Entwined Paths (The Landon Saga Book 2)

by Tell Cotten

  The young woman looked to be equally impressed. Her blue eyes continued to stare into his, and a small smile spread across her face.

  “She doesn’t talk much,” Lee informed Cooper.

  Right as he said that, she spoke.

  “Loo-ten-ant,” she said brokenly.

  “No, ma’am. It’s Cooper,” he smiled. “Cooper Landon is my name.”

  “Loo-ten-ant,” she said again, and she smiled.

  “What’s your name, ma’am?”

  “She won’t tell you,” Lee said.

  Cooper ignored Lee as he looked intently at her.

  “Go ahead,” Cooper said encouragingly. “Tell me your name.”

  She smiled hesitantly, and then she suddenly blurted it out.

  “Josie,” she said in her soft and clear voice.

  Cooper smiled while Lee just stood there with a stunned look.

  “Josie, it is very nice to meet you.”

  Josie smiled and nodded.

  “If that don’t beat all,” Lee shook his head in disbelief.

  Cooper and Josie continued to look at each other. Finally, Cooper nodded and smiled reassuringly, and he stood and looked at Lee.

  “There’s no reason to talk with Kolorado. She’s coming with us.”

  Lee was still in shock, and he just nodded blankly.

  “Talk to me about what?” Kolorado wanted to know.

  “Doesn’t matter,” Cooper replied as he looked around. “I’m staying here tonight. What’ll it cost me?”

  “This ain’t a boarding house!” Kolorado objected.

  Cooper didn’t reply. Instead, he turned and stared at Kolorado.

  Kolorado tried to meet Cooper’s stare, but couldn’t.

  “Fine,” he muttered. “Make it a dollar for you and your horse both.”

  Cooper paid him, and he turned to leave.

  Kolorado stopped at the door. He looked back and glared at everybody, and he muttered to himself as he walked out the door.

  “And you were going to leave her with him?” Cooper glared at Lee.

  “Aw, he ain’t all that bad once you get to know him,” Lee smiled.

  Cooper grunted as he walked over to his saddle. He untied his bedroll, and then he pulled a blanket out of his saddlebags.

  Lee watched curiously as Cooper walked inside Josie’s stall. He rolled up Lee’s bedroll and unrolled his.

  “Here you go, Josie,” he said gently. “You sleep in this. I’ll be right here by the gate. If you need anything don’t hesitate to wake me.”

  Josie nodded and smiled. Cooper smiled back, and then he left the stall and shut the gate.

  “She’s been sleeping in my bedroll,” Lee objected.

  Copper tossed Lee’s bedroll over to him.

  “Well, now she can sleep in mine,” Cooper declared, and asked, “Why do you care? You’re the one that’s wanting to be rid of her.”

  “I reckon I’m just used to taking care of her,” Lee admitted.

  “Well, I’m taking care of her now,” Cooper said firmly.

  “Yes, you are,” Lee said thoughtfully.

  Lee frowned as he rolled his bedroll out. His movements were abrupt and jerky.

  Meanwhile, Cooper wrapped his blanket around him and settled down near the stall gate, and then it was quiet.

  “Which direction will you be heading tomorrow?” Cooper asked after a while.

  “West.”

  “That’s the same direction we’ll be headed.”

  “That’s right.”

  “And you’re going west on personal business,” Cooper recalled.

  “Yep.”

  Cooper frowned as he thought about that.

  “Think we’ll bump into each other out in New Mexico?”

  “I wouldn’t be surprised.”

  Cooper frowned, but didn’t reply.

  Chapter forty-seven

  Brian Clark relieved Cliff at midnight.

  “Turn in,” Brian offered. “I’ll keep watch.”

  Cliff nodded. He checked on Rusty, and then he rolled out his bedroll and climbed in.

  Brian sat on the same stump that Cliff had used.

  A few minutes passed, and Jessica rolled over and looked at Brian. Their eyes met, and they stared silently at each other.

  It didn’t take Cliff long to fall asleep, and they could hear his steady snoring.

  Jessica was quiet as she stood. She wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and walked over to Brian.

  “Evening ma’am,” Brian said softly. “Couldn’t sleep?”

  “I could not.”

  “Me neither.”

  Jessica nodded as she sat on a nearby log. It was silent, and then she glanced at Brian.

  “So, did you really look?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I sure did.”

  “But Cliff doesn’t seem to know.”

  “No, ma’am. He doesn’t.”

  Jessica pinched her face in thought, and several seconds passed.

  “How’d you get all that money?” Brian asked.

  Speaking softly, Jessica explained about her father’s plantation. Afterwards, Brian frowned thoughtfully.

  “That must have been some plantation,” he said.

  “It was,” Jessica nodded. She hesitated and asked, “Why haven’t you told Cliff?”

  “Because I know how he’ll react.”

  “Are you thinking about taking it all for yourself?”

  “It crossed my mind.”

  “And?” Jessica pressed.

  “I’ll admit it’s tempting,” Brian said. “But, I crossed J.T. Tussle once before and barely lived to talk about it.”

  “You already crossed my Uncle when you took me hostage,” Jessica declared.

  “I know,” Brian muttered. “I regret us doing that too. I want you to know that.”

  “Course, you have been looking out for me,” Jessica said thoughtfully.

  “I have.”

  “If you get caught, I could say something,” Jessica offered.

  “It wouldn’t make any difference to the Landons or Tussle. They’d still think I was just as guilty as the rest.”

  “What are you going to do then?”

  “You mean am I going to take your money?”

  Jessica nodded.

  It was silent as he thought about that, and then he sighed.

  “No, don’t reckon I will. It just doesn’t seem right; especially after all that we’ve put you through already.”

  “Thank you,” Jessica said, relieved.

  Brian smiled wryly and shrugged, and then they just sat there, thinking their own thoughts.

  “How would you like to earn some of that money?” Jessica asked carefully.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You ride with Cliff because you get paid, right?”

  “I reckon so.”

  “What if I paid you more?” Jessica asked. “Take me back to Midway. Once we get there, half of that money is yours.”

  Brian chuckled.

  “Yeah, and soon as we get there those Landons will shoot me dead.”

  “When we get close to Midway you can leave,” Jessica replied. “I won’t say anything about you being with me. I’ll just tell everybody that I found my own way back.”

  Brian studied Jessica.

  “You’re serious,” he finally said.

  “I am.”

  It fell silent as Brian thought it over.

  “Well?” Jessica asked.

  “If I do this, then we do it my way,” Brian said. “Rusty is going to die in a day or two. When that happens, I have a feeling that me and Cliff will be parting ways. But if I leave before Rusty dies, Cliff might think that it was my fault. And then he would probably come after us.”

  “We don’t want that.”

  “There’s also Stew to think about.”

  Jessica shuddered at the thought.

  “Yes, we can’t forget about him.”

  “I’ll let you in on a littl
e secret,” Brian said. “Cliff is planning on killing Stew, but he’ll need help. Now, it would be to our benefit if Stew was dead.”

  Jessica nodded, and she was surprised that the thought of killing Stew didn’t bother her.

  “So, we’ll just stay with Cliff a few more days and see what develops.”

  “So we have a deal?”

  “You’ve got the money,” Brian smiled.

  “Good,” Jessica smiled back.

  Suddenly, she thought of something else. She looked at Brian and smiled hesitantly.

  “There’s another thing I should mention,” she said. “You’ll probably have a partner.”

  “Oh?”

  She explained about her agreement with Lee.

  “So that’s why you was asking about him,” Brian said afterwards.

  “It was,” Jessica admitted. “But this doesn’t change anything, does it? There’s plenty of money for both of you.”

  Brian frowned thoughtfully, and then he shrugged.

  “No, I reckon not. You never know, ol’ Lee might even come in handy.”

  “He might not even show up.”

  “When there’s this much money involved,” Brian chuckled, “Lee will always show up.”

  Chapter forty-eight

  First thing Cooper did the next morning was check on Josie.

  She was still sleeping, and Cooper decided to let her sleep. He knew she needed it.

  Cooper watched her for a moment, and he smiled without realizing it.

  Lee realized it though, and he frowned irritably.

  “Want breakfast?” Cooper asked as he turned and left the stall.

  “Coffee’ll do.”

  “While you’re saddling your horse I’ll make some.”

  Lee nodded, and Cooper built a small fire out back. Meanwhile, Lee saddled his horse, and then he joined Cooper. Soon as it was ready they filled their cups, and they drank their coffee in silence.

  They drank two cups, and then Kolorado showed up to feed the stock.

  “You’re still here?” Kolorado scowled at Lee.

  “I’m leaving now,” he replied.

  Lee walked over to his horse and stowed his coffee cup in his saddlebags, and then he glanced at Cooper.

  “I want to say goodbye to Josie,” he said.

  “What for?” Cooper frowned.

  “Cause I want to,” Lee replied stubbornly.

  “She’s asleep,” Cooper argued.

  “She ain’t no more,” Kolorado announced as he peered through the stall boards.

  Lee smiled triumphantly at Cooper, and he walked over to her stall and opened the gate.

  Lee squatted beside her while Josie looked up at him through those big, blue eyes.

  Lee smiled uncomfortably.

  “Well, ma’am, the time has come for our paths to part.”

  Lee studied her face. She understood, and she smiled and nodded.

  Lee smiled back and stood.

  “Well, goodbye, ma’am, and best of luck to you.”

  Josie didn’t reply. But, she did smile and nod again.

  Lee watched her for a moment. It looked like he wanted to say something else, but instead he turned and left the stall. He climbed on his horse and looked at Kolorado.

  “’Preciate all the help.”

  “Satisfied customer gladdens the heart,” Kolorado declared.

  “Not to mention your pockets,” Lee added.

  Kolorado didn’t reply. Instead, he just grinned.

  Lee smiled back and looked at Cooper.

  “You’ll probably need to change Josie’s bandage at least once more,” he said.

  “Bandage?” Cooper narrowed his eyes.

  “I forgot to mention that, didn’t I? Well, it’s just a little scratch now. Nothing much to worry about.”

  “How’d she get it?”

  “You’ll have to ask her.”

  “I will,” Cooper declared.

  “Good luck with that,” Lee chuckled. “Well, be seeing you.”

  “Thanks for the warning,” Cooper replied wryly.

  Lee smiled and kicked up his horse. He left town in a trot, and everybody stood there and watched him.

  Going west, Cooper noted.

  Chapter forty-nine

  It was still dark when Yancy awakened Tussle and Jed.

  “Let’s get a move on,” he told them.

  Tussle nodded groggily, but Jed scowled.

  “It’s still dark!” Jed grumbled.

  “It is,” Yancy agreed.

  Tussle and Jed pulled their boots on and rolled up their bedrolls. Yancy watched them, and he could tell they were sore and stiff.

  “It ain’t even going to be daylight for another hour,” Jed complained. “Why are we leaving so early?”

  “Burning dark,” Yancy replied curtly.

  Jed scowled, but didn’t reply.

  Yancy already had a fire going, and it didn’t take him long to cook breakfast.

  After they ate they packed up camp, and then they turned their attention to the horses.

  Tussle put his saddle on the extra horse while Yancy and Jed figured out how to pack Jed’s saddle on top of the existing pack. When they finished it looked a little odd, but Jed’s saddle wasn’t going anywhere.

  After that they mounted up.

  Yancy grabbed the lead rope to the pack mule, and then he waited while Tussle and Jed got mounted.

  Tussle sat in the saddle, and with a lot of effort Jed finally managed to get up behind him. Then, he wrapped his arms around Tussle’s waist.

  Yancy almost smiled.

  “Are you two comfortable?”

  “What does it look like?” Jed replied curtly.

  “Beats walking.”

  “Barely,” Jed scowled.

  “Mebbe we can hunt up another horse in Landry,” Yancy suggested, and he kicked up his horse.

  Yancy stayed in a walk until it got light enough to see the ground, and then he kicked his horse up to a trot.

  Tussle did likewise, and they made their way towards Landry.

  Chapter fifty

  After Lee left, Cooper cooked some breakfast. Kolorado was still feeding the stock, so Cooper offered breakfast to him as well.

  “I never turn down a meal,” Kolorado replied.

  While they ate, Cooper and Josie occasionally looked at each other. Their eyes finally met, and Cooper smiled gently. Josie returned the smile with one of her own.

  They finished eating, and Cooper turned to Kolorado.

  “There was a lot of talking going on when Lee and I burst in here last night,” he commented.

  “So?”

  “Sounded like a mighty fluent conversation.”

  Kolorado didn’t reply, and he looked blankly at Cooper.

  “You speak her language,” Cooper declared.

  Kolorado sighed and nodded.

  “I do.”

  “Why didn’t you tell Lee?”

  “He never asked.”

  Cooper frowned, and Josie watched them with a curious look.

  “What tribe is she from?”

  “Apache.”

  “How did she end up with Lee?”

  “I didn’t ask.”

  Cooper frowned impatiently.

  “Well, ask her now.”

  “It’s none of my business,” Kolorado objected.

  Cooper stared at him, and Kolorado stared back. It was only for a few seconds, but it felt longer.

  “If I paid you?”

  “Then it would become my business,” Kolorado confirmed.

  Cooper sighed. He pulled out several dollar coins and gave them to Kolorado.

  “Find out how she became a captive, and I also want to know how long she’s been living with them. Find out if she has any family, and also find out if she was married. She’d be old enough. And, find out how she came to be with Lee.”

  “Is that all?” Kolorado scowled.

  “For now.”

  Kolorado licked h
is lips, and he turned to Josie and started talking. Josie listened, and then she replied eagerly.

  They talked on and on while Cooper watched anxiously. Finally, they stopped talking. Kolorado took a swig of coffee while Josie looked at Cooper and smiled. He smiled back and looked at Kolorado.

  “What’d she say?”

  “Plenty,” Kolorado replied. “Twelve years back, her family was attacked by a war party. She was only nine, and none of her family survived.”

  Cooper looked at Josie.

  “I’m very sorry,” he said, and Josie nodded.

  “That means she’s twenty-one,” Cooper figured.

  Kolorado nodded as he took another swig of coffee.

  “She said that they were a mean bunch of Injuns, and that they didn’t treat her too good. But then, a few months later she got traded to another Injun outfit, and they treated her decent.

  “She’s been living with that bunch this whole time until a few days ago. She had a husband, but he was killed last year while trying to protect his pony herd from some thieving Injuns. Now, a few days ago-.”

  Cooper raised his hand and cut him off.

  “I’m very sorry for your loss,” he told Josie.

  Again, Josie just nodded.

  “You want to hear this or not?” Kolorado asked irritably.

  “Since I’m paying for it, I’ll interrupt anytime I feel like it,” Cooper declared, and asked, “Did she have any children?”

  Before Kolorado could speak, Josie shook her head.

  Cooper nodded and looked at Kolorado.

  “Proceed,” he said.

  Kolorado scowled, but he still continued.

  “A few days ago, they were moving to their summer camp when four white men jumped them. All the men were gone on some war raid, and it was just the older men and women and kids that were at the camp. She said these white men killed everybody and took her hostage. That’s when she got nicked by a bullet.”

  “No wonder they hate us,” Cooper shook his head in disgust.

  “A few days later, these men met Lee,” Kolorado continued. “They exchanged some words, and then they left her. After that, Lee brought her here. She said that he was real nice.”

  “Does she know what these men were doing?”

  Kolorado shook his head.

  “She said that she hasn’t been around English words for twelve years, and it wasn’t until she was around Lee that it started coming back. She only knows that they were very bad men, and that Lee is going after them.”