Honor flipped her hair as she raised her own eyebrows, “Be that as it may!”
Whip, who had not spoken since Blue River arrived, eyed his son. “I take it from the look on your face it’s not good news from Miss Greystone, son.”
Shaking his head, he walked towards his father, the drooping of his shoulders noticed by all. “No, Judge, it isn’t. She’s asked me not to write anymore. She says she understands I did what I had to do, but justice has moved swiftly and her father has been sentenced to be hung.”
He sat calmly beside Whip as he continued to air his frustration. “She’s back in New York with her older brother and sister,” he said as he stared off in the direction of the ranch house. “Sadie can’t bear to witness seeing Greystone swing from the gallows,” he murmured.
Whip stroked his chin before he addressed his youngest again. “It would have been the only sentence I would have meted out had I been trying the case,” he said leaning back. “After all, how many people died over his greed?”
Without any thought, Blue River responded, “Too many. But Sadie says she doesn’t blame me, but I was the one who captured him. She admits that will always be in her mind, so it’s best if we have no further contact.”
Lijuan crossed her arms and hissed. “What a bitch! She pretends she doesn’t want to make you feel guilty, but that’s exactly what she’s up to. That’s some thank you for saving her life!” she finished, making sure her head had been turned away to avoid missing her father’s look of disapproval at her language.
Dutch broke his silence with some words of consolation. “I don’t know, Beautiful and Graceful one. Maybe we shouldn’t judge her. It’s probably hard for her to reconcile a loving father with a murderer.”
Lijuan’s eyes warmed along with her frostiness, “Perhaps you’re right, David.”
The so far silent Bright Feather looked away and shook her head at Lijuan’s sudden change in demeanor before throwing in more consolatory words to Blue River. “Sadie may come around some day,” she offered calmly, “Just give it time, my brother.”
Silence followed before Blue River spoke reluctantly, "Perhaps. I would like to remain her friend." For a moment he fell silent. It wasn't quite the same, but in some measure, he felt the sting of rejection that perhaps Cotari had felt all those years he had held her at bay. It was not a very good feeling, he concluded. When next he saw his old friend, he would do something nice, something special for her. With thoughts of unrequited feelings on his mind, he suddenly remembered the object he carried in his pocket and turned his gaze towards his oldest sibling.
“Miss Cassandra, do you think you might take a short ride with me?” he asked solemnly.
“Sure,” a surprised Cassandra answered.
Half an hour later, they dismounted their horses at the edge of a small field behind the Cedar Ledge sawmill. Four tombstones stood in the clearing, and the pair walked over to a freshly dug grave. Cassandra peered down at the headstone.
“Carter Burnham,” she proclaimed, after some seconds of muteness. She spoke softly as she bent to have a closer look. “One of the men that died during the delivery. I remember inviting him to share a lunch with me not long ago. He seemed like such a nice man.”
“Yes, he was at that. The other man from Cedar Ledge was buried in his family plot, and as you know, this is where we have laid to rest men over the years that were killed working the timber operation.”
Cassandra respectfully mused as she bowed her head, “I’m thankful it’s a small number we see here.”
Blue River nodded, “Well, Carter Burnham had no family so we knew it was appropriate for him to rest here.” The sadness evident in his voice.
Sensing his somber mood, Cassandra reached out and touched Blue River’s shoulder before he stated, “We take care of our own.” As she consoled him she couldn’t help to wonder what had prompted their journey this place. It was time to find out.
“Why did you bring me here, little brother?”
Immediately, Blue River reached into his pocket and pulled out a small journal. “You know that after the posse we put together arrested Greystone, wiped out the so-called chief and most of his braves and captured their squaws, Grand Western was so grateful for ending the menace they sent Mr. Benson to personally deliver us a bonus.”
Cassandra instantly affirmed his recounting of the recent events with a nod, still puzzled, but she said, “Yes and as I recall at your suggestion, Lijuan used it to make improvements in the bunkhouse for men working our timber operation.”
“They deserved it, Miss Cassandra. The way they worked overtime to replace the ties we lost. Anyway, Miss Lijuan bought them all new mattresses.”
He stretched out his arm holding the book out to Cassandra as he spoke, “When we were replacing the mattress on the bunk Burnham slept in, we found this journal under his old mattress.”
Blue River moved his arm in a motion to get her to accept the book, “It’s yours to keep.”
Dumbfounded, Cassandra regarded her half-brother seeming confused, “But why?” she asked as she took it from him.
Blue River, his face grim, answered, “I wouldn’t normally have read it, but when it was being handed to me by the finder, it fell open and I saw your name. So, I looked.”
More perplexed than ever, she glanced quickly at the cover of the journal and inquired, “My name?”
Blue River then laid his hand on her shoulder as he revealed what he had discovered.
“Carter Burnham loved you, Miss Cassandra,” he whispered.
He met her searching eyes and raised his voice so it rang with conviction, “He loved you as much as a man could possibly love a woman it seems.” Pointing towards the journal he said, “It’s all there. I just thought you should know.”
He nodded at her and walked away. Slowly, Cassandra sat down and leaned against the tombstone and opened the journal.
As she read on, the whisper of the wind coursing its way through the ancient forest that surrounded the clearing could be heard above and below. Soon a tear rolled down her cheek and splashed into the freshly turned earth and it was only the first.
*************************************************************************************************************
PLEASE ENJOY A SNEAK PEAK AT AN EXCERPT OF AN UPCOMING RELEASE:
HALF BREED HAVEN WESTERN SHORT STORIES:
INTO THE LAIR OF LOS REY LOBO
(A Wilde SISTERS adult western adventure)
***
Like a polished gentleman, rather than one of the ruthless parties who had managed to run nearly the entire population out of their valley, Lobo pulled out the chair for Cassandra as she took her seat at the small table in his master bedroom. As soon as he pushed her chair back in he scooped up the bottle of wine that was sitting on the table and held it out for her.
“Chardonnay. From the Corderro Crest Vineyards! How wonderful!” she exclaimed as a look of approval swept across the man’s face.
“I figured a learned woman such as yourself would be able to spot a fine wine when she saw one. A shame what is happening to that once fine vineyard south of the border. Word has reached even up here that the drunkard who runs it is mismanaging it towards its extinction. What a loss to the world when no more of these fine wines flow from it.”
Cassandra could only nod. She knew full well of the plight of the vineyards, as they were owned by the family of Catalina’s late mother. A lifetime around the abundance of alcohol had left Catalina’s Uncle Hector addicted to his own product and despite the best efforts of his children, Cattie’s cousins, he was on the verge of ruining the prestigious vineyard that had thrived for well over two hundred years. It brought great sadness to Catalina she knew, that the legacy of the Corderro family was on the brink of ruin.
None of this, of course, could she discuss with Rey Lobo and wouldn't have even if she could. Instead, she merely nodded as the man produced a corkscrew and set to work on the bottle. Her eyes traveled about the room and one t
hing became very obvious. She had been in many a man's rooms and most looked like they were hit with some cross between a tornado and a hurricane, but not Carlos's room. Everything was in complete order and nary a speck of dust could be seen, which was no small feat living in the West. It seemed the man lived by a code of neatness that bordered on the obsessive.
As the cork came free and made a popping sound, her mind wandered back for a moment to earlier after she watched Honor Elizabeth and Cody Holmes slip back into the dense woods only moments before Dogget and Lobo returned. Once reunited, the hunting party journeyed back inside the mission walls with the fox. Lobo had left it with Dogget and had quickly escorted her up to his room. It was all playing out as she had overheard. The man was intent on getting her into his bed before Daniella returned.
If she wasn’t a trained professional, she would have snorted at the flimsy excuse he had given her to get her into the room. They were going to celebrate his “victory” in hunting down the fox. Now, if he had brought down a moose like she had seen her father do when she was a little girl still living in Philadelphia and they had gone on a trip to New York’s Adirondack Mountains, that would have been an impressive victory sparking a celebration. Still, she had shrugged her shoulders. At least he was going to try and seduce her. A much less suave criminal would have attempted to simply rape her, and she would have had to drastically alter her plans by killing the man right on the spot.
With the cork free and Lobo pouring them each a glass, she took it as an opportunity to study him closer. He truly was a handsome man. How had he gone down the path that he was on now? Was perhaps he once a good man and had been led astray by this sister Daniella? No way to know. Cassandra was just thankful that she found him attractive. Had he not been she would have had to find a way to stall his seduction until it was too late and his sister returned. Instead, she knew she would actually enjoy the sex she was about to have with the man.
Long ago all four sisters had agreed that they intended to enjoy life to the fullest, doing what they wanted when they wanted and with who they wanted. Sparking this had been the sobering knowledge that not one of their mothers had the chance to experience all that life had to offer as they had all died before their time. The four Wilde sisters were adamant that would never happen to them.
So here in this room, she would enjoy a carnal romp with this man. It had been longer than she had wished since her last man. Cassandra had been presented with a chance the previous week with a handsome sheriff that she had delivered a prisoner to. The criminal had been a man that her uncle the governor was determined to see behind bars for his reign of terror robbing post offices in the territory and had given her the assignment to track down.
Once the prisoner was locked up she and the sheriff had engaged in a great deal of flirtation. Unfortunately for her, that very day her “monthly” had commenced. The best she had been able to do was send the lawman on the way contented with blow job he wouldn’t soon forget and as fun as it had been for her she wanted a little gratification for herself.
Well, her monthlies were behind her, and she was going to lay with Rey Lobo right now and enjoy it. She hoped the criminal would enjoy it as well because there was every chance in the world that she would have to kill him later.
***
And a reminder this and other Wilde adventures now available or coming soon.
THE WILDES OF THE WEST #1: THE DAUGHTERS OF HALF BREED HAVEN
HALF BREED HAVEN #1: WILDE-FIRE
HALF BREED HAVEN #2: IN DANGER’S SHADOW
HALF BREED HAVEN #3: DARK RIVALS
HALF BREED HAVEN #4: SILVER, GOLD, AND DECEPTION
HALF BREED HAVEN #5: THE FORBIDDEN RANCH
HALF BREED HAVEN #6: SING THE DEATH SONG
ALL CAN BE FOUND AT THIS LINK
https://www.amazon.com/A.M.-Van-Dorn/e/B077GNX3GP/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
COMING in 2018
HALF BREED HAVEN WESTERN SHORT STORIES:
INTO THE LAIR OF LOS REY LOBO
(A Wilde SISTERS adult western adventure)
and
THE WILDES OF THE WEST #2: DANGER DOWN MEXICO WAY
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Disaster At Devil's Canyon: Blue River Wilde Western Adventure (Half Breed Haven Book 7) Page 14
