In Too Deep

by Mary Connealy

  Chapter

  10

  “Seth and I will go on into the cavern while you check your cattle.” Julia wasn’t sure quite when she started trusting that loco Seth Kincaid. About the same time he’d moved out probably. Absence definitely made her fonder of the man.

  Rafe narrowed his eyes. “No. If you go, I’m coming with you.”

  “We’ll just go in a little ways. I want to take Seth to the place where he brought us out, after the cave collapsed. He thinks there’s another entrance to that one cavern he liked so much.” She’d spent a good part of the ride home quizzing him.

  “Yeah, but it’s not very big,” Seth said. He looked toward the cavern, craving the dark tunnel. “I crawled through it on my belly and it was a squeeze. That’s why I don’t go that way.”

  Julia swallowed hard at the thought of being squeezed—maybe stuck—in a tunnel that small. She’d never been in anything like that. But she only needed a back way out of the cavern Seth wanted to show her. Just a back way, in case the roof fell in. She didn’t need to use it, only know it was there.

  God, why am I afraid? Don’t you want me to explore in there?

  She’d never feared a cave before. Of course she’d never run into trouble like she had in this cave. It flickered through her mind that maybe the fear was a warning. Maybe God wanted her to abandon the idea. . . .

  Then why did you put this desire in my heart to study fossils and stones, and why did you put me here beside this beautiful cavern?

  “Rafe.” She went up to him and took his arm.

  He frowned down at her. Then, as he looked in her eyes, he relented with a rueful smile. “I know, I’m just trying to put it off.” He leaned close to whisper, “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I don’t like that cave very much.”

  “No,” Julia said in mock surprise, “I had no idea.”

  “Let’s go. One hour, then I’ve got to check the cattle.”

  “Thanks.” Julia turned to Seth. “I just want you to show me the tunnel that makes a second exit.” So I can quit being afraid. “We won’t do any more than that today.”

  Seth shrugged. “I thought I might sleep in there tonight.”

  Rafe slashed one hand sideways. “No.”

  “No, Seth.” Julia spoke at the same time as her husband. “We’re worried about you having nightmares. I don’t think you should stay in there.”

  “I have nightmares no matter where I sleep.”

  “But we’re here to wake you up. Otherwise the dreams might torment you for hours.” Rafe took Julia’s hand and drew her along out of the barn. He came even with Seth and rested a strong hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I want you to stay in the house with us. Promise me that.”

  Rafe’s words could qualify as a request, but his tone was pure command.

  “Okay. Sure. Let’s go.” Seth said it so casually, Julia didn’t believe he took his promise seriously.

  They went to the cave entrance in the valley. Rafe had a lantern handy for each of them. The man was a fanatic about lanterns, which Julia appreciated.

  Seth led them down the steeply declining tunnel. He scampered along the narrow ledge of the hole. Julia followed much more cautiously.

  They moved quickly through a series of caves and tunnels, the tunnels seeming to get progressively tighter, though the caves they opened up to came in all sizes. Seth stopped at an entrance and looked inside. Julia saw her markings.

  “This is the cave that collapsed when Tracker was shooting at us.” Seth frowned as he stared at the nearly destroyed cave.

  “Rafe and I climbed over that low spot.” Julia pointed at a pile of stones that didn’t quite reach all the way to the cave ceiling. “We can still get into the tunnel you wanted us to use, but I don’t like the looks of the walls in here. See the cracks? I decided we should talk to you before we go any farther. I’d like to make sure there’s a second tunnel. So if this room caved in any more and blocked us off inside, we could still get out.”

  Seth tore his eyes away from the barrier of rock. “This was a pretty room. Tracker shouldn’t’ve done what he done. He ruined something beautiful.”

  For one long moment, Julia and Seth were in complete harmony. Despite the fact that he brought out a bossy side of her, right now they were in agreement on how wrong it was to damage such a beautiful part of God’s creation.

  “The tunnel we need to use if the other one gets blocked is up there.” Seth stopped and pointed to a fissure in the tunnel that Julia would have walked right past. It looked like a slightly larger crack in the wall, one of hundreds down here.

  Julia studied the spot about a foot above her head. Her throat went dry as a fossil.

  “That’s the other tunnel you found?” Rafe’s voice dragged her out of a terrible flight of fancy. “That little hole right there?”

  “Yep.” Seth smiled.

  “You’ve crawled through there?” Rafe sounded incredulous.

  Seth nodded. “Sure, a few times. I don’t like it, though. It’s so tight I was afraid the first time. Afraid it would end and I’d have to back up. I wasn’t sure I could.” Seth shrugged. “But I have before. I can always figure something out.”

  It was then that Julia realized Seth wasn’t just a touch crazy. Her brand-new brother didn’t care if he lived or died.

  She reached up and patted him on the shoulder. Seth had gained weight since they’d found him hiding in this cavern. And he was as tall as Rafe and almost as strong. But he wasn’t strong inside his head. Julia said a quiet prayer for him, then gave him a few more encouraging pats.

  “Let’s go back to the house now,” she said. She saw a look of disappointment on Seth’s face, and a look of relief on Rafe’s. Both made her smile. “I promised we’d only stay in here an hour and it’s been at least that long. We can come back tomorrow after breakfast and finally you can show me that cave you love so much.”

  Seth smiled. “Wait’ll you see it—it’s like it was created in layers. The rock is striped, and you can tell each layer is a different type of stone. And one of those layers had a lot of fossils in it. Fish, like you said, and leaves and other things. The ceiling has pointed rocks coming down.”

  “Stalactites.”

  Seth tilted his head. “Stalactites . . . I need to learn these words.”

  “Let’s go for now,” Julia said. “We can talk about rock formations and fossils tonight if you want. I’ve found several fossils and chiseled them out of the rock since Rafe and I moved here. I can show them to you and teach you what they are, as best I know.”

  “You lead us out, Seth.” Rafe pressed his back against the wall to give Seth room to pass.

  “Okay.” Seth passed them, heading out. He acted pleased to be asked to lead, but Julia knew Rafe wasn’t worried about finding his way out. Julia’s charcoal marks showing the way out were clearly visible, and this was Rafe’s third time down here. But Rafe didn’t want to turn his back on Seth, even for a moment.

  Seth had nightmares. Rafe hated this tunnel. She was scared.

  Again Julia wondered if her drive to explore this place was a terrible mistake.

  “We’ll spend the night here in Rawhide,” Mitch said to his partner Grove. He felt an itch between his shoulder blades and decided he wanted people around him tonight. Stupid, since it was usually people who caused all the trouble. He looked over at Grove. “Ride around town, get a feel for the jail. If there are windows, try and sneak a look inside without drawing any attention—just in case Breach has run afoul of the law.”

  Being locked up would explain why they hadn’t heard from Breach. Up to now, they’d checked the jail in every town they’d passed through.

  With a grunt Grove headed out, both men riding into Rawhide—a place that barely counted as a town—but each moving in a different direction.

  Besides the jailhouse, there was a general store, what looked to be a saloon, and a few cabins and barns with lanterns shining in the windows, tucked up near the w
oods on the edge of the ragged town.

  Leaving the jail to Grove, Mitch rode toward one of the dimly lit barns. It had double doors that swung inward. He heard the clank of iron on iron ringing out into the dusky night.

  He dismounted and led his horse inside, where he saw a man with massive arms pumping the bellows of a forge.

  The man set his hammer down and ran an arm across his sweat-soaked forehead. “Looking for a place to board your horse?”

  Mitch nodded. “Can I get a bit of oats and hay?”

  The man jerked his head toward an empty stall. “Turn him loose in there. Plenty of feed and water. It’ll cost you two bits to leave the horse till mornin’.”

  Mitch pulled some coins from a pouch in his saddlebag, counted out the correct amount plus a little more, and handed the man the money. “Been riding the mountain trails a long time,” he said. “I haven’t talked to anyone in days.” He began stripping the bridle and saddle from his horse while he spoke. “I’d buy you a meal, mister, if you’d just come and keep me company for a while.”

  The man looked up and smiled, white teeth flashing in his soot-blackened face. “Let me wash up and then we can go to the back room of the saloon. Folks can get a meal there most days.”

  Before the evening had turned to full dark, Mitch and Grove had met most everyone in town and learned a lot of news, all of it bad. Tracker Breach was on his way to prison, too far down the trail to bother trying to catch up to him and break him free.

  A man named John Gill, who by his description had to be Wendell Gilliland, was dead. And he had a wife. A wife with a couple of little children. Mitch felt a surge of excitement. A mother would do anything to protect her children. Pay any price. Tell any secrets.

  Chapter

  11

  “I reckon when Rafe ran this place, he always kept the horses in the corral to the north side of the barn,” Ethan said.

  Ethan rose from beside the little colt, a real beauty. Ethan had already decided to keep him for a stallion. Turning to Steele, he was tempted to swing a fist. Instead, he smiled and refused to care.

  The trouble was that Rafe did most everything for a reason, and a good one. So going against Rafe’s way just to be in charge made a man do stupid things. But Ethan had his own ideas, and he’d like to give a few of them a try. He’d do it too, starting now. He hesitated over that. He hated caring enough to get mad. Maybe he’d start tomorrow.

  “North side’s fine then.” Ethan’s smile held, but he heard his teeth grinding together.

  Steele led the pinto mare out of the barn.

  Ethan followed, thinking it was time to go wrest a noon meal out of his sweet little wife. It was early, but he’d be willing to drink a cup of coffee and watch her hurry around the kitchen. Since Seth had left, Ethan had found out the pure magic of having a wife.

  Thinking about it made him stir restlessly right now, in the middle of the day.

  He’d also gotten through two nights in a row without having a screaming brother disturb his sleep. The baby had awakened him briefly, though that was Audra’s job. Which suited Ethan just fine.

  Maybe while he was in there, he’d see if she’d let him give her a few orders. He could practice up on her, then try the cowhands.

  As he stepped out of the barn, two men rode up the trail from Rawhide.

  Ethan stopped and watched as they approached.

  The men stayed a respectful distance back. “We heard in town you were taking on hands,” the taller man said.

  Ethan nodded. “You heard right. It looks like you’ve come a long ways.”

  Their horses were thin and looked worn down. Their clothes were stained with sweat and trail dust.

  “I’m Mitch Smith.” The taller man sat in the saddle a pace ahead of his partner. Ethan noted that, while his clothes were filthy, the man was clean-shaven, his saddle and gun well cared for. Smith jabbed a thumb at the man on his left. “This here’s Grove Johnson.”

  Mitch Smith wore western clothes, but he didn’t look comfortable in them. A city slicker playing cowboy? But maybe he’d be able to play it well.

  Johnson had the look of a hangman. Grim and quiet. Ethan was cautious of him on sight. He looked over his shoulder to see Steele walking toward them, leading the horse. Steele had seen the men ride in and had turned back. Ethan was glad of it.

  “This here’s the foreman, Steele Coulter.” Ethan tipped his head toward Steele. As much as Steele was one for quoting Rafe all day long, he was an experienced cowhand and Ethan was glad to have him here to size up these men.

  “I’m ready to eat,” Steele said. “Why don’t you men come and eat at the bunkhouse. We can talk about what’ll be expected of you and decide if the job and you are a good match.”

  Ethan noticed Steele hadn’t offered them a job. There’d been a few other new hires, and Steele had looked them over for a few seconds and hired them with no fuss.

  It made Ethan even more cautious. He pointed at the corral by the barn. “Put up your horses. We can give ’em some hay, and after you’ve eaten we’ll talk. Have you handled cows before?”

  There was some grunting that told Ethan no, they hadn’t. But everyone had to start somewhere, and there was plenty of unskilled work on a ranch to keep a man busy. He’d yet to meet a man who couldn’t master a pitchfork. Still, they weren’t youngsters. Usually a cowboy started young or he didn’t start at all. To Ethan, that meant some kind of trouble had pushed these men west.

  Neither one did much talking. But Ethan watched them strip the leather from their horses and pitch hay without asking which end of the pitchfork to hold. Steele came up beside Ethan, and the two of them leaned on the fence while the newcomers worked.

  “Think they’ll shape up, Steele?” Ethan asked quietly. Steele did his share of pushing when he and Ethan worked together, but Ethan realized right then that Steele rode for the brand in a way Ethan could respect. Worrying about the way Rafe did things—and how eager Steele was to mention them—didn’t seem all that important as they faced the newcomers together.

  “Looks to me like they know horses, which usually means they’ve been riding the grub line awhile. I’ll talk to ’em over a meal. If we hire ’em, we’ll keep a close eye on ’em. We can use at least five more men so we have enough to send Rafe. More than that when we get Seth set up in ranching.”

  “I’ve got a woman here now.” Ethan didn’t bother smiling about that. “I don’t want a man around who’ll bother her or the children. And Rafe’ll feel the same, so we’ll watch ’em awhile before we decide to hire ’em permanent.”

  Steele nodded.

  The men finished with their horses and walked toward the fence just as the cook stepped from the bunkhouse and shouted that dinner was ready.

  “I’ll show ’em where to wash up,” Steele said. “You stay close to that wife of yours until we’re sure there ain’t gonna be trouble.”

  “Sounds good. Maybe they can ride herd for a time after the noon meal. That’ll test ’em a little.”

  Steele jerked his chin. “I’ll make a point of testing them a lot.”

  Jasper grabbed Trixie’s arm and pulled her behind a moving wagon. “Keep even with the buckboard. I just saw someone who knows me. We don’t want anyone to be able to say we were in this part of town.”

  Jasper lifted his head to glance over the top of the wagon as the man entered a seedy diner Jasper knew had an opium den on the second floor.

  “We’re leaving town right now.” Jasper looked back at Trixie. “I’ve got some money. Enough for two train tickets and a bit more laid by. I want you to come with me. We can catch a carriage a few blocks over and head for the train station.”

  “No!” Trixie jerked on his arm.

  Trixie usually did whatever he asked. He was so surprised that he didn’t even get mad, and he always got mad when someone told him no. “Why?” he asked.

  “The train will be the first place they look once you turn up missing. If there is any suspic
ion about you, they might be watching it already.”

  “We need to get out of town fast, before anyone gets a hint that I’m thinking of it. If rumors have started, then I need to go.”

  “We’ll ride horses instead.” Trixie was dragging him along, heading the direction he wanted to go anyway.

  “But I don’t want to ride a horse halfway across the country.” He could only think of heading toward Colorado. The last telegraph he’d gotten had come from there, from Mitch. He was on Tracker’s trail and that gave Jasper a direction.

  She embedded her fingernails into the silk fabric of his shirt. “You think I haven’t dreamed about leaving my life behind?”

  “You mean . . . you’ve planned this out?”

  “For years I’ve been getting ready. I have enough money to buy a little house and live quietly, plant a garden, maybe get some chickens and a milk cow. I could get by even if I never work again.”

  “That is a fantasy, darlin’. What you’re talking about is hard work. Backbreaking work.”

  Trixie pulled him down a narrow street that left behind the crime-ridden part of town. Only a few blocks and they’d be in a safer area where they could find a carriage for hire.

  “It’s honest work.” Trixie stopped and turned to face him. They had half a block to go before they came out onto a street well-lit with lanterns. She dragged him around to face her.

  Jasper tried to remember the last time he’d been pushed around like this.

  “It’s hard work, but it’s decent. I’d be decent. I’ve always hoped to live long enough to make the break and find a clean life. But there was no way to do that in Houston. I’m too well known. I could never just sell the saloon and retire. The stink of it would stick to me here.”

  “So why didn’t you go?” Jasper hated to think she’d lived in a way she hated. Trixie was his friend, his partner. She was almost his wife.

  “Because you were here, you fool. I stayed for you.” Her eyes blazed. With love. For him.