Kit sat on his bed, resting his chin in his hand, a frown on his face. Carsten’s trial was in as little as two weeks or as much as three. They needed to find something. Edmund and Amos had helped him talk to people around town the last few days. Nothing. No one was talking about who else the thief could be. Everyone seemed convinced it had to be Carsten.
But they didn’t know him like the Three Amigos did. The townspeople hadn’t seen how Carsten had gone from a selfish boy who used to talk about himself almost constantly to a selfless young man who helped the less fortunate.
There was the time Carsten had helped him find the lost calf during harvesttime. Not many farmers would have risked losing their crop to help a rancher find one little calf. That had been a hot, hard, but fun day.
Kit shook his head. He needed to leave now or he wouldn’t be back for supper.
He slid off the bed and headed downstairs and out the door. “I’ll be in town for a while, Ma.”
“No candy today,” she called from the kitchen. “Too much will spoil you. Besides, I’m making a cake for supper, so you’ll have sweets later.”
Kit sighed. He would always be a child to Ma, even though he could be living on his own now if he wanted. “Yes, ma’am.” He ran down the road until he reached the magnolia tree. At the fork in the road, he glanced up the other side and wondered what Carsten was up to. He couldn’t take the time to find out today. Pa needed this branding iron tomorrow.
Kit walked toward town and entered the General Store. In the store, he went straight to the counter. “Excuse me,” he said to Mr. Martin. “I’m lookin’ for another branding iron. Do ya have any left?”
Mr. Martin quirked his mouth. “Not sure. Let me check in back.”
“Thanks.”
Kit browsed the candies on the counter. His sweet tooth made his mouth water, but he kept his hands away from the jars. He needed to keep his promise to his ma.
“Got two left,” Mr. Martin said as he emerged from the back. “You want both or one?”
“One, please.”
“Anythin’ else?”
“Nope. That’s all.”
Mr. Martin named the price, and Kit handed him a five. Mr. Martin gave him change back, and Kit took the money and pole. “Thanks, Mr. Martin. See ya Sunday.”
“See you then.”
Kit stuffed the money back into his pocket and headed out. He was about to turn home when he heard his name.
Luella hurried in his direction.
“Can I help you with somethin’, Miss Comstock?”
“How’s Carsten doing?” Her face twisted in concern.
Kit narrowed his eyes. “Don’t you two talk a lot?”
“I…” She looked away. “I’ve been avoiding him since the arrest.”
“Why?”
Luella looked down. “I’m afraid he’s guilty. I don’t know who to believe anymore about all this. I want to believe he didn’t do it, but everyone is saying it had to be him.”
“It wasn’t.”
She glanced up with pleading eyes. “How do you know?”
“I know him. He’s changed in recent years. Especially since his pa was put in prison. He wouldn’t steal anything. He even got a job so he can pay for new seed this fall.”
“He did?”
Kit nodded.
Luella bit her lip. “I don’t know. I’ll think about that. I just don’t know if I can trust him yet. But you never did answer my question.”
“He’s fine. Besides everyone thinkin’ he stole the papers. Including his girl, apparently.”
Luella’s face became red. “I…” She paused and swallowed hard. “How can you be so sure he is innocent?”
Kit crossed his arms as best he could with a pole in one hand. “The only reason he stole before is because his pa taught him and he wanted to prove himself to his pa. Like all boys do. But most pas aren’t thieves. Besides that, did you know he’s been fixing things for widows?”
“I’ve heard talk about it but didn’t know for sure. Why?”
“He wants to. He knows his ma would have a hard time keepin’ everything nice if he wasn’t around. So he goes around and tries to find at least one widow a week to help.”
“For pay?”
“No. He refuses money. He’ll take a meal but nothin’ else.”
Luella chewed her lip. “Hm. Maybe Papa was wrong.”
Kit was about to ask what she meant, but Luella said her goodbyes and left before he could.
He shook his head at the suddenness of her departure and headed back to the ranch. As he did, he stuck his free hand in his pocket. Something made him stop. Kit took the bill out and looked at it. It looked normal but also not quite right. But why wouldn’t it be?
He put it in the opposite pocket of the coins he’d gotten back so he wouldn’t accidentally give the dollar to his pa. Maybe his friends could help figure out why it was different. And even if they couldn’t, maybe they could tell him whether he was imagining things.