Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Overnight, the rains faded to a gray dawn mist that had disappeared by midmorning.
By then, Caleb and Red Annie had left Bonedale far behind.
The river tumbling out of the higher ground was running muddy and fast. When the sun finally burned through the clouds, fresh cool smells rose from the earth.
It was the scent of things growing. The greening of the sage and the cottonwood, and the wildflowers blooming on the range proved that the promise of summer wasn’t an empty one.
The two riders were nearing the end of the valley, and he knew they’d soon climb into the rocky pass that would bring them to the spot where he’d left Sing Lee and the rest of the Denver-bound pilgrims.
As they climbed, the air took on that rare purity that he’d only seen in the mountains. The sky was as blue and deep as Sheila Burnett’s eyes.
He and Red Annie talked only occasionally as they rode, catching up on each other’s news.
She’d heard about him taking down the Wells Fargo road agents up in the wilderness beyond Devil’s Claw, and she wanted to hear all the details concerning the shootout with Elkhorn’s former sheriff, Grat Horner.
Caleb told her about the dangers that Doc Burnett had weathered, and he couldn’t help but see the sidelong look Red gave him when he mentioned Sheila.
“Don’t think I ever heard about Doc having no daughter,” she commented.
“That right?”
“Pretty?”
Caleb tried to look as nonchalant as possible. “I suppose some might say she’s pretty.”
“Marrying age?”
“I suppose.” She definitely was.
“All fine and well-mannered and all?”
“She is.” When she wanted to be.
“With dresses like them fancy East Coast women?”
“I ain’t no expert on fancy dresses, Red.” He was beginning to feel uncomfortable answering these questions. But the way Sheila looked, whether in trail clothes or a dinner dress, always stirred something in him that he wasn’t about to discuss.
“She must be smart as a whip, her being Doc’s daughter.”
It wasn’t a question, so he didn’t answer. But she was.
Red was openly staring at him. “Holy hell. I ain’t never seen that look on your face, Caleb Marlowe.”
“What look?”
“Ha! If you ain’t mooning over this gal.”
“I ain’t!”
“Oh, I’ve seen fellas mooning! And you are mooning.”
Damn. This was the last thing he needed.
Sure, Sheila was pretty and smart and as fine a woman as walked the earth. She was brave enough to face down trouble that would've sent most folks running. Kind enough to worry about people who didn't deserve it. Stubborn enough to ignore every sensible warning given to her.
And lately, it seemed like he couldn't go more than an hour without thinking about her.
But that didn’t change anything.
His future could come to an end in the next few days, and she deserved better.
“Am I invited to the wedding?”
“You’re crazy. I ain’t the marrying sort!”
The words came too quickly. Almost as if he was trying to convince himself.
Annie’s hmmph told him exactly what she thought. Thankfully, she let the subject of matrimony drop, but Caleb saw the grin on her face.
The woman looked entirely too pleased with herself. Worse, he suspected she was right.
Red’s grin faded very slowly.
They rode along in silence for a while, but he knew something else was weighing on his companion’s mind. When they paused by a pool to let the horses drink, she finally let her thoughts out to air.
“That Caswell woman ain’t looking at an easy time of it with the three young ones and no husband.”
“Yup.” Caleb had been thinking the same thing last night. Life on the frontier was hard. It could chew up anyone, man or woman.
“I was thinking, maybe, there was something that could be done for her.” Her voice trailed off.
“I saw her later and talked to her.”
“When?”
He picked up Pirate’s reins and climbed into the saddle.
“When I went down to the livery to gather my rifle and things before meeting you for dinner. I walked her to where she and the children were staying. Felt a little funny asking her what she planned to do since it was none of my business. But I did anyway.”
“You’re a surprise a minute, Marlowe. What did she say?”
“Said she had kin down by Aspen that she could go to, but she was thinking that the fella who works in the Dry Bottom—her husband’s friend—had been hinting that maybe they’d get hitched and buy a place of their own to settle.”
“Does she like the fella?”
“That wasn’t none of my business to ask.”
“What good are you?”
He stared at her. “Are you serious? She just lost her husband.”
“And maybe her husband was an ass. Maybe she’s been mooning over this guy for some time. Something romantic. Like you and Doc’s missy.”
“Romantic?” He shook his head. “You know, Red, for a Star Route rider and a stagecoach guard, you might just be the most sentimental and soft-hearted woman operating between here and San Francisco.”
“And you, Marlowe, can go shit in your hat.”
She continued to grumble for a while, but before long her spirits rose again.
“Whatever happened to that partner of yours?” she asked finally. “That Henry Jordan fella.”
“He’s still cooling his heels in the jail up in Denver. He’s supposed to be out soon.”
Red Annie and Henry had met up north, but they hadn’t exactly hit it off. At the time, Henry had a woman on his lap while he was playing poker and drinking heavier than a range rider on payday. All at the same time. She took exception to his lack of attention to the cards, apparently.
“Well, he ain’t no damn good, anyway,” she grouched.
“That so?” Caleb glanced over at her. “You know what landed him in jail?”
“Being an idiot?”
“That was certainly part of it.”
Red snorted.
“He came across a young orphan girl trying to reach family after she’d been through more hardship than most grown men could stomach. Instead of minding his own business, Henry decided helping her was more important than his own plans.”
“That sounds like Henry. No sense at all.”
“He got her where she needed to go. Then he rode into Denver and managed to find trouble before he found me.”
“Managed?”
“Fell into it, more like.”
Red laughed.
“Some loudmouth was bothering a widow and her young brother outside a saloon. Henry inserted himself where he wasn’t wanted.
Harsh words became shoving. Shoving became fists.
By the time the deputy arrived, three men were on the ground, one storefront window was broken, and Henry was explaining why none of it was his fault. ”
“And was it?”
“Not entirely.”
“Meaning it absolutely was.”
Caleb smiled faintly.
“The thing about Henry is that trouble follows him around like a hungry dog. But if you scratch beneath the surface, most times he got into it trying to help somebody.”
Red looked away toward the mountains.
“Still sounds like an idiot.”
“Wouldn’t argue with you there.”
“Good.”
“But he’s a decent man.”
Red was quiet for a moment. “Them usually are the ones getting themselves arrested...or dead.”
It was late afternoon by the time they reached Sing Lee’s camp. The smell of rabbit stew had drawn them directly to the place. This time, none of them hid as they rode in, and the welcome he received was warm.
The toddler jumped down from his mother’s arm and ran toward him as soon as they dismounted.
Red Annie gave him the eye as he scooped Ho up.
“Are you the same Caleb Marlowe I know?”
He felt a grin tug at his lips as the little one pulled his wide-brimmed hat off and put it on his own head. Ho’s entire face disappeared for a moment into the crown.
“You didn’t tell me they’re family,” she added, looking at the travelers gathering around them.
He pushed the hat back on Ho’s face, getting a smile for a reward. “These folks saved my life. I want you to treat them like they’re my family.”
There was much that Caleb knew about Red Annie, and much that he didn’t know.
But he believed in her character. He’d seen how she treated Malachi Rogers and his wife and son.
But people were complicated creatures. Some had strange ways about folks who were different.
He knew white men who could deal with Indians but wouldn’t have anything to do with black fellas.
And he knew others who had no problem doing business with a black livery owner, but chose to believe the widespread foolishness that put the Chinese in a poor light.
Back in Bonedale, he’d told her he trusted her, and he did. He’d brought Red Annie to these people’s camp, and he was putting them in her capable hands, but he had to make sure.
“Can you, Red? Can you treat them as you would if they were my people?”
She scoffed and tickled the boy’s ribs.
“Of course I can. Hell, I’ll treat them right in spite of being your family.” There was no hesitation in her words, and her honest gray eyes held his. “You hired me to do a job, and I’m more than happy to do it. These folks will get safe to Denver. Don’t you fret about nothing.”
That was enough for him. Sing Lee and his family and friends would be in good hands.
Once Red Annie was introduced to the others, Liang Lee stepped up to take back her son.
“I think this little fella trusts me, Liang,” Caleb said.
“Like his grandfather,” she said quietly. “My father trusted that you would return. But I had my doubts.”
“I always keep my word.”
“I’m glad, Marlowe,” she said. “You will make me reconsider whom I should trust.”
He frowned. “I think it ain’t a bad thing to be cautious with strangers.”
“And what about her?” she asked as one of the men led Caleb and Red Annie’s horses away.
Caleb introduced the two women and explained what he had in mind. Red Annie O’Neal exuded rawboned strength and towered over the other, but Liang Lee didn’t flinch at all.
“On behalf of my father and the others, thank you for your offer to serve as our guide.”
“Any friend of Marlowe’s is a friend of mine,” she replied.
“Yes, but do you know the route we need to take?” the young mother asked. “Are you familiar with these mountains?”
Red Annie’s eyes narrowed. “Familiar enough that United States government pays me to do jobs for them. Familiar enough that people trust me with their mail and their valuables. And familiar enough that our mutual friend here is willing to leave you with me.”
Their tones had become sharp and their gazes sharper. For a moment, the air crackled like a summer storm between them. One woman studied the other and, as far as Caleb could tell, neither one blinked.
From the worlds they came from, he guessed these two women were different in every way.
But having seen a friendship blossom so surprisingly between Sheila and Imala, he’d come to accept that he was a barely a novice in understanding women’s minds.
And he didn’t have the simplest notion about how they related to each other.
Right now, it looked like a toss-up whether these two were going to be fine with each other, or if they were about to start throwing punches. As the seconds ticked by, he was getting ready to put his money on the punching.
Little Ho was born to be a diplomat, Caleb realized. The toddler reached out from his mother’s arms, patted the taller woman’s cheek, and laughed.
Red Annie smiled. So did Liang. And the tension melted away like a snowfall in May.
Caleb let out a breath of relief and looked over to find Sing Lee observing the exchange from a few steps away. Liang nodded her approval to the older man. It was clear Sing Lee had given his daughter the authority to accept or reject their new acquaintance.
When Red asked about Ho and they started to talk, Caleb went over to the doctor.
“I need to go see to my own business. Red Annie here will take you to Denver. She’ll make certain you connect with your friends there before leaving you.”
“Thank you. You come to Denver in future, Marlowe?”
“I might.”
“Come and see us.”
“I’ll do that. In fact, maybe I’ll bring my friend Doc Burnett with me.”
By the time Caleb left Sing Lee and the others, Annie and Liang appeared to be working together to prepare for their journey.
Sometime later, he rode past the pond where he’d run afoul of that rattler. The family of beavers were working on their dam, repairing a breach that last night’s storm had caused.
“I ain’t stopping here,” he called out to them as he nudged Pirate along. “We got another two hours of sun, and I’m hoping the moon sheds enough light to keep us going in the right direction. So good day to you.”
The trail back was now familiar to Caleb, and he followed the river, climbing steadily into the mountains. He figured it was well past midnight when he reached the top of the pass.
The long mountain lake that fed his own river stretched out far below him.
It looked like a huge black blanket that had been dragged through the forest by some ancient giant and left there for posterity.
It was hard to imagine that this same lake was so blue in the day.
To the north, the high ridges and sharp peaks glowed in the light of the moon that was already dropping toward Bonedale.
Above him, the sky was as black as the lake and covered with pinpricks of light.
Caleb couldn’t tarry here, and he urged Pirate down the trail. Even if they could keep up this pace, he had another full day of travel and another night before he reached Elkhorn.
He’d bed down when exhaustion set in. Not before.
The thought of Elijah Starr drove him on. Whatever he and his band of killers planned to do once they arrived in town, it had to be tied to railroad business. With the men he was bringing, he clearly had no fear of any law Judge Patterson could throw at him.
If Starr was going after the judge himself, though, it would mean war in the streets of Elkhorn.
Patterson may have hired an army of men for his protection, but Caleb had a good idea he was going to need every one.
Starr and his employer, Eric Goulden, wouldn’t be going in there outnumbered or outgunned.
From the east, the scream of a cougar pierced the night. Another answered the call, closer to Caleb. He patted Pirate on the neck and murmured to settle him. And then, taking his Winchester ’73 from its scabbard, he laid it across his saddle in front of him.
Killers were abroad.