Are You Going to Evergreen Fair
By Yankee01754
Chapter One
There was a bit of a nip in the air as Slim Sherman walked down the street from the livery stable to the General Store. While his partner, Jess Harper, took care of errands at the Feed and Grain and the Saddlery, Slim was going to pick up the grocery order.
He was turning up the collar of his jacket when he heard a young male voice calling to him.
"Mr. Sherman! Wait up!"
Turning, the tall blond rancher saw Tommy Everett, a local rancher's son, approaching.
"Hi, Tommy." Slim greeted the teenager. "What's up?"
"I was hoping I'd see you. I have a favor to ask.
At eighteen, Tommy was just an inch shorter than six-foot-three inch Slim with violet blue eyes and golden blond hair. A lot of girls had their eye on him but Tommy more or less had eyes for one special - to his way of thinking - girl who did not live in Laramie. It was this "relationship" that would garner some teasing from Slim.
"Hi Tommy. How are your folks?" he asked the teen.
"They're fine. Pa says he'll be over to talk to you about the fall drive in a few weeks. Ma's busy putting up the last of the fruits and vegetables. Pumpkins won't be ready for another month unless we get a hard frost before then."
"She's a busy woman, your ma. Reminds me of my mother - and Daisy."
Tommy smiled. Daisy Cooper was very popular with the ladies for her industry, thrift and willingness to help where needed.
"Could you do me a favor Mr. Sherman?"
"What's that Tommy?"
"Would you deliver a letter for me?"
"Why not just mail it?" Slim asked.
"Well, I heard your family was going on a trip. I thought maybe you'd save me the postage and deliver it personally."
"Ah." Slim's light blue eyes danced. "It wouldn't be for someone I know would it?"
Tommy turned bright red.
"Yes. It's for Cam Ramsay. We've been writing back and forth since her first visit. She said you were all going to be visiting for a week. She suggested I ask you to bring the next letter with you so she wouldn't have to wait until the next stage gets into Cheyenne to put it on the train where somebody could pick up the mail for Evergreen - in Red Bluff. She says it sometimes takes a week or more for somebody to do that."
"You wouldn't be getting sweet on her would you?" Sherman couldn't resist teasing the boy who blushed again.
"No! I mean she's a nice girl and all but we're just friends."
"You sure about that? I'll bet your folks were about your age when they started getting serious about each other. I know my folks were."
Tommy denied it. "No, really, we're just good friends is all." Frustrated the teen let out a sigh. "So will you take it to her?"
Slim relented. "Sure. I'll be glad to."
"Thanks Mr. Sherman. Thanks a lot!"
The teen handed his letter to Slim, who tucked it into his inside pocket, then Tommy turned to leave. He had errands of his own to do for his mother and he needed to get at them. Jess drove up in the buckboard just as Tommy was leaving.
"Was that Tommy Everett I just saw?" he asked as he secured the hitching weight to one of the horses pulling the rig.
"Yeah. He wanted to ask a favor," Slim said with a grin.
"What kind of favor puts that kind of grin on your face?"
"He wants me to hand deliver a letter to a certain party in Evergreen."
"You mean Cam? Are they getting sweet on each other?"
"According to Tommy, they're just friends, but he sure did blush when I teased him about it," his partner replied.
"But they're just kids! Doc and Mrs. McAllister can't be too happy about it!" Jess exclaimed.
"You forget that Tommy's eighteen and Cam's going on sixteen," Slim told him. "That's not all that young. My folks were married when Ma was seventeen and Pa was eighteen. They were eighteen and nineteen when they started their family."
"I still say they're nothin' but kids."
"What's the matter pard? Afraid Cam'll forget you're pals if she gets interested in boys?"
The only answer Slim got was a dirty look from his partner as Jess stalked away from him and went into the General Store to see about their order.
The tall blond rancher smiled in amusement. Sometimes Jess was old for his years and sometimes he was young for his years. When it came to Cam Ramsay Jess Harper was little more than a kid. He and the teenager were pals who loved fishing, fairy tales and playing tricks on people.
"You all done with your share of the errands?" Slim asked when he caught up with Jess inside.
"Yeah. I dropped off the harness and put the order in at the feed and grain. Both will be delivered in a few days."
"Good. Let's get this order of Daisy's out of the way then get back to the ranch. We need to finish packing so we can get an early start in the morning."