The Whippoorwill Trilogy

by Sharon Sala

  “Feel that?” she asked.

  Robert Lee was so stunned he had forgotten to breathe, but then he felt a solid little thump against his palm and grunted as if he’d been kicked.

  “Lord,” he said softly, then leaned forward, resting his forehead against Letty’s forehead, feeling the warmth of her breath on his face. “Does that hurt?”

  “No.”

  “My baby and I are alive because of you.”

  Tears blurred his vision. He tried to pull away, but Letty wouldn’t let go.

  “Please… Letty… don’t do this.”

  “Don’t do what, Robert Lee?”

  “You’re just upset and—”

  “Hell yes, I’m upset,” she said. “But I’m not dead.” Her voice broke. “My Mama and Papa are dead. Eulis is dead. That piece of shit who was trying to pass himself off as a man is dead. But I’m not and my baby’s not… and you’re not dead either, Robert Lee. I don’t know what I’ve done to hurt your feelings, but whatever it is, I’m right sorry.”

  Robert Lee groaned and pushed away from where Letty was standing then turned his back on her.

  “You didn’t hurt my feelings.”

  “Then why have you been so… so… cold?”

  He turned abruptly.

  “Cold is hardly the word I would use to describe my feelings for you.”

  Letty’s mouth opened, but the words didn’t come. Slowly, understanding dawned.

  “Oh… Robert Lee, I—”

  “Don’t say it,” he muttered. “Don’t say anything. You sit down. I’m going to go see if the women are in the root cellar. If you’re a mind to keep talking, then say a prayer to that God of yours that they’re all still alive.”

  With that, he strode out of the kitchen with his jaw set, his shoulders hunched against a blow that never came.

  Letty stood up. Startled by his revelation, she didn’t know what to do, but then the baby kicked again, and her answer came. She watched Robert Lee from the kitchen window, praying as she’d never prayed before.

  “Please God, You know my heart, and you know I’ve done wrong. But please don’t let the girls be harmed. Please, Lord. You took Eulis from me. Don’t take them, too.”

  Robert Lee disappeared down in the cellar.

  Her eyes were burning with unshed tears.

  Alice saw Robert Lee first. Even though she was bound and gagged, she started to cry as he untied her.

  “Oh, law… you’re a sight for sore eyes,” she said. “We heard gunshots! What happened? Is Letty all right?”

  “Letty’s fine,” Robert Lee said, and took out his knife and cut the bindings at Mary’s ankles.

  Little Katie was bound and gagged and lying face down. He picked her up and deposited her in Alice’s lap before untying her. She was so traumatized she wasn’t crying.

  Delilah seemed to be the worse for wear. There was blood all over the front of her clothes. When he untied the gag that had been on her mouth, he saw that she’d also been beaten. His hands were gentle as he pulled the bindings from her face and hands.

  “He hit you,” Robert Lee said, lightly touching the side of Delilah’s swollen nose. “Can you breathe through it?”

  There were tears in her eyes as she nodded.

  “Good,” he said. “Maybe it’s not broken.”

  As soon as Delilah’s hands were free, she put both hands to her face, tracing the shape of her features and thankful that they felt almost normal. From the way her head and face was throbbing, she had imagined the worst.

  “I’ll carry Katie,” Robert Lee said. “Can you ladies make it up the steps?” he asked.

  The trio stood, wincing as the feeling began to come back into their arms and legs.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Robert Lee said, and led the way up and out of the cellar.

  The longer Robert Lee stayed down in the cellar, the more frightened Letty became. She was at the point of going to see for herself when T-Bone suddenly appeared from the forest and hobbled toward the cellar. Letty remembered then what Robert Lee had said—that the pup had come after him.

  She swallowed past a knot in her throat. Twice now that dog had helped save her, too. Once from a rattlesnake—and now from a snake with two legs. And from what she could see, the dog was injured.

  Then she saw Robert Lee emerging from the cellar carrying little Katie in his arms. She held her breath, waiting, praying—then they came up one by one with Alice in the lead—then Mary—then finally Delilah.

  Letty’s eyes were burning as she headed for the door. When the women saw her, they ran past Robert Lee with their arms outstretched, smothering Letty with their cries of relief.

  She never looked down at the body of the man who’d held them hostage, nor did the women as they embraced each other, continuing to laugh, then cry, then embrace each other again.

  Robert Lee handed Katie to Alice.

  “I’m going down to get the sheriff,” he said, and rode out of the yard without looking back.

  “What’s wrong with Robert Lee?” Alice asked.

  Letty couldn’t look at him without feeling a sharp pain near her heart. He’d asked if she trusted him. She’d answered yes without hesitation. But was it just trust—or was it something more that she felt for this man?

  “I reckon he’s a bit upset at having to shoot that man,” Mary offered, eyeing the dead man near the steps.

  “Alice, you and Katie go on in the house,” Delilah said. “She doesn’t need to be seeing this.”

  Alice gathered the little girl up and hurried inside.

  Delilah, on the other hand, had no problem with the body at her feet.

  “Damn shame you can’t kill a man twice,” she muttered, then kicked at the bottom of his shoe before stepping up on the porch.

  Mary put her arm around Letty’s shoulders and urged her up the steps.

  “Come on, darlin’. You need to get off your feet. This has been a bad morning all around.”

  “Did he harm any of you?” Letty asked. “Did he touch you in a—”

  “Sush now,” Mary said. “None of that happened, so don’t fuss. He might have thought about it, but it didn’t happen. He just kept talking about your gold mine and your money.”

  Letty frowned. She’d never dreamed how much trouble it could be to be rich.

  They buried the stranger in the town cemetery without knowing his name. Someone carved the words greedy bastard on his tombstone. It seemed to fit the situation.

  The incident was, for a while, all the gossip down in town, and then like everything, it was superseded by an even greater event.

  The territories had been hearing rumblings of discord for some time between the northern and southern states regarding many things, most of which hinged on the aspect of slavery. What with having to worry about droughts, prairie fires, Indian raids, and generally surviving in an unforgiving land, they’d paid little mind to suppositions. However, the last freight wagons to come through had brought news no one could ignore.

  The southern states had seceded from the Union of the United States of America.

  They were at war.

  Letty shut down the mine. She had more money than she could ever spend in two lifetimes, and now that the country was at war, moving gold bars, or large amounts of money from one place to another without being robbed was impossible. Breaking men’s backs for the accumulation of more wealth seemed redundant, especially since she’d learned firsthand, the reality of what happened to people who were filthy rich.

  Without asking what anyone thought, Robert Lee packed up his belongings and moved into a tent at the edge of the woods near Letty’s home.

  Letty didn’t know what to think. Robert Lee kept watch on the women, but he kept his distance. She had to satisfy herself with glimpses of him from time to time, and tell herself that whatever was not happening between them was for the best.

  The townspeople whispered among themselves about Robert Lee’s new home, but no one had the g
uts to tease him to his face. Even if they had, it wouldn’t have changed a thing. He wasn’t going to let another man lay a harsh hand on Letty, or for that matter, any of the women living in her house.

  Within a month of Robert Lee’s arrival at the hen house, the war was all the gossip. Men began to take sides. It wasn’t unusual for a brawl to break out at a saloon over who was in the right—the north or the south.

  Letty was beyond caring one way or the other. All of her days and nights were focused on the impending birth of her baby. Even though she chose to ignore a war that seemed too far away to consider, the war came to her, just the same.

  Soldiers And Patriots

  In his other life, Carson Mylam had been a banker. But that was before the country separated itself into a north and a south. Now there was something called the Mason-Dixon Line, and everything and everyone south of the line was engaged in battle, one way or another.

  He and thousands of other men entered the ranks of the Union army, whether they wanted to or not. Thanks to his father’s money and influence, Carson skipped conscription, and upon taking the oath of office, became an officer. The only problem was that Carson Mylam’s expertise lay in money—acquiring it and saving it. He barely knew the butt from the barrel of a gun.

  It had come to the attention of the powers that be in the Union army, that one of the largest depositors in Mylam’s Philadelphia bank was also the largest depositor in a Boston bank, as well as one in New York City. It was of no consequence to the war office that the depositor happened to be a woman. Seeing as how the country was at war, Mylam’s superiors decided to use him where he could best serve. Wars cost money. It seemed only fitting that one of the richest women in the country would want to donate to the war effort. The fact that she lived all the way out in the unsettled western territories was a little inconvenient. But Major Carson Mylam had been given a choice—pack his bags and head west, or saddle his horse and head south to join the battle.

  He’d opted for the territories. By the time he finally reached Denver City, he’d convinced himself that it hadn’t been a cowardly choice. The hardships he’d endured were far beyond what his cultured life in Philadelphia had been like. He’d eaten food cooked over a campfire, ridden in stagecoaches that had been robbed, been rained on, narrowly missed being struck by lightning, and come face to face with unfriendly Indians. Had he been alone, he would have died on the spot. Being in the midst of travelers who’d been born and bred on the frontier had been guidance enough to keep him in one piece. After all of that, he expected the rest of his trip would be simple.

  He presented himself at the Denver City bank with a letter of reference, and a request to meet with one Mrs. Leticia Potter, owner of the famous Potter mine. It came as a shock to learn that she’d shut them down, and when he learned that she’d been widowed only months earlier, and was now carrying her dead husband’s child, he was in a quandary. It seemed a bit hard-hearted to present a business proposition to a woman in mourning. Still, there was the war to consider—and in war time, everyone had to sacrifice.

  He took a room at the hotel across the street from the bank, made arrangements to hire a horse and pay a visit to Mrs. Potter first thing in the morning. He didn’t know word had already reached Letty that a stranger was in town asking about her, or that Robert Lee was laying in wait.

  In Philadelphia, Carson was accustomed to walking to work, or being driven to the bank in the family buggy during winter or inclement weather. Still, he certainly knew how to ride, and the horse he’d hired from the livery seemed amenable enough. The next morning, the owner of the livery pointed out the big house sitting on the mountain above Denver City, as well as the road leading to it. Carson mounted and rode off; aware of the fine figure he cut in the Union officer’s uniform.

  However, the dark blue uniform with its bright gold buttons and braid would do nothing for Robert Lee’s attitude toward Letty’s visitor. He wouldn’t have cared if the man had been sporting wings and carrying a letter from God. Visitors had to go through him to get to her.

  Letty had known since yesterday that a man from back East had come to Denver City to see her. She couldn’t help but remember that the last man she’d met from back East had died in her bed. Sadly, Eulis was no longer here to back her up, but considering the size of her belly and the formidable presence of the gunslinger camped out on the edge of her property, she wasn’t expecting problems.

  Robert Lee had been up since before sunrise. His tent was roomy enough for him to stand up in should the need arise, but he rarely spent any time in it other than to sleep. He had a small table set up beneath a tree outside the tent where he kept a basin and a bucket of water. Every other day he shaved. Today would have been an off day, but since he’d heard about the man who’d come to find Letty, he hadn’t been able to rest easy, so he’d passed part of the time waiting by giving himself a shave.

  His lack of trust in his fellow man had been magnified a thousand times by his feelings for her. Never in his life had he felt so helpless, yet been so driven to be near her. He kept remembering the day he’d first seen her. He’d walked all the way to the mine from Denver City. It had been one of the lowest points in his life—no horse—no money—and he couldn’t remember the last day he’d eaten a meal. He’d been so sick of his life, and so desperate for a second chance, he’d been willing to work at almost anything. He still marveled at the odds of coming upon a man for whom he’d once done a good deed—a deed that prompted the man to return the favor.

  The way he looked at it, Eulis Potter had pretty much saved his life. He tried to convince himself that his feelings for Letty were all mixed up with his appreciation to Eulis, but when he was being honest, he knew that was a lie. He coveted his friend’s wife and had, almost from the moment they’d met. And, everything she’d done since had only enforced the emotion. He admired her strength, her faith, and her spirit. He loved her face, her laughter, and her body—even the baby within. Still, he had no rights and no hopes beyond what already was. He’d told himself that he could be happy just knowing that Letty and her child would be happy and live a good long life. Most of the time, he believed it.

  Carson Mylam rode up the mountain with ease. The weather was a little hot for the wool uniform, but he was convinced it would help make his case. Even though his hired horse was less remarkable than his fine blooded gelding back home in Philadelphia, he knew he looked good.

  He had a letter from Abraham Lincoln, himself, as well as letters of reference from two of his superiors, both of whom were generals. He had no doubt that she would be suitably impressed. Lord knows he was impressed with himself. The visions he had in his head of returning to Philadelphia with what amounted to “the fatted calf” were many, and all awash in grandeur.

  That he had to get past Robert Lee Slade to make that happen was a situation of which he was yet unaware.

  Robert Lee saw the man coming from a quarter of a mile away. Seeing that he was wearing a soldier’s uniform was somewhat surprising, but he held his opinions to himself. He didn’t care if the man was sporting badges from every law enforcement agency in the nation. He wasn’t getting to Letty until Robert Lee said so.

  He glanced back toward the Potter house. Katie was playing with T-Bone in the front yard. Delilah was digging in the flower bed beside the steps. From time to time, he caught glimpses of Mary, who was at the side of the house, hanging laundry. Since it was nearing noon, he knew Alice would be in the kitchen preparing the meal. He looked up at the second floor, where he knew Letty’s bedroom to be. He imagined her reclining, with her feet up and her body great with child, only his imagination was far from the truth.

  Had he been able to see a little farther around the back of the house, he would have seen Letty standing beside an open fire and stirring a concoction in a large iron kettle. But he couldn’t see, and the wind was taking the odor of soap making in the other direction.

  Oblivious to the small drama playing out on the other side o
f her house, Letty was focused on the last steps of making her lye soap. Among other things, it took animal fat, lye, and wood ash to make the concoction, which in itself, made a phenomenal mess. Although she could have ordered tons of fine, scented soap that wouldn’t have put a dent in her finances, she favored her own over what Milton Feasley kept in his dry goods store.

  “Need some help?” Mary asked, as she walked toward the house with an empty wash basket.

  “Yes. I’m about ready to pour it up,” Letty said. “Tell Alice to come help. It’s going to take all of us to lift the kettle.”

  Mary hurried into the house, returning moments later with Alice at her heels. Together, the three women emptied the contents in the black cast-iron pot into four long, shallow, wooden troughs. The liquid soap needed to cool in the troughs before it would solidify. After that, they would cut it into small bricks to be used in washing everything from dishes, to bodies, to clothes. As they were filling the last wooden flat, Major Mylam was topping the hill upon which Letty’s house had been built.

  It was the sight of a magnificent elk bounding out of the trees and into his path that distracted Carson Mylam’s focus. There was a moment when man and animal looked into each other’s eyes. At another time, they would have been adversaries. Fortunately for both, they were focused on other agendas. The elk whistled sharply, then cleared the road in one leap and bounded away.

  Carson inhaled deeply, still lost in admiration of the spectacle, and missed seeing Robert Lee’s appearance. When he did look back at the road in front of him, it was to find an armed man standing between him and the elegant, two-story house.

  “I say!” Carson exclaimed, and automatically put his hand on his pistol.

  “Don’t do it,” Robert Lee said softly. “State your business.”