At least the wind wasn’t blowing much, but the snow was still falling. It started a couple of days after Christmas and had not let up. I would say we have near two feet and more on the way. I had plenty of wood chopped, both for the fireplace and the old stove that we put in after the diner purchased a new one; it looked as if I would need it.
Molly was at home making dough for a pie. I was coaxing her into making an apple pie from the dried apples we had. After all she would have been making one if she was down at the diner. For someone who only now owned twenty percent and had removed herself from the everyday working at the diner, she put in plenty of time. I had told her that I was going to check on the horses and may take them down to Moses’ livery. I knew he had a small stove and his livery was sealed up better than my little shed.
I made sure that I kept them well-fed with hay and grain during this storm, but Moses would have a better store of feed. The horses were glad to see me, but when I tried to get them out of the stalls, Two-Bits put up a fuss. The mare had been left out in the freezing cold when I was chasing down Johnson and the memory must still be in her head. But after we started down the hill towards town she willingly followed the tracks of Hawk and Star.
The town was completely deserted. No tracks, the walks had not been cleared; it wouldn’t have done any good the way the snow kept falling, plus no one was going to venture out. This was the first time I could remember where the town shut-down. Molly always kept the diner open for those poor souls who were not working during the winter season. I wondered what they would do during this storm.
I saw a light over Foster’s Mercantile. Darnelle had sold the house after her father died and her mother moved to Denver to live with her sister. Darnelle then had moved to an upstairs apartment. I often wondered why she didn’t marry. She had the looks and the personality…hmm, could be there wasn’t the proper sort around for her. She was still relatively young so it could still happen.
Walking by the jail, it was dark. There was no one locked up and I overstepped my authority by telling Lucas to stay home. I needed to apologize to Charlie for stepping into his jurisdiction but I’m sure he was happy to have Lucas with him and Marta and the new baby. The Sheriff had planned on going up to Silverton to check on the situation there right after Christmas when this storm hit. Now it would be at least a month before he could travel there.
Looking up I could see the sign, Vexler’s Livery and Stable. The door was closed but I could see where there had been footprints leading up to it and then away. I banged on the door, waiting a few seconds then started banging again. I could hear someone inside, but couldn’t make out what he was saying.
The door opened slightly and I could see Moses peeking out. “Well, for sure yuh ain’t one of the wise men, otherwise yuh wouldn’t be out in this weather. What in tarnation do yuh want Miles?” demanded Moses,opening the door a little wider seeing the horses. “Get those poor animals in here so’s I can shut this door.”
“Got room for these three?” I asked.
He gave me a dumb stare. “Now what would yuh do if I said ‘no’?” He paused and before I could answer, he took hold of the lead rein and led them to stalls in the middle of the room.
It was definitely warmer in here than back in my stalls. I looked over at a little room away from the stalls. In front of it was a stove sitting on a stone slab. Moses made sure that it was well away from any hay or straw. He kept the area near the stove clear of any item. The only thing I saw was a couple of chairs near the stove and a coffeepot on top.
“If you want them grained well, it’ll cost yuh fifty cents per horse per day,” he informed me. “Winter prices and the cost of grain has gone up.” Seeing me look toward the stove he added, “I’ll throw in a cup of coffee for free. Warm yurself up before yuh head back out in the weather.”
I went to the stove, picked up a cup that was on the slab in front of the stove then reached for the pot. After filling the cup I sat in one of the chairs by the stove. The heat felt good, and the coffee was hot and warmed up my innards as well. Moses came over to join me and I told him to watch over Two-Bits and then told him the story of her ordeal up in the canyon. He told me that after I leave he’d feed and water them, then rub them down.
“I saw some footprints out by the door,” I ventured.
He smiled, “Yep, yur not the only fool out. The marshal was making his rounds.”
Nodding, I thanked him for the coffee, then bundled up and started back outside. I thought about going down toward the diner and then over to Doc Jones’ office. I hadn’t seen him since the Christmas party at the church. He was sort of depressed, Lark Collins, one of the outlaws I brought back from Silverton had died. He worked hard on saving the man’s life, had to amputate a foot, but in the end it was lockjaw that killed him. I knew that Parson Chapman had spent a lot of time with Collins, so I hoped that somewhere he gave his heart over to the Lord. He went through a terrible ordeal with frostbite, gangrene, amputation, and then dying of lockjaw.
No, I decided to trudge back up to the cabin. I’d check on the wood supply, then bring some into the house. Then I’d see how Molly was coming along with that apple pie. It would be nice to cuddle up in front of the blazing fire on New Year’s night together. With my travels, and her work, it didn’t happen all that often. It would be a wonderful way to bring in the New Year.