The Whippoorwill Trilogy

by Sharon Sala

  By this time, Alice had come out on the porch. Her face was sweaty and flushed from baking bread, and the front of her apron was white with flour. She took one look at the shock on Letty’s face, then grabbed her by the arm and gave her a shake.

  “Breathe, woman!” Alice cried.

  Letty leaned against the porch rail to keep from falling.

  “What happened?” Letty asked.

  Noah pulled off his hat as he began to recite the news.

  “Robert Lee was going into the bank when robbers came running out, making off with the money. Amos Trueblood came out all bloody and yelling that he’d just been robbed. Robert Lee went and shot both men dead in the street, but not before one of them put a shot in him.”

  “Oh lord,” Letty muttered.

  “Is it bad?” Alice asked.

  “I couldn’t rightly say, ma’am,” Noah said. “I was to meet up with him at the smelter, but when I heard what happened, I went straight to the Doc’s. He was laid out on Doc’s table when I got there and I didn’t see him talking.”

  Letty bolted off the porch.

  “You can’t ride in those clothes,” Alice yelled. “Go change.”

  Since Letty rarely left the house these days, she had taken to wearing dresses again, but she ignored Alice’s orders as she made a run for the shed.

  “Where are you going?” Alice cried.

  “To saddle my horse,” Letty called.

  “I’ll do it for you, ma’am,” Noah said, and rode past her to the shed. By the time she got there, he had a bridle and a saddle blanket on the horse, and was reaching for the saddle.

  Moments later, Letty hitched up her skirts and mounted without care that her skirt and petticoats were bunched up around her waist, and her legs were bare clear to her knees.

  She kicked the horse in the flanks and away they went.

  “Oh law!” Alice cried, when she saw Letty’s bare flesh, and covered her face with her apron.

  Letty rode down the mountain without thought for decorum, begging God all the way there to spare Robert Lee. The streets were awash with people who’d heard about the robbery. Some had gathered on corners to rehash the gossip, while others had moved to the blacksmith shop to get a look at the two dead men.

  There were plenty who saw Letty Potter come riding into town with her hair flying and her skirts up around her waist. They all saw her bare legs and bouncing bosom, but no one had the guts to voice an opinion as to the wisdom of such a stunt.

  Letty got to the doctor’s office, but when she dismounted, she found herself shaking so hard she didn’t think she could walk.

  Mildred had seen her coming, and ran out to meet her.

  “Lawsy sakes, Miz Potter, your limbs were showing,” she cried, as Letty tied her horse to the rail.

  Letty grabbed Mildred’s arm.

  “Tell me he’s not dead.”

  “How ’bout if I tell you, myself,” Robert Lee said, as he walked out of the house.

  Letty took one look at his face, saw the sling over his shoulder and the bandage on his arm, right before her eyes rolled back in her head. She was out before she hit the ground.

  “Damn it,” Robert Lee muttered, and bolted off the porch.

  “Oh my!” Mildred gasped, and ran into the house, calling her husband’s name.

  Letty came to almost as fast as she’d passed out. Robert Lee was kneeling at her side and cradling her head in his lap.

  “What happened?” she mumbled, as she pushed herself upright.

  “I reckon you fainted, ma’am,” he said softly, regretting the fact that he no longer had an excuse to be touching her.

  “I don’t faint,” she said, then pointed to his arm. “Are you all right?”

  He grinned slowly. “Except for a hole in my shoulder, I’m just fine.”

  “I fail to see the humor in this,” Letty said. “You could have been killed.”

  Her fear and anger surprised him. His expression stilled.

  “There are far too many times in my life when that has sure been the case. Today was no different. However, if you don’t mind my sayin’, I am right glad it isn’t so.”

  His soft voice rattled across Letty’s senses. She looked up into his dark, solemn eyes, and then swallowed nervously.

  “Well… of course, I am, too.”

  At that point, Dr. Warren came running out of the house.

  “What’s going on out here?” he cried, as he ran down the steps.

  “She fainted,” Robert Lee said.

  Letty glared. “I don’t faint.”

  Robert Lee frowned. His shoulder was hurting something fierce and he wasn’t in the frame of mind to let Letty get away with the lie.

  “You know, Doc, she must be right. I guess I just mistook her fainting, when it must have been disgust. I reckon that when she saw my ugly mug, she closed her eyes from the sight, and then fell on her ass because she couldn’t see where she was going.”

  The doctor swallowed what sounded like a small snort of glee as Letty gasped. Robert Lee had just mentioned her backside and made fun of her at the same time. She pointed her finger in his face.

  “It’s not polite to talk about women’s body parts.”

  “No one ever accused me of having manners,” Robert Lee drawled.

  Letty fidgeted. “I didn’t faint, I guess I was just… just… relieved and uh… afraid.”

  “There’s nothing to be afraid of,” he said softly.

  Letty didn’t know why, but she suddenly felt as if he was saying one thing but meaning another. It threw her off kilter even more.

  “Well, I—” Letty stuttered and then waved her hand. “Oh… never mind, just somebody please help me up.”

  Dr. Warren took her by the arm and helped her up while Robert Lee kept his distance. Once Letty was up, she began brushing the dust from her dress and muttering beneath her breath.

  “I swear… scared me half to—… don’t know what—… high and dry… damn guns.”

  Robert Lee ignored her fussing because he couldn’t fix what was wrong with her, anymore than he could fix what was wrong with himself. She was at a loss without her husband, and he was drowning in his own love for her.

  “I gotta go find my horse,” he said, and then shook the doctor’s hand. “I appreciate you fixing me up.”

  “My pleasure, Robert Lee. Take care of yourself, and if you have any trouble with that shoulder, you come back to see me.”

  “All right,” Robert Lee said, and waited until the doctor had gone back in the house before he turned to Letty.

  “Where is your horse?” she asked.

  “He was at the hitching rail at the bank, although when all the shooting started, people and horses went everywhere. I hope he’s still there.”

  Even as he was saying it, Noah Shaffer was riding up, leading Robert Lee’s horse.

  “It sure is good to see you standin’,” Noah said, as he dismounted and handed Robert Lee the reins.

  “Yeah, I’m encouraged by the fact, myself,” Robert Lee said. “I reckon I’ll be heading on back to the mine now.”

  “Oh no, you aren’t,” Letty said. “You’re coming home with me. You’re going to need some help with changing bandages and such.”

  Robert Lee didn’t know if the shock he was feeling showed on his face, but there was no way in hell he was going to spend a single night under the same roof with this woman.

  “No, ma’am, I’m not. I’ve been shot before, in far worse situations, and without a fine cabin or a horse to get me out of the weather.”

  Letty wouldn’t let it go. “But what if—”

  Robert Lee balked. “Ma’am. I appreciate you more than you will ever know, and I understand your kindness, but I’m going home.”

  Having declared himself, he grabbed the saddle-horn with his good arm and swung himself up in the saddle. Noah handed him the reins. His stubbornness cost him. Holding on so hard that his knuckles turned white—he bowed his head until he could
control his breathing and looked at Letty.

  “I’m available if you need me,” he told her, then looked at Noah. “It’s time we got back.”

  “Yes, sir,” Noah said, and together, they rode out of town.

  Letty watched until she could no longer see them, then mounted her horse and went home.

  Alice was on the porch, anxiously awaiting news.

  “Oh, Letty! Thank goodness you’re back! How is Robert Lee?”

  “I suppose he’s just fine… he said he was fine, and who am I to argue,” she snapped, and led her horse toward the shed.

  That night when she went upstairs to go to bed, she changed into her nightgown and walked to the window overlooking the backyard.

  The quarter moon appeared in the sky like a tear in the fabric of heaven, partially hidden by the constantly moving clouds. She tried, without success, to pinpoint Eulis’ grave. It was strange, knowing it was there, but not being able to see it. She’d had no idea how much she’d depended on him until he was no longer here. Talking to him, even when she couldn’t see him, seemed to help.

  “Well, you probably already know this, but I thought I’d let you know that Robert Lee went and got himself shot today.” She paused for a bit, thinking out what she needed to get off her chest. “I got mad at him. That wasn’t right, was it?” She tunneled her fingers through her hair. “I don’t know what I was thinking, but when Noah Shaffer rode up and told us he’d been shot, well, you can imagine what I thought. I thought about you. You went and died on me. I guess I was afraid he would, too. That’s crazy, isn’t it? I don’t know why I’m acting like this. I took care of myself for all those years without anybody’s help… except maybe yours. You did make sure I had my hot bath water when I wanted it, didn’t you?”

  The wind was rising. It rattled the panes in the window enough that she flinched.

  “It looks like we might get ourselves a storm tonight, which reminds me… I’ve been wondering about digging a root cellar. Probably should have put one under the house. I’ll think on it some.”

  She looked up at the sky again, then back down at the darkness and reluctantly laid the flat of her hand on the window to bid him goodbye.

  “Goodnight, Eulis. I miss you. Thanks for listening.”

  As Letty had predicted, a thunderstorm swept through the area, moving at a wild, frantic pace and leaving an inch of rain behind. It muddied up the streets and roads some, but nothing that couldn’t be traversed.

  She woke up with the feeling that something important needed to be done. It took her a few moments to remember about Robert Lee getting shot. Her instincts were to ride out and check on him, make sure he hadn’t come down with a fever, or was in terrible pain and unable to tend to his own needs.

  But, she didn’t. In fact, she was a little uncertain as how to proceed with Robert Lee. In a way, he’d done something that no other man had ever been able to do.

  He intimidated her. A lot.

  A few days later, a couple of freight wagons arrived, which was a big relief to Milton Feasley’s customers. He’d been out of coffee for more than a month, and while they were accustomed to doing without many things, coffee was something they didn’t want to give up.

  Milton had hired a couple of men to help the driver unload his goods, and they were in the act of carrying them through the store to the storeroom, when another customer entered the store.

  Milton looked up and frowned. It was Delilah, the whore from the hotel. He’d availed himself of her services a couple of times, but there was a fine line between her accommodating him, and him being able to accommodate her. He hurried to the counter, nervously glancing around.

  “Miss Delilah?”

  Delilah Carter knew she was crossing a line, but she needed food just like the rest of Denver City’s fine citizens. She laid a list in front of Milton and dared him to make an issue of it.

  Milton cleared his throat and picked up the list.

  “Coffee… cornmeal… beans?” He scanned the rest of the items she’d written down and then frowned. “I didn’t realize you had access to a cook stove.”

  Delilah smiled coolly, when she really wanted to slap his face. “Like everyone else, I require food to live. I do not live in the hotel. It’s just where I do my business, remember?”

  Milton flushed nervously. He didn’t particularly want it known that he had taken advantage of her services, and decided that the best way to deal with it was to get her list filled and get her out of the store as soon as possible.

  “I’ll be getting these for you right now. If you want to wait out—”

  She glared. “I’ll be right here.”

  Milton flushed.

  “Yes, of course. I won’t be long.”

  “I’ll just bet,” Delilah muttered, as he began scurrying about the store.

  “Sometimes, they just grate on your last nerve, don’t they?”

  Delilah flinched, and then turned around, surprised that a woman was actually speaking to her. Then she recognized the woman and her surprise deepened.

  “Mrs. Potter?”

  “Call me Letty,” she said, and smiled. “My husband and I lived across the hall from you a while back. Maybe you remember?”

  Delilah flushed. “Yes, ma’am, I remember. I’m real sorry about your husband and all. I would have come to the services, but I knew it wouldn’t be proper. Still, you have my sympathies.”

  Letty nodded.

  “Thank you.” Then she pointed toward the new crates being unpacked in the back room. “Did you come for coffee, too?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Letty smiled again. “Your name is Delilah, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Delilah Carter.”

  “Where are you from?”

  Delilah rolled her eyes. “You name it.”

  Letty understood. She eyed her closer, guessing her age at about twenty, maybe twenty two. She was a tall, pretty girl with auburn hair and blue eyes. Her skin was smooth and clear, but there was a hard look in her eyes that Letty recognized. The young woman had no trust left in her.

  Milton came scurrying by, then glared at Delilah as if she was overstepping her bounds by even speaking to Denver City’s richest woman.

  Letty saw the look and glared back at Milton, startling him to the point that he got flustered and dropped the bag of beans he’d been carrying. It hit the floor with a splat and burst open, sending dry, speckled beans in every direction.

  “Oh! I’m so sorry!” Milton gasped, and ran for a broom and pan to scoop them up. They had to be washed anyway, so he didn’t figure they’d come to any harm.

  “We’ll get out of your way for a bit,” Letty said, and pointed toward the corner of the store where the fabrics were kept. “Join me… will you?”

  Delilah was more than surprised. She was shocked.

  “Thank you, ma’am, but I don’t think it would be—”

  Letty took her by the arm and all but dragged her away from the counter.

  “Don’t look so startled,” Letty said. “I have something to ask you.” She put her hands on her hips and eyed the young woman from head to toe. “Do you like what you’re doing?”

  Delilah frowned. “If you’re about to preach at me, ma’am, then I’d just as soon you kept your thoughts to yourself. You’ve obviously never been in my position, or you wouldn’t ask a question like that?”

  Letty led with her chin and kept talking.

  “That’s just it, honey… I have been in your position… for years back in the Kansas territories… in a watering hole in Lizard Flats called The White Dove Saloon.”

  Delilah’s lips went slack. Her eyes widened in disbelief.

  “I don’t get it. If this is true, then why are you telling me this?”

  “Because I thought if you were interested, you might consider changing your occupation.”

  A muscle jerked near Delilah’s left eye, but her voice never wavered.

  “I didn’t choose my occupati
on. It chose me. Believe me, not a day goes by that I don’t wish the redskins had killed me, too, when they killed my Ma and Pa.”

  “Where were you when this happened?” Letty asked.

  “We’d just crossed the Mississippi.”

  “How did you get away?”

  “I wasn’t in camp when they attacked.” Tears suddenly pooled in Delilah’s eyes and rolled down her face unchecked. “I hid when I heard the war cries. Then I heard Mama screaming and closed my eyes. When I woke up, it was night and they were gone. They scalped my folks and took the wagon and horses. A pair of French trappers found me.”

  Letty hurt for the child Delilah had been. Their lives were too similar to ignore.

  “How old were you?”

  “Ten.”

  “Lord,” Letty muttered, and then a thought occurred. “How old were you when they started messing with you?”

  “Ten.”

  Letty folded her arms across her breasts and stared Delilah straight in the face.

  “I have an offer to make.”

  “What?”

  “If you want… I’m offering you a way out of the life you’re living.”

  Delilah frowned. She’d been wise to the ways of the world for far too long to trust anyone or anything.

  “Oh yeah… and what do you want in return?” she asked.

  “Nothing,” Letty said.

  Delilah’s heart skipped a beat. If the woman was serious, this just might turn out to be the best day of her life.

  “Why would you do this?” Delilah whispered.

  “Because someone did it for me,” Letty said softly, thinking of Eulis.

  “I don’t understand,” Delilah said, and then started to cry.

  “You don’t have to understand. You just have to make a decision to give up this life for another.”

  “But what will I do?” Delilah said. “I don’t know any other way.”

  “Something will come to you, I’m sure,” Letty said.

  “Are you sure?” Delilah asked.

  “I’m rich as sin,” Letty said. “Might as well do something useful with it.”

  Delilah threw her arms around Letty’s neck and hugged her fiercely. Letty smiled, and patted her on the back.