Hidden Fires

by Sandra Brown

  “That still doesn’t answer who killed our cow,” reflected Rudy.

  “It was probably one of Duncan’s gang,” Jared said bitterly. “It looks like something they’d do.”

  “Did Lauren tell you about the visit they paid us a while back?” Rudy asked hesitantly.

  “What?!” Jared exploded.

  Rudy related the conversation he’d had with Duncan. Lauren was relieved that he wisely omitted the slur that June and her brother had made to her. She feared Jared would seek Duncan out immediately. Hadn’t he been ready to charge naked out of their bedroom in search of William Keller? She smiled at the memory, but his loud, angry voice brought her back to the present.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?” Jared demanded.

  “Because I knew you’d react exactly as you’re reacting,” Rudy replied calmly. “I think we should exercise caution and keep an eye on them, but I don’t want to provoke them into any more meanness.”

  “Okay,” Jared said grudgingly. “But by the end of next summer, I want them off of our property. When the railroad is finished, the vaqueros won’t have to be driving the cattle to Austin. They can assume more duties toward maintaining the ranch. One of those duties can be clearing the cedar. We won’t need that scum anymore.” He gave one more disgusted glance to the carcass, then spun Charger around and spurred him to a gallop.

  * * *

  When Wat Duncan struck again, it was swift and sure and deadly. To say the least, it got the attention of the Locketts and Mendezes and proved to them what a powerful enemy the man and his gang were.

  Lauren and Maria had arranged the night before to meet in the stables the following morning for a sunrise ride. They had grown accustomed to riding together at that time of day.

  Lauren crossed the yard and strolled toward the stable. She was wearing a black suede riding skirt and coat. Her boots were soft black leather, as were her gloves. The ensemble had been a belated Christmas present from Jared. She had wrapped her head in a long, woolen serape loaned to her by Gloria and, of course, she was wearing the blue silk bandana. The vapor of her breath hung in the cold morning air. The door to the stable was closed.

  Strange, she thought to herself. Maybe it was so cold that Maria had chosen to leave the door shut against the wind. But it wasn’t windy, Lauren argued with herself.

  The door was heavy, and she had to tug hard several times before it came open. The interior of the stable was dark. It was quiet except for the restlessness of the horses.

  “Maria?” A sinister chill, having nothing to do with the weather, crept up Lauren’s spine, and she was suddenly afraid to enter the building. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that no one was stirring in the house. She had left Jared asleep under the covers of their bed. Elena hadn’t yet arrived with Carlos to begin her day’s duties.

  “Maria?” Lauren called again, praying for the sound of Maria’s soft voice. Swallowing a lump of fear, she stepped into the stable. She didn’t need to go far.

  Maria’s body was sprawled out in front of her. Even in the darkness, Lauren could see the pool of bright blood forming beneath her.

  Her scream ripped through the morning air. Fists clenched at her sides, then rose to cover her mouth, but didn’t stifle the screams of terror that kept coming. She was vaguely aware of cursing and nonsensical mutterings as the doors to the bunkhouse were thrown open and the vaqueros stumbled out in various stages of undress, their eyes bleary from sleep. Running footsteps came pounding across the yard.

  Her screams had dwindled to faint whimpers as she heard someone say, “Madre de Dios!”

  Rudy pushed her aside and moved cautiously toward his mother, disbelieving his eyes. Strong arms gripped her shoulders. “Don’t look, Lauren,” Jared said in her ear as Rudy knelt down to turn Maria’s body over. Jared’s warning came too late. She saw the gaping windpipe with its gurgling fountain of blood where Maria’s throat had been neatly sliced. She screamed again, but the sound was muffled against Jared’s bare chest as he held her head against him, supporting her wilting body with his.

  He led her out of the stable so she wouldn’t have to witness Rudy’s grief. They could hear his deep, soul-piercing animal wail. Lauren sobbed dryly as they walked past the vaqueros standing awkwardly, their eyes averted, instinctively knowing what had happened.

  * * *

  Gloria and the sleepy-eyed children were huddled together on the front porch. Gloria’s lips were white, her eyes questioning.

  “Maria,” Jared said tersely. Gloria squeezed her eyes shut, intuitively understanding as she heard her husband’s racking sobs.

  “Come into the house, children.” To Jared, she said, “I’ll get some coffee.”

  He only nodded as he ushered Lauren into the house. She stood mutely just inside the door as he went into the bedroom to pull on pants and a shirt. When he came back, he knelt down on the hearth and began rekindling the fire.

  It came as a great surprise to Lauren when Rudy’s shadow blocked the dawn light coming in through the door that had been left open.

  There were no tears. Instead, his eyes were hard and cold, devoid of any emotion except bitter hatred. He tossed something onto the floor and Lauren jumped back from it, staring in horrified comprehension. Jared looked at the object, too. There was no mistaking the battered, greasy hat that was usually worn on Wat Duncan’s head.

  “You going with me?” Rudy asked his brother.

  “I’m going,” Jared said quietly.

  Without another word between them, they went through the hall toward their bedrooms. Gloria came out of the kitchen carrying a coffee pot and three tin cups. When her eyes lit on the hat on the floor, she set the coffee on the dining table and went to the gun rack.

  While Lauren watched in stupefied astonishment, Gloria methodically took down the rifles, checked them, loaded them, and set them aside.

  When they were dressed, Jared and Rudy joined her and, like well-trained soldiers preparing for battle, they moved without wasting words or motions.

  When all was ready, Rudy drew Gloria to him and held her tightly. “One of the vaqueros will bring her in after we’ve left. See to her.” He kissed his wife quickly on the lips and strode from the room.

  Lauren was spun around from behind. Jared kissed her fiercely, almost angrily, before he released her and followed his brother out the door. She rushed after him.

  The vaqueros had formed a semicircle in the yard. Thorn, his hawklike features fearsome, stood holding the reins of the waiting mounts. Charger pawed the hard-packed earth beneath his hooves. Rudy and Jared mounted in unison. Disdaining the stirrups of his own saddle, the Comanche vaulted astride his horse. Rudy nodded briefly to his small army and then jerked hard on the reins of his horse, turned him, and galloped out the gate, Thorn and Jared on either side, his men behind him.

  Lauren whirled around and faced Gloria, who had come out onto the porch. “Gloria, you’re not going to let—”

  “It’s something they have to do, Lauren,” she said with quiet assurance. “Come. We have things to do, too.”

  The hours ticked by with a slow monotony. To Lauren, the horror of seeing Maria lying in her own fresh blood had been dimmed by the realization that Jared might never come back. The brothers had left seeking revenge and she knew the battle would be bloody. No, God, no, she prayed as she mechanically went through the tasks Gloria assigned her.

  Maria’s body had been carried in by one of the older hands. She was laid on the bed she had shared with Ben. Gloria prepared her for burial. Lauren didn’t think she could have looked at the body again, but felt that Gloria would be offended if she didn’t accompany the children into the room to pay their last respects to their grandmother.

  Lauren was shocked. She didn’t know how Gloria had managed it, but Maria’s wound didn’t show under the high collar of her dress. Her hair was smoothed back in its usual bun. Her face was unlined and her lips were relaxed into a semblance of a smile. Her hands, b
eautiful, gentle hands, rested on her breast with a rosary entwined in the slender fingers.

  The same cowboy who had carried Maria inside constructed the coffin. Lauren took the children out of the room when he came in to lift Maria into the wooden box.

  For the rest of the afternoon, Lauren and Elena, who had come to the house upon learning of the tragedy, tried to keep the children quiet while Gloria tended to the twins. Even after the children were all abed, and the twins were sleeping peacefully in their cribs, the women kept vigil, waiting tensely for their men to return.

  Finally, long after sundown, they heard the thunder of horses and raced to the porch. The figures were too small to distinguish at first in the fading light, but each woman sighed relief when she saw her man among those returning.

  Rudy and Jared rode up into the yard and tiredly got off their horses, turning the reins over to the vaquero who would care for their exhausted mounts.

  Gloria didn’t say a word, only went down the steps to greet her husband by wrapping her arms around him. He held her close, as if to absorb her strength. When she raised her head and looked into his weary face, he said, “Not a trace. Nothing.”

  They all went into the house and the men collapsed at the dining table. Gloria and Lauren scurried to set the food, which had been simmering on the stove, on the table. Elena had seen to it that the tired vaqueros had a pot of the savory stew delivered to the bunkhouse before she left with Carlos.

  When his plate was empty, Rudy wiped his mouth with a napkin and scooted his chair back. Jared pulled Lauren down onto his lap and rested his head against her breasts as Rudy began to speak.

  “We went to their camp first. Deserted. Not a sign except for the rubbish they left behind. We combed the hills all day, looking in every nook and cranny, and didn’t see a trace of any of them.” He paused to take a drink of the whiskey Gloria had poured for him. “We found one old nester, about half-crazy. He said he’d seen Duncan and a few others at the river just above the Fredericksburg Road. Day before yesterday, he thought. Duncan was talking to a ‘fancy man.’”

  “Vandiver?” Gloria asked. Lauren gasped.

  “Probably,” Jared answered.

  They all became quiet then, each lost in his own thoughts. Rudy broke the silence. “I’ll find him,” he said. “Murdering sonofabitch. I’ll find him.” The level tone of his voice was frightening to hear. He raised his eyes to Gloria. “Where is she?”

  “In her room.”

  He nodded and stared at the flame of the gas lamp on the table in front of him. “One of the hands offered to ride into Pueblo and bring a priest back in the morning. We’ll bury her then.” He paused, then said, “I was thinking today that she would never have gotten over losing Ben. Ever since he died, she’s been unhappy. Maybe… maybe this was… She’ll be happy…” His voice broke and Gloria rushed to his side. He came to his feet under her support and they left the room.

  * * *

  “Jared, that’s impossible! Even if you could pull off such a thing, do you realize the lives that could be lost? The property that would be destroyed? How could you suggest such a… harebrained scheme?”

  “What choices do I have? Try to understand this from my point of view.”

  Lauren heard the voices raised in heated argument coming from the front porch. Dinner was over and the brothers had gone outside. Gloria was caring for the twins. Lauren had been reading in front of the fire in the large living room when she heard Rudy’s harsh words.

  It had been a week since Maria’s burial in a cottonwood grove overlooking the Rio Caballo. Each morning, Rudy and Jared rode out with their men to search for Wat Duncan. Each evening, they returned disappointed in not having seen a trace of their quarry. Maria’s death had affected them all, Jared included. But even before that, since the night of his arrival during the blizzard, he hadn’t been the sarcastic, angry man he was in Coronado. The man she slept with every night made tender, passionate love to her on the wide bed that had been his since childhood. He told her of his plans to build a house of his own at Pecan Creek. He related to her the circumstances surrounding the death of his friend Alex, in Cuba, and clung to her, tormented by visions of the atrocities of war even as he related them. She had come to love Jared in a new dimension. She loved him fiercely, passionately, and protectively. Strong as he was, virile, stubborn and proud, she had discerned a shred of vulnerability. She loved that most of all.

  Lauren longed to share with her husband the rewarding news coming out of Pueblo. Pepe, whenever the weather permitted, brought her news of the projects she had initiated. All were going well. A clinic had been set up two days a week. Remedial construction on public buildings was underway and more was planned for the spring. Warm clothes were being distributed to those who needed them the most. Pepe left with a detailed list of instructions for the committee chairwomen and a personal note of gratitude and praise from Lauren.

  She wished to tell Jared about all of this, but she remained silent. She wanted to do or say nothing that would remind him of the events taking place in Austin and Coronado. For that reason, she had not broached the subject of the railroad and the Vandivers. It seemed that Rudy had.

  “I know you feel that you have to go through with this, but there has to be some alternative, Jared,” he argued.

  “I don’t see any other way. I’ve gone over every single aspect of it, and unless I carry out this plan, everything will go up in smoke.”

  “Everything will go up in smoke if you do. Literally,” Rudy countered.

  They were silent for a while. Lauren didn’t move. Jared was still planning to bring on a riot in Pueblo. He was selling out to the Vandivers and his mother for the railroad.

  “At least promise me this.” Rudy spoke quietly. “Don’t do anything until you’ve given me some warning. Let me see what can be done from this angle.”

  “All right, Rudy. I promise. But I don’t know how long I can hold them off. They’re ready to go. Just be forewarned. When they do it, I’ll have to be there. You understand that.”

  Rudy hesitated for just a moment. “Yes,” was the curt reply.

  Lauren was crushed. How could he? Maybe he wouldn’t. Maybe he could convince them not to destroy the community. She heard their boots shuffling toward the front door and forced her face into a smile before they could see the distress on it.

  Jared came to stand in front of her and said quietly, “Lauren, I must leave for Coronado in the morning. You’re to stay here until I can come back and get you.”

  “No. I want to be with you.” Her voice trembled, but she didn’t give in to the tears she felt gathering in her eyes. He was running away from her again!

  “I… I’m going to be very busy with the railroad and you’d be bored in town. Here you have Gloria and the kids to keep you busy.”

  Her eyes beseeched Rudy for support, but he was concentrating on lighting a cigar and wouldn’t meet her eyes. She turned back toward Jared. “I’m going back with you, Jared. I don’t care how busy you are. If you don’t take me with you, I’ll just follow on my own.” She raised her chin a fraction, and he saw the resolve in her steady, blue-gray gaze.

  “Dammit!” he cursed, and slammed his fist into his palm. He turned toward his brother as if seeking an ally. Rudy had become even more fascinated by his cheroot. Jared muttered sourly, “All right. Get packed tonight.”

  * * *

  Besides Rosa, Pepe, and her piano, Lauren was not happy about seeing anything in the house in Coronado. It was truly one of the most beautiful houses she had ever been in, but her mother-in-law cast such a cold foreboding on the atmosphere that it could never be considered a comfortable home.

  Olivia’s greeting had been polite, if not exactly warm. Carson complimented Lauren on the healthy bloom in her cheeks. Lauren met Olivia’s green eyes over his shoulder as he hugged her, and wondered if Olivia knew the reason for the glow she had taken on. She reasoned that the older woman did. It was after Jared’s first night w
ith her that Olivia had provoked the argument between them that culminated in their separation.

  Lauren recognized the subtlety Olivia had used to drive the wedge between her and her husband. She was capable of anything to ensure that her own greedy plans come to fruition. She would even jeopardize the happiness of her son. Perhaps she did love him. But it was a jealous, self-gratifying love. Olivia Lockett had to be in control. Wasn’t that the reason her marriage to Ben had been so disastrous? Ben was not a man who could be controlled. Olivia was learning that Jared wasn’t so easily manipulated, either. Not like Carson Wells.

  “Carson, thank you. I can always rely on you to make me feel beautiful even when I’m covered with trail dust.” Lauren laughed and hugged the plump man again. He evoked her pity, and she couldn’t quite decide why.

  The next few weeks went by smoothly and uneventfully. Olivia went to the bank every day. Jared went out on pursuits of his own, sometimes riding out to check on the progress of the railroad. The track moved closer to Coronado daily. If the spring weather held and there wasn’t too much rainfall, it would probably be completed sometime in the early fall.

  Lauren spent long hours at the piano.

  She missed Elena more than she could have imagined. There were no laughing children to break the staid atmosphere of this house. There were no disruptive calamities that reduced everyone to a state of mirth. There wasn’t the serene presence of Maria… Maria. Her friend. Ben’s love. Perhaps Rudy was right. Maybe her death had mercifully brought them together again.

  There was no more discussion of the Pueblo riot. Lauren could almost imagine that she had dreamed the whole ugly episode. Was it even possible that Olivia had changed her mind?