He’s got a kite and there’s a good wind kicking up and all." Jase quickly averted his attention to Jacob and remembered his manners. "Howdy, Marshall Jacob. Your son and I hope to have a high old time flying those kites."

Jacob smiled at the boy who was the same age as his Danny Boy and delivered a nod. The two boys were great friends, inseparable whenever Westin and Jase had business in the town of Northwitch.  

Both were good kids – and that was saying something for boys who were ten years of age and usually full of mischief.

"It’s late October, son. Not ideal for flying kites," Westin mused to his son. "Did you ask Mrs. Bradley?"

"Of course I did, Pa - and she said yes," Jase smiled. "If the wind fails to fly the kite, then we’ll play marbles."

Westin looked at Jacob who delivered a taut nod of his head and within seconds of getting his father’s approval Jase flew through the distance, making fast tracks to the Marshall’s house.

He paused in the road and yelled back, "Pa, she’s having fried chicken and chocolate cake for supper. With chocolate icing! Can I stay? Mrs. Bradley asked."

"Okay by me," Jacob told Westin.

Westin shook his head as he smiled at Jase through the distance. "Okay, but be back at the blacksmith’s by dark, son."

"Yippee!"

"That boy of mine, he’s getting a little shifty," Westin chuckled. "Did you note how he worked the both of us?"

"Smooth as glass," Jacob agreed. "Good kid, though."

"Yeah, as is Danny Boy."

Jacob glanced towards the beautiful Laurel who was entering the door of her new shop, and then shifted his attention back to Westin.

"She’s single," he drawled, Westin jerking the dark eyes onto his friend’s face.

"I didn’t ask."

"No, you didn’t," Jacob responded with a smile. "However, the polite thing to do would be to introduce yourself, don’t you think? We don’t get many newcomers as pretty as her."

continue

 

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