"That it did," she said finally as she dropped her boot back flat on the rooftop and turned to him. Despite the grim circumstances surrounding them, she found the man to be smiling. Lijuan raised one of her eyebrows in a questioning tic as she folded her arms.
“Yes?”
“I just want to thank you, Miss Wilde-”
“Lijuan.”
"Yes, Lijuan, I just wanted to thank you on behalf of our town for everything that you are doing here for us. Frankly, I can't quite imagine how this would be playing out without your help. What with all the lawmen being away and the mayor, uh, being the mayor and all."
She looked over the edge for a moment at the portly, sweaty man who was alternating between wiping the perspiration from his forehead and taking generous gulps from a square whiskey bottle as he greeted each of the new arrivals passing through the barrier. Lijuan had immediately sized him up as a bumbling, incompetent unable to deal with any real crisis. The fact he had not said one word of intervention when Lijuan and her cadre of new friends had basically assumed control of the town spoke volumes to his incompetence. Truthfully, she was thankful to have him out of the way. Things were difficult as it was without a challenge by the local leadership.
"My family has a knack for winding up in the thick of things, having to lend a hand when it's needed. I'm not boasting or anything, but I'm no stranger to these sorts of situations." Her confusion deepened as he was outright smirking now.
“Indeed, you are not. Even way down here—a stone’s throw away from the border—did I hear the stories about an Oriental woman taking control of a train to save a town full of people, riding it until it nearly exploded right out from under her. You could only be her. I don’t know a lot of men who would do what you did. It seems I am in the presence of a true hero.”
Lijuan, as tough a person as you could find when need be, found herself blushing slightly and giving a contrite smile to the hotel man. “Thank you, Ross, but my sisters were in that town. No way was I going to let them die.”
He fixed his not unattractive eyes on her with focus. “About those sisters. Rosalee, who is something of a gossip, well she said one is a white woman, then a colored girl, along with a Mexican? Is it true? I’m inclined to believe it seeing how you have an Indian brother but …”
With a high chin, she simply said, "Every word of it."
“If I am not prying, how is it that this came to be?”
Leaning in, Lijuan amazed herself at how quickly she had taken a liking to this man. Normally, if someone had outright asked, she would have immediately snapped at them that it was none of their business, but with Ross somehow it didn’t bother her. Still, she wasn’t about to go into her family history with this man, at least not yet.
"You are prying," she said softly with a wide smile as she brought her hand up and laid it aside his face. Inside her, she felt her heart quicken and a tingle of desire come over her. "Perhaps if we get through this, maybe I will share a little of it with you. It's a tale of one remarkable man and loves found and then lost."
“Forgive me.” The flush creeping across his cheeks told her that he was quite embarrassed at being called out for being so forthright.
Lijuan brought her free hand up to the other cheek, and she looked up at him, smoldering with lust. Sex had always been a release for her frustrations, and she found he would be a fine man to alleviate her frustrations with, but not here and not now with attack possibly imminent.
Her hands fell away from his face at the same moment a clomping of boots sounded from the stairwell, leading up to the little shack on the roof that housed the top of the stairs. Before she turned her head to see who it was, with delight, she saw the longing, mixed with disappointment on Ross Tatum's visage.
Blue River exited the stairwell, striding over to where the pair stood on the edge of the roof. He had been down at the far end of the street helping fortify that end. As soon as he was in front of them, he asked if they had found any link to the men at the hotel and Charging Bear. Upon learning that none had been discovered she literally saw the light go out in his eyes. Across in the western skies, the final faint corona of light faded away leaving the sky a sheet of complete blackness even as the moon shone brightly down oblivious to the peril the town of Horseshoe was now threatened with.
The deadline had come and gone, and they had failed to produce for Summer Sky and her warriors. The trio exchanged grim looks knowing full well the attack could come at any time now.
CHAPTER 13
TOWN OF HORSESHOE
Arizona Territory
Two hours had passed, and Lijuan and Blue River stood guard, side by side with rifles pointing out towards the shrubs, bushes, and trees beyond the back of the general store. To her satisfaction, under the full moon, she could see pairs of men on many of the roofs lining each side of the main street. Under her instruction, they had been placed there in case the Mescalero braves tried to flank them when they found each end of the town sealed off.
Despite the fact that the sun had long since set and the moon had been hanging above the horizon for a full hour with the twilight in full bloom, no attack had materialized.Lijuan knew this should make her happy, but it had the opposite effect. She was more apprehensive than ever waiting for the other shoe to drop.
What were they waiting for? She thought as she lowered her rifle at the same moment Blue River lowered his, and they looked at each other.
“What does this mean, Blue River? Why haven’t they attacked?”
“Miss Lijuan, I honestly don’t know. The warriors certainly had the fire in their bellies to attack the town.”
"You must have some idea, some insight into this Summer Sky. She was your friend once. Even if you were children."
He shifted on his feet and furrowed his brow, "She's a proud woman, one with convictions. Not unlike you and our other sisters. Some of her grievances have merit, but I was sure that I could reach her and make her see the logic that an attack will only trigger what she fears most—mounted troops sweeping in to wipe them all out. I can't understand it. She's grown into quite the woman."
Lijuan's lips curled up into a smile, and she cocked her head, "Is there any chance that the reason you decided to go on this trip with me was that you knew being in the area you might see her again? Thinking back when we first got here I even heard you say her name to Little Flower and Crow Woman. You were asking about her, weren't you? I know you were, Little Brother. Besides, I can't remember the last time you took a break from the mill, and yet you volunteered to come with me," she teased, but there was an element of truth in what she said.
Since taking charge of the Wilde family timber operations after a long apprenticeship, he had thrown himself into it with passion. So much so that he had spent little time with his tribe, and in the past, he had always tried to maintain a balance between the two worlds he lived in.
Blue River chuckled and with a shake of his head he sighed. “Can’t a man spend some time helping his sister? There is going to be danger to be had traveling the badlands, and I would you safely across them.”
More truth. The badlands lay between the Mexican border and the first of the Los Tres Vallies consisting of their destination, the first valley the Canebraro, the other two being the Verde Abundante and the Rio Sangre valleys. For a moment she thought of her sisters. The details had been sketchy the previous morning when she had awoken and learned Cattie and Cassandra had gone off to help a group of Mexican families that were having some sort of trouble in the Rio Sangre. Beyond that, she knew little. She silently wished them safety and would have done so for Honor Elizabeth had she known that she was bound for the Verde Abundante.
Circling back around to Blue River she tried to bring a little levity back into the situation and pressed, “Now, you can tell me. You probably wanted to see how she turned out. Maybe strike up a little spark between you. You’re a Wilde. You got that drive in your blood that enjoys the fun that comes with a new play partner. As said
we all do—except David of course.”
Blue River had been smiling until she mentioned their brother, and she watched as a somber expression came over the young man’s face. Lijuan knew she wasn’t going to like what she was about to hear next.
“Another reason for traveling with you was I hoped it would give us a chance to talk. About you and my sister, about Bright Feather.”
Unconsciously she stepped back from him and blew out a noisy breath. “Now I don’t think this is a good time for such talk.” She raised her gun back up and swept it from left to right looking at the increasingly darkening terrain. “We could be facing a massacre and your sister is the least of my concerns right now. We don’t know how this is going to go down. You and I might not make it out of here. This could well wind up for us being the town of no return.”
With a set jaw, he closed the distance she had created between them and said, “If we do get out of this. The time will come when we must speak of this, yes?”
"Yes," she said softly, fighting not to roll her eyes as she might usually do. Her younger brother was such a good man. She didn't wish to show disrespect to him by disregarding his concerns. How was it even possible that he was a brother to Bright Feather? It was something she knew she probably never would be able to reconcile. At this moment any attempt to do so was about to be cut short as the sound of a pair of feet coming up to the roof suddenly made themselves heard. The Wildes turned to see the two Tatums come through the door and dash right over to them.
“What is it?” Lijuan asked in alarm. “Did someone spot movement out there? They could be sneaking up. It’s almost dark.”
“No! It’s worse than that. It’s Mister Farquhar!” Rosalee blurted out as Lijuan and Blue River turned and looked at each other puzzled before shifting their gaze back to the other set of siblings.
“He’s a regular! He comes and stays at our hotel the same day every month, and he’s done it without fail for over a year! He’s a liquor salesman that takes care of the two saloons in town. He’s not here!” Rosalee was becoming very emotional now, her face was flushed, and tears seemed to almost be in her eyes.
“You want to back up here a minute?” Lijuan said.
She wasn’t one known for her abundance of patience. Ross, to her relief, picked up on it and looped his arm around his sister’s shoulder and cleared his throat.
“What Rosalee is trying to say is that he should have arrived on the late stage. But only now did she realize it hadn’t shown up.”
“I was cooking for our guests turned prisoners. One, of course, who is a murderer who has cast this shadow of death over us all! Then I realized Mr. Farquhar wasn’t here. I ran over to the stage company and found that it had not passed through the defensive barrier! Oh, dear heavens! It should have been here by now! The Indians must have gotten Lowell!”
Neither Lijuan nor Blue River liked the sound of this but long having been one of the voices of reason in the Wilde family, a duty he shared with Cassandra. He said in a quiet voice there could have been any number of reasons why the stage hadn't arrived. His voice was soothing and seemed to calm Rosalee momentarily, but Lijuan looked out in the direction of which The Settlement lay.
"The stage route would have passed right by The Settlement, yes?" Blue River looked at her with alarm, and she knew he was concerned that she was about to undo his calming of the Tatum woman. Lijuan, however, was not one to sugar coat anything. A moment later she found out that Ross Tatum wasn't either.
“Lijuan, you think it might be possible that they intercepted the stage?”
“Not only might be possible. Very possible.”
Rosalee buried her head in her brother’s chest and was sobbing now. “Oh, no! Not Lowell. Not Lowell.” Ross held her tighter as he grimaced through clenched teeth.
“It would explain why they didn’t attack. Choosing to capture the passengers as their prisoners instead. But the question is why?”
The quartet fell silent, none seemingly having answers. Suddenly the tranquil night air was shattered as two buildings over from the group a pair of men began blasting their Winchesters down towards the landscape behind their building. As the gunfire reverberated in the night, the crowd on edge that had assembled on the main street, which now resembled a courtyard with both ends sealed off, let loose with men shouting and women screaming.
Lijuan and the others raced to the edge of the building and called across the way to the men who were lowering their weapons.
"Is it them! The Mescaleros?"
“No, ma’am.” One of the men said his head slightly bowed, as the other gunman continued looking over the edge of the building. “Just a coyote.”
A collective sigh of relief swept over her group, but this time she didn't refrain from rolling her eyes. Quickly, however, she reigned in her exasperation. These people were scared, and they had a right to be. Lijuan turned her attention to Rosalee who was gently sobbing the name Lowell.
“I assume that Mr. Farquhar, or Lowell rather, is more than just a guest to you Rosalee?” she prodded.
The woman wiped her nose with her sleeve and faced Lijuan. “I will admit that I am quite fond of him. He has been courting me for the better part of a year. I await the day he has the fortitude to make an actual commitment.”
Lijuan idly swished her right foot to and fro on the rooftop as she fought to holster her natural urge to make a cynical comment. Experience told her it was likely Lowell Farquhar's reluctance to commit might have something to do with him being a traveling salesman who probably had a filly in every town he peddled his liquor in. Instead, she gave voice to what she inevitably knew that she was going to do as soon as she heard the stage was missing.
Smiling she said, “Well, we best not write off your beau just yet. Blue River and I will ride out and see if we can find out what happened to the stage.” No sooner had she stopped speaking than Rosalee clasped her fists in front of her with hope blossoming on her face.
“You would do that?” she asked, her words rushing together.
A gentle night wind blew across the rooftop as Lijuan looked at Blue River, his hair buffeted slightly by the warm breeze as he nodded.
“We are going to need your horses.”
CHAPTER 14
PALMAREZ, MEXICO
Emerging from a bustling saloon whose ancient sign featured the Spanish equivalent of “The Quick Draw,” Dutch and Bright Feather slowly began to walk back down the main street. It was a wide street, with shops along the way and a few houses, but the majority of establishments were saloons, gambling halls, whore houses or combinations of them all. Numerous back alleys appeared along the way inviting only trouble for those who dared to venture in them.
During his time in a POW camp near the end of the Civil War one of his fellow prisoners relentlessly turned to the Good Book to get him through the hell they were living through. Palmarez sounded like a spiritual cousin to the Sodom and Gomorrah the soldier often referenced from his Bible. As they walked past hitching posts all the way down the boardwalk that looked like it was thrown together as an afterthought, his mind journeyed back to their earlier arrival in this hell hole.
***
The pair rode into town desperately hoping for better luck in this outlaw town. Their trip the previous day to Salazar's hometown had been a complete disappointment. After a long and dusty ride from Fort Campbell, they had arrived to find any family the man had there had either left or been gunned down long ago. Fruitlessly they spent the remainder of the day searching the numerous saloons and houses of ill repute but to no avail. Reluctantly, they had no choice but to bunk down for the night. This morning they had made a final sweep of the town before conceding they had no choice but to move on to Palmarez, the second likely prospect as to where the murdering bandit may have escaped to.
They had chosen to go the long way over the foothills that ran along the edges of the badlands rather than cross the open flats. They had done it to familiarize themselves with the route
in mind to take their quarry back to Arizona. It had been a successful trip as far as scouting went. They had found a spot in the foothills beneath Los Valdez Mountain that would serve them on the return trip. They agreed that a clearing alongside a stream would suit their purposes. Then they had proceeded around Los Valdez, and Palmarez had come into view, and at last, they had crossed into the desperado's haven.
“Nice quiet little place.” Bright Feather said airily as a fight broke out alongside the road ahead of them.
A big guy, bald and shirtless, was taking a swing at a little thin man who ducked avoiding the blow. The mountain of a man had many scars on his back and chest. The smaller fighter's black hair swirled around his head as he ducked again and then kicked the big guy in the thigh hard. He stumbled and fell to a knee leaving himself open for the diminutive man to jump up and bring his fist down against the bald guy's jaw. There was a loud crack, and the man went face first into the dirt. His smaller opponent stepped up and kicked his ribs three times and then left the big man moaning in the dust, no doubt several of those ribs at best cracked, at worst severely broken.
As they moved forward, two men came rolling out of the nearest tavern. One of them got the upper hand and began dunking his opponent's head in a horse trough. Another building down two women were fighting over a man, pulling hair and ripping bodices. The man they were fighting over was leaning against a wall, laughing at the situation.
“Funny. This makes Saturday night in Alamieda outside Gabriel’s Cantina look like Sunday morning at the Methodist church. C’mon, beautiful, let’s find what passes for a hotel around here,” Dutch said with some amusement. As they continued further down Main Street, Bright Feather noticed an Indian woman sweeping the walk in front of a shop. The faded sign in English said only, “Mending.” Bright Feather nodded to the older woman and she nodded back at her as they continued to the Hotel Franco. It was made of wood and looked like a worn-down version of similar buildings across the territories north of the border.
The Town 0f No Return: Special Edition (Half Breed Haven Book 11) Page 10
