Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
High puffs of cloud, gray and white, raced across a sky of the deepest blue.
The air was crisp and washed clean by the rain.
Except for the water running high in the river and the drops of rain glistening like diamonds on the meadow grass, the storm that blew through last night was only a fading memory.
Caleb watched his herd slowly moving across the green valley below the cabin, but he had other things on his mind. He was anxious to leave. His bag was packed. Pirate was fed, watered and saddled. Bear lay by the cabin door, casting sulky glances at his master. He knew he wasn’t going along.
It had been sometime after midnight when Caleb left Judge Patterson’s house and fetched his horse from the livery stable. Because of all the trouble and revelry in town, Malachi Rogers had still been up, and Caleb had arranged to have Gabe and Paddy come out to his ranch this morning.
He wouldn’t go until he saw them. After the dust-up with his neighbor, Frank Stubbs, he wasn’t going anywhere until he had a talk with both boys.
Caleb wanted to hit the trail before the sun rose too high, even though he knew that the urgency resided solely inside himself.
Patterson told him there was no reason to think he wouldn’t find Elijah Starr in Bonedale.
The rail line through there was far from being completed, and the work had to progress while the weather was good.
And Eric Goulden held his directors accountable for every foot of rail they did or didn’t put down.
Caleb gingerly stretched his side. The stab wound hurt like hell, and he could feel the effects of it. It was as if he were carrying a heavy chunk of sponge in his gut, and it was pulling energy and strength out of his entire body.
He’d gotten an earful of advice from Doc that he needed a few days to rest and mend. It didn’t matter what any of them said. He had to go after Elijah Starr. Every day the man was above ground was another day that the death of Caleb’s mother remained unavenged.
He checked his gear for the fifth time. He’d donned his trail clothes this morning.
Plain brown woolen shirt. Elk-leather vest. Buckskin pants tucked into his boots.
His bearskin bedding was rolled up and secured with his duster behind his saddle.
He’d cleaned his Winchester ’73 and his pair of Colt Frontiers, and he’d sharpened the great hunting knife that had been a gift from Old Jacob Bell.
Elijah Starr’s knife was wrapped in a piece of buckskin and tucked into his other boot.
Caleb had no idea how this confrontation would take place or how it would turn out. He’d think about it during the two-day journey to Bonedale, when his mind was a little clearer.
He opened the saddlebag and looked once more at the leather pouch that contained the arrest warrant signed by the judge. Even if Caleb chose to use the document, there was no way his father or the people working for the railroad company would submit to Judge Patterson’s authority.
None of that mattered to Caleb, however. His business with Starr had nothing to do with the attempt on the judge’s life. Their business was personal, and he planned to take care of it in Bonedale. He had a fairly good idea that only one of them would be standing when it was over.
Bear lifted his head and was on his feet and staring at a point beyond the river a full minute before the riders appeared. Caleb waited, not really surprised when not two but three horses appeared. He knew who it was with Gabe and Paddy.
Sheila.
He was happy that she’d come. She’d worried about him last night, and he figured she was still fretting over him.
That was why she was here. He was glad to see her, but he had someplace he needed to go right now.
A man he needed to run to ground. While Elijah Starr was out in the world amongst the living, Caleb didn’t want to think about anything but the killing he needed to do.
Bear, however, didn’t share his sentiments. The yellow dog was off across the field, barking and dancing around them like they were the circus come to town. Before they even reached the cabin, that fool animal had raced back, grabbed a half-chewed wooden peg and taken it back down to show the boys.
Caleb walked over to help her down. But she was faster than he was, and her boots hit the ground before he could get there. Sheila received most of the dog’s exuberant affection.
She was wearing her father’s duster and her own wide-brimmed hat, which kept much of her face in shadow.
“I don’t recall hiring you to look after my ranch.”
“No need to hire me.” After petting Bear, she took out a small leather satchel out of her saddlebag. “The truth is, I’m here bearing gifts.”
Caleb didn’t open the bag she handed to him. “What did you bring?”
“Medical supplies from my father. You should keep the dressing dry and change it in a day or two.”
“Nothing from you?” he teased.
Pink coloring formed in her cheeks. “Actually, you might find some sugar cookies in there. And there will be more waiting for you when you get back.”
“In that case, I thank you kindly.” He lifted the flap of one of his saddlebags and carefully nested the satchel in with his extra ammunition. “I’ll be coming by collecting soon.”
Her smile caused the corners of her eyes to crinkle. The eyes peering up at him were as blue as the Colorado sky above them.
“How many days will you be gone?”
“I don’t know. A week maybe.”
“Is it safe that you’re going alone?”
“That’s who I am. Happiest alone.”
She put her hands on the swell of her hips and looked away.
"You're not," she said quietly.
Caleb frowned. "Not what?"
"Happy alone."
For a moment, neither of them moved.
The breeze tugged at the brim of her hat. Somewhere behind them, Bear barked and Paddy shouted at the dog. The sounds seemed very far away.
"You know me that well, do you?" Caleb asked.
"No." Her voice softened. "But I know what I saw."
He waited.
"I saw you with Gabe and Paddy. I saw you building that barn. I saw the way you worry about everyone around you while pretending not to."
The words struck closer than he liked.
"You don't strike me as a man who wants to be alone forever...Caleb."
The sound of his given name on her lips did something unsettling to his chest.
“Maybe it doesn't matter what I want."
The smile left her face. "Of course it matters."
"Not always."
She studied him for a long moment. "Then perhaps you're as stubborn as everyone says."
For a second, Caleb thought she might say something more. Something neither of them was quite ready to hear.
The look in her eyes made him want to stay right where he was and forget all about Elijah Starr. That was dangerous ground. So, he did what he always did when things became too personal. He reached for a joke.
“Traveling alone, I’m talking about. Fellas like Zeke get to smelling pretty bad after a few days on the road.”
He looked at the boys. Gabe had led their horses where they could graze and was coming back. Paddy was already wrestling with the dog for the wooden piece, and Bear was growling happily.
“Gabe,” he said solemnly. “I don’t need to tell you what needs to be done.”
“I’ll take care of things, Mr. Marlowe. Don’t you worry at all.”
“I ain’t worried.” Caleb turned toward the younger boy. “Paddy, Gabe is in charge, you hear? He’ll tell you what to do, and you do it.”
Paddy let the dog run away with the stick. “Yes, sir. I’ll do it.”
“And the two of you…I don’t want you going nowhere near the eastern ridge. No fishing up in the creek there by Frank Stubbs’s claim. It don’t matter if you’re on my land. I don’t want him laying eyes on you.”
Paddy’s face became serious. “What if he comes down here with his cane like the other day? What if he has a hankering to tan our hides, whether we go up there or not?”
“Do you think he’ll come back?” Sheila asked Caleb, looking alarmed.
Paddy jumped in. “That man is the meanest fella in Colorado.”
“That man threatened the boys,” Sheila said. Her expression hardened.
“Fellas like that are mostly full of hot air,” Caleb told them.
“But if you two see him riding in this direction, you get on your horse and go straight to Elkhorn. Find the sheriff and tell him.” Zeke knew about the problem.
“Stubbs has no right and no reason for coming over here. So, you see him, you just git.”
Both heads nodded.
This wasn’t the first time Caleb was putting Gabe in charge of taking care of the daily chores on his ranch. The young man was competent and confident and, regardless of Paddy’s playful distractions, he did an outstanding job.
Frank Stubbs, however, was something of a worry.
Caleb gave Gabe money for him and Paddy, and some extra to bring back supplies when he came out tomorrow. As the boys ran off to do their chores, Bear seemed torn between going off with them or staying and keeping an eye on Caleb.
Silence settled between Caleb and Sheila. For a little while, neither of them spoke.
The sun lay warm across the meadow. A light breeze stirred the grass and carried the scent of pine and fresh-cut timber from the unfinished barn. Somewhere in the distance, Bear barked at the boys. Overhead, a hawk circled lazily against the endless blue Colorado sky.
“I don't like leaving them out here alone with that man over the ridge,” Sheila said at last.
“Neither do I.”
“Then why are you going?”
Because Elijah Starr was alive. Because some ghosts refused to stay buried. Because there were things from his past that had finally caught up with him.
“Because I have to.”
She studied him for a moment. “Then I'm going to ride out here with them.”
Caleb looked at her. “With Gabe and Paddy?”
“Yes.”
“You don't need to do that.”
“I know.”
“Then why do it?”
“Because someone ought to keep an eye on things.”
He almost smiled. “You mean keep an eye on them.”
“And on Bear.”
The dog barked in the distance again.
“And on the ranch,” she added.
“Uh-huh.”
“And maybe on your barn.”
“There it is.”
A smile tugged at her lips. “You don't object, do you?”
Truthfully, he didn't. The idea of her riding out here while he was gone, walking around his land, checking on his cattle and barn and dog...
It felt surprisingly right.
“No,” he admitted. “I reckon I don't.”
“I'll come with the boys tomorrow.”
“Just stay away from the eastern ridge.”
“I will.” She paused. “Assuming you promise to stay away from trouble.”
He barked out a laugh. “You ask a lot.”
“Someone has to.”
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a neatly folded handkerchief. White linen. One corner held a small embroidered blue flower.
“I brought this for you.”
Caleb accepted it. “A handkerchief?”
“You sound disappointed.”
“I was hoping for more cookies.”
She laughed. “I knew I should have brought another batch.”
He turned the handkerchief over in his hands. “What am I supposed to do with it?”
“Bring it back.”
“That's all?”
“No.” Her smile faded. “Bring it back clean.”
He looked up. “Clean?”
“No blood.”
She took a step closer.
“No bullet holes.”
Another step.
“No knife cuts.”
Her eyes held his.
“And no new scars, if you can help it.”
The teasing words couldn't quite hide the worry beneath them.
“Just come back, Marlowe.”
Something tightened in his chest. For weeks he'd been telling himself all the reasons this woman was a mistake. She deserved better. He wasn't built for futures. He'd spent half his life riding away from people. Yet here she stood, worrying about him as though his life mattered.
Maybe it was the sunlight. Maybe it was the way she looked at him. Maybe it was knowing he was about to leave.
Whatever the reason, Caleb reached up and touched her cheek. “You worry too much.”
“Someone has to,” she said again.
His thumb brushed her skin. “Sheila...”
Whatever he meant to say vanished. He bent his head and kissed her.
For a heartbeat she stood perfectly still. Then her fingers curled into the front of his vest, and she kissed him back.
The world seemed to narrow to sunlight, pine-scented air, and the woman in his arms.
When they finally pulled apart, neither moved very far.
Her cheeks were pink. His pulse was hammering.
“That wasn't very gentlemanly,” she whispered.
“No.”
“Are you sorry?”
“Not even a little.”
A slow smile spread across her face. “Good.”
He slipped the handkerchief into his pocket. “I'll bring it back.”
“Clean?”
“I'll do my best.”
“That's not nearly as reassuring as you think it is.”
For the first time since Elijah Starr's name had reappeared in his life, Caleb laughed.
Then, before he lost his nerve, he turned toward his horse.