COLE

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

C.J. PETIT
 Copyright © 2017 by C.J. Petit

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

without the express written permission of the publisher

except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Printed in the United States of America
First Printing, 2017
ISBN:
9781690805335
 
 
  
TABLE OF CONTENTS
COLE
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
EPILOGUE
 PROLOGUE
May 11, 1881
Garden City, Kansas
 
Becky Crandall stared at the sum of her true worth as it lay spread on the
scratched tabletop. There was no paper currency, just silver and copper
coins. She hadn’t had folding money in two months now and her prospects
for seeing any were diminishing daily.
Almost giggling as they looked back at her were two silver dollars, one
half dollar, six quarters, three dimes, a nickel, and eleven pennies and each
of the silver dollars had been shaved making them worth even less.
She hadn’t had a single sewing client in the past two weeks which was
just as well as she had no more thread. She had been making only flapjacks
these past three weeks and was getting thinner.
Her rent was going to be due in two weeks and by then, she wouldn’t be
able to afford to pay the six dollars. She’d been fighting the obvious way of
earning money, but it looked inevitable now.
She pulled at the fabric of her only dress and almost laughed if it wasn’t
so pathetic. It was so threadbare she couldn’t even make out the floral print
any longer. Without thread, she didn’t even know what she would do for
repairs if there were any new rips. Her shoes had almost no soles any
longer, and Jake was barefoot because she couldn’t even afford a pair of
used shoes when he outgrew his old ones. He looked like a little
ragamuffin, which is what he really was. Her son, the only reason she even
cared about living, was a ragamuffin.
She had asked three different church groups for help, but had been
politely refused by two of them, and not so politely denied by the third. The
women in the groups, or the wives of the men in the organization, refused to
assist a whore.
 A whore, that’s what they all thought she was, and the irony of her
situation again almost made her laugh. Not one of those groups had dared to
ask her if she had become a prostitute, yet all had condemned her as one.
Her only option may be to do what everyone accused her of doing, but
the thought of Jake seeing his mama servicing men just a few feet away was
sickening.
Then there was the other side of that life that frightened her almost as
much, the likelihood of being beaten and maybe even killed in front of Jake.
Who would care for him then?
She almost didn’t care about dying herself
anymore, only that Jake lived.
She had tried so hard these past three years but didn’t know how much
longer she could survive.
Becky gazed at coins on the table, but rather than weep at her hopeless
situation, she decided that she would finally bow to the inevitable and the
next man that pounded on her door would be her first paying customer. Her
only hope was that he wouldn’t beat her, then almost laughed when she
realized she didn’t know how much whores charged, especially one who
lived in these conditions.
She looked at Jake and ran her fingers through his thick hair and said
quietly, “I’m sorry, Jake, but mama has to make money.”
 CHAPTER 1
May 28, 1881
Rocking T Ranch
South of Garden City, Kansas
 
“Cole, I say the hell with it and we just oughta shoot that old bull. He’s
gettin’ downright ornery for no reason at all and I reckon it won’t be long
before he comes visitin’ us in the bunkhouse outta spite.”
Cole smiled and said, “Amos, you know that’s not gonna happen. He’s
the last of the longhorns and we’ll keep him around until nature takes its
course. He hasn’t been bothering any of the cows in years now, so he sure
isn’t gonna bother a bunch of old cowhands.”
“I think that’s what’s makin’ him so ornery. I know it’s gettin’ me
ornery, and I don’t mean cows, neither.”
Cole laughed then said, “Hell, Amos, you’ve been spending more time at
Lucy’s up in Garden City than the young boys. They’re calling you the Old
Bull, and you should take it as a compliment.”
“That’s ‘cause I need the time and I think them ladies appreciate it, too,”
Amos replied as he grinned at Cole.
“All ladies appreciate the extra time, Amos. It’s just that it took you
thirty years to figure it out. How much longer are you gonna stay in the
saddle, Amos? A man your age should be sitting in a rocking chair on the
front porch. You know you can stay here and just put up your boots.”
“I know that, Cole, but it just wouldn’t feel right. Your pa never slowed
down until that same ornery bull done him in. It mighta been hard, but it’s
the only way for a cowhand to go, not just rockin’ himself to death on a
porch smokin’ a pipe.”
 “You don’t smoke, Amos. Besides, I don’t want to have to peel you off
the ground like I did my father. So, you think about it, Amos, and when you
want to take some time off, let me know.”
“It won’t take much thinkin’, Cole.”
Cole shrugged then said, “Well, Amos, I need to do these books before
dinner.”
“It was a good year, Cole. We moved over six hundred head to the pens.”
“It was a great year, Amos. Prices were still good, too. The T is in great
shape.”
“Your pa always said you’d make the most outta this ranch. Ya done
good, Cole.”
“Thanks, Amos. You and my father set things up for me. The rest was
easy.”
“I wouldn’t say that, and neither would your pa. You gonna see Harry
and Katie tomorrow?”
“That’s the plan. I may stay more than a day, too.”
“Well, me and the boys will take care of it, so you can rest easy on the
ranch still bein’ here when you get back. I’m gonna go and check on the
boys. See you at chow, Cole.”
Cole waved as Amos, turned and left the office. He’d been serious about
asking Amos to retire from the hard work needed to keep the big ranch
going. Last month, he’d fallen from his horse and miraculously avoided
anything more than a mild ankle strain. In his entire life, Cole had never
seen Amos lose control of his horse, yet he’d fallen out of his saddle after
just a quick pivot. That fall had startled him into a sudden awareness of how
old Amos had become. It had been so gradual that he hadn’t paid any
attention to the passing years.
The years had just whipped by as he worked the ranch, but suddenly,
Amos was old. Cole knew that he’d have to spend some time convincing
his old friend to at least spend more time in town.
 He set aside the thoughts and concentrated on the ranch’s account books,
which he’d neglected lately.
After getting the six hundred and forty head of cattle into the pens and
been given his draft, he had deposited most of the $14,304.00 in the bank,
then paid the men, including a bonus.
Things were in a lull right now, so he looked forward to going to Garden
City. He hadn’t seen his brother in over a month, but it was Katie who was
the biggest impetus for his frequent visits.
She was a precocious five-almost-six-year old that was his favorite
person in the world. She visited him at the ranch often, and he had been
pleased when after the first time she visited, she had told him how much she
had loved the ranch, and that was even before he got to know the real Katie.
The more he understood his niece, the more he liked her, and the more
she trusted him, the more she revealed of her extraordinary gifts. It was
because he still treated her like a girl her age rather than a brilliant prodigy
that they became so close. Amazingly, it was only her Uncle Cole who truly
understood Katie. Even her father, his only brother, Harry, didn’t know
what miraculous abilities she possessed.
While not close, he and Harry got along. There had been some difficult
bumps along the way, usually because the brothers were so different in
character, with one of the most obvious being their life choices.
Cole had always loved ranching, every minute aspect of it, from riding,
roping, and even branding and wrestling heifers to the ground. Harry, on the
other hand, hated it, and couldn’t get off the ranch soon enough. Their
father understood his disdain for the life and had provided Harry with the
means to pursue his non-ranching goal.
So, when Harry had finished high school, he had gone away to college to
study the law, and four years later, at twenty-two, had set up a thriving
practice in Garden City. How his office thrived was another indication of
the difference between the two.
Cole was a firm believer in right and wrong, fair and unfair, and not
necessarily what was written into law by men who may have had other
purposes in writing them.
In contrast, Harry didn’t mind dabbling in the gray areas between right
and wrong with only one overriding concern in that he didn’t want to be
caught. Once he had his law degree, he practically lived in those gray areas,
and in Garden City, Kansas, being caught was easily avoided.
When their father had the accident that took his life the same year of
Harry’s graduation, Cole had taken over the ranch as stated in his father’s
will. Harry was bequeathed seventy-five hundred dollars, which was to be
paid in three annual installments. That part of the will had been paid off
four years ago and both brothers had prospered in their dissimilar worlds.
Each had also married within six months of each other the year after Cole
took over operation of the ranch, and both marriages ended in similar
tragedies within a year.
Cole’s wife, Edith, died in childbirth in March of ’76 and their baby son
never took a breath. Just two months later, Harry’s wife, Maude, had
presented him with that beautiful baby girl that now was the light of Cole’s
life. But Maude, just like Cole’s Edith, had passed on due to a loss of blood.
Neither had remarried, again for totally different reasons. Cole because
he had never been satisfied with his first marriage, while Harry never
remarried because it gave him more of an opportunity to engage in his
favorite pastime, philandering. It was another example of Harry’s
preference for the gray area. He was considered by most, including Cole, to
be just a rascal who had never grown up.
After Maude had died, Harry had engaged a wet nurse at first to provide
for Katie, and then a nanny. That nanny was the first of a succession of
nannies that cared for Katie, some only lasting three months. It was his use
of nannies and his attention to them that prevented Harry from really
understanding the amazing little girl he had living in the same house.
Cole had long suspected that the nannies also acted as temporary wives
in Harry’s bedroom, and this was confirmed by Katie, when as a four-year
old, said that her papa was marrying the nanny. At first, Cole was surprised
that he would marry the nanny as Harry was a bit of a stickler about moving
in the right social circles. That was clarified later, when Katie had said that
her papa had married her a lot, and Cole had figured out Katie’s definition
of the word. Katie had mentioned that he was marrying the current nanny,
Jenny Anderson, too.
Cole had no family except for Harry and Katie, but had plenty of money
in the bank, so he indulged in his one pastime that befitted a rancher,
shooting. He had an extensive gun room, which seemed to grow monthly
and carried three with him most of the time.
One of his Smith & Wesson Model 3s was almost always at his hip and
he wore the Webley Bulldog and shoulder holster he kept concealed under
his vest, then completed his personal armory with a Remington .41 caliber
over-under derringer in his pocket.
On board his horses, he’d have one of his Winchester ’76s in his
scabbard and sometimes, just because he liked the damned thing, he’d have
The Cannon, which is what the boys and Amos called it.
It was a Sharps rifle chambered for the fifty-caliber cartridge mounting a
Malcolm ¾ inch tube telescopic sight with 8X magnification and a
modified thirty-four-inch length barrel. The scope even had adjustment
screws for windage and height adjustments.
Cole had commissioned the rifle three years earlier in Kansas City, and it
had arrived with a custom case as well, which could store another six
rounds of ammunition. In the three years he’d had the rifle, he’d developed
a true feel for the gun, and was comfortable with targets more than half a
mile away. Of course, he was comfortable with all his weapons and one of
the advantages of living in an all-male household was that he allowed
himself to build a gun range close to the house without feminine objections.
For tomorrow’s trip, he’d just take the usual assortment, but leave The
Cannon at home. He usually kept one extra box of .45 center-fire cartridges
for the Winchester and a box of .44 rim-fire cartridges for the two pistols.
He figured if he ever needed to reload the derringer, it would be over
anyway.
Cole went back to doing his books, checking the expenses, which were
pretty consistent. The ledgers showed a very profitable, well-run ranch.
There were six full-time hands plus Amos, the foreman and Jack Randall,
the cook. It was a large ranch, consisting of nine full sections. The grass
was excellent and there was a large spring-fed pond that they had fenced off
and let the creek fill two large man-made ponds for the cattle to water.
After he completed his review and the books were balanced, he sat back
in his chair with his hands behind his neck. He should be content, and he
was overall. But something was missing, and he knew what it was.
It was the same thing that everyone told him was missing from his life,
he was almost thirty and still unmarried. Unlike most widowers, he knew
why he had never remarried.
When he had married Edith, it was for the worst of reasons, well maybe
not the absolute worse as she wasn’t pregnant when they said their vows.
When he’d taken over the ranch after his father’s death and then Harry said
he was getting married, he simply thought it was time to take that next step
in his life.
He had liked Edith and chosen her as the most likely candidate, but even
as he had proposed he felt as if he was making an offer on a prime bull, not
asking a woman to share his life. They had gotten along fine, but he just
didn’t love her as he thought he should. When she died, he had an enormous
sense of guilt for his suppressed feelings of relief. He then decided that he’d
just hand over his life to fate and not burden another woman with his bad
decisions.
What didn’t help was his adoration of Katie. She had control of his heart
and whenever she left the ranch to return to Garden City with her father,
he’d wish that he could have a child like her, even though he didn’t believe
there was another even close to Katie. He just couldn’t have a child at all
unless he married, and he wasn’t about to use that as the reason either.
He took a deep breath, closed the ledgers, slid them back into their slots
in the shelf above his desk, then left the drudgery of the administrative part
of his life to do what he wanted to do and headed for his gun room. He
unlocked the room and went inside where he was working on some more
hot loads for his Winchester ’76.
He had read about the technique in a gun magazine, but it wasn’t
recommended for the faint of heart, nor was it recommended by Winchester.
Naturally, Cole had to make some of the more powerful rounds. He wasn’t
going to use them a lot, as he was sure it would wear the barrel’s rifling
down much sooner than the standard loads. But the ’76 was built much
stronger than the popular ’73 model, so he thought it could handle it. He
didn’t add a lot more powder, but he could feel the added kick and could
put a bullet on target with effect at over two hundred yards with power.
Today, he’d also be cutting the bullet heads to make them mushroom on
contact. It cut down the range, but the impact was awesome. He doubted if
he’d ever shoot anyone with the bullets, but they were just something
different to shoot.
He spent an hour making two boxes of the hot loads with cut heads, then
set them aside and marked the boxes with ‘HOT’ on the outside. Satisfied
with his work, he stood, gazed around the room, admiring his armory, then
left the room. After closing the door, he locked it, then verified that it was
secure before heading down the hallway.
Cole walked out through the kitchen and into the back yard to go to the
chow house and talk to the boys who should all be there as it was close to
mealtime. His timing was impeccable as he spotted Jack Randall step out of
the chow house and ring the dinner bell.
By the time he strode to the front of the chow house, the hands began
arriving, but it took a while for the hands in the southern pastures to arrive,
but after ten minutes, all of them were present and Cole called them over as
the last one dismounted.
“Boys, I’m going to make a run into Garden City tomorrow. I don’t
know how long I’ll be gone, but I should be back by the end of the month,
if not, Amos will give you your pay. If it’s that long, I’m sure I’ll see all
your ugly faces in Garden City at Lucy’s. Go ahead and hang around and
I’m sure Randy will let us all graze shortly.”
The hands were in a good mood as they all entered the chow house. It
was just fifty feet from the bunkhouse and included a full kitchen for
Randy’s use as well as a cold room and well-stocked pantry.
Randy told them chow was ready just a minute later, so they all lined up
and took their plates, cups and utensils and began piling on the grub. Cole
didn’t take precedence when he was in the chow house, and they
appreciated that.
Cole always ate with the hands, not because he was trying to make
friends, but because he just couldn’t cook at all. He liked all the hands, even
the two newest hires, but he just wasn’t that familiar with them yet. He let
Amos do the hiring and firing, so Amos knew them better than he did, and
the two new hands were only marginally new, both having been hired in late
spring the previous year. Joe Frazier and Whitey Baker were both in their
early twenties, were good cowhands and he liked them both.
After everyone was sitting with hot coffee and their suppers, the bull
session began.
“Say, Boss, when is Harry gonna come out here and use that shootin’
range of yours?” asked Jimmy Harper.
“About the same time that you take a bath in lilac water, Jimmy. You
know Harry never did enjoy using hardware. I don’t think he even owns a
gun.”
“Hell, Cole, you done took all the gun-lovin’ from your pa by the time
Harry was born,” he said as he laughed.
Cole smiled, turned to Amos and said, “Pa would be impressed with the
gun room, wouldn’t he, Amos?”
“He’d just about pee his pants if he saw it. He’d be like to fall in love
with that cannon of yours, too.”
Cole chuckled and said, “He might at that. So, I’ll get out of here early in
the morning and let you boys start to party.”
“You takin’ the Captain?” Amos asked.
“Of course. I know he’s getting a bit old, but he’s so rock solid, he
doesn’t even flick an ear when I fire the Cannon from his back. I’ll have to
find a replacement for him soon, though.”
“Your pa set store by him, too. You might want to take a bit of time and
check out the stock in Garden City. They’ve got a lot of good ones in their
corrals, and I reckon you’ll be wantin’ one that’s better’n the ones we got in
the remuda.”
Cole nodded and replied, “I’ll probably do that.”
The rest of the loud meal conversation was focused on the horses in the
remuda and the ladies down at Lucy’s in equal proportion.
After he finished, Cole left his plate, cup and cutlery in the hot water pot
on the large cookstove, then waved to the boys and left the chow house with
Amos.
Once in the house, Cole brought Amos up to date on the books, which
took five minutes. Amos was the only other person who knew the
combination to the safe in the office which contained all of Cole’s important
papers and between a thousand and fifteen hundred in cash for expenses,
including payday. It could handle three or four paydays and give Cole the
flexibility of waiting a month or two before going to Garden City and get
more cash from the bank.
It also contained a small ordinary envelope that meant more to Cole than
the cash. Inside the faded brown envelope was a simple silver necklace with
a small sapphire that had belonged to his mother, Abby. It wasn’t
particularly valuable to anyone but Cole. She had died of pneumonia when
he was nineteen and Harry was already away in college.
The deadly sickness had her in its grips and she knew that it had
progressed too far to be overcome.
As Cole sat on her deathbed, he looked at his mother, her normally lively
blue eyes were faded and tired, but she still managed a weak smile. She was
only forty, but the pneumonia was aging her quickly. She was feverish and
Cole had been caring for her as best he could over the past two days. He
wiped her brow with the towel again before she erupted in a violent
coughing spasm.
His mother had always been the center of his world growing up. He and
his father were close and shared all the same interests, but it was with his
mother whom he had shared a deep bond. She knew she was dying, as did
Cole.
 After the last coughing fit, she lifted the sapphire from the end of the
necklace she’d worn for years and asked him to take it from her. She loved
the piece of jewelry but said it would be a sin to bury it with her.
Cole had carefully reached behind her thin throat, unclasped the chain
and held it in his hand, thinking she would ask him to give it to his father,
but she hadn’t. She simply closed his hand around the necklace and said,
“Give it to her.”
He had asked her who she meant, as she had no sisters or daughters, but
her eyes were closed as she lapsed into one of her intermittent periods of
sleep or unconsciousness.
He slid the necklace into his pocket and stayed with her, expecting to be
able to ask her when she awakened.
He sat with her for the next seven hours of her life as she stayed with her
eyes closed as her breath was getting shallower and her fever rising. His
father had come in several times to talk to her and finally kissed her damp,
feverish forehead, unable to bear the pain of seeing his beloved Abby die.
Cole felt the same pain but refused to let it drive him away. He wanted to
be there to comfort her as she slipped from this life. She never said anything
else to him after she had given him the necklace but had mixed coughing
with lapses of unconsciousness as her temperature spiked and the sweat
rolled across her face. When she finally stopped breathing, Cole had simply
returned to his room and let the grief overwhelm him.
It wasn’t until they were at the burial service that Cole recalled the
necklace that was still in his pocket. When they returned to the ranch house,
he offered it to his father, and expected him to want the piece in memory of
his mother. But even though he never told his father what she had said to
him when she placed it in his hand, his father had just looked at him and
said, “I’m sure that she wanted you to have it, Cole.”
Cole had nodded, then slipped it back into his pocket.
The next day, he had slipped the necklace into the envelope and put it in
the top drawer of his dresser. It had never left its paper prison since, but
simply transferred to the safe after his father died. The only change to the
envelope was when he had written across the face of the envelope,
give it to
her
.
What he always saw as an indication of why he shouldn’t have married
Edith was that he had never even shown the necklace to Edith, much less
considered giving it to her.
It was such an uncomfortable sensation, to not believe that the woman he
was marrying was good enough to wear his mother’s necklace. He and
Edith had gotten along well, had laughed together and shared many things,
he just never felt that she was worthy of something that was so precious to
his mother.
He didn’t believe that Edith was a bad wife at all, and he tried to make
her happy, but then there were her secrets. There were things in her life that
she kept from him, and one that soon became devastating when he
discovered it.
In the four months of their courtship and more than a year of marriage,
neither had ever said that word that seemed to flow effortlessly from
Harry’s mouth to every woman he ever bedded, love.
He had been married to Edith for over a year and had never told her once
that he loved her, nor had she told him. He hadn’t told her because he
wasn’t sure that he did love her because he placed too high a value on those
words. Why she hadn’t told him never bothered him and he began to think
it might be a contest to see who would break first.
Except for the wedding day when they repeated those vows to love and
cherish, the word had never escaped their lips. In fact, except for his
mother, he had never used the word at all. Maybe that was why he never
told Edith because he was certain he loved his mother. He knew he would
do anything for her, and Edith never came close to that level.
Cole didn’t think of the necklace very often, except when he had to open
the safe to get some cash. He did think of his parents often, especially his
mother. They had a photograph made on their twentieth anniversary that
still graced the mantle above the fireplace in the main room. It was a
terrible photograph because it was so formal and stiff, but neither attribute
suited his parents. Both were lively and a bit reckless making it a joy to be
growing up in their home, although Harry had somehow missed the boat on
the fun. He was usually serious and quiet, and the only place he showed any
recklessness was with women, and he was more than just reckless when it
came to the female sex.
Cole left the office and stood in front of the picture, as he did almost
daily. It had script written along the bottom edge:
George and Abigail
Turner ~ April 4, 1871
. He smiled as he looked at their serious faces. When
they had been shown the photograph, they had both laughed at its somber
portrayal.
Cole turned and walked to his room to pack his clothes for the trip but
wouldn’t need many. If he did, he could buy more in Garden City.
Tomorrow morning, he’d eat breakfast, mount the Captain, then ride to
Garden City and should get there before eleven o’clock.
He walked to the massive bookshelf in his office and pulled a book to
help pass the night. Reading kept his mind busy and dwelling so much on
the past almost demanded a distraction.
_____
In Garden City, Harry Turner was snuggling with Jenny Anderson,
Katie’s latest nanny and his latest bedmate. They were in the parlor on the
long couch, a fancy tufted silk affair. Normally, by this time, they’d be up in
Harry’s bedroom practicing gymnastics, but Harry was nervous and kept
glancing at the doorway. There was more than just a hint of fear in his
behavior, but it wasn’t for Jenny, or even Katie who was sleeping in her
second-floor bedroom. He was afraid that having Jenny here would make
him more vulnerable and knew that he needed to hide someplace, and it
couldn’t be here. They were more than just mildly upset with him, but he
still didn’t expect them to come to his house. Now, Jenny was making any
thought of leaving the house difficult.
Jenny would normally leave the house before midnight, despite the fact
that Katie was usually in bed by seven. Jenny had assumed her duties just
six months earlier and was very young, only seventeen at the time she took
the job. But her family was in dire straits financially, and they deeply
appreciated the money that she earned. They, like Cole, knew that Harry
was taking her to his bed, but unlike Cole, who was sure that Harry would
never marry their daughter even if she became pregnant, her parents had
hoped that she did become pregnant and marry the well-to-do widowed
lawyer. But it hadn’t happened yet, and Jenny was still trying to make that
happen, which was the reason Harry was still in the house.
Harry had his left arm around Jenny with his right hand sliding up and
down her left thigh as he said, “Jenny, I think you might want to go home
early tonight.”
“Why, Harry? Don’t you want me anymore?”
“No, no, that’s not it at all, Jenny. I want you more than ever. It’s just
going to be difficult around here for a few days.”
Jenny thought Harry was trying to break off the romantic part of their
relationship and was frightened that she may have no chance of being Mrs.
Turner. It was what she had been fantasizing about since she had been
hired, while Harry’s fantasies stopped outside of the bedroom. The
seduction was easier for Harry than most of the others because Jenny
wanted to be Mrs. Turner. Harry was good at the art of seduction but hadn’t
done more than make one short suggestion before he and Jenny were
running upstairs to the bedroom.
He discovered that Jenny was so much more of a sensual woman than
Maude had ever been but then, most of his conquests were. Maude was a
proper Victorian lady and so were her views on her wifely duties. Jenny, on
the other hand, was a free spirit in the bedroom. She used those talents to
her advantage and thought she was close to getting a ring on her finger,
because Harry had told her many times that he loved her.
Now it sounded like that may be going away and Jenny was worried.
Harry was talking as if he wanted to change nannies again, and she wasn’t
about to let that happen. She had just turned eighteen and the time was
right. She had to have Harry’s baby growing within her.
“I don’t mind if it’s difficult, Harry. I’d rather be with you than not,” she
said as she spread her legs slightly wider apart to let him know that she was
ready.
 Harry forgot about any imaginary danger because Jenny was real, and
she was here.
“I want you, Harry. Take me here on the couch. Now.” she said in the
sultry voice that drove him mad.
Jenny had been unbuttoning her blouse as he was massaging her thigh,
then slowly and dramatically opened her blouse, exposed her naked breasts
and Harry was immediately focused on Jenny.
He pushed her back on the couch, pulled her dress above her hips and
began to take her when the door opened, and two men walked in with
pistols drawn.
_____
Cole awakened early the morning as he always did, hopped out of bed,
then trotted across the hall to the water closet. It was one of the
improvements he had added to the house along with running water. He had
also installed a modified heat stove in the bathroom that had a large water
tank installed. After the tank was filled, the firebox below the tank heated
the water which then could be drained into the large tub. The added
advantage was that the heat stove made the small room toasty while taking
a bath in the winter months.
After answering nature’s call, he washed and shaved before returning to
his bedroom, making the bed then dressed for the day. Before he left the
bedroom, he went to the window and looked out at the early morning sky
and was pleased with the weather. The dawn was breaking to clear skies,
which meant it was probably going to be a warm, bordering on hot day, but
it would be dry. He’d take his slicker with him anyway, because it might not
be that way when he returned.
He took his saddlebags from his closet, left his bedroom and walked to
the gun room. After unlocking the door, he entered, put the cartridge boxes
into the saddlebags and donned his Webley before he put on his dark gray
vest. He put on his matching dark gray Stetson and finally his gunbelt, then
took the Winchester and left the house.
 He walked into the barn where he said good morning to Captain, then
after leaning his Winchester against the wall with his heavy saddlebags
nearby, he tossed the saddle blanket over the Captain’s back, then began to
affix the rest of the tack. As he saddled him, Cole noted that the gray
gelding was beginning to go white in some spots and he rubbed the old
horse on the neck.
“Looks like we’re gonna have to put you out to pasture after this trip,
Captain. You’ve earned your retirement.”
The Captain had been his father’s last horse. He always had named his
horses one rank below his own rank in the war, so the horse wouldn’t have
any say-so in where they were going. He had mustered out with the rank of
major, so the horse he left the army with was named Captain, as were his
following mounts as his rank would never change. This Captain was the
third of the line and the last with the name to be ridden by his father. There
would be no more Captains after this one because Cole had never been in
the army.
His saddle had a special attachment, a dual hook contraption that
allowed him to simply hook the case for the Cannon on the side and snap it
into place. But today, it wouldn’t be used. He slid the Winchester ‘76 into
one of the two normal scabbards before he left the Captain in the barn to
return to the chow house and have his breakfast with the boys.
He ate quickly and forty minutes later, he was on the road to Garden
City. He didn’t push the Captain as it probably wouldn’t do any good
anyway. The Captain traveled at his own pace, regardless of what that lump
of man on his back wanted.
It was a glorious, late spring Kansas day, and he enjoyed the ride. The
Captain, despite his age, was moving briskly, so he reached the outskirts of
Garden City a little after ten o’clock and five minutes later, was turning
onto Mission Street. He knew Garden City well, having visited the town
more than once a month for years. He’d have his hair cut here and get all
the latest gossip from the barber or the other customers if he had to wait.
Anyone who believed that women were the bigger gossips would only have
to spend an hour in a barber shop to discover the error in that assumption.
 He reached Harry’s grand house, dismounted, looped the Captain’s reins
over the fancy hitch rail and strolled down the bricked walkway to the
porch. He rang the doorbell and waited for Katie to open the door. It was
Saturday, so he doubted if Harry was at his office and was probably still
asleep. He knocked loudly again and waited another minute. Even if his
brother was sleeping off a night of partying, which would be unusual, even
for Harry, Katie should have opened the door by now.
Finally, he just opened the door, walked inside, and was getting ready to
shout, “Harry!” when the smell hit him, a smell he recognized as the hairs
on the back of his neck stood up with an ominous chill running down his
spine.
He quickly drew his Smith & Wesson and cocked the hammer, tossed his
Stetson on a nearby chair and began to walk into the house, scanning
everywhere as he rotated his body.
When he turned into the parlor, he found the source of the overpowering
stench when he looked at the couch and saw the body of a young woman,
whom he assumed to be Jenny Anderson. She was half naked and it looked
as if she had been assaulted and then stabbed. He didn’t bother checking to
see if she was dead as no living human being would be in that position.
He then stepped back into the hallway and shouted, “Harry! Katie!”
After a few seconds, he heard footsteps upstairs; light, small footsteps as
they rushed down the upstairs hall. Those sounds were quickly followed by
the small voice he had grown so fond of hearing, but it wasn’t the happy,
giggly voice he normally heard, it was a scared, shaking voice.
“Uncle Cole!” shouted Katie as she reached the top of the staircase.
He couldn’t let Katie see the parlor, so he turned and ran toward the
staircase, and caught her as she slid down the bannister, her usual method of
descending the staircase.
He held her close as she wrapped her thin arms around him, and tears
erupted from her eyes. Her wet face was buried against his neck, and he
guessed that she had already seen what was in the parlor.
 He let her cry for almost a minute before he asked her quietly, “Katie,
what happened?”
She sniffled and replied in the same frightened, shaking voice, “I don’t
know. I was asleep, and I heard the door open and someone came in. Papa
was with Jenny in the parlor. Then I heard Jenny screaming and papa
shouting really loud. After that, there was a lot of banging and it was really
quiet again.”
He asked her softly, “Katie, did you go into the parlor?”
Her face was still against his neck, so he could feel her nod.
“Sweetheart, I’m going to take you out of here. We’ll go and see the
sheriff, okay?”
He felt her nod again, then kissed her on her damp cheek.
Cole’s stomach was roiling as he carried Katie out of the house and
closed the door. She only weighed about forty pounds, so Cole was able to
step up onto the Captain normally then turned him toward the main street.
He rode to the county courthouse and stepped down with Katie still firmly
attached, then just tossed the Captain’s reins over the hitch rail. He walked
up the steps into the courthouse and headed for the sheriff’s office.
He opened the door and stepped inside as Katie finally raised her head to
see where she was.
“Can I help you?” asked the deputy behind the desk.
“I need to report a murder.”
That got the deputy’s interest as he said, “Step back here. I’ll get Sheriff
Baldwin.”
Over the years, Cole didn’t have a lot of dealings with the county sheriff.
He generally preferred to handle any problems on his own. When he did
need to deal with his office, he wasn’t overly impressed with the man or his
deputies. By and large, they seemed to be a lazy group of law officers, so
he’d be interested to see how they did with a murder investigation.
 The deputy waved him over to the sheriff’s own office. He carried Katie
with him as he went to the back and turned into the large private office of
Sheriff Ike Baldwin.
“What’s this about a murder?” he asked.
“I went to see my brother, Harry Turner, at his house on Mission Street
and found a dead young woman in the parlor.”
“
And you brought your kid to see that?
” he asked incredulously.
Cole didn’t appreciate the question or the tone and replied, “She’s not
my daughter. She’s my niece. She was upstairs when the murder took
place.”
“Let’s go and look at the house,” he replied without offering an apology,
then shouted, “Deputy O’Brien, take over the desk for Deputy Wilkens.
He’s comin’ with me.”
Deputy Wilkins nodded, then stood as his desk replacement walked past
and took the warm seat while Sheriff Baldwin strapped on his gunbelt and
put on his hat.
Cole turned around and carried Katie out of the office and then the
courthouse with the two lawmen behind him. He stepped down the stairs
and climbed aboard the Captain with Katie, then set him to a walk back to
Harry’s house as the two peace officers trotted behind. It was a bit hard on
the overweight sheriff to keep up and Cole felt a tiny measure of
satisfaction for the lawman’s less than professional attitude.
He dismounted in front of Harry’s house, then with Katie still in his
arms, had to wait with the deputy for the sheriff to arrive. After the sheriff
huffed to where they were standing, they all turned and headed down the
walkway, crossed the porch and when Cole opened the door, they were
greeted with the familiar scent of death.
Cole said, “I’m going to keep Katie out here on the porch while you
examine the body.”
“Go ahead,” replied the sheriff before he and the deputy entered the
house.
 Cole then turned, carried Katie to the wide swing, then lowered her to
the seat and sat down beside her before he began to sway the swing gently
back and forth.
“Katie, do you know where your father went?”
Katie was looking at him with her big blue eyes and replied, “No. I
haven’t seen papa since it happened.”
“Do you remember what your father shouted?”
“I’m not sure because I was under my covers.”
“Give me your best guess.”
“It sounded like he was just telling the men to go away.”
Cole nodded, then stopped asking questions, expecting that the sheriff
would want to ask Katie what she knew, and he didn’t want to have her
think about it too much. He was certain that if she did know more, she’d tell
him later, but may not tell the sheriff if she thought he wasn’t a good man.
She read people very quickly and was seldom wrong which was one of her
many gifts.
As he sat, he wondered if Harry was still alive. Except for the pool
around Jenny, there were no other signs of blood anywhere else. He was
just at a loss trying to figure out what Harry could have done to warrant
such an attack. Whoever had come into the house had probably killed Jenny
because they didn’t want witnesses.
But if they were just going to kill Harry,
where was his body?
This was already a baffling situation and his lack of
confidence in the sheriff wasn’t making it any better. He assumed that the
sheriff would most likely spend a few days ‘investigating’, then write it off
as an unsolved crime.
Katie had leaned against him and was beginning to fall asleep, so he put
his arm around her and wished she had been at the ranch when it had
happened. He imagined she had been hiding in terror most of the night.
The sheriff and deputy finally exited the house, then approached Cole
and Katie, who had awakened at the sound of their arrival.
 The sheriff stood before him with his hands on his hips and said, “Well,
this is a pretty obvious case. I’m gonna issue a warrant for the arrest of your
brother for rape and murder. We’ll have the coroner come and pick up the
body.”
Cole was stunned, then after a couple of heartbeats, exclaimed, “Wait a
minute! You can’t be serious! Katie told me that she heard the door open,
someone come in and then she heard her father scream at them to get out.”
“Kids don’t understand these kinds of things. He probably tried to rape
that girl and shouted at her to give in. That’s what my report is gonna say.”
Cole knew he was lazy and incompetent, but this was a whole new level
of stupidity.
“You’re wrong, Sheriff. I’m pretty sure that my brother and Miss
Anderson were having an affair, so he didn’t rape her. If I’d have to guess,
whoever barged into the house caught them in the act, killed her and took
my brother. They may have raped her after knocking him on the head with a
pistol, but he surely didn’t do it. I’d be willing to admit to your woeful
theory if I even remotely believed it was possible, but there is no doubt in
my mind what happened here.”
“Believe what you want, but I’m not gonna buy it. Your brother is a
murderer and I aim to see him hang.”
Without waiting for further argument from Cole, the two badge-toters
quickly turned, left the porch then walked back to the street before turning
left toward the courthouse.
Cole was too stunned to say anything.
What had just happened? Those
two morons hadn’t been in the house for two minutes and made their
decision based on what?
He turned to Katie and said, “Sweetheart, you stay here and rock for a
little while, I’m going to go back into the house for a few minutes. Okay?”
“Okay, Uncle Cole,” she replied.
“If you need me, you just call.”
 She nodded and after Cole stood, he gave the swing a bit of a push to get
it started for Katie then quickly went inside. He found his Stetson and
began to examine the scene in detail. He examined the floor first and saw
two long scuff marks that headed for the door, with one leaving a long
scratch. He headed for the parlor and walked into the room, the smell was
still overpowering, so he quickly opened the windows before he returned to
the couch.
He looked at Jenny Anderson’s body and noted that her blouse’s buttons
were all still attached, which meant that she hadn’t been undressed
violently. He noticed that a corner table had been overturned, one of the
pictures was grossly askew, and other two chairs had moved away from
their original positions. There had been a struggle in the room and either the
sheriff and his deputy were both blind, idiots, or didn’t care and he was
betting on both of the last two.
Aside from all the evidence that the sheriff and his deputy chose to
ignore, he wondered where the logic of their deduction lay. Even if Harry
had raped Miss Anderson, why murder her? It would simply be a case of his
word against hers and she wouldn’t stand a chance, even if she reported it,
which seldom happened.
Even if he had murdered her, why run away and
leave Katie upstairs?
Nothing that they concluded made any sense at all. He really wanted to
go through the house, but he’d wait until the coroner removed the body, and
he could clean the place. Then there was the question of Katie. He
suspected that it would take some time to discover what had really
happened and where his brother was, and he wouldn’t be able to take care
of Katie while he did the sheriff’s job. She needed a nanny.
But where could
he get a nanny?
His brother’s long history with nannies would probably prevent him
from approaching any of the women who were most likely to take the job,
especially as she’d have to live on his ranch while he was out hunting for
Harry.
He knew all of the women who had served in that capacity before and
didn’t doubt for a moment that they’d readily accept the job, expecting
similar behavior from him.
 The restrictions that Harry had already placed on his ability to find a
woman to care of Katie were already annoying him, so he cast them aside
for the moment when he heard footsteps on the porch, turned and saw the
coroner enter the room.
“Who are you?” he asked, looking at Cole.
“This is my brother’s house. I found the body.”
“Oh. I’m Doctor Abernathy. I’m the county coroner.”
Cole nodded and said, “I want you to notice some things that the sheriff
obviously missed. Look at the turned over table, the displaced chairs and
the tilted painting. Miss Anderson’s blouse’s buttons are all still sewn in
place, too. This isn’t what he claimed it to be. My brother didn’t do this.”
“How do I know that you didn’t move the chairs and things before I got
here?” he argued.
Cole was getting angry, and snapped, “Did I sew those buttons on, too?”
“Your brother could have held a knife at her throat and told her to
unbutton the blouse. You’re just trying to protect your brother, but I’m the
one who will write the report of her death, not you. I’ll write this up the
way the sheriff wants me to write it up.”
“Just get the body out of here so I can clean this place up,” Cole snarled,
stopping before adding ‘you jerk’ or worse at the end.
Cole returned to the porch and saw Katie looking at him as he exited the
front door.
“Katie, they’re going to take Miss Anderson away soon. Would you
rather sleep at my ranch house or here after the house is clean?”
“I don’t want to sleep here again ever.”
“Alright. I’m going to take you to the ranch in a little while, but I need to
find you a nanny.”
“Why?”
 “I’m going to find out who killed Miss Anderson and took your father.”
“The sheriff said my papa killed Miss Anderson.”
“The sheriff is a poop-head, Katie.”
Katie smiled. She loved her Uncle Cole. He was the only one she could
allow to really know her once she understood that her father had other,
more important things on his mind.
“Uncle Cole, who will be my nanny?” she asked.
“That’s a difficult question, sweetie. I can’t use any of your other
nannies and a lot of the others won’t take the job, either.”
“It’s because my father married them. Is that why?”
“Yes, Katie,” he replied as he smiled at her, sure that she understood the
difference between marriage and what her father was doing, but just
preferred using the childish version.
Katie then said, “She doesn’t have to be pretty, though. As long as she’s
nice, that’s all that matters.”
“Well, I won’t go looking for one that looks like a troll, but if she’s a
nice troll, then I guess she’ll be all right.”
Katie giggled as two more men from the coroner’s office arrived with a
stretcher and five minutes later, carried Miss Anderson’s body out of the
house.
As they stepped down from the porch, Cole looked at Katie while she
watched them. She should be a blubbering mess from what she’d witnessed
but was already recovering quickly. He was in awe of Katie before but now,
he was astounded. Even adults didn’t bounce back so quickly after seeing a
sight like that, and she’d spent hours in the dark of her bedroom with a dead
woman on the first floor.
“Katie, I’m going to go into the house and clean it up quickly, then I’ll
take you to lunch at the café, alright?”
“Uncle Cole, can I have ice cream?” she asked.
 Uncle Cole always brought her to get ice cream when he visited, and she
wanted to put this all behind her. She was struggling to be normal and it
was only possible because her Uncle Cole had arrived.
He smiled as his niece and replied, “Of course, you can, sweetie. I’ll be
back in a few minutes.”
Cole stood, then entered the house and headed straight to the kitchen. He
opened the storage closet and took out a mop and bucket, then took the
bucket to the sink and turned on the hot and cold valves. He pulled a box of
soap chips from a nearby shelf, dumped half of the box into the bucket and
took out a sponge, plunged it into the soapy water and violently shook the
sponge making a thick, sudsy head.
He didn’t bother drying his hands, but just lugged the bucket to the
parlor, set it near the couch, then removed the soapy sponge and began to
clean. The floor was easy to clear of blood because of the shellac coating,
but the sofa was difficult. He finally just covered it in hot sudsy water and
worked it in with the wet sponge. It would have to be replaced, but at least
the smell was gone. He returned to the kitchen and dumped the water but
didn’t take the time to rinse everything.
Cole was preparing to leave when he realized that Katie needed clothes,
so he jogged upstairs to her room and began pulling things out of drawers
until the bed was covered in clothes. He went into Harry’s room, found a
travel bag which swallowed all of Katie’s things, even an extra pair of
shoes.
He trotted back downstairs with the heavy travel bag and left the house,
locking the door behind him and putting the key in his pocket.
Harry had taken the time to show him where he kept everything, and he
even had the combination to Harry’s hidden safe. He wondered if its
contents would be the key to finding out what had happened and more
importantly why.
He took Katie’s hand and walked with her down the steps, then around to
the back of the house and Harry’s carriage house.
 When they reached the carriage house door, Cole set the travel bag on
the ground, then looked at Katie and said, “I’ll harness the buggy and we’ll
get you some lunch and ice cream, okay, Katie?”
Katie looked up at her uncle, nodded and said, “Okay. I’m really
hungry.”
“I’m sure you are,” he said before opening the two wide doors and
entering the carriage house.
Ten minutes later, Cole was driving the buggy with Katie tucked in close
and the Captain trailing behind.
They stopped at Mama’s Diner, then he stepped out, lifted Katie out of
the buggy, set her down, then took her hand before they entered.
As they took a table near the window, Cole glanced outside and
wondered if his imagination wasn’t overly wound up about Harry’s
disappearance and Jenny’s murder. When he looked, he swore that the same
man looking at the diner from across the street had been across the street at
Harry’s house when they left.
The waitress arrived, smiled at Cole and asked, “What will you and
Katie be having today?”
He looked at Katie, then said, “Can you bring us some fried chicken with
mashed potatoes and gravy, Barbara? Katie will have milk and I’ll have
coffee. I promised Katie a bowl of chocolate ice cream for desert, too.”
Barbara smiled at Katie then said, “I’ll be back with your milk and
coffee in a minute.”
After she left, Katie said, “She’s nice, but she likes you too much to be
my nanny.”
Cole grinned at his niece and replied, “I know, sweetie. I’ll find a nice
lady that doesn’t like me at all.”
Katie giggled and said, “That will be hard, Uncle Cole. All of them like
you.”
 Cole laughed then turned his attention to the watcher across the street
who was still there. His intentions did have Cole curious though. Surely, it
couldn’t be to observe him without being noticed.
After a very good fried chicken lunch and Katie’s overly large dish of
chocolate ice cream, Cole walked her out of the eatery and let her clamber
into the buggy on her own.
Once he was sitting on the seat beside her, he said, “Sweetie, I need to
stop at the store and buy some food just for you. Okay?”
“Can I come with you into the store?” she asked.
“Of course, you can. You need to tell me what you like. You may not
like the same things anymore now that you’re getting to be a big girl. Why
pretty soon, ma’am, I reckon you’ll be eatin’ in the chow house and rippin’
them beefsteaks apart with your teeth like one of the fellers.”
She laughed and then smiled at her uncle. She knew he would be trying
to make her happy and more than anything, she didn’t want to disappoint
her Uncle Cole. Besides, she always laughed when he talked like that.
They turned the buggy back onto the main street and Cole glanced at the
man without acting as if he paid any attention. The man was definitely
watching, so Cole marked his appearance. He was too average in most
respects, average height and build, brown hair and eyes, clean-shaven. But
he did sport a fancy two-gun rig with silver trappings.
Why he was watching was the big question. Cole had also never seen the
man before, which wasn’t that unusual as Garden City was a decent-sized
town, but it did add to the mystery surrounding Jenny’s murder and Harry’s
disappearance.
After arriving at Blumkin’s General Store and Greengrocer, Cole and
Katie spent more than thirty minutes wandering the aisles adding items to
the two burlap sacks. He bought a good amount of food that he normally
wouldn’t buy, but Katie would like. She loved his oatmeal because Cole
made it taste like warm candy. He bought the brown sugar, raisins, and
cinnamon to make that happen, added some evaporated milk and some real
milk and cream. The rest of the food he’d take from the chow house larder.
He also gave in to her doe-eyed request for some penny candy, as she knew
he would.
After loading the groceries either in the buggy or on the package shelf,
Cole and Katie climbed back inside, then turned back down the street and
soon headed south to the ranch, leaving Garden City by early afternoon. It
was a good two-and-a-half-hour drive to the Rocking T, and Cole had
checked their backtrail twice after they left town, not seeing the stranger.
Cole knew that he’d have to return tomorrow to start his own
investigation into what had happened to Harry and try to unravel some of
the mystery. He simply had no idea what Harry could have become
involved with that had resulted in such violence.
Twenty minutes after leaving town, the gentle rocking of the buggy and
monotonous clopping of the horse’s hooves had their effect on Katie and
she began to drift into sleep.
But before she submitted to total slumber, she asked quietly, “Uncle
Cole, will you find my father?”
“If it’s the last thing I do, sweetheart.”
Katie smiled softly with her eyes closed and whispered, “Thank you,
Uncle Cole.”
_____
They arrived at the Rocking T just around four o’clock and rolled to a
stop in front of the house. Cole saw Amos over by the bunkhouse with
some of the other boys and waved him over as Katie continued to sleep.
Amos had been startled when he saw Cole already returning and driving
the buggy down the long access road with the Captain on a trail rope and
suspected something was wrong. He still didn’t consider himself family,
even after decades at the ranch, but would wait until Cole wanted him.
Katie began to stir as Amos trotted close to the buggy and asked,
“What’s happenin’, Cole?”
 “Amos, I need to talk to you in the house in a minute. I’ll get Katie
inside. Can you have someone unharness the buggy, unload the stuff and
bring everything, including my guns and saddlebags into the house?”
Amos knew something serious had happened if Katie was with Cole and
Harry wasn’t, and replied, “Sure thing, Cole.”
Cole left the buggy then helped Katie down and took the travel bag
before Amos stepped in to drive it to the barn.
Katie had been to the ranch quite a few times before and Amos and the
older hands had watched her grow from a toddler to a cute little girl. They
all felt like proud uncles whenever she was around, and Cole knew they
could help take care of her in the short term, but she needed the difficult-to-
find nanny. She may be well advanced of her age, but she was still a little
girl who needed a woman to care for her.
Cole stepped up onto the porch, went inside and tossed his Stetson onto a
chair, then dropped the travel bag on the floor before he and Katie sat at the
kitchen table.
“Katie, we need to set up your bedroom in a few minutes, then we’ll talk
to Uncle Amos.”
“Am I always going to live here now, Uncle Cole?” she asked.
“I don’t know, sweetie. I need to find your father and see what
happened.”
“Okay. When will you bring my father back?”
“I’ll go back to your house tomorrow and start looking for him. Those
men that took him are probably hiding him somewhere.”
“You’ll find him, won’t you, Uncle Cole?”
“Yes, sweetheart. I’ll find him.”
Amos and Shorty Jackson had started bringing things into the house, and
while Katie remained at the table, Cole took his Winchester to his gun
room, unlocked it, and dropped off the rifle. After he had closed and locked
the door, he returned to the kitchen, picked up the travel bag, then he and
Katie walked to the bedroom next to the gun room where Katie usually
stayed when she was on the ranch.
Cole and Katie spent ten minutes putting away her things, and he
promised he’d bring her doll, Abby Girl, on the next trip.
When she was all settled in, they walked out to the sitting room where
Amos waited.
After he sat down on the couch with Katie beside him, Cole said,
“Amos, Katie will be staying with us for a while. I’ll get her a nanny
tomorrow when I have to return to Garden City to find out what happened.
I’ll tell you what I know about what I found at the house, and I want Katie
to listen because she knows more than I do, so she might be able to fill
some things in. Katie, if I say something wrong, or you remember
something, you speak up. Okay?”
“Okay, Uncle Cole.”
Cole began the narrative about the trip to Garden City as Katie listened
but never interrupted, except when Cole described his unbelievable
encounter with Sheriff Baldwin, and she described him as a poop-head.
When he finished, a dumbfounded Amos shook his head and said, “If
that don’t beat all. A moron could see that Harry wouldn’t have done it. You
gonna go and find him?”
“I am. But tomorrow, I’m just going to take the buggy back into Garden
City, find a nanny and do some investigating of my own. I’ll be back the
day after.”
“You gonna take the Cannon?”
“Not tomorrow. I’ll just slip one of the ‘76s in the foot well of the
buggy.”
“All the food is put away. You gonna cook?”
“Just the breakfasts. Katie can join us for lunch and dinner. I’m going to
need you to stick around the house when she’s here and I’m not, Amos.
Have one of the shotguns and a Winchester on the rack by the door, too.”
“It’s that serious, ain’t it?”
“I just don’t know what Harry has gotten into this time, but a murder and
abduction sound pretty serious. It’s a lot worse than his usual shenanigans.
And there’s one other thing about this that bothers me. After I picked up
Katie, I saw this stranger watching us and he stood across the street
watching us in Mama’s Diner when we had lunch, too.”
Amos’ eyebrows arched as he asked, “Really? What did this feller look
like?”
“Average everything with dark hair and no beard. The only thing that
marked him was he wore a fancy two-gun rig with silver inlay.”
“I don’t recall ever seein’ him before.”
“Well, he might be a new hire, but he didn’t follow us out of town.”
Amos then said, “Well, all we can do is get ready for what happens.”
“That and try to straighten this mess out as soon as I can.”
Amos didn’t need to have Cole explain why he needed to find out what
had happened so quickly. Both of them knew that if someone had gone
through the trouble of taking Harry from his house after killing a woman,
Harry didn’t have long to live.
Cole and Amos then stood, and after Katie took her uncle’s hand, they
escorted Katie outside to the chow house to meet the boys and then have
their supper.
_____
Harry knew he was in trouble but had no idea where he was, at least not
exactly. He knew who had done this and why, he just hadn’t expected them
to act so quickly. He cursed himself for at least not locking the front door,
but Jenny had distracted him. He didn’t know if Jenny was still alive nor
not but suspected that she was dead because they couldn’t leave any
witnesses. He didn’t think that they hurt Katie though, probably because of
the time it might take to find her.
He knew that the two men who walked into his house were working for
Paul Cooper and that he was probably somewhere on the Bar C. He was
hungry, tired and scared to death of what would happen when they came for
him. He had made so many mistakes since starting down this road, but even
as he sat in the dark, he wondered why they hadn’t beaten him yet to get the
information they wanted.
Paul would really want him to talk, and the lack of strongarm
interrogation was both puzzling and frightening. He hadn’t seen or heard
anyone since he was bound and dumped into this shack, but figured it was
just a matter of time before they got to him. He knew he was a dead man if
he told them but was honest enough to realize that he wouldn’t last long if
they tortured him either. So now, it was just a matter of when he would die
and in how much pain.
_____
In the ranch house two miles away, Paul Cooper sat with his foreman,
Fuzzy Wilkens and his son, John.
“How long before he talks?” asked Paul.
“If we don’t do anything but wait? A couple of days,” Fuzzy replied.
“I want him to worry. Let him get all wound up. I want him desperate.
He’ll be hungry, thirsty and tired when we finally ask him. When I want the
information, I’ll get it. I don’t think he told anybody either. If he did, he’d
go to prison along with the rest of us. What do we know about the brother,
Cole? Do you think he knows anything?”
Fuzzy rubbed his stubble and replied, “I’m not sure if he knows, but I’m
leanin’ to sayin’ that he doesn’t, boss. He pretty much keeps to himself, but
he comes to see him once a month or so, so it’s possible.”
“Is he a threat?”
“No, I don’t think so, but I think he’s gonna start lookin’ around. His
brother’s missin’ and most folks would be huntin’ for missin’ kinfolk.”
 “What did Schuster say?” the boss asked.
“He said that the brother showed up, found the mess and told Ike. Ike
and one of his idiot deputies went in for a couple of minutes and came back
out. I think they told the brother that they were gonna charge the lawyer
with murder, because he sure wasn’t happy. After that, he took the kid to
lunch, stopped and bought some food and took her back to his ranch.”
“I’ve been thinking about the kid. We may need to use her as leverage if
Harry doesn’t tell us where he put it.”
“Boss, I’m not really comfortable grabbing kids. We can make him talk.
The man’s yellow. I don’t know why we just don’t lean on him. He’ll roll in
a minute,” Fuzzy said.
“I know he is, but trust me, I know what I’m doing. I want to keep him
as healthy-looking as possible, just in case. There’s no rush and the last
thing we need is for folks outside of the county running all over the ranch.
Do you understand?”
“Yeah, boss. I got it.”
“Alright, then let’s keep this as quiet as possible until that isn’t possible
anymore.”
“We’ll do that, boss,” Fuzzy replied before leaving the room.
Once he was gone, Paul turned to his son and asked, “John, what do
think?”
John replied, “I think you’re right about letting the lawyer rot in that
shack for a few days, but then, I’d dangle a carrot in front of his face, too.
Let him ride off to town and let Ike and his deputy gun him down as a
wanted murderer.”
Paul smiled, nodded and replied, “That’s along my own line of thought.”
 
_____
 After he’d tucked Katie in for the night, Cole returned to his own
bedroom, having locked the doors before turning out the lamps. He doubted
if anyone would come onto the ranch, but it never hurt to be too safe.
When he was lying on his own bed, staring at the dark ceiling overhead,
he began to review what little he knew about the day’s events, but it wasn’t
much.
Was Jenny Anderson murdered just because she was there, or was she
the target? He hadn’t even thought of that possibility. He knew that her
parents were very pleased with their daughter’s situation, so it wasn’t likely
that her irate father appeared in the house to confront Harry. Other than that
remote possibility, the much more obvious motive was that Harry was
involved in something big and illegal and he’d crossed whoever stood to
profit the most. If they took him, then Harry must have insurance and they
needed to find it. Maybe Harry had left a diary or a logbook in his office,
but that didn’t work either because the men that killed Jenny and took Harry
didn’t search anywhere.
The whole situation was turning his brain into one big bowl of oatmeal,
so Cole finally just pushed it into the back of his mind as best he could, then
tried to figure out where he could find a nanny for Katie tomorrow.
 CHAPTER 2
Cole was on the road to Garden City in the buggy by eight o’clock. He
had made Katie some of his special oatmeal and she had cleaned the bowl
and asked for more, which was a good sign. Other than when Katie visited,
he hadn’t eaten oatmeal since he was ten, almost nineteen years ago.
Where
had the time gone?
He’d be thirty next March, which seemed practically
ancient. He didn’t feel old, but he began to think of himself that way,
especially when he sat at the kitchen table listening to a giggling Katie and
sharing sweetened oatmeal.
As he drove, he had to start thinking about where he could find a nanny
with the normal avenues of the domestic service agency and the church
groups and Harry’s prior nannies closed off to him. The only other way he
knew of would be to go to the library where they had a community bulletin
board. It was unlikely that he’d find someone that met Katie’s ‘nice’
criterion, but he’d start there anyway.
So, when he drove into Garden City, he made the first turn onto a side
street and soon arrived at the county library. It was as much a meeting place
as a library, and it served the role well.
He stepped down, tied off the buggy horse, then walked up the steps and
into the library’s outer vestibule where he began looking at the many
notices posted on the large bulletin board, but not finding any women
seeking work as a nanny. He was ready to give up when he spotted one that
looked as if it had been up there for more than a year, and was partially
covered by an ad placed by someone who was selling two used wagon
wheels ‘in round condition’.
He pulled the small card from the bulletin board and read:
 Cole knew the name and her reputation. He always had his hair cut in
Garden City because the barber in Twin Forks was a butcher more than a
barber. How the man could botch a simple haircut was beyond him. When
he was in the barber shop in Garden City, he’d pick up local gossip.
It was in the barber shop that he had first heard of the young woman
living at #11 11
th
Street which was an easy address to recall. The gossip
was that she had arrived around three years ago with a baby and little
money. She was very young when she showed up in Garden City and rarely
was seen away from what passed for her residence. She took in some
sewing jobs and other at-home work rather than to leave her son for daily
work. The gossip was that she was taking in more than sewing, especially at
nights.
Cole had been very irritated when he first heard the rumor for the simple
reason that none of the men who claimed that she was a whore admitted to
having visited her. The more he heard the other parts of her story, the more
he doubted the truth of her acquired reputation. If a woman doesn’t have a
man with her, she’s assumed to be a prostitute. Yet this young woman,
whatever her circumstances, sounded like she put her son’s welfare above
her own. She had even written that she was a moral young woman on the
card, probably to dispel the rumors.
He’d see what she was like after visiting Harry’s house again and seeing
what information he could glean from his papers and maybe a lot more
from what he found in his safe.
He arrived at Harry’s house before noon, drove the buggy to the carriage
house and stepped down. He pulled the house key from his pocket,
unlocked the back door and entered. Once inside, he quickly strode to the
front of the house, went into Harry’s office and closed the door behind him.
Then he walked to the big window and closed the drapes, but before he did,
he quickly scanned the view outside. He paused when he saw what
appeared to be a pair of field glasses looking his way from behind a
window about two hundred feet away and slightly to the north. He closed
the drapes and turned on the new gas lamp, which is one of the advantages
of living in a city.
He went to a seascape oil painting and opened it on its hinges and looked
at Harry’s wall safe. He didn’t think anyone had tried to open it since Harry
used it last because Harry always left the dial pointed at seven, his lucky
number. He spun the dial to twenty-seven, back around to twelve, and then
back the third time to seventy-eight, turned the handle and opened the safe
then pulled out all the contents and walked to the desk.
He set them on the desktop, took a seat and began to examine what
Harry had stored.
There was a bound stack of fifty twenty-dollar bills, some large
envelopes, labeled deeds, last will and testament, and power of attorney, but
nothing else. He shoved everything back into the safe and locked the door
and swung the painting back into position, disappointed at not finding a
diary or notebook.
Before he drove to #11 11
th
Street, he had to keep his promise to Katie
and find her doll, so he went to her room and found it sitting on her bed.
While he was in her room, he thought that he may as well bring all her toys,
so he found a large cloth bag and began loading them inside.
Another thing he needed to do while he was in town was to get a
replacement for the Captain, so he pulled out his pocket watch and figured
he had enough time to take care of that first, when what he was really doing
was delaying having to meet Miss Crandall. She probably wasn’t a whore,
but he imagined she might not be very pleasant either. Buying a horse was
much more pleasant, and he wanted the best horse he could find, especially
as he felt he’d be needing a really strong animal now.
He left via the back of the house, locked the door behind him as he
headed for the buggy carrying Katie’s bag of toys. He climbed into the
buggy, then drove down the drive, turned onto the street and pulled away
from the house, heading for the biggest livery in town. They usually had so
many horses that it was called the horse store by the locals.
He arrived five minutes later, clambered out of the buggy and as he
walked to the big barn, he looked at the corral with about twenty horses
wandering inside and some looked pretty good, so he walked into the livery.
He’d barely passed through the doors, when one of the four liverymen
that worked in the place spotted him and said, “Mornin’! What can I do for
you?”
“I’ll need a good horse for myself. My old boy back at the ranch is
getting long in the tooth and I figure it’s time to put him out to pasture.”
“How much do you want to pay?”
“It’s not the price that’s important, it’s the horse.”
“If you mean that, then follow me.”
They went back outside and passed through the large corral and crossed
over to another corral that was around the back of the barn.
As soon as he saw the second corral, Cole didn’t have to ask which one
was the horse that he was talking about when he had asked about how much
he was willing to pay. There was a very tall black gelding that was a good
hand and a half taller than any horse in the large corral and much broader in
the chest as well. He was totally black with not a single mark.
“What do you think?” asked the liveryman.
Cole approached the gelding, examined his legs and then stepped back
before he said, “He’s got to be the tallest horse I’ve ever seen, but he’s not
thin at all. His musculature is astonishing, and his chest is so large, it looks
like he could run all day.”
“He’s the best horse we’ve ever offered for sale.”
“How much are you asking for him?”
“Three hundred dollars”
 Cole whistled, but knew he’d pay.
“I’m not even going to bother dickering. He’s worth every penny. How
old is he?”
“Four, so he’ll be around a long time.”
Cole walked up to the black and rubbed his neck admiring the big horse.
This was no Captain; this horse would never be outranked. He was a
General.
Cole paid the man and was given a bill of sale before they shook hands
and the liveryman said, “It’s a pleasure doing business with you, sir.”
Cole replied, “I’m very glad I stopped by.”
Cole led the big black out to the buggy and hitched him to the back. As
he did, he caught sight of a tall, thin man leaning against the wall of the
feed and grain across the street looking at him. He wasn’t sure if he was
admiring the big gelding or watching him, but Cole pretended not to notice
him as he climbed into the buggy.
It was a mighty lonely feeling knowing that there were a lot of folks out
there wanting to know what you know and not caring how they found it,
especially when you didn’t know what they seemed to think you did.
He checked his pocket watch and figured it was time to drive to #11 11
th
Street. He’d never been to that part of town because he’d never had the
need before. He started the buggy rolling, turned at the feed and grain store
and noticed that his watcher was mounting his horse. The man was a lousy
follower, or maybe he wanted to be seen as a form of a threat. Either way,
he was following the same pattern that the two-gun rig man had used.
He rode past 11
th
Street and then turned onto 12
th
, just so he could see
if the man was behind him and soon spotted him as he made the same turn.
His horse was even easy to spot, a bright pinto. If his only intent was to
follow him, the man was an amateur, but if he was supposed to intimidate
Cole, it may not work, but at least it made him out to be more than an idiot.
He turned again and drove down 11
th
Street until he stopped outside of
what he assumed was #11. It barely passed muster as a structure worthy of a
house number. It was barely larger than Harry’s unused privy. Then he
stayed in the buggy while he scanned behind him for the follower that he
knew was there.
Becky was sitting on the bed with Jake when she heard the buggy stop in
front of her door and hoped it would start rolling soon, but when it didn’t,
she took in a deep breath, then leaned over and kissed Jake on the cheek.
She stood, picked him up, carried him to the only chair in the place and
sat him down.
“I’m so sorry, Jake,” she whispered then walked slowly to the door.
After Cole spotted the pinto rider, who then turned and walked his
inconspicuous black and white horse into another intersection, he climbed
out of the buggy, then stepped to the decrepit door.
Cole hesitated for a few seconds, then shrugged and rapped on the dried
wooden surface.
Becky was shaking slightly as she reached for the door and slowly pulled
it open.
Cole wasn’t even mildly surprised by the conditions inside as they were
just a continuation of the sorry state of the structure visible outside, but he
was surprised when he saw Becky Crandall for the first time. She was
dressed in a threadbare yellow print dress, was probably in her low twenties
and was pretty, but a bit thin. What struck him was she seemed to be afraid
of him already.
But before he could say a word, Becky exhaled sharply, then backed into
her darkened room a few feet before she looked at Cole who was still
outside.
He was pulling her bulletin board ad from his pocket when she closed
her eyes, then hesitantly asked, “How…how much…how much will you
pay?”, then began fumbling with the top buttons on her dress.
Cole looked at her again, surprised that the rumors had been true after
all, and said, “Apparently I made a mistake, and I’m sorry to have bothered
you, ma’am.”
 Her eyes flew open and she stopped undoing her buttons when Cole said,
“I’ll replace your card on the bulletin board, but I suggest you edit the word
‘moral’ from the ad.”
As he turned away, she thought, “The card!”
It had been so long and after the first few months without a single offer
of a position, she’d simply forgotten about it.
Cole had already taken several steps and was almost to the buggy when
Becky quickly stepped into the sunlight and said, “Wait! Please!”
Cole wasn’t about to let a whore be a nanny to Katie, so he ignored her
shout, climbed into the buggy and was about to flick the reins when she
reached the side of the buggy and was too close and would be injured if he
started it rolling again.
Cole looked at her desperate face and said, “Excuse me, Mrs. Crandall,
but I need you to move back. I don’t want you to get hurt by the buggy’s
wheels.”
Becky quickly replied, “It’s Miss Crandall. I’m not married. Please
wait!”
“Miss Crandall, could you please step back from the buggy?”
“No, I won’t. I’m not a whore!”
Cole actually wished he could believe her, but looked into her big blue
eyes and said, “Miss Crandall, I’m not going to argue about semantics, but
did you or did you not just ask me how much I would pay for your
services?”
Becky went from a glimmer of hope back to reality as she replied, “Yes.
Yes, I did, and I’m sorry, but well…never mind.”
Then, as she stepped back, she quietly said, “I guess I’m a whore now
just for asking that, aren’t I?”
She stepped further away to give the buggy room, then turned and
walked slowly back to her hovel. Just before she entered, Jake popped out
and looked at Cole before she picked him up, walked inside and closed the
door.
Cole sat in the buggy for a while just looking at the closed door. She had
definitely been preparing to do what everyone said she did for a living, but
the last thing she said before she returned to her squalid room made him
hesitant to get the horse moving again.
Then there was one other thing that she’d said that had kept him from
snapping the reins.
Whore she may be, but Cole decided to at least talk to her again if
nothing else but to satisfy his curiosity.
Becky sat on her bed with Jake across her lap and was beside herself.
She had totally forgotten about the notice that she had placed on the bulletin
board almost three years ago shortly after she had arrived. She was
surprised that one of the church women hadn’t ripped it off the bulletin
board.
Now at the worst possible moment, she had finally given into what she
had sworn she never would do and driven away the only chance she may
ever have to give Jake a better life.
She was on the verge of tears when there was a second knock on the
door. Her head jerked toward the door, but she didn’t want to open it now as
the man might have changed his mind about using her after all. After those
humiliating few seconds, she’d decided that she couldn’t do it.
Cole was surprised that the door didn’t open again right away as he was
obviously a man who could pay well for her services. The delay only
piqued his curiosity, so he knocked again.
Becky was in turmoil as she sat on the bed, holding Jake close. She
couldn’t do it then she’d find another way to make money somehow.
Cole was about to knock again when he just said loudly, “Miss Crandall,
my name is Cole Turner and I’d like to just talk to you, nothing else.”
Becky looked at Jake, who was staring at the door, then set him down,
stood, and walked slowly but steadily to the entrance.
 As she reached for the latch a second time, she stood straight, calmed her
mind and pulled the door open.
Cole saw a different Becky Crandall this time, although she hadn’t
changed her dress or done anything different. It was her manner and the
almost defiant look in her eyes. There was no fear this time. She prepared
ready to fight.
“What do you want? I’m not letting you into my home for any amount of
money. I’m sorry.”
Cole was even more curious, so he replied, “Miss Crandall, I do want to
speak with you about a domestic position. May I enter?”
Becky did a quick evaluation of the man standing before her and he
didn’t have the look of a man who would take advantage of her, which is
practically all she’d seen in three years.
“Alright, but I’ll leave the door open.”
“That’s fine, ma’am. You need the light anyway.”
She turned and picked up Jake, then walked into her house as Cole
followed, taking off his Stetson as he did.
As he walked into the single room, he quickly scanned the place and
found one small bed with only a wool blanket atop a mattress, a sorry-
looking heat stove that she’d been using as a cookstove, a small table and
one straight-backed chair. There was a shelf along the back of the room
with some folded clothes, but not much, and on the end near the heat stove
was a small bin that must have contained flour, a tin of baking powder, a
can of lard and a half-full bag of sugar. There were no tins of food and no
meat.
There was a stack of scrap wood near the heating stove that had probably
been scavenged from discarded crates. Her only illumination was a half-
used candle, but there was another unused candle nearby.
His scan had taken just ten seconds, but it had appalled him that anyone
would have to live in such conditions and try to raise a child.
 Becky had been watching Cole as he examined her room and was
embarrassed by everything. Why he had even returned to talk to a whore
with a little boy was a mystery.
Cole finally looked at Becky, who was staring at him with her son in her
arms and said, “Miss Crandall, would you mind having a seat on your bed?
I'll use your chair if it’s all right.”
“That will be fine,” she replied as she backed to her bed, keeping an eye
on Cole.
Cole took two long strides, took the room’s only chair, and carried it
closer to the bed, where Becky was sitting with Jake on her lap almost as
protection for both of them.
He pushed on the chair’s seat to test if it would bear his two hundred
pounds, wasn’t sure that it would, but slowly sat anyway. It creaked and
groaned but didn’t collapse.
He had his hat in his hands as she asked, “Mister Turner, why did you
return? If you’re truly looking for domestic help, then you could have used
a service or asked the church groups for a recommendation. You think I’m a
whore, yet you returned. Why?”
“It was curiosity more than anything else, Miss Crandall.”
“Curiosity? About what?”
“About you. After that door closed, I almost left because I wasn’t about
to allow an immoral woman into my house, but you said two things that
made me wonder if you were what you claimed to be.”
Becky stared at Cole as she asked, “What did I say, except admit to that I
was a whore?”
“Are you a prostitute, Miss Crandall?”
“Why are you asking me? Didn’t I offer myself to you for money?”
“That was one of the two things you said that made me curious, Miss
Crandall. You asked me how much I would pay.”
 “I don’t understand.”
A small smile formed on Cole’s lips as he replied, “Miss Crandall, if you
were a woman who charged money to take men to her bed, you would
already know the answer. Prostitutes know their worth on the market and
unless they work in a brothel, like Lucy’s, will provide their price to the
customer and expect payment before services are rendered.”
“Oh. I didn’t know that.”
“I honestly didn’t let that anomaly set in until you said that you were a
whore just for asking. When you closed the door, I reviewed everything that
had happened including your manner when I first saw you. You seemed
hesitant and afraid rather than trying to be seductive.”
Becky’s glimmer of hope returned and grew brighter as she asked, “Even
after I offered myself to you, you still don’t think I’m a whore? I’m sure
that you heard all of the gossip.”
“I make my own evaluations, Miss Crandall. I don’t believe in gossip,
especially when none of the men who passed it along in the barber shop had
ever actually been with you. When you didn’t even know how much to
charge, it marked you as a desperate woman who had finally reached the
end of your tether. The sorry state of your room confirms it.”
“So, even now you’re really thinking of hiring me?” she asked barely
above a whisper.
“Yes, it’s still a possibility, but I need to talk to you and be convinced
that you can care for the most precious person in the world to me.”
“You need a nanny?”
“Yes. I need a nanny for my almost six-year-old niece, Katie.”
Becky was getting excited but didn’t want to let her hopes exceed reality
as she held Jake tightly.
Jake was staring at Cole, who was the first man he’d ever seen up close,
and when Cole then looked into his blue eyes and smiled, he grinned.
 “Well, howdy there, podner,” Cole said, “What’s your name?”
Jake glanced at his mother, then looked back at Cole and replied, “Jake.
I’m gonna be four.”
Cole smiled and said, “Well, you sure are a big feller. I’ll bet you can
already ride a horse and lasso a big old bull.”
“I never rode a horse before,” Jake replied.
Cole then looked back at Becky and said, “Miss Crandall, I’ll tell you
what I’ve heard about you that doesn’t involve speculation about your
morals. I heard that you brought Jake to Garden City about three years ago
and have lived in this room since then. Is that right?”
“Yes. I took in sewing and other jobs that didn’t require me to leave
Jake. He was a year old when I got here.”
“You’ve lived in this room for three years?” he asked incredulously.
“Yes. The winters were hard, but we got by.”
“How much does the landlord charge you to live here?”
“Six dollars a month.”
Cole shook his head and said, “You’ve paid over two hundred dollars to
live in this shack that probably cost fifty dollars to build.”
“I did pay the money, Mister Turner. I didn’t give in to his offer to let me
stay without paying the rent.”
“I assumed that, Miss Crandall, or you would have known how much to
charge me when I first opened the door.”
Becky paused then asked, “Out of curiosity, how much do they charge?”
Cole’s eyebrows rose slightly then he replied, “It depends on a lot of
factors. If she’s young and pretty and working in a high-class brothel, she’d
get five dollars or even more. A handsome woman in a place like Lucy’s
gets two or three dollars, but there are women who live alone and charge
fifty cents or a dollar, depending on their age and the conditions of the place
of business.”
“How do you know all this? Do you use these women?”
“I can’t stay celibate, Miss Crandall. It would turn me into a mindless
shadow within a month.”
She was surprised with his admission, but then quietly asked, “If you
don’t hire me, then how much should I charge?”
Cole debated about not answering her question, but she had been honest
with him so far, so he replied, “If you were living in a nice house and put on
a few pounds, I’d say you could charge at least five dollars, but in this hovel
with your lack of prostitute clothing, you’d be lucky to get two.”
The, before she could reply, he looked into her blue eyes and said, “But
you’re not going to do that, even if you don’t get the job. When I knocked
on that door the second time, you had no intention of letting me back inside
because you believed that I had changed my mind and was going to offer
you money to bed you.”
“How did you know?”
“It was in your manner, Miss Crandall. The first time you opened the
door when you asked me the price, you were hesitant and afraid. The
second time, after that delay, you were almost combative and ready to slam
the door in my face. You already decided to try some other way to make
money, didn’t you?”
Becky blinked, then nodded and replied, “I just couldn’t do it. Not in
front of Jake.”
“Alright, Miss Crandall, I’m convinced that you are the moral young
woman that you wrote on your ad, but I’m still curious how in God’s name
you managed to survive three years by doing just sewing. Rent and food
alone would have cost three hundred dollars.”
Becky sighed, then said, “When I left my home three years ago with
Jake, I had thirty-two dollars that I’d saved, but I also had my
grandmother’s wedding ring and a brooch that she’d given to me before she
died. I used the cash and the money I earned to get us through that first
year, then had to sell the brooch to get by the second. I only was able to get
eighteen dollars for the gold wedding ring a year ago, and my sewing
customers began to stop coming when the rumors took hold. I’d finally
reached a point where I wasn’t going to be able to pay the next month’s
rent.”
Cole then quietly said, “Which is why you asked me how much I would
pay when you opened the door.”
“Yes,” she replied before her stomach growled loudly.
She quickly put her hand over her protesting belly in embarrassment as
Jake giggled.
Cole smiled, then said, “Miss Crandall, we need to continue this
interview, but I believe your empty stomach wants in on the conversation.
Now I’ve never been able to understand tummy-talk, so why don’t we move
to Mama’s Café and I’ll buy you and Jake some lunch.”
She quickly asked, “Can’t we just stay here? I mean, you don’t want to
be seen with me and besides, we wouldn’t fit in.”
“Why wouldn’t I want to be seen with you and Jake?”
“You know why. They all think I’m a whore and you’d be tainted.
Besides, we aren’t exactly presentable.”
“I’m not concerned what those who I don’t know or respect think of me,
Miss Crandall, and as to your poor dress, that can be remedied.”
“It’s more than just how we dress, Mister Turner. My hair is a tangled
mess and we both need a good washing. I have to get water from the pump
two blocks down near Murphy’s Livery, and I don’t even have any more
soap.”
Cole thought about it for a few seconds, then said, “I have an answer to
that, Miss Crandall. I want you and Jake to come with me.”
“Where are we going?”
 “My brother’s empty house. He has a nice bathtub with hot and cold
running water. I’ll have to fire up the boiler before I leave, but by the time I
return, you should be ready for lunch.”
“Why is it empty?” she asked as she stood with Jake in her arms.
“For the same reason that I need a nanny,” Cole replied as he rose, then
waited for Becky to leave the room before following.
They left the door open as they walked to the buggy, and once they
arrived, Cole took Jake from his mother and waited for her to carefully
climb inside. She was worried about her thin yellow dress ripping at the
wrong moment and in a strategically embarrassing location.
Jake pointed at the big gelding and excitedly asked, “Is he your horse?”
Cole grinned, replied, “Yes, sir. That’s the General and I just bought
him,” then set him on Becky’s lap before climbing in.
She noticed the Winchester on the floor but didn’t say anything. She was
still somewhat shocked that he was still thinking of offering her the position
but had an enormous number of questions. At least she no longer believed
that he would take advantage of her.
Cole took one glance behind him, spotted the pinto rider again, then
snapped the reins and headed for Mission Street.
Once the buggy started rolling, Jake began to laugh as the buildings
swept before his eyes faster than he’d ever seen before.
Cole then said, “Miss Crandall, the reason I need a nanny is that
yesterday, I moved my niece, Katie, to my ranch because her father, who’s
my younger brother, has disappeared.”
“Oh. Where did he go?”
“He’s been accused of murdering a young woman in his house, which is
where we’re headed. The house is clean and shows no evidence of the
crime, but I wanted to give you the basic facts of the situation before we
continued.”
 “Did he murder her?”
“I’m sure that he didn’t, just by the evidence and the situation, and I’ll
explain that later. If I hadn’t just seen how you live, then I would have been
surprised that you hadn’t heard about it. I’m sure that it’s the top story in
every coffee klatch in town by now.”
“I haven’t had coffee in more than two years now,” she said quietly.
“That’ll change in a little while, Miss Crandall.”
When they made the turn onto Mission Street, Cole caught a glimpse of
the pinto before he pulled into the drive beside his brother’s house.
Becky stared at the house and said, “
Your brother lives here?
”
“He’s a lawyer and has a successful practice,” Cole replied, not adding
the less scrupulous nature of his brother’s clients.
After turning the buggy to the back of the house rather than heading to
the carriage house, Cole pulled it to a stop, clambered out, then took Jake
from Becky and let her step from the buggy.
Once she was on the ground, he set Jake down and she took his hand
before he walked with her up the back porch’s steps, crossed the large,
varnished floor of the porch, then had to hunt for the key.
Becky was nervous about entering the fancy house just because it
seemed so intimidating.
After he opened the door to the kitchen, Cole waited for her and Jake to
enter, then followed her inside and closed the door.
“I’ll go ahead and start the fire in the boiler in the basement, and you’ll
have hot water in ten minutes or so.”
Becky’s eyes were wide as she slowly turned and gazed at the large
kitchen with everything she could have ever imagined in a kitchen and
several things she hadn’t expected or even identified.
“I’ll be right back, Miss Crandall. Feel free to explore,” Cole said before
walking to a hallway door, then disappearing into the basement.
 Jake said, “This is a big house, Mama.”
“Yes, dear, it’s a very big house,” she slowly said as she walked to the
big steel sink and saw the two faucets. One was stamped with an H and the
other with a C. She turned the C faucet and was startled when water gushed
from it without a pump.
After quickly closing the valve, she turned and walked to the pantry and
was overwhelmed with the amount of food, although she realized that it
probably wasn’t as much as there could be.  She then examined the
mammoth cookstove and the icebox.
Cole came pounding up the stairs from the basement, and after closing
the door, said, “The boiler is heating up, so I’ll show you the downstairs
bathroom, and you can use it and one of the bedrooms to change.”
“Alright,” she replied as she took Jake’s hand, still in awe of the house.
Cole walked down the hallway, stopped and opened a door on the left
and when Becky looked inside, he said, “The tub uses the two faucets to fill
it with hot and cold water. Just put the stopper in the drain before you use it.
On the shelf on the left side are the towels and washcloths. That cabinet has
soaps and shampoos inside, and some are scented for use by the nannies
that cared for Katie.”
“What happened to her mother?”
“She died when Katie was born. I’ll explain more later. I’ll leave you
and Jake here to clean up and I’ll be back in a little while with some new
clothes for both of you. Then we can go have something to eat at the café.”
“Mister Turner, if it’s alright with you, I’d rather cook myself. There’s
plenty of food in the kitchen and we can talk while I cook.”
“Alright. Let’s do that.”
Becky nodded, then as she walked back to the kitchen with Jake, kept
glancing into the open doors and couldn’t believe that there was so much
room and furnishings that went unused when she had so little.
 Cole was building a fire in the cookstove while Becky began selecting
food from the pantry and then took two small steaks from the icebox.
“I’ll be right back, Miss Crandall,” Cole said after closing the firebox
door, “I need to take care of the horses.”
“Alright.”
Cole trotted outside, then before he left the porch, scanned for the
observer, then walked down the stairs and led the buggy horse to the trough
and let him drink, then walked to the back, untied General and said, “Sorry,
sir, but we seem to be experiencing a delay."
After letting the tall gelding have his water, he led the General into the
carriage house, put him into a stall where he quickly stuck his muzzle into
the feed bin of oats, then led the still-harnessed buggy horse to a pile of hay
in the back of the carriage house and let him graze.
He pulled his Winchester from the buggy floor, then left the carriage
house, didn’t see the watcher, so he quickly walked back to the porch and
soon entered the kitchen again then hung his hat on the peg near the door.
As he leaned his repeater against the wall, he looked at Becky who was
frying the steaks in the large steel skillet as a small pot of beans bubbled
beside it and a coffeepot steamed on the back hotplate. She’d already cut
some bread and Jake was busy taking bites of his buttered slice.
He was already reasonably certain that Miss Crandall may be one of the
most moral people he’d ever met. How any woman could survive three long
years under those conditions without succumbing to the much easier way of
making money was a true test of character. He glanced at Jake and that
added to his growing respect for her. The boy, despite his lack of shoes and
his tattered wardrobe, seemed healthy and happy.
Cole hadn’t exaggerated when he’d told her that if she added a few
pounds, she’d be at the top of the prostitute ladder. She was a very pretty
young woman, and her thin dress unintentionally showed her figure to
better effect than the low-cut, bosom-enhancing clothing worn by the ladies
at Lucy’s.
 He walked behind Becky, then began setting the table after leaving three
plates near the cookstove.
He opened the well-insulated icebox, which was still fairly cold, then
took out the large bottle of milk, poured a large glass full, then set the bottle
on the table for her coffee.
As she flipped the steaks, Becky said, “Mister Turner, Jake is my son
and is all that matters to me, but I have never been with a man of my own
free will.”
Jake reached in front of Becky, slid the coffeepot from the hot plate and
after dropping in the ground coffee into the boiling water quietly asked,
“Did you know the man who assaulted you?”
Becky kept her eyes on the skillet as she paused, then whispered, “Yes.”
“Yet he refused to marry you?”
“Um, there was a reason, but I’d rather not talk about it.”
“That’s alright, Miss Crandall. I can understand why you wouldn’t.”
Eager to change the subject, she asked, “If you needed a nanny, what
drove you to look for my ad on the bulletin board? There is a domestic
hiring agency in town and the church groups always have
recommendations. Surely, you could have found one by now if you’d
asked.”
“I didn’t bother with either because of my brother. I’ll tell you the whole
story when you finish cooking. It may make you change your mind about
accepting the position.”
She quickly looked at him and asked, “Are you offering me the job?”
“I’m leaning that way, but I still think we both need to talk.”
She nodded, then took one plate, slid a steak on top, set it aside and then
slid the other small steak on the other before adding beans to all three plates
as her stomach growled again in anticipation.
 Cole filled two coffee mugs with coffee, then set them on the table as
Becky set one of the steak-laden plates before him and then the second next
to her mug of coffee before placing the beans-only plate in front of Jake.
Before she sat down, Cole cut his steak in half then began cutting one of
the halves into smaller pieces.
“I was going to cut my steak,” Becky said as she sat down.
“I guessed that was your intention, ma’am,” Cole said as he slid the
small pieces of beef onto Jake’s plate, then added, “but you need to put on
some weight if you’re thinking of charging five dollars.”
Becky was about to snap an angry retort at Cole until she saw his smile,
then smiled herself as she replied, “I’ll want fifty dollars by then.”
Cole laughed, then watched as Jake began snapping chunks of beef from
the plate and said, “Slow down there, podner. You’re gonna have a whopper
of a tummy ache if you eat too fast.”
Jake looked at his mother as juice slid from the corner of his mouth as he
chewed, before she said, “Mister Turner is right, Jake.”
“Okay,” he mumbled with a mouth still stuffed with beef.
As much as she wanted to stuff the steak into her mouth, Becky was still
nervous about offending Cole, so she carefully sliced a small piece from the
end, then placed it into her mouth as if she’d had steak every day, but the
act failed when the juicy meat touched her taste buds.
She closed her eyes and slowly began to chew, letting the flavors
overwhelm her senses.
Cole watched as he cut his own steak, and after she swallowed, said,
“Miss Crandall, you don’t have to pretend to be a demure, dignified society
woman in the way you eat. My mother wasn’t that way and she was a true
lady.”
She opened her eyes and said, “I just didn’t want to appear to be so
crude.”
 “You’re not in the least bit crude, ma’am. Now, let’s eat and I’ll start to
tell you what happened in this house and why I needed to find a nanny.”
She nodded, then took a big forkful of beans as Cole began his narrative.
“I own the Rocking T ranch about fifteen miles south of Garden City.
I’m not married and live with my foreman and my ranch hands. I come into
town every month to visit my brother and his daughter, Katie, and she visits
my ranch sometimes when my brother is off on business.
“When I arrived at his house yesterday morning, I found his nanny
murdered in the parlor and my brother missing. My niece had been upstairs
alone in her bedroom when the crime happened. I was the first one to enter
the house, found my niece and brought her back to the ranch. As I already
mentioned, my brother has been charged with the murder and is still
missing. Now, I don’t believe that he did it, not because he’s my brother,
but because none of the evidence supported it and it didn’t make any sense
to me. Regardless of his guilt or not, I wanted to let you know all of the
reasons why you may not want to take the position.”
She was eating more quickly, so she just nodded.
“The reason that I looked for your card rather than using the domestic
service or even asking any of the church groups that arrange such things is
because of my brother’s behavior.”
Becky looked at Cole as she slid another bite of steak into her mouth,
wondering how his brother could have prevented him from hiring another
nanny.
“Since my brother’s wife died in childbirth, he’s had a string of nannies
to care for Katie. Some have lasted as long as six months, but others less
than half that.”
“Why? Does he beat them?” she asked before taking a sip of her coffee.
“No, he’s not a violent man at all. What he did was to hire handsome
young women as nannies and then sweet talk them into his bed. Then
before too long, he’d tire of them and move on. When I needed a nanny for
Katie, I knew that there was no point in trying to hire one from the service
or to approach the church groups because of his habits and with the murder
of the last nanny, it was even worse.”
“So, that’s why you looked on the bulletin board.”
“It was, but even then, I had to make sure that the woman posting the
notice wasn’t one of the ladies who’d already been one of Harry’s nannies.”
“He never contacted me, and the card had been there for years.”
“I’m sure that he knew you had a child, so he wasn’t about to hire you.”
“Oh.”
“So, Miss Crandall, now that you know the circumstances, are you still
interested in the position?”
She quickly replied, “Yes, but what would you expect of me? What
would those duties entail?”
“Simply caring for Katie and acting as her mother would. Katie is an
exceptionally smart girl and can take care of herself most of the time, but
I’d be a lot more comfortable having a woman to stay with her.”
“That’s all? I mean, I wouldn’t be expected to…you know.”
“No, ma’am. I won’t be there much anyway because I have to find out
what happened to my brother. You’ll be protected by my foreman and the
ranch hands, but you can lock the doors of the house, too.”
“So, you won’t be sleeping there?”
“No, ma’am. If I’m on the ranch, I’ll be sleeping in the bunkhouse with
the boys.”
“So,” she asked softly, “are you offering me the position?”, still worried
that he might ask more questions about her past.
Cole had already decided that Katie would like her, and said, “If you
want the job, you can come back with me to the Rocking T. I’ll pay you
fifty dollars a month, and I’ll pay you in advance, so you can buy anything
else you might need before we leave. When we get there, you’ll be free to
go wherever you want on the ranch and you can use the buggy or a horse, if
you want to ride. You’ll be able to ask any of the ranch hands to harness the
buggy or saddle a horse.”
“
Fifty dollars a month?
” Becky exclaimed.
“It’s what I pay my ranch hands, and you’ll be responsible for the
welfare of my niece, who is infinitely more important to me than the whole
ranch.”
Becky was still disconcerted but managed to reply, “I’ll accept the
position, Mister Turner.”
“Good. We’ll talk more on the ride down to the ranch, but while you and
Jake get cleaned up, I’ll take the buggy over to the new clothing store and
buy you some things. Feel free to take any of the soaps or shampoos you
find as well.”
He pulled out his wallet, extracted five ten-dollar notes, then laid them
on the table and said, “This is your first month’s pay, Miss Crandall.”
Becky just nodded as she stared at the cash. It was more money than
she’d ever seen before and wondered just how much money he had. His
brother certainly had a lot.
He then stood and said, “I’ll be back in about twenty minutes or so.
What size shoes to each of you wear?”
“Um, I wear size eight and Jake is a four.”
“Alright. Is there anything else that you might want before we leave
town?”
“Could I get a hairbrush, please?” she asked as she picked up one of the
bills and held it out to him.
“That’s your salary, Miss Crandall. Just consider the clothes as a hiring
bonus.”
She still had the note in her hand as she replied, “Alright. Thank you,
Mister Turner.”
 Cole smiled, said, “You’re welcome, ma’am,” then walked across the
floor, snatched his Winchester as he passed, then grabbed his hat and left
the house.
After he was gone, Jake asked, “Mama, are we gonna go to his ranch?”
She smiled at him and replied, “Yes, sweetheart, and I hope we never
have to go back to that hellhole again.”
As soon as the plates were clean, Becky took Jake’s hand and walked
with him to the bathroom.
After closing the door, she put the rubber stopper in the drain, then as
Jake watched with big eyes, she opened the two valves and steaming hot
water erupted from the left nozzle.
Jake laughed and said, “It’s hot, Mama!”
Becky sighed, smiled at her son, then began to search for the soaps and
shampoos.
_____
Cole left his new gelding in the carriage house and drove the buggy out
of the residence, scanned the road for the follower, and hoped that he’d
follow rather than going to the house.
When he turned south toward Main Street, he was gratified that the
unknown rider passed by his brother’s house and stayed behind him.
He pulled up before McCracken Brothers Clothing, which had only
opened two months ago, then entered the store for the first time. He didn’t
want to waste time browsing because of his trailer, so he found a young
woman clerk in the women’s clothing section, told her what he needed, then
after she pointed out the correct dress sizes, he selected four, then had her
take care of the rest, including two riding outfits and the shoes and pair of
proper boots. He then walked to the boys’ area, picked up two pairs of short
pants, three pairs of boys’ britches, then four shirts, some underpants and
socks, then found some size four boots.
 He remembered the hairbrush when he spotted a fairly nice hairbrush
and comb set, then as he walked with his armload of clothes, he spotted the
clerk making her second trip to the counter.
Cole dropped off the other purchases and while the clerk was adding up
the total damage, he spotted something that he thought she would like, so he
took three long strides from the counter, slipped the blue silk scarf from the
display and brought it back to the counter.
The clerk managed to squeeze it all into one big cloth bag emblazoned
with the store name, and Cole was surprised that it didn’t cost as much as he
had expected.
He paid the bill, took his change, then waved to the clerk and headed
quickly to the door.
Once outside in the bright sunlight, he was relieved to see the man on the
pinto a block and a half to his right.
He set the bag of clothes in the buggy, ensured his Winchester was still
in the footwell, then climbed inside.
When he turned into the drive five minutes later, he didn’t see the rider
again, but just parked the buggy in back removed his Winchester and the
bag of clothes and stepped onto the porch.
He reached the door set the Winchester down then knocked once before
opening the door, picking up his repeater, then stepping inside.
“I’m back, Miss Crandall,” he said loudly before setting the bag down
and closing the door.
He was hanging his hat on the peg when he heard bare footsteps in the
hallway and was surprised to see Jake enter the kitchen without his mother.
“Where’s your mama, Jake?” he asked as he leaned his Winchester
against the wall.
“She’s still in the bathtub. I’m all clean now.”
 Cole smiled at him and said, “You sure are, sir. Now, I have all sorts of
new clothes for you in the bag, but I think your mama will want to get you
dressed. Okay?”
“Okay.”
After she’d bathed and dried Jake, Becky had taken him across the hall
to the nearest bedroom, dressed him in his old clothes, then had him sit on
the bed and wait for Mister Turner while she took her bath.
Once she was in the warm, sudsy water, she found herself so content that
she almost fell asleep. She had scrubbed every part of her body, turning the
already tan water into a murky brown. She then drained the tub and refilled
it with clear water and slipped back into the hot water for a second, less
disgusting round of cleaning which included two shampoos of her hair.
After that, she just stayed in the tub and was in danger of falling asleep
again when Cole had announced his return.
She splashed out of the tub quickly, pulled the stopper and quickly dried
as the water drained.
She donned her thin yellow dress and was mortified when she realized
that it stuck to her still damp skin, making her feel almost naked.
She was standing behind the closed door, wondering what she could do
when Cole tapped on the bathroom door.
“Are you all right, Miss Crandall?” he asked.
“Yes, I’m fine, thank you, but I have a problem with my dress. It’s, um,
too thin.”
“That’s alright. I’ll just leave the bag of clothes by the door and go out to
the kitchen and chat with Jake.”
“Thank you,” she shouted as she listened for his receding footsteps.
Cole wondered what she looked like behind that door and felt guilty for
letting his imagination paint a picture of Becky Crandall with her thin dress
plastered to her body.
 He reached the kitchen, then sat with Jake at the table when he heard the
bathroom door open and quickly close again.
“Your mama is getting dressed, Jake.”
“What’s it like on your ranch?” he asked.
“Well, sir, we have about a thousand head of cattle right now and a
bunch of horses, too. I bought that big one because I really liked him.”
“Can I ride a horse, too?”
“Right now, you’ll need to have someone with you, but I reckon that
you’ll be riding soon enough.”
Then Jake asked, “I don’t have to come back here?”
Cole shook his head and replied, “No, Jake, I don’t want you ever to go
back to that place. Nobody as nice as you and your mama should live in a
place like that.”
Jake was all grins as he asked, “I never had a papa. Will you be my
papa?”
Cole looked at his pleading blue eyes and couldn’t disappoint him as he
answered, “Well, Jake, I can’t be your real papa, but I sure can treat you like
my own boy. I want to see you grow up to be a good man. You can call me
Uncle Cole, though. Katie calls me that.”
Becky was brushing her hair with the door open just a crack and had
been listening to most of the conversation. When Jake had asked if he ever
had to come back, she thought her heart would stop as she held the brush
still.
When Cole gave his reply, she felt a flood of relief and happiness flow
through her and whispered, “Thank you, God.”
She resumed clearing the knots from her long, sandy brown hair when
she stopped again. Jake had just asked if Mister Turner would be his papa
and then was stunned by his reply.
 How was this even possible?
An hour ago, he thought she was a whore
and now it sounded as if he was planning on marrying her and letting her
live with him at his ranch. Then she focused on how he asked Jake to
address him and understood that he hadn’t thought of marrying her but still,
knowing that he was expecting her and Jake to live on his ranch was an
extraordinary change in their lives.
She began to tug the brush through her hair again and began to think of
Mister Turner differently. She’d never had to think of men as anything other
than prowling wolves, but he seemed so different. He was pleasant, treated
her and Jake better than anyone else, and had actually made her laugh.
When he’d made the comment about her charging five dollars, it was the
first time she’d ever had the opportunity to exercise her own wit and it had
made her feel alive.
His appearance certainly didn’t hurt, either. But Mister Turner could
never look at her that way because she was as close to a nobody as
imaginable. He owned a big ranch with a thousand cattle and was probably
very popular. He couldn’t be seen with the likes of her. She may live on the
ranch with him, but she was just going to be hired help.
She may never be anything else, but being a nanny was a lot better than
what she’d almost become.
Becky finally picked up the clothing bag and stepped out of the
bedroom. She hadn’t really dug into the bag very deeply, but had just
selected the top dress, a nice dark green one with a white color, and then
found the undergarments and some socks and shoes.
After she left the bag in the bedroom, she walked into the kitchen,
smiled at Cole and said, “Thank you, Mister Turner. You even remembered
all the other things.”
Cole was impressed with the change, and even though the recent images
of Becky in the damp, yellow thin dress were still somewhere in his mind,
he had to admit that she was a handsome young woman in the green dress
with her still-damp hair brushed and a clean face.
“You’re welcome, Miss Crandall,” he said as he returned her smile.
 “You’re really pretty, Mama!” Jake exclaimed as he trotted over to his
mother.
“Why, thank you, sir. Now, let’s get you dressed, and we can get on our
way.”
“Okay,” he said, then turned and waved at Cole as she led him away and
said, “Bye, Uncle Cole.”
Cole grinned and waved back as they entered the bedroom. He thought
that once he had Becky and Jake set in the ranch house, he’d see how that
developed. He expected that even though he was sure the boys would treat
her well he could imagine that at least three or four of them would try to
impress Becky and that might lead to trouble.
He hadn’t given much thought to finding Harry yet, but now that he had
found a nanny for Katie, that wasn’t something he could let go for very
long. He’d take Miss Crandall and Jake to the ranch, then settle them in
with Katie. Tomorrow, he’d begin his own investigation and his search for
his missing brother.
Harry had been gone for a day and a half now and suspected that if he
wasn’t already dead, then he would be soon. Sadly, he admitted to himself
that Harry was just reaping what he had sown. He was even close to just
washing his hands of his troublesome brother, but he was still his only
sibling and he knew that he’d have to do whatever it took to find him, even
though he knew that if anything happened to him, his brother certainly
wouldn’t strain to help him. It was actually more for Katie than Harry that
he had to do all that he could.
He just hoped that it didn’t get him killed, and after seeing Jenny
Anderson’s body, he could see that as a possibility.
_____
Twenty minutes later, a well-dressed Jake sat on the buggy seat on
Cole’s left side while a lightly lilac-scented Becky sat on his right as they
pulled out of the house’s drive with the General trailing behind.
 He soon picked up the patient trailer on his pinto, but when they cleared
the town limits heading south the man wasn’t there. If he’d followed the
follower, Cole would have seen him head back to the Bar C ranch to tell his
boss what he had observed.
_____
Jake was already asleep just minutes after they started the long ride
south, so Cole said, “Miss Crandall, we have a long drive ahead of us and I
want to fill you in on all of the details.”
“It’s not necessary, Mister Turner.”
“I feel that it is because you’ll need it to understand Katie better.”
“Alright.”
“As I mentioned before, Katie’s mother died in childbirth, so she’s been
raised by my brother, Harry. Harry is scoundrel and has never paid that
much attention to Katie but spent a lot of attention to her nannies. I know
that he loves Katie, but he doesn’t understand her as well as I do. Katie is an
extraordinary little girl, and you’ll realize that quickly, but she hasn’t spent
much time with other children.”
“Jake and I have never been apart for very long and I know he’s never
even talked to another child.”
“I think it’ll be good for both of them, then. As I said before, Harry
bedded every one of the nannies and Katie knew that he was. The last one,
Jenny Anderson, the young woman who was murdered, was younger than
you. I think she just turned eighteen. Her parents knew what was going on
and I’m pretty sure they expected Harry to marry her, but I know that he
never would. My brother is a handsome man who has a smooth tongue and
tells women what they want to hear, promising them love and marriage, but
not meaning a word of it.”
“I would never have fallen into that trap,” Becky said.
Cole glanced at her, then said, “Don’t be so sure of yourself. Two of
those women were committed churchgoers and I’m sure that they said the
same thing. I think it was my brother’s eyes that were the convincers. He
could lie with the best of them, which is why he was such a good lawyer, I
guess.”
“And you’re going to find him?”
“I have to. He may be a scoundrel, but he’s still my brother and more
importantly, he’s Katie’s father.”
“If you do, then I assume that Katie will return to Garden City with
him.”
“I imagine so.”
“I heard you tell Jake that we could stay at your ranch, but I wasn’t sure
if you said that just to make him feel better or not.”
“I never make a promise that I won’t keep, Miss Crandall. I will never
send you and Jake away unless you ask to leave.”
“Why would you do this for us?” she asked, “You don’t even know me
at all.”
“You have endured a lot of hardship in your life, Miss Crandall, and
none of it was your fault. Yet even under the almost inhuman conditions
that I found you, you hadn’t taken the easy road. I wasn’t joking that a
young woman with your looks and figure could make five dollars per
customer, and even if you didn’t realize it, I’m surprised that Jimmy
Putnam, the owner of Lucy’s didn’t try to offer you a spot in his bordello.”
“He did offer me a job when I’d been there three months and made it
sound like I’d just be a waitress. I almost went with him but then he just
said something about ‘servicing the customers’, and then laughed. I
slammed the door and was terrified that he might force his way inside.”
“Jimmy is a lot like my brother in that they both like to use women, but
neither is a violent man.”
“Are you going to stay at the ranch today, Mister Turner?”
“I’ll stay today and introduce you to Katie and then the ranch hands. I’ll
move some of my things to the bunkhouse and tomorrow, I’m going to go
to my brother’s office to figure out what is going on before I start my hunt.”
“Then I’ll be alone with the children?”
“Not alone, but I won’t be there.”
“How long will you be gone?”
“I have no idea, but I don’t think it will be more than three days. If I
haven’t found him by then, then I’m sure he won’t be alive.”
“It’s that dangerous?”
“I have no idea what my brother got himself into, but I’m sure he’s
gotten in way over his head. I don’t believe it’ll reach as far as the ranch
anyway. You’ll be safe.”
“So, why do you believe that your brother is innocent of the murder?”
For the next ten minutes, Cole described the sequence of events since he
arrived at the house until the coroner left. Then he explained each of the
details, using the same arguments that he had given to the sheriff and the
coroner.
When he finished, she said, “I think you’re right, Mister Turner. Even if
he had attacked her, he wouldn’t have had to worry. Women get raped every
day and unless it happens in the middle of main street with a big crowd
watching, nobody ever hears about it.”
Cole looked at Becky and asked, “Is that what happened to you?”
“Yes.”
Cole let her sit without speaking as the buggy rolled along, and once he
was sure she had no intention of explaining any more, he said, “Miss
Crandall, I’d be honored if you’d call me Cole. There’s not a soul that I
know who calls me Mister Turner. I’m not sure if you told one of the boys
that Mister Turner hired you that they’d know who you were talking about.”
Becky laughed lightly, then replied, “Alright. Thank you, Cole, and you
can call me Becky.”
 “Is that short for Rebecca?”
“It is, but not even my mother ever called me Rebecca.”
“Well, don’t feel neglected. My parents never called me anything but
Cole.”
“Is it short for Colbert or something else?”
“No, ma’am. It’s just Cole, so that’s probably why they called me that. I
never did ask my parents where they got the name either. I always assumed
it was spelled that way, but sometimes, when I’d be a naughty boy, I’d think
it was spelled like the black stuff that we dig out of the ground and burn.
Now my brother’s name is Harold, but nobody ever called him that except
for me when I wanted to get him riled."
She laughed again, then said, “Tell me about Katie.”
Cole smiled at her before saying, “Ah! The remarkable Katie Turner, my
favorite subject. Physically, she looks like an adorable, six-year-old girl
because she is. She’s a joy to be around and loves to play and read.”
“
She can read already?
” Becky asked in surprise.
“She’s been reading since she was three, and neither I nor my brother
taught her. That gives you an idea of how bright she is, but it’s not just
book-learning. She thinks like an adult and can read people almost
instantly.”
“That’s frightening.”
“I know, and I’m only telling you this, so you don’t say anything like,
‘you’re really smart, Katie’. She loves being treated like a normal little girl,
and I’m the only one who understands her. Even her father doesn’t know
the extent of her gifts. He spent too much time at work and his other
pursuits, including the nannies and other women.”
“But now, you’re telling me about her gifts.”
“I am for a very good reason. You’ll be the first woman that she will
spend time with who wasn’t there to satisfy her father. Your focus will be
on her and you’ll probably spend more time with her than even I will over
the next few days. I’m sure that she’ll like you, too.”
“How can she like me if she can read me so easily?”
Cole smiled and replied, “Because if I like you, Katie will like you.”
“You like me?”
“I’ll admit that it helps that you’re a very attractive young woman, and
it’s easier to like handsome people than homely ones. But once you stopped
being so defensive, you’re a very likeable person, Becky. And given your
situation, I’m almost shocked that you aren’t a snarling witch by now.”
Becky laughed and said, “You changed the first letter in ‘witch’ to be
polite.”
Cole scratched the side of his neck as he grinned and replied, “I did and
it was close, too.”
Becky smiled and wondered why she was enjoying herself so much. She
hadn’t really laughed because something was funny in so long that she
couldn’t recall the last time, yet she’d already done so several times since
meeting Cole. He even treated her as if she was a normal young woman
which no one had ever done before. She was either an object of pity,
derision, or lust.
She looked at Cole again as he watched the road ahead and wondered if
it was possible that he would ever see her as a prospective wife. Ever since
she was taken, she never even thought of the possibility of marriage.
What
kind of man would want to be seen with a woman like her? Even if he did
like her, would he want to walk the streets of Garden City with the whore
who lived at #11 11
th
Street?
Cole then suddenly turned to check their backtrail, saw Becky looking at
him, then after he saw the empty road behind them, looked back at her,
smiled and said, “We still have the road to ourselves, except for that big
horse trotting behind us.”
He’d seen a look in her eyes that he couldn’t place and assumed that she
was still worried about the ranch or even his intentions, which made sense
given her history. He’d have to really lay the law down on the boys when he
got there and try to make her feel as comfortable as possible.
Becky then asked, “After Jake and I get settled in, could you stay in the
house with us for a while anyway?”
“If you’re comfortable with me being there, I’d be happy to stick around
until we turn out the lamps. It won’t take me that long to pack anyway.
We’ll probably be talking alone though, because I think Katie will want to
take Jake under her wing.”
Becky then asked, “How will she be with Jake?”
“She’ll want to play with him and show him everything. I have her bag
of toys on the package shelf in back. She’ll probably be like a teacher for
him when they’re alone.”
“That’ll be interesting.”
“It’ll be very nice for you both, Becky. You’ll be as close to a mother as
Katie has ever had.”
“Why didn’t your brother marry any of the nannies, so she could have a
mother?”
“Aside from limiting his womanizing activities, there was another reason
that I found to be ironic.”
“What was that?”
“Harry thought the women were nothing more than servants and could
be hired and discarded when he felt the need, or lack of need. He may have
dabbled with most women but would never marry a woman from the wrong
side of the tracks. What made it ironic was that our parents weren’t exactly
society types. I guess his years in college made him believe he was better
than common folks.”
Becky then blurted, “How about you? Would you marry a woman from
the wrong side of the tracks?”
 Cole didn’t think it was an especially personal question, and replied, “I
did marry someone from the wrong side of the tracks, Becky. I married a
girl name Edith Summers. Her family were sharecroppers and barely had
two nickels to rub together.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“Why? It’s common knowledge and I’m not ashamed of it.”
“You said you weren’t married, and I thought that you hadn’t been
married at all.”
“We were married for over a year, but she died in childbirth five years
ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right, Becky. You need to know about these things anyway if
you’re living on the ranch. Everyone else does.”
“Why haven’t you remarried? Do you still miss her so much?”
“No. Getting married was a mistake because I married her for the wrong
reason, I just thought it was time for me to have a wife after I inherited the
ranch. I think she married me because she liked me, and I could provide for
her. I’m ashamed to admit that I was almost relieved when she died. I’ve
felt that guilt ever since.”
“And that’s why you’ll never remarry?”
“No, I didn’t say I wouldn’t, it’s just that I’ve been too busy to go
looking and I figure that if I find the right woman, then I’ll know.”
“So, you’re going to leave it up to fate?”
“A lot of people seem to believe that it controls our lives, don’t they?
But I don’t believe that fate or even God meddles in what happens to us. A
lot of it is our own doing, like Harry’s problem, whatever it may be, but a
lot is pure chance. We only call it fate or divine intervention after the fact
when we see all of the other alternative directions our lives could have
taken.”
 “If you hadn’t found my old card on the bulletin board, for example.”
Cole turned and smiled at Becky, then said, “Or if you’d just asked for
two dollars instead of not knowing how much to charge.”
“You would have driven away?” she asked quietly.
“Maybe, but we’ll never know now. Will we?”
“No, but whether it’s fate or not, I’m grateful that you found my old
card.”
“So, am I, Becky.”
The last minutes of conversation had surprised Becky. Cole seemed to
disregard her past and still liked her. He even said he was grateful that he’d
found her.
Was it because he found a good nanny for Katie, or was it
something more?
She decided that she had to know, and that meant she had to tell him the
truth about her life. A truth that might make him look at her as she saw
herself and that might even mean he’d turn the buggy around. It was an
enormous gamble, but it was one that she thought was necessary. She
needed to hear his reaction to her biggest shame.
She took in a long, slow breath, then turned to look at him and asked,
“Cole, I want to tell you why I left my home with Jake and found myself in
that hovel?”
He looked back at her and said, “You don’t have to, Becky. It’s all right.”
“But I want to tell you. It’s important to me.”
He saw the pain and anxiety in her eyes and thought it whatever she said
would be tantamount to a confession, so he nodded and said, “Alright,
Becky. Go ahead.”
The clopping of hooves in front and behind the buggy seemed louder as
Becky slowly began her story.
“I…I was fourteen when my mother died, and I was alone in our house
with my father and two older brothers. I did all of the household work, and
still was expected to do some work in the fields, so I was so very tired at the
end of each day. Then when I was sixteen, my life suddenly became much
worse. 
“I was asleep and suddenly awakened when I realized that someone was
in bed with me. I was frightened, but then realized it was my father and I
calmed down for a short time, until…until I felt him pulling up my
nightdress. My mother had told me about how a woman becomes a mother,
and it was then that I realized what he was doing. I tried to stop him, but I
just didn’t have the strength or the energy to provide much resistance. After
he took me, he just left me on my bed in the dark, shaking and still in
disbelief about what had just happened.
“The next morning, it was like a nightmare that I almost didn’t believe
was real until I saw the blood on my bed and knew it hadn’t been a bad
dream at all. I just got out of bed, went to the privy and then got ready for
the day as if nothing had happened. My father never said a word about it
and I never asked because I didn’t want to anger him.
“I went to bed the next night, still exhausted from my work, but afraid he
might return, but slept through the night and then the night after that. I
began to believe that what had happened really had been some sort of
dream. But after two quiet nights, my father returned and took me again. I
was hurt and ashamed, but even more than that, I was afraid. Afraid that he
wouldn’t stop and that I would get pregnant.”
“
Did your brothers know this was happening?
” Cole asked through
clenched jaws.
“They knew. It wasn’t a big house. I missed my monthly the first month
and knew I was going to have a baby. I was too afraid to tell my father
because I thought he might hurt me, but when I began to have morning
sickness, he knew. He knew, yet it didn’t change his behavior at all. In fact,
he seemed to appreciate the change. He told me…”
She closed her eyes and exhaled sharply before continuing.
“He told me that he was happy that my breasts were now like a woman
grown. He didn’t stop visiting me in my bed until I was almost ready to
deliver. I remember that day that my labor started. It was sweltering hot in
the house and there was no breeze at all. I didn’t know how difficult it was
to have a baby, and after a few hours of labor, I thought I was going to die.”
“Didn’t you even have a midwife?” Cole asked quietly.
“I did have a midwife. It was Mrs. Lassiter from the next farm. Even
though she was telling me that everything was going well, I thought she
was lying to me to keep me from losing the baby. After eleven hours in that
overbearing heat, I finally gave birth to Jake. My father didn’t want
anything to do with his bastard, and I was so ashamed of how he’d come to
be, that I never told Mrs. Lassiter or anyone else who his father was until
now. You’re the only one who knows besides my father and two brothers.
“After she saw my baby, Mrs. Lassiter asked if she could keep him
because she knew I wasn’t married, and she never had a child of her own.
My father tried to make me to give him up, but I told them that I’d think
about it, knowing that I had to keep him until he was weaned. I stretched
that out for as long as I could, but they both kept pestering me about it. My
father, of course, resumed his nightly visits as soon as he could, and even as
I was nursing Jake, I was terrified that I might become pregnant again.
“I was making one excuse or another to keep Jake, even as I was
planning to run away. When my father told me that if I didn’t give Jake to
Mrs. Lassiter, he’d throw him down the well, I knew that I had to run. I had
thirty-two dollars, my grandmother’s ring and brooch and a bag with my
clothes and a few diapers when I left the farm in the predawn.
“I knew that my father would be trying to find me, so I took a route that
he wouldn’t expect and made it to Garden City that night. I was so ashamed
of myself that I didn’t even ask for any help that first month, but just rented
the room. You know about the rest.”
She then dropped her eyes and waited for Cole’s response as her heart
began to pound against her ribs.
Cole was shocked and disgusted. He’d heard of such things, but this was
his first encounter with a woman who had experienced it and he was
suddenly filled with an enormous amount of compassion for the young
woman sitting next to him.
 As Cole sat beside her in stunned silence, Becky began to worry that her
story had made him change his mind about everything, but that worry
evaporated when he finally spoke.
Cole said softly, “You never had any reason for shame, Becky. You had
cause for anger, fear and hurt, but never shame. Your father is nothing more
than a rapist and isn’t worthy of the title. You did nothing wrong and if your
brothers had been real men, they would have protected you.”
Becky felt a surge of relief, then raised her eyes to look at him and said,
“Thank you, Cole. I feel much better now. I’m glad that I told you.”
“All I can promise is that no one will ever hurt you again if I can help
it.”
She nodded then said, “Did you know what the ironic part of it was? My
father was a deacon in the local church. He was a very important man in the
church, and I assume that he still is.
“After my father found out I was pregnant, he passed the word that I had
given myself to a passing stranger. The congregation shamed me and
refused to let me even near the church. Yet every Sunday, my father and
brothers would go to services, leaving me at home. The whole town thought
of me the same way that those men who knocked on my door in Garden
City did. I thought if I ran away, things would change, but they didn’t. At
least I have Jake, now.”
Cole had to get his mind settled for a few seconds before he said,
“Becky, that’s all behind you now, so stop worrying about it and just think
about taking care of Katie, Jake and yourself. When we get to the ranch in
another hour, we’ll set up the two bedrooms for you and Jake and he’ll have
a friend.”
“It will be odd not having Jake with me all the time. He’s never been
more than six feet away from me his entire life,” she said quietly.
“That’s got to change, Becky. He’ll be growing up faster than you can
imagine. It seems like only yesterday that I was holding a baby Katie in my
arms, and now she can run the house. Pretty soon, you’ll be seeing Jake off
to school, then he’ll show up one day to introduce his new girlfriend to his
beloved mother.”
Becky smiled at the thought and looked over at a sleeping Jake.
“You’re right. He’s got to start growing up now.”
“The good news is that with all of the boys on the ranch, he won’t have
any shortage of uncles around,” he said as he laughed.
Becky smiled, not stating the obvious. Little Jake needed a father more
than an uncle, and now she began to look at Cole with new, more hopeful
eyes.
_____
They arrived at the ranch in late afternoon and rolled down the access
road. Amos was walking from the house when he was surprised to see Cole
back so soon with the nanny in the buggy with him, but he was more
impressed when he had a good look at the tall black gelding trailing behind.
He stepped down to the ground and waved as the buggy continued to
approach.
Cole waved back and said, “Becky, that’s Amos, my foreman. He’s been
here longer than I have, and I’d trust him with my life.”
Two minutes later, he pulled the buggy to a stop, and as soon as it
lurched to a halt, Jake sat up, stretched, then yawned before asking, “Where
are we?”
Cole grinned at him and said, “You’re home now, Jake. Welcome to the
Rocking T ranch.”
Becky whispered, “Home,” as Jake quickly looked around at the very
different surroundings.
Becky stepped out of the buggy, then Cole exited, lifted Jake out and set
him on the ground near his mother.
She took his hand and waited as Cole took out her bag handed it to her,
then removed his Winchester, before walking behind the buggy and
removing Katie’s bag of toys.
He then rejoined Becky and Jake who were waiting beside the buggy as
Amos approached.
“Amos, this is Miss Becky Crandall and her son Jake. She’ll be watching
over Katie. Where is Katie? I thought she’d be waiting for us.”
“She’s asleep. She took an unintended nap while you were bringing her
Abby Girl. I hope you didn’t forget her dolly.”
“I didn’t. I brought a bunch of her other toys as well. I think she’ll be
staying here for a while.”
Amos smiled at Becky, tipped his hat, and said, “It’s a pleasure to meet
you, Miss Crandall.”
Becky was almost stunned by his genuine smile after being introduced
with the maiden form of address attached to ‘her son’. There wasn’t a hint
of contempt in his face.
She smiled back and said, “Please call me Becky.”
“I’d be right pleased if you call me Amos, Becky.”
“Can you handle the buggy again, Amos?” asked Cole.
“Sure. What’s that monster you have trailin’, Cole?” he asked spying the
giant horse.
“That, Amos, is the General. I picked him up in Garden City. Have you
ever seen his like?”
Amos snickered at the horse’s name, then replied, “No, sir. He’s one of a
kind and kinda goes with that cannon of yours. Gonna retire the Captain
finally?”
“That’s the plan. See that the General gets his oats. I have a feeling he’ll
go through a lot of them.”
“I reckon so.”
 Cole then escorted Becky and Jake onto the porch and asked her to open
the door as his hands were full.
When she swung the door wide and stepped inside, she stopped and after
Cole entered, turned and exclaimed, “Cole, this is a beautiful house!”
“It’s not as fancy as Harry’s house in town, but it’s functional.”
Before Becky could respond, there was the unmistakable Katie shout of
“Uncle Cole!” followed by a rush of rapid small footsteps as Katie shot
from her bedroom and jumped into Cole’s arms.
Cole barely had enough time to drop the bag of toys, as he caught her
with his left arm, then gave her a kiss and turned with a grin toward Becky.
“Katie, this is Becky and the young man next to her is her little boy,
Jake. Becky is going to be your nanny and Jake can be your friend.”
Katie looked at Becky and, in typical child bluntness, said, “She’s very
pretty, but she’s too skinny.”
Cole looked at his niece and said, “Becky is very nice, Katie, and it will
be your job to make sure she eats enough.”
He lowered Katie to the floor, and she replied, “I’ll make sure she does,
Uncle Cole, and I think it will make her even prettier.”
Katie then held out her hand and said, “Hello, Becky. I’m Katie Turner.”
Becky had been smiling since she heard Katie’s first shout, then leaned
over and shook Katie’s hand.
“I’m very glad to meet you, Katie. Jake, this is Katie.”
Jake didn’t know what to make of the girl. He’d never seen anyone but
his mother and a few adult women who dropped off sewing, so he backed
behind his mother’s new dress.
Katie approached Jake and said, “Don’t be shy, Jake. I’m your friend,”
then turned to her uncle and asked, “Did you bring me Abby Girl, Uncle
Cole?”
 “I brought all your toys. They’re in this bag that you made me drop to
the floor. It was either that or my Winchester, and you know I’m not going
to drop my favorite repeater. I don’t think I broke anything, though. You
and Jake should start going through the bag to make sure everything is
okay. You have a checkerboard set in there, so maybe you could show Jake
how to play.”
“Alright,” she replied, then took Jake’s hand and followed Cole as he
carried the bag into Katie’s room.
He opened the bag and began putting the toys on her bed, including the
precious Abby Girl, as Jake’s eyes grew wide when he saw the toys.
Cole set up the checkerboard on her small table, moved the two chairs
into position, then Katie plopped down on one and told Jake to do the same.
He did, and Katie began talking as Cole and Becky walked quietly out of
the room.
Becky glanced back in the room after they left, surprised that Jake hadn’t
even glanced back at her, then followed Cole down the hallway.
He stopped at the end near the front bedroom and when she was at the
doorway, he said, “Becky, this one is my bedroom. Even though I won’t be
using it, I’d prefer to keep it that way. The next two across the hall will be
yours and Jake’s. We were just in Katie’s. I’ll ask Amos to take you and the
children into Twin Forks tomorrow to load up on anything that you need. I
only bought what you needed to get started, so when you get there, buy
anything else you might want, and I mean anything. Get more clothes,
toiletries, food and whatever else you may need or want. Buy Jake some
toys of his own, too. Those in the bag were mostly girl toys. Amos will
drive the wagon which has a lot more room than the buggy. Becky, when
you get there, do not scrimp, get anything you want, and I’ll have Amos add
it to my account. This is not coming out of your salary.”
“But…” she began, but Cole cut her off.
“I’m the boss of the ranch, Miss Crandall, and what I say goes on the
Rocking T.”
 Then he smiled and added, “Well, I like to believe I’m the boss, but I
think Katie was in charge of the house after she arrived and now you are.
Don’t feel guilty about spending my money, Becky. It’ll make me feel much
better than my other silly expenses like ammunition and new guns.”
Becky smiled back and asked, “What about the General? Do you think
he was a silly expense?”
“No, ma’am. He was far from silly. Have you ever ridden a horse?”
“No.”
“We’ll remedy that when we have the chance. I already promised Jake
we’d get him into a saddle and Katie can already ride, of course.”
Becky smiled and said, “Of course.”
Cole looked at her smiling blue eyes, then after a few seconds of just
absorbing Becky, blinked and said, “Now, the last room on the end of the
hallway with the lock on it is my gun room. All my weapons in there are
loaded, but no one can get in except me and Amos. We’re the only ones
with a key.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll sleep in the bunkhouse tonight, but I’ll need to get into the house in
the morning to get my weapons.”
“What are you going to do?”
“First, I’ll go to my brother’s law office and talk to his clerk, Byron
Whitmore. I want to see what he knows, if anything. Byron is a straight
arrow, and I’m a bit surprised that he still works for Harry, but he’s close to
passing his bar exam, so I guess he puts up with him. He probably does
most of the legal work anyway. Then I’ll follow any leads I get from him. I
may be back tomorrow night, or it could be for a few days. I have no idea.”
“Alright.”
“I want to introduce you to the hands at supper. I normally eat with the
boys at the chow house anyway. The cook is quite good, but you can cook
in the kitchen yourself, if you’d like. I made oatmeal for Katie this morning
and she’ll probably ask for the same thing tomorrow. I make her oatmeal,
then add some brown sugar and cinnamon, toss in some cream and butter
and she eats it like candy.”
Becky laughed and said, “It sounds like candy.”
Cole was glad to see she was more comfortable and hoped that he’d be
able to solve Harry’s problem soon. He rapidly found the house to be more
like a home with Becky, Jake and Katie in it, and Becky would have been
shocked but pleasantly so if she realized that he was already heading down
the road of a more serious interest in her.
They barely had time to return to Katie’s room to watch them play
checkers when Randy rang the dinner bell announcing chow time.
He turned to Becky and said, “That’s the supper call to the hands. It
gives them enough time to ride in from the herd or whatever other jobs they
might be doing, so the food will be ready in about ten or fifteen minutes.
Let’s gather up the youngsters and head out there so I can introduce you to
the boys."
Becky felt a surge of nervousness as she nodded, then before she even
turned, she heard Katie tell Jake it was time for supper.
They both trotted out of the room holding hands and Becky was
surprised again that Jake seemed to be adapting so quickly. She glanced at a
smiling Cole and smiled back, having pushed back her anxiety about
meeting the large group of men that worked on the ranch.
Cole then escorted Becky, Katie and Jake to the chow house, and could
see that most of the crew was already there.
Amos had already told them that the boss had hired a nanny to watch
Katie, so they weren’t surprised when Cole approached with Becky and the
children.
Becky was sure that at least some of them had heard the rumors of the
whore at #11 11
th
Street, and her nervousness reached new levels with each
step.
 Everyone entered the large chow house and as the food wasn’t quite
ready yet, each of the men took a seat at the table while Cole stood beside
Becky with Jake on her left and Katie next to Jake.
Cole had each man’s eyes focused on him as he said, “Boys, I just hired
Miss Becky Crandall as Katie’s new nanny. Now I know most of you have
heard the gossip about Miss Crandall, and I assure you that not one word of
it is close to the truth. If I had any doubt at all, she wouldn’t be here to take
care of Katie. You all know that.
“She’s a good woman and it goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway,
that she will be treated with the utmost respect. She is a true lady in the best
meaning of the word. She and Jake are under my personal protection and I
expect each of you to provide her and the children with that protection
while I’m gone.
“I’m going to have to go to Garden City early tomorrow morning to find
my brother and what was behind all of the mayhem. Hopefully, I’ll be back
tomorrow, but as a precaution, I want you all to make sure you’re armed at
all times. You all have Winchesters, so keep them handy. If you need more
ammunition, let Amos know. This could become a difficult situation.
Questions?”
Shorty Jackson asked, “Who are we dealin’ with here, boss?”
“I wish I knew. Harry’s been charged with murder, but I think the sheriff
is either corrupt or a complete idiot. I saw where the murder took place and
there is no way that Harry did it. Katie heard what happened, but the sheriff
didn’t even talk to her. I also had someone following me while I was in
town yesterday and a different follower today, so I believe Harry is into
something serious this time. I think this could become difficult.”
Cole looked around the room and asked, “No more questions?”
There weren’t any, which surprised him, so he then introduced each of
them to Becky, and watched their eyes to make sure that they weren’t
looking at her as young men often look at attractive young women. He
trusted each of them, but that was when they were in an all-male
environment and he hoped that he didn’t create more problems for Becky
by bringing her here.
 Randy yelled, “Chow’s ready,” and the men rose then lined up for chow.
But this time, Cole guided Becky to the front of the line with Jake and Katie
and let them take their plates and cutlery. Randy loaded the plates with
steaks and roasted potatoes, then they took some biscuits and soon took
their seats at the end of one of the two long tables.
He had Becky sit on the end while he sat beside her, and Katie and Jake
sat across from them.
Cole began to cut up a steak for Katie and Jake as Becky watched.
She had blushed when Cole had said that she was a lady but didn’t doubt
for a second that he meant it. She still felt uneasy with all those men around
but didn’t say anything.
Cole handed the cut-up steaks and potatoes to the two children who
began plucking the steak out with their fingers. Becky cut a bite out of her
large steak and the beef tasted even better than the one she’d made at
Harry’s house. Even the potatoes were very good, especially with the butter,
salt and pepper.
As they ate, Cole noted the lower sound level as the men were all
inhibited by Becky’s presence. The last woman to eat in the chow house
was his mother. Edith had never dined with the ranch hands because she
was the boss’s wife.
When they finished eating, it was Katie who drove their exit when she
said, “Let’s go and play checkers, Jake.”
Jake smiled at Katie and said, “Okay.”
They popped out of the chow house and Cole looked at Becky and said,
“I guess we’re done here. Just leave your plate.”
“Alright,” she said before standing and Cole almost felt her nervousness
as they began to walk out of the chow house.
They watched Katie and Jake bound across the yard to the house as they
strolled in the setting sun.
 Cole was thinking of taking her hand to calm her anxiety when he
suddenly felt her fingers grasp his hand.
He didn’t say anything, but let his own fingers wrap around her hand as
they walked.
Once they were out of sight of the boys in the chow house, Cole could
hear the volume rise in the hall, and thought Becky would let his hand go,
but she didn’t.
He turned, smiled at her and said, “This is nice.”
Becky looked up at him and replied, “I’m sorry, but I’m just nervous.”
“I could tell, so we’ll talk when we get in the house, but don’t
apologize.”
She nervously smiled back as they continued to step toward the house
even as Katie and Jake disappeared inside.
“I’ve never held a man’s hand just because I wanted to,” Becky said
softly.
“Neither have I,” Cole said.
Becky laughed and squeezed his hand tighter without realizing it.
They crossed onto the porch, then entered the house, and Cole released
her hand to close the door behind them. As Becky stood in the main room,
Cole lit two lamps, then steered her toward the couch and after she sat
down, took a seat beside her.
“Before I forget, the bathroom is across from your bedroom. It has cold
running water. All you need to do is open a valve near the tub or the sink. If
you want hot water, just fill the heat stove reservoir and start a fire. Wait
about ten minutes, then open the valve from that pipe. Katie knows how to
use everything. There’s a supply of towels stacked up in the linen closet.”
“Thank you.”
“Now, about your concerns. I can understand why you would have them,
and I wish I could make them all go away by just talking to you, but I don’t
think that’s possible in the short time that I’ll be here before I leave. You
heard what I told them, and I assure you, even that was unnecessary. Ask
Katie and she knows all of them. But I’ll give you something that might
help,” he said as he pulled the Remington derringer from his pocket.
“Take this. It’s loaded, but perfectly safe until you pull back the hammer.
It’s a powerful little gun, but it’s only accurate for short range. To shoot it,
just pull back the hammer and pull the trigger. You can do that twice in a
row without reloading. Keep it with you and it should make you feel safer.
Okay?”
Becky had never fired a gun, but this seemed simple.
“Thank you, Cole,” she said as she took the gun. “But won’t that leave
you short?”
Cole smiled as he replied, “No. I have two more in the gun room.”
“Oh.”
She then asked quietly, “Cole, is going back and trying to find your
brother going to be dangerous for you?”
“I’m not going to lie to you, Becky. It could be, but I don’t know what’s
going on yet. I’ll get a much better idea tomorrow.”
He could see the concern in her eyes and suspected she was worried that
his promises of a home for her and Jake wouldn’t be met if he was killed.
He rose picked up one lamp, then held out his hand and said, “Becky,
come with me.”
She took his hand, stood, and then walked with him into his office where
he closed the door.
Becky wasn’t concerned about being alone with him in a closed room
but was amazed at the large collection of books in the bookcases.
As she looked at the titles, Cole reached across his desk, pulled out a
sheet of paper and a pencil, wrote three numbers, then turned and walked to
the bookcase.
 He took out the copy of
Little Women
, then after he moved the straight-
backed chair next to the side of the desk, said, “Have a seat, Becky.”
She sat down and waited as he walked behind the big desk, sat in the
swivel chair, and showed her the paper.
He said, “This is the combination to the safe behind me,” then he rotated
the chair to face the safe, spun the dials and opened the door with a loud
clunk.
“Now in the safe, I have several documents and about fifteen hundred
dollars in cash. You now have access to the combination, so if anything
happens to me, open the safe and take the money. I’ll tell Amos that you
know the combination and are entitled to its contents.”
Becky’s eyes were wide as she hurriedly said, “Why are you telling me
this? You barely know me.”
“What else could I do, Becky? If Harry’s dead, then something happened
to me, who will care for Katie? I picked you because I believe you’re a
good person and just looking at Jake is proof of that.”
“But you don’t know me at all. Cole, this just isn’t right.”
Cole sighed, then said, “Becky, in the short time that we’ve spent
together, I believe that I know you better than anyone else, including that
man who called himself your father. I trust you and what I need is for you to
be the strong woman who for three long and terrible years, refused to lose
her dignity. Be that woman, Becky. I need you to stay here and care for
Katie.”
Becky then said softly, “I wasn’t worried about the money or anything
else, Cole. I was worried about you.”
Cole reached across the desk, took her hand and replied, “Thank you for
that, Becky. I misunderstood your question, but I still think it’s a smart
thing to have you prepared. In my will that’s in the safe, I left everything to
Harry, but if we’re both gone, then Katie gets everything. I’ll write a quick
note that I want you to be her guardian if that happens, but I don’t expect it
will. I’ll find him, then I’ll come back to the ranch.”
 “And then?” she asked.
“We’ll get to know each other better and I’ll make you and Jake happy.”
She looked into his eyes, smiled and said, “You already have.”
“Good. Now I want to see that woman who understands that she’s as
strong as Queen Victoria, just not so, um, matronly.”
Becky laughed, then let Cole’s confidence in her build her own strength,
before she replied, “Alright, Cole. I’ll do whatever you need me to do, and I
promise never to look like Queen Victoria.”
Cole laughed and could see the determination in her blue eyes before he
nodded, then said, “Becky, you’ve got it inside you. What I’m going to do
is trust you to take charge of the house. Amos can run the ranch, but this is
your house from now on. Alright?”
Becky gave Cole a warm smile before answering, “Okay.”
“Good,” he said, then after writing the note about making Becky Katie’s
guardian, he rose, then walked around the other side of the desk, replaced
the book, then walked beside Becky and as she stood, he put his hand on
her shoulder as a way of confirming her new position as head of the
household.
But as soon as he did, the image of her father’s visits slammed into his
mind and he yanked his hand away, not wishing to make her afraid of him.
When she first felt his hand on her shoulder, Becky wasn’t surprised, but
felt a warm flush run through her and just as she was preparing to smile at
him, he ripped his hand away as if she was diseased.
She had never wanted a man to touch her before she met Cole just a few
hours ago, but now that she wanted him to touch her, he apparently didn’t
think of her that way at all. She must have read too much into the
handholding and other nice things he’d done for her.
Becky was disappointed but had already decided that she wasn’t going to
let it show or affect the way she cared for Katie. She was going to be that
strong, confident woman that Cole expected her to be.
 They left the office and walked quietly toward the kitchen, then stopped
and looked at Katie and Jake giggling as Katie executed a triple-jump on
the checkerboard.
“That was interesting,” Becky said.
“They seemed to be adjusting well.”
“Would you like some coffee before you leave for the night?”
“I’d appreciate that, Becky,” he replied, relieved that she didn’t seem to
be affected by the brief shoulder touch.
He opened the cookstove firebox to get the fire going while Becky filled
the coffeepot. As she put the coffeepot on the hotplate, Cole closed the
firebox door, then they both walked to the table and sat down.
“Have you done this kind of thing before, Cole? You know, things that
involve shooting?”
“We’ve had a few problems with rustlers and then there was a land war
three years ago that got ugly, but things have been quiet since then. This is a
whole new level of problem, though. The others were just basic shootouts,
but there’s something going on here that is a complete mystery to me. My
brother got himself into some real trouble this time and I don’t know what it
is. Before, his problems were always easy to figure out. Some were difficult
to fix, but I knew the problem going in. This one is a lot different. Someone
has been murdered and I’m sure my brother was abducted. I don’t know
why it happened or who did it and I’m not sure I can fix it, Becky.”
“I hope that you’ll find him soon and it turns out all right, but that’s not
likely, is it?”
“If it wasn’t for the murder, I wouldn’t even be worried about his
absence. I’ve had Katie live here for more than a week sometimes,
especially over the past year or so. For lawyer in western Kansas, he sure
spends a lot of time traveling.”
“Do you think that it has something to do with all this?”
 “That’s very possible. I’ll know more after talking to his law clerk
tomorrow morning.”
“You’ll be taking the General, I assume?”
“Yes, ma’am. I haven’t ridden him yet, and as young as he is, I’m a bit
anxious about how he’ll react when I shoot from his back, especially if I
have to use the Cannon.”
“
You have a cannon?”
Becky asked with wide eyes.
Cole grinned and replied, “Not a real one. I have a Sharps musket that’s
called a Big Fifty because of the size of the cartridges it uses. I can hit
targets more than half of a mile away with it.”
“Can I see you shoot it sometime?”
“Miss Crandall, you will be living on the Rocking T, and it would be a
shock if you haven’t heard the Cannon roar a few times before the snows
arrive.”
Before she could reply, she heard the water bubble out of the coffee pot
and spill onto the hot plate, hissing loudly.
She rose, grabbed a towel and slid the dangerously hot coffeepot onto the
warming plate, then took down the box of ground coffee, added a scoop and
then returned the box to the shelf.
As she made the coffee, Cole couldn’t help but admire her form. She
may need a few pounds, but she was still a very attractive young lady. In
one respect, he was glad he was leaving tomorrow because he was growing
concerned that his obvious attraction might frighten her.
Becky poured two mugs of coffee as Cole stepped to the cold room and
retrieved a small pitcher of cream.
He set it on the table as Becky placed the two large ceramic mugs in
front of each of their seats and then sat down.
“Cream?” she asked as she added a teaspoon of sugar.
 “We always have milk and cream, for obvious reason. Half of those
critters out in the pastures are cows and it’s not usual for one to lose her calf
right after birth. So, we bring her to the barn, and she becomes a milk cow
until we let her back out to the pastures again.”
“I keep forgetting that I’m on a ranch now,” she said as she poured some
cream into her coffee and stirred it.
“You’ll adjust, Becky.”
She set her mug down after taking a sip, then asked quietly, “Are you
afraid, Cole?”
“I’m not afraid, not yet, anyway. I’m worried, confused and nervous, but
not afraid.”
“I was always that way. Each night for three years,” she whispered as
she grasped her mug in both of her hands.
They sipped their coffee in silence, each deep in thought before Cole
asked, “Becky, you don’t have to answer this, but if you do, I want you to
be honest. I won’t hold it against you. Are you afraid of me?”
She immediately shook her head as she replied, “No, Cole, I’m not at all
afraid of you. In fact, I’m much happier when you’re nearby. Why would I
be afraid of you?”
“You seemed nervous about the boys and I was worried that I might
scare you and the last thing I wanted to do is make you unhappy or afraid.”
Becky smiled and said, “I don’t think that’s possible, Cole.”
He returned her smile, then said, “Good. Let’s finish our coffee and I’ll
go and say goodnight to the children before I pick up my things and head
out to the bunkhouse.”
Becky quickly said, “Cole, you don’t have to sleep in the bunkhouse
tonight. I mean, if I can’t trust you, then there’s no point in my staying, is
there?”
 “Thank you for trusting me, Becky, but I was only thinking about you. If
I stayed here tonight, I don’t doubt for a moment that the boys would
believe that we shared a bed, and I don’t want any of them to even let that
thought enter their heads.”
Becky swallowed and said, “I don’t care what they think, Cole.”
“Becky,” he said as he looked into her big blue eyes, “I won’t have them,
or anyone else, think of you with even a hint of disrespect. By sleeping in
the bunkhouse, I’m sending a signal to those boys that you are exactly the
kind of woman that I believe you to be. When I’m able to spend time here
again, then things will be different.”
“Different?” she asked quietly.
He had his eyes locked on hers as he again touched his hand to her left
shoulder, but left it in place as he said, “Different.”
Becky felt her knees weaken as she looked into his hazel-green eyes and
just nodded.
He took his hand more slowly from her shoulder, then said, “Now that
you understand, ma’am, I’ll go to my room and then pack a few things.”
Becky was still shaken by what he’d told her and that light touch on her
shoulder, so she didn’t reply before he smiled at her, then turned to walk
down the hallway.
She then snapped out of it, took a deep breath and hurried behind him,
passing Katie’s bedroom as both Katie and Jake paused from their game to
see what the adults were doing.
Cole grabbed his saddlebags and began opening drawers as Becky
watched from the doorway.
Cole didn’t turn around as he said, “Katie knows where everything is and
if you have any other questions, Amos will be able to help.”
“Thank you, Cole. You are coming by in the morning, aren’t you?”
 He stuffed some socks into his saddlebags, then turned, smiled and
replied, “Yes, ma’am. I need to get my guns, if nothing else, but I’d rather
come and see you before I go.”
Becky felt another rush before she said, “I’ll have breakfast ready if
you’d rather eat in the house.”
He then said, “I’ll take you up on that offer, ma’am,” hung his
saddlebags over his shoulder and added, “I’m going to say goodnight to the
children, then head out to the bunkhouse.”
Becky then stepped aside as he left his bedroom then followed him as he
stopped outside of Katie’s room where the two children were engaged in
their eighteenth game of checkers.
He stuck his head in the door and said, “I’ll be going to the bunkhouse
now. You two had better behave or I’ll have Sheriff Poop-head and Deputy
Poopy-pants come out here and throw you both in jail.”
Both children exploded in uncontained giggling, as Cole knew they
would, before he turned and grinned at Becky, gave her a short wave then
walked to the kitchen and left the house.
Becky watched him leave beginning to understand the reason why he
had jerked his hand from her the first time.
_____
Cole reached the bunkhouse and found Amos, Cal Frazier, Whitey Baker
and Joe Higgins playing poker.
“Amos, I need you and the other boys to witness this for me. Just sign
below. You know my signature.”
Amos took the paper and read it quickly before signing and sliding it to
Cal.
“That’s a good idea, boss. It’ll make everything legal. We would’ve
taken care of Miss Becky and the young ‘uns anyway, but this makes it so
that damned sheriff can’t make a fuss.”
 “About that sheriff, Amos. Who do you think is paying him off and
why?”
“Beats me. We been talkin’ about that very thing. Hell, anybody with
half a brain would know that Harry wouldn’t have done what they say he
did. He may be a rascal, but he’s not violent and doesn’t even own a gun.”
“You know that she was stabbed, Amos? That’s even less likely because
Harry hates the sight of blood.”
“You’re right on that,” he said as Joe Higgins handed the sheet back to
the foreman.
“Hang onto that paper, Amos. It’ll make Becky feel better.”
“You want me to put it in the safe, boss?”
“If you get a chance. Oh, and I gave her the combination as well, so if
anything happens to me, she can keep the cash until everything is settled.
Tomorrow, while I’m in Garden City, I want you to take her and the
children into town with the wagon and let them buy whatever they want and
have Al put it on our account.”
“Sure thing, boss.”
Amos folded and slipped the sheet between the pages of the bunkhouse
Bible which Amos had brought to the bunkhouse before Cole was born and
still read daily.
Cole then set his saddlebags near one of the four empty bunks, and said,
“Well, boys, I’m going to stretch out and do some thinking.”
“Poker won’t bother you, boss?”
“Nope. I find it kind of soothing, Amos. Especially when you’re
winning,” he said with a grin.
_____
In her new bedroom, Becky finally had the opportunity to empty the
clothing bag that Cole had given her that morning and after smiling at the
dark blue dress she found and placing it in the open drawer, she began
removing the other dress, a light red with a lilac print, then the two riding
outfits, the underclothing and the two nightdresses. She was still
overwhelmed by having so much when she reached the bottom of the bag
and her fingers touched the scarf.
She slowly extracted the dark blue silk scarf and let it slide through her
fingers in stunned amazement. She could never imagine herself wearing the
beautiful dresses, but this was worthy of Queen Victoria herself. She set it
on the blue dress, which was just a shade lighter, but was happy with the
slight contrast.
She was even happier knowing that Cole had given it to her. She closed
her eyes and remembered the thrill of his fingers on her shoulder and wasn’t
the least bit ashamed to admit to herself that she wanted more.
She opened her eyes, carefully folded the silk scarf and laid it atop the
blue dress and decided that she would only wear them for Cole after he
returned.
 CHAPTER 3
Cole walked to the kitchen door at just after sunrise and knocked lightly,
then heard footsteps and Becky opened the door quickly. He’d seen smoke
from the cookstove pipe, so he wasn’t surprised.
“Good morning, Becky,” he said with a smile.
“Good morning, Cole. Come in, please. Breakfast is almost ready.”
“Thank you, Becky. I need to get some weapons and ammunition, then
I’ll be right back.”
She smiled at him before he turned and took a step toward the hallway,
then noticed that both Katie and Jake were busy inhaling their sweetened
oatmeal. Cole smiled at Jake who seemed intent on eating every last morsel,
including the bowl before continuing down the hallway.
He unlocked his gun room, entered and began collecting his chosen
weaponry. He’d decided to take his regular Winchester ’76 and, for a
change, he’d wear his Double Russian Rig with its two Smith & Wesson
Model 3s. He removed his vest and put on the Webley Bulldog and its
shoulder harness. Once it was secure, he put his vest back on and took out
one of the derringers, checked its load and slipped it into his pocket. Then,
he strapped on the gun rig, snugged it down tight, picked up the Winchester
and left the gun room, closing and locking the door behind him.
Cole was proficient with both hands but didn’t usually wear the Double
Russians because it made him store his knife in the saddlebags. The
nickname for the twin rig came from Amos because Cole favored the Smith
& Wesson Model 3s over the Colt Peacemaker. The guns had picked up the
‘Russian’ moniker when the Imperial Russian Army had bought several
large orders of the Model 3s, not that they paid for them. They simply
copied the pistol and began making them there and selling them in Europe
and even in the United States, undercutting Smith & Wesson’s prices. Cole
made sure his weapons were manufactured in this country.
 He walked back into the kitchen and sat between Katie and Jake, who
must have had their bowls partially refilled while he was in the gun room.
Cole looked at Jake and said, “You keep eating like that, Jake, and
you’re either going to be as round as a rubber ball or as tall as me by next
week.”
Jake smiled at him and tried to say something, but oatmeal started
coming out of his mouth rather than words, so he tried swallowing instead.
“Uncle Cole, are you gonna find my father today?” Katie asked.
“I don’t know, sweetheart. I’m going to have to find out who was mad at
him and then try to figure out where he is. Then I’ll go and get him.”
“You can do it, Uncle Cole,” she said as she began eating again.
Cole rested his hand on Katie’s head softly, hoping not to disappoint her
and find his brother alive, if nothing else to discover what was going on. If
his brother was dead, then there still may be a threat that followed him if
whoever had taken his younger brother thought that Harry had confided in
him.
Becky sat down at the table across from Cole with her breakfast and
Cole looked at her plate.
“You’ve got to do better than that, Becky. Three eggs and three or four
strips of bacon should be your minimum breakfast.”
Becky smiled at Cole and asked, “Is that an order from the boss?”
“If that’s what it takes. But you’re exempt from my orders anyway, just
like Katie is. Isn’t that right, Katie?”
“Yes, Uncle Cole. Uncle Cole said I’m my own boss, Becky. I think he
wants you to be a boss, too.”
“He told me that last night, but I thought he was joking. So, if that’s true,
I guess I’ll order myself to eat some more. At least until I get my weight
back.”
 “You need to eat more, Becky. Then you’ll be the prettiest lady ever,”
said Katie.
The almost-six-year old made Becky blush as Cole smiled at her.
Cole then looked at Katie and winked as she smiled back at him.
_____
Harry’s tongue felt like a fuzzy rock. He was so thirsty he almost forgot
about how hungry he was. He was stiff too, because he hadn’t been able to
straighten out since they stuck him in the shack, and it wasn’t even good
enough to be called a true line shack. It was just a small shed that they
stored tools and ropes for the hands to use in the far pastures. No one had
even come to see him since they left him there and he’d lost all dignity as
he sat in his own drying urine. He was sure it stunk to high heaven, but he
couldn’t tell anymore.
Why were they still waiting?
_____
“How much longer, boss?” asked Fuzzy Wilkens.
Paul replied, “Tomorrow morning, I think. The sheriff will be bringing
us the wanted poster on him. We’ll show one to him, and he’ll know that
he’s a dead man if we let him go. We’ll make the offer that we’ll get the
sheriff to rescind the wanted poster if he tells us where it is.”
“Are we really gonna get the sheriff to take it back?”
“Hell, no! We get our stuff back, then we clean him up, give him a nice
breakfast, let him take a horse and send him into town. That’s why we
aren’t beating him. I want him to be happy and clean when he gets back to
Garden City. The sheriff will take care of the rest. He won’t have a mark on
him when he’s gunned down.”
“But he’s a lawyer. Won’t he figure out that he’s gonna get
bushwhacked?”
“Where else can he go? We’ll have somebody ride behind him and drive
him into town. He’s got to get some money even if he wanted to leave. He’s
got no other place to go.”
 “What about his brother’s place? He could go there, can’t he?”
“Maybe, but I don’t think it’s likely. He’ll head to his house thinking he
can go and pick up his kid later.”
The foreman nodded approvingly. This was why the boss was the boss,
not knowing that it was his son, John, who had come up with the idea.
Paul Cooper turned to Tex Brown and asked, “Tex, what’s the story on
the brother?”
“He picked up that Crandall woman and her kid and took ‘em to Harry’s
house before taking them to his ranch.”
“That makes sense because he’ll need a nanny for the girl. I can’t figure
out why he’d pick her, though.”
“C’mon, boss. You know why. He’s getting some action while she’s
watchin’ the kid,” Tex Brown replied with a snicker, “Just like that brother
of his gettin’ some from that sweet young thing when they walked in.”
“I guess it runs in the family,” Paul said with a grin, “So, he’s not a
problem yet. That may change when his brother’s shot. When that happens,
we may have to deal with him.”
“He ain’t no problem, boss. He’s just a rancher,” said Tex.
Paul shrugged and replied, “Maybe.”
_____
Cole had the General at a medium trot, but the long strides ate up the
miles quickly and he was thoroughly impressed with the big black’s
performance already. He expected to arrive by ten o’clock and wondered if
Harry’s law clerk, Byron Whitmore, would be able to help.
Byron had been with Harry for only two years after his brother’s
previous clerk had gone to open a private practice of his own in Wichita.
Byron was twenty-two, smart and affable. He was short, a couple of inches
under five and a half feet and already balding. He compensated his lack of
hair on his noggin by wearing a full beard which gave his head an
unbalanced appearance. He was unmarried and seemed content to stay that
way. Cole liked Byron and was sure he would be a much better attorney
than his brother. If something was going on, Byron should be able to at least
point Cole in the right direction.
He arrived in town at almost exactly ten and went straight to Harry’s
office across the street from the county courthouse. He stepped down and
tied off the General. He hadn’t seen any trackers, so he assumed whoever
was behind all this didn’t know that he was in town.
Harry’s office was on the second floor of the building, so after tying off
General, Cole climbed the stairs two at a time, as he usually did, and found
Harry’s office door open. He stepped over the threshold and found the
sheriff talking to Byron Whitmore. Both men turned their attention to the
new arrival.
Cole was surprised to find Sheriff Baldwin there but kept a poker face as
he said, “Good morning, Byron. I’ll take a seat and wait for you to finish
your business.”
Cole could tell his arrival was unpleasant for Sheriff Baldwin as the man
glared at him, but he noticed a slight smile on Byron’s face, too.
“I’ll be back,” Ike Baldwin snapped before he turned and left the office
ignoring Cole altogether.
Cole watched him leave and waited until he heard the footsteps go down
the stairs and out the door.
He then stood and asked, “What did our delightful sheriff want?”
“He just came to remind me that all of your brother’s files were subject
to attorney-client protection and I couldn’t talk about them. I’m guessing
that he specifically meant that I couldn’t talk to you.”
“That sounds right. Did he tell you he charged my brother with rape and
murder?”
Byron laughed, then replied, “He did. I told him how ridiculous the
charges were, too. If anything, I’d guess that Miss Anderson would have
attacked Harry. She sure seemed to be angling to be Mrs. Turner. Of course,
you and I both know that Harry didn’t need any urging in those kinds of
things.”
“That’s what I told him. Besides, men don’t usually murder women they
rape because they know they can get away with it. Then he supposedly ran
and left Katie upstairs in the house with Jenny the way she was? Seriously?
Even if he’d murdered her, why in God’s name would he run?
“Anyway, I did my own examination before they took her body away
and I even saw the scrape marks where he was dragged off. I checked her
blouse and all the buttons were still attached and the room looked as if there
had been a struggle. Harry didn’t do this thing, and I’m positive that idiot
sheriff knows it. He’s on the take, but why and who’s paying him off is the
question.”
“Knowing I can’t divulge any attorney-client information, what would
you like to know?”
Cole asked, “Even though I’m not sure it applies in this case, I’ve been
thinking about it on the ride here, and I have some questions that won’t
even break that rule.”
“Ask away.”
“Harry used to brag about how many criminal cases he was winning, and
a few of them were more than surprising. I mean, Harry may have been the
king of womanizing, but he was an average attorney at best. For him to win
some of those cases that should have been a no-brainer for conviction
seemed ludicrous. Did it seem that way to you?”
“Absolutely. A lot of those cases were guaranteed convictions when they
arrived, yet they all walked.”
“So, if I had to guess, the county prosecutor was on the take as well as
the sheriff.”
“That was my guess as well.”
“Alright, someone is bribing the sheriff, probably some, if not all of his
deputies and the county prosecutor. That’s a lot of grease to spread around
which means someone is making a lot of money.”
 “So far, so good. Your thinking mirrors my own and it does you justice.”
“Could I see your billing records for the past year, Byron?”
Byron smiled and replied, “I don’t see why not.”
He handed Cole two ledgers, one for the calendar year 1880 and the one
for the current year. Cole began looking at the lines, only paying attention
to the criminal cases. It didn’t take long for the pattern to emerge.
“This makes even less sense than it did before. He had outstanding bills
on many of his smaller, civil and criminal cases, but all his big criminal
cases were paid promptly and in cash, which is unusual. The fees seemed
abnormally high as well. He was paid over a thousand dollars for three of
them and over five hundred dollars for the other six. That is highly unusual,
is it not?”
“That, Cole, is extraordinary. Usually, just the reverse is true. The small
cases get paid and the large ones tend to languish, and those fees are
outlandish.”
“And they didn’t pay by draft or cashier’s check. They paid in cash.”
“Also, very unusual.”
“I recognize these names, too. They’re all ranch hands at the Bar C.
That’s Paul Cooper’s outfit.”
“Give the man a prize,” said Byron. “Do you know him at all?”
“I’ve met him several times, but he didn’t impress me one way or the
other. He and his wife have three kids, two sons and a daughter. His wife’s
name is Marge. The oldest boy is John, the second son is David, and the
daughter is Jo. I was kind of ignored by the boys but got long pretty well
with Jo. She got married a couple of years back. John got married first and
has one kid and David never did get married as far as I know.”
“An almost perfect census of the Cooper family, except that Jo is
unmarried again. Her husband ran off with another woman and Harry
handled the divorce case. Needless to say, he tried to convince her that he
could soothe her in her hour of need, but she didn’t accept his offer.”
 “Well, that’s different. I didn’t think he lost any of those cases at all.”
Byron laughed again before saying, “After she left his office when the
divorce was final, he looked at me, shrugged, and said, ‘win some and lose
one.’”
“So, I think I’ll go and visit the Bar C and do some minor snooping
around.”
Byron’s smile evaporated as he said, “Be careful with that crowd, Cole.
Paul Cooper has more hands than he needs to run the ranch and some of
them don’t know which end of the steer poops. But they sure know which
end of a pistol spits the lead. A lot of them are recent hires, too.”
“That explains a lot more, too. I’ve been trailed by two riders who I
hadn’t recognized, and they didn’t seem to care if I saw them. I appreciate
it, Byron. If my brother doesn’t come back, are you going to hang your
shingle?”
“I’m taking my bar exam next month, so it’s really close.”
“Well, if you need any help, you know where to find me.”
Byron paused, then said, “Cole, the rent on the office is due in a couple
of weeks, and I’d hate to lose this location.”
“What’s the rent?”
“Twenty dollars.”
Cole reached into his pants pocket, pulled out some bills and counted out
four ten-dollar notes as he said “This will cover a couple of months. If you
aren’t a full-fledged attorney by then, come and see me. You’re a good man,
Byron. It’s too bad you’re going to be a lawyer.”
Byron laughed as he accepted the bills and replied, “Somebody’s got to
do it. Thanks for the cash.”
Cole waved, then turned, left the office and walked down the stairs as he
ran the numbers through his head. Harry had been paid over five thousand
dollars by Paul Cooper in a little over a year and all of it was in cash. He
estimated that the money that Cooper was probably paying to the sheriff’s
office and the prosecutor could be another five thousand. Even that amount,
and it could be much more was a real expense with nothing to show for it. It
surely wasn’t coming from ranching, either. Cole had a herd that was more
than twice the size of the Bar C, and he’d be broke in two years if he spent
that much on non-operating expenses.
He mounted General and turned him east. The Bar C was about three
miles east of Garden City on the way to Pierceville, so it wouldn’t take long
to get there. The railroad ran alongside the southern edge of the eastern road
and made for noisy company on occasion and absentmindedly wondered
how that affected their cattle.
He rode along at a reasonable pace, forming questions for Paul Cooper
in his mind. He didn’t want to make it obvious that he knew anything about
the fees, but it was going to be a tightrope. If Cooper had sent the two
followers, which was almost a given, then he’d be leery of any visit. He
simply had no other leads to follow yet. Even if Paul Cooper saw him as a
threat, Cole didn’t believe he’d gun him down in broad daylight, but he’d
still be ready for anything threatening.
He knew that he might be able to get more information from Jo, but he
wanted to look Paul Cooper in the eye. He wanted to get a good look at the
new hires too and see if he spotted his followers.
Before he reached the ranch’s access road, he removed his two-gun rig,
rolled up the gunbelt and slipped it into his saddlebags. He didn’t want
anyone on the ranch to see him as a threat, at least not until he needed it.
He arrived at the Bar C just twenty minutes later and that at a medium
trot. The General was proving his worth already, but he still needed to see
how the horse reacted to gunfire. He turned down the access road,
approached the house and could see some men just hanging around. At this
time of day, no working ranch hand should just be hanging around, and they
didn’t have the look of ranch hands, either.
He pulled the General to a stop before the house and called, “Hello, the
house!” which felt stupid as he was being watched by no fewer than three
of the non-ranch hands more than a hundred feet away.
 He was expecting Paul or John Cooper to open the door, but it was Jo
Cooper who appeared, which changed his whole mindset.
Jo smiled as she stepped onto the porch and said, “Well, Mister Cole
Turner, this is an unexpected pleasure.”
Cole smiled and said, “Good morning, Jo.”
“Have you finally come to court me?”
Cole laughed then replied, “Why, sure nuff, ma’am. I come all gussied
up and ready to drop to my knees just beggin’ for the chance.”
Jo laughed and said, “Well if you are going to announce your intentions,
sir, you should step down and come into the parlor and propose properly.”
“Thank you, Miss Cooper, I will be on my best behavior,” he said as he
dismounted, tied off the General and took the three steps onto the porch.
“Come on in. That’s quite a horse you have there,” she said as he entered
the house and she followed.
“I bought him yesterday to replace my father’s old horse. He was pricey
but I couldn’t pass him up,” Cole replied as removed his Stetson and Jo
closed the door behind him.
Josephine Cooper was a handsome young woman with dark brown hair
and eyes, an oval face and an impressive figure. She and Cole knew each
other in school, but he was five years older and when he left school, she
was just beginning to blossom. She was always mischievous with a good
sense of humor and he often wondered if she was a Cooper at all because
she wasn’t at all like her father or brothers. He assumed it was because of
her mother, whom he’d only met once. Despite her very favorable
appearance, Cole had always thought of Jo as a sister, or maybe a first
cousin.
“Let’s sit on the couch and talk. I assume your visit has something to do
with the murder at Harry’s house.”
Cole wasn’t startled that she was so blunt, it was her personality.
 “That’s it.”
After they sat, she asked, “I heard some talk but no details. To be honest,
I was surprised they charged him with the crime.”
“Is your father around?”
“No. They went into Garden City to talk to our county’s brave lawman.
You’re stuck with me.”
“There are worse things, Jo.”
“So, what can you tell me about the murder?”
“The quick story is that I went to visit him on Saturday, and I was the
one who found his nanny, Jenny Anderson, murdered in the parlor. Her
body was on the couch where she had been stabbed. She was semi-naked
and had been either raped or was providing services to Harry. I knew that
Harry had been bedding her for a while because she and her family hoped
that she’d get pregnant and Harry would marry her.”
“They didn’t know your brother very well.”
“Obviously not. Harry would have just sent her back home to her family
and hired another nanny. Anyway, I found his daughter, Katie, upstairs and
I took her to the sheriff’s office to notify him of the crime. The sheriff came
over and promptly charged my brother with rape and murder. Now we both
know my brother isn’t a saint, but I know he didn’t do either crime. The
physical evidence alone and what Katie told me convinced me of that.
Common sense also ruled him out as a suspect. Harry may be a lot of things
but frankly, he doesn’t have the guts to kill anyone.”
“I agree with you, so why are you here. I haven’t seen you in a long time
and I know you didn’t suddenly decide that you wanted to look deeply into
my eyes and try to woo me.”
“I’m trying to find him, discover what the hell he’s gotten into and then
try to bail him out of it. I have Katie living at my ranch and just hired a
nanny to watch her.”
“He’s still missing?” she asked in surprise.
 “For almost three days now.”
“So, why are you looking for him here?”
“Jo, I don’t know how to say this without sounding like a complete
bastard, but I think it has something to do with your father.”
“You don’t have to worry about it. My mother and I both would agree
with you.”
Then after a short pause, Jo said, “He was always a hard man, but about
two years ago, things began to get odd around here. Money began to flow
like it was water and he became more secretive. He’d have meetings with
my brothers and some of the ranch hand in his office with the doors closed
and then began hiring men who knew nothing about cattle. My mother and I
know that he’s doing something illegal, but we’re kept in the dark.”
“That’s how I figured out it had something to do with your father. The
money has been flowing out of your ranch and it should have gone belly up
after six months.”
“Do you think that my father had Harry killed?”
“If he wanted him dead, I would have found Harry’s body in his house
with Jenny’s. He may be dead now, but I want to believe that he’s still alive
somewhere. What makes me believe that he’s being held is that two men
whom I haven’t seen before followed me when I was in town. I think I
recognized one of them outside.”
“I’m not surprised. One of their jobs is to keep me and my mother under
wraps. If either of us leave the ranch, it will only be with one of my
brothers or one of the new hires.”
Then she tilted her head slightly and said, “The night of the murder, I
was awakened by hoofbeats and men’s voices. I had my bedroom window
open and my room is at the end of the hallway. They were riding in from
the eastern pastures and I wondered what they were doing.”
“Is there anything out that way?” Cole asked with raised eyebrows.
“Just a beat-up line shack near the eastern wire.”
 “I didn’t think anyone had line shacks around here. None of the ranches
are that big.”
“They call it that, but it’s really more of a tool shed, really. Do you think
that they put Harry in there?”
“It sure sounds like it. They dragged him out of there that night and I’m
convinced that your father and his new boys are behind what happened.”
“I don’t think they’ll let you just ride out there, Cole.”
“I’ll check it out later tonight if I can.”
“Be careful, Cole. Those bastards are dangerous.”
“That’s what everyone has been telling me. You know that they’ll tell
your father that you talked to me.”
“I know, but I’ll just tell him you decided to call on me. You’re still
unmarried, aren’t you?”
“I am, but he wouldn’t believe that story. If he has Harry and has men
watching me, then he’ll expect that I’d be hunting for my brother. When he
asks, tell him the truth. Tell him that I’m looking for Harry and I’ve been
visiting ranches in the area and headed for Pierceville before turning back
south to my ranch. He’ll believe that.”
“That does sound much more convincing than telling him that you came
to visit me after all this time. Why haven’t you married again, anyway?”
“I’ve been too busy, I guess.”
“That sounds like an excuse to me, Mister Turner, but I’ll let it go for
now. I have a feeling I’ll be seeing you more often now, providing that you
stay alive.”
“Speaking of marriages, about an hour ago, Byron Whitmore told me
that you were divorced because your husband ran off with another woman.”
“He ran off with Louise Smith, the librarian.”
“Really? Was he blind, or just plain stupid?”
 She laughed and replied, “He wasn’t overly bright, but that’s not why he
left. He wanted a nice, sweet wife who would make him feel better. That’s
just not in my nature. He only married me because he thought he’d get
ahead on the ranch. My father even built us a house just a couple of
hundred yards away. It was a nice house, but no one lives there now. Some
of his new phony ranch hands use it though, and my father and brothers
visit, but my mother and I aren’t allowed anywhere near the place.”
“But why’d you marry him?”
“Stupid reasons, really. I was kind of restricted in my movements since I
was eighteen and getting kind of lonely, but that’s all over.”
“Byron also told me that Harry offered to comfort you in your time of
despair.”
Jo was grinning as she said, “He did, and I told him no thanks. He’s not
my type.”
“A lot of women would argue that point, Jo.”
“No offense to your brother, Cole, but I’d prefer a real man. It’s why I
agreed with you that Harry couldn’t have done it. He was all polish and
sweet talk, but there was nothing there. I found it hard to believe that you
were even related.”
Cole grinned and said, “Well, I’m far from being polished, but I’d better
be heading out before those boys outside think that I was doing more than
just talking with you.”
“They give me the creeps, to be honest.”
Cole glanced at the door, then slipped his hand into his pocket, pulled
out his derringer and asked, “Do you want this, Jo?”
“I have one, but thank you for the offer, Cole.”
Cole nodded, then slid the Remington back into his pocket.
He rose, then after Jo stood, he walked out onto the porch as he pulled
on his hat and noticed that the number of hired help in front of the house
now numbered five.
Cole ignored them as he stepped to the ground, untied General’s reins
and mounted. He waved to Jo who had stopped at the threshold, and after
she waved back, he wheeled the big gelding and started him at a medium
trot for the access road. He didn’t think that anyone would backshoot him,
especially not with Jo watching, but there was always the risk of a loose
cannon.
The information Jo provided was so concrete that he knew he’d have to
act. He was certain that Harry was either alive in that line shack or buried
nearby. He’d head back to the Rocking T and then he’d visit the Cooper’s
ranch around midnight.
Instead of heading to Pierceville, he decided to risk running into Paul
Cooper and his boys and head for Garden City to check Harry’s house once
more. Maybe he’d missed something.
He removed his gunbelt from his saddlebags, strapped the pistols where
they belonged and felt well-dressed again.
As he trotted west, with the Arkansas River just to his left, he thought
about Jo Cooper. Even after Edith had died, when she was still unmarried,
he had never even thought about visiting her and he never could figure out
why. He knew that she was pretty, well-figured and a strong and enjoyable
woman, but not once had he thought of her as a potential mate.
Yet just hours after meeting Becky Crandall, he found himself doing just
that. She was prettier than Jo, but even though she only needed a few
pounds, he didn’t expect that Becky would ever have Jo’s curves and hills.
He hoped that his growing fascination with Becky wasn’t a result of his
compassion for her situation. He needed to spend more time with her.
_____
As Cole was returning to Garden City, Amos and Becky were unloading
the wagon after their visit to Twin Forks. One of her purchases was a bag of
marbles for Jake, so Katie and Jake were already on the ground behind the
house drawing a circle to play a game.
 When Amos set the last bag on the floor, he said, “Well, Becky, I reckon
I’ll head out and check on the boys.”
“Could you stay for a little while, Amos? I want to ask you a few
questions.”
“I reckon they’d be about Cole.”
“They are. I won’t take a lot of your time,” she replied before taking a
seat at the table.
Amos removed his hat and sat down across from her and said, “Well, ask
away, ma’am.”
“Can you just tell me about him? He told me about his wife and her
death and even why he hasn’t remarried, but I still find it difficult to believe
that a man as thoughtful and as strong as he is hasn’t found another wife.”
Amos grinned and said, “You’re wonderin’ if he’d think about marryin’
you, aren’t ya?”
Becky blushed and was going to deny it, but Cole had said that he’d trust
Amos with his life, so she decided to answer honestly.
“Yes, but I can’t believe that he’d even think of marrying a woman like
me. I’ve only known him for a day.”
“Well, Becky, I know Cole better than anyone and I reckon you’re closer
than you figure. I can tell by the way he looks at you. It’s not like he goes
chasin’ after women like Harry. That brother of his is gonna get him killed
one of these days unless he dies first. Cole’s been fixin’ his troubles since
they were just knee high to a heifer.”
Becky was enormously pleased that she’d admitted her own desires to
Amos and said, “Tell me about them when they were boys.”
Amos leaned back in the chair, smiled and said, “Well, like I just said,
Cole was like a guardian angel to Harry. When he was eight…”
Becky was fascinated as she listened to Amos tell the stories and by the
time that he left twenty minutes later, she felt she had a better understanding
and an even deeper appreciation of Cole. She was so unfamiliar with the
feelings that she wasn’t sure if she loved him already or not. But she knew
that she wanted him to return safely to the Rocking T so they could spend
more time together.
_____
Fifteen minutes after turning onto the road to Garden City, Cole turned
his big black onto Mission Street and as he approached Harry’s house, he
was surprised to spot the sheriff and three of his toady deputies walking up
the steps onto his brother’s porch. At least now he knew what Paul Cooper
and his boys had wanted with the sheriff. He nudged the General to a canter
and arrived just as they reached the door.
When they heard the big horse, they turned as one and watched Cole
hurriedly dismount, tie the reins to the hitching post and quickly stride
down the walkway.
When he was halfway to the porch steps, he asked loudly, “What do you
need, Sheriff?”
As Cole drew close, he nervously replied, “We come back to search the
house for more evidence.”
“Do you have a search warrant?” Cole asked.
“I don’t need one. This is a murder scene.”
Cole stepped onto the porch, stopped, and as he glared at the sheriff,
said, “You’ve already investigated the crime scene and charged my brother
with the murder, so your job is done. You left the murder scene and gave
me permission to clean the house, which I did. If you want to get into the
house, you’ll need a search warrant.”
“Are you a lawyer now?”
“I don’t need to be to know what’s in the Constitution. Illegal search and
seizure are in the fourth amendment, or don’t you understand the
document?”
“Well, you can’t be here all the time,” he snarled.
 “No, but if I come by and if I find one thing broken or out of place, I’ll
file a complaint with Judge Smith. In fact, I think I’ll go and see the judge
right now. There are too many odd things about this case, not the least of
which is your outlandish charge against my brother.”
The sheriff held out his palms and quickly said, “Now just hold on! Hold
on! There ain’t no need to make a big case outta this. I got all I need to get
him hanged anyway.”
He turned to his deputies and said, “Alright, let’s head back, boys.”
They all glared at Cole as they passed, then left the porch as Cole
watched them march down the walkway before he stepped down and took
the General’s reins while they headed back to the county courthouse.
He mounted his gelding, then rode him to the back of the house where he
dismounted and led him into the carriage house. After ensuring there were
water and oats for the big boy, he headed for the house, but left him saddled
as he wasn’t staying long.
As he unlocked the back door, he wondered what Paul Cooper wanted
the sheriff to find. He also noticed that he had three of his four deputies
with him, and the only one that was back in the office was the same one that
he’d had man the desk when he reported the murder. Maybe there was an
honest lawman in Garden City after all. The sheriff’s reaction to the threat
of going to see the judge about the issue meant that Judge Smith wasn’t on
the take either.
He was adding people to each side of the ledger as he entered the house
and closed the door behind him.
He’d fix himself something to eat then do another, more extensive search
for whatever the sheriff had expected to find.
After dropping his hat on the table, he removed his twin Russians, hung
them over the back of a chair, then opened the cookstove firebox and
shoveled in some coal. After squirting some kerosene on top, he took a
match from the nearby matchbox, slid it across the rough surface, and after
it flared to life, he tossed it on top, watched it flare to life then slammed the
firebox door closed.
 As he prepared to do some quick cooking, he reevaluated his timing and
thought that returning to the Rocking T today might be a bad idea. He’d
arrive late in the afternoon, then have to leave just a few hours later and
wouldn’t be at his best without sleep. He’d tire out the General too, and he
might need his reserves if things got touchy. And that was if he found Harry
in that line shack.
He filled the coffeepot, set it on one of the hotplates, then slid a skillet
onto another as he walked to the pantry to gather some tins.
_____
“I hear you had a visitor?” asked Paul Cooper as he entered the parlor.
Jo replied, “Cole Turner stopped by. He wanted to know if we saw his
brother at all.”
“Why did he come here?”
“He stopped at a few other places, too. He said he was going to ride to
Pierceville and then head back to his ranch.”
Paul Cooper thought about it. What she’d told him made sense and he
hadn’t spotted the brother when they were riding back from Garden City.
He wished that he hadn’t spent so much time in Harvey Greenwell’s office
talking to him about the case, but the county prosecutor was his slipperiest
purchase and had to be reminded of his precarious situation when things got
spooky, and Harry Turner had definitely made things spooky.
“Alright. It’s okay, Jo. What did he tell you about it?”
“He sounded really confused and was angry with his brother for
disrupting his life. He said that he has his niece living with him now and
even hired a nanny. I got the impression that he was going to look for the
rest of the day, then just head back to his ranch and wait to see what
happens.”
Paul nodded. Everything that Jo had told him fit what the boys and the
sheriff had told him.
 He relaxed and said, “Okay, Jo,” then turned and headed back out of the
house to talk to his sons.
_____
Cole’s after-supper search had been as futile as he had expected it to be.
It was just a house, a fancy house, but still just a house. Harry didn’t even
keep any of his legal work in his home office.
Cole was sitting in the office and leaning back in Harry’s big chair, then
decided to examine the safe’s contents again. He hadn’t opened those
envelopes the last time, and maybe Harry had just labeled them as a
distraction. He moved the painting aside, spun the wall safe’s dial, then
turned the handle and opened the door. This time, he slid the entire contents
out and made sure it was empty.
He carried it all to the desk, sat down, then set aside the cash and began
opening the envelopes. The one marked ‘will’ only contained his will,
leaving everything to him and naming Byron Whitmore as the executor and
Cole as Katie’s guardian. It was a bit of a surprise. He thought Harry would
just leave everything to Katie, assuming that Cole would adopt and take
care of Katie, which he would. The envelope marked as the power of
attorney was just that and nothing more. It gave Cole legal power to
conduct all of Harry’s legal business if he were incapacitated. Cole had
similar documents in his safe that Harry had drawn up. The deed envelope
was thicker than the others, as he expected, but he hadn’t expected to find
more than one.
One deed was for the house, but there was a second deed for a house in
Pierceville. Cole unfolded the legal document and read the information. It
had never been registered with the land office and still had the name of the
original owner; a man named Elbert Johnson. There was a bill of sale
attached though and Harry had only bought the place a little over a month
earlier. He imprinted the address into memory: 46 4
th
Street. It wasn’t
difficult, but not as easy as #11 11
th
Street, and probably nowhere near as
important. Still, it was a curiosity and the recent nature of the purchase
raised his eyebrows. If Harry wasn’t in that line shack, he’d continue riding
until he reached Pierceville and check out the house on 4
th
Street.
 Pierceville was only about twelve miles east of where he was sitting. It
had been a small town, about the size of Twin Forks until about ten years
ago when the railroad had come through. Now, it was three times the size of
Twin Forks, but was still quite a bit smaller than Garden City.
He slid the deeds back into their envelopes then picked up the stack of
cash and was setting it on top of the envelopes to return to the safe when he
noticed that Harry, or someone else, had written a large ‘R’ on the band
holding the stack of twenty-dollar bills together.
He wondered why the letter was there, but figured it was something to
do with the bank, so he just shrugged, then stood and carried everything
back to the wall safe and slid them inside. He closed the safe, spun the dial,
and put the picture back in place, still frustrated by not finding whatever the
sheriff and Paul Cooper had wanted. At least he now had a second possible
location for Harry. Maybe he’d somehow escaped and reached Pierceville.
It was unlikely, but he suspected that if Harry had somehow managed to
talk his way out of the jam, which was his best weapon, he’d try to
disappear anyway rather than contact him.
After returning to the carriage house and after unsaddling the General, he
took his saddlebags and Winchester, then went back into the house to
prepare for his night’s visit to the Bar C’s line shack.
Once in the house, he locked the back door, then walked to the first
bedroom on the bottom floor, leaned his Winchester against the wall and
dropped his saddlebags on the floor.
Cole suspected that if Harry was still alive, he wouldn’t be very clean, so
he climbed the long stairway to Harry’s bedroom.
Once inside, he opened the top drawer of his dresser and took a pair of
britches and two shirts before closing that drawer then opening the lower
drawer and taking out some underpants and socks. He then grabbed a pair
of shoes but drew the line when he looked at the four suits hanging in the
closet. He did take out the fancy leather travel bag on the floor beside the
shoes, then after putting the clothes into the travel bag, walked to the
bathroom and packed his shaving kit, toothbrush and powder, a bar of soap
and a couple of towels. He even tossed in his hairbrush and comb.
 Cole walked back downstairs, set the travel bag in his temporary
bedroom near his saddlebags. He had originally thought he’d make the
sandwiches before he left but didn’t want to light any lamps. So, he quickly
made two smoked beef sandwiches and even added some mustard sauce
between the slices of meat. He wrapped the two sandwiches in butcher
paper and put them in a cloth bag. He knew his canteen was full, but he’d
seen a large canteen in the carriage house, and he’d fill that as well before
he left.
He was all set for the night’s ride and set a departure time of around nine
o’clock, which should give him plenty of time to get to the Bar C and cross
onto their eastern pastures before that full moon rose from the east and
blanketed the fields in light.
_____
At sunset, he carried his saddlebags, Harry’s travel bag and the smaller
bag of food to the carriage house. Cole saddled the General with the two
canteens, then hung the travel bag over the shotgun’s stock.
He then returned to the house and his bedroom, where he removed all his
guns, then stretched out on the bed to relax and review his plan.
He would cut across the ranch riding east following the southern edge.
The General was all black and he was wearing dark gray, so he’d be pretty
hard to see, even if someone was looking, at least until the moon popped up
over the horizon. It would be showing its face a couple of hours before
midnight, so he’d have less than an hour to get there.
Then there was the question of guards. If he spotted one or more men
guarding the line shack, then it would prove that Harry was inside and alive
but would pose a bigger issue. If they spotted him, then Harry might be
killed, and if they didn’t, then he’d have to kill them without warning. He
wasn’t about to take on two men with a knife, so he’d have to use his
Winchester or his pistols. The thought of having to kill men without giving
them a chance to defend themselves, even lowlifes who had murdered
Jenny Anderson and kidnapped his brother, bothered him.
He knew that he should be trying to nap, but he couldn’t come close as
he lay flat on his back on the bed.
 He checked his pocket watch, found he had another two hours to waste,
but his decision not to light any lamps made reading impossible. So, rather
than try to think of any more issues involving Harry, he let his mind wander
back to Becky.
He simply couldn’t understand why he was so attracted to her yet knew
that it was even more than just an attraction. He’d only known her for a day,
yet somehow, he felt bound to her. She’d told him secrets that must have
been humiliating for her to admit and he had wanted to tell her more about
his life, but there hadn’t been time.
He then spent the next hundred and twenty minutes envisioning a life
with Becky and Jake and discovered that it was the life that he wanted. It
was just lousy timing.
Cole knew it was time when his pocket watch alarm began to chime,
then after silencing the dinging, slid from the bed, stood and began
attaching his pistols.
Fifteen minutes later, he was atop the General and heading east out of
Garden City, enshrouded in the black night.
Fifteen minutes after that, he passed the Bar C’s access road and wasn’t
quite sure where the southern border began, so he decided to overshoot,
which wouldn’t be catastrophic provided he wasn’t seen. He finally turned
east and entered what he assumed was Bar C pastures.
He had the tall gelding moving at a slow trot over the uneven ground,
which was as fast as he dared go in the utter darkness. But the lack of light
was his friend now as he continued east.
He finally picked up the fence line, which meant that he must have been
riding southeast. He corrected his direction and kept the barely visible fence
on his right shoulder.
He had been riding for thirty minutes when the moon began to rise,
giving him an unobstructed view of his location and knowing his
invisibility was gone. He quickly scanned for any other riders and found
none, but there were no cattle that could give his presence away either. He
saw the eastern fence ahead and turned north. He passed a pond and kept
riding but slowed down to a walk to keep the hoof noise lower. It still
sounded loud to him, but it was the best he could do.
After five minutes, he spotted the small line shack, and immediately
noticed that it was unattended. There were no guards outside, but more
importantly, no horses, which meant that there were no guards inside. It also
could mean that Harry wasn’t even there.
He had his eyes trained on the line shack as he walked the General closer
to the line shack, and when he was within a hundred yards, slowly
dismounted, dropped his reins, then pulled a canteen from the saddle and
looped the lanyard over his shoulder. Cole slipped his right-hand pistol
from its holster but didn’t cock the hammer as he began to walk slowly
toward the line shack. He didn’t hear anything, but when he got within fifty
yards, he sure did smell something. He was upwind of the shack and it
smelled like a privy on a bad day, which confirmed that Harry was either
there or had been there recently. If he was inside, Cole briefly wondered
why there no guards posted, at least not close enough to smell the line
shack. Then he realized that it did make sense. If you tie someone up and
toss them into someplace on your property, why worry? Especially if you
didn’t think anyone would be looking.
He then picked up his pace and strode confidently toward the front of the
line shack, his eyes watering from the powerful stench. He yanked open the
door and saw Harry staring back at him.
There was no time for pleasantries, and he wasn’t exactly happy with his
younger brother anyway. Holding his breath, he walked into the line shack
and hurriedly began untying his bonds. He didn’t want to cut them unless he
had to as he wanted them to think that Harry had managed to escape.
He got Harry’s wrists untied, then handed Harry the canteen. He had to
take a breath before starting to untie the ropes around his ankles while
Harry was draining the canteen. When he finished, Cole took the canteen
and slung it over his shoulder.
Finally, the last rope was untied, then Cole left them on the floor for easy
discovery.
“Cole, you found me,” Harry croaked.
 “We’re both gonna die if we stay here, Harry. The smell is gonna kill me
even if the Coopers don’t.”
Cole pulled Harry to a standing position and had to act as his crutch as
he walked him out of the line shack. He knew he’d need a bath himself
when he got back.
Once he got him fifty feet away, he let him down again, then trotted back
to the shed. He found a broom in the shack and brushed away the prints
before tossing the broom back into the shack. He didn’t want them to see
two different sets of footprints.
He returned to Harry who was rubbing his hands and wrists, dropped to
his heels at a safe distance and loud whispered, “Harry, can you walk at
all?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll try.”
Cole helped him stand and they began walking toward the General.
Harry was making improvements with each step, while Cole just tried to
stay downwind.
“How’d you know I was here?” Harry asked.
“Jo Cooper suggested it. They’ve got a warrant out for you for murder
and rape, by the way.”
“What?”
Harry exclaimed loudly.
“Shhh! Remember who you’re dealing with. Sheriff Baldwin didn’t even
listen to what I told him. He just walked in, proclaimed you the murderer
and walked out. I’m sure the prosecutor joined the chorus.”
“What am I going to do, Cole?” Harry asked plaintively as they
continued to walk slowly toward the General.
“First, we need to clean you up, so you don’t stink so much. There’s a
pond about a quarter of a mile south of here. We’ll walk there. I’ve got a
travel bag with some of your clothes and a couple of sandwiches, too. But
first, let’s get you cleaner.”
 “Alright.”
They reached the General and Harry exclaimed, “Where’d you get the
horse, Cole? He’s huge!”
“Shh! I just bought him,” he replied, then asked, “Why did they do this,
Harry? What in God’s name did you do?”
Harry didn’t look at his older brother as he replied, “I’ll tell you later. It’s
all legal stuff.”
Cole doubted his reply as he took the geldings reins when they passed
by, but didn’t want to make much more noise, so he didn’t ask any more
questions.
When they reached the pond, Cole gave him the bar of soap and Harry
was able to strip and walk into the water on his own, which was a relief to
Cole. Normally, bathing in a cattle pond would be a poor idea, but it had to
do.
Harry stayed in the water for ten minutes, and while he cleaned off the
stink, Cole thought about getting Harry back to the Rocking T. He hadn’t
expected it to be this easy. He had figured he’d be shooting it out with some
guards and taking their horses. But now, things would be different. The
General would be able to handle them both, but not for a thirty-mile ride.
He finally decided that he’d just send Harry back on the horse and he’d buy
one in the morning.
While Harry was still in the water, Cole picked up his old clothes, tied
them around a rock then tossed them into the pond. He then stepped to the
pond’s shore and washed his hands.
Harry emerged from the pond and exchanged the bar of soap for a towel.
As he quickly dried himself, Cole walked to his saddlebags and dropped in
the soap before he extracted the sandwiches and removed the second
canteen.
He returned to Harry, took the damp towel and handed him a sandwich
and the second canteen. Harry wolfed down the sandwich, so Harry gave
him the next one which he quickly demolished before he drank some more
water.
Cole and his buck-naked brother then walked to the General and after
hanging the canteen and stowing the towel, Cole pulled out his brother’s
clean clothes and shoes and handed them to Harry.
As Harry dressed, he asked, “Now what?”
“We ride double along the southern border until we’re clear of the Bar C,
then we ride toward Garden City. I’ll get off and you ride to the Rocking T.
Katie’s there with a nanny that I just hired and I want you to wait for me to
get there so we can figure out a way to get you out of this mess.”
“Okay.”
Cole mounted, then yanked Harry up behind him. With the moonlight,
they could move more quickly, but Cole still kept a watchful eye toward the
distant moonlit buildings as they made their way to the road. It was just
twenty minutes later when they exited the Bar C and headed west for
Garden City.
Once they were clear of the ranch, Cole asked again, “So, can you tell
me now what is behind all this?”
“I’ll tell you when you get back, Cole. I’m just really tired.”
Cole’s jaws tightened as he exclaimed, “Good God, Harry! Jenny
Anderson was stabbed to death on your couch in your parlor and in your
house, you were kidnapped and held in a damned tool shed for three days
and you’re too tired to tell me about it?”
There was a long pause before Harry replied, “It’s a long story, Cole, but
all I can tell you is that I was with Jenny on the couch and we were, you
know, involved, when two men came in and hit me on the head. I woke up
here.”
Cole knew that he’d get nothing more from his brother tonight, but he’d
better let him know what was going on when he got back tomorrow. He
figured that he’d be able to buy a new horse and saddle, then set out by nine
o’clock and get back before noon.
 They soon reached the outskirts of Garden City, and Cole pulled the
General to a stop, then dismounted. Harry just slid into the saddle and took
the reins as Cole looked up at him.
“When you get back to the ranch, just go to the bunkhouse and get some
sleep until I get back. Don’t go waking up anyone in the house. Then we’ll
find someplace to hide you while I iron out the problem. The Coopers will
know soon enough that you’re missing, and they’ll have the sheriff get a
search warrant for the ranch, but I don’t expect him to show up for a day
anyway, so we have time.”
Harry paused then asked, “What about Katie? You said you hired a
nanny? Was it anyone that I knew?”
Cole gritted his teeth and couldn’t reply for a few seconds, then said,
“No. I hired a young lady named Becky Crandall.”
Harry exclaimed, “
The whore on 11
th
Street? You hired a whore to look
after Katie?
”
Cole was close to yanking his brother from the tall horse and leaving
him on the street to sort out his own problems, but pointed at him and
growled, “She’s not a whore, Harry! She hasn’t been with a man since she
was raped when she was a teenager. She’s a hurt young woman with a
precious little boy. She’s a very special young lady to me, and one of the
most innocent people I’ve ever met. Treat her nice if you see her, and I’m
not talking Jenny Anderson kind of nice. You treat her like a queen, or
you’ll wish you were back in that shack sitting in your pee and poop. Do
you understand me?”
“Alright. Alright. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“Okay. Get going,” Cole said, not wanting to see his brother’s face any
longer.
Harry turned the General cross country and headed southwest to avoid
the town and pick up the southern road to the Rocking T.
Cole was seething as he watched his brother disappear into the night,
then turned and began to walk into Garden City. His brother’s unwillingness
to tell him what he was doing left him very uneasy as he made his way into
town. He had expected to at least know what was behind all this but aside
from the Cooper’s involvement, he knew virtually nothing. He was also
sure that Harry knew exactly why they had kept him alive after murdering
Jenny Anderson. Maybe they’d killed her in front of him, expecting he’d be
terrified into telling them what they wanted to know. Harry may not be
brave, but he was smart enough to understand that if he had, he’d be as dead
as she was.
Another thing that bothered him was that Harry didn’t even seem upset
knowing that they had killed Jenny.
They had murdered the girl that he’d
probably professed love to every time he bedded her, yet he didn’t even ask
about her. His brother was sinking even deeper in his eyes.
He walked along the dark main street toward Harry’s house, where he’d
get some sleep. It was a delightful night if he wasn’t so damned wound up
and almost despondent. He should be in a better mood. He’d just rescued
his brother, didn’t have to shoot anyone, and everyone was sleeping
peacefully at the ranch. Maybe it was because he knew it was only the
beginning, but as he turned onto Mission Street, Cole understood what was
really bothering him. He had sent Harry to the Rocking T where Becky was
sleeping, and thought that despite his threat, Harry would see Becky as
another nanny and one he thought was a whore.
He reached Harry’s house and walked to the back porch, unlocked the
door and went inside. He wasn’t as tired as he should be, so he just sat at
the kitchen table. He didn’t bother looking at his watch, but guessed it was
around one o’clock in the morning. Sunrise was just four or five hours away
and Harry should be back at the ranch soon.
He found himself brooding about Harry. Since they were boys, he’d been
bailing him out of one mess after another and wondered if he was as
responsible for Harry’s bad behavior as Harry was himself. He’d come to
expect his big brother to fix his problems and had never had to deal with
them. Now he was worried that Harry would see Becky and try to talk her
into his bed, and probably Cole’s bed at that. His life may be at stake, but
Harry might think he had the time.
 Harry had always had that ability and need.  Even when he was married,
he’d spent as much time in other women’s beds as his wife’s. Whenever a
divorce came his way, if the wife was comely, Harry would comfort her in
his own fashion, like he had attempted with Jo Cooper. Then after he was a
widower, the nanny stream began.
But Harry would only be staying at the house for a few hours before he
returned to the ranch and Amos was there to keep an eye on him, so Becky
was probably safe. After that, he’d get Harry into someplace safe, maybe
his house at #46 4
th
Street in Pierceville.
He finally walked to the spare bedroom, laid down his saddlebags,
unstrapped all of his guns, then pulled off his boots, tossed his Stetson onto
a dresser and stretched out.
_____
The recently freed Harry felt exhilarated riding the big black. He had set
him at a fast trot, making the long ride in just over two hours, and arrived at
the ranch before the predawn. He pulled into the Rocking T and rode the
General straight into the barn but didn’t unsaddle him. He just slipped out
of the saddle and jogged toward the house, taking his leather travel bag. He
hopped onto the porch, then turned the doorknob and found it locked.
He cursed quietly, then turned, left the porch and trotted to the
bunkhouse.
The door was open, so he walked inside and didn’t have to search for the
foreman as Amos always slept in the first bunk on the right.
“Amos!” Harry whispered as he shook the foreman, “Amos!”
Amos stirred, then opened his eyes as he sleepily asked, “Harry?”
“Yeah. Cole sprung me loose. I need to get into the house and get some
food. Then I need my buggy ready to go, too. Can you let me into the
house?”
“Yeah, sure. Just a minute.”
 Amos swung his legs around the bunk, pulled on his boots, then stood
and stretched before leaving the bunkhouse with Harry following.
“Anybody get shot?” Amos asked.
“No. Cole just got me loose and gave me his horse to come back. I’ve
got to go into hiding until he can get this mess figured out.”
Amos gritted his teeth.
Why did Cole have to clean up Harry’s mess yet
again? Where was he going to go into hiding?
That didn’t sound like
something Cole would have asked him to do.
“Cole told you to just stop by and then run off again?”
“Yeah. He said the sheriff is probably going to come by later with a
search warrant and a bunch of deputies.”
His answer made some sense to Amos as they approached the back
porch, so he asked, “Where are you gonna go?”
“I don’t want anybody to know so they don’t make a mistake and tell the
sheriff.”
“Good God, Harry! You know we won’t say a thing. Besides, Cole just
stuck out his neck for you. Tell me where you’re goin’.”
“Sure. In a minute. Just let me into the house,” he replied as they stepped
onto the porch.
Amos unlocked the back door and Harry quickly ran inside as Amos
followed.
Harry began taking food from the pantry and setting it on the table then
stopped and asked, “Where’s Katie?”
“She’s sleepin’ in the first bedroom after the gun room. She’s safe,
Harry. Leave her be.”
Harry didn’t reply, but lit a lamp, then walked to the bedroom, opened
the door and saw Katie snuggled next to her Abby Girl.
 He knelt down, set the lamp on the side table and spoke softly, “Katie!
Papa’s here!”
Katie blinked her eyes a few times, saw Harry and squealed, “Papa!”,
then grabbed him around his neck.
He was hugging Katie when Becky walked in wearing her brand-new
nightdress. Harry looked up and after a very quick appraisal, smiled.
“You must be Becky. I’m Cole’s brother, Harry. Pleased to meet you.”
“I guessed that. Where’s Cole? Is he all right?”
“He’s fine. He just got me out of there and let me ride here. I’ve got to
get out of here before they come looking for me.”
“Papa, you’re leaving?” asked Katie.
“Just for a while until everything is better, sweetie.”
“Are you taking me with you?”
“Do you want to come?”
“Yes, Papa.”
Amos was standing beside Becky in the doorway and said, “Harry, I’m
not sure that’s a good idea. They’ll be lookin’ for you and it’ll leave Cole
holdin’ the bag when they show up. Besides, you’d be puttin’ Katie at risk.
She’s safe here.”
“Amos, could you go and get the buggy set up for me, please? I’ll talk to
Katie.”
Amos grunted, left the room and then the house to harness the buggy,
thinking that Cole might arrive before he left.
“Papa, should I get dressed?” Katie asked.
“Yes, sweetie. Go ahead and get dressed.”
Becky then said, “Harry, I think Katie should stay here. I’m supposed to
take care of her until this is all over. I promised Cole.”
 “Becky, I know Cole told you that, but things have changed now. If you
want to come with us, I would appreciate it. I need to get some money
though, and I don’t remember the combination to the safe.”
Becky thought for a few seconds before answering, “I do.”
“Cole gave you the combination? Let me get some money and we’ll talk,
Becky.”
“Alright,” she replied but felt very uncomfortable and wished that she
hadn’t told him that she could open the safe.
Becky turned and walked down the hallway to the office, while Harry
walked behind her appreciatively. She may be a bit thin, but she was worth
watching and was Katie’s whore nanny.
They reached the office where Becky lit a lamp, then took the copy of
‘Little Women’ from the bookcase, pulled out the combination sheet and
handed it to Harry, who took the sheet and went to the safe. He knelt and
rapidly spun the dials and twisted the handle then opened the door. He
spotted the cash, pulled it out of the safe, smiled and took three hundred
dollars. He slid the rest back into the safe closed the door then spun the dial
and stood.
“Becky, I would really appreciate it if you came along to take care of
Katie. I can’t watch over her like a woman can. Everyone will be safe
because nobody will know where we’ll be going.”
Becky thought about it and was troubled. She had promised to take care
of Katie, but now she was reunited with her father, so what was her role?
This wasn’t what Cole had expected and she simply wasn’t sure which was
the right path. The only thing that was certain was that she had to take care
of Katie.
She asked, “Won’t Cole get into trouble because Katie’s gone? They
know she’s here and they know I’m here, too. If the sheriff comes, and
we’re gone, he’ll suspect something.”
Harry had already decided he wanted to take Becky with him even more
than Katie, so he said, “Cole can talk his way out of it. Besides, he hired
you to take care of Katie. Shouldn’t you go where Katie goes?”
“What about my son, Jake?”
“Oh. That’s right, you have a kid. Well, bring him along.”
Katie mulled over the idea for thirty seconds before replying, “Let me
get dressed. I need to pack some things for me and Jake, too.”
Harry smiled and said, “Thank you, Becky. Pack some things for Katie,
too. Will you?”
“Alright,” she replied as she walked to her room, still very uneasy about
her decision, but just like Amos, expected that Cole would arrive soon.
Harry walked out to the kitchen and continued to select his food as he
thought about Becky. He wondered if Cole was taking advantage of having
her there. Cole sure seemed defensive about her.
And that line about her
never being with another man! What a joke! Everyone in town knew her
name and what she did for a living.
He couldn’t understand why she was
living on 11
th
Street, though. She could be charging five dollars for each
customer and live in a nice place. But now, she’d be coming with him and
he’d get to know her better.
Becky was dressed and adding more clothes to the bag, when she looked
into the drawer and saw the blue silk scarf. She slowly pulled it free, then
stared at it for a few seconds before slowly wrapping it around her neck and
continuing to pack.
Amos led the buggy to the back of the house cursing Harry’s name then
after tying it off, he stepped into the kitchen and was startled to see Becky,
Jake and Katie all dressed. There were two cloth bags and a burlap sack on
the table.
“What are you doin’, Harry?”
“We’re leaving, Amos. Katie wanted to come with me, and Becky is
coming with her kid to take care of her.”
Amos looked at Becky’s uncomfortable face then said, “You oughta
leave Becky and her boy here, Harry. You ain’t got any right to make ‘em
come with you and you’re not doin’ right by Katie, either.”
Harry snapped, “I’m her father, Amos! Becky is coming along and that’s
final.”
“Where are you goin’?” Amos asked.
“West,” Harry answered as he snatched the burlap bag of food and
Katie’s bag of clothes.
Katie had Abby girl and Jake had a toy bag in his hand as Becky took the
bag of clothes, looked at Amos and said, “Tell Cole that I’m just doing as
he asked.”
Amos nodded, then looked at Harry and said, “You treat Becky right,
Harry. Cole is mighty fond of her.”
Harry just looked at Katie and said, “Let’s go, Katie.”
Katie smiled at Amos and said, “Goodbye, Uncle Amos. Tell Uncle Cole
it’s okay.”
“Goodbye, Katie,” Amos said as he smiled at her.
Becky gave Amos one more look before she followed Harry and Katie
out the door and Jake trotted behind her.
Amos followed them onto the porch, watched everyone climb into the
buggy, then after the bags were settled, Harry snapped the reins, the buggy
made a wide U-turn heading back across the yard and soon disappeared
down the access road.
Amos exhaled, then walked to the barn to unsaddle the General, hoping
that Cole returned soon.
As they rolled onto the road, Becky held onto Jake and was miserable.
When Amos told Harry that Cole was fond of her, she thought that she had
failed Cole. All she could do now was to protect Katie and Jake.
_____
 It was only eight o’clock in the morning and Paul Cooper was already
having a bad day.
“How the hell could he have untied those ropes?” he demanded as he
paced.
“I don’t know, boss. They was just lyin’ there and he was gone,” replied
a contrite Al Schuster.
“Damn it! Alright, he couldn’t have gone far and must stink to the high
heavens. Get the other Al and Tex. You three head to Pierceville and sweep
back down southwest toward that brother’s ranch. Tell Fuzzy to get the
others and ride toward Garden City. Spread wide to make sure he doesn’t
slip past. When one of you gets to Garden City, go and see Sheriff Baldwin
and tell him to get a search warrant for that brother’s ranch. If the damned
lawyer isn’t there, maybe they’ll find what he stole. Don’t forget to check
his house, too.”
“Alright, boss.”
_____
Cole rolled out of the bed and stretched as the sunlight streamed in the
window. It took him a few seconds to remember where he was before he
stood, then walked down to the bathroom, used the water closet then took a
bath before shaving. He was anxious to get back to the Rocking T and
hoped that Harry would still be there. He knew that there was a good
chance that Harry had already bolted because he never faced up to his
problems. He was concerned that he might have taken Katie with him but
didn’t think that Becky would go along after he’d told her the stories about
him.
He left the house and walked down the street to the café where he had a
quick breakfast before hitting the street again to go to the same large livery
where he had bought the General. He didn’t want another massive horse, he
just needed a ride back to the Rocking T.
He walked into the livery and found the same liveryman who had
pointed him in the direction of the General.
 “Back so soon? I hope you didn’t lose that big boy.”
“Nope. I was riding my old boy and he expired about ten miles out of
town yesterday. I had to hoof it into town and thought I’d just buy one to
get me back to the ranch. I need a saddle, too.”
“Sure thing. If that’s all you want, we got plenty of ‘em. Let’s go take a
look.”
Cole followed him back to the big corral where sixteen horses
meandered about. Even though he was in a rush, he didn’t want to just be
stuck with a horse he didn’t like. He was spoiled by the General and figured
he’d head to the smaller corral in back where he had found the General.
“Let’s check the other corral,” Cole suggested.
“Let’s go,” the liveryman said as he grinned.
The smaller corral must be where they kept their better horses, because
there were only five and all were better than the sixteen in the larger corral.
There was one mare and four geldings. Normally, Cole only bought
geldings, but the mare caught his eye. She was black, but with four perfect
white stockings and an almost hand-drawn four-pointed star on her
forehead. It looked like the star of Bethlehem that he’d seen in pictures.
“What’s the story on the mare?”
“She’s five years old and smart as a whip. A real sweetie, too. Too bad
that big black of yours is a gelding. They’d foal some mighty pretty young
‘uns.”
Cole walked up to the mare, who didn’t seem to mind when he checked
her legs.
“How much for her?”
“She’s not as much as that big boy, but she’ll set you back a hundred
dollars.”
“I’ll need a set of tack to go with her. Got anything?”
“Sure. Come on back.”
 They re-entered the barn and the liveryman showed him three saddles.
Cole chose the nicest of the three, they agreed on a package deal and twenty
minutes later, Cole was riding the mare out of Garden City heading south to
the Rocking T.
Cole liked the ride of the mare as he kept her at a medium trot. He
already decided that Becky would learn to ride on her back, and that let him
to slip into deeper thoughts about Becky, and a hunger to see her again so
they could get to know each other better. He didn’t realize that his own
anxiety was transferred to the mare and she was moving quicker.
He reached the ranch just before noon and as soon as he turned into the
access road, he was surprised to see Amos sitting in one of the rocking
chairs on the porch waiting. He notched the speed to a fast trot, sensing that
something had gone wrong and knew that Harry must have taken Katie
away. Then he realized that Becky wasn’t with him and his stomach
dropped.
He pulled up, then quickly dismounted as Amos stepped down from the
porch.
He tied off the mare and asked, “What’s wrong, Amos?”
“It’s Harry. He changed everything, Cole. He showed up in the middle of
the night, took Katie with him and convinced Becky to go, too. He said she
needed to take care of Katie.”
Cole felt sick. Aside from the danger Harry was putting Katie, Becky
and Jake in by taking them to his hiding place, there was the other worry.
He’d warned Becky about Harry’s womanizing, and hoped that it combined
his warning to Harry would keep her safe, but he was also well aware of his
brother’s ability to charm the rattles off of a diamondback.
“Let’s go inside,” he asked as he opened the door.
Once inside, he asked, “Now, first off, where is Harry?”
“He never told me where he was goin’ other than sayin’ it was west. But
I ain’t even sure he told me the truth then either. Cole, I know he’s your
brother, but I told him that he was makin’ a big mistake by takin’ Katie with
him. That was before he took Becky and her boy. I could tell she wasn’t
happy about it.”
Cole closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. For a college-educated
attorney, his brother could still manage to do extraordinarily stupid things.
“Did he take any money?”
“He had Becky open the safe and he took some cash.”
“That’s alright. Now, we’ve got to prepare for the sheriff’s arrival and a
full search of the ranch. They’ll be looking for Harry.”
“Why now? They shoulda been out here two days ago.”
“Because the sheriff knew where he was being held, so he didn’t have to
search anywhere. I still have no idea why they were holding him, though.”
“Didn’t Harry give you an idea?”
“No. He kept saying he was too tired to tell me. I didn’t think he would
anyway. I just stupidly trusted him to do what I told him to do. I told him to
sleep in the bunkhouse and wait for me.”
“He told me you said the sheriff was comin’ and wanted him outta here.”
Cole felt like spitting, but just growled, “What a damned mess!”
Amos shook his head. He’d heard all this so many times before.
“Well, we’ll go ahead and start getting ready for that blowhard and his
deputy blowhards, Cole.”
“Thanks, Amos. Take that new mare out to the barn and take care of her,
too. She needs water and feeding.”
“I’ll take care of it, Cole. She sure is a pretty little thing. Not like you to
buy a mare though, but I got a mind as to why you might buy one now.”
“I was planning on giving her to Becky.”
“Sounds like you’re getting kinda sweet on Miss Becky, Cole,” Amos
smiled.
 “I am, but right now, we’ve got a helluva mess to clean up, Amos.”
“Harry always did leave his messes for you to straighten out, Cole,” he
said as he walked out the door.
_____
Harry’s chosen hideout was a farmhouse that he’d bought for a song a
few months ago when the farmer died leaving his wife and daughter with
nothing but a farm they couldn’t work. The house wasn’t in very good
shape, but it was only for a day or so.
The house was all right, but not great. What furniture was in its rooms
either needed repair or replacement. There were limited cooking facilities,
but the pump in the kitchen worked.
Becky was standing in the front room with her arms folded as she
evaluated their conditions and was thinking about how to clean the place
when Harry walked in behind her. She turned and looked at him, wondering
how long they’d have to be here.
“I was just going to do some cleaning, Harry.”
“The good news is that it won’t take a lot of cleaning because we’re not
staying here long. We’ll leave soon,” he said as he smiled at Becky.
“Leave? To go where?” she asked with wide eyes.
“I’m thinking Kansas City or Denver. What do you think?”
Becky was stunned and said quickly, “Harry, that’s a terrible idea. How
can you get out of here? What about Cole? You’d be leaving him with the
mess.”
“We need to get to Pierceville. I’ve got something there that will make
everything better.”
“Harry, you’re wanted for murder. They’ll hunt you down.”
“You don’t believe that I really did it, Becky, do you? I’m sure Cole told
you that I didn’t do it.”
 Then his eyes melted into deep sadness as he said, “They knocked me
out and dragged me away. For three days while I was locked in that shack, I
thought that Jenny was still alive and that gave me hope. When Cole told
me that she was dead, I…I was heartbroken. She didn’t deserve to be hurt,
and I feel so terrible about what happened to Jenny. It was all my fault. She
was such a sweet, wonderful girl.”
Then after a short pause, he looked into her blue eyes and whispered, “I
loved her, Becky. I loved her so very much.”
Becky was stunned. Cole had made it sound as if Harry had been using
her, but Harry seemed genuinely upset.
She asked in a low voice, “Were you going to marry her, Harry?”
He nodded, then quietly answered, “I had already proposed to her that
night. You should have seen her radiant face when I asked her. Her soft eyes
filled with gentle tears that rolled across her cheeks as she nodded and told
me yes. We were both so happy that she asked me to make love to her.
That…that was when they came and…”
He dropped his head, then quickly turned away and rubbed his dry eyes.
Becky was beginning to think that Cole was wrong about Harry. No man
could express such deep emotions unless he meant it. Cole hadn’t even
blinked when he’d told her about his wife and newborn baby’s death, yet
here was his brother, weeping for his loss.
She softly said, “Cole said that he didn’t think you were going to marry
her.”
Harry didn’t turn around but replied, “He would think that way because
he couldn’t understand women at all. He never really liked me and always
thought the worst of me. He was always afraid of women and was a bit
jealous that I was so comfortable with women because I understood them.”
Then he turned, took one step closer to her and put his hands on her
shoulders, looked into her eyes and said, “Take you, for instance. When I
look at you, I see a very pretty young woman who has done so much for her
son, yet I can tell just by looking into your eyes that you have never been
told that you are loved.  Am I right?”
Becky felt her knees weaken as she gazed into his eyes and whispered,
“Yes.”
Harry then slid his hands to her upper arms and in a soothing voice said,
“Just by surrendering myself into your deep, expressive eyes, I see a
passionate woman who has been denied the greatest need of all. No one has
ever taken you in his arms, held you close, then kissed you gently before
saying those simple, yet powerful words, ‘I love you’. Has anyone ever told
you that he loved you, Becky?”
“No,” she barely whispered as she was lost in his dark brown eyes.
“No woman, especially one as perfect as you should be denied love,
Becky. Let me be the first to tell you those words,” he asked softly as he
looked into her blue eyes.
“Yes,” she whispered, feeling warm as he gazed at her.
He leaned so close to her that she thought he was going to kiss her but
stopped just an inch from her waiting lips as he quietly said, “When I do,
you’ll feel my love, Becky. Please stay with me.”
Becky just nodded as he stepped back and took his hands from her, but
kept his eyes locked onto hers.
Becky found herself falling in love with Harry. His words, hypnotic
voice and eyes overpowered her, and she knew then that she wanted him to
make love to her. She had forgotten about Cole and what he had said about
Harry. Harry was handsome, he was here and now, he owned her heart.
Harry smiled then turned and walked to his bedroom to clean it
somewhat. Becky had been easier than even Jenny, and he suspected that
with her experience, she’d be even better. He thought she was ready, but he
was still recovering from those three days and needed one good night of
sleep and besides, he wanted to see her naked in the daylight.
Becky was still smiling after he left, then sighed and walked into the
kitchen, where she picked up the broom and began to sweep the kitchen.
She had remembered to bring the checkerboard set and Katie’s Abby Girl,
so the children were playing checkers.
As the broom stirred up the dust, Becky was already anxiously
wondering what the night would bring as her mind was already filled with
fantasies about Harry.
_____
Sheriff Baldwin stood in front of the Rocking T ranch house door, paper
in hand as three of his four deputies stood behind him.
“I’ve got a warrant to search the entire ranch for your brother,” he said to
Cole as he showed him the paper.
Cole took the warrant and read it more carefully than most people. It
authorized the sheriff to search the grounds and all buildings for the
suspect, Harry Turner. It didn’t give him authority to search for small
objects and figured he’d have to bring that up sooner or later.
“Alright, Sheriff. Go ahead.”
The sheriff walked into the house as his deputies spread out. One stayed
with the sheriff, and two headed for the bunkhouse, barn and chow house.
As he walked behind him, Cole asked, “Sheriff, why are you executing a
search warrant today? He’s been on the run for more than two days. I would
have thought you would have come here first as I’m his only relative. Any
idiot would have come out here two days ago.”
Sheriff Baldwin replied, “We’re gonna conduct our search. You need to
stand aside.”
“I’ll walk right behind you, Sheriff. I read the search warrant and you’re
looking for a man, nothing else. If you or your deputies start tearing up my
home, there will be consequences.”
The sheriff was flummoxed. Usually, he’d show somebody the warrant
and then do what he wanted to do.
Damned Judge Smith!
 He didn’t reply, but he and the deputy began searching with Cole
walking behind them. They didn’t find Harry of course, then they came to
the gun room.
“Open the room,” the sheriff commanded.
“Sure.”
Cole took out his key, unlocked the door, then swung the door open and
the sheriff and deputy walked inside.
“Holy Jesus!
What are you plannin’ on doin’, starting an army?
” he
exclaimed as he saw all the firearms and ammunition.
“I just like guns. It’s not a crime, is it?”
“Maybe they outta pass a law so nobody can have too many.”
“They already passed a law about guns, Sheriff. It’s called the
Constitution of the United States of America. Lordy! First you don’t know
about the fourth amendment and now you don’t know about the second.
Can you even read? It says that I can have as many as I want, and I may
even buy some more. Maybe I’ll buy a Gatling gun or a howitzer.”
Sheriff Baldwin glared at him, then he and the deputy left the room
before Cole closed the door and locked it again. They reached the kitchen
and Amos came bursting in as they did.
“Boss, those deputies are ripping up a lot of stuff!”
“Sheriff, you get your deputies under control immediately. If I find
anything broken, I will report you to Judge Smith and you will be found in
contempt.”
The sheriff was spitting mad but stomped out of the kitchen with his
trailing deputy as Cole and Amos trotted behind them.
They arrived at the chow house and found a disaster. The deputy inside
was still at it, too, opening a bin of flour and reaching deep inside.
The sheriff said loudly and with a hint of disgust, “Deputy Green, hold
off. The search warrant says we can only look for the lawyer.”
 “But you said…” the deputy began to protest.
“Never mind that. Where’s Jed?”
“He’s in the bunkhouse.”
Cole turned to a very irate cook and asked, “Randy, anything broken?”
“No, boss. That jasper just made a big mess.”
“When you finish cleaning up, make me a list of everything that Deputy
Green did. I’ll submit it to Judge Smith.”
Randy smiled and replied, “Will do, boss.”
The chastised and confused deputy followed his boss to the bunkhouse,
where Cole could already hear things being thrown around inside when they
were fifty feet away.
When they arrived, it was like a replay of the chow house search. The
sheriff stopped Deputy Houston, who was equally confused by his order to
desist, and Cole told Joe Higgins to make a list of all the damage.
A smirking Amos followed Cole, the sheriff and the three deputies to the
barn where the inspection only took a few minutes.
“Sheriff, I’ll let you and the deputies inspect the pastures unmolested. I
don’t have a line shack.”
“Let’s go, boys,” said a very frustrated Sheriff Baldwin, not even
realizing the significance of Cole’s comment.
Cole and Amos followed the Sheriff and his deputies out to their horses
and watched them mount and ride off.
“You’ve made a serious enemy there, Cole,” Amos said as he continued
to watch the fading lawmen.
“He was that before he arrived, Amos. Come into the house and I’ll fill
you in.”
Cole and Amos walked through the still open door and took seats at the
kitchen table.
 “Amos, I think the sheriff was so upset about things he forgot to notice
that no one else was here. There was no Katie, Becky or Jake.”
“I think you had him all balled up in his head, Cole. What if he comes
back to search again?”
“If he does, it has to be today. The search warrant isn’t valid tomorrow.
He can show up and ask where they are, but I could say they’re all sleeping,
and he can’t check. So, I don’t think he’ll be back. Now we have to figure
out what to do about Harry, if anything. I don’t have a clue where he went,
but it can’t be far. It has to be in Twin Forks. Do you know of any
abandoned houses in town?”
“That’s just it, Cole, I can’t recall a single one, but he’d need a house to
hide the buggy.”
“You know, Amos, of all of Harry’s messes, this one puts them all to
shame.”
“It sure does, Cole. It sure does.”
_____
At the Bar C, there was nothing but frustration. None of the searchers
had turned up a sign of Harry Turner. He had simply vanished. The sheriff’s
search hadn’t found him either, so the Rocking T was clear.
“Where else could he have gone?” Paul Cooper asked loudly.
Fuzzy replied, “I got a bad feelin’ he may have slipped on board a train.
You know, he just walks to Pierceville and climbs on board a freight car.”
“That might work if he didn’t have to worry about the kid. He isn’t going
anywhere unless the kid is safe. She’s out at the ranch, isn’t she?”
“Yup.”
“How many hands does he have out there?”
“Six, plus the cook and his old foreman.”
 “Alright. Tomorrow, we go and get the kid and once he knows we got
her, he’ll come crawling to us.”
“How can we do that?”
“Send four men and have them take the carriage. The Rocking T hands
should all be out with the herd in the middle of the day. Cole Turner will see
the carriage and you roll right close to the house. When he asks who’s there,
you pop out with your Winchesters. You’ll catch the brother flat-footed and
just go in there and take her.”
Fuzzy nodded and said, “Good plan, boss. Do you want me to go?”
“No, you stay. Send four of the other boys.”
“Okay, boss. They’ll leave around eight in the mornin’. That’ll put them
into his ranch at ten thirty or so and it should be quiet.”
“Go and pick out your four men.”
_____
After she had tucked Jake and Katie into their bed, Becky had been
almost giddy with anticipation, and had been disappointed when Harry had
simply wished her a goodnight.
But just before he closed the door, he whispered, “I really need my sleep,
but I’ll be dreaming of you tonight, Becky.”
After the door closed, Becky closed her eyes, then walked slowly to her
bedroom, then changed into her nightdress before opening the door again.
She crawled under the wool blanket, closed her eyes and recalled all that
Harry had said to her. It took her almost an hour to fall asleep.
 CHAPTER 4
“What are you gonna do today, Cole?” asked Amos.
“I need to go and find that damned house. Any ideas?”
“Check with the bank. They’d know if any of ‘em was abandoned.”
“I’ll do that. What are you and the boys doing today?”
“We need to do some work out in the southwest pasture. A whole section
of fence is on its side and a few critters have wandered off. Shouldn’t take
that long. You takin’ the Cannon?”
“Yup. I have no idea what I’m dealing with and it’s better to be safe than
sorry. I’ll see you when I get back.”
They left the house but didn’t bother locking the door as it wasn’t
occupied any longer.
Cole walked into the barn and glanced over at the mare. She sure was a
pretty lady and hoped that Becky would get a chance to ride her. He threw
his saddle over the General and a few minutes later attached his Sharps to
its special hooks then slid the Winchester ’76 into its scabbard and
mounted.
It was just approaching noon when he left the ranch and began his two-
mile ride to Twin Forks as a carriage was heading south about six miles
north of the Rocking T.
Cole stopped at the Twin Forks Bank walked in and headed for the
clerk’s desk.
“Mornin’, Cole. What can I do for you?”
“John, I’m looking to see if there are any abandoned properties around.
Do you know of any?”
 “Abandoned? Nope.”
“How about something that is such poor shape that the owner wouldn’t
care about selling it really cheap?”
“There are a couple of those. The closest one is out your way. You know
the Stephenson’s place, don’t you?”
“Sure.”
“Well, they’re looking to sell and aren’t asking much.”
“They still living there?”
“As far as I know.”
“What’s the other one?”
“That’s about three miles west, the old Randolph farm. Frank Randolph
died a few months ago, and his wife couldn’t run the place. I don’t know if
she’s selling it or not, but I’m pretty sure she’s already moved out.”
“That sounds about right. Thanks, John.”
“Anytime, Cole.”
Cole left the bank and mounted the General. He was going to turn west,
but decided he’d tell Amos where he was going, just in case the sheriff
returned. It would only take a few minutes and Harry wasn’t going
anywhere.
He wheeled the General back to the east and began to ride toward the
ranch, and as he approached the turn to the road to Garden City, he spotted
a carriage turning onto the Rocking T access road.
Who did he know that
even drove a carriage?
He kicked up the pace and snapped the cover off the Sharps case, slid the
rifle from its protective cocoon and popped off the lens caps. As the
General glided along the road, he checked to make sure it had a round in the
chamber, then snapped the breech closed after seeing the mammoth
cartridge. He reached the end of the access road just as the carriage stopped
in front of the house and the driver quickly hopped down from the driver’s
seat, yanked open the door and jumped inside.
He may not have understood the reason for the carriage being there, but
he didn’t think they were delivering cookies and that odd sight of the driver
entering the carriage confirmed those suspicions. He stepped down just
under the ranch sign, pulled six more rounds for the Sharps from the case
and slipped them into his pocket. He stretched out on his stomach in the
road and after making the range and windage adjustments, just watched the
carriage through the scope.
Inside the carriage the four Bar C men were waiting for the door to open.
Surely that rancher heard the horses and the wheels.
“How long do we wait, Al?”
“Give it another minute, Jasper,” Al Bennington replied, “If he don’t
come out, we’ll go in.”
The Rocking T hands had already moved the four stray cattle back to
where they belonged and repaired the fence. They were returning to house
and spotted the carriage while they were still a mile out.
“What’s goin’ on, Amos? Is the boss expectin’ anyone?” asked Jimmy
Harper.
“I don’t think so. Grab those Winchesters, boys. I don’t like this a bit.
That thing’s just sittin’ there.”
“Isn’t that the boss’s new horse at the end of the access road, Amos?”
asked Jimmy, pointing westward.
Amos squinted and said, “Sure is. And if you look on the ground, it
looks like he’s got the Cannon aimed at that carriage, too. He must not like
what’s goin’ on either.”
“What do we do, Amos?”
“We wait. I’m sure he’ll see us. He’s waitin’ to see what they’re gonna
do.”
 Cole had noticed the Rocking T hands and was glad that Amos was with
them to keep things under control.
Inside the carriage, the four men were getting twitchy because nothing
was happening.
“Maybe he’s gone,” suggested Con Grassley.
“Let’s go and check. It’s gettin’ too damned hot in here,” complained
Red White.
“Alright, let’s all get out and make a lot of noise on the porch. If he still
don’t come out, then we just go inside. Maybe the kid’s inside by herself,”
said Al Bannister.
They began piling out of the carriage, Winchesters at the ready.
Cole saw Al Bannister cock his Winchester, so all bets were off. They
were on his land and preparing to enter his house with loaded guns. Cole
released the first trigger, held his breath and squeezed the second trigger
gently.
The Cannon lived up to its nickname, emitting a thunderous roar as its
half-inch diameter projectile rocketed out of its muzzle toward the house.
Cole knew precisely the distance from the sign to the steps of the porch, six
hundred and fifteen yards, so the sound and the bullet should arrive about
the same time. He didn’t waste the second and a half that the bullet would
take to reach its target, and already had the breech open when the mass of
lead slammed into Al Bannister’s back, just below the tip of the left
shoulder blade. Al Bannister never heard the deep rumble of the Cannon
echoing across the Rocking T as his entire left side of his chest exploded
before he and his repeater flopped into the dirt.
The other three were all stunned by the sudden thunder and Al’s equally
sudden demise as they whipped around to find the shooter. It gave Cole
enough time to chamber a second round and target Con Grassley. The
second bullet was on its way as the remaining would-be kidnappers
searched the west where they saw the large cloud indicating the recent
firing of a powerful gun but didn’t see Cole until the Sharps’ muzzle flare
announced his location.
 “Get do…” Con began to shout when Cole’s second shot drilled into the
exact center of his chest, shattering his sternum and then exploding his
aortic arch and exiting through his seventh thoracic vertebra. His eyes were
still wide, and his mouth was still open when he stumbled backwards then
fell to the ground and his left foot began to twitch.
As soon as he’d squeezed the trigger, Cole knew he’d never make
another long-range shot, so he just laid the Sharps on its side and as his
bullet was racing toward his ranch house, he was scrambling to his feet. He
soon was mounting the General as the remaining two men ran to the porch
to set up firing positions.
“Amos, shouldn’t we go and help?” asked Joe Higgins.
“Nope. We only go down there if it looks like the boss needs our help.
This is his show and we’d all get in the way. Cock your Winchesters,
though.”
Cole was riding hard as he grabbed and cocked his ’76.
The last two Bar C men saw him coming and readied their rifles. He was
still out of range, so they were surprised when, at two hundred yards, Cole
drew the big black to a halt in a cloud of dust. He didn’t want the General to
take a round, stray or otherwise as he dismounted.
Red White shouted to Bill Johnson, “Bill, I’m thinkin’ we make a break
for the carriage and run it outta here.”
“He’d pepper it full of holes with that Winchester! We’re better off
here!”
“But his cowhands will be comin’ soon. They musta heard the rifle
shots.”
Bill knew he was right. Soon, they’d be outgunned and surrounded.
“Alright, forget the carriage. On the count of three, we start firing to
keep his head down. Then we make a break to the north. Those trees are
only about a hundred yards away. We can hold them off a lot better from
there.”
 “Why don’t we go in the house?” Red asked loudly.
“Because we won’t be able to see ‘em!”
“Oh.”
“Alright. On three, one…two…THREE!” Bill shouted.
The two men began firing, expecting Cole to drop down as they popped
to their feet and sprinted from the porch, leaping past the three steps to the
ground without breaking stride.
Cole didn’t drop because it didn’t matter by the time that he saw them
fire. He was still a hundred and fifty yards out when he saw them rabbit
from the house and knew it would take a lucky shot to hit him anyway and
they were shooting on the run to boot. He began to run to his left to close
the distance between them.
Red and Bill weren’t even looking west as they began their race to
safety. They were staring ahead as they sprinted but should have at least
glanced in Cole’s direction.
Cole had cut the gap to seventy yards before he pulled up, then assumed
a firing stance as Red finally peeked in his direction. It was just in time to
see the smoke billow from Cole’s Winchester. Cole’s bullet struck him on
the left side at the base of his neck. His legs stopped churning and his
momentum carried him another fifteen feet before he fell awkwardly face
first into the ground creating a large cloud of dust.
Bill Johnson had been trailing Red, and when Red plowed into the dirt,
he braked, then turned with his Winchester as Cole was levering in his next
round. Bill fired a wild, desperate shot that threw up a small mushroom
cloud eight feet to Cole’s left. Cole never paid it any attention as he fired
his final shot at just fifty-six yards. The .45 caliber bullet thumped into Bill
Johnson’s chest just to the left of center, exploding his heart. He dropped
his Winchester, then fell to his knees as if in prayer before he slowly
toppled forward onto his face.
Cole quickly scanned all of the bodies to make sure that none were
moving before he turned and headed back to get the General and his Sharps.
 Amos turned to the ranch hands and said, “Alright, boys, let’s go and see
if we can help the boss clean up this mess.”
“He only took four shots!” exclaimed Whitey Baker.
“The boss don’t like to waste ammunition,” Amos said as he nudged his
horse forward.
Amos and the four hands trotted their horses toward the front yard as
Cole mounted the General and slid his Winchester into its scabbard, then
headed out to the sign, dismounted and picked up the Cannon. He slid the
lens caps in place, then slid it into its case and replaced the unused
cartridges in the case before attaching it to the saddle.
He mounted his gelding again, slid his Winchester into its scabbard then
headed to the ranch house where Amos and the boys were dismounting,
then stepped down himself and walked to the carriage. He had been very
pleased with the General’s steadiness during the shooting and realized what
a bargain he’d found.
He looked in the carriage and saw a paper sack on the leather seat,
reached in, pulled it out, then opened it and looked inside.
“What you got, boss?” asked Amos as he walked closer.
Cole held out the bag and said, “Cookies.”
“Cookies?”
“They were here to take Katie. They couldn’t find Harry, so I guess they
figured they’d take Katie as bait. They probably figured I’d be the only one
in the house. The cookies were to keep her calm on the way back, but they
didn’t get her.”
“Nope,” Amos said as he began to point at the dead men, “This one
here’s Al Bannister and the other one’s Con Grassley. Joe, go and check on
the other two.”
“No, need, Amos. One was Red White and the second was Bill Johnson.
I recognized them all through the scope.”
 “What’ll we do with ‘em, boss?”
“We’ll strip them of their guns and anything they’ve got in their pockets,
then we bury them. The carriage goes in the barn and the horses go in the
corral. I don’t want anyone to even suspect that they were here. Cooper
can’t say a thing, or he’d be admitting to sending them here, but I guarantee
the sheriff will be back soon to find out where they are.”
“Alright. We’ll do that. I’ll bring their guns inside. Where do you want
‘em buried?”
“We’ll load them into the wagon and bury them about a half mile east.”
“We can handle it, boss. You don’t have to come along.”
“No, Amos, I made this mess, so I should help clean it up.”
“No, boss. Harry made this mess,” Amos said with finality.
_____
The children were busy playing checkers, and Becky was still cleaning
the house, but she and Harry had been exchanging meaningful glances all
morning. He knew she was ready as she kept sweeping the same spot as she
looked at him.
He took the broom from her hands, set it against the wall, and said, “You
don’t have to clean, Becky. We’ll be leaving in the morning. Besides, you
are way too pretty to be doing such work.”
“I guess it is kind of a waste of my time, isn’t it?” she whispered, her
voice trembling slightly.
“Yes, it is. Let’s go and sit in the living room and talk while the children
play.”
“Alright,” she smiled as rush of warmth rolled through her as Harry took
her hand.
They walked into what used to be the main room and sat on the couch
which was reasonably safe.
 Becky wanted to be close to Harry, but still felt uncomfortable when he
sat with his thigh pressed against hers, but the thrill outweighed her
discomfort.
“Did anyone ever tell you how pretty you are, Becky?” Harry said as he
smiled and let his hand slide along her thigh.
“No,” she replied softly, knowing that it wasn’t quite true. Cole had told
her she was pretty, but not in the same way that Harry was telling her.
Harry leaned over, put his fingers on her face, then gently turned her face
towards him and kissed her softly.
Becky melted with her first real kiss. She had never been kissed by a
man before, not like this. It was so exciting that she put her hand around his
neck and kissed him harder, already feeling even more excited. This was so
new and so thrilling, and she wanted more.
Harry knew that he had her now, so he pulled her closer, then started
kissing her neck and Becky dropped into a lust-filled canyon as she pulled
his lips closer and turned her head slightly,
Harry then slid his left hand under her dress, riding the skirt up as it slid
along the inside of her thigh. Becky was unnerved for just a moment, but it
was aroused beyond her capacity to understand. His hand continued up
along her dress and he began to unbutton her blouse.
As he slid his hand under her camisole and caressed her breast, she
gasped, then pulled his hand out slowly and whispered, “Harry, I don’t
know you.”
He whispered back, “But I know you, Becky, and I love you. I love
everything about you and want to show you how much I love you.”
Becky wasn’t sure, but she was more excited than she had ever been
before, and he loved her. She knew that she loved him, too and her mind
was filled with nothing but desire.
Harry thought he might be losing her after she took his hand from her
breast, so he softly kissed her again, and when she responded by adding
passion to the kiss, he knew he had to have her now, so when their lips
parted, he whispered, “Becky, let me take you to the bedroom and make
love to you.”
That last kiss and his touches demolished any restraints she had, so she
didn’t hesitate before she replied softly, but desperately, “Please, Harry.
Yes.”
He stood slowly, looked into her eyes, then took her hand and led her
into the first bedroom. Once in the room, he turned her, and pressed himself
against her back. She felt his excitement and began to slide her hips against
him as he resumed kissing her neck.
He then slid his hand to her breasts again and this time, she moaned as
his fingers touched her where she wanted to be touched. She could feel him
and now she wanted him more than she’d wanted anything in her life
before.
“Please,” she whispered as he almost ripped off the front of her dress and
let it drop to the floor.
He slid the camisole above her hips and Becky was ready to collapse
when he let his fingers slide between her thighs.
Harry then turned her around so he could admire her and as she watched
his loving eyes eagerly, she put her arms into the air as he pulled the
camisole over her head and began to kiss her breasts.
She tossed the camisole aside and was preparing to kiss him when they
were rudely interrupted by a small voice.
“Mama! What are you doing?” Jake asked as he stood in the doorway
looking at her.
Harry acted as if he wasn’t there, but even as he continued to stroke
Becky, she suddenly crashed back into reality. When she saw her son
staring at her naked body in the sunlit room, she was ashamed of herself
when just a heartbeat earlier all that mattered was letting Harry take her to
his bed.
Harry noticed that she was no longer making those stimulating sounds or
touching him, then realized that Becky wasn’t going to satisfy him while
the kid was there, so he did the unforgivable. Without a second thought, he
pushed Jake out of the room onto the seat of his pants then closed the door
before putting his arms around Becky.
Becky was horrified and just stared at the closed door. Here she was
naked, and her son had just been shoved away as if he was nothing but a
nuisance.
Harry’s hands slid down to Becky’s soft behind and as he tried to kiss
her again, she pushed him away, then grabbed her camisole from the floor.
“Stop it, Harry! Leave me alone!” Becky shouted.
Harry was much too excited to give up so easily, so he smiled at her and
said, “Come on, Becky. It’s alright. Just give me a few more minutes. You’ll
forget about everything else when I have you moaning and begging for
more.”
Becky’s eyes were opened in a flash and she saw Harry for what he was
and felt like the whore that everyone thought she was. Suddenly, all of those
stories that Cole had told her reverberated through her mind and she felt
like a fool as well. She was a fool and a damned whore!
She slid her camisole on, then snatched up her dress quickly and donned
it as she glared at Harry.
Harry saw his chances fading quickly, so he said, “But I love you,
Becky.”
Becky snapped back, “Like you loved Jenny Anderson?”, then she
yanked open the door.
She found Jake standing in the hallway, and when he looked up at his
mother, he simply asked, “Mama?”
She picked him up and walked out to the kitchen, thoroughly ashamed of
herself. She set him down and folded her arms across her chest as she stared
out the dirty back window.
Harry followed and thought he may as well take a different tack as the
whole love issue had failed.
 “Becky, I’ve heard all the stories about you. I don’t know why you’re
acting like miss innocent. You were enjoying every second. You were even
the one who asked me to take you to the bed. We’ll put the kids to sleep
tonight and we’ll sleep together. You won’t regret it.”
She didn’t turn around, but she was seething as she snarled, “Every one
of those stories you heard is a lie. I’ve never been with a man since I was
assaulted against my will when I was a teenager.”
“That may be, but this would be much nicer, Becky. I’d make love to
you like you’ve never experienced it before. You’d enjoy every second. I’d
make you feel alive.”
“Leave me alone, Harry. I’m not that kind of woman.”
Harry laughed as he stepped closer behind her then said, “Every woman
is that kind of woman, Becky. They just don’t know it. You were almost
there, so you know it’s true. Let me show you what you’ve been missing. I
think you’ll be so thrilled that you’ll never want to leave the bed.”
Becky was beginning to panic as she felt Harry moving closer and could
feel him press against her and she knew he was already excited again.
Becky couldn’t let him win, so she whirled around with her open hand
and slapped him across the face with everything she had.
Harry felt the stinging blow as his head snapped to the right and was
stunned more that hurt.
Who did she think she was? She was a damned
whore!
Harry was about to force the issue when he heard Katie’s voice behind
him ask, “Papa? Are you trying to marry Becky?”
His lust suddenly dissipated as he stepped back from Becky and turned
to look at Katie.
“Oh. Hello, Katie. No, I was just talking to Becky.”
“I don’t think so, Papa. I think you were trying to marry Becky and you
can’t.”
 “I can’t?”
“No. Uncle Cole likes Becky, and Becky needs Uncle Cole.”
Becky was still shaken by what had just happened and missed all what
Katie had said except the last line. If she had felt bad enough before, she
felt worse now. Cole had warned her, and she had almost let Harry talk her
into his bed. All she knew was that she needed to get away. As far as she
was concerned, her nanny duties were finished. All she had now was Jake.
She slipped past Harry and walked to where Jake stood.
He smiled up at her and said, “Hello, Mama.”
Becky took Jake’s hand and led him into her room and closed the door.
She began emptying the poor excuse for a dresser onto the bed, then put the
clothes into the bag as Jake just watched.
When everything was packed, she took Jake by the hand again opened
the door then walked as quickly down the hallway hearing Harry trotting
behind her.
“Becky! Where are you going? You can’t leave. Who’s going to take
care of Katie?”
She didn’t answer but just kept walking as fast as little Jake’s legs could
churn. She made it to the front room before Harry ran in front of her and put
his back against the door.
“Becky, you can’t go. They’ll know where I am. If you walk out that
door, you’ll be putting Katie in danger.”
Becky may have been hurt and humiliated but snapped, “That’s the
cheapest, lowest thing you could have said. I haven’t put Katie in danger,
you bastard, you have. You’ve put everyone else in danger just because of
the way you are. You’re a selfish, arrogant man and I don’t know how you
fathered such a sweet, intelligent girl as Katie. I know that you’re not going
to change either. You’re going to die through your selfishness. I’m safer on
the streets than in here with you. Get out of my way!”
“No. I won’t. You’re just hysterical. I’ll behave myself.”
 “The old fallback. If a woman is angry, she’s hysterical. I’m far from
hysterical, Harry. I’m determined. Now move out of the way.”
“No. I won’t let you leave.” Harry said as he stood with his back against
the door, barring her escape.
Before Becky could say anything, Katie walked past her and Jake then
stopped a few feet in front of her father and said, “Papa, let Becky and Jake
go. She’s going to go back to see Uncle Cole now. Let her go. She belongs
with Uncle Cole.”
Harry was surprised by Katie. He hadn’t spent much time with her,
relegating those duties to the nannies. He had always seen her as a cute little
doll, not as a small human being. He knew nothing of his own daughter yet
here she was talking to him like an adult when she wasn’t even six.
Becky looked at Katie and asked, “Katie, did you want to come along?”
“No, Becky. I’ll stay with Papa.”
“Are you sure?”
Katie nodded, then said, “I have to take care of him now. You have to
take care of Uncle Cole. Tell him I love him very much.”
Becky looked at Katie then nodded and said, “I’ll tell him, Katie.”
Katie smiled and said, “You’re a good lady, Becky.”
Becky replied, “No, I’m not,” then pushed past a still dumbfounded
Harry and guided Jake out of the house and into the bright Kansas
afternoon. It was a five-mile walk to the Rocking T and it was already hot.
After Becky had gone, Harry looked at Katie and asked, “We’ve got to
leave now instead of tomorrow. Would you like to ride on the train?”
“Okay, Papa.”
Harry picked up Katie and smiled. “That’s my little girl. Let’s start
packing your things and we’ll have something to eat before we go.”
_____
 Out on the road, Becky would alternate carrying Jake and letting him
walk. She was still walking briskly in case Harry recovered enough to try to
come after them.
But as she walked, she knew that she couldn’t stay at the ranch house
any longer. Even if Cole never found out what she’d done, she couldn’t face
him knowing that she was what Harry expected her to be. She had been
willing to give herself to him after just a few sweet words, just as those
other women had.
Her hopes for a bright future for her and Jake had been dashed by the
decision to go with Katie and then by the sudden release of her uninhibited
lust.
_____
The carriage had been hidden in the barn, the bag of cookies were left in
the main room and the four black carriage horses had been put in the corral
with the rest of the ranch’s herd and blended in sufficiently. Cole had noted
that none wore Bar C brands, so Cooper must not have wanted to spoil their
coats.
They loaded up the wagon with the dead men, took two pickaxes and
two spades from the barn and drove out to a remote location on the ranch.
Cole grabbed a pickaxe as did Jimmy Harper, then they began loosening
the Kansas soil, while Shorty Jackson and Whitey Baker each took a spade
and began to shovel. It only took them twenty minutes to get the hole dug.
The four bodies were lined up and then the dirt was shoveled over the top.
It was deep enough that the coyotes couldn’t dig them out but not much
beyond that.
No one asked if any words needed to be said over the grave, so they
worked the dirt to make the grave inconspicuous before returning to the
chow house where they all sat and had something to drink.
“Now what, boss?” asked Amos.
“We see what they’ll do next. I’m going to see how Becky and Jake are
doing. I was going to do it tomorrow, but I think there’s enough daylight
today and the General’s still saddled. I’m going to get cleaned up quickly
get the General some water and head out.”
“Okay, boss.”
Cole then stood and walked back to the house, hoping that he found
Becky before Harry tried to resort to one of his many tools of seduction.
_____
Becky was slowing down as she was just halfway to Twin Forks and
didn’t know if she had the strength to continue. She didn’t realize just how
much energy she’d used earlier. They could stop in Twin Forks and get
something to eat and drink.
She had left the fifty dollars that Cole had given to her in her dresser,
believing that she would be back soon. She had grabbed the loose money on
top, though. It was the $4.46 that she had in her pocket when she left #11 11
th

Street and it was all she had left now. She laughed at the irony.
She was walking in new shoes wearing a new dress and was even
wearing the silk scarf he had bought her. And how had she repaid him? She
had agreed to be taken to bed by Harry after just a few sweet words. She
had now abandoned her nanny duties, too. She had done everything wrong.
Cole would be so angry with her he would take her back to #11 11
th
Street,
where she belonged. Maybe she’d just walk all the way herself. She
deserved it. But even as she chastised herself, she looked down at Jake
tromping along beside her. He was so innocent of her shame.
How could
she punish him for what she had done by taking him back to that hovel?
____
“They should be back by now, boss.”
“I know, Fuzzy. You think something went wrong?”
“I think so. But I think we should give ‘em a couple of hours to be sure.”
“Then what?”
 “That’s your call, boss. Do we send more men down to find ‘em or send
the sheriff?”
“The sheriff would probably be better. He’d have to come up with an
excuse, though.”
“He already has the search warrant.”
“That’s right. Send someone to Garden City and tell him to do another
search, then send Tex and Al Schuster to the ranch through Pierceville in
case our guys are coming back that way or the carriage had a breakdown.”
“Will do, boss.”
_____
Cole was trotting along on the General thinking about what had just
happened. He didn’t regret shooting one of those bastards, but it was
thinking about what they were planning on doing that sent a chill down his
spine. They were trying to kidnap Katie.
He was almost as worried about Becky but hoped that his warnings had
been enough to keep him at bay and that her fears and resolve would do the
rest. He had just passed the western boundary of Twin Forks when he saw
two figures walking in the distance and knew immediately who they were.
It was Becky and Jake and the fact that they were on foot was frightening.
He accelerated the General to a fast trot to reach them.
Becky saw the horseman in the distance before Cole had seen her. At
first, she began looking for someplace to hide off to the left or right of the
roadway, then she looked more closely at the rider and felt a flush of relief
at first, followed by quick depression. It was Cole, and her shame and
disgust with herself reached a crescendo.
Cole could see how tired she was and saw her carrying a bag. She had
left the house and he hated to think what had caused her change of mind.
The fact that she wasn’t with Katie meant that it must have been bad. He
slowed the General when he was within a hundred feet, leapt down,
grabbed a canteen and trotted to Becky.
 Becky tried to say something as he drew close, but her mouth was too
dry to speak.
Cole, knowing what Becky would want, offered some water to Jake first.
He tilted the canteen for Jake who began drinking. After a few seconds, he
handed the canteen to Becky. She took a deep swallow and felt the cool
water sooth her parched mouth and throat, then took two more long drinks.
Again, she tried to say something, but this time, it was her emotions that
got in the way.
He asked, “Becky, is Katie still with Harry?”
She just nodded, and Cole knew there was something wrong, but he
thought that he could always just ride back after dropping Becky and Jake
off at the ranch.
“You just stay put for a second,” Cole said, before trotting back to the
General.
Cole removed his bedroll from behind his saddle, unraveled it, then
folded it in two and laid it across the base of the General’s neck, covering
the front of the saddle including the saddle horn. Then he walked the horse
back to Becky and Jake and let his reins fall.
“Becky, here’s how this is going to work. I’m going to lift you onto the
bedroll. You’ll have to sit sidesaddle. It’ll be a bit uncomfortable, but once
you’re there, I’ll give you Jake. You hang onto Jake and I’ll mount behind
you then we’ll ride back to the Rocking T. Got all that?”
Becky nodded as Cole squatted down to be eye-level with Jake.
“Jake, I’m going to put your mama on the horse. Then after she’s there,
I’m going to put you on her lap. Okay?”
“I’m gonna ride a horse?”
“Just like a real cowboy,” Cole said as he smiled, then rubbed Jake’s
head.
 Jake grinned, then Cole stood and turned to Becky and took the bag out
of her hand.
“Ready?”
Again, she simply nodded.
“Now, just stand with your back to the horse.”
Becky moved backwards until she was centered against the bedroll. Cole
put his hands on her waist and lifted her effortlessly to the makeshift perch.
Becky sat on the bedroll and soon discovered that Cole was right. It felt
precarious as she balanced herself on the General’s neck.
“Ready, Jake?”
“Okay.”
Cole plucked Jake from the ground and handed him to Becky. With Jake,
she felt even more out of balance and wondered how they’d manage to stay
upright when the horse was moving.
Cole picked up the bag, hooked it over the Winchester’s stock, then
returned to the horse’s left side and put his foot into the stirrup, swung his
right leg in a wide arc and slid in behind Becky.
“Now, Becky, put your left arm around my waist and hold onto Jake with
your right. I’ll be holding onto your waist as well with my right hand.”
Becky didn’t say a word as she put her arm around his waist, and he did
the same to her. What made it worse was that she felt the same excitement
she’d felt before and hated herself even more.
He took the reins with his free hand and turned the General back east
toward the Rocking T. He was waiting for Becky to say something over
Jake’s giggles, but after a minute realized she wasn’t about to say a word.
As they passed through town, Cole suspected that Harry had made some
suggestive remark or tried to kiss or grab her and she was disgusted with
men and Turner men in particular.
 By the time they were turning onto the Rocking T access road without
Becky making a sound, Cole was convinced that she wasn’t going to stay at
the ranch but hoped she would give him the chance to help her and Jake.
They arrived at the ranch house and Cole pulled the General to a stop
just before the porch to begin the awkward dismount.
“Becky, getting down is going to be different, so just stay put. Okay?”
She didn’t even nod this time, so he just let the reins go, then leaned
around the silent Becky and said, “Jake, I’m going to set you down first.
Are you ready for a ride?”
Jake smiled and said, “Okay.”
“Keep holding onto me, Becky.”
Cole wasn’t expecting any acknowledgement, so he took his hand from
Becky and used both hands to take Jake’s hands and swung him wide from
Becky’s lap, then leaned over and lowered him gently to the ground.
Jake clapped his hands and laughed when he touched down and looked
up at his mother.
“Your turn, Becky. Let go and take my hands.”
She took her hand from Cole’s waist and grasped his hands tightly. He
lifted both of her hands into the air then said, “Now, just slide off the
bedroll.”
Becky slid from the bedroll, but before she reached the ground, Cole
held her suspended in the air and had to rotate her until she was facing the
General before he lowered her the rest of the way. Once she was standing
beside Jake, he stepped down.
He unhooked the bag walked to porch climbed the steps then opened the
door. Becky walked by with her head down holding onto Jake’s hand as if
Cole didn’t exist.
He wondered,
what did you do to Becky, Harry?
She walked into her room, took out the travel bag and began to pack her
things, when she saw the fifty dollars, she left it there. She hadn’t earned it.
 _____
As Becky packed her things, Harry’s buggy passed through Twin Forks
then turned north toward Garden City, but turned northeast onto the Twin
Forks – Pierceville road rather than continuing north.
_____
Cole had walked quietly behind her, then leaned against the door jamb
and watched her pack. He knew that he was losing Becky and that as many
times that Harry had damaged his life before, this was the worst.
How many
times could a brother forgive a brother?
He may be losing her, but he
wasn’t about to let her go without at least getting her to tell him what had
happened with Harry to make her so determined to get away from him.
Becky took the bag, and Cole had to step away to let her pass. He
walked out to the front room and waited before the threshold while she
entered Jake’s room and packed his things into the same bag. When she
finished, she carried the travel bag in one hand and held Jake’s hand with
the other then hurriedly stepped across the main room.
She had to stop when Cole blocked her exit, so she looked up at him and
said, “Take me back to Garden City, please, Cole.”
Cole simply replied, “No.”
She quickly said, “You told me that we could leave whenever I wanted to
leave, and I want to go back now. I’ll walk there if you won’t take us.”
Cole reached across the two-foot gap separating them, then pulled the
travel bag from her hand and said, “Miss Crandall, go and sit down on the
couch.”
Becky was caught between defiance and fear but turned slowly and
began to walk to the couch as Cole stepped behind her, then set her travel
bag on the floor, removed his hat and set it on the center table before he
picked up the bag of cookies from the carriage.
Becky turned and lowered herself to the couch and pulled Jake onto the
seat next to her as she watched Cole come close, then sit on the other side
of Jake, who was watching him with big eyes, not understanding why Uncle
Cole seemed so angry at them.
His perception changed when seconds after Cole sat, he reached into the
bag, pulled out a big molasses cookie, then handed it to him and said, “Jake,
can you go to your room and eat this? I need to talk to your mother.”
Jake grinned, snatched the cookie from his Uncle Cole, then said,
“Thank you, Uncle Cole,” before he dropped down to the floor and raced to
his room to devour the unexpected treat.
Becky watched her son leave, then slowly turned to look at Cole, not
knowing what to expect.
Cole set the bag of cookies on the side table, then said, “Miss Crandall,
before I let you return to that hovel you called home, I want you to tell me
why you are so angry with me that you refuse to even talk to me. I can
imagine why you would be upset and never want to hear the name Turner
again, but I believe you owe me at least an explanation of what he did to
make you hate me.”
A startled Becky stared at Cole and took more than ten long, silent
seconds to absorb those words before she said, “Hate you? I could never
hate you, Cole. But…but…”
As Becky fumbled for words, the revelation of what Harry had done to
her exploded in Cole’s mind.
That bastard brother of his had ignored his
warning and bedded Becky!
No wonder she was so upset. She probably
never wanted a man to touch her ever again, and he didn’t blame her.
Becky exhaled, then continued, “I didn’t listen to you even after you
warned me about him. Even after I told you that I would never do that and
you warned me again, I fell for his words and his eyes. I was such a fool!”
Cole’s voice softened as he said, “Becky, you are no more a fool than the
other women that he’s talked into his bed, but that doesn’t mean you should
go back to Garden City and your old life. You and Jake need to stay here
where I’ll keep you safe and protected.”
 Becky had her hands clenched into fists and pounded her thighs as she
loudly said, “But I’m more than a fool. I’m nothing more than the whore
that they all said I was!”
“Now stop it, Becky! Why on earth would you even think that? Did
Harry pay you? Are you planning on returning to Garden City and charging
men to visit you?”
Her hands were still clenched, but unmoving as she replied, “No, but that
doesn’t mean I’m not as bad as a whore. I…I didn’t just let him do those
things, I wanted him to kiss me and touch me. I liked it, Cole! I wanted it!
If I’m not a whore, then I’m just a plain harlot.”
Cole exhaled and said, “Why does that make you a harlot, Becky?
You’re supposed to like it. I imagine the only other experience that you had
was more of a horror than enjoyable. But this was different, wasn’t it?”
She looked into his eyes, saw the renewed compassion, and was
surprised.
Why wasn’t he as disgusted as she was?
“He told me that he loved me, and I saw it in his eyes. No one ever told
me that before and I thought he meant it. I thought I was in love with him,
and when he kissed me, I was sure of it. When he began to touch me, I
wanted him to make love to me.”
“I am so sorry, Becky. What happened to you is as much my fault as it is
Harry’s. I didn’t understand you well enough and I didn’t warn you enough,
either.”
“But you did warn me, but I ignored all of them. How can you still have
any respect for me now?”
“Becky, may I hold your hand?”
Becky nodded, then took his hand before he spoke again.
Cole then covered her hand lightly with his other hand as he looked at
her and said, “Rebecca, I may have given you warning about him, but I
should have told you more. I should have told you the biggest reason why I
never remarried.”
 “You told me it was because you got married for the wrong reason.”
“I did get married for the wrong reason, and I did go through the motions
of marriage for the short time I was married to Edith. I knew that I wasn’t in
love with her even when I married her but believed that it was all right. I
didn’t lie about any of that, but even after you explained to me what had
happened in your family home, I didn’t tell you about the other reason why
I never remarried. I should have, but I thought we’d have time. Maybe if I
had, you wouldn’t have fallen for his advances.”
Cole was gently sliding his thumb over the back of Becky’s hand as he
continued, saying, “In my life, I have only told one woman that I loved her,
and that was my mother. I never told Edith because I wasn’t sure, and that
may have been the reason that she succumbed to Harry’s smooth words of
love.”
“
He bedded your wife?
” Becky exclaimed.
Cole nodded and said, “It started early enough in our marriage that I
wasn’t sure if the baby boy she delivered was mine or Harry’s. I discovered
the liaison from Harry’s wife, Maude. When I asked Edith, she admitted it
and seemed almost proud when she told me that Harry loved her even if I
didn’t.”
“Why didn’t you divorce her?”
“Because Maude asked me not to do it. She was afraid that Harry would
divorce her as well and she would be sent back in shame to her family.
When she died after giving birth to Katie, I didn’t see the point any longer.
It made the rift between me and Harry even wider, and if it wasn’t for Katie,
I don’t believe that I would ever have talked to him again. By the time
Maude died, Edith was well progressed in her pregnancy, and Harry had
long since moved on to other women. It was only then that Edith realized
that Harry didn’t care for her at all. She never apologized for the affair, and
I thought we’d just continue going through the motions of the marriage
after the baby arrived.”
“But she died, too,” Becky said quietly.
 “By then, Amos and a couple of the older hands knew about the
relationship, but they don’t pass the story around. Edith had believed that
Harry loved her and had willingly gone to his bed. I’ll never know if she
would have done it if I had told her that I loved her. So, the other reason
that I never remarried is that I wasn’t sure I could trust another woman until
I could honestly tell her that I loved her.”
“Then you think I’m just like Edith. I can’t be trusted and fall in love
with any man who tells me that he loves me.”
“No, Becky, you’re nothing like Edith at all. I should have clarified that
story by adding that Edith wasn’t a virgin when we married. When she was
in high school, she and a boy named Luke Thompson were an item for a
while and she confessed to me before we married that she’d dallied with
him and thought he loved her before he moved on. She wasn’t nearly as
innocent as you are, and you have never been told you were loved. You
desperately wanted to hear those words, and Harry probably suspected that,
which was my fault.”
“Why would it be your fault?”
“Just before I let him ride away on the General to return to the ranch, he
asked who the nanny was who I’d hired. When I told him your name, he
remarked about ‘that whore on 11
th
Street’. I told him you hadn’t been with
a man since you’d been violated and warned him in no uncertain words to
treat you like a queen or I’d make him wish that he was back in his own
squalor in that tool shed. Harry may not have believed me at the time, but
after he met you, he probably realized that you were just as naïve as I’d said
you were and used that as his weapon.”
“I still shouldn’t have let him get that far, Cole.”
“I am truly sorry for what he did to you, Becky. I think the worst thing
you could do now is to return to Garden City. Aside from wanting you and
Jake to stay, there’s the chance you could be pregnant again, and I wouldn’t
want you to go through all that alone.”
She shook her head and said, “I can’t be pregnant, Cole. I stopped him
before we got that far.”
 Cole’s eyes grew wide as he said, “Then why are you ashamed of
yourself? You did something that no other woman ever Harry kissed who
was able to stop.”
“It wasn’t me that stopped him, well, not exactly. It was when he had me
undressed and Jake showed up at the door and when I saw him, I was
ashamed. After I paused for just a moment, Harry pushed him down into the
hallway and closed the door.”
“
Harry pushed Jake down?
” Cole exclaimed as his opinion of his
brother reached new depths.
She nodded then said, “It was then that I remembered your warnings and
understood that Harry didn’t care about me or Jake. I got dressed, packed,
and then took Jake and tried to leave. Harry blocked my way out and was
trying to talk me into staying when Katie intervened.
“I couldn’t believe what I witnessed as she basically lectured her adult
father as if he was the child, even though she still acted and sounded like a
five-year-old girl.”
“Becky, even though we still have a lot to talk about, we need to worry
about Katie now, but tell me that you’ll stay first.”
“I never wanted to leave, Cole, but I thought you’d be too ashamed to
have me here after what happened.”
Cole smiled, then surprised her when he kissed her hand softly, and then
said, “Tell me about Harry’s plans.”
She nodded and as she began explaining what had happened and what
Harry had told her, it was already too late to help Harry.
_____
The Twin Forks - Pierceville road wasn’t as heavily traveled as the Twin
Forks – Garden City road, so Harry drove along the road feeling confident
in his escape. He was still disappointed in what hadn’t happened with
Becky, but he still had those memories.
 Katie was sitting beside him with her Abby Girl on her lap, wondering
what she could do. She wasn’t sure if anyone, even Uncle Cole, could save
her father now. She wasn’t concerned with her own safety because she was
just a little girl and even bad men wouldn’t hurt her, but ever since that
horrible night, she had believed that the men who had murdered Jenny
Anderson weren’t about to stop hunting for her father. But even she thought
that they were safer on the road than in that old house, but at least Becky
and Jake were safe now.
_____
Tex Brown and Al Schuster were heading southwest along the
Pierceville – Twin Forks road at the same time and were just trotting along
in no great hurry because a carriage would be easy to spot.
“You don’t think they ran into any trouble, do ya?” asked Tex.
“Nah. There were four of ‘em. They only had to deal with that one
rancher. I bet they stopped at Portman’s on the way back.”
“I could use a cold beer right about now myself.”
“We’ll swing by that dinky joint in Twin Forks. What’s its name?”
“I think it Sullivan’s or O’Rourke’s or some other mick name.”
Al laughed as he stared at the road ahead.
_____
Harry saw the dust cloud from the two riders but didn’t think anything of
it.
What were the odds that they’d be anyone who knew him?
Tex and Al spotted his larger dust cloud at the same time.
“Is that them, Al?”
“I don’t know, Tex. Could be. It’s throwin’ up a good-sized cloud.”
They continued at a slow trot and after another five minutes, Tex made
out the details of the oncoming vehicle.
“Nah. It’s not them. It’s a buggy.”
 “Then I guess it’s onto that mick bar,” he said as he snickered.
It wasn’t until the riders were within three hundred yards that Harry
realized what a mistake he’d made when he recognized Al Schuster.
“Katie, get down. Now!”
Katie immediately dropped down into the foot well.
Harry was going through different ways to avoid getting spotted, then
decided to get the buggy turned around quickly and get it moving back
toward Twin Forks as rapidly as possible. He yanked on the left-hand rein
and the horse swerved off the road. The buggy bounced awkwardly on the
rough terrain and then its thin tires sank into a sandy patch of ground, the
buggy lurched to a stop and the horse was straining to move it out.
“What the hell was that all about?” Al Schuster asked as he watched the
buggy’s unusual move.
“I dunno, Al, but I think we should check it out.”
“Let’s go.”
Harry was panicking as he tried to get the buggy rolling again and
wished that he had a gun. He hated guns as much as his brother loved the
damned things. He glanced at the riders and knew that if he even got the
buggy moving again, they’d catch up with him soon. Harry knew he was a
dead man and for once in his life, he made the correct and noble decision.
“Stay there, Katie. I’m going to run to get those bad men away. No
matter what happens, I want you stay hidden.”
Katie looked up and him and said, “Goodbye, Papa.”
He smiled at her and said, “Goodbye, sweetheart,” before he bolted from
the buggy and pumping his arms and legs furiously, ran as hard as he could
across the prairie.
“What the hell is going on with that feller?” shouted Tex.
Al yelled back, “Damn! That’s the lawyer the boss had locked up. Let’s
get him.”
 They each pulled a revolver and chased after Harry as he ran across the
grassland.
Harry just wanted to put as much distance between him and the buggy as
possible as he glanced back, seeing the pistols in their hands.
Katie watched the two men chase after her father and thought that they’d
be coming back after her soon, so she waited until they passed, then stepped
down and began running to the other side of the road. She was wearing
white, which was bad, but she thought if she got far enough away and hid in
the grass, they might not spot her.
Harry was gasping for air and he wasn’t even a half mile from the buggy
as the two riders closed fast.
Tex didn’t know if they should shoot him or not, but Al knew that it had
been the plan all along. They’d get the information they wanted, fix him up
and let him loose near Garden City where the sheriff would kill the accused
murderer. That hadn’t worked out, but out here in the middle of the prairie
with no one around was perfect, too. He was a wanted murderer and there
was no worry about being hanged. He just forgot that they hadn’t gotten the
information the boss wanted yet.
Al took the first shot and Tex soon followed.
The two Bar C men hadn’t hit Harry yet as he was weaving to avoid
being hit but they were closing in and still had live cartridges in their Colts.
Then Harry tripped over a clump of grass and fell face forward into the
dirt and was struggling to regain his footing when the two men rode close to
Harry and emptied their revolvers into him. Harry wasn’t breathing when
Tex and Al Schuster dismounted to inspect their handiwork.
“Boy! That is one dead lawyer!” shouted a laughing Tex.
“Let’s see if he’s got any money,” suggested Al.
“I’ll bet he does. He was runnin’.”
They found the three hundred dollars, split it up and were giggling as
they mounted their horses then headed back to the buggy.
 When they reached the buggy, Tex noticed Abby Girl sitting on the seat,
then scanned the surrounding field as he said, “I think he’s got the kid with
him, Al.”
Al began searching the other side of the road, spotted Katie hiding in the
grass and pointed.
“Over there. See that white patch?”
Tex and Al rode mounted, then rode quickly toward Katie. She knew
there was no point in running, so she got to her feet and just watched them
closely. She wanted to get a good look at the two men who had killed her
father, so she could tell Uncle Cole who they were when he came to get her.
_____
“Do you think he and Katie are still at the house, Becky?” Cole asked.
“I’m not sure, but he hadn’t packed anything when I left, so he could
be.”
“Alright. While you put your things back in your rooms, I’m going to go
and harness the carriage and then you and Jake can come with me to check
the house. We can all ride on the driver’s seat and we can talk more then.”
“When did you get a carriage?”
“This morning. I’ll explain when we’re going to find Katie.”
“Okay.”
Cole let her hands go, then stood snatched his hat from the table and
quickly left the room.
Becky watched him leave and stayed sitting to try to resolve all that
she’d learned in that conversation. It was then that Katie’s words returned
from her distant memory, ‘she belongs with Uncle Cole’, and that Becky
needed to take care of her Uncle Cole.
Did Katie really understand?
She slowly stood, walked toward the front of the room picked up her
travel bag then headed for her bedroom to unpack.
 As Cole led the four carriage horses into the barn, he was glad that he
had stopped Becky from leaving. If he’d been sulking and just harnessed
the carriage and driven it to 11
th
Street, he never would have known the full
story. Now, he had a much better understanding of the deeper Becky. When
he’d asked to hold her hands, he’d watched her eyes and didn’t see a
glimmer of fear, just a spark of hope.
He was still thinking about Becky as he moved the horses into position
and began attaching the heavy leather harness when Amos entered the barn.
“I was givin’ you time to talk to Miss Becky about things, Cole. The
boys are all chowin’ down, so what do you need us to do?”
“Help me get this thing harnessed for one. I’ll tell you what happened as
we do that.”
Cole didn’t withhold any details from Amos as they worked to get the
four horses into their straps.
“Damn that brother of yours, Cole! I woulda gelded that son of a bitch
years ago when he, well, you know.”
“I know, Amos. So, we’re going to drive to the house, and I’ll have a
very serious chat with Harry, and I might be able to persuade him to let
Katie return with us. I may not shoot him, but he’s not going to be happy
when I leave.”
“No offense, Cole, but you shoulda done it years ago and I always told
your pa the same thing.”
“You’re right about that, Amos, but it’s too late now. I don’t know if I’ll
be able to bail him out of this one. All I can do is make sure that Katie is
safe. If I can get her here, then I’ll leave him to clean up his own disaster
for a change.”
As Cole began climbing into the driver’s seat, Amos looked up and said,
“I’ll believe that when I see it.”
Cole laughed as Amos handed him his Winchester then, after laying the
repeater in the footwell, he snapped the reins.
 He drove the carriage to the front of the house and found Becky and Jake
sitting on the front porch steps. They rose as he pulled it to a stop, set the
handbrake, and then clambered down.
“Okay, ma’am, can you climb into the driver’s seat by yourself or do you
need some help?”
She almost asked for help so he would hold her hand again, but decided
it could wait, so she said, “I’ll get up there and you can hand Jake up to
me.”
Cole smiled as she began to step up and noticed that she was still
wearing shoes and should have been wearing her riding skirt as well. But
wardrobe choice aside, he still appreciated the view.
After she was seated, he picked up Jake, then let Becky hoist him into
the seat. He climbed up beside Jake, took the reins, and waved to Amos
before releasing the handbrake.
They were soon rolling down the access road, and Jake was all grins at
the speed and height of the ride and glad that his mother and Uncle Cole
seemed happy again.
“So, where did you get the carriage?” Becky asked as he turned it onto
the road.
“I returned from Twin Forks this morning after finding out where Harry
had gone and spotted four men in this carriage pulling up in front of the
ranch house. They were here to kidnap Katie. I guess they sent four because
they were worried that they might run into trouble. When I saw that they
just parked and waited, it was pretty obvious that they were expecting me to
just show up at the door and shoot me then grab Katie.”
“Why would they want to take Katie?”
“They knew that Harry was gone and figured that they could hold Katie
hostage to get him to tell them what they wanted to know. They even
brought those cookies to keep Katie happy on the ride back to the Bar C.”
“What’s the Bar C?”
 “I never had a chance to tell you, but I found Harry on a ranch owned by
Paul Cooper. I talked to his daughter, Jo Cooper, and she told me about the
shack where they were probably holding Harry. Whatever shady dealings
Harry is involved in are with Paul Cooper. I just don’t have any idea what
they are.”
“So, you killed all four of those men?”
“Yes, ma’am. Each one of them had his Winchester out and was walking
to the front door when I started firing. We buried them out in the pasture.
That’s how we got the carriage. It’s property of the Bar C ranch and I’m
sure that we’ll be paid another visit by the sheriff soon enough because
those boys didn’t return.”
“This is getting more dangerous by the hour, isn’t it?” she asked as they
entered Twin Forks.
“It sure seems that way.”
Twenty minutes later, he turned the carriage down the side drive of the
old house and saw that the buggy was gone.
“There’s no point in going inside, Becky. It looks like he’s gone, so he
must be on the road to Pierceville to catch the train. I don’t believe he’d risk
going through Garden City.”
“Are we going to try to catch up to him?”
“I don’t believe we can. He’s got a three-hour head start and by the time
we arrived, he’d probably be on the train. Maybe it will all just die down if
he’s gone.”
Cole turned the carriage around and was turning onto the road when
Becky asked, “Do you really believe that it will stop if Harry’s gone?”
He looked at her and replied, “I really don’t have a clue. I don’t know
what he was doing or how badly Paul Cooper wants whatever Harry has or
knows. He didn’t tell you anything at all, did he?”
Becky shook her head, then said, “No, but to be fair, I wasn’t exactly in
my right mind either.”
 “Neither were any of those other women, Becky, including my wife.
We’ll head back to the ranch house and get settled back in and wait to see if
the sheriff is going to show up today. I don’t think he’ll make it until
tomorrow though.”
Becky began to try and recover any missed conversations he’d had with
Harry that might have given her a hint of what was driving this but all she
kept hearing were those soft lies and promises.
Now that he wasn’t concerned about Becky, Cole spent his time
worrying about Katie. Despite her brilliant mind and other extraordinary
gifts, she was still an almost-six-year-old girl and may not have an inkling
of just how desperate Paul Cooper and his hirelings may be. He just hoped
that even he wouldn’t go so far as to hurt an innocent child.
After they passed through Twin Forks, Cole was so deep in thought he
almost missed them. It was when the carriage wheel dipped into a small rut
and then out again, jarring the carriage that he snapped back into the real
world and spotted them in the air to the northeast. There was a good-sized
flight of buzzards circling about five or six miles away. It could be because
of a dead steer or calf that was taken down by a wolf or coyote as it wasn’t
uncommon. But knowing that Harry had probably traveled on the
Pierceville road just hours earlier made his stomach flip.
“Becky, do you see those vultures over there,” he said as he pointed.
The sun was in the west as she looked and spotted them easily before she
asked, “Why do you think that they’re circling?”
“It’s most likely because a coyote snatched a calf, but I want to go over
there. I’ll drop you and Jake off and then check on it.”
Becky understood what he thought it might be, so she quickly replied,
“No, Cole, I’ll stay with you.”
“Alright, but can you and Jake ride inside the carriage? I wouldn’t want
him to see that dead calf. Vultures can make it pretty ugly.”
“Okay.”
 He pulled the carriage to a stop, set the handbrake, and after climbing
down, took Jake from Katie, then after setting him on the ground, helped
her down.
After assisting Becky into the carriage, he set Jake inside, then said,
“There’s a canteen on the seat. Hopefully…”
He paused and Becky said, “Yes, hopefully.”
Cole nodded, then turned and climbed back into the driver’s seat again,
released the handbrake and set the carriage to a fast pace toward the
Pierceville road.
After making the turn, he kept that fast pace as he watched the vultures.
There must be thirty of them, which meant it was both a recent and a large
kill. He knew by its location that it wasn’t a calf or a steer carcass that had
attracted them. His was the nearest ranch and it was four miles south with a
strong barbed wire fence.
It was either a wild kill, like a feral hog or a white-tailed deer, or it was
Harry. He hoped that if it was human, that it was alone.
He had been on the road for a few minutes and the specks in the sky had
resolved to the large pattern of full-sized buzzards when he saw something
else and his heart plummeted. Ahead, just off the road, maybe a mile away,
was a buggy. It was facing his direction and the horse was still in harness.
The closer he got, the sicker he felt, knowing it was Harry’s buggy. He was
glad that he had Becky and Jake move into the carriage.
He shifted his eyes from the buggy to where the vultures were landing
but couldn’t make out what he was sure was Harry’s body.
He pulled the carriage to a stop a hundred yards from the buggy and
quickly climbed down, walked to the side of the carriage and looked in as
Becky stared out at him.
“Becky, you and Jake stay in the carriage. Please.”
“Cole, what is it?” she asked, already knowing his answer.
 “Harry’s buggy is a hundred yards away, but the horse is still in harness
and nobody’s there. I’m going to go to look where those vultures are
landing. Please stay inside with Jake.”
“Yes, of course,” she said as she pulled a curious Jake from the carriage
window.
Cole nodded, then turned and trotted to the buggy. He assumed that
Harry was out near the buzzards, but he wanted to see smaller footprints
first. When he reached it, he made a quick walk around the buggy and
spotted where Katie’s feet had run across to the other side of the road and
then he saw the two sets of hoofprints heading in the same direction,
crossed the road, then he could see them leave and return to the road
returning northeast. He knew immediately that they had Katie, and it made
him nauseous, but he had to deal with Harry’s body now.
He left the buggy and began jogging to where the vultures were still
landing, pulling his Smith and Wesson, and cocking it as he ran. When he
was just a hundred feet away, he began firing at the ground to the left and
the right of the birds, scattering them and watching their enormous, finger-
like feathered wings spread then hurl themselves into the air.
Cole holstered his pistol as he slowly approached Harry’s body. He
reached his brother’s remains, then dropped to his heels near the pecked
body and had to roll him onto his back to separate the damage that the
vultures had done from the bullets that had killed him. He found six exit
wounds on his brother’s body. Six! Those two bastards had unloaded into
Harry’s back after they had killed him. He felt an enormous rage come over
him and had to try to maintain his focus because he knew that Katie needed
him now. His brother may have been a womanizer and a scoundrel, but he
was still his brother, and those bastards had shot him without even having to
worry about return gunfire.
He may have wanted to beat his brother to oatmeal consistency a couple
of hours ago, but even with all that he’d done, Cole would never have killed
him, and he had more cause than Paul Cooper.
He reached to Harry’s face, closed Harry’s eyelids and exhaled. There
would be no mercy for those who did this and took Katie, none at all.
 He stood, then turned and walked back to the buggy, and once he
reached the side, he rested his hand on the side rail, bent his head and
exhaled.
Then he shook his head and asked aloud, “Harry, what the hell did you
do this time?”
When he finished, he walked to the front of the horse, then took hold of
the buggy horse’s bridle then began to pull. The horse responded and the
lightened buggy quickly rolled out from the sand. He then walked it across
the empty ground to where Harry’s body laid peacefully on his back as the
vultures continued to circle patiently overhead. He released harness, then
dropped to his heels, lifted Harry’s already stiffening body and set it into the
buggy, leaving enough room so he could drive it to the mortuary.
He led the buggy away from the scene and walked across the dry grass to
the carriage, then tied the buggy’s reins to the back of the carriage. He
picked up Katie’s Abby Girl, which was still on the seat, held it in his hand
gazing into its blue button eyes, took a breath and returned to the carriage.
Becky had been watching Cole and wished she could help, but seeing the
doll in his hands raised her own concerns about Katie.
She waited until he stopped before her window and looked into her real
blue eyes.
“They assassinated Harry, Becky,” he said, his voice shaking, “The
bastards shot him six times in the back, and he wasn’t even armed. He
wasn’t a good man, Becky, but he was my brother. The cowards that did
this will pay for it.”
Becky nodded and asked quietly, “Can I help, Cole?”
“No. I’ll drive the carriage back to the ranch. When we get there, I want
you and Jake go into the house, then I’ll drive the buggy to the mortuary in
Twin Forks.”
He handed Abby Girl to Becky, who took the doll and hugged it like she
was the real thing as she looked into Cole’s eyes.
 Becky knew this wasn’t the time for offering condolences she didn’t feel.
At least not for Harry, but an overwhelming sense of guilt came over her
because she knew that Katie was now in danger and it was her fault for
leaving. She should have thought about Katie more than herself.
“Okay, Cole.”
He grimly nodded before he turned then climbed into the carriage and
soon had it turned and rolling back on the road toward the Rocking T.
Fifty minutes later, he turned into the entrance of the Rocking T and
continued to the house. Amos and the boys were all waiting when he
stopped and hopped down. He opened the door and lifted Jake from the
carriage, handed him to Amos, then helped Becky down and turned to his
foreman.
“Amos, two men caught up with Harry’s buggy a few miles up the
Pierceville road. They chased Harry down and shot him six times in the
back. Probably just emptied their revolvers into his body for fun. Katie was
taken by one of them and they rode north. I’m pretty sure they’re Bar C
men, but not positive. I’m going to take Harry to the mortician, so if the
sheriff arrives while I’m gone, just send him to Twin Forks.”
“Alright, Cole. Can we do anything?”
“Take care of the carriage and horses and look after Becky and Jake. I’ll
be back in an hour or so.”
“Okay, Cole.”
Cole walked to the back of the carriage, untied the buggy, then climbed
inside and turned toward Twin Forks. He had Harry right up against him as
he made the two-mile drive.
He looked over at his brother’s lifeless body and said, “Harry, you’ve
just about ruined my life these past few years. Taking Edith was one thing,
but why did you have to try and take Becky? I had warned you. Maybe if I
had told you that I might love her, you would have backed off, but I don’t
think so. You didn’t care about such things. You didn’t even care about filial
love, Harry. Most of the times, you acted as if I was some drinking buddy
and not your brother.
“Well, it finally caught up with you. Whatever shady deal you were
involved with finally got you killed. But why did you let it hurt Katie? I
thought Katie was the only human on the planet you ever truly loved, but
your carelessness and greed have put her in danger. I’ll go and get her and
bring her back to the Rocking T after I kill every one of those bastards that
did this.
“You know, Harry, you probably never even knew how incredible Katie
is. You spent so much time with your backroom deals and your women that
you didn’t spend the important time with that marvelous little girl. When I
get her back, Harry, I’ll spend the time. I’ll spend it with Katie and Jake
both. I’ll be the father that they never had, and maybe, just maybe, I’ll
convince Becky that I really do love her, because I’m sure of that now.
“She’s a wonderful woman, Harry. Something you never stopped to
notice in any of the women you claimed to know. Jenny was a sweetheart of
a girl who wanted you to really marry her, not just marry her as Katie uses
the word.
“You used those three words to trick Becky into your bed, knowing that
she’d never heard them before. She thought she loved you but was really in
love with love itself. I think Becky understands that now and hopefully, you
haven’t destroyed its value to her. When this is all over, I hope that she’ll
give me the chance to look into her big blue eyes and say, ‘I love you,
Becky’ and let her know what true love is.
“So, I’ll try to undo all the damage you caused. I’ll try to fix this
mysterious mess you’ve created, and I’ll try to fix your final mess, the one
you caused with Becky. If I can fix that one, Harry, it will fix the one you
caused years ago with me when you took Edith.”
It was the longest conversation he’d had with Harry in a long time, and
was met with the same reaction, but it wasn’t important. Cole felt better for
having laid it all out for himself to hear.
He stopped at the mortuary, stepped down and walked inside, then
spotted Will Simmons, the mortician, who was walking out from his back
room.
“Afternoon, Cole. I was just getting ready to leave. What can I do for
you?”
“I’ve got my brother’s body outside, Will. I found him on the prairie
near the Pierceville road. He has six bullet holes in his back. He never even
knew how to shoot a gun, Will. Someone just gunned him down.”
“I’m sorry about that, Cole. None of us believed that he murdered that
girl.”
“He didn’t, and I aim to get those bastards that did and the ones the
killed Harry, too.”
Will nodded and said, “Let’s go and get Harry.”
“Will, can you have Doc Miller give me a death certificate as well?”
“Sure, that’s normal. I’ll go get your brother. Go ahead and write what
you want on his memorial stone on that sheet.”
“Alright. I’d like him buried in the family cemetery on the ranch.”
“What time?”
“Is ten in the morning all right?”
“We can do that, but the stone won’t be ready for a week, though.”
“I understand. How much do I owe you, Will?”
“Sixty-five dollars.”
Cole paid the money left the mortuary with Will, walked out to the
buggy then led it around the side where Will Simmons and his assistant
lifted Harry’s now stiff body from the buggy and took it inside.
Cole sighed, climbed into the buggy and drove it back to the ranch,
trying to get past Harry’s death and focus on his precious niece. He was
sure she was alive because whatever leverage she would provide when
Harry was alive would now be used to get him to divulge whatever Harry
knew and he didn’t. That was the biggest problem; he still had no idea what
Harry was doing, yet if Paul Cooper believed that he did know, Katie might
be in more trouble than Cole expected.
He couldn’t just ride the General out to the Bar C and start shooting
Coopers, as much as he wanted to. He had to let them make the first move
while he tried to figure out what they wanted.
He reached the entrance to the Rocking T a few minutes later turned
down the road and saw Becky and Amos on the front porch.
Cole pulled up in front of the house and exited the buggy then walked up
the steps to the porch.
Amos asked, “Cole, what are we gonna do about Katie?”
“There’s nothing we can do right now. They’ll treat her all right because
there’s no reason not to. They want to use her as a hostage, so nothing will
happen until they make their demands. I just have no idea what the
demands could be. It can’t be just money. It’s got to be something to do
with what Harry did or knew. Now we wait to see what happens when the
sheriff arrives.”
“Gettin’ kinda late for a visit, ain’t it?
“Cooper probably didn’t give him his orders until a couple of hours ago,
so let’s get the buggy moved and the buggy horse watered and fed. He’s had
a long day.”
Amos waved and climbed into the buggy and drove to the barn. Cole
remained on the porch, waiting for the almost certain arrival of the sheriff in
his search for the missing carriage. Becky walked a couple of steps forward
and stood beside him.
“What are you going to do, Cole?” she asked.
“Right now, I’m waiting on the sheriff.”
“I thought you said he wasn’t coming until tomorrow?”
“That was before I knew that they had Katie which probably kicked
everything up a notch.”
 “He won’t come after sunset, though, will he?”
“No. If he’s not here within a couple of hours, he won’t show up until
tomorrow.”
She took his hand, then looked up at him and asked, “Are you all right,
Cole.”
“I’m okay.”
“Is there anything I can do, Cole?” she asked quietly.
“No. I’m all right,” he replied then paused before looking at her and
saying “Becky, when I was riding in with Harry’s body, we had a long talk.”
Becky didn’t know if Cole was serious about having a conversation with
his dead brother, so she said nothing and just watched him.
“It was just a monologue, but I needed to say it aloud for myself. I told
him what I thought of him and told him that I’d get Katie back and raise her
as my daughter, just as I intend to raise Jake as my son.”
Becky felt her heart quicken as he continued.
“I told him how angry I was for what he’d done to you after I had
warned him not to touch you. I even told him that you were very special to
me. What I told him at the end was that I could forgive him for what he did
with Edith, but I would never forgive him for what he did to you. I added
one more hope that I’ll keep with me until this is all over.”
Becky quietly asked, “Does it involve me?”
Cole smiled at her and answered, “Well, Miss Crandall, seeing as we’re
standing on the porch holding hands, I’d say that was a safe guess.”
Becky smiled back, relieved with his answer and feeling almost as if a
giant hurdle had been crossed and they were entering a new stage of their
lives.
“How much longer are we going to stand here? I’m a bit hungry and I’m
sure that you are even worse. I swear they heard that stomach of yours
rumble in Garden City.”
 Cole laughed and squeezed her hand then said, “Well, Becky, I don’t
think we’ll have to wait much longer to fill our tummies. I believe the
sheriff has arrived. Do you want to stay?”
“I wouldn’t miss this for the world, Cole,” she said, but released his hand
as he used his thumbs to pull both hammer loops free.
Cole then stepped down onto the top porch step as the sheriff and the
same three deputies trotted down the access road.
A minute later, Sheriff Baldwin stopped and prepared to dismount.
Cole put out his hand and shouted, “Hold it, Sheriff! I didn’t say you
could step down. I want you off my ranch right now.”
“Are you threatenin’ me? I’m arrestin’ you for murder. You killed them
four boys from the Bar C.”
“What the hell are you talking about? What four boys from the Bar C?
Why would anyone from the Bar C come all the way down here to come to
my ranch?”
“I heard they was comin’ to find out if your brother was hidin’ here.”
“Why in God’s name would anyone from the Bar C be looking for my
brother?”
The sheriff hadn’t expected a witness and a pretty woman at that, then
realized he was digging his hole even deeper.
Cole continued, saying, “Well, Sheriff, if you are the county sheriff, I
have two crimes to report. I found my brother lying in the prairie with six
bullets in his back. His body is in the mortuary in Twin Forks. That is
murder. The same men also took my niece, Katie and that is kidnapping.
Are you going to do anything about those two crimes?”
“
Your brother’s dead?
” asked a shocked sheriff.
“Sheriff, did what little brains you have left slip out and clog up your
ears? He was murdered not ten miles from here. He was unarmed and was
shot six times in the back then someone took his five-year-old daughter, the
same little girl I had in my arms when I saw you a few days ago. Are you
going to investigate either crime?”
“I’m gonna go down the Twin Forks and see if you’re tellin’ the truth
about your brother so I can close that murder case. It don’t matter if he was
shot in the back neither cause he was wanted dead or alive. The kidnapping
is on your say-so.”
“That’s about what I expected from you, Sheriff, so I want to be very
clear on this. I know you’re not going to do anything, but I will. I am going
to find my niece, then I will kill every last one of the bastards who
murdered my brother or ordered it done. Then you and those three morons
behind you will be next. I am tired of waiting for a bought-and-paid-for-
sheriff to do what he had sworn to do. Get the hell off my ranch, you
cowardly bastard. I’ll give you a minute before I start firing.”
“You can’t threaten a law officer!” he shouted.
“I’m not threatening a law officer, I’m threatening you and those other
pretend law officers. Now get!”
The sheriff had spotted Cole’s freed pistols, then licked his upper lip. He
wasn’t sure how good Cole Turner was with those revolvers, but any man
who wore two of them was probably a lot more skilled than either he or his
deputies were.
He didn’t say another word but turned his horse and started riding away
before his three deputies followed, glancing over their shoulders as they
rode down the access road.
Cole watched until they turned onto the road before he stepped back onto
the porch and smiled at Becky.
“That was quite a showdown. I was a bit surprised that they didn’t try to
shoot you. There were three of them.”
“I’m sure the sheriff knew I was serious when he saw my hammer loops
off. There may have been three of them, but none of them wanted to take a
.44 in the chest. They might try to drygulch me though, so I need to be
careful.”
 “Why would he have even tried to arrest you?”
“I guess they figured it worked with Harry, so he’d try it with me.”
“Won’t they put up wanted posters for you now?”
“Not a chance. I’m pretty sure that Judge Smith is clean, and if he
wanted to charge me with murder, then even if the prosecutor agreed, which
he would, Judge Smith would have to sign the warrant, and there would
create too many questions. If we had a crooked judge in the county, we’d be
in big trouble. I think one of his deputies is straight, too. He always keeps
one on the desk.”
“Will you be all right, Cole?”
“I’m fine, but I’m much more worried about Katie and even you. If the
sheriff spotted us holding hands, he might tell Paul Cooper and it could
make you a target. But right now, I’ve got to do something about Katie.”
“What can you do?”
“I’m going to wait for them to make the first move. I’m only mostly sure
it’s Cooper’s people, but there is a chance it wasn’t.”
“You think she’s at their ranch?”
“I’m pretty sure she’s at the Bar C. If she is, they wouldn’t put her in the
shack, she’d be in the main ranch house. I can’t go in there blasting because
of Katie and Marge and Jo Cooper. I’m sure that they aren’t involved in
whatever Paul and the brothers are doing.”
“How do you know?”
“I keep forgetting that I haven’t told you all of the details yet. Anyway,
when I stopped at the Bar C yesterday, I talked to Jo Cooper, she’s Paul’s
only daughter. She’s the one who gave me a good idea where he was. She
and her mother were kept in the dark about what was going on, but she told
me about the hires. I know Joe well enough to believe her, too.”
“Have you known her long?” Becky asked, the first inklings of jealousy
she had ever experienced igniting inside her.
 “Yes, and no. I knew her in school, but haven’t seen her much over the
past few years. She was married and then divorced.”
“Is she pretty?”
“She is very pretty, but not quite as pretty as you are, in my opinion.”
Becky flushed inside because this was Cole telling her again that she was
pretty, and unlike Harry’s reason for telling her, he was saying it because he
believed it.
She found herself fishing for another compliment and asked, “I’ll bet
she’s not as skinny as I am.”
She was mildly disappointed when he replied, “No, she’s not, but your
figure is quite nice already. But if you add those few extra pounds, you’d be
even more impressive.”
Becky smiled and asked, “You think so?”
“Yes, ma’am. But don’t get carried away, either. Jo is a bit, um, over the
top…literally.”
Becky laughed as Cole smiled at her, then noticed Amos approaching
and waited until he stopped at the bottom of the porch steps.
“What’s up, Amos?”
“Cole, me and the boys wondered if it was all right if we attended
Harry’s burial.”
“I’d be honored, Amos. It’ll be tomorrow morning at ten o’clock at the
family cemetery.”
“We’ll be there, Cole.”
“Thanks, Amos. I’ll be seeing you in a little while.”
Amos waved and headed back.
“Cole, why does Amos call you ‘boss’ sometimes and ‘Cole’ other
times?”
 “When it’s just us, or family, he calls me Cole, but when he’s got one or
more of the hands with him, he calls me ‘boss’ to keep them from getting
too familiar and losing respect.”
“He called you Cole in front of me.”
“That is because he considers you family, Becky, and so do I.”
Becky just smiled and nodded as she felt amazingly content considering
all that had just happened. In one extraordinary day her life had changed in
three or four directions, but she knew she never wanted to see it change
again.
They were still holding hand as they turned and entered the open
doorway.
Once inside, Becky let go of his hand and said, “I’ll start cooking, Cole.
I should have something ready soon.”
“Nothing big, Becky. I need to get my guns cleaned and that may take
me a while. You can fix whatever you want for you and Jake, though.”
“Okay,” she replied with a smile before she turned and walked down the
hallway to Cole’s appreciative gaze.
“I’m not sure you need that many more pounds, Becky,” he whispered
before following her down the hallway and stopping before his gun room.
He unlocked the room, then entered and took off his gunbelt. He found
that Amos had already brought his Sharps back to the room along with the
four Winchester ‘73s and Colts from the four dead Bar C men.
He still needed his ’76, so he left the room, then passed through the
kitchen, waved at Jake and smiled at Becky before trotting out to the barn
and retrieving his Winchester from the carriage’s footwell.
As he walked back into the house, Becky asked, “How many do you
need to clean?”
“Five Winchesters, one pistol and my Sharps. I need to check their
pistols as well.”
 Becky just rolled her eyes as Cole grinned, then said to Jake, “You’ll be
shooting about the same time you get your horse, Jake.”
“I get a gun, too?” he exclaimed.
“A slingshot first, then a pocketknife, and then a .22 caliber single-shot
rifle before you move up to serious weapons.”
“Can you make me a slingshot, Uncle Cole?”
“You bet,” he replied before leaving the kitchen and returning to his gun
room.
After setting his ’76 on his large worktable, he took a seat and as he took
out his cleaning fluid, gun oil, the tools and rags to clean the residue, he
began to calculate the odds he would be facing.
At least there were four fewer to worry about if he had to go to the Bar
C, so that left six possible shooters plus Paul Cooper and his two sons. He
didn’t even bother factoring in anyone from Garden City.
Then as he automatically began cleaning the Winchester, he visualized
the Bar C and tried to think of a way he could get to the house without
being spotted, and quickly realized that it wasn’t possible. Maybe he
wouldn’t need to assault the place to get Katie if he could figure out what
they wanted and could negotiate for her release.
But once she was safely back to the Rocking T, he’d go back and
administer justice to Paul Cooper and the men who’d pulled the triggers. He
didn’t think all of the ranch hands were involved, despite having killed four
of them. Those hired guns were still a problem, especially if they were good
at what they did. Many of them were all brag and no skill; thugs who used
fear and intimidation as weapons. He hoped that the ones on the Bar C fit
into that category.
He was concentrating so much on his plans that he didn’t hear Becky
enter the room. She was carrying a plate with two thick ham sandwiches
and a tall mug of steaming coffee. She set them down on the empty part of
the table and took a seat on the only other chair in the room.
Cole looked up and said, “Thank you, Becky. I didn’t hear you come in.”
 “I know, you seemed pretty intense. What were you thinking about?”
“How to get into the Bar C without them noticing.”
“Cole, why do you have to do this all by yourself?”
“Because the law is crooked. We can’t get any help.”
“No, I meant why don’t you let Amos and the ranch hands help. You
know they would if you asked.”
“I know they would but that’s not right. They didn’t sign on to risk their
lives. I would never ask them.”
“Amos said that they have ten men on that ranch, and some are
gunfighters.”
“Six now. The odds are better,” he answered before took the top
sandwich and took a big bite.
Becky then said, “And then there are the other three, the Coopers.”
Cole nodded.
“Cole, can I help at all? I feel like I owe it to Katie. I shouldn’t have
abandoned her.”
Cole sat back in the chair and looked over at Becky.
“You know, Becky, whoever took Katie will be in for a bit of a surprise.
They’ll be under the illusion that they have a tiny, silly little girl who they
can manipulate, but they don’t know Katie.”
“I have an idea what you mean. She seemed almost like an adult when
she was talking to Harry.”
“As I keep telling you, she’s an extraordinary child, Becky. Have you
played checkers with Jake yet?”
Becky smiled and replied, “As a matter of fact, I have.”
“Did you win all the games?”
 “No, now that you mention it, Jake wins sometimes.”
“Yet I’m sure that he’s never come close to beating Katie and never will
unless she lets him. Now Jake is a very smart little boy and we both know
that, so don’t think that I’m belittling him at all. To give you an example of
how smart she really is, on one of her long visits last year, she saw me and
Amos playing chess. After Amos left, she asked me about the game, and I
showed her the moves and the strategy of the game. By the time I had to
take her back to Garden City five days later, I had a hard time beating her.
When she came back the next time, she won the first two games because
she had time to think about it while she was gone.
“Katie will understand what they’re doing and will play their game with
them. She’ll be two or three moves ahead of them, too. She’ll pretend to be
the cute, adorable little girl who she really is, but that amazing mind of hers
will be working. I wouldn’t be that surprised that by tomorrow, they don’t
come driving onto the ranch begging me to take her back.”
Becky laughed and asked, “Is she really that smart, Cole?”
“I have no idea how smart she really is, Becky. I’ve never met another
human being like Katie. Yet the truly unique thing about her is that despite
that overwhelming intellect, she still manages to keep her head in the real
world. She still slides down the bannister in her house like a five-year-old
and loves cookies and her Abby Girl. I don’t know how she does it. When
she’s back here and living with us again, she’ll open up to you even more
when she learns that our relationship is permanent. She’s actually been
hiding it from you. I’m not sure she needs a nanny except to cook her food.
She can occupy her time in my library for hours and I have to buy new
books to keep her interest.”
Becky shook her head. Cole had told her often how smart she was, but
only saw it when she had talked Harry into letting her and Jake leave.
“She prefers to keep her secret, though. It gives her the ability to find out
things about people,” Cole said as he smiled, “Sometimes adults would
spell out words in front of her believing she wouldn’t understand, not
knowing she could not only understand, but correct their misspellings.”
 “It’s funny that she uses ‘marrying’ when she means physical love, isn’t
it?”
“I’m not sure that’s not one of her intentional childish words so she can
relay what she sees without creating concerns about her. She goes to great
lengths sometimes to hide her gifts.”
“So, if we ever ‘marry’, she’ll know what is really happening.”
“She’ll guess long before we reach the bedroom. She can read people’s
eyes and intentions. I don’t know how she does it, either. When you were
with Harry, didn’t you see any of that?”
Becky was still embarrassed about the experience with Harry but slowly
nodded her head and said, “Yes, I did. I was so upset at the time and was
disgusted with myself and ready to kill Harry. He was trying his second
approach after the first interruption by Jake. He was telling me how I was
just a whore anyway and I should just let him take me, when Katie walked
in. She asked Harry if he was trying to marry me and Harry was stopped
cold. He said he was just talking to me, but Katie said that he wasn’t, that
he was trying to marry me. Then she said he couldn’t marry me because
Uncle Cole liked me, and I belonged with Uncle Cole.”
Then she paused and said, “No, wait. She said I needed Uncle Cole. I
walked past him and when he tried to stop me again, Katie intervened, and
said to let me and Jake go. That’s when she said that I belonged with Uncle
Cole. When I asked her if she wanted to come with me, she looked at me
and said, ‘No, I’ll stay with papa’. At the time, I took it to mean she wanted
to be with her father, but as I think back and remember the look in her eyes,
she was really saying that she needed to take care of him, not the other way
around.”
Becky finished with almost a dazed look on her face when she
comprehended what had happened. She had thought that Katie had just
acted so maturely but visualizing that whole sequence in light of what Cole
had just told her was startling.
“If you ask Jake why he walked into the bedroom, I’ll bet he’ll tell you
that Katie told him to go in.”
 “Do you think so, Cole?”
“I’m sure of it. Like I told you earlier, Katie thinks two or three moves
ahead. If she had gone in and said something, her father would have just
asked her to leave and then you would have gone through with it. Wouldn’t
you?”
“Probably,” she replied quietly.
“But Katie probably knew her father would get frustrated with Jake’s
appearance and shove him out of the way which would make you react the
way you did. She was trying to get you to see her father as he really was.
She understood her father much more than he understood her. It’s one of the
reasons she enjoyed being out at the ranch so much. She could be a five-
year-old girl when she was here and didn’t have to hide her gifts from me.
Amos has an inkling, but even he doesn’t know how astonishing she is.”
“It’s kind of scary having someone like that around.”
“She knows that, and that’s why she tries to hide her abilities from
everyone but me. She knows that I grasped her capabilities early and still
accepted and loved her as my niece. When she returns, and she will, as long
as you truly love her, she won’t hide anything from you either.
“But one thing you must never do, and I don’t believe you would, will be
to ask her to show you how smart she is. She doesn’t want to be a freak in a
side show. She is still a five-year old girl with real five-year old girl fears
and feelings. She needs to be hugged and kissed and told how much she’s
loved. I treat her just as a normal little girl, which is why she isn’t afraid to
be herself with me. Like when she played chess. If she didn’t know you,
she’d pretend that the chessboard was checkers.”
“It sounds like she sees you more as her father than she did her real
father.”
“I know she does, which is ironic, in a way. Harry may have fathered my
stillborn son, but I had nothing to do with Katie other than to love her and
nourish her. Now she’ll be my daughter to raise.”
“I want to be here for her too, Cole.”
 “You will, Becky,” he said as he smiled at her.
She smiled back, then waited as he wolfed down the sandwiches, then
took the plate, leaving him the coffee, then smiled at him and left the gun
room.
Cole returned to cleaning his weapons and when he was satisfied with
their condition, he rose, wiped his hands clean, then took his empty mug,
left and locked the gun room and headed to the kitchen.
Jake was already tucked in bed, as Cole walked to the sink, opened the
cold water valve, then grabbed the bar of pumice soap and scrubbed his
hands as Becky watched from the table where she had a cup of tea.
As he dried his hands, he turned to her and said, “It’s been one helluva
day, Becky.”
“It’s not over, Cole,” she said quietly.
He hung the towel on the peg, then stepped close to the table as Becky
stood and stepped closer.
Cole looked into her blue eyes and wasn’t sure that he should do
anything more than hold her hand when she suddenly enveloped him in her
arms.
He wrapped her in his and felt a warmth he’d never experienced in his
life.
They stayed silently bound for a minute before Cole whispered, “Are
you okay now, Becky?”
“I’m more than just okay, Cole. I’ve learned so much in such a short
time.”
“It’s just the beginning, Becky. I promise that you’ll never hear anything
but the truth from me.”
“I know, and I’ll never be able to thank you enough for taking me out of
that place and then keeping me from leaving here.”
 Having Becky so close was having the expected impact on Cole and he
was sure that Becky was well aware of it, but she didn’t seem to be afraid or
angry. Cole wanted to spend the night with her, but he wanted to be able to
tell her those three words first and he believed that if he told her so soon
after Harry had first whispered them into her ear, it would somehow
cheapen their meaning.
He kissed her on the forehead, let her go, then said, “I’m going to head
out to the bunkhouse and get some sleep. I’ll be in tomorrow morning and
we’ll share breakfast before the burial. Is that alright?”
Becky smiled and said, “I’ll be anxiously waiting, Cole.”
“Good night, Becky.”
“Good night, Cole.”
Cole left the house and walked to the bunkhouse, his mind trying to
work on several subjects at the same time and finding answers to none of
them.
Becky didn’t lock the door, hoping that Cole would return that night, but
doubted if he would. She didn’t doubt now that he desired her as a woman,
but she was sure that he was worried about what damage Harry had done to
her.
Harry may have been a horrible method of discovery, but what he had
done was to awaken her own desires. She may have been disgusted with
herself for almost falling into Harry’s trap of lies, but with Cole it was
altogether different.
She already knew without a wisp of doubt that she truly loved him and
would wait until hell froze over for him to tell her that he loved her. And
when he did, she would release every ounce of passion she had stored
inside her. No matter how long he took, she knew it would be worth the
wait.
_____
At the Bar C, Paul Cooper was listening to Al Schuster who had
expected a very different reaction from his boss.
 “So, you and Tex killed the only man who knew where it was.”
“We figured you wanted him dead, boss.”
“I wanted him dead after he talked, you idiot, not before! And then you
compound that by bringing his brat here!”
“But you said you were gonna use her for beverage.”
Paul threw his hands into the air and exclaimed, “Leverage, you moron!
The only way this will work is if the brother knows where the lawyer hid it.
Where is the kid now?”
“I left her with Mrs. Cooper.”
Paul rolled his eyes.
How many idiots did he have working for him?
Now
his wife has the girl and that will present all sorts of new problems.
Then even as he stewed, he tried to examine the problem differently. He
sat ignoring Al Schuster as he sought for a new solution and after just a
minute a smile crossed his face. This might work out. It would take some
planning, though. Let the women hang onto the kid, maybe even win her
over. Kids are like that, give them some candy and cookies and you’re their
best friend.
“Tell my wife to come and see me.”
“Okay, boss,” said a relieved Al Schuster before he turned and quickly
left the room.
_____
In the middle bedroom on the second floor, Marge and Jo Cooper were
sitting with Katie.
“They shot your father?” asked Marge.
“Yes, ma’am. They shot him a lot. He was running away and two men
riding horses shot their guns and he fell down. Then they kept shooting him.
I was very scared and hid my face, but they found me, too.”
Marge looked at Jo, then turned her eyes back to Katie.
 “Do you know why they shot your papa?” Marge asked.
“No. But Uncle Cole will come, and he’ll be mad.”
“He’ll be mad because they shot his brother?”
“He’ll be mad for that, I guess. But he’ll be most mad ‘cause they took
me away. I should be with my Uncle Cole and nanny Becky.”
Jo asked, “Who is nanny Becky?”
“I don’t know her other name, but she has a little boy named Jake. We
play checkers.”
“Do you like to play checkers?”
“No. I’m not very good. It makes me sad to lose all the time.”
“Do you like your Uncle Cole?” Jo asked.
“Oh, yes. He’s my favorite person in the whole world. I love him this
much!” she said, spreading her arms wide.
“Even more than your papa?” asked a smiling Marge.
“My papa’s in heaven, ma’am,” she said as she sniffled and began to cry.
Both women hugged the little girl and began to cry themselves as they
seethed in anger.
_____
In Garden City, two well-armed men sat at the café having a late dinner.
“Well, John, that leaves the brother. When do we go down there?”
“I need some sleep. We’ll head down there in the morning, Ellis. We
need to end this thing.”
“I agree. It’s dragged on too long. That damned lawyer screwed it all
up.”
“We’ll make it right tomorrow.”
“Alright, John. Let’s get some sleep and ride down in the morning.”
 CHAPTER 5
Cole was dressed in his best trousers, vest and jacket and Becky was
wearing her dark blue dress with the silk scarf.
Amos and the boys were all cleaned up as the hearse approached. Two
workers had arrived earlier and dug the hole where Cole had indicated. It
was next to his grandmother and it had been a difficult decision for him. It
made the small cemetery seem a bit lopsided as there were now four to the
left and only one to the right of center. Cole had already reserved the spot
next to his mother for himself.
All the men were holding their Stetsons as Harry’s coffin was carried to
the gravesite where the workers lowered the coffin into the earth and began
shoveling the dirt back into the hole. Cole had told them there would be no
ceremony.
After the grave was filled in, they raked it clean and left the cemetery.
Jake was in Becky’s arms and watched the workers leave.
Cole approached the fresh gravesite.
“Harry, you weren’t a bad man. You just took the easy path too often.
The path that brought you to this horrible end to your life hurt a lot of
people. But you were my brother, and I’ll find those cowards that rode you
down and shot you in the back. It’s up to God where you spend eternity for
your sins, but I promise you those two will burn in hell before the week is
done.
“Amos and the boys are here, and so are Becky and Jake. I’ll go and find
Katie and bring her back safely. You should have understood her better and
trusted me more. I’ll clean up this last mess you left me, then we’ll go on
Harry. I hope that you find a forgiving and generous God, Harry. If you do,
look down on your daughter and see her for the amazing human being she
is. Goodbye, Harry.”
 As Cole talked, Becky let her eyes wander to Edith’s grave and wasn’t
surprised to see the memorial stone that simply had her name, dates of birth
and death, and a simple ‘Rest In Peace’. Beside her grave was a smaller
gravesite with a marker that read Henry J. Turner and one date. She knew it
had to be Cole who had chosen the baby’s name and wondered why he had
selected Henry.
He turned and left the cemetery, pulled on his hat then picked up Jake
and put him on his shoulders and he walked away with Becky walking by
his side and Amos and the cowhands strung out behind.
The ranch hands all headed for the bunkhouse to wait until lunch was
ready as Cole, Becky, Jake and Amos walked to the house.
After they were in the kitchen, Becky said, “I’ll make some lunch,
Cole.”
“Thank you, Becky,” Cole replied, then turned and said, “Amos, can I
talk to you on the porch for a minute?”
“Sure, Cole.”
Jake stayed with Becky, who watched Cole and Amos leave, wondering
what they needed to discuss.
When they reached the porch, Amos asked, “What’s up, Cole?”
“I’m still worried about what will happen with Katie. They should send
over their demands today, but I just don’t have a clue what this is all about
yet. We’ve had murders, abductions, plots to kidnap Katie, and all this
intrigue, but I still have no idea what is behind it all. I need to pick your
brain, Amos. What could Harry have gotten into that could have gotten so
many people this desperate?”
“Well, let’s start with the most obvious reason, money. It can’t be land,
‘cause Harry didn’t have any except those houses. If he’d just been killed, it
could have been an irate husband, but not with all the other stuff. So, taking
land and love out of the picture leaves money.”
“I figured that. But why Harry? He was well off, but he didn’t have
enough of it to be worthy of this level of violence.”
 “I know, that’s got me jiggered, too.”
“When I went through his safe, the only things in there were his legal
papers, which I’ll need now, while I think of it, and a thousand dollars in
cash in a single banded stack of twenty-dollar bills. The only odd thing was
someone had drawn the letter ‘R’ on the band. He didn’t leave me a clue
other than that. My only concern is that when the Bar C crowd comes riding
down that road with their demands, I won’t be able to satisfy them.”
Amos turned to look at his boss and said, “Well, Cole, you’d better start
thinkin’ real fast, ‘cause I think that’s them comin’ down the road about a
mile.”
Cole turned and saw the dust cloud, then quickly said, “Go tell Becky to
take Jake into the bathroom and stay there until I figure out what’s
happening.”
“You want your Double Russians?”
“No. One should be enough.”
“Alright,” Amos replied as he ran into the house, then passed quickly
through the main room and down the hall.
He shouted, “Becky! Riders comin’. Cole said for you to grab Jake and
hide out in the bathroom.”
Amos then turned and trotted back to the porch to stand with Cole.
Cole was watching as the two men turned onto the access road and
asked, “Recognize them, Amos?”
“Nope, never seen ‘em before.”
“I haven’t either. Maybe it wasn’t the Bar C crowd that took Katie after
all. Maybe these boys had something to do with it.”
Cole heard footsteps behind him and knew it was Becky. She was
without Jake and stopped next to Cole. He glanced at her and was about to
tell her to go back into the house, but instead, a small smile played across
his lips.
 The two men approached with serious looks on their faces and both
sported two-gun rigs which was different. Cole was the only one he knew
that wore twin pistols.
“They look mighty grim, Cole. Armed for bear, too.”
“Hammer loops are in place, Amos.”
The two men came close, pulled their horses to a stop, and the shorter of
the two asked, “Are you Cole Turner?”
“I am.”
“Mister Turner, I’m John Wilcox and this is Ellis Anderson. We’re with
the United States Secret Service and wonder if we could have a word with
you.”
The word ‘service’ had barely escaped John Wilcox’s mouth when
everything snapped together in Cole’s mind instantly.
Counterfeiting!
Harry
had somehow gotten mixed up in making phony bank notes.
He smacked his head and knocked his Stetson to the porch floor.
“Of course! That’s it!
How could I have missed this?
” he exclaimed as
the two Secret Service agents, Becky and Amos all stared at him.
Cole looked back at the two agents and said, “Yes, yes. By all means,
step down and come inside. Becky, can you get some lemonade for
everyone, including yourself and join us in the sitting room? We won’t start
until you come back. I need you there.”
Becky smiled and said, “I’ll be back shortly.”
Agents Wilcox and Anderson stepped down as Cole picked up his fallen
hat.
Cole turned to Amos, saying, “Amos, can you have a couple of the boys
take care of the agents’ horses? And ask Randy to bring enough food to the
house to feed five. I won’t start until you’re back, either.”
Amos smiled as well before replying, “Will do, boss,” then trotting off to
the chow house.
 “Gentlemen, please come in. My cook will bring everyone lunch. I think
this is going to take some time.”
The two Secret Service agents glanced at each other at the bizarre
welcoming but followed Cole inside. This was not what they expected.
_____
At the Bar C, Katie was sitting with Marge, Jo and now Paul Cooper.
The women were furious that his men had taken the precious little girl and
were letting him know.
Marge stood with her hands on her hips and glared at her husband,
saying, “There’s no excuse for this, Paul, none whatsoever. I don’t know
what your dirty dealings are, but to involve this sweet little girl goes far
beyond what I am willing to tolerate. She said that your men shot and killed
her father in front of her. They murdered an unarmed man in front of his
five-year-old daughter! Just what kind of monster did I marry, Paul?”
Paul was surprisingly contrite as he replied, “Marge, they just got carried
away and did everything wrong, but things will settle down now.”
“They’ll settle down when you return Katie to her Uncle Cole.”
Paul had tried to mollify the women, but now they were stepping over
the line and his arrogance quickly resurfaced.
“That’s enough, Marge. Things may have gotten out of hand, but I’ll
handle it from now on. You two just keep that kid happy. She may not know
what’s going on, but that uncle of hers sure does.”
“My Uncle Cole is good. He never does bad things!” Katie shouted.
“Take her out of here, now. Neither of you leaves the house, either. You
keep that brat out of my sight,” he growled.
Marge and Jo stood, then each took one of Katie’s hands before they left
his office in a bad temper.
Paul Cooper watched them leave and waved his sons John and David
over.
 “Boys, our problem is getting bigger. We need to end this. The only one
who could do that is that brother of his down near Twin Forks. I’m guessing
that the lawyer told him everything. Now, he can’t go to the sheriff, so he’s
probably going to try to be the hero and save the little girl, so tell the boys
to be ready. I want you, John, to ride down to Garden City and send this
telegram. Then you wait for a reply. He may make conditions. Agree to
them if they’re not too bad. It’ll be your call.”
He scrawled out some lines on a paper and handed it to him.
John read it, nodded and said, “Okay, Pa. We’ll be ready. What about the
two ranch hands? Billy Johnson and Steve Whitacre don’t know anything
about what’s going on.”
“Send them out to the pastures and tell them to take enough food to stay
out all night. I don’t know when he’ll show up.”
“I’ll take care of it, Pa.”
His sons turned, left the office and then the house.
_____
Becky brought in a tray of lemonade-filled glasses, placed them on the
table and sat against Cole on the couch as if it was a routine occurrence,
instead of the first outward indication of the change in their status.
Amos was sitting across the way noticed the new seating position and
smiled.
Cole pretended not to notice Becky’s presence and said, “Now that we’re
all here, Agents Wilcox and Anderson, let me guess that you’re here
because my brother was involved in some form of counterfeiting scheme.”
Both agents’ eyebrows went up and Agent Anderson replied, “That’s
exactly why we’re here. How much do you know?”
“Almost nothing. I have been trying to figure out what fix he had gotten
himself into this time since this all started, but nothing made any sense until
you announced that you worked for the Secret Service.”
 “But we do a lot more than investigate counterfeiting, Mister Turner. We
handle a lot of the things that the United States Marshals Service can’t
handle because they’re overworked and understaffed.”
“I’m aware of that, but there were some oddities that didn’t make any
sense until you said Secret Service, then I knew.”
“What are the oddities?”
“Well, first, when I was trying to find out who had abducted him and
murdered his nanny, I went to his law offices and talked to his clerk, a good
man, by the way. I thought it might have been a revenge killing. But then I
checked his billing records and found that his biggest criminal cases,
especially in the past two years, were all paid in cash, and were enormous
fees. Not one had been paid with a draft or cashier’s check as they normally
would have been, and the fees were wildly out of line. He was being paid a
thousand dollars for some cases.
“Then when I opened his safe, I found a banded bundle of twenty-dollar
bills. On the band, someone had written the letter ‘R’. I couldn’t figure out
what it meant until you throw counterfeit bills into the mix. The letter ‘R’
must have stood for
‘
real’
.
The notes were genuine U.S. currency and he
needed to know that they weren’t the fake currency that he was handling.
Now I know why Paul Cooper wanted my brother.”
Agent Wilcox sat back and said, “Please go on. Who is Paul Cooper? We
thought your brother was the counterfeiter.”
“No. My brother was far too lazy to do that. He was a go-between. He
made a lot of trips to Kansas City over the past two years. I know that
because whenever his nannies were indisposed, or he was in between
nannies, he’d leave his daughter with me. I thought he was just doing legal
business, but again, with phony cash in the picture, I’ll bet he was going to
Kansas City and depositing the phony money in different banks, so they
wouldn’t get suspicious, then having the money wired back to his Garden
City account.”
“That’s pretty close. He was making the deposits in Kansas City then
going to Denver to cash the cashier’s checks. It was like a carousel. He’d go
to one of his banks and make a large deposit. Go to the next and make a
large withdrawal, usually in the form of a cashier’s check because few
banks have that much cash on hand. Then he’d go to Denver and cash the
checks. Denver is used to large cash transfers because of the gold and silver
mines. If he had the money sent to Garden City, he could never have
accumulated that much real cash because they don’t have that much on
hand. He had his Denver account to allow him to get the cash there. It was
the Kansas City accounts that alerted us to the problem.
“The counterfeit bills were very well done. The ink didn’t run, and the
paper was perfect. We didn’t even know the problem was so extensive until
after the first ones were spotted by a very astute bank clerk, who now works
for us, by the way. Once we knew what to look for, we began finding
others. There are eight banks in Kansas City, and all eight had the
counterfeit twenty- dollar notes. The clerk who discovered the fake bills
wasn’t involved in the deposit transaction, so we weren’t sure who was
making the deposits.
“We were doing nothing more than treading water and looking through
records while we were waiting for the man who deposited the fake bills to
return, but he didn’t. This was a couple of weeks ago. Then, Ellis here
found that one client had accounts in two of the banks. We checked, and
found he had accounts at all eight.
“When we pulled the records on the eight Harry Turner accounts, we
found that he had been making regular deposits for two years at all eight
banks totaling over three hundred thousand dollars. The money had been
steadily withdrawn via cashier’s checks, leaving around a thousand dollars
balance in each account.
“Then we traced the cashier’s checks to Denver and found your brother’s
real address. We just arrived in Garden City a couple of days ago, so that’s
what we’re hunting. We had just requested an arrest warrant for your
brother and a search warrant for his home when we found out about his
disappearance and the murder of the young woman.
“We assumed he’d heard about us looking for him and he’d run, then
heard that the sheriff had charged him with murder and was hunting for him
as well. We didn’t see any point in getting involved in the local search and
besides, there were too many odd things about the case that bothered us.”
 Cole said, “I know. I’ll tell you upfront, gentlemen, I know my brother
didn’t murder his nanny, Jenny Anderson. It made no sense to me when I
found her body. My brother was a shifty character with many flaws, but he
wasn’t violent. In fact, the sight of blood made him vomit. There was no
reason to assault her because they were having an affair. Why would he
run? Nothing made sense and then I found the connections between the
overcharged billings and who had abducted my brother.”
“Who spirited him away?” asked Agent Wilcox.
“The man behind all this is named Paul Cooper. He owns a ranch about
three miles east of Garden City. He was taken to a line shack on the far
eastern fence line on the Bar C the night of the murder. I was given
information by Jo Cooper, the daughter of the ranch owner that he might be
held there, so that night I released him. He hid out for a day in a house near
Twin Forks, then he was murdered yesterday, probably by Bar C men who
also kidnapped his daughter. He had been trying to get to the train station in
Pierceville.”
“We heard from the sheriff that he’d been caught and killed by his
deputies. We didn’t know his daughter was missing.”
Cole sighed and said, “He wasn’t killed by deputies or anyone else with
a badge. We buried him a couple of hours ago. He had been run down by
two riders about ten miles northeast of here. He was unarmed and after they
shot him and was lying face down on the prairie, they emptied their
revolvers into his back.”
“We’re sorry to hear that.”
“There’s no need. Harry brought this all on himself, but the most
innocent person in all of this is my niece, Katie. She was with her father
when they shot him, and they kidnapped her. Now I need to get my niece
back. She’s probably being held at the Bar C, and I’m sure that’s where
you’ll find your counterfeiting operation, too.”
Agent Wilcox asked, “How can you be sure?”
“They were paying my brother in excessively large cash fees. They have
a dozen hands on a ranch with a much smaller herd than they should have.
They could get by with two. Jo Cooper told me that except for two ranch
hands, the others are all hired gunmen. How could they afford to pay them
all and still bribe the sheriff, his deputies and county prosecutor?”
“Are you sure about the bribery?”
“Positive, I only don’t know how far it goes. I do know that the county
judge, Judge Smith is honest and so is one of the four deputies. You’ll
probably find him at the desk where the sheriff seems to leave him when he
does Cooper’s bidding.”
Agent Anderson said, “Now, we’ve got another problem. We think the
reason they stopped sending your brother to Kansas City a few months ago
was because one of their plates cracked. We found some twenty-dollar bills
in circulation with crack marks through the upper right hand twenty. They
came from the same press as your brother’s counterfeits. When they noticed
that the plate was cracked, they had to get it replaced. It would take a few
months to get one of similar quality, so my guess is that they’re getting
ready to restart operation soon.”
“But why would they be after Harry if their printing plate cracked?”
“Remember all the genuine currency that he had converted to genuine
currency over the two years that they were printing? I imagine that your
brother found out where it was stored and liberated it. They wouldn’t notice
for a while because they were paying their bribes and other expenses with
phony money. When they finally noticed the cracked plate and they needed
to start spending real money, they noticed that most of it, if not all of it, was
missing. That was probably about two weeks ago. They had a problem with
your brother because he was the only one who knew where the money was.
They probably just leaned on him at first, but when he wouldn’t give back
the money, which would probably have gotten him killed if he had, they had
to start playing tougher.”
“So, they don’t know where he put the money.”
“No, neither do we. We were hoping that you might know. I hate to tell
you this, but we were also prepared to arrest you.”
 “I understand why you might want to, but I think I might know where
the money is.”
Both agents hopefully leaned forward.
Cole turned to Becky and asked, “Becky, when Harry was trying to
convince you to go with him, did he say anything that would indicate that
he had to go someplace before he went to his final hideaway?”
Becky nodded and said, “He said, ‘we need to go to Pierceville, so I can
get something that will make everything better’, or something like that.”
“Well,” John Wilcox said sarcastically, “that narrows it down to a town.”
“I can tell you the house, Agent Wilcox,” said Cole. “It’s #46 4
th
Street.”
“How do you know that?” he asked with wide eyes.
“When I went through his papers in his safe, he had two deeds. One to
the house in Garden City and one to #46 4
th
Street in Pierceville. I noticed
that he only bought it the month before and it had never been registered at
the land office. So, it looks like Harry bought the house but didn’t want
anyone to know about it.”
Both agents grinned before Agent Wilcox said, “Okay. We can assume
the real cash is still there because no one else knows about the house. We’ll
leave it there for the time being. Now we need to get the goods on that
ranch. Do you have a guess as to where they’re running the counterfeiting
operation?”
He nodded and said, “I’d almost guarantee it’s being run in the house
that Paul Cooper built for his daughter when she got married. She’s
divorced now because her ex-husband, who must have been either blind,
stupid or both, left her for another woman. That left the house empty and
she told me that it still has a lot of activity and that she and her mother are
prohibited from entering the house.”
“You’re something else, Mister Turner,” Agent Anderson said with a big
smile.
“Call me Cole. My brother was Mister Turner.”
 “Alright. We probably know where the money is and where the
counterfeit currency is being printed. You say your niece is being held
there?”
“I’m pretty sure that she is. I’m just waiting on their demands to make
sure.”
“Do you know the layout of the ranch?”
“I do. I was there twice in the past few days. Once at night to get my
brother and the first time was when I talked to Jo Cooper.”
“And they had ten gunmen?”
“Um…no. They have six now.”
“I hate to ask, why the sudden decrease?”
“Four of them showed up in a carriage a few days ago to kidnap Katie to
use her as a hostage to force Harry to show himself. I was returning from
town and saw the carriage and thought they might be up to no good, so I got
off my horse at the ranch sign near the road and watched them. When they
all poured out of the carriage with Winchesters leveled at the house, I shot
two of them and then rode into the yard and shot the other two.”
“You shot them from the sign? That’s got to be five hundred yards.”
“It’s exactly six hundred and fifteen yards to the porch.”
Amos added, “Cole has a Sharps .50-110 with a Martin telescopic sight.
We call it the Cannon. I’ve seen him hit shots at a thousand yards with the
thing.”
Agent Wilcox said, “That brings up the other problem. They have six
gunmen and there are only two of us. From experience, I can tell you that
counterfeiters are usually among the most difficult to bring down. I don’t
know why, but they seem to always want to fight it out.”
“I was going to go in there anyway, Agent Wilcox. I’d be more than
willing to help.”
 “I’ll help, too,” said Amos. “I’m sure the boys will want to help get
Katie back as well. We’re all like uncles to her.”
Becky looked over at Cole waiting for him to protest and was surprised
when he didn’t.
Agent Anderson replied, “We’d have to deputize anyone willing to assist
to keep you legal, but we’d appreciate the help. You’ll have to do what we
tell you to do, and there can’t be any unnecessary gunplay. We only fire if
there is an imminent threat. Do you have enough guns to outfit everyone,
Cole?”
Cole smiled and said, “Come with me.”
He stood and the two agents followed him down the hallway as Amos
and Becky followed closely behind just so they could watch the agents’
reaction.
Cole pulled out his key, unlocked the door and swung it open, then both
agents peeked inside and whistled.
Agent Wilcox said, “I guess weapons won’t be a problem.”
Cole closed the door and locked it.
They were all returning to the main room when there was a knock on the
front door and Cole saw Jimmy Prescott from Twin Forks smiling at him
through the screen door.
“Come on in, Jimmy. What do you need?”
“Hello, Mister Turner. I got a telegram for you. I don’t get to do this very
much.”
“Thanks, Jimmy. Let me get you a dime.”
Jimmy grinned, it was twice as much as he normally received as a tip,
when he even got one at all.
Cole took the telegram and read it quickly.
COLE TURNER ROCKING T TWIN FORKS KANSAS
 
YOUR NIECE IS HAPPY
MEET US TOMORROW AT NOON WITH BOTH CASES
MIDDLE OF FIELD WHERE YOU FOUND BROTHER
NO WEAPONS
SEND REPLY IMMEDIATELY
 
JOHN SMITH GARDEN CITY KANSAS
 
“Jimmy, stick around for a second. I’m going to want to send a reply.”
“Okay.”
Cole handed the telegram to Agent Wilcox who read it and passed it to
Agent Anderson, who gave it to Amos who read it and then handed it to
Becky.
Cole was writing as they read.
JOHN SMITH GARDEN CITY KANSAS
 
WILL BRING CASES
NO WEAPONS
SON JOHN TO RETRIEVE CASES
NO JACKET NO VEST NO SHIRT
BOTH JO AND MARGE WILL BE WITH NIECE
OR NO CASES
 
COLE TURNER ROCKING T TWIN FORKS KANSAS
 
He showed his response to Agent Anderson, who asked, “Why the
women?”
“To get them safely out of there, so when we go in, there won’t be any
innocents to worry about.”
“That’ll work,” he replied as he handed it to Agent Wilcox, who nodded.
 Cole handed it to Jimmy along with a $5 gold piece.
“Jimmy, tell Henry to get this out right away and you keep the change
after I tell you that there won’t be any more messages. Okay?”
Jimmy’s eyes were bulging at the golden coin as he exclaimed, “Yes,
sir!”
He turned and ran outside, jumped on his bareback horse and took off at
a fast trot.
“They’ll probably reply to your conditions, Cole.”
“I know.”
“What conditions, Cole?” asked Amos.
“I told them that Katie had to be escorted to the exchange by Jo and her
mother. John Cooper will come along to verify the money in the cases, but
he must be shirtless. It’ll be a way to remove any innocents from the ranch
before we have to move in and to ensure that they don’t send a gunman out
with Katie and shoot her after they get their money.”
“What about the money?” asked Becky.
“We’ll go and get it right after we receive a reply to our conditions.”
“So, now we wait?”
“Now we eat. I think Randy dropped the food off in the kitchen.”
Everyone rose then left the sitting room while Cole waited for Becky and
when she walked next to him, he put his arm around her waist. She smiled
at him and did the same. The hallway was a bit narrow, so they squeezed
together more closely making it even better.
They didn’t have to wait long for a reply to Cole’s response.
Jimmy Preston banged on the front door while they were still eating.
Cole waved everyone else down while he walked to the front of the
house and opened the door.
 “Here’s a reply, Mister Turner. I don’t need a tip this time.”
Cole grinned at him and said, “No offense, Jimmy, but I had no intention
of giving you one.”
He opened the telegram and read:
COLE TURNER ROCKING T TWIN FORKS KANSAS
 
CONDITIONS ACCEPTABLE
ONE CONDITION ADDED
SEND NANNY WITH CASES NO OTHERS
NO REPLY NECESSARY
 
JOHN SMITH GARDEN CITY KANSAS
 
Cole was taken aback by the added condition. It made sense, but he
didn’t like it. He didn’t like it one bit.
“Thanks, Jimmy. No reply this time.”
“Bye, Mister Turner.”
Jimmy left, and Cole walked to the kitchen slowly with the telegram in
his hand and a troubled look on his face. He walked into the room and
everyone looked at him, waiting for the reply. The agents were both
surprised when he handed the reply to Becky and not to them.
Becky read the telegram, looked quickly back at Cole and said, “I’ll do
it, Cole.”
“I knew you would, Becky, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
Becky handed the telegram to Agent Anderson, who passed it on to his
counterpart. Amos read it last.
“What about Jake?” asked Becky.
“The cook will be staying at the ranch. He can babysit for a couple of
hours. I’m still uncomfortable with this.”
 “So, are we, Cole,” added Agent Wilcox.
“Well, I’m not,” replied Becky, “It’s time I did something to help Katie.
I’m going to do this.”
“I guess Becky’s going, boys,” said Amos, smiling at Becky.
They finished eating, then Cole and the two agents would make a fast
run to 46 4
th
Street in Pierceville. The Secret Service agents’ horses were
already tired, so they’d borrow two horses from Cole’s corral, but wouldn’t
get back until late.
“Amos go and pick out a couple of horses for Agent Wilcox and
Anderson.”
“Will do. Come on, gentlemen, let’s pick your mounts.”
“Before we go, I think you should start calling me John and my friend
Ellis.”
“Then let’s go, John and Ellis,” Amos said.
They left the kitchen to head for the corral leaving Becky and Cole
alone.
Jake was still practicing checkers awaiting Katie’s return, so he could
beat her.
Cole looked at Becky and said, “Well, Becky, you seemed to have
impressed Amos.”
“I want to impress you, Cole. How do I do that?”
“You’ve been impressing me since I met you, Becky. I never told you I
bought you a horse, did I?”
Becky smiled broadly and asked, “You bought me a horse?”
“Yes, ma’am, a few days ago. The day after I met you. Harry had ridden
the General back to the ranch, and I needed a horse to get back. I was going
to buy a regular horse, but when I saw this mare, she was too pretty to pass
up. Just like you. As I was riding her back, all I could think of was seeing
the smile on your face when you saw her.”
Becky was pleased more than Cole knew and asked, “Can I see her
now?”
“That’s why I brought it up. I’m going to go and saddle the General, so I
want you to see her. I already adjusted the stirrups on your saddle so when
we go for a ride together, you’ll be all set.”
Cole took her hand and then walked out the door and across the back
porch.
Becky was giddy with excitement and not just because he was giving her
a horse but that he’d bought it for her just the day after she arrived. But still
the thought of having her own horse was mind-boggling.
Cole could see the excitement in her face as they approached the barn,
and when he swung open the door, the black starred mare looked at her with
her big brown eyes.
Becky didn’t say anything as she approached the mare and began to rub
her nose and neck while Cole realized his imaginary vision of seeing a
happy Becky looking at her horse.
“You’re going to have to come up with a name for her, Becky.”
Becky was so overcome, she could only nod and kept rubbing the horse
with her eyes closed.
Cole let her enjoy the moment and began to saddle the General. He had
just thrown the saddle blanket over the big black’s broad back when he was
almost tackled by Becky.
She was holding onto Cole tightly as she gushed, “Cole, you don’t know
how much this means to me.”
He smiled and replied, “I think I’m getting the idea.”
He pulled her close and knowing that there couldn’t be a better moment
pulled her chin up and looked at her excited, happy blue eyes.
 “I love you, Becky,” he said softly.
Becky was stunned that he was telling her so soon. She didn’t have to
wait until hell froze over after all!
After her heart slowed to lower than hummingbird levels, she replied, “I
love you, Cole.”
He then slowly lowered his lips to her waiting lips and kissed her with as
much meaning behind the kiss as possible. She felt the almost volcanic
reaction of heat rush though her and knew that this was the real thing. There
was no phoniness here. She wanted so much more but knew there was no
time. She was ecstatically happy but there was only one word to describe
how she felt: whole. For the first time in her life, she felt like a complete
human being because someone genuinely loved her.
Cole released her and said, “You can’t imagine how much I hate to leave
you, Becky. But we need to get going.”
“Will we continue this later when you return?” she asked quietly.
“I’d like to continue this right now, but it’ll have to wait until then, I
guess.”
He kissed her once again quickly before returning to prepare the General
for the hurried ride. Becky stayed as close as she dared without impeding
his movements.
“Becky, something else we’ll need to do when Katie returns. It’ll wait
until June, though.”
“Which is?” asked a still euphoric Becky, expecting a marriage proposal.
“On Jake’s birthday, why don’t we buy each of them a young horse?”
Becky laughed, then replied, “Cole, that’s a wonderful idea. We could all
ride together.”
He grinned at her and said, “That’s the idea.”
He led the General out of the barn, holding Becky’s hand as he left.
 “I’ve got to get one of my Winchesters. I’ll walk you to the house.”
They walked to the back door where the two agents were waiting on
their horses and spotted Cole as he led the General across the yard.
“Good God, Cole, where did you get that horse?” asked John Wilcox.
“I bought him in Garden City a few days ago. You should see him run.
I’ve got to get my Winchester, so do you want me to grab one for each of
you?”
“That would be appreciated.”
“Be back in a minute.”
He and Becky stepped up onto the porch still holding hands and walked
inside.
Cole reached the gun room, unlocked it, opened the door and entered as
Becky followed.
He selected a couple of the Winchester ‘73s for the agents and one of his
‘76s for himself. He set them aside for a second and an unsurprised Becky
was pulled into his arms again and subjected to a long and passionate kiss
that curled her toes before he had to let go against their wishes for a second
time.
“My goodness, Cole. You curled my toes!” she exclaimed quietly.
“Every time I can, Becky. I’ll tell you again before I leave, Becky, that I
am completely and absolutely in love with you.”
“I’ll never tire of hearing you say that, Cole.”
“And I’ll never stop telling you,” he said as he reached down for the
rifles.
“From kisses to Winchesters. It’s an unusual transition, don’t you think?”
she asked with a smile.
“There’s a much more traditional transition I can show you later,” he
said as he smiled.
 “I hope so,” she replied.
He left the room, waited for Becky to leave, then closed and locked the
door. Cole’s hands were full of weapons, so he just leaned over and kissed
her softly before leaving the kitchen.
Cole handed each agent a Winchester and slid his ’76 into his scabbard.
He saw Becky at the doorway watching as he climbed into the saddle and
waved. She smiled and waved as they wheeled their horses and rode west to
the access road. They reached the main road and turned north where Cole
set the General to a medium trot. The two average horses had to do a fast
trot to keep up.
Back at the house, Becky walked into Jake’s room and sat down to play
checkers with him. She should have been worried about what would happen
tomorrow, but she couldn’t care less. She just luxuriated in the knowledge
that Cole had told her that he loved her and it hadn’t been fifty years, not
even one. It had been just two days.
How could such a wondrous thing
happen in such a short time?
As he rode with the agents, Cole was even more astonished by Becky’s
apparent anxiousness that they become more intimate. After Harry had done
his best to hurt her, she seemed to have somehow put it all behind her
quickly.
He didn’t realize that Harry had been the impetus to her obvious desires
and not the inhibitor.
_____
Paul Cooper was looking at the telegrams when Katie was escorted into
the office by Jo and Marge Cooper.
“Marge, we’re going to let the girl go back to her uncle tomorrow.
There’s going to be a trade, though. We are going to take her to a field south
of Pierceville. Her uncle has set the condition that in order to complete the
trade, both you and Jo will walk with the kid. You’ll walk with her to the
middle of the field with John. He’ll inspect the contents of some cases and
then you can let the kid go with her nanny if John says the cases are the
right ones.”
 “What is going on, Paul?  Why can’t you just let her go?”
“Marge, this is not your concern. You’ll do as I tell you to do.”
“Uncle Cole is coming to get me?” asked Katie.
“Yeah, kid.”
She smiled at Paul Cooper and said sweetly, “I’m sorry, Mister Cooper.”
He looked at her in confusion then asked, “For what?”
“Just because,” she replied before turning to leave with Jo and Marge.
Paul watched them leave, wondering what the kid meant, then said
loudly to Fuzzy who was across the room.
“Fuzzy, get me Jasper. He can fire the Sharps, can’t he?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then go get him.”
Katie watched Fuzzy leave as she walked up the stairs, each Cooper
woman holding one of her hands.
_____
Cole and the two Secret Service agents reached Pierceville in the late
afternoon and rode to #46 4
th
Street. The house wasn’t special in any way,
maybe that was why Harry had chosen it. They trotted behind the house
because they would have to break in. They all stepped down and because
Cole owned the house now, the agents allowed him to be the one to break
the door down, if necessary.
He turned the door handle and was surprised when it turned. The house
was unlocked, so maybe there were no keys.
They all walked into the kitchen and stopped.
“Cole, we’re probably looking for two cases, probably leather. They
need to be good-sized, bigger than saddlebags, but we don’t know how
much will be in there,” Ellis said.
 “Okay, do we split up?” Cole asked.
“That’s the idea.”
Each man went to a different room and began their search. Cole thought
it should be easy at first, thinking it would be hard to hide two large cases
full of money, but it must not have been hard to hide them at all, because
the search turned up nothing.
After almost an hour, they thought they had exhausted all possible
locations and were in the kitchen talking.
“Well, they may not be here, Cole,” an exasperated John Wilcox said.
“They have to be here. He only bought this place a month ago.”
“We’ve been over this place from top to bottom and it’s a pretty small
house.”
Cole looked at Ellis Anderson and asked, “Ellis, you don’t think he’d put
them there, do you?”
“Where?”
“The small house. The privy.”
They all looked at each other then quickly trotted out the door crossed
the porch and continued to the privy. John Wilcox yanked open the door
then stepped inside and opened the wide hinged seat and grinned.
On each side of the dry pit was a large leather case.
John pulled one out, handed it to his fellow agent, then yanked the
second one free before letting the seat bench bang back down. They lugged
them into the house set them on the floor near the kitchen table then sat
down.
Cole just leaned against the wall and let the two agents find their money.
They began removing the bundles of twenty-dollar bills and continued to
stack them for a couple of minutes, giving each bundle a quick examination
as they added it to the pile.
 “I’ve got a hundred and twenty-three bundles, John,” said a giddy Ellis
Anderson.
“There are a hundred and thirty-seven in this one, Ellis. That’s two
hundred and sixty thousand dollars, even more than we thought we’d see.”
“Now, what?” asked Cole.
“Paperwork, Cole. We need to have a witness sign a statement how
much money was recovered.”
Together they counted all the cash, found their first count was correct, so
they filled out a form in two copies and had Cole sign both. They gave him
a copy and kept one for themselves.
“We’re not going to let them have the real money, are we?” asked Cole.
John replied, “No, we have plenty of the counterfeit bills. Not nearly this
much, but enough so we can phony up the rest. It’ll take us a couple of
hours to get that done later tonight. We’ll ride straight through to Garden
City. We’ll get there in enough time to get the phony money into the cases,
but the bank will be closed, and we need to store the real cash. Do you have
a safe at home?”
“Sure.”
“Okay. We’re going to put all the genuine greenbacks into your
saddlebags and ours. You take them with you and put the cash in your safe.
Tomorrow morning we’ll be at your ranch around nine o’clock with the
fake money. How long will it take to get to this field for the exchange?”
“Not long. About an hour, maybe a little more.”
“Now we normally assume they’ll try to cheat and get someone set up
early. What do you think?”
“I’d be surprised if they didn’t. But it’s a big field, maybe a half mile
across. If they’re in the middle the only gun that will have the reach is a
Sharps. I intend to stay in the carriage with my Sharps and keep an eye out
for another shooter.”
 “Smart thing to do.”
“Let’s get this stuff packed up and get ready for tomorrow,” said Ellis.
They went out to the horses removed all three sets of saddlebags then
returned to the kitchen where they quickly loaded the cash into the
saddlebags. Once the cases were empty, they carried them and the
saddlebags out of the house, loading all three sets of money-laden
saddlebags onto the General.
After hanging one empty case on each of their horses the agents and
Cole all mounted then trotted out to the road and went their separate ways.
It was getting toward dusk as a very nervous Cole had the General
trotting southwest at a good clip. Having over a quarter of a million dollars
sitting behind you is enough to make St. Joseph skittish.
_____
Katie had been running through different reasons for Paul Cooper’s
request for someone who could shoot a Sharps rifle, and none were good.
She was playing checkers with Jo and losing when she asked, “Miss
Cooper, why did your papa want someone who could shoot a Shops?”
“Excuse me, Katie? What did you say?” Jo asked as she looked up from
the checkerboard.
“Your papa asked that other man to find a man named Jasper, so he could
shoot a Shops. Why would he want that?”
Marge looked over at Katie and asked, “Are you sure that’s what he
asked for, sweetie?”
“Uh-uh. Uncle Cole has a Shops, too. It shoots real far.”
Jo glanced at her mother and said, “He wants Jasper to bring his Sharps
to the meeting tomorrow.”
“What is going on, Jo?”
 Before Jo could reply, Katie said, “I think it’s because Mister Cooper
wants Uncle Cole to get mad,” as she absent-mindedly stared at the
checkerboard.
“Why would he want to make Cole mad, Katie?” asked Jo.
“’Cause he thinks Uncle Cole will be stupid and come here. Then he can
hurt Uncle Cole.”
Jo and Marge looked at each other and then slowly looked at the little
girl moving her checker piece.
She looked up and smiled as she said, “King me, please.”
_____
Cole reached the ranch after nine o’clock and didn’t go straight to the
barn as usual but trotted to the front door and stepped down.
Becky had been waiting for his return anxiously for more than one
reason and had the door open before his boot hit the dirt.
Cole began removing the heavy saddlebags, hung one over his shoulder
and lugged the other two up the steps.
Cole still took time to smile at Becky as he walked past and headed for
the office. He set the saddlebags near the safe and took a few seconds to
light a lamp. He then sat in the chair as he spun the dials and opened the
door as Becky entered the office.
“Come here, Becky. I’ve got something to show you.”
Becky walked over and when she was close, Cole pulled her over and sat
her on his lap.
“Well, this is nice,” she said as she smiled.
“It’s going to get nicer,” he replied as he began to remove stacks of cash
and drop them onto her lap.
She watched as he kept loading the thousand-dollar bundles onto her
dress.
 He stopped after the first set of saddlebags.
“Is this counterfeit?” she asked breathlessly.
“No, sweetheart, it’s real. We’re going to keep it in the safe until
tomorrow. They’re going to put some of their own counterfeit money in the
two cases. You know where Harry had them hidden? In the privy.”
Becky laughed and said, “I thought it smelled funny.”
She began stacking the cash onto the desktop until her dress was cleared
and then reached around behind Cole’s neck.
“Well, you’re back and Jake’s sound asleep.”
“As much as I’d rather expand on your suggestion, I’d rather not leave a
quarter of a million dollars on the desk.”
Becky slid off his lap and they began to put the money into the safe.
When it was all safely inside the heavy steel box, Cole reached inside and
took out the small brown envelope, put it in his pocket quickly, closed the
door and spun the dial before standing.
“Now, Mister Turner?” Becky asked quietly.
“No, Miss Crandall. I’ve got to go and take care of my horse before I am
free to entertain you.”
“Well, I’ll be waiting.”
“He can wait for a couple of minutes.”
He encircled Becky and drew her in before she pulled herself even
closer.
“You’re filling out nicely, Becky,” he told her quietly before kissing her.
As if to emphasize his compliment, he let his fingers slide down her back
and across those nicely filling out curves. Becky felt his fingers and the
expected tingle. She wanted more, but knew he’d be leaving in a minute.
She wanted to let Cole know that she was comfortable and actually enjoyed
what he was doing and began to slide her hips against him.
 Cole was beginning to forget about his horse, so he had to step back.
“Becky, this is going to be the quickest unsaddling job I’ve ever done.”
Becky was already anticipating his return, so she just nodded and said,
“Please?”
Cole trotted out of the house and led the General out to the barn. He did
a very quick job of removing the tack from the General, but still put
everything where he should, brushed him down and loaded his bin with
oats. His trough was full, so Cole finally grabbed his Winchester and jogged
back into the house.
He went through the door, closed it behind him, tossed his hat onto the
nearest flat surface, didn’t see Becky, so he went to his gun room, unlocked
it, then returned his Winchester to its rack, and left his other guns on the
table. He locked the door behind him and walked quietly past Jake’s room
and peeked into Becky’s room. It was empty which left his bedroom. He
was smiling as he entered and found Becky just sitting on the bed smiling.
Becky expected to be mauled when Cole returned and was surprised
when he slid the small straight-backed chair in front of her. He looked so
serious, and for the briefest of moments, she thought he might have
changed his mind, but it was just a fleeting thought, and she was even
ashamed it had arrived at all.
He took her hands and looked into her big, blue eyes.
“Becky, remember that I told you that I had never told another woman
that I loved her except my mother?”
“Yes,” she replied softly.
“I had to know without hesitation that it was love that I felt and nothing
less. My mother died of pneumonia when I was nineteen, and I stayed with
her for the last full day of her life. The last thing she ever said to me was to
ask me to remove her sapphire necklace because she said it shouldn’t be
buried with her. After I did, she said something to me that confused me for
the longest time. She said, ‘Give it to her’. I first thought she meant some
relative, but she didn’t have any living female relatives. Then when I
married Edith, I almost thought my mother had mean give to my wife when
I married, but I didn’t.
“It’s been sitting in that safe in its little paper prison for years. It was
only when I was sure that I loved you that I understood what my mother
meant. It wasn’t a relative, or even a wife that she meant. She knew how
much I loved her, and she meant I was to give it to the woman I loved, and
I’m sitting before her now. No one has worn the necklace for ten years, and
I’d like to put it around your neck, Becky. You are the only woman I will
ever love.”
Becky felt the tears sliding down her cheeks as Cole slid the thin
necklace from the small envelope and held the ends of the chain in his
fingers. He reached around behind her slim neck and secured the clasp.
“Cole,” Becky asked quietly, “why are you giving it to me today?”
“Because, Becky, there will be a lot of things happening in the next two
days. It was important to me that you know. It’s not a very expensive piece
of jewelry. It’s what it represents that makes it so valuable.”
“It’s perfect, Cole. I’ll always try to make you happy that you gave it to
me.”
“You make me happy, Becky, not the necklace.”
“Cole, will I be in danger tomorrow?” she asked quietly.
“Yes, Becky. I’ll never lie to you. I don’t think it will be a lot because the
field is so large. May I give you a little gun education at this most unlikely
of moments?”
Becky smiled, and said, “Yes, you may.”
“Tomorrow, if for some reason that I fail to fathom, someone wants to
shoot you, it won’t be Jo or Marge Cooper. Jo and her mother won’t be a
danger to you. In fact, they’ll be in as much danger as you are, and Katie
will be as well. I had them send John Cooper out with no shirt, so he
couldn’t hide a gun.
 “So, if someone wants to shoot anyone out in the middle of that field,
they’d be about five hundred yards out. The only kinds of rifles that can
make that shot are like my Cannon. If someone fires one, it’ll blow out a
huge column of gunsmoke. If you keep your eyes open, you’d see that
smoke as soon as the bullet leaves the barrel. The bullet will take almost a
second to reach anyone.
“If you’re scanning and see the smoke, yell “Down!” really loud and hit
the dirt and the bullet will pass overhead. If Katie yells either drop or down,
do the same thing. Just drop to the ground. I’ll be in the carriage with my
Sharps watching the surrounding places where a shooter could hide. If I see
someone with a rifle, I’m going to shoot him. So, if you see the smoke
coming from the carriage, I want you to still drop in case I miss.”
“You think Katie will know to do that?”
“I’d be surprised if she didn’t. She’s been with me and Amos when we
do our target practice and when we’re back inside, she asks me all kind of
questions about guns and bullets. I don’t think it’s likely, because they’ve
got nothing to gain from shooting anyone, but if they think they’ve been
tricked, they probably will.”
“What will you do after we get Katie back?”
“We go and shut them down.”
“I’m more worried about you than I am about me.”
“We’ll be all right, Becky. We have a lot to do over the next couple of
weeks. We have to get married, then I’ll legally adopt both Katie and Jake.
We need to settle all of Harry’s legal mess and lots of other things,” he said
as he smiled at her, letting it all sink in.
It did more than sink in, it sank and exploded like a stick of dynamite.
“Cole, did you just say getting married?” Becky asked, barely getting the
words out.
“Yes, Becky, and not in Katie’s contrived use of the word. I suppose I
should have asked you formally, so it wouldn’t be a surprise. Becky, will
you marry me?”
 Becky couldn’t comprehend the enormity of her life’s changes in just a
week as she just blinked at Cole a few times before squeaking, “Yes...oh,
yes!”
Cole leaned over as did Becky and they consummated the engagement
with a soft kiss.
Cole stood and left the room, blowing out all the lights in the house
except for the one in the bedroom. When he returned, he closed the door,
removed his vest and hung it over the back of the straight back chair that he
had moved back to its original position, then pulled off his boots and sat
next to Becky on the bed.
“Becky, my love, I want you very badly, as I’m sure you know. But
tonight, I want more than anything to hold you close and sleep with you. Do
you mind?”
“If you can stand it, then so can I. Do you mind if I put on my
nightdress?”
“Go ahead. I’ll leave if you’d like.”
“No, please stay.”
Becky stood and facing Cole with her blue eyes on his hazel greens then
slowly began to unbutton her light green dress and slid it over head. She
turned, folded it and laid it on the dresser opened the drawer then pulled out
her nightdress, set it on the dresser. She then turned and after her eyes found
his again, slowly slid her camisole over her head and stood naked in front of
Cole except for the necklace.
Cole understood that she was emphatically telling him that she was not a
sad, hurt woman, but a vibrant, passionate woman who wanted to show him
how much she loved him with the greatest gift she had to give.
She then turned back around to let him see her smooth backside as she
unfolded the nightdress and slid it back over her head.
Cole had realized how difficult his suggestion would be the moment she
touched that first button. He wasn’t sure she needed another pound anymore
as he’d seen her without a shred of covering.
 Cole stood and removed his pants and shirt, turned down the light, then
lifted the quilt to the large bed. Becky slid under the blankets first and Cole
followed.
Becky slid close to Cole and rested her head on his shoulder as he held
her close. She knew he was excited, and she found it difficult to control her
own desires as she felt him pressed against her.
Becky asked softly, “Are you going to at least kiss me goodnight?”
Cole didn’t answer but kissed her softly before she whispered, “Wait.”
She then rolled slightly to the outside of the bed, sat up slowly, then slid
her nightdress over her head again, then tossed it into the darkened room.
Then she slid back under the blankets and resumed her previous position
tightly against Cole.
His marching orders given, Cole knew that there was no point in even
trying to sleep, so he kissed her passionately as he let his hands slide to her
full breasts.
Becky gasped and then moaned in delight as she lay on her back and
said, “Don’t stop, Cole.”
Cole had no intention of stopping and began to kiss Becky, from her lips
then worked slowly downward across her neck and the front of her body.
Becky was arching her back already as she exulted in letting her passions
free at last. This wouldn’t end with shame, guilt or anger, this was love and
it had no ending.
Becky then pulled Cole to her and began to kiss him harder and return
some of the pleasure he had given to her as she began to feel his muscular
body under her fingers. This was new to her and she found that it was even
more arousing.
For twenty long minutes they touched, kissed and probed, the quilts
having long been discarded.
By the time they finally reached the pinnacle of their lovemaking, Becky
felt sensations she could have never dreamed possible. This was making
love, being loved and giving love. All those years of being unloved were
washed away in one day. There was no longer a crater in her soul, nor was
there a crevice in Cole’s heart. They had healed each other and were now
one.
When they were finally laying close, slick in perspiration with Becky
snuggled in against Cole, she asked softly, “Cole, why did you suddenly
decide that you loved me? I thought it might have been fifty years before
you did, but I was willing to wait.”
“It wasn’t knowing when I knew that I loved you, Becky. It was just that
I wanted to be sure that you understood the difference between when I told
you and when Harry had whispered it to you. I thought it might be longer
too, but it’s been getting closer each time I looked at you today. When he
stepped out onto the porch beside me was one instance. But when I looked
into your face in the barn as you saw your new horse, that’s when I knew
you’d understand that I loved you with all of my heart and soul.”
“Thank you for telling me, Cole. You have no idea how happy I am.”
“Yes, Becky, I have a very good idea.”
He kissed her gently, then pulled her damp body onto his again, as a very
contented Becky drifted off to sleep. Cole followed just minutes later after
pulling the quilt back over them.
 CHAPTER 6
Cole and Becky woke early and, despite their urges to pick up where
they had left off, knew that they had a big and dangerous day before them,
so they washed, dressed and were well-rested when they had breakfast with
Jake.
Amos came over at as they were eating and joined them for coffee and
could tell the difference in Cole instantly. He smiled at Becky, who returned
his smile, then turned to Cole.
“How are we going to handle this, Cole?”
“We’re going to take the carriage to the meeting. I’ll be inside with the
Cannon to prevent any shenanigans. The agents will probably want to be in
the carriage as well. Amos, you can drive.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Becky, you’ll ride with us to the meeting. If everything goes right,
you’ll be riding back with Katie, Jo and Mrs. Cooper as well. I’ll ride with
Amos on top on the way back so I can spot any potential problems.
“Amos, I’m going to leave you a Winchester ’76 in the footwell of the
carriage for you. Both you and I will be using hot loads on the rifles. There
isn’t too much more kick, but you’ll get a few extra yards and a lot more
stopping power.”
Amos nodded.
“Becky, I want you to have your derringer with you. You have a pocket
in one of your dresses, don’t you?”
“Yes, in my plaid dress that I wear in the house.”
“Wear that dress and keep your derringer in the pocket. I know I said no
weapons, but I don’t trust them one bit. The only one you need to watch is
John Cooper. If shooting starts, whether it’s me or someone else, watch
him. If he reaches into his pocket, pull out your derringer and do not
hesitate, Becky. If he’s reaching into his pants pocket, he probably has a
derringer as well and will use it. Don’t wait for him to pull his out. You
bring yours out smoothly, cock the hammer, point it at his chest and pull the
trigger. You’ll probably be saving Katie.”
“I’ll do it, Cole.”
Cole smiled at her and said, “I know you will, sweetheart.”
Amos smiled at the sobriquet and was happy for them both.
There was a knock on the front door and Amos walked to the main room
and admitted Ellis Anderson and John Wilcox. They were carrying the two
cases of counterfeit currency and set them down as Cole and Becky entered.
“Morning, John and Ellis. How do they look?”
“Good, Cole. We could barely tell the difference,” he replied then
opened the cases, so Cole could have a look.
They looked very, very similar to the cases before they made the switch.
The bands all even had an ‘R’ written on them.
“John, I was just going over how I think we should handle this. Becky,
you, Ellis and I will be inside the carriage that is going to the exchange.
Amos will drive. I’ll have my Sharps inside. Becky will take the cases into
the field and stop halfway. I’ll be watching for another shooter on the other
side.
“If I see him before the exchange is made, I’ll just keep him in my
sights. After the exchange is made, do you think I should shoot him first?
I’ve already told Becky to keep looking for a smoke bloom, but that
wouldn’t even give her a second to drop and I don’t want to take the risk
with my fiancée. If they have a sniper there, he’s there to kill someone.”
Amos glanced at Becky who was flushed, smiled then looked back at
Cole.
 “I’m with you, Cole. If you see him, hold onto him. As soon as Becky,
Katie and the other two women start back, take him out.”
“Alright. If I have to fire my Sharps, as soon as my bullet is on its way,
I’m going to get back outside the carriage with my Winchester and hightail
it behind the women and provide protection against anyone coming out to
try to shoot them. But that isn’t likely because they’ll be four hundred yards
away at least. If they come out of the nearest foliage, they’d have to be on
horseback then I’ll make them sorry that they did.”
“Cole, you’re kind of scary,” said John Wilcox, “but, in this case, it’s a
good scary.”
“What time do we leave, John?” asked Cole.
“How about ten-thirty? That’ll give us time to get everything ready.
They’ll already be there and they’re probably already setting up now, so we
couldn’t sneak anyone in behind them.”
Cole said, “You should both keep your Winchesters handy. Keep an eye
on the south side of the road until the boys arrive. There’s nothing there
except grass, so they’d have to be laying low.”
“We will. Okay, let’s get ready.”
_____
Paul had sent Jasper Forrest out early with his Sharps to find a good
firing location. There weren’t many, so he might have to go out further than
the five hundred yards he preferred, but it couldn’t be helped. Paul had
given him his instructions about who to shoot and when.
He was also sending out Tex Brown, Al Schuster, and Pete Emerson with
Winchesters to lay in the grass just eighty yards from the exchange location.
They’d already been told that no one was to leave the exchange site alive
except John. He’d been fed up with Marge for years and thought Jo was the
ultimate disappointment when she had driven her husband to seek solace
with a damned librarian of all people. The Cooper name had been a
laughingstock for months after that.
 John was already shirtless but had his derringer in his pocket. He was
already tickled with his assignment. He would shoot the nanny and then the
kid if Jasper missed.
Paul knew that this would infuriate Harry’s brother and he’d recklessly
attack either the shooters at the exchange site if he was there, which was
likely or come after him at his home if he wasn’t coming to the exchange.
Either way, he’d be outgunned and dead.
Then it would all be over. He’d go back to printing when the new plate
was ready and would just need someone to run the counterfeits to Denver
this time now that the lawyer was dead.
Damned lawyer! He’s the one that
caused all this.
At least after today, he’d have his stash back. He’d have to
give the sheriff and the prosecutor extra payouts to keep this mess quiet, but
it would be worth it.
He had no intention of going to the exchange site himself. He kept Fuzzy
Wilkens, Tall Ted Tucker and Ben Gregory at the ranch with his son David.
He’d already fired the two ranch hands, and he’d get rid of the last two
hundred head next month too. The cattle and the hands were unnecessary
expenses.
Upstairs, Jo and Marge were worried. They knew Paul had a lot at stake
and wouldn’t hesitate to put them in danger, but they also knew the source
of the danger would be behind them, not in front of them.
Katie was sitting there on a tall chair dangling her feet, swinging them
back and forth. She knew that Uncle Cole would be there somewhere with
his Cannon and knew they didn’t know he had one either. She was pretty
sure that he would suspect that they had that Jasper there with one, so she
wasn’t concerned about that man. She wondered how she could warn Uncle
Cole if she saw something else that he might not suspect.
Ten minutes later, they were all loaded into a brand-new carriage to
replace the one that was coming from the south.
At 10:20, they were already in place and waiting for Cole and the money
to arrive. The women and Katie were still in the carriage five hundred yards
from the middle of the field. They made a small blunder by parking the
carriage facing the road, thus eliminating a potential sniper location that
would be difficult for Cole to spot, just as his shooting position from inside
the carriage would be hidden.
_____
Everyone was ready. In the ranch house, the cook was playing checkers
with a confident Jake and the six Rocking T hands were mounted on their
horses. They would trail the carriage by two miles. After the carriage
stopped, they would keep their horses moving at a walk toward the
exchange site. Their primary mission was to protect the south and east sides
of the carriage.
Cole had closed all the curtains on the carriage except for the one on the
front window facing the exchange site. At that distance, he’d have a wide
field of view. He estimated the distance to the other side of the field to be
nine hundred yards. It was a long shot, but he planned on using the lower
sill of the window as a support and hoped that no one looked at the carriage
closely with field glasses. Even then, it would be difficult to spot the
muzzle of the Sharps from half a mile with the sun overhead.
It was a breezeless day as they set out which made targeting much easier.
Cole had Becky pulled up tight against him and his arm around her to
steady her nerves but wasn’t surprised to find her remarkably calm. Becky
was self-assured and confident now that her foundation and world were
solid.
John and Ellis had their Winchesters ready as Amos drove carefully but
at a reasonable speed. The hands had waited for fifteen minutes before
following the carriage.
At the exchange location, the women and Katie were ushered from the
carriage and told to start walking to the middle of the field at eleven-thirty
with shirtless John walking fifty feet behind them. They walked the quarter
mile slowly, and Katie soon spotted the three prone riflemen in the grass.
“Aunt Jo, we need to walk past the spot about twenty steps,” she said
quietly.
Jo looked down at Katie and asked, “Why, Katie?”
 “’Cause those men with rifles won’t be able to shoot us so easy.”
Jo was astonished. Katie was absolutely right. If they were intending to
shoot Katie, that extra twenty steps would put them at the far edge of the
Winchester’s effective range.
How did she know that?
There was no time to
find out as they continued to walk across the open field.
Jo said, “Mama, keep walking past the spot about twenty steps like Katie
said.”
“Won’t they get mad?”
“Probably, but they’ll probably put it down to female ignorance.”
“There’s the carriage, Jo,” Marge said as she spotted the Amos-driven
carriage rolling along the road.
“Isn’t that our carriage? The one papa said was stolen?”
“It is our carriage. I wonder what really happened.”
They passed the marked point and kept walking, wondering how far they
could go. They had gone thirty feet beyond the marked location when John
shouted, “Hold up there! You stupid women are past the marker.”
They stopped walking and stared at the approaching carriage.
Amos brought the carriage to a halt, then Cole looked at Becky and said,
“I love you, Becky.”
She smiled showing no anxiety before she replied, “I love you, Cole.
Use that Cannon well.”
She kissed him then stepped out of the carriage and reached back inside
and took the two cases. She struggled to get them out but eventually slid
them to the ground then picked them up, turned and began to walk toward
the center of the field where Katie, Jo and Marge stood.
The extra time Becky took to get the cases out and then picked up was a
real boon for Cole. He had used the added few seconds to do a quick scan
of Katie with his scope and saw her hand in front of her white dress with
three fingers pointed down. She was looking right at him when she began
rhythmically jabbing at the ground.
“Damn it! There are three riflemen in the grass behind the women.”
“Can you see them, Cole?” asked Ellis.
“No, one of the women just signaled me. That means they must be
eighty or ninety yards behind them. I’m going to go back to scanning for
the sniper.”
Cole was concentrating on a bump in the prairie in the northwest corner
of the field. It was the best available location for a sniper but didn’t see
anyone. He left that location to check others but didn’t find any that were as
good. Assuming the man wasn’t a professional sniper, which would be most
likely, he’d look for the most comfortable position to hold for a prolonged
period, and he’d have to be prone. He brought his scope back to the pimple
on the prairie then caught the glimmer of a shadow’s movement and trained
his scope on the spot. He smiled when he spotted the shooter. He must have
been behind the bump and slid into position after he felt things were about
to happen.
There were eight hundred and forty yards to the shooter for Cole, but
only about four hundred and fifty yards for him to hit the women. Cole kept
him under his gun and cocked the Sharps’ hammer. He was breathing easily
and could take the shot within a second of his decision to shoot.
Becky kept walking toward Katie, who had stopped signaling to her
Uncle Cole believing that he should have her message by now. She then
turned back toward the carriage they had used to get to the field and
scanned the area like a curious little girl would.
Becky walked close to the women and set the cases down.
“I think we need to start walking back to the road,” said Becky.
“We’re supposed to wait until John has looked at the cases,” Jo replied,
examining Katie as she did.
Becky put her hands in her pockets like she was bored and grasped the
derringer. She positioned it in her hand and waited for John Cooper to come
forward and inspect the bags.
He walked around the women opened one bag and took out some of the
cash and smiled. He rummaged around to make sure they were both full of
bank notes and stood up.
“Well, it looks like these are the right cases,” he said but not expecting a
reply.
He picked up the cases and walked quickly away.
When he was ten feet away, Katie shouted, “Run!”
After a brief moment to overcome their surprise, Jo and Marge took off.
Katie ran with them, and soon passed an unmoving Becky. As soon as the
women started to run, the gates of hell opened.
John Cooper dropped the cases then turned and reached into his pocket.
The women were already twenty feet away moving quickly and he was
surprised when he saw the nanny still standing in the same spot and
assumed that she was in shock. He should have looked at Becky first, but
his attention was on Katie.
Becky hadn’t turned around to run yet but not because she was frozen in
fear. She was watching John, and she was determined to protect Katie. She
was not going to fail again.
When he dropped the cases, it was clear that there was only one reason
for it, so she pulled out her derringer and had it cocked while John Cooper
had his six inches out of his pocket and was fumbling for the hammer as he
had his eyes still focused on the running Katie.
Becky took a second to steady her hand then squeezed the trigger. The
small pistol bucked in her hand and the .41 caliber bullet jetted through the
air and drilled into the left side of his bare chest between the eighth and
ninth ribs and miraculously only nicked them before it embedded itself in
his heart, dropping him to the ground, his unfired derringer falling beside
his body.
Becky didn’t wait for the results of her shot but quickly turned to catch
up to the others, the smoking pistol still tightly gripped in her hand in case
she needed a second shot.
Just a heartbeat after Becky fired, so did Cole. The Cannon roared, and
the massive slug took 2.43 seconds to travel across the grassy field to strike
its intended target. Jasper Forrest had been taken by surprise with the
women’s sudden flight and then Becky’s shot. He had switched targets from
Katie, who he was supposed to shoot when John was clear to Becky who
was still turning. He was cocking his hammer for the shot when Cole’s shot
tunneled through the top of his head before leaving a crater in the back of
his skull then ending its path in the Kansas dirt sixteen feet behind him.
The riflemen suddenly popped up and began to chase the women who
seemed to be the only ones on the field and were already out of range. They
began an uncoordinated stop, fire and run process to try and kill the still
moving women.
Cole had already dropped his Sharps then snatched his Winchester ’76
from the floor before he bounced out of the carriage. He started sprinting
toward the women who were still over a hundred yards away and the
shooters were gaining on them despite their stops to take shots.
Amos had climbed down with his Winchester and run toward them as
well. John and Ellis also boiled out of the carriage with their Winchesters
cocked.
The women were slowing yet still moving, but Mrs. Cooper was tiring
after only fifty yards and the three shooters were gaining. They were all
concentrating on the women and didn’t pick up the new threats until Cole
and Amos were within a hundred and fifty yards, but they were under
eighty yards from Mrs. Cooper and were aiming at the boss’s wife.
To her unexpected benefit, a stumbling Marge Cooper suddenly fell just
as the three Bar C riflemen opened fire. Those added few seconds that they
took to stop, aim and fire, allowed Cole to get within a hundred and twenty
yards and a very tired Amos to get to a hundred and forty yards.
Cole stopped and brought his ’76 to bear and began firing his hot loads.
His first shot missed, probably because of his rapid breathing, but he
quickly levered in a second round and fired at the middle shooter.
 The cut head of the .45 caliber bullet smashed into Tex Brown’s left
shoulder and as the bullet struck the bone, it shattered into large fragments
further damaging tissue and bone. Tex spun around clockwise as if smacked
by a giant fist as his repeater flew away. He pirouetted into the ground and
squirmed as he screamed. He wouldn’t die immediately, but he’d live
another fifteen seconds in agonizing pain as the blood gushed from ripped
arteries.
Al Schuster and Pete Emerson had seen Tex fall and heard his blood-
curdling screams, but each of them took a few precious seconds to see what
had happened to Tex. It was a natural and automatic reaction but still a fatal
mistake.
Cole aimed at Al Schuster who was to the left and fired while Amos was
firing at Pete Emerson.
Amos hadn’t expected the power and missed high by eight inches. For
the moment, Pete Emerson was a lucky man.
Al Schuster wasn’t close to being as lucky when Cole’s next shot struck
him square in the chest. The damage from the exploding bullet was
massive. Al didn’t spin, as Tex had, he awkwardly backpedaled for three
twisting steps then dropped onto his back and lay motionless in the Kansas
sun.
After his miss, Amos was levering in a second round when Pete
Emerson fired at the aged foreman. Amos’ head was down as he worked his
Winchester and Pete’s shot hit him on the top of his head, right on the
crown, ripping his Stetson off his head in the process. Amos dropped like a
sack of flour.
Cole had seen Amos fall and knew that he had to kill Emerson before he
could check on his friend.
He fired at eighty yards, a spitball distance to Cole. A fifth of a second
later, Cole’s modified bullet caught Pete in the lower right part of his neck
right above the collarbone. It did much more than break his clavicle into
dozens of pieces. The impact nearly severed his head from his body as the
round rapidly expanded.
 Cole didn’t bother looking for more targets as everyone was down. He
ran to where Amos lay, set his Winchester on the ground and rolled Amos
onto his back. His head was covered in blood, so Cole felt the wound. It
was a crease shot across the back part of the crown of his head.
“Amos! This is Cole! Can you hear me?” he shouted.
Amos’ eyes fluttered and then focused as he grumbled, “No need to yell,
Cole. I ain’t deaf or dead yet.”
“You lost your hat, Amos, so I’ll get you a new one.”
“Nah. The hole adds character.”
Becky, Katie, Jo and Marge all walked quickly to Cole as he was helping
a wobbly Amos to his feet. The Rocking T hands had arrived, and John
Wilcox and Ellis Anderson showed up from the carriage. The entire action
had taken less than four minutes.
Cole looked over at the agents and said, “John, can you tell the boys to
ride around collecting guns and checking to make sure there aren’t any
more of them out there?”
“I’ll do that.”
Cole looked down at Katie and said, “Hello, Katie. Thanks for the
warning.”
Katie simply jumped at Cole and hugged him tightly as Becky walked up
and wrapped her arms around them both.
“Becky, you were magnificent. I’m so very proud of you,” Cole said as
he smiled at her.
Becky simply nodded. The excitement over, she was coming down from
her adrenalin rush and felt numb.
The hands were scouring the field collecting firearms and checking the
bodies as John Wilcox and Ellis Anderson retrieved their two cases of
counterfeit notes.
“Cole, what just happened?” asked Jo, still dazed from the experience.
 “Jo, how are you and your mother?”
“We’re fine. What happened?”
“Your father had positioned three shooters with Winchesters just eighty
yards from the meeting point. I’m sure that you noticed them. He also had a
sharpshooter stationed on that small hill over on the southwest. He had John
armed with a derringer, too. He didn’t know I’d be here and armed or he
would have set it up differently. The only targets were Katie, Becky, you
and your mother.”
“My father was trying to kill me and my mother?
” she almost shouted.
“That’s the only explanation that makes any sense, Jo. You can ask
Agents John Wilcox and Ellis Anderson when they come back what they
think.”
“Agents?”
“Secret Service Agents. It appears that my brother was helping your
father and his boys get rid of their counterfeit money. They’re probably
using your small house as the place to print the phony bills.”
Jo was still confused, but Marge wasn’t as she snapped, “So, that’s what
that bastard was up to.”
Jo turned quickly to her mother and asked, “Do you think he was really
trying to kill us, Mama?”
“I’m sure he was. He was tired of me and still angry with you.”
Katie had released her death grip on Cole then looked at him and said, “I
knew you’d come for me, Uncle Cole.”
“I’m sorry it took this long, sweetie.”
“That was really smart to have Aunt Jo and her mama come with me.”
“I wanted to get them away from the house. We’re going to go there now
to help the Secret Service.”
 “Uncle Cole, two of those bad men were the ones that killed papa,” she
said pointing to the north.
“I guess that’s the best justice we’ll get, sweetheart.”
“I know.”
He lowered Katie to the ground picked up his Winchester and Amos’
rifle while Amos was being helped to the carriage by Joe Higgins. His head
was no longer bleeding profusely, but they’d need to run him to Doc
Miller’s in Twin Forks.
Katie and Becky followed Jo and Marge into the carriage. It was already
full, but John and Ellis were driving the other carriage across the field
towards them, so Cole waved and climbed up into the driver’s seat.
Both carriages turned and headed south to the Rocking T. Cole drove
quickly because there were so many things left to do, and the sooner they
got to the Bar C then the less time Paul Cooper would have to prepare.
An hour later, Cole and the two Secret Service agents were back on
horseback riding north. All the women were safely in the house with
Winchester-armed hands either riding the ranch’s perimeter or walking
around the house. The cook was preparing food for them while Becky and
Marge cooked for those inside the house.
Jo was still shaken by the realization that her father had tried to murder
her and was resting on Becky’s unused bed. Katie and Jake resumed playing
checkers. Jake was still bouncing with Katie’s return, after all she was his
best friend.
Amos was still at the doctor’s office with Jimmy Harper providing
company.
Cole and the agents were moving quickly to get to the Bar C before Paul
Cooper began to worry too much about the delay in getting his money and
his people back.
Cole had the Cannon loaded and six more rounds in his pocket. He was
wearing the Double Russian rig and had his ’76 in the scabbard full of hot
loads. He had the shotgun in his second scabbard loaded with #4 buckshot.
Even for him, it was a lot of firepower.
They passed through Garden City at four o’clock, then turned east to
continue on to the Bar C.
_____
Paul Cooper was definitely worried about the delay. They should have
been back two hours ago, and he hadn’t heard a word. He was beyond
worried and was close to panic. He called in David, Fuzzy Wilkens, Tall
Ted Tucker and Ben Gregory. There was no one else to summon.
“I think something went wrong with the exchange. They should have
been back by now.”
“What do you think happened, boss?” asked Fuzzy.
Paul reasoned with his own suspicious mind and replied, “I’m not sure.
That Turner didn’t have the firepower we sent along. I have a bad feeling
that somebody took the money. It would be a hell of a temptation. They do
what they were supposed to do, then find themselves in an empty field with
all that real money. They grab the cash and run. That’s fifty thousand
dollars apiece, boys.”
“What about John?” asked David.
“They probably killed him, too. He was out there with all the women.”
“How much longer do we wait?”
“Not much longer. There’s also the remote chance that the operation
failed. I just don’t see how that would be possible. Tall Ted, you and Ben
head out to the access road with a couple of Winchesters. If it failed, Cole
Turner will be here soon. If he shows up, shoot him. If you get him, come
back and tell me so we can have the sheriff take care of it.”
“Okay, boss,” Tall Ted replied as he and Ben Gregory left the office to
go to the bunkhouse to retrieve their Winchesters.
 “Boss, what will we do if they did run off with all the money?” asked
Fuzzy.
“Don’t even talk like that until we know it happened, Fuzzy!” exploded
Paul.
“Sorry, boss.”
_____
Tall Ted and Ben had just reached the bunkhouse when Cole, John and
Ellis rode under the Bar C sign toward the house. Each rider had his cocked
Winchester out and were scanning the area for any potential problems.
Ellis spotted Tall Ted and Ben exiting the bunkhouse first.
“Two armed at our one o’clock!” he shouted as Cole and John both
looked that way and saw the two Bar C men. His shout alerted Tall Ted and
Ben who quickly tried to find protection before they could open fire.
John Wilcox shouted loudly, “United States Secret Service. Drop your
weapons!”
Tall Ted and Ben were shocked by the shout of identification. They had
seen Cole and knew they were supposed to shoot him,
but what would they
do with two Secret Service agents?
Ben was the one who made the decision when he snapped, “They’re
lyin’! There ain’t no government agents around here. Shoot ‘em!”
As soon as they brought their Winchesters to bear, Cole, John and Ellis
opened fire. John missed, but Ellis’ shot ripped Ben’s right forearm to
shreds and shattered his ulna. He screamed and dropped his rifle before
falling to the ground, writhing in pain.
Tall Ted drew a bad hand when Cole’s .45 caliber round struck his right
upper abdomen and the bullet mushroomed, pulverizing vital organs and
causing massive internal bleeding. He dropped to his knees and stared
wide-eyed at the world briefly before he fell onto his face.
 With the immediate threat eliminated, they rode to the house ignoring a
still screaming Ben Gregory.
_____
Inside the house, the screaming was just the final touch in the rapid
sequence of horrifying news for Paul Cooper. When he heard John’s shout,
Paul had no doubt that they were real Secret Service agents.
David Cooper had run to the window in time to see Tall Ted crash to the
dirt. His horrified expression when he turned to face his father told Paul
Cooper all that he needed to know. His world, his counterfeiting empire had
collapsed, and he would hang, not for the counterfeiting itself, but for all
the murders he had ordered to protect it.
Paul quickly walked into his office to prepare for his final defense. He
stepped around his desk, reached into the middle left-hand drawer of his
desk and removed a Colt Peacemaker.
After returning to the main room, he said, “David and Fuzzy, we’ve got
to get them as soon as they come through that door.”
David replied, “Okay, Papa,” and pulled his Colt.
Fuzzy answered, “Got it, boss,” as he slipped his pistol from it holster.
David wasn’t about to abandon his father, but Fuzzy wasn’t about to die
here or now.
Fuzzy Wilkens knew that his best chance of survival was to sneak out
the back and circle around to the barn, saddle a horse quickly and ride east,
away from the access road. He’d head for Pierceville, catch a train and
disappear. He had been preparing for this eventuality ever since that
damned lawyer took the real cash and kept a bundle of counterfeit twenty-
dollar bills in his saddlebags.
“Boss, I’ll cover the back!” he shouted, “They might come around.”
Paul was worried about that possibility and yelled, “Go! David and I will
take care of the front.”
 Fuzzy had already started to jog toward the hallway before he had
shouted ‘David’.
_____
“John, how do we handle the house?” asked Cole.
“Ellis, you cover the back,” John Wilcox shouted.
“I’m gone,” Ellis replied loudly before he turned his horse to circle
around to the back of the house.
“John, you know they’re inside waiting on us. Any ideas?”
“You’ve got that shotgun. Go over to the right, past the windows. Get
right up against that far-right window. I’ll give them their warning and tell
them to come out. My guess is they’ll throw a shot or two in my direction.
If they do, ram the muzzle of the shotgun through the glass and let both
barrels go, then we’ll make a bull rush into the house while they’re either
down or hiding.”
“Alright. Let’s go.”
Cole and John dismounted fifty yards out, Cole exchanging the
Winchester for the shotgun before he did. John went left, and Cole ran to
the right cocking the two hammers as he moved.
Fuzzy had reached the back of the house, opened the door, stuck his head
out and made a quick scan for lawmen. He didn’t waste two seconds before
he jogged off the back porch and swung to his right heading for the barn.
Ellis Anderson was still walking his horse to the back of the house when
he saw Fuzzy hop from the back porch and start to run. He had exchanged
his Winchester for his Colt, anticipating having to go into the house, so he
cocked and aimed the pistol at Fuzzy.
“Hold it right there!” he shouted, “United States Secret Service!”
Fuzzy didn’t care who or what he heard. He cocked the hammer of his
pistol, swung to face Ellis and as soon as the agent was in his sights fired at
the same time that Ellis pulled his trigger. He was forty yards from Ellis,
outside of normal pistol range, but his shot struck Ellis’ horse in the right
eye. The horse stumbled and went down on his right side in a big cloud of
dust, taking Ellis to the ground with him. The agent’s shot missed Fuzzy by
more than two feet.
Fuzzy mistakenly thought he had hit Ellis and wasn’t about to take the
time to check with two more shooters to worry about, so with his smoking
pistol still in his hand he turned and raced to the barn.
John and Cole heard the shout and gunfire but had their own job to do.
Inside the house, Paul was crouching behind his desk. His son, David,
was behind a big chair in the sitting room. Both of their pistols were pointed
at the front door. They had seen the lawmen dismount but had then lost
sight of them when they spread apart.
John looked over at Cole thirty feet away and when he caught his eye
Cole nodded.
John took a deep breath and shouted, “United States Secret Service!
Come out of the house now!”
Paul Cooper fired at the door and David did the same a fraction of a
second later. Both had cocked their hammers for a second shot when Cole
smashed the muzzle of his shotgun through the lowest pane of glass on the
right side of the window and pulled the shotgun’s trigger. Dozens of lead
pellets sprayed the main room and the open office, destroying furniture and
anything else in the paths of the small bullets.
Cole dropped the shotgun and pulled both Smith & Wessons while John
had his Colt took the lead in smashing through the door and into the chaotic
scene inside.
David had taken three pellets to the upper half of his head and was
screaming as he stumbled across the floor, grabbing his bloody face and
head, his pistol dropped to the polished oak and forgotten. Paul Cooper
hadn’t been hit because he had dropped to the floor in that brief delay
between the glass shattering and Cole pulling the trigger. His panic had
been amplified by the blast and the havoc created by the pellets. The thick
fog of gun smoke in the room and David’s screaming added to his panicked
confusion as he scrambled to his feet.
When John and Cole crashed through the front door, he began to fire his
pistol again at their shadows. He smiled when his first shot downed one of
those bastards but didn’t notice that his son’s screaming had suddenly
stopped.
Cole and John had both seen his muzzle flare and a fraction of a second
later three .44 caliber bullets found Paul Cooper. The three bullets all struck
high on his chest and any one of the three would have been fatal, so the
other two were literally overkill.
Paul Cooper still managed to turn, his Colt swinging on his index finger,
then stumble into his office, before he fell face forward onto his large desk
as his life’s blood spread across the polished wood for just a couple of
seconds before his heart stopped pumping.
The sudden deafening silence was interrupted when John shouted,
“We’ve gotta go and check on Ellis!”
Cole didn’t reply but raced toward the hallway with John following.
They soon reached the kitchen and headed for the open back door.
They blew through the doorway then Cole turned right and as they left
the porch, they spotted Ellis Anderson trapped under his struggling horse.
Ellis hadn’t wanted to draw attention to himself in his trapped position,
but when he saw his partner, he gestured wildly to the barn.
Cole and John raced towards him, reaching Ellis in seconds. As John
began to help Ellis extricate his leg from under the horse, Cole tugged on
the Winchester trapped in its scabbard. He pulled it free after a few seconds
and levered in a fresh round, spitting the .44 that was in the chamber onto
the dirt.
As he turned to face the barn about thirty yards away, Fuzzy Wilkens
charged out of the barn riding low, crouched over the neck of the horse.
Fuzzy aimed and fired his pistol in their direction to keep their heads
down while he made his break, but Cole didn’t even flinch as he took aim
steadied his sights and fired.
With Fuzzy’s arms up near the horse’s neck, Cole’s shot struck him in
the left armpit. At a little over a hundred feet, the .44 caliber round blew
apart his brachial artery and continued through his left lung then reached his
cervical spine shattering his fourth and fifth cervical vertebrae. Fuzzy’s
horse continued to run with a dead foreman on its back for another quarter
of a mile but not in a straight line as Fuzzy’s dead right hand still held the
right rein.
At first, Cole thought he had missed and was preparing for a second shot
when he saw Fuzzy’s left arm suddenly drop from the horse’s neck and
dangle loosely then spotted the massive amount of blood already soaking
the man’s shirt. The horse circled to the right and was beginning to head in
their direction before Cole knew his shot had been fatal. It was confirmed
three seconds later when Fuzzy’s body dropped to the ground creating a
large dust cloud.
Cole then turned to help extricate Ellis just as John slid his partner’s leg
out from under the still writhing horse. Once the two agents were a few feet
away, Cole used his still cocked Winchester to end the horse’s suffering.
Cole was standing near the horse’s head with his smoking repeater when
John looked at him and took a deep breath.
“Cole, can you check the house? Ellis and I need to go to the small house
and take a look at their counterfeiting setup. We might find who was
making the plates, too.”
“I’ll do that, John. How are you, Ellis?”
“I twisted my ankle, but I’ll be all right.”
“If I get done before you guys, I’ll get another horse from the barn and
saddle him for you Ellis.”
“I’d appreciate that, Cole.”
Cole headed for the big house and the two agents headed for the smaller
house with Ellis limping noticeably.
 Cole walked through the front door with his pistol drawn just in case
they had missed someone or neither of the other two was dead. It was an
unnecessary but wise precaution. He stepped into the disaster of what used
to be a well-furnished main room but didn’t pay any attention to the
damage. He wanted to see what records Paul Cooper kept in his office.
Paul’s body was still sprawled across his desk, and Cole wanted to go
through the drawers, so he grabbed the former ranch owner’s body by his
jacket, peeled him from the surface, then dragged him out of the office and
left him near his son. He took a few minutes to arrange them straight and
side by side to make it easier on the mortician then he returned to the office.
He sat in Paul’s chair, ignored the blood on the surface of the desk and
began pulling out drawers. He didn’t find any false bottoms or hidden
drawers, so he stood and began looking behind pictures for a wall safe and
was rewarded when he turned over a still life. Now he just needed to find
the combination, assuming it was written down. He searched everywhere,
looking under drawers and behind knick-knacks but found nothing. He
looked at the rows of books wondering if he had just written it down and
slipped it into a book like he had done for Becky.
The books were well ordered by genre, almost as if a librarian had set it
up, except for two, which seemed out of place. Two Jules Verne novels,
which he would classify as fantasy were with the more serious dramatic
fiction. He tilted his head to read the titles.
Around the World in 80 Days
was on the right. It was separated from the first Jules Verne book,
20,000
Leagues Under the Sea
, by the very serious
Anne of Seven Gables
. Why
not?
He walked over to the safe and spun the dial. First twenty, then past
again to seven, then ending with eighty. He tried the handle and it turned,
making him almost giggle as he opened the door. The safe was stuffed. He
couldn’t use the blood-soaked desk, so he began pulling the contents out
and setting them on a side table.
There were three bundles of twenty-dollar bills, each of the bands with
an ‘R’. He slid them into his pocket and would give them to Marge Cooper
later. Then he found some legal papers. One was his will, another was the
deed to the house, and then he discovered the deed and ownership papers to
the
Garden City Voice
.
Paul Cooper owned the newspaper?
He shrugged
his shoulders then found a thick stack of stock certificates and put those in
his pocket as well. There was some jewelry, which he left, but then there
were two ledgers which is what he really wanted.
He stood over the side table and opened the first. It was a listing of
outgoing counterfeit and incoming genuine currency transactions. It had
banks listed and there was Harry’s name under courier for most of them. He
guessed that using a local lawyer who would sometimes deal in large
transactions was handy. John and Ellis would treasure this book, he thought
as he grinned, as would their bosses at the Treasury Department, but they
would really go crazy when they read the thirteenth line of the ledger.
As important as that first ledger was, it was the second book that he
wanted: the record of bribes paid, amounts and the recipients. He read
through the list and was stunned at the number. There was the sheriff, of
course, as well as the prosecutor. There were only three of the four deputies,
which explained why they always kept the same man on the desk. But there
was the newspaper editor, the coroner, and even the two telegraphers. He
did a quick total and found that Paul Cooper was paying over twelve
hundred dollars a month in bribes. I guess if you’re printing your own
money, it doesn’t matter.
But why give the editor of your own newspaper a
bribe?
He put the jewelry and the legal papers back into the safe and closed the
door. After he replaced the painting, he did a quick search of the rest of the
house and left via the front door. He stopped to pick up his shotgun and
spotted the General still standing where he had left him and was cropping
grass with John’s horse. He walked with the two ledgers and the shotgun to
his big black gelding, slipped the shotgun into its scabbard and the ledgers
into the saddlebags. They were too long to cover with the saddlebag flap, so
they stuck out a bit. He mounted, then took John’s horse’s reins and began
to walk them to the small house where the agents should be examining the
printing operation, which he assumed was there because they hadn’t exited
the building yet.
In the small house, the two Secret Service agents were like children in a
toy store. The operation was much bigger than they had anticipated. There
were two crates of high-quality paper from the same maker of genuine
banknotes. The press was an expensive German model that was even better
than what the Federal government used to print real money, but it was the
plates that had them most impressed. The replacement for the cracked plate
had just been delivered a few days earlier and was still in its packaging. The
quality was exceptional, so whoever made this was a real danger.
Unfortunately, they were unable to find who had created the plates.
There was another short stack of counterfeit bills with the crack in the
corner that would need to be destroyed along with those they had used as
substitutes in the cases for the exchange. Now that this operation had been
shut down there was no need to keep the counterfeit money intact, so they’d
stage a small bonfire later. It was always a bit fun to toss bundles of cash,
counterfeit though it may be, into a raging flame.
Satisfied that they had found everything, John and Ellis left the house
and locked the door. They’d have some of their non-investigative staff come
to the house and empty it of all the equipment. The government could
probably use the printing press rather than sell it for scrap. John Wilcox had
the plates in his pocket as they exited.
When they came out of the house, they found Cole standing there with
his giant horse and two saddled horses.
“Find anything, gentlemen?” Cole asked with a smile.
“It was one helluva setup, Cole,” Ellis replied.
“What did you find, Cole?” asked John.
“Two very interesting ledgers. One has a list of every counterfeiting
transaction that they made,” he said as he pulled the first ledger from his
saddlebag.
He handed it to John and said, “You might find the thirteenth line on the
first page interesting.”
John opened the ledger scanned to the thirteenth line quickly and a smile
broke out on his face. He handed it to Ellis who did the same.
“That’s worth it all, Cole. We’ll pick this guy up. I’m betting that he
won’t even do prison time because of the quality of his work. He’ll just go
to work at the Treasury Department.”
“It doesn’t matter as long as he’s out of the counterfeiting business.
Those plates were the best I’ve ever seen,” said Ellis.
Cole pulled the second green book from his saddlebags and said, “Now,
the second ledger has a list of everyone who has accepted bribes from Paul
Cooper. It has dates and amounts as well. He was even bribing the
newspaper editor, the telegraphers and the coroner.”
Cole handed the ledger to John Wilcox who opened it and began reading.
He whistled and handed it to Ellis who returned it to Cole when he was
finished.
“Cole, we’ll notify the United States Marshal’s office and the Kansas
attorney general’s office. This is an amazing level of corruption. You hang
onto that ledger until someone shows up with the authority to do something
about it.”
“How long before we see action, do you think?”
“Three or four days maybe.”
“That’s fine. I’d love to be there to watch.”
“I’ll tell you what I’ll do, Cole. When I notify the U.S. Marshals office,
I’ll suggest to them that they make you a temporary deputy marshal, so you
can be there when they start cleaning house. You’ll be in our reports
anyway. I can’t tell you how much we appreciate all that you’ve done.”
“Glad to help, John. Are you going into Garden City to notify them of
the mess out here?”
“Nope. We’re going to head to Pierceville, send some telegrams and
we’ll have the mortician from there come and get those five bodies. I want
to keep Garden City out of it for as long as we can. At least the judge
wasn’t compromised and that’s a big plus. We’ll take the counterfeit ledger
and you hang onto the bribery one.”
Cole nodded then said, “I told one of my hands, Joe Higgins, to have the
boys drive out to the field with a wagon to collect the bodies and drop them
off with the Twin Forks mortician, so that mess will be cleaned up by the
time I get back. While you’re in Pierceville waiting, you may as well use
#46 4
th
Street. It seemed like a decent house.”
“We’ll do that, Cole. We’ll drop down and pick up the quarter of a
million of real currency tomorrow.”
“John, what will happen to the ranch? Will Mrs. Cooper be able to keep
it?”
“I’ll make sure that she does once we get all that equipment out of
there.”
“Thanks, John. I’ll let her know. See you boys then.”
They all shook hands and Cole mounted the General and headed back to
his ranch via Garden City while the agents rode east for Pierceville.
_____
Back at the Rocking T, the mood was one of anxiety coupled with
exhaustion. The only two who seemed unaffected were Katie and Jake.
How Katie remained so normal was beyond the comprehension of the
adults, even Becky who knew of her extraordinary abilities.
Becky, Jo and Marge were sitting in the kitchen having tea when Jo
asked, “What do you think is going to happen, Mama?”
“I don’t know. Paul didn’t have many more of his gunfighters around,
but it might not be easy to arrest him then get him to jail.”
“Becky, all those things that Cole said he did, the counterfeiting, the
murders, and everything else. Do you think they’re all true?” Jo asked.
“Jo, I know that I’ve only known Cole for a short time, but I can’t
imagine him saying something that wasn’t right. He even told me about his
brother’s tricks.”
She nodded then replied, “Harry was a real sweet talker. He tried it on
me when I was going through my divorce.”
“And you were able to resist it?” Becky asked with raised eyebrows.
 “Easily. I saw him for what he was. Besides, he wasn’t exactly my type.
He was too smooth.”
Becky suspected she knew the answer but asked anyway.
“Who is your type?”
“The same one that you seem to have lassoed and tied down,” she
answered with a smile.
A surprised Becky smiled in return and said, “I am lucky.”
“More than you’ll ever guess,” Jo said before she turned to her mother
again.
“What happens to the ranch, Mama?”
“They may take it away, Jo. I’m not sure if I want it anyway. Do you
want to continue to live there?”
“No. I’ve been held there like a prisoner for too long.”
“They may freeze all of our assets, too. Paul really put us in a bad
situation, Jo.”
“I’m sure Cole will help, Marge,” said Becky.
“We’ll see,” Marge replied.
They heard a loud squeal from Jake’s room and the four-year-old boy
came racing out to his mother.
“I won! I won! I beat Katie!” he shouted as he jumped around the room
before spinning around twice and running back into Katie’s room.
Becky looked at Jo smiled and said, “I guess he won.”
_____
Cole rode into the ranch just after sunset. When he reached the front
yard, he stepped down and told Cal Frazier who was guarding the front to
notify everyone to come in because the threat was over. Cole promised that
he’d tell them the full story later before Cal just smiled and trotted away to
the bunkhouse.
Cole led the General to the barn, stepped down, stripped him and
brushed him down then filled his feed bin with oats and checked his water.
He patted his big friend, then lifted his saddlebags and hung them over his
shoulder. He was almost catatonic from exhaustion as he picked up his
shotgun and three Winchesters and headed for the back door.
Becky had been listening for his arrival but knew he’d have to take care
of his horse before returning. She was so relieved that he had returned that
she forgot what she was doing and overfilled the coffeepot. She had saved
Cole his dinner but wanted to make him some fresh coffee and had just
placed it on the cook stove when Cole entered through the open door and
smiled at her.
“Hello, Becky. I’ve got to get rid of the guns and then I need to talk to Jo
and Mrs. Cooper. Could you be there when I do?”
“Of course, I will.”
Cole nodded and went to his gun room carefully set his armload of
weapons against the wall then unlocked and opened the door. He picked up
the repeaters and shotgun then set them and his pistols inside with all of his
spare ammunition before leaving the room with the bribery ledger. He’d
clean them later but first he needed to tell Marge and Jo what had happened
and get the ledger into his safe. He closed and locked the door not surprised
to find Becky waiting for him. He took her hand and they walked to the
main room.
They passed by Katie’s room and he waved as he passed and Katie and
Jake waved back, but Katie knew he had to talk to Mrs. Cooper and Aunt
Jo.
Jo and Marge had heard Cole return and had left Becky alone to greet
him, but once they knew he had returned alone, they were certain that the
violence was over. It was the aftermath that would result from that violence
that they needed to hear.
 Cole stepped into the room and took a seat on the couch across from Jo
and Marge and was joined by Becky.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat this, Mrs. Cooper. Your husband and son are
dead. They and the foreman died in a shootout on your ranch along with
two of his other hands. No one is left on the Bar C.”
“I suspected that when I heard you ride in Cole. Call me Marge, will you
please? I’m not that old.”
Cole smiled and replied, “Yes, ma’am.”
Cole told them about the confrontation and the shootouts and didn’t skip
any of the details.
“Paul shot his own son in the back?” Marge asked at one point.
“Not intentionally, I’m sure. He was panicked and shot anything that
moved. We knew it had to be him because we all fired at your husband.”
He continued, including what the agents found in the small house.
“They’re going to take the ranch away from me, aren’t they Cole?”
asked Marge quietly.
“No, Marge. I asked John Wilcox and he told me that because you
weren’t involved, you’d be able to keep the ranch.”
“Will they freeze our bank account?”
“That is something that I don’t know about, Marge, but I did break into
your safe while I was there.”
Cole reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the three stacks of
bills and the stock certificates.
“This is genuine U.S. currency. See the ‘R’ on it? That’s their code to
mark it as real. You take this and keep it with you along with the stock
certificates that I found in the safe. I wasn’t sure if they were going to
freeze your assets or not until they figured out how much money was lost,
so I grabbed the cash and stock certificates. That way, you’d have
something to keep you and Jo going for a while,” he explained as he handed
her the money and stocks.
“Thank you, Cole. This will make things better.”
“Now tonight, you ladies will figure out your sleeping arrangements in
the house and I’ll sleep in the bunkhouse. I have to spend some time telling
the boys what happened anyway. Knowing them, it’ll take me a couple of
hours. Tomorrow, the agents will be by to pick up the money in my safe and
you’ll be able to ask them about everything else.”
“Cole, what happened to their bodies?”
“The ones in the field, including your son, John, will be buried in Twin
Forks. The others will be buried in Pierceville. Do you want us to do
anything different?”
“No. I don’t even want to know where they’re buried. I just didn’t want
to find them there.”
“I understand. Now, I’m sure that everyone could use a good night’s
sleep. Days like this can take a lot out of you.”
“Would you like some dinner and coffee, Cole?” asked Becky.
“Thanks, Becky, but first, I need to get this in the safe. It’s a ledger with
all of Paul Cooper’s bribes.”
Marge and Jo looked at each other, wondering how much worse it could
get.
Cole stood and headed for his office as Becky walked beside him. He
opened the safe and slid the ledger inside barely fitting above the stacks of
currency then closed it again before spinning the dials.
He stood then walked with Becky toward the kitchen and stopped when
he reached Katie’s room. They weren’t playing checkers, but Katie was
listening to Jake while both sat on her bed.
Cole walked in and sat on the other side of Katie.
“Katie, it looks like you’ll be living with me now. Is that all right?”
 “Yes, Uncle Cole. I’d like that.”
“I’m going to adopt you and Jake, Katie. I want you to be my daughter
and Jake will be my son.”
Katie looked at him, smiled and said, “I’ve wanted you to be my papa
for a long time, Uncle Cole.”
“And I’ve wanted you for my daughter since you were born, Katie. I
love you very much.”
“I love you, too, Papa,” she said quietly with tears in her eyes.
Cole hugged Katie gently then said, “I’m going to get something to eat.
You two need to get ready for bed. It’s late.”
He stood, then leaned over and kissed Katie on her forehead before he
picked up Jake and did the same to him. He set Jake down, then turned and
followed a damp-eyed Becky to the kitchen.
She quietly walked to the stove poured coffee into the boiling water and
pulled it from the hotplate then took a skillet from the oven. She put the
contents onto a plate filled a mug with coffee and brought both to the table
and after setting them down before Cole, she sat down beside him.
“Are you all right, Cole?” she asked softly.
“Not a scratch, Becky.”
“That’s not what I meant. Are you all right?”
He looked at her and said, “I’m drained and ready to collapse, but I think
I’ll be fine in the morning.”
“Good. I was worried because you looked so far away, and I wasn’t
sure.”
“I’m just tired, sweetheart. We have a lot to do tomorrow. I’ll explain
later.”
He began to shovel in his beef stew mixed with gulps of coffee quickly
as Becky continued to watch him with her concerned eyes.
 When he finished, he stood put the plate in the sink then smiled at Becky
and said, “I’m going to head to the bunkhouse to talk to the boys, Becky.
I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Becky stepped close to him and said softly, “Goodnight, Cole.”
He pulled Becky close and kissed her softly and then just to let her know
that nothing had changed between them, he slid his right hand gently across
her smooth backside and whispered, “That, my love, was to let you know
that I haven’t forgotten last night.”
She felt enormous relief then smiled at him and said, “I’m glad that
you’re all right, Cole.”
He smiled back at her then kissed her again and walked slowly to the
bunkhouse. When he entered, he found Amos already asleep in his bunk but
when Bo Witherspoon exclaimed, “
Boss, what happened?
”, Amos bolted
awake.
Cole grinned then selected his normal bunk across from Amos hung his
Stetson on a peg stripped off his jacket, vest and Webley holster before he
took a seat on the bunk.
It didn’t take hours, but he did spend another forty minutes telling the
boys what had happened at the Bar C, and they were an excited bunch by
the time he finished. He promised to answer all their questions in the
morning, but they all could tell he was dead tired, so they all returned to
their bunks as he kicked off his boots, laid on top of the bunk and promptly
fell asleep.
 CHAPTER 7
The aftermath of the violent day began with a perfect late-spring Kansas
morning. Cole slept late and didn’t awaken until well after sunrise. Except
for Amos all of the ranch hands were already fed and gone.
Amos was sitting on his bunk looking at Cole when his eyes finally
opened.
“Mornin’, Cole. I thought you were dead there for a while.”
“How’s the head, Amos?” Cole asked as he sat up.
“Throbbing like crazy, but the doc says it’ll clear up in a day or so. Can I
ask you a couple of questions?”
“After I run to the privy, if I make it that far. I’ll be right back.”
Barefooted Cole Turner raced across the yard to the privy and barely
made it then took a more leisurely pace back into the bunkhouse two
minutes later and answered his foreman’s questions as he dressed.
“So, the agents will be back today to get that money outta here?” he
asked.
“And to answer Marge and Jo’s questions. Tell the boys that they’ll all
be getting double paychecks this month, including Randy. He had to babysit
while we were out just riding around.”
“I’ll tell ‘em, Cole. They’re all mighty proud of you, you know.”
“They’re all good men, Amos, but you’re still the best.”
Amos didn’t blush, but he was close.
Cole then said, “I’m going in to see Becky and have some breakfast.”
“You two gonna tie the knot, Cole?”
 “Soon, Amos. I’d be honored if you’d be my witness.”
“It’s me that’s honored, Cole. Becky is a fine lady.”
“I think so.”
Cole smiled then left the bunkhouse and headed for the kitchen. He
really needed to shave and clean up but with a houseful of women and
children, he doubted if he’d have any time for the bathroom. He thought it
might be a good opportunity to avail himself of the clean pond on the far
eastern edge of the property. He and Harry used to use it all the time when
they were young but hadn’t used it much since the modern bathroom had
been built.
He reached the kitchen door, knocked, and Becky opened it a few
seconds later.
“Come in, stranger.”
Becky had made a little extra effort in preparing for the day, and it was
noticeable. She had taken a bath using lavender-scented soap and brushed
her freshly shampooed hair. She was wearing her dark blue dress with her
silk scarf.
When she was finished bathing, she had examined herself in the mirror
and was pleased to see that her figure was most definitely returning. By the
time of her marriage to Cole which she hoped would be soon, she’d be even
closer. Cole may have told her that she didn’t need the pounds, but after
seeing Jo’s impressive figure, she wanted to add just a bit more to please
him.
“You look delightful this morning, Becky,” Cole said who was very
impressed with her appearance.
Just a week or so removed from that hovel and Becky was a joy to
behold.
She beamed at him, pleased that the extra preparation time had been
noticed.
“How is everyone?” he asked as he walked through the doorway.
 “Marge is fine, and Jo is coming back. She’s still a bit stunned from all
the revelations. The children are happy, especially after you left them last
night.”
“And how about you, Becky? How are you this morning?”
“I’ve never been happier, Cole. It’s all over and we can get on with our
lives.”
“It’s only going to get better for us, Becky.”
“I know. That’s what makes it even more exciting.”
Cole walked to the kitchen table and took a seat as Becky brought him
his breakfast then sat down nearby.
As Cole ate, he would glance at Becky. Her blue eyes were dancing, and
he’d never seen her so happy and content and never wanted to see her
otherwise. He never wanted to see fear, hurt, or sadness in those eyes again.
Katie and Jake trotted into the kitchen and Katie practically shouted,
“Good morning, Papa!”
Cole smiled at her and replied, “Good morning to you, Katie. What are
you two going to do today?”
“I’m waiting to have a bath. I think Aunt Jo is in there now.”
Cole looked over at Jake and asked, “How about you, Jake. Are you
going to have a bath?”
“A bath? Boys don’t take baths.”
“I take baths. I’m going to take one in about ten minutes.”
“But Aunt Jo is in there.”
“I’m not taking a bath in there. No, sir. I’m going out swimming for my
bath.”
Jake’s eyes lit up as he exclaimed, “
Really? Swimmin’?
”
 “Yup. I used to go there all the time when I was younger before we got
the fancy bathroom. I figure I’ll just grab some soap and a towel and ride
out there and soap up and swim around.”
“I wish I could swim.”
“You can’t swim? Really? Katie can swim, can’t you?”
“Of course, Papa. Everybody needs to be able to swim, even in Kansas.”
Jake looked at Becky and said, “Mama can’t swim.”
“I’ll fix that one of these days,” Cole said glancing at Becky, who was
grinning back at him.
“Can you show me to swim?” Jake asked excitedly.
“I can, Jake, but you may as well make a bath out of it.”
“I guess it’s okay if it’s swimmin’.”
“Let me finish my breakfast and off we’ll go.”
Jake sat and watched closely as Cole ate, waiting for that last bite of
scrambled eggs to leave the plate.
Becky was still grinning and on the verge of giggling at the scene.
Forty minutes later, Cole was swimming in the cool waters of the pond.
He had already washed and showed Jake how swimming worked, and now
it was Jake’s turn to get wet. Cole told him to just jump into the water, so
Jake ran and cannonballed into the water a few feet from Cole who quickly
found him and brought him to the surface as Jake started to struggle.
“Jake, stop fighting. You’re fine. Now just breathe easily.”
Jake finally calmed down and began to float with Cole’s assistance. Cole
then told him how to dog paddle then when he felt Jake’s propulsion, he let
him go and watched as Jake made his way on his own for a few feet. After a
few more minutes, Jake felt more confident and was soon doing better.
When they returned thirty minutes later, an exuberant Jake bounced into
the kitchen to tell his mother how he could swim now and wasn’t afraid at
all. He then raced off to tell Katie.
Cole thought he’d have a minute or two to spend with Becky in privacy
but circumstances intervened when John and Ellis arrived, so he settled for
a quick kiss before they all adjourned to the main room.
“Morning, John, Ellis. How’d everything go?”
“Better than we expected. We received responses from our home office
and the office of the U.S. Marshals already, but not from the Kansas
Attorney General yet. We’ll get into that in a minute. We brought a special
case for the cash in your safe and there’s a special train coming through in a
couple of days that will take the cash and the equipment from the
counterfeiting setup back to our office. Oh, and by the way, we had the
telegraph operators in Garden City replaced. Western Union was mighty
peeved about that one and sent two temporary operators already.”
“So, you’ll be around for a couple of more days?”
“No, we’re heading back later today. We’ll store the case in the bank’s
vault until it’s ready to go out on that special train. We have to write our
reports and get back into the field. I’ll tell you right now, this bust is already
making the rounds in the office. It’s helped both me and Ellis to move up
the ladder.”
“Well, I’m glad that some good came out of it. Let’s sit down and talk to
Marge and Jo Cooper. I’m sure they have questions for you.”
“I’m sure they do.”
_____
County Prosecutor Harvey Greenwell wasn’t happy with the news at all.
“Do you have any more details, Ike?” he asked the sheriff.
“No, sir. I had heard reports of gunfire out at the Bar C yesterday and
went over with my deputies and checked it out. I found Paul and his kid,
David, dead in their house. It had been blown apart by a shotgun, I think. I
found Tall Ted and Ben Gregory dead with really nasty gunshots and Fuzzy
down, too.”
 “Where were the rest of them?”
“I don’t know. There’s a lot of questions out there, Harvey.”
“I’m not sure the answers are going to be pleasant for either one of us,
either.”
“You think the lawyer’s brother did it?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Ike. It’d take at least a half-dozen men to do that
much damage. Does he have that many men?”
“He has that many ranch hands, but I’m pretty sure they weren’t like
Paul’s ranch hands.”
“Still, who else could be involved? I don’t like unanswered problems,
Ike. Where can you find answers?”
“I could send Jed and Roscoe down to the Rocking T and have a chat
with that brother.”
“You do that. Our only problem is if someone were to open the safe on
the Bar C and find his records. Paul warned me once that if I tried to cross
him, he had records of all the bribes he paid. If he really did have them and
it wasn’t a bluff, we need to make sure that the safe hasn’t been opened.”
“I’ll go over there with Steve and check it out. Where is the safe
anyway?”
“I have no idea. Just go into his office and rip it apart. It’ll be in there
somewhere.”
“Alright. We’ll head over there shortly, and I’ll get Jed and Roscoe
moving south within an hour.”
“Goodbye, Ike. Let’s hope this all doesn’t blow up in our faces.”
After the sheriff had gone, the county prosecutor started to make his
plans for escape. He’d leave his wife and children in the house. They could
fend for themselves. He’d go to the bank and withdraw most of their
savings and use the two bundles of counterfeit twenties that he had in his
desk drawer. He’d head west, out of the jurisdiction of the county and the
Kansas Attorney General’s officers, but he needed to wait until he heard
from Ike.
_____
John Wilcox replied, “No, Mrs. Cooper, your ranch and property are
yours. We will have to freeze your bank account until our accountants can
determine how much of it was added since your husband began his
counterfeit operations. If you wish to move back in, you’ll be free do so.”
“That’s something, at least. I’ll probably sell the place and move away
from the area. Maybe we’ll move to Denver where the Cooper name won’t
be reviled.”
“You could always remarry, Mrs. Cooper, and get rid of the name that
way.”
“I suppose that’s still possible, but I’m almost fifty now, so it’s not
likely.”
Amos was sitting to the side gazing at Marge Cooper. Cole had noticed it
when Amos had first walked in. He wasn’t sure of Amos’ age, but guessed
it was around fifty-five, but he was still a strong man and had aged well.
“I’m not leaving, Mama. If they want to talk about me, let them,” Jo
stated firmly.
Cole smiled and said, “That’s the right attitude to take, Jo. Stare them
down.”
Jo smiled back at Cole and Becky was surprised that she didn’t feel the
least bit of jealousy.
“So, what’s the story on the U.S. Marshals, John?” Cole asked.
“They’re sending a deputy marshal, Tyler Carson. He’ll be arriving this
afternoon on the 3:30 train from Kansas City. They asked if you could meet
him at the station. We had planned on borrowing a carriage to transport the
case of money to Garden City.”
 “Amos can drive, and I’ll ride shotgun. Marge, do you and Jo want to go
to Garden City with us? You can stay in Harry’s house. It’s really a
magnificent house with hot and cold running water and a water closet, too.
It still has a good amount of food in the pantry and icebox.”
“Could you and Jo go to the ranch house and get our clothes?” asked
Marge.
“That’s fine. We’ll have to rush to get all this done before the deputy
marshal arrives, though.”
“Okay. Let’s get started then,” Marge replied.
John and Ellis then carried the empty case into the office while Cole
opened his safe. Once the door was wide, he began handing them bundles
of cash, which they counted until all of them were stored in the heavy box.
They locked it and carried it out to the main room as Cole closed the safe
door, then followed them back to the main room.
When he entered, Cole noticed Amos chatting with Marge Cooper and
wasn’t about to break it up. He sought Becky’s eyes, which wasn’t difficult,
smiled and shifted his eyes toward Amos, then back again to Becky and
raised his eyebrows. Becky smiled and nodded.
“I’ll get the carriage team harnessed,” Cole said to no one in particular.
He stepped outside and heard Becky quickly stepping behind him, so he
waited on the porch until she exited the house then took her hand and they
walked toward the barn.
“That was interesting,” she said.
“About Amos, you mean?”
“Uh-huh.”
“I think they both could benefit if it works out, don’t you think?”
“What would you do without Amos?”
“I’d move Will Jacobsen up to foreman and hire a new man. Will’s been
with us for ten years now and has a good head on his shoulders.”
 “Do you expect any trouble on the way to Garden City?”
“No. It’ll look like a regular carriage.”
“How about when you get to the Bar C with Jo?”
“Miss Becky, I’m shocked. Do I detect a bit of jealousy already?”
“She is pretty, Cole, and she told me that you were the man she wanted,
and let’s be honest, her figure is better than mine.”
He didn’t reply, but when they entered the barn, Cole spun Becky around
wrapped her into his arms and looked into her big blue eyes.
“Becky, I told you before that I thought you were prettier than she is, and
I’ve already told you that your figure is very nice, and don’t forget, that’s
from a man who’s seen you naked. Besides, Becky, that’s all just for the
eyes. It’s what you have inside that makes you so special and why there will
never be any woman that should cause you the slightest reason being
jealous. I love you, Becky. Not just your wonderful blue eyes, your pretty
face or your already beautiful curves. I love you, the complete package.
Only you will ever own my heart, Becky. That’s a promise. Alright?”
“I really wasn’t jealous at all, Cole. I was just saying that so I could hear
you tell me how much you love me. I love to hear you tell me. But are you
still going to seal that promise with a kiss?”
“You wicked woman!” he exclaimed quietly, but with a smile before he
sealed his promise.
Not unexpectedly, the signature kiss then pushed notarized groping that
had to be broken off after two minutes.
They were already breathing heavily when Becky looked at Cole and
asked, “Tonight? Tell me you’ll see me tonight.”
“I’ll do much more than see you, Becky, although seeing you last night
will never leave my memory.”
That led to another minute of intense activity before Cole had to start
moving horses. Becky stayed, still marveling at how much she’d changed.
Those two years of fear and pain that were followed by three years of
hardship and loneliness when she never thought she’d even have anything
resembling a normal life.
Now, not only will she have a normal life, but she’s actually enjoying
those things that she found so revolting before. She couldn’t wait to have
Cole touch her and she could run her hands over him. She just watched as
Cole harnessed the four horses to the carriage, forever grateful that she had
left that silly card on the bulletin board.
Cole finished harnessing the team then led them as they pulled the
carriage to the front of the house. When they arrived, he put his arm around
Becky’s waist before they walked onto the porch and then entered the open
door.
“The wagon is ready. I’m going to go and get my guns,” he announced to
the room.
Amos escorted Marge out to the carriage and Jo had to fend for herself.
John and Ellis moved the large case onto the floor of the carriage, leaving
enough room for Jo and Marge to sit facing each other on the other side.
Cole came out wearing his regular single-gun rig with his Winchester and
the shotgun, kissed Becky goodbye, then waved to Katie and Jake and
stepped outside. Amos was already on the driver’s seat and John and Ellis
were on the horses they first ridden onto the Rocking T.
Cole slid his shotgun into the footwell and stepped up next to Amos then
turned and smiled when he watched Becky, Katie and Jake all wave. He
waved back and kept his eyes on them as Amos started the carriage rolling.
They weren’t waving but were still on the porch watching the carriage leave
as Cole looked back at his new family.
As she watched the carriage roll north in the large dust cloud, Becky
realized that with the hands all out in the pastures working, she was alone
with the children. She felt almost naked having no one with a gun nearby,
but there weren’t any threats anymore, so she went back into the house.
The carriage was rolling quickly northward as county deputies Jed
Houston and Roscoe Smith were riding south. Seventeen miles south of
Garden City, the two parties met. The two deputies had seen the carriage
approaching and pulled off the road to let it pass. As they drew closer, Cole
spotted the two deputies and they identified each other. They glared at Cole
as the carriage sped past and Cole watched them for a minute before they
resumed their southern ride.
Cole looked at the road to the north as the carriage rolled smoothly
toward Garden City wondering what the deputies were doing.
_____
Roscoe said, “That was that smart-mouthed rancher, Jed.”
“I know, Roscoe. He’s the one who took that whore from 11
th
Street
down to his place.”
“You think she’s still there, Jed?”
“I imagine, why?”
“Well, Ike told us to check in there and ask some questions.”
“Oh, I gotcha. Maybe we oughta do a little deeper questionin’ of that
whore.”
“Now you’re gettin’ the idea,” laughed Roscoe as they picked up the
pace.
_____
The carriage rolled on for another five minutes, all the while Cole was
stewing about those two deputies.
Where were they headed?
The only place
that made any sense was his ranch and suddenly his stomach dropped. The
hands were all out in the pastures and might not even see those deputies
arrive, and Becky and the children were alone in the house.
He shouted, “Hold up, Amos!”
Amos pulled the reins and the carriage slowed to a halt.
“What’s going on, Cole?” asked John as he watched Cole drop down
from the driver’s seat.
 “I need to borrow your horse. You can ride up here. Those two deputies
were going down to the ranch. The only ones in the house are Becky and
the children. I need to get back there.”
John was already stepping down as Cole trotted from the carriage and
quickly mounted John’s horse. He wheeled the gelding around and headed
south at a fast trot. He was still eight miles north of the ranch.
John climbed up to the driver’s seat and Amos soon had the carriage
rolling again, but both agents and Amos were looking back south at the
rapidly disappearing Cole.
_____
Becky was in the kitchen cleaning as Katie was in her bedroom telling
Jake what had happened when all the shooting started in the field. Jake
hadn’t been allowed to hear the story, but Katie had been there and knew
that Jake wanted to know about it.
_____
Jed and Roscoe passed the Pierceville turnoff and were just two miles
north of the Rocking T.
“We play this by ear, Jed. We go to the door and just ask her some
questions. That’ll give us time to make sure that nobody else is around.
Then we tell her we gotta search the place, see. Now, if she tries to tell us
no, we grab her and take it from there. If she lets us in, we act real peaceful-
like and walk around and you take hold of her from behind.”
“I’m gettin’ excited already, Roscoe,” Jed said as he grinned.
_____
Becky finished her cleanup and walked down the hallway, glancing into
Katie’s room and seeing her and Jake giggling about something. She smiled
and walked to the office. On the way, she stopped and looked at the formal
portrait of Cole’s parents and saw the necklace around his mother’s neck
then felt it around hers.
“Thank you, Abby, for the necklace, but most of all, for your son.”
 She turned and walked into the office and as she reached the doorway,
heard hoofbeats in the distance. She turned wondering if something had
happened and headed for the door. She looked down the access road and
saw the two deputies approaching, then Becky made a mistake in judgment.
She believed that they were real lawmen and not the trash that they were
despite having watched Cole dress them down. She had also left her
derringer in her room when she had changed, so as she stood at the doorway
watching them approach, she was unarmed and still incredibly naïve.
_____
Cole was approaching the Pierceville turnoff and decided to kick it up to
a canter. He wasn’t panicking, but he was growing more anxious with each
of the horse’s strides.
Becky stepped out onto the steps as the two deputies approached, had
her hands on her hips and a determined look on her face wondering why
they were there.
They pulled their horses to a stop a few feet in front of the porch and
Roscoe said, “Mornin’, ma’am. We need to ask you some questions. Mind
if we set?”
It was at that moment, when she saw the looks on their faces that she
realized her blunders. It was too late to do anything else but bluff them into
leaving.
“No. You stay in your saddles, and I suggest you both leave.”
She wasn’t surprised when her bluff failed and they both quickly
dismounted then just stepped up to the porch steps.
“Well, missy,” said Roscoe, “that rancher boyfriend of yours ain’t
around, is he? Now we’re gonna look around in the house. If you don’t like
it, that’s too bad.”
The two deputies stepped up onto the porch and Becky tried to block
their path, but Jed grabbed her arms, and she struggled to get free. She
knew suddenly that this had nothing to do with Cole and that screaming
would do no good with the hands so far away and it would only bring the
children into the room where they might be hurt. All she could do would be
to fight them off as long as she could.
They dragged through the doorway into the main room and threw her to
the floor.
Jed pulled his pistol and pointed it at Becky who was scrambling to her
feet and said, “You ain’t nothin’ but a whore anyhow, so why fight it?”
Roscoe grinned as he pushed her back onto floor and grabbed the front
of Becky’s favorite blue dress and ripped it open before pinning her wrists
to the floor.
Becky tried to fight, but knew she couldn’t match one, much less both of
them. There were two of them already pawing at her as Jed had returned his
pistol to his holster and was running his hands along her thighs. She wasn’t
sure what she could do when she heard a small voice.
“Let her go. Now.”
Jed and Roscoe looked up to see Katie standing there with a cocked
derringer in her small hands.
“Get outta here, kid. Gimme that gun!” shouted Jed, as he reached for
the derringer.
Katie stepped back slightly and glared at him saying, “Let Becky go.
She’s going to be my mama and I love her, but I hate you both. I will shoot
you both if you don’t let Becky go.”
Then, to let them know that she was serious, she said, “This Remington
has two .41 caliber cartridges and I’ll put one into each of you if you don’t
leave right now.”
She said it with such startling adult conviction that even though the
derringer was being wielded by a little girl, they weren’t sure of themselves
anymore.
How could she even know about the derringer?
Jed began to slide his hand down to his revolver.
“I see you, mister,” Katie snapped, “you leave your gun where it is.”
 Cole reached the access road and charged down it quickly when saw the
two horses outside but no deputies and knew that Becky wouldn’t have
allowed them inside voluntarily.
He leapt down fifty feet before the house and pulled his pistol as he
crossed the porch only to be met with the most extraordinary scene he’d
ever witnessed when he entered the room. The two deputies were holding
Becky down with her dress torn open and both of them were staring at
Katie who was holding a derringer pointed at them.
“Papa! They were trying to hurt Becky,” Katie said as she kept her eyes
and the derringer on the two deputies.
The deputies’ attention was diverted by Cole’s arrival as they had turned
their heads to look in his direction.
The amount of rage felt by Cole was beyond measure as he growled, “I
have them now, Katie. You’re a good daughter. You, two bastards, stand up!
Now!”
There was a big difference between having a kid with a derringer pointed
in your direction and having a large man with a .44 caliber cocked pistol
aimed at you, so both stood quickly.
Cole was barely able to control his incredible anger as he asked, “Becky,
are you all right?”
“I’m okay, Cole. My dress is ripped, but they never had a chance to do
anything.”
“Katie, give Becky back her derringer. Now, you two, get outside.”
The two deputies stood, and with eyes focused on Cole’s pistol, sullenly
walked out the front door as Cole walked behind them.
Katie handed the derringer to Becky, who put it on the mantle under the
photograph of Cole’s parents. She did a quick fix on her dress then hugged
Katie before they both walked to the front door to watch what Cole would
do. Jake had been listening in the bedroom and thought he could forget
about Katie’s warning to stay in the room, so he trotted out to see what was
going on.
 As Becky and Katie watched, Cole had the two deputies in the yard, and
with his cocked Smith & Wesson in his right hand, slid their pistols out of
their holsters with his left and tossed them one at a time onto the porch.
He was still watching them as he released his pistol’s hammer then slid it
home, took one step back toward the porch, unbuckled his gunbelt, and set
it on the porch then removed his vest, slipped out of his Webley shoulder
holster and set it on the porch as well. Then he took off his Stetson and
tossed it onto the porch as the two deputies watched with growing
confidence. Both men had been street brawlers before Ike Baldwin had
made them deputies, so they liked their odds. They were used to working as
a team too, so they knew how to coordinate their attack. That stupid rancher
won’t know what hit him, and then they’d have the whore anyway.
But Cole was bigger and filled with volcanic rage as he growled, “You
two bastards are now going to know what it’s like to suffer like you’ve
never suffered before.”
They both attacked at the same time with just enough space between
them so Cole couldn’t stop them both.
But that space presumed that Cole would stay in that spot and they’d be
on both side, but even before they took their first step, Cole had started to
move to his right, leaving Jed out of the picture. Roscoe was bringing his
fist back when Cole smashed a powerful right into Roscoe’s face, popping
his jaw out of joint momentarily and three teeth out of the jaw permanently.
Jed had quickly recovered from their mistake and even as Roscoe’s head
snapped back connected with his own right into Cole’s right side. Cole felt
the blow, but his rage refused to allow any pain to reach his brain as he spun
and slammed his left elbow into Jed’s stomach who grunted loudly and bent
over when his wind blew out of his lungs. Cole then brought his right elbow
onto Jed’s bent neck, smashing him to the ground in a cloud of dust.
A furious Roscoe had recovered somewhat from Cole’s shot to his jaw
and kicked at Cole’s knee. But only the sole of his right boot made contact,
bending his toes backward, and it was too high, so when it struck Cole’s left
knee, Cole saw an exposed target right in front of his eyes. He grabbed
Roscoe’s right foot and held it in place and then, as hard as he could,
smashed his right knee into Roscoe’s crotch.
Roscoe screamed and grabbed himself as he crashed to the ground
continuing to wail and roll in the dirt as he hugged his privates.
Cole wasn’t finished, not by a long shot. Jed was still in pain from the
initial elbow shot to the stomach and the second one to his neck and was
moaning on the ground in a fetal position, hoping that the big rancher’s
attention would remain focused on Roscoe.
Cole then faced Jed from about four feet away, took a short hop, then
began a long, fast kick with his right foot and aimed the toe of his boot in
the junction of Jed’s legs.
Jed felt the enormous pain rip through his entire body as Cole’s boot
buried itself into his crotch. He screamed like a wounded banshee as he
mimicked Roscoe’s sounds and rolling, grabbing motions.
Cole then took hold of a whimpering Roscoe’s shirt at the shoulder,
yanked him upright and smashed a huge right into his face again, causing
more teeth to leave their sockets as his jaw fractured in two places. Cole
then literally tossed him aside, letting him roll away as blood flowed from
his mouth then grabbed Jed by his shirt collar, straightened him as best he
could, then delivered his final blow when he rocketed his right fist into his
face, breaking his jaw in two places and sending three teeth into the air as
two more remained broken in his mouth. He then threw him to the ground
near Jed and stood staring at them both as he breathed heavily.
He knew they probably couldn’t hear him over their wailing, but he still
stepped closer and said loudly, “If either one of you two bastards ever come
near my wife or children again, I will do worse and then, when you’re
weeping on the ground, I’ll geld you and brand you, because you sure aren’t
bulls.”
He exhaled sharply and was satisfied he had caused enough damage
before he turned and saw Becky, Katie and now Jake all standing on the
porch before the open door. He hadn’t expected them to witness the beating,
but when he saw the same look of satisfaction in their eyes, he was glad that
they had. It let them all know that he would protect them and that they were
his family now.
He stepped up onto the porch walked past all the guns then slowly
embraced Becky. She held him in her arms feeling safe in the strong arms
that wrapped around her. If she needed even more proof of how much Cole
loved her, that was it. She hadn’t needed that proof but seeing his
annihilation of those two thugs in the manner he had chosen told her even
more about her man.
Cole then released Becky, dropped down to Katie’s eye level and said,
“Katie, I can’t tell you how proud I am of you.”
“I had to protect Becky, Papa, just like you would. She’s going to be my
mama.”
“Yes, she is, sweetheart, and we’ll both cherish you always.”
Katie hugged Cole before Jake came over to get his hug.
“What do we do with them?” asked Becky when Cole stood and looked
at her.
“I’ll take them to Garden City with me. I won’t ride slowly, either.”
“Do you have to go, Cole?”
“I’ve got to meet the deputy marshal and close this once and for all.
What I’m going to do is to ring the dinner bell and get the hands back here.
I want them hanging around the house until I return. I’m kind of surprised
that Randy didn’t hear them, but if he was in his kitchen, I can understand
it.”
“Thank you, Cole. That will make me feel better. I’d better go and get
changed.”
“You go ahead, love.”
Cole walked behind Becky into the house, and after she turned into her
bedroom, continued through the kitchen and out of the house. He walked to
the chow house and rang the dinner bell.
 Randy heard the bell, then left his kitchen area, saw Cole and asked,
“What’s going on, boss?”
“Two deputies showed up and tried to take advantage of our absence.
They’re on the ground out front and I’m going to run them up to Garden
City. I need to saddle my horse and head back there.”
“Is Miss Becky and the young’uns all right?”
“They’re fine. I want to talk to the hands before I leave, though.”
Randy nodded, then Cole turned and headed to the barn to saddle the
General. He could have taken John’s horse, but he didn’t know what he’d
expect when he got to Garden City.
He had just finished getting his gelding saddled and was leading him
back outside when Will Jacobsen rode up and spotted him, so Cole waved
him over.
When he was close, he asked, “What’s up, boss?”
“Will, two deputies rode in here a little while ago and tried to assault
Becky. They’re in the front yard now in some discomfort and missing a few
teeth. When the rest of the boys come in, tell them to hang around the house
until I return. I don’t think you’ll have any problems, but I want Becky and
the children to feel safe. Alright?”
“I’m sorry, boss. I just didn’t think there was still a problem.”
“It’s alright, Will. It was my fault because I hadn’t even stopped those
two bastards when we passed them on the road. I’m going to go and mount
those two thugs on their horses and ride them up to Garden City. Can you
help me get them into their saddles? They’re not going to be happy.”
“Can I get a few licks in, boss?”
“No. I think they’re pretty much done in.”
The other hands soon arrived and followed Will and Cole as he led the
General around the house and even Randy trotted along behind. The two
deputies were still moaning and whining as they approached, and still were
clutching their family jewels with blood dripping from their shattered
mouths.
When they reached the front of the porch, Cole turned to the men and
said, “Boys, like I just told Will, these two poor excuses for men tried to
assault Becky a little while ago. I’m going to take them back to Garden
City, but I’ve got to put my guns back on. Could you please get them onto
their saddles for me? They’ll need to be tied down, so they don’t fall off,
and attach that other horse to the train, too.”
The boys dismounted and were downright hostile with the deputies. As
Cole put on his Webley, vest and then his gunbelt, he heard the deputies
screaming and crying loudly as his boys wrestled them into their saddles
but didn’t turn around to watch.
He pulled his Stetson into its proper place and then picked up their two
Colts. He used one as a hammer to snap off the hammer of the other, then
repeated it to make the other Colt useless as well. He walked over to the
horses where the men were tying off the two deputies and handed Will
Jacobsen their broken pistols then turned back to the house and walked
inside to see Becky.
The boys hadn’t been gentle in their task of getting them into the
saddles, having dropped them each twice and accidentally kicked them a
few times. They were just putting Roscoe in his saddle and had fashioned a
trail rope linking the three horses to his black gelding when Cole returned
with Becky. She had watched the last thirty seconds as Cole’s men loaded
the deputies onto the horses and understood that these were good men and
would protect her and the children if Cole was gone.
After Cole gave her a quick kiss, he mounted his tall gelding then turned
and led the two horses with their whimpering cargo down the access road
with John’s saddled horse behind them. When he turned onto the road, he
pulled his hat and waved to Becky. She slid her blue silk scarf from her
neck and waved it high over her head before pulling it back into place.
After the wave, Cole moved the horses to a medium trot, causing the
deputies more pain as the horses’ gaits grew choppier and their howls
reached back to the ranch house giving all the men a reason to smile.
 _____
Two and a half hours later, Cole arrived in Garden City, turned down
onto the main street and stopped outside of the county courthouse stepped
down and walked inside. He found the only honest deputy, James O’Brien,
at the desk.
“Deputy O’Brien, I have two of your fellow deputies outside. I’d like to
have them charged with criminal trespass and assault.”
To his credit, the deputy simply asked, “Which two?”
“Roscoe Smith and Jed Houston. They went into my ranch house
uninvited and assaulted my fiancée.”
Sheriff Baldwin had heard his voice and had trundled out of his office
and asked, “What did you just say?”
“I said that your two deputies entered my house uninvited and assaulted
my fiancée. They are outside tied to their horses. Let’s go outside and you
can ask them yourselves. Deputy O’Brien, you may want to come along.”
“I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” he said as he grinned.
“Watch it, O’Brien, or you’ll be out on the street without that badge,”
Sheriff Baldwin growled.
O’Brien didn’t say anything else but continued to grin as they all left the
office and went outside.
“What the hell did you do to them? I’m gonna arrest you for assault!”
“Just stop with your foolishness, Baldwin. Go ahead and ask them what
happened. I gave them more than a fair fight. There were two of them
against me alone and no one was armed. Then ask them what I found them
doing when I arrived at the ranch.”
“Why are they tied up?”
“To keep them from falling down. You might need to take them to the
doctor and the dentist. They’re not feeling too well.”
 “O’Brien, get them to the doctor and get your butt back here when
you’re done.”
Cole detached the two deputies’ horses from the trail rope and handed
them to Deputy O’Brien.
“Thanks, Deputy, you’re a good man.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Sheriff Baldwin scowled but turned and headed back inside. He was
down to just one deputy now who he could rely on and was already feeling
a rising panic after seeing Greenwell.
It was already mid-afternoon and Cole needed to get to the train station
soon, but he had to find the carriage, so he mounted the General and turned
toward Harry’s house, but didn’t expect it to be there because they didn’t
have a key to get into the house.
When he reached the house, he discovered that he was wrong. The
carriage was there just on the side of the house though, not in the carriage
house. He rode to the house dismounted tied the General off on Harry’s
fancy hitch rail and approached the carriage finding everyone inside.
Obviously, they had dropped off the box of money at the bank and then
gone to lunch. They were all talking amiably when Cole stepped up to the
carriage door.
“Good afternoon, all,” he said as he stuck his head in the carriage
window.
“Cole, did anything happen?” asked Amos.
“Those two deputies tried to assault Becky. I got there in time and just
left them with the sheriff to take to the doctor’s office and then the dentists.
They lost a few teeth and I believe they each have a broken jaw, which must
have made their wailing harder on them.”
“You didn’t shoot ‘em, did ya? Not that I’d blame ya.”
“No. I didn’t shoot them. I did beat them both pretty soundly, though.
Then when I asked my boys who had been out in the east pasture to help
them onto their horses, they picked up a few more bruises and pains. Becky
and the children are all fine.”
“We had lunch after dropping off the box, Cole. We’re going to be
leaving soon. Our train leaves at 5:15,” said John Wilcox.
“John, your horse is behind the General. Marge, I’ll open the house for
you and give you the key then, Jo, we’ll leave for the ranch house as soon
as I meet the deputy marshal.”
“Okay.”
“Now that I think about it, Amos, can you show Marge the house? I’ve
got to take care of the General.”
“I’d be happy to, Cole,” he answered as he smiled.
Cole handed him the key and Amos stepped out and helped Marge exit
the carriage before they walked off together.
Jo smiled at Cole and said, “That’s interesting, don’t you think?”
He smiled back and replied, “Very.”
_____
Sheriff Baldwin, after leaving Cole, didn’t stay in his office long. As
soon as he was sure that Cole was gone, he went straight to County
Attorney Harvey Greenwell’s office. He entered and found it unoccupied,
so he sat down waiting for Greenwell to return. After twenty minutes, the
sheriff left the office and stomped back to his own office where Deputy
O’Brien was at the desk.
“What did the doc say?”
“His preliminary diagnosis was that they each had a broken jaw, some
missing teeth, a lot of bruises and very sore manhood. He said they’d be out
of work for a month.”
“Damn it! Where’s Steve Wilkens?”
 “Well, Steve was a bit upset about his brother Fuzzy being killed, so he
said something about getting even.”
“Hell, how could he get even when he don’t even know who done it?”
“That’s what I asked him, but he said it was the same feller that brought
in Jed and Roscoe.”
“He’s going after him?” the sheriff asked in disbelief.
Initially, Ike was going to bluster and tell O’Brien to fetch him, but then
he thought about it. Steve Wilkens was the best of his three trusted deputies,
so maybe he could do that Cole Turner in.
The sheriff turned walked back to his private office and closed the door.
_____
Cole, John and Ellis were on the platform waiting for United States
Deputy Marshal Tyler Carson. The train was due in ten minutes and the first
whistle blast had already sounded down the tracks.
“Have you ever met this guy?” Cole asked John.
“We both have. He’s a good man. Hell, they’re all good men. Tyler’s one
of the best.”
The train was soon in sight and would be pulling into the station shortly,
as the three men all stared down the tracks at the oncoming locomotive.
Steve Wilkens had swung by Harry’s house but had just caught a
glimpse of Cole walking with two men the other way. He turned his horse
and saw them heading for the train station, so he tied his horse to a hitching
rail near the feed and grain then walked behind them staying on the far side
of the platform as the train pulled in.
Cole had been explaining the situation with the deputies at the ranch as
the train’s locomotive passed with loud hisses of escaping steam and even
louder squealing when the drive wheels reversed, slowing the massive iron
horse as the passenger cars began approaching the platform.
 Steve Wilkins decided to wait to kill that murdering bastard. He wanted
to get Cole Turner alone, so he turned and left the station to wait for a better
opportunity then headed back to the sheriff’s office.
The train hadn’t stopped yet when a tall man about Cole’s age swung
from the passenger car’s platform and stepped deftly onto the depot’s
platform. He was carrying a travel bag, then spotted John and Ellis and
waved before stepping smoothly toward them.
He was maybe an inch shorter than Cole’s six feet and two inches with a
similar build. His hair was darker than Cole’s and he had a well-featured,
friendly face. He looked much more like Cole’s brother than Harry had.
He shook the two Secret Service agents’ hands and then looked at Cole.
Ellis said, “Cole, this is United States Deputy Marshal Tyler Carson.”
“Ty, this is Cole Turner. He’s been invaluable to us to bring down this
counterfeiting operation.”
Cole shook his hand and said, “Call me Cole.”
“I’m Ty.”
“Alright, we’re going to head back to Cole’s brother’s house before we
get our train.”
“When will you fill me in on everything, John?”
“We don’t have a lot of time, Ty. We’re leaving in a couple of hours.
Cole knows everything and he has the ledger with the bribery list, too. It’s
pretty impressive.”
“I’ve got to wait on my horse at the stock pens. You go ahead.”
“I’ll stick with you, Ty, and I can start filling you in,” Cole said as he
followed the deputy marshal.
After Deputy Marshal Carson retrieved his horse from the stock corral,
he and Cole walked back to Harry’s house on Mission Street. Cole was
providing an overall explanation of what had happened, including the
attempted assault of Becky.
 “Do you think you’ll get resistance from the sheriff and deputies?” Ty
asked.
Cole replied, “I’d be surprised if we didn’t. They’re all looking at prison
sentences or even a walk up the gallows steps. They may not have been real
lawmen, but even make-believe lawmen like them probably wouldn’t do
well at the Kansas State Prison.”
“You’ve got that right. What do you have to do today?”
“I’m going to run Jo Cooper over to her ranch house at the Bar C to let
her pick up her and her mother’s things. You’re welcome to come along. I’ll
be driving the carriage, so you can interview Jo on the way to the ranch. It’s
not that far, maybe thirty minutes. I need to open the safe and get the rest of
their papers for her mother too.”
“I’ll come along.”
“You married, Ty?” Cole asked.
“Nope. No intentions along those lines, either. Not for a while, anyway.
Why?”
“Just wondering.”
They reached the house and Deputy Marshal Carson followed Cole to
the carriage house where he tied off his horse. The carriage was still
harnessed, which made life easier.
“Let’s go inside and I’ll introduce you to everyone and then we’ll head
to the ranch house.”
“Alright.”
They entered the kitchen and found Amos, Jo and Marge sitting having
coffee while John and Ellis stood with cups in their hands.
“Everyone this is United States Deputy Marshal Tyler Carson. Jo, if
you’re ready to go, Deputy Carson will be joining us. I’ll drive, and you can
tell him what you know. Alright?”
Jo smiled and answered, “I’d be happy to, Cole.”
 She stood and set her cup back down on the table before Cole left the
kitchen to bring the carriage around. Ty took one look at Jo Cooper and was
beginning to wonder if his previously announced intentions of remaining a
bachelor were firm and suspected that was why Cole had asked that
question.
“Miss Cooper, just call me Ty,” he said as he smiled at her.
“I’m Jo,” she replied then smiled back as they stepped out onto the
porch.
Cole was sitting in the driver’s seat waiting as Ty assisted Jo into the
carriage, something Cole was sure Jo was quite capable of doing easily on
her own. Once they were inside, he snapped the reins and the carriage
pulled out.
His reason for asking the question was that he knew that Jo was taking
this a lot harder than she let on, and he expected that she might need a
distraction. He’d asked the deputy marshal his marital status question to
make sure that if they became too distracted, he didn’t create a case of
adultery.
_____
“You’re back. You do anything?” asked the sheriff as Steve Wilkins
entered his private office.
“What do you mean?” asked Deputy Wilkens.
“O’Brien said you were after Cole Turner for killin’ your brother.”
“I was, but he was with two fellers on the depot platform. They were
waitin’ on somebody.”
“I know. Those two are Secret Service agents. That’s how this all fell
apart. I thought it was that Cole Turner, but it turned out that the Federal
government is involved now. I think they were waitin’ on a United States
Deputy Marshal to come over here to arrest us.”
Steve Wilkens felt sick as he asked, “How’d you find all this out?”
 “Joe Bradshaw, the telegrapher, came by an hour ago and told me. They
already fired him, but before they did, he heard some telegrams going out
from Pierceville and tried to tell me last night, but he couldn’t find me.”
“What are we gonna do?”
“I went to find Harvey Greenwell, but I think he’s already gone. That
bastard may have heard the news of what happened and was leaving us out
to dry. I’m plannin’ on makin’ a break here soon. You’d better think along
the same lines, too.”
“Not until I get that Cole Turner for shootin’ my brother.”
“It probably wasn’t even him. It was probably them Secret Service
agents.”
“Are you sure?”
“Pretty sure. They wouldn’t let some damned rancher get in the way of
them makin’ an arrest.”
“Then why was he with ‘em waitin’ on that marshal?”
“Because he’s their best witness. He’s that lawyer’s brother and he
probably has evidence, too.”
Wilkins thought about it. He was dead set on revenge, but now wasn’t
sure who needed to be shot.
The sheriff didn’t wait for a reply but just said, “Well, I’m gonna go to
the bank, take out my money and then go to the house, get my things and
get out of here.”
“Where you goin’, Ike?” Steve asked.
“I figure I’ll ride to Pierceville and get a train out of there. That deputy
marshal might come by soon. He’d look for me here and then my house,
and I don’t plan on bein’ in town by then.”
“I suppose I’d better do the same. Mind if I ride with ya?”
“I suppose two of us are better than one.”
 _____
Cole pulled into the Bar C front yard and stepped down. He didn’t bother
telling Ty or Jo that they had arrived, he’d let them figure it out. He jogged
to the house and walked into the office. It was a mess. Someone had torn
the place apart looking for something, probably the bribery ledger. Books
were yanked from their shelves and suddenly Cole realized he needed to
remember the books for the combination.
Jo and Ty had finally noticed that the carriage had stopped, exited the
carriage and entered the house.
“I’m going to go and start emptying clothes. Cole is in the office,” she
said.
“I’ll help you put them in the carriage when you’re done, Jo,” Ty replied
with a smile.
“Why, thank you, Ty,” she said as she smiled back before going upstairs.
Ty watched her go up the stairs with great admiration before turning and
walking to the office.
He stepped through the doorway to find Cole standing there with a
glazed look on his face.
“What’s wrong, Cole?”
“The safe combination. I’m trying to recall the third book. It keeps
slipping my mind. I know twenty and eighty, it’s the middle number that’s
being blocked.”
Cole fell back to the time-honored method of just counting to see if a
number rang a bell and stopped at seven.
“Got it,” he grinned as he walked to the now-exposed wall safe.
“Somebody really tore this place up. Can I guess someone was searching
for that ledger of yours?”
“That would be my guess and it had to be after they picked up the
bodies, I would think,” he replied as he started to spin the dials.
 Cole turned the handle and opened the safe, pulling out the legal papers
and Marge’s jewelry. He put the jewelry on the desk with its dried-out blood
coating and looked at the legal papers. The will left everything to John and
David and ignored the women.
“Well, Paul, looks like your will is worthless,” thought Cole.
There were the deeds, and he still couldn’t fathom why Paul Cooper
owned the newspaper yet still payed a bribe to his own editor.
“This is odd. It seems that Cooper owned the newspaper, but he was still
bribing the editor. That makes no sense at all.”
“Maybe he didn’t want anyone to know he owned the paper.”
“Then why buy it?”
“Who knows? At least it’ll make it easy to get rid of the editor. He’s not
a public official, so technically, it wasn’t a bribe. We couldn’t touch him,
but Mrs. Cooper certainly can. I’ll tell Jo about it on the way back.”
“Impressed with Jo, aren’t you?”
“Very. She’s quite a woman.”
“She is that. Let’s get her things loaded. You can give all the jewelry and
papers to her, too.”
Cole handed the jewelry and papers to Ty and they went upstairs to help
Jo carry the clothes and other things to the carriage.
_____
John and Ellis had their things packed and were heading for the depot
when they noticed that the sheriff and one of his deputies were riding past,
heading east with their horses laden down with personal effects.
“Ellis, what do you make of that?”
“Looks like they’re running.”
“I’m going to send a telegram to the Pierceville sheriff advising him to
either arrest them or at least tell Ty which train they’re boarding.”
 John went to the Western Union office and had the telegram sent then
asked the new operator, “Who’s your messenger?”
“Freddy Thomas. He’s over there sitting on the edge of the platform.”
“Thanks.”
John stepped over to Freddy and showed him his badge, then said,
“Freddy, I’m Secret Service agent John Wilcox. I need you to take this
message to the Turner house on Mission Street. It’s that big, fancy house.
Do you know it?”
“Yes, sir.”
John handed him the message and gave him a dime before Freddy took
off at a dead run.
_____
The carriage was pretty full when it left the ranch, so Jo and Ty were
sitting close to each other, forced into proximity by the volumes of dresses
and other things, but happily so.
Cole had driven around two miles when he saw two riders approaching,
recognized Sheriff Baldwin immediately and began to pound on the side of
the carriage loudly.
“Ty! I’ve got the sheriff and his last faithful deputy coming towards us!”
he shouted.
Ty broke from his reverie instantly and shouted back, “Where do you
think they’re going?”
“I’m not sure. It looks like they’re leaving town. They’ve got too much
stuff with them for a local trip.”
“We’ve got to stop them, but we can’t put Jo at risk. Stop the carriage.”
Cole brought the carriage to a halt and Ty tried to convince Jo to leave
the carriage but wasted thirty seconds before he knew that he’d lose the
argument.
 He stepped outside and climbed into the driver’s seat with Cole and said,
“Go ahead.”
Cole flicked the reins and as it lurched forward, he said, “She’s a strong-
minded woman, Ty. I could have told you that you were wasting your
breath.”
“Live and learn, Cole. Live and learn. You think they’ll turn and head
back when they recognize you?”
“No. They’ll either try to go cross country or fight their way through. If
they were smart, they’d head wide around to the south and avoid us entirely,
but they haven’t done many smart things so far.”
Cole and Ty both released their hammer loops as the gap dropped.
Up ahead, Ike Baldwin and Steve Wilkens were discussing those very
options when they had recognized Cole and assumed the man with him was
the U.S. Deputy Marshal.
“Steve, we can’t go back, and I don’t wanna get into any gunfight with
those two. They’re drivin’ a carriage, so they have to stay on the road. Let’s
head south and go around them. By the time they get that thing turned
around, we’ll almost be in Pierceville.”
“Let’s go.”
They quickly turned their horses right and set off across the field,
making sure they created a wide arc.
“There they go,” said Cole.
“Nothing we can do about it, Cole. We’ll wire ahead and have them
picked up.”
Cole didn’t like the idea of them possibly slipping through or maybe
even taking the road to Twin Forks, so he thought of the alternatives as he
watched the sheriff and deputy pass about four hundred yards to their south.
Cole leaned back on the reins and the carriage slowed to a stop before he
shouted, “Jo! Come on out!”
 Jo popped out of the carriage and asked, “What do you need, Cole?”
“You can drive this thing, can’t you?”
“That’s a silly question, Cole. Of course, I can.”
He turned to the deputy marshal and said, “Ty, let’s disconnect two of
horses and let Jo take the carriage back to Garden City. There isn’t much
weight and it’s a flat road. It’s less than two miles anyway. We can bareback
toward Pierceville and cut them off.”
Deputy Carson thought about it for all of ten seconds before replying,
“Alright. Let’s do it.”
They both hopped down and headed for the front of the carriage while Jo
climbed up.
_____
“What are they doin’ back there, Ike?” Steve asked as he looked
northwest at the stopped carriage.
Ike Baldwin snickered as he replied, “I guess they just figured out we
outsmarted ‘em, Steve. They’re lookin’ to try and turn that carriage around,
but the road has them ditches on the sides, so the best they can do is to go to
Garden City and turn around. Let’s move faster.”
They kicked their horses up to a medium trot and were a mile away
while Cole and Ty were reconfiguring the carriage. But that mile was about
a half mile on the road because they had gone so far south and what was
worse, they had stopped watching their backtrail assuming that the carriage
would soon be heading west again.
Ty and Cole mounted the two carriage horses before Ty waved to Jo as
they headed east. Jo waved back as she flicked the reins and the two other
carriage horses started pulling the vehicle west to Garden City.
Both Ty and Cole had their Winchesters in their right hands as they rode
at a medium trot. They could still see Ike Baldwin and Steve Wilkens far off
to the right in the fields making their way back to the road. Cole estimated
the gap to be less than a thousand yards already.
 “They haven’t seen us yet, Cole.”
“They should have. I’ve been waiting for them to bolt any second.”
“If they don’t see us, we’ll only be four or five hundred yards behind
them when they pick up the road again.”
“That’s not going to happen, Ty. They’ve got to see us sooner or later.”
Ike and Steve were engrossed in a conversation about where they would
go when they arrived in Pierceville and had decided to take the first train
whether it was to Kansas City or Denver. Ike had more money than Steve,
but even the deputy had over a thousand dollars, but his was all counterfeit.
Ike had gotten his from the bank and had asked for ten-dollar bills. In real
money, Steve Wilkens had $21.40.
They finally reached the road and Ike glanced westward.
“Son of a bitch!” he shouted, “They’re almost here!”
“How the hell?”
yelled Steve as he looked back and saw the two riders.
“Let’s get outta here!” Ike yelled as he set his horse off at a gallop.
Steve followed his lead and both horses were soon churning up great
clouds of dust as they headed toward Pierceville just four miles ahead.
“There they go, Cole!”
“I wonder how long those horses will last?” Cole shouted back.
“We’ll see,” Ty answered loudly as they kept their horses at a medium
trot.
After a minute, they came up on the violent hoofprints on the road.
Ike and Steve had kept their horses at a gallop for almost two minutes
and could see Pierceville ahead.
“Where do we go, Ike?” Steve shouted
Ike yelled back, “They’re too close for us to go to the depot. We’re
gonna have to set up an ambush, Steve. Follow me.”
 He turned his horse north onto the prairie and Steve followed.
“They’re heading north. Anything up that way?” Ty shouted.
“No buildings. There’s one ranch and a few farms, but I don’t think their
horses can make it that far. I think they’re looking for someplace to shoot it
out.
“That’s what I’m thinking. You know the country?”
“Nope. I’ve only been over the roads around here. Want to cut
diagonally to shorten the distance?”
“Might as well.”
They shifted to the northeast onto the grasslands and kept the same pace.
Ike and Steve had seen them turn and Ike was searching for a good
defensive position to set up. There were some trees nearby which meant
there was probably a stream behind it, so he angled his horse toward the
trees and Steve matched his new direction. Soon, they disappeared into the
large stand of cottonwoods.
Ike swiveled behind him and knew that the chasers couldn’t see them
any longer, so he pulled his laboring horse to a stop and Steve followed suit.
After they dismounted, they spotted the expected stream, pulled their
Winchesters from their scabbards and let their reins drop. As their horses
trotted away to the nearby water, Ike and Steve headed for the stream as
well, but away from the horses to keep them from being shot.
When they reached the stream, they slid down the three-foot deep bank,
having to put their boots and lower legs into the water to hide themselves
before they removed their Stetsons to keep their silhouettes low.
“Now, we wait. We should be able to pick them off soon,” said Ike.
“Okay, Ike,” replied Steve as they looked for their approaching targets.
When Cole and Ty saw them disappear behind the trees, they pulled up
to evaluate the situation.
 “Cole, looks like they’re getting ready for us.”
“Yup. Probably on the other side of the trees.”
“How about if we swing wide left around to the creek and follow it
down?”
“Sounds good to me, Ty.”
They turned due north and headed for the stream.
The problem with Ike and Steve’s location was that the same trees that
had given them cover now created difficulty in watching for Cole and Ty.
They could only see out onto the fields through the narrow slits between the
trees that were unblocked. They were now concentrating on those slits,
looking for movement.
Cole and Ty stepped down before they reached the stream and just left
the horses, who walked to the stream to drink as the two men headed east
following the stream’s flow.
In their concealed location in the creek bed, Steve was getting nervous
and asked in an excited whisper, “Where are they? Shouldn’t they be here
by now?”
“Give ‘em time. They were ridin’ a lot slower than we were.”
“Maybe we should go up into them trees. My feet are getting cold
already.”
Ike thought about it. His lower legs were cold too and his feet were
getting numb, but he didn’t want to move with the threat of a shootout so
close.
“We gotta wait. It ain’t gonna be long.”
Cole cocked the hammer of his ’76 that was still loaded with his
modified hot loads and Ty had a ’73.
As they slowly stepped along the creek’s bank, Cole said, “Ty, I’ve got
this loaded with some altered hot loads. I’ve probably got another fifty to a
hundred yards over your ’73. I’m going to go onto the other side of the
stream and come up behind them. When you’re ready you can tell them
you’re here and all that other legal stuff.”
“Make sure you don’t shoot them until they’ve decided my legal stuff
isn’t good enough.”
“Party pooper,” Cole replied before he stepped down the bank, waded
through the water, then climbed up the other bank.
He bent over at the waist and began to jog in a northeasterly loop as Ty
continued to walk steadily along the southern bank of the stream.
Steve was now reaching the level of panic as he stared at the cottonwood
trunks. He didn’t like anything about this as he began to think about
consequences. He hadn’t murdered anyone, so he wouldn’t hang. He might
just get ten years or even less. He was only twenty-four and thought that he
could do the time. He knew Ike would hang but he didn’t care, he just
didn’t want to die.
Ike was beginning to think that they had lost the two men as they still
concentrated on the trees. He then scanned to his right and suddenly saw
Cole about a hundred yards away on the other side of the creek.
“Son of a bitch!” he snapped and quickly swung his Winchester to bear
when he heard a loud shout from just to the right of the tree line.
“This is United States Deputy Marshal Tyler Carson! You are both under
arrest! Throw down your weapons and stand with your hands above your
heads!”
Ike turned toward the voice and saw Ty standing with his Winchester
pointed right at his chest. He knew he was going to hang if he gave up, so
there was no real decision for him.
Steve had already thrown down his Winchester and stood as Ike fired at
Ty. Ty returned fire, but both missed.
Cole had Ike in his sights as Ty had shouted his notice, so the moment
Ike fired, Cole squeezed the trigger sending the cut .45 caliber bullet racing
across the Kansas prairie. Just a small fraction of second later, the powerful
round ripped into the right side of his chest. The lead began to mushroom
when it struck a rib and after leaving it in pieces tumbled through his right
lung and almost exploding like a cannon’s shell when it reached his heart.
He tottered for a moment then as his repeater fell from his hand, he leaned
backwards and splashed into the creek. Enough of his body was on the bank
to keep him from floating away as Cole cycled in a new round just in case
Steve Wilkens tried anything. Ty had also brought a fresh round into his
Winchester as they both began walking toward Wilkins, who was standing
with his feet in the water his hands in the air and his eyes closed.
Steve Wilkens had peed on himself at the sight of Ike Baldwin’s chest
exploding just three feet away. As he stood, his knees were still shaking
hoping that they didn’t shoot him anyway. Ty was the first to reach him and
told him to open his eyes and step out of the creek as Cole kept walking
closer.
 As Cole reached him, Ty quickly pulled Steve’s wrists behind him and
slapped on his handcuffs. Only then did Cole lower his rifle and release the
hammer.
Ty smelled Steve’s accident and said, “Go sit in the stream for a minute.”
Ty was beyond humiliation, so he just nodded then stepped back down
the bank and slowly dropped his behind into the water.
Cole watched him sit then said, “Ty, I’ll go and get the two carriage
horses. I’ll be back in a couple of minutes and help you with the sheriff.”
“Go ahead. I’m going to talk to this one.”
Twenty minutes later, Ty and Cole were leading two horses back to
Garden City, one with a dead ex-sheriff and the other with a live but wet ex-
deputy sheriff.
They arrived an hour and a half later and walked the horses to the county
courthouse, and Cole knew that the rest was in Ty’s hands. The only
question was;
where was the county prosecutor, Harvey Greenwell?
It was getting late, but Cole wanted to get back to his ranch, so after
Steve Wilkins was locked in a cell with his other two ex-deputies who were
back from their medical examinations, Cole returned to Harry’s house with
the two carriage horses.
While he explained what had happened to Amos, Marge and Jo, Marge
made him a thick beef sandwich. He ate the sandwich and drank two cups
of coffee before telling Amos that he’d be heading back tonight. He wasn’t
surprised that Amos said he’d stay in the house, but Amos expected that
Cole would be returning the next day.
Ty had returned before he finished talking to everyone, and he spent a
few minutes telling Cole what the plans were to deal with the corruption.
  By the time he mounted the General and left the lamplit house, it was
well after sundown, but he had a notarized promise to keep.
_____
Becky had just tucked in Jake and was headed in to make sure Katie was
tucked in, but when she arrived, she found Katie sitting on the bed,
obviously waiting for her.
Becky sat down next to Katie and asked, “Are you all right, Katie? You
look sad.”
“Becky, I’m afraid.”
“Of what? You were very brave through all of this.”
“Not of those kinds of things. I’m afraid that I’ll be like papa. Papa acted
nice and people liked him, but he wasn’t nice at all inside. He hurt people
like you and Jenny. He hurt Uncle Cole, too. He hurt people and didn’t care.
When those men were going to hurt you, I would have shot them, Becky. I
would have hurt them, and I know I wouldn’t care. Now, I’m afraid I’m like
my papa.”
“Katie, remember when we were out on that field? John Cooper was
there without a shirt on. But when we started to run, he pulled out a
derringer and was going to shoot me. I shot him first and killed him. I don’t
regret what I did, and I don’t feel badly about it. I know I’m not like your
papa, and neither are you. You may be as far from your father as anyone
could be. You saved me, Katie. Cole wasn’t going to be there in time unless
you stopped them. I am very grateful for what you did, Katie.”
“I’m not as different from my papa as Uncle Cole is. He’s going to be
my real father now. I’ll be happy all the time with my new papa and the first
mama I’ve ever had.”
“I’m honored to be able to be your mama, Katie.”
“I’m going to go to sleep now. It will be quiet when Uncle Cole comes
home, then you and Uncle Cole can be happy together.”
“You know we’re going to get married, Katie.”
“I know, but that’s later. Tonight, you’re just going to make each other
happy.”
Becky smiled and hugged Katie as she said, “Yes, Katie. That’s exactly
what we’re going to do.”
Katie smiled, then slid under her blankets and hugged her Abby Girl
closely as she closed her eyes.
“Goodnight, Mama,” Katie said with a smile.
“Goodnight, Katie.” Becky replied feeling goosebumps pop up on her
arms.
Becky blew out the lamp and walked out into the hallway, closing the
door behind her. Cole was right about Katie. She was extraordinary.
Becky walked out to the kitchen and put on the coffee. Cole had said he
might not be back tonight, but she was certain he would.
Twenty minutes later, she was sipping her cream and sugared coffee
when she heard hoofbeats outside then heard them head toward the barn
and knew Cole had returned. She was already wearing her dark green dress
with nothing underneath. She had even unbuttoned the top three buttons, as
if he needed a hint.
She stayed where she was when she heard the bootsteps coming up the
steps, cross the porch and then she saw the door open and smiled.
 Cole noticed her wardrobe instantly then smiled and said, “Hello,
Becky.”
“Hello, Cole. There’s some fresh coffee.”
Cole hung his Stetson by the door and began stripping off his weapons.
He took his guns and put them into his gun room before returning getting a
cup and filling it with hot coffee.
He sat at the table after sliding a chair close to Becky’s.
“I met the U.S. Deputy Marshal. We took Jo to their ranch house and
moved Jo and Marge Cooper’s things to the carriage and as we were
returning, we saw the sheriff and his last deputy making their escape toward
Pierceville. We ran them down and returned them to Garden City. The
sheriff didn’t make it. Now, I think everything is finally slowing down.”
“I don’t want any details right now. There’s only one thing I want,”
Becky said as she put her hand on his.
Cole smiled and squeezed her hand, replying, “Why, Miss Becky, you
are so lust-filled. Whatever has become of you?”
“You have become of me, Mister Cole. Now, let’s finish our coffee and
you can take me to our bedroom. What we do there is up to you…maybe.”
Cole tossed his still-hot coffee down his throat and took Becky’s hand
before they stood, walked down the hallway, then reached the bedroom
entered and closed the door.
 CHAPTER 8
After the death of the sheriff, things happened very quickly. Ty arrested
the remaining three deputies, leaving only Deputy O’Brien to run things. He
was appointed temporary county sheriff until an election could be held.
County Prosecutor Harvey Greenwell was found in Denver, Colorado,
thinking he was safe, but was returned to Kansas for prosecution. He and
the three ex-deputies were found guilty and sentenced to twenty-five years
for their parts in the deaths and coverups of Jenny Anderson and Harry
Turner and for assorted other crimes. The coroner received a sentence of ten
years for his role.
The editor of the paper was fired by Marge Cooper. The first edition
after his firing was a clarification of all the stories previously printed in the
paper concerning the murder of Jenny Anderson. They printed the full story
of the counterfeiting operation and everyone began examining their twenty-
dollar notes.
When United States Deputy Marshal Tyler Carson finally was allowed to
leave after ten days, he went back to Kansas City with his new wife, Jo
Carson.
Cole married Becky in a civil ceremony. It was a very quiet affair as they
both wished.
Amos and Marge Cooper were married three weeks later and moved into
Harry’s house, which Cole had given to Amos.
Marge sold the ranch, cattle and all, but kept the newspaper.
The great counterfeiting scandal that rocked the Kansas economy was
finally over and Becky and Cole were still experiencing newlywed fever
and couldn’t spend enough time together.
_____
 Two days after the wedding, Harry’s grave marker arrived and after the
workers replaced the temporary marker with the granite stone and then left,
Becky looked at the slab that had his name and dates, but beneath it, read:
FATHER OF KATIE TURNER. She understood that to Cole, it was the
only good thing that Harry had ever done for the world.
As they walked back holding hands behind Jake and Katie, she asked
quietly, “Cole, why did you choose a name for the baby who died with
Edith?”
“I know it’s an almost morbid thing to do, but I wanted to at least give
him a name because I heard him cry.”
“Why Henry? You know that some men named Henry are called Harry.”
Cole was watching the ground before him as they strolled along and
replied, “I know.”
He didn’t tell her that he was reasonably sure that the baby wasn’t his
when he’d seen the child before they took him away. Edith had blue eyes
and he had hazel green, yet the boy had dark brown eyes like Harry. He
knew it was possible that he was the father, but the sight of those lifeless
brown eyes that stared back had him had shaken him. Harry hadn’t even
been present at the burial either.
But Becky had already suspected why he would have selected that name
and even then, knew that there was only one way she could help to erase
that painful memory.
_____
On Jake’s birthday, Cole and Becky presented Jake and Katie with
similarly colored two-year old Morgans. Both would grow along with the
children. Jake could only ride his gelding if his new papa trailed him, but he
was thrilled with the experience anyway. Naturally, Katie proved to be
adept at handling her young filly.
Becky named her horse Stella because of the star on her forehead and as
she had never ridden, did need some instruction. The four could be seen
riding about the ranch often during that summer of 1881.
 Cole introduced Becky to the pond one hot summer Sunday when the
hands were still in Garden City. He was supposed to show her to swim, but
the lesson was frequently interrupted.
_____
On the 12
th
of July, Cole and Becky were sitting in the kitchen, having
coffee. Becky had filled out to a very voluptuous shape that Cole
thoroughly appreciated and reminded her often.
“Where will you be going, Cole?” Becky asked.
“Do you really want to know? You know I can’t lie to you, Becky.”
“Does it involve using your guns at all?”
“No. Not one bullet will be fired. I’m not even taking the Cannon.”
“Well, I’ll trust you, then. I’ll always trust you, Cole.”
“I know you will, sweetheart. I’ll be back later tonight. If you ask me
then, I’ll tell you where I’m going.”
“Alright. You know that I’ll miss you, don’t you?”
“I know. It sounds maudlin, doesn’t it? I’ll miss you just as much and
I’m only going to be gone for most of the day.”
“Well, you can make it up to me when you return.”
“I’ll do anything your ladyship desires.”
“You selected the right word…desires.” Becky replied, smiling at her
husband.
He kissed Becky and held her close. He didn’t tell her where he was
going for a reason.
He left the kitchen and went outside, mounted the General and waved to
Becky as he rode down the access road. He was still in awe of how much he
loved Becky. She dominated his thoughts whether he was with her or not.
This was what he had waited for all those years, and it was worth the wait.
 Becky watched him ride away. It had only been a couple of months since
those days in #11 11
th
Street, but the memories were already fading. This
was her life now. This was her home, and this was her family. She felt
secure, content and beyond a doubt, loved. She had Katie and Jake to love,
too.
Jake was already showing the difference having a father to guide him.
He loved his new papa, his only papa. She was still in awe of the change
sometimes when she thought about it. It had been such a strange set of
circumstances that led to her amazing new life. But the strange
circumstances were over and now, it was just about being happy.
_____
A few days earlier, when they were in Garden City visiting Amos and
Marge, Cole had taken a side trip by himself to the county land office. He
looked at the county map while the clerk helped another customer, looking
for farms about twenty-five to thirty miles from Garden City, but it didn’t
help much. Becky had never told him where she had lived, and he would
never ask her about it. She didn’t need to relive those days any longer.
He had only remembered that she had said that she walked twenty-eight
miles to Garden City. So that meant her home could have been as far as
fifty-six miles away from his ranch. But as it turned out, it wasn’t even
necessary to guess the location as he had found the farm just by giving the
clerk the last name. There was only one Crandall listed as a property owner,
and the man had to be her father.
Simon Crandall owned a half section farm northeast of Galilee and that
would make things easier because the small town was just fourteen miles
northwest of Twin Forks.
As soon as Cole had learned the location other things that Becky had
told him that first day snapped into focus. He knew vaguely about the town
of Galilee, although he had never visited the place.
It was a tight knit community who all worshipped at the same church, a
denomination that called themselves The Disciples. When Becky had first
told him of what her father had done to her, she’d said that he was
important in the church and if he lived near Galilee, then there was only one
church he could have attended.
After thanking the land clerk, he left the office and before he even left
the county courthouse, a germ of an idea was forming in his mind about
how to find justice for Becky for what her father had done to her.
Now he rode through Twin Forks heading west to find Simon Crandall
and express his dissatisfaction with his treatment of his daughter.
He arrived at the town of Galilee before eleven and continued northeast
with the county map’s image in his mind. The Crandall farm wasn’t hard to
find, and he soon turned the General toward the farmhouse and when he
was close to the house he pulled up and shouted the obligatory, “Hello, the
house!”
He was expecting Simon Crandall or one of Becky’s brothers to appear
at the door but was surprised to see a woman of about thirty-five swing the
door wide.
“Can I help you?” she asked pleasantly.
Cole recovered from his surprise and replied, “Yes, ma’am. My name is
Cole Turner. I own the Rocking T ranch just outside of Twin Forks. Is
Mister Crandall available?”
“No, he’s in town with his sons. They’re having a church meeting. Won’t
you step down, Mister Turner?”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
Cole dismounted knowing this would create a major alteration to his
plan.
Cole tied off the General and climbed the porch steps.
“That’s quite a horse, Mister Turner,” she said as she smiled.
“He is. I’ve never seen his equal. I’ll stay out here, so we can talk if
that’s alright.”
 “I’ll have my daughter bring us some lemonade,” she said before turning
into the house and asking loudly, “Rachel, could you bring us two glasses of
lemonade, please? We have a visitor.”
“Okay, Mama,” Rachel replied from inside the house and Cole’s stomach
twitched at the sound of her voice.
“So, what can I do for you, Mister Turner?”
“Ma’am, if you don’t mind my asking, have you recently married Mister
Crandall?”
She hesitated then replied, “How would you know that? My husband
died recently, and my daughter and I were in dire straits financially, so I
married Simon three months ago. Why do you ask?”
“Well, I married his daughter, Becky, a month ago.”
Her eyes grew wide as she asked, “
He has a daughter?
He never
mentioned that to me.”
“You must not be one of the members of his church, then.”
“No, Simon is trying to convert me, but I’m pretty steadfast in my
beliefs.”
The door opened and a pretty girl of maybe fifteen stepped out with two
glasses of lemonade and handed one to Cole and to her mother.
As he looked at Rachel, his stomach was as sour as if there had been no
sugar added to the lemonade.
“Mister Turner, this is my daughter, Rachel.”
“Hello, Rachel,” Cole said as he smiled.
“Hello, Mister Turner,” she replied, returning his smile before going
back inside to let the adults talk.
“So, tell me about your new wife, Mister Turner. Let’s go and have a seat
on the rockers.”
“That’s fine.”
 After they had taken their seats in the rocking chairs, Cole said, “My
wife is a beautiful and extraordinary young lady, Mrs. Crandall.”
“Please call me Judith, Mister Turner.”
“Please call me Cole, Judith.”
“I’m surprised that Simon nor his sons have mentioned her at all,” she
said.
“Judith, this is very difficult for me. I hadn’t anticipated his being
married again, but I now feel I have an obligation to you and especially to
Rachel.”
Judith’s face grew serious as she asked, “Why would you have an
obligation, Cole?”
“Judith, I came to set something right that happened years ago. When I
first met Becky just three months ago, she was living in a tiny, one room
place with a dirt floor in Garden City. She had less than five dollars and no
prospects for more income. She was raising her four-year old son by herself
and had kept both her virtue and her obligation to her son, showing
remarkable courage to do so.”
“She had a four-year old son? How old is she now?
“She’s twenty-one. She was seventeen when Jake was born. He was born
right in this house. Mrs. Lassiter was the midwife.”
“I know Mrs. Lassiter. She seems a bitter woman.”
“She wanted Becky’s baby and Simon wanted her to give it up.”
“I can understand Simon’s wanting her to give up the child. It’s a terrible
responsibility for a young girl.”
“That’s not why he wanted her to give him away, Judith.”
“What was the reason?” she asked hesitantly.
Cole blew out his breath then replied, “Because he was the father of her
child.”
 The glass of lemonade slipped from her hand and crashed to the porch.
She shook her head and replied hoarsely, “No…no…no. Tell me that’s
not true.”
“It is true, and it wasn’t because of a single occurrence. Becky was
subjected to years of assaults by her father, even after the child was born.
She finally ran away when she was eighteen and walked twenty-eight miles
to Garden City.”
The lemonade was still spreading across the porch boards as she stared at
Cole.
“Oh, my God! Rachel! Come out here!” she shouted.
Rachel came out of the door saw the shattered lemonade glass and
thought that was why she had been summoned.
“I’ll clean it up, Mama.”
“No, no, sweetheart. Come here, please. This has nothing to do with the
lemonade.”
Rachel walked around the lemonade and the broken glass, and asked,
“Yes, Mama?”
“Rachel, do you remember when you told me that Mister Crandall had
put his hand on you and made you feel bad?”
“Yes, Mama,” she replied softly, her eyes downcast.
There was a man she didn’t know listening and she was ashamed of what
had happened.
“I dismissed it as little more than a token of affection, but has he done it
more than that one time?”
Rachel glanced over at Cole then returned her gaze back to the porch
floor before she whispered, “Yes, Mama.”
Judith closed her eyes and asked, “How often, Rachel?”
“Whenever you aren’t around, Mama.”
 Judith put her hands over her face and began to sob as she said, “I’m so
sorry, Rachel. I’m so very sorry.”
Rachel put her hand on her mother’s shoulder and said, “It’s all right,
Mama.”
Judith sat up wiped her eyes and said sharply, “No, Rachel, it’s not all
right,” then she turned to Cole and asked, “Cole, what can we do?”
“Judith, I came here to set things right for Becky and I can do that, but I
can set things right for you and Rachel, too.”
“How? He’s my husband.”
“I know, and we can fix that. But my immediate concern is to get you
and Rachel away from here. Do you have many things?”
“Not really. I have two dresses other than this one and Rachel has one
other.”
“Do you have anything you really need in the house that can’t be
replaced?”
“I just need to get one thing. I’ll be right back. Rachel, do you need
anything else?”
“No, Mama. Why?”
“Mister Turner is going to get us away from here,” Judith said as she
quickly stood then trotted into the house and returned a minute later with
nothing in her hands.
While she was gone, Rachel turned to Cole, smiled and said softly,
“Thank you, Mister Turner.”
Cole returned her smile and wondered just how bad it had gotten if they
were willing to go with a perfect stranger.
“Alright, I only have my horse, but I can walk pretty quickly. Judith, can
you ride a horse?”
“Yes.”
 “Let’s go.”
They stepped down to the General and Judith had a hard time climbing
aboard the tall horse wearing a dress but finally managed. Cole took off his
bedroll and unraveled it and folded it once before laying it across the saddle
horn.
“Now, Rachel, I’m going to lift you up to that bedroll. When you get
there, hold onto your mother’s waist. Alright?”
“Alright.”
He positioned Rachel with her back against the horse and put his hands
about Rachel’s waist and lifted her to the bedroll. She sat and put her arm
around her mother, then Cole began leading the General to the town of
Galilee.
“When we get to Galilee, I want to talk to this minister of theirs. When
Simon discovered that Becky was pregnant, he quietly spread the word that
she had willingly offered herself to some stranger, so she was shunned by
the church and the community. I want him shunned.”
“That would be worse than death for him, I believe,” replied Judith.
“Judith, how did you ever even meet Simon? I thought he stuck pretty
much to Galilee.”
“He usually does, but after my husband died, Rachel and I were in a bad
way. We had a small farm west of Twin Forks and had to sell it for very
little to make anything of it at all. We only got five hundred dollars for the
farm. The house wasn’t much to look at, but the land was good. I was
getting desperate, and I don’t know how he heard of my plight, but Simon
arrived at the house one day and offered marriage in exchange for refuge.”
Cole thought about what she’d just told him and realized that the timing
was too much of a coincidence. There just weren’t many farms in that area
in that situation.
Cole finally asked, “Judith, before you married Simon, was your married
name Randolph?”
 The question startled Judith before she asked, “How did you know?”
Cole didn’t reply but asked another question.
“Did the man who bought your property pay you in cash, twenty-dollar
bills?”
Judith looked down at him and said, “Now you’re beginning to worry
me, Cole.”
“The man who bought that property was my brother, Harry Turner.”
“Of course! That’s why your name sounded so familiar. He was your
brother? I don’t wish to be rude, Cole, but he wasn’t a very pleasant man.”
“That’s a bit surprising because you’re a handsome woman, Judith. He
was usually very sociable to good-looking women. I guess he had to be his
true self to get your farm, and you weren’t rude, Judith, because my brother
wasn’t a good man. It all came to roost when he was shot two months ago.”
“What happened to the farm?”
“I guess I own it now. Would you like it back? I’ll give it to you if you
do.”
“No, I don’t. At least we got the money,” she said, pulling the folded
wad of twenty-dollar bills from her pocket.
“You still have it?” Cole asked in surprise.
“Yes. I never told Simon about it for some reason. He kept asking about
the sale of the farm, too.”
“Burn the money, Judith. It’s all counterfeit.”
It was yet another stunner in the parade of revelations for Judith as she
stared at the currency and asked, “How do you know that?”
“It’s what got him killed. He was exchanging counterfeit money for real
money and giving it back to the counterfeiters. The counterfeiter is dead,
too. He had been paying bribes to half of Garden City by the looks of it. All
the bribes were counterfeit as well. It’s possible yours is real, but I’d be
surprised.”
Judith shook her head and stuffed the bills back into her pocket as they
continued along at a reasonable walking speed.
“What will happen to us now, Cole?”
“I’ll give you a few choices, Judith. Just don’t worry. You and Rachel
will be fine. You’ll be better off and safer, too.”
Rachel finally spoke, saying “Thank you again, Mister Turner. He was
scaring me.”
“When we get back to my ranch, Rachel, you and Becky can talk. She’ll
be able to help you, okay?”
“Okay.”
They reached Galilee just before one o’clock in the afternoon and Cole
led the gelding to the Church of The Disciples and stopped outside.
He helped Rachel down and then Judith, who rubbed her backside and
said, “It’s been a while.”
“Judith, I’m going to go and see the minister. I’d like you and Rachel to
come with me. You don’t have to worry. No one will hurt you. Alright?”
“We’ll come along, Cole. I want to hear what happens.”
Cole walked to the front doors of the church and pulled on one of the
large handles, opening the door and allowing Judith and Rachel to enter.
Cole walked behind and removed his hat.
When the door opened, and Judith and Rachel walked in holding hands,
the minister stopped in mid-sentence. As he stared down the aisle, the men
swiveled their heads to look at the source of the interruption as well.
As he looked at the men in the church, Cole thought that the thin, dark-
haired man at the center was the minister. There were two pews full of men
at the front of the church listening to him.
 Before Cole had taken two steps, one man stood and Cole assumed it to
be Simon Crandall.
He pointed at them and shouted, “Judith! Rachel! Get out of here! You
aren’t allowed in this meeting! How did you get here? You should be at
home.”
Before Judith could respond, Cole’s deep voice resonated through the
place of worship.
“I brought them here, Mister Crandall.”
Simon glared at him and, in a condescending tone, asked, “Who are
you?”
“My name is Cole Turner. I own the Rocking T ranch just east of Twin
Forks.”
“Well, I don’t know who you are, but take my wife and daughter back to
the farm this instant.”
“I don’t think so, Mister Crandall. I’m taking your wife and her daughter
away from you for their own safety.”
“You have no right! I am her husband!”
“I have every right, Mister Crandall. I have your daughter and your son
at my ranch as well.”
Crandall was stunned and paused for a moment but quickly recovered
and continued in a loud, defensive voice, “I have no daughter. She shamed
us by fornicating willingly with a stranger five years ago before she left. I
have no sons, but the two that are with me now.”
Cole matched the glare with his own as he said loudly, “Your other son,
Mister Crandall, is living with me as my son now. I’ve legally adopted him
after I married your daughter, Becky. You raped her, Mister Crandall. You
abused her for years until she finally ran. Now you were trying to have your
way with Rachel. Do you want me to tell everyone here about your shame,
Mister Crandall? How much detail do you want?  You forced a wonderful
young woman, your own daughter, to live in squalor to hide your sins.
 “You, Mister Crandall, are the biggest hypocrite I’ve ever known. Here
you sit in a house of God professing to be a man of good conscience, yet
you have the gravest sin a man can commit already staining your soul. You
are going to burn in the fires of Hell for that sin, Mister Crandall.
“Do you want to argue the point, or do you want me to bring Becky here
to confront you? She’s a strong woman, Crandall. She’ll tell everyone how
you forced yourself on her hundreds of times while your cowardly sons did
nothing to stop it. I wish I could shoot all three of you dead, Crandall, but
I’m not going to do that. I want you to spend a few years dwelling on what
awaits you in eternity. You will not be able to tell your lies to your Creator.
You have lost the grace of God, Crandall, when you first decided to hurt
your innocent young daughter.”
What Cole said had the ring of truth to all those in the building. The
proof of his diatribe, if one was necessary, was when Simon Crandall’s two
adult sons stood and simply exited the pew then walked down the aisle past
Cole, Judith and Rachel before leaving the church.
Cole looked at Judith and said, “I think we’re done here.”
Both women turned and Cole escorted them from the church. When they
exited into the heat of the Kansas sun, they made out the receding shapes of
the two Crandall brothers walking back to their farm.
“Are we going to ride all the way back like that?”
“No, Judith. I passed a livery on the way in. We’ll go over there and rent
a buggy or buy a couple of horses.”
Judith asked with a smile, “Want me to pay for it? I have all these
twenty-dollar bills?”
“Only if you want to go to jail, Judith.”
Two hours later, Cole rode down the Rocking T access road with Judith
and Rachel on their new horses.
Becky was sitting on the porch saw them coming and waved.
 Cole waved back knowing that Becky’s curiosity must be astronomically
high.
Becky was very curious, but she was proud of herself too, because she
wasn’t the least bit jealous. Cole was returning with two women and she
wasn’t worried at all.
With no Amos, Cole stopped at the house and stepped down. He had to
help Judith and Rachel down as they were both stiff and still wearing
dresses.
He escorted them to the porch where Becky waited patiently for Cole’s
explanation.
“Becky, this is Judith Crandall and her daughter Rachel.”
Becky felt like she’d been slapped and blurted out, “Crandall?”
“She’s no relation to you at all. She married your father three months
ago, so I brought her and Rachel here for their own safety until we could
iron things out. I didn’t know Judith and Rachel were there until I arrived. I
told Rachel you would talk to her about your father. She never had to go
through what you did, but it was getting close.”
Becky understood why Cole had brought them and quickly replied, “Of
course, Judith and Rachel, come inside, please. I’ll fix some lemonade.”
Before he turned to leave the porch, Cole said, “Be careful with the
glasses, Becky. Judith seems to have a problem with lemonade.”
Judith laughed as they walked inside.
_____
When Cole entered the main room twenty minutes later, he found Rachel
and Becky still engaged in serious conversation, so he went into the
kitchen.
Judith came in a few minutes later and sat down at the kitchen table
across from him as he sipped a cup of coffee.
 “Cole, thank you so much for getting us away from there. Becky’s life
was so frightful. To have your own father do that to you for as long as he
did and then try to take your child away is simply too horrible to even
contemplate. Then to spend three whole years living in what was little more
than a shack trying to care for her son was abominable, yet she seems
amazingly normal. Is it because of your help?”
“No, Judith. It’s all because of Becky. Like I told you earlier, she’s a very
special person and it’s because of her that Jake is just as normal. Did you
want to meet him?”
Judith lit up as she replied, “I’d love to.”
Cole shouted, “Jake, come on in here and bring that skinny little girl
with you.”
Jake and Katie came bubbling out of Katie’s room seconds later and Jake
squealed, “Papa! You’re home!” before he leapt onto Cole’s lap.
Cole grinned at his new son and said, “I don’t know how you or Katie
didn’t know I was here. Jake and Katie, this is Mrs. Crandall. She and her
daughter Rachel will be staying with us for a few days.”
Both children turned and echoed, “Hello, Mrs. Crandall.”
“You are both such handsome children. It makes me want to bake some
cookies.”
“You can make cookies?” asked Jake.
“I’d need some oatmeal, brown sugar and raisins.”
“Papa has all of that. He makes us special oatmeal in the mornings,” said
Katie.
“Well, it looks like I have a job to do.”
Cole went into Katie’s room with the children, dropped Jake down on
the bed and sat next to him as Katie plopped on his other side.
“Is she Becky’s mama?” asked Katie.
 “No. Becky’s mama died when she was just a girl. This Mrs. Crandall
married her father three months ago and he was going to sleep with Rachel,
so I took them here to be safe.”
Katie looked at Cole and whispered, “Like he did to Becky, Papa?”
“Yes, Katie.”
Katie nodded then said, “Papa, when mama has her baby girl, what are
you going to name it?”
Cole looked over at Katie and asked, “Becky?”
Katie laughed and replied, “She’s my only mama now, Papa.”
“I didn’t know. She hasn’t told me.”
“I know,” was her only response before sliding down off the bed to play
checkers with Jake.
He wasn’t about to ask Katie any more questions.
They settled Judith and Rachel into the house and had to move Katie and
Jake into one room. It was a crowded but happy household.
Amos and Marge came to visit and insisted that Judith and Rachel move
into the huge house in Garden City with them and took them north when
they returned in their borrowed carriage.
Once the family was settling back to normal, so did Cole and Becky’s
nightly exercises.
That night, as Cole had a sweat-coated Becky snuggled in close, he slid
his fingertips across her damp shoulder and suddenly remembered Katie’s
question.
“Becky, are you going to have a baby?”
Becky lifted her blue eyes to Cole and asked, “How did you know? Is it
showing somewhere?”
“No. Trust me, I’ve done a thorough inspection. So, you’re pregnant?”
 “I was going to surprise you.”
“You made a mistake and told Katie,” he said as he smiled.
“I didn’t tell Katie,” said a confused Becky.
“Then you must have told Jake and he told Katie.”
“I didn’t tell anyone. I was waiting to tell you.”
“The day I brought Judith and Rachel here, Katie asked me that when
you had your little girl, what would we name her.”
Becky just snuggled in closer and said, “You know, Cole, nothing Katie
does any more surprises me.”
Cole pulled her even tighter, recognizing that Becky was right. Katie was
just Katie.
“So, Becky, do we have to come up with a name, or do we just ask Katie
what the baby wants to be named?”
Becky laughed lightly, then kissed her husband. She was so completely
happy knowing that whether it was Katie’s predicted little girl or a boy, she
would be giving her husband the second greatest gift she could give him; a
baby that he could hold knowing that he was smiling at his child.
 EPILOGUE
Simon Crandall had to sell his farm at a rock bottom price after he was
shunned by the congregation. He left the area after his sons had already
gone and was never heard from again.
Marge made Judith the new editor of the newspaper and she proved to be
an astute manager.
Cole sold the house in Pierceville and used the proceeds to start a trust
fund for Katie. He used the thousand dollars in ‘R’ twenty-dollar bills to
start one for Jake.
On March 9
th
, 1882, Becky Turner went into labor at 11:11 at night.
Nine hours and eleven minutes later she gave birth to a beautiful, seven-
pound, two-ounce baby girl.
Four hours later, Katie and Jake both came into the bedroom to see their
new sister and approved.
After they had gone, Cole sat on the bed as their daughter lay cuddled in
her mother’s arm. He smiled at the blonde-headed, blue-eyed infant and
softly touched her sleeping face as Becky looked at him and smiled.
“She’s beautiful, Becky. Just like her mother,” he said as he looked into
her mother’s own blue eyes.
Becky then said, “Cole, I’m sorry, but I don’t know how, but when I
went into labor, somehow I lost your mother’s necklace and I don’t know
where it is.”
“We’ll find it, Becky. I’m sure that it’s somewhere in the room, maybe
buried in the quilts or something.”
Becky nodded before Cole said, “We forgot to tell Katie and Jake what
we named their sister.”
 “They’ll be back in a little while. We can tell them when they return.”
Cole nodded then said, “I think they’ll both like our choice. I’ll put little
Abby in the bassinet. You need your rest now.”
“Thank you, Cole. I am a bit tired.”
“I know, sweetheart,” Cole said as he leaned over and softly kissed his
wife on her forehead.
Cole gently took little Abby Turner from his wife’s arms, then stood,
turned and was about to lay her into her nearby bassinet. But when he
looked inside, he saw that it was already occupied and stared at it for a few
disconcerted moments.
“Becky, there’s something in Abby’s bassinet,” Cole said softly as he
reached into the small bed with his right hand while holding his new
daughter in his left arm.
“What is it?” she asked, watching as he drew his hand out.
Cole showed her what he’d discovered waiting in the bassinet. It was
Katie’s doll, Abby Girl, and around its neck was a small sapphire necklace.
 BOOK LIST
     
1 Rock Creek 12/26/2016
2 North of Denton 01/02/2017
3 Fort Selden 01/07/2017
4 Scotts Bluff 01/14/2017
5 South of Denver 01/22/2017
6 Miles City 01/28/2017
7 Hopewell 02/04/2017
8 Nueva Luz 02/12/2017
9 The Witch of Dakota 02/19/2017
10 Baker City 03/13/2017
11 The Gun Smith 03/21/2017
12 Gus 03/24/2017
13 Wilmore 04/06/2017
14 Mister Thor 04/20/2017
15 Nora 04/26/2017
16 Max 05/09/2017
17 Hunting Pearl 05/14/2017
18 Bessie 05/25/2017
19 The Last Four 05/29/2017
20 Zack 06/12/2017
21 Finding Bucky 06/21/2017
22 The Debt 06/30/2017
23 The Scalawags 07/11/2017
24 The Stampede 08/23/2019
25 The Wake of the Bertrand 07/31/2017
26 Cole 08/09/2017
27 Luke 09/05/2017
28 The Eclipse 09/21/2017
29 A.J. Smith 10/03/2017
30 Slow John 11/05/2017
31 The Second Star 11/15/2017
32 Tate 12/03/2017
33 Virgil’s Herd 12/14/2017
34 Marsh’s Valley 01/01/2018
35 Alex Paine 01/18/2018
36 Ben Gray 02/05/2018
37 War Adams 03/05/2018
38 Mac’s Cabin 03/21/2018
39 Will Scott 04/13/2018
40 Sheriff Joe 04/22/2018
41 Chance 05/17/2018
42 Doc Holt 06/17/2018
43 Ted Shepard 07/16/2018
44 Haven 07/30/2018
45 Sam’s County 08/19/2018
46 Matt Dunne 09/07/2018
47 Conn Jackson 10/06/2018
48 Gabe Owens 10/27/2018
49 Abandoned 11/18/2018
50 Retribution 12/21/2018
51 Inevitable 02/04/2019
52 Scandal in Topeka 03/18/2019
53 Return to Hardeman 04/10/2019
County
54 Deception 06/02.2019
55 The Silver Widows 06/27/2019
56 Hitch 08/22/2018
57 Dylan’s Journey 10/10/2019
58 Bryn’s War 11/05/2019
59 Huw’s Legacy 11/30/2019
60 Lynn’s Search 12/24/2019
61 Bethan’s Choice 02/12/2020
62 Rhody Jones 03/11/2020
63 Alwen’s Dream 06/14/2020
64 The Nothing Man 06/30/2020
65 Cy Page 07/19/2020
66 Tabby Hayes 09/04/2020
67 Dylan’s Memories 09/20/2020
68 Letter for Gene 09/09/2020
69 Grip Taylor 10/10/2020
70 Garrett’s Duty 11/09/2020
71 East of the Cascades 12/02/2020
72 The Iron Wolfe 12/23/2020
73 Wade Rivers 01/09/2021
74 Ghost Train 01/27/2021
75 The Inheritance 02/26/2021
76 Cap Tyler 03/26/2021
77 The Photographer 04/10/2021
78 Jake 05/06/2021
79 Riding Shotgun 06/03/2021
80 The Saloon Lawyer 07/04/2021