Chapter 15
Blinking in the sunlight, Ben glanced down the street and stiffened. Charlie stood a couple of blocks away, kitty-corner to the Carson and Lewis House, surrounded by three boys. Ben headed toward them.
One boy might be Charlie’s age, but the other two had to be at least two or three years older.
One of them had the chest and arms of a junior blacksmith.
Their tense postures and hands on hips didn’t bespeak a friendly conversation.
The tallest one swaggered up to within a foot of Charlie. Ben picked up his pace.
“Why don’t you go back to the reservation?” The tall one’s voice carried half a block away, his scraggly hair falling across his forehead.
The junior blacksmith muscled closer. “My pa says Injuns are worse than dogs.”
Charlie stood, ramrod straight, fists clenched at his sides.
Ben charged toward the huddle. “You boys—”
“Leave him alone.” A little girl sprung onto the walkway from the street, coming out of nowhere. Her black hair hung down her back in braids. She couldn’t be more than six or seven, but she plowed into the mix like a mama bear ready to protect her cub.
“Why, you’re an Injun’ just like him.” The junior blacksmith curled his lip.
“Enough.” Ben pushed in front of Charlie and the girl. “You boys shut your trashy mouths and get out of here.” He jutted his finger toward the alley.
“My pa says—”
Ben narrowed his gaze at the tall upstart. “Did your pa tell you to bully little girls and boys years younger than you? Go pick on someone your own size before I take my gun belt off and use it like a whip on your backsides.”
The three slunk away.
Charlie crossed his arms. “I don’t need no girl protecting me. I was getting ready to punch them.”
“They called me a name too.” The little girl bounced up and down.
The ruffles on her red linen dress with black trim jiggled all the way down to the hem just below her knees.
Big brown eyes shown out of an olive-complexioned face.
She did appear to be Indian and full of spunk. “I just wanted to help.”
“I don’t need no help.” Charlie threw back his shoulders.
“Charlie.” Ben’s voice snapped. He turned to the girl. “Thank you. We appreciate your assistance.”
She wiggled and blushed. “You’re welcome.”
Charlie scuffed his boot against the dirt.
Ben smiled at the girl. He’d have to encourage the ego-wounded boy later. “Where’s your ma or pa, little miss?”
“Pa’s coming.” She tipped her head toward the street. A braid swung across her shoulder.
A well-built man with a black slouch hat and frock coat hastened across the street, a slight limp slowing his pace.
The little girl ran up to him and slipped her hand into his.
“Thank you for rescuing my daughter.” The stranger extended his free hand as he drew near. “I’m Major Garret Ramsey.”
“Benjamin McKenzie at your service, sir. And if I’m not mistaken, your accent tells me you’re of the Northern persuasion.”
“Yes, Mr. McKenzie, Second U.S. Cavalry.”
Ben inhaled. A fellow soldier. “Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry Volunteers. A captain.”
Garret grinned. “Well, what do you know? Another Pennsylvania man down here in Texas. I’m from Pittsburgh.”
“Philadelphia.” Ben shook Garret’s hand again heartily.
“What brings you to Weatherford, Texas, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“A promise to a fellow officer, and friend.” Ben placed his hand on Charlie’s shoulder. “To see that his family’s provided for. What about you?”
“My wife and her sister count Texas as their true home. I was stationed about a hundred miles west of here at Camp Cooper before the war. Now that the fighting’s over, we’ve decided to move back, try our hand at ranching.
My brother-in-law, Lieutenant Devon Reynolds, First Texas Cavalry, USA, is with us.
Three of my men from the Second Cavalry are coming along for the adventure, as well.
They’ll be arriving later this week with our lumber.
” Garret swiped his hand across his chin.
“We know horses, but Lieutenant Reynolds is the only one amongst us who has any experience with cattle. And his knowledge of them is very limited.”
“I’m in the same boat. I’m a newspaperman by trade and was a cavalryman during the war, but I’m green when it comes to cattle.”
Garret chuckled. “We’ll have to confer and share our vast knowledge, Mr. McKenzie. Or should I say ‘Captain’?”
“Ben. And I’d be happy to. Save each other from ignorance.”
“Garret.” He touched the head of the suddenly shy child who hid her face against his hip. “This here is Little Star. My daughter.” A twinge of a hitch caught his voice on the last word. There was a story there.
“Glad to meet you, Little Star.” Ben leaned down and extended his hand. “You’re quite the brave young lady.”
She peeked out from the fold in her father’s coat, scooting her body farther behind his leg, and touched her fingers to Ben’s.
“She alternates between being shy and treating the world as if it’s her oyster. But as soon as you get to know her, the shy completely disappears.”
Little Star poked her head from around her papa’s leg. “What’s the boy’s name?” A smile dimpled her cheeks.
“The boy can talk,” Charlie mumbled and turned sideways away from her, closed-lipped.
Ben arched his eyebrows. Still sore? “This is Charlie. I’m helping his sister, Miss Cora Scott, and him with their ranch about ten miles southwest of town. Thankfully, they know much more about ranching than I do.”
“Just the three of you?” Garret’s smile dimmed. “That’s a lot of work.”
“I’m up for the challenge.”
“Well, as I said, we’ll have to confer. We may not be cattle experts, but my family and I know the frontier.
In addition to my service at Camp Cooper, Lieutenant Reynolds was a frontier scout and served in the army at Fort Belknap before the war.
My wife and her sister spent their youth beyond the borders of what we call civilization.
” The crow's feet at the corners of his eyes deepened. “Once we build a couple cabins and get settled, we’ll have all of you over to our place. We bought a few hundred acres west of here in Palo Pinto County. I’ve never seen it, but I estimate it’s around thirty miles from Weatherford.
From what I hear, this town is still the last major supply stop between here and the frontier. ”
“I’d be honored to pay you a visit, and even before that”—dare he be so bold as to speak on Cora’s behalf?
—“you’re welcome to stop by our—the Scott ranch if you need anything at all.
” Our? Cora would have his tongue. And for his own sake and for the sake of Philadelphia, Olivia, and all they entailed, he’d best wash that word right out of his brain.
“We’ll be sure to do that.” Garret tugged on his coat lapels.
“Meanwhile, you must meet my wife and the rest of my family before we depart.” He nodded toward three prairie schooners.
“We’re off to a late start today. I anticipate seeing our new home tomorrow.
There’s a valley and a canyon. I scouted near the area years ago, and my brother-in-law rode through there on more than one occasion during his scout years.
We’re all eager to see what we can make of the place. ”
“I bet.” Ben fell in step beside him. “I’d very much like to meet your family.”
Still attached to her father’s coat by a hand, Little Star skipped along between him and Ben, peaking back at Charlie who trudged behind. “You and I are going to be friends.”
Charlie glowered.
“I have my own horse,” she said. “I’m a good rider.”
“I’m a better rider.” Charlie jutted his chin.
“We’ll see.”
“I’m going to shoot a buffalo someday.”
“Why would you want to hurt a buffalo?”
Charlie rolled his eyes. “Girls. Don’t know nothing.”
“Charlie.” Ben nudged his arm.
“I know a lot.” Little Star stuck out her lip.
“I’m Comanche.” Charlie puffed out his chest. “Comanche hunt buffalo.”
“I’m Comanche too.” She stretched as tall as her three-and-a-half feet could take her.
Ben exchanged a look with Garret. A couple stories there, and nothing that would win either of them favor with the rest of the community. The bullies on the corner would likely not be the last of it.
Trying to hold on to her father’s coat and look at Charlie at the same time, Little Star almost tripped. “My mother has a buffalo robe.”
“Someone had to kill it, then.” Charlie’s voice had firmed with finality.
She rolled her lips in. “Hmmm. You’re right. Maybe you’ll give me a buffalo robe.”
“I’m not giving you anything.”
“We’ll see.” The dimples returned. And so did the skip in her step.
Ben chuckled. Charlie was going to have his hands full.
Little Star was a bold little thing. As strong-willed and determined as Cora. Only, Cora seemed to have lost her skip long ago, buried beneath an avalanche of hardship that a shovel couldn’t penetrate.
But what if he could find a crack in her wall?