Brides of the West-Part One

by Hestand, Rita

  Her face flushed, and she swallowed hard.

  He cleared his throat and turned away quickly.

  "Alright, we are ready to ride." He said his voice low and gravelly.

  "It's a long ride to the hills Callie, so get as comfortable as you can." He told her as they mounted.

  "I'll be alright." She answered.

  It began to rain again and Gil looked at her and smiled. "This will help wash our trail out some."

  But it was a two-day ride to the cabin in the hills and it rained that first night. Gil built a small lean-to for them to sleep under.

  Callie looked at it and then him. "You expect me to sleep under that…with you?"

  "Aw come on Callie. I haven't touched a hair on you. We got more important things to worry about than that, don't you think?" He frowned at her. "Besides, you better get used to it; we'll be cooped up in that cabin for a while, alone."

  "I guess you're right." She muttered thickly. "You know you didn't give me a choice. You just jumped into my wagon and took off. Did you ever think of just asking?"

  He looked down into her sullen face.

  "I'm sorry, due to other worries my manners may not always be in place Callie. Would you please get inside so we can get some rest, we are gonna need it."

  She looked at the small space again, frowned and then went inside it.

  She slid in and he slid behind her.

  It threw them into an intimacy that neither could deny. She stiffened when his arm came over her to protect her through the night.

  "Relax…" he whispered, "and get some sleep."

  "Gil?"

  "Yeah?"

  "I guess I haven't used my manners much either. Thanks…for what you are doing. Even if it is just your job."

  He leaned over her, "Callie I…"

  She had closed her eyes now, and she looked like some sleeping beauty. The urge to kiss her hit him, but due to the conditions, he figured he better not.

  But before morning, she had turned over and was plastered up against him tightly; snuggling until her eyes flew open and she saw him.

  "Oh…I didn't mean…" She began.

  He shook his head and got up. "I know you didn't. Just settle out. The first thing we must do is start trusting each other a little bit. I'm only here to protect you Callie, not seduce you."

  She threw back her head, "I know that."

  He'd said the wrong thing again, he could tell by her expression.

  "You keep reminding me of that quite often. But you've got to admit, these are not normal circumstances. I've never slept with a man in my life!"

  A slow sexy grin grew on his face. "That's nice to know."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I was the first to kiss you, and the first to sleep with you!" He chuckled.

  "You don't have to brag about it, and drag it in the dirt do you?" She pouted and turned away.

  He turned her around, and pulled her chin up; a gloved finger stroked her cheek. "I'd never drag anything I did with you in the dirt Callie. I think too much of you. But you gotta learn to trust me."

  "Trust comes hard when your mother is shot down innocently in a bank holdup, or when your father becomes a drunk then suddenly in the middle of the night leaves you and his son and never comes back. It's hard to trust…I trusted the two most important people in my life, and look where it got me."

  "I wish I could change all of that, Callie. But I can't." He came to stand behind her. "Trust is something that grows, sometimes slowly, sometimes quick. But maybe when this is all over, you'll have learned to put some faith in me."

  "It's not your fault. But it is my cross to bear…The only one I ever trusted was Sam. When he said something, I knew it was the truth. Even if it was hard for him to say. When he did something, I knew he was honest about it too. He's the only one I ever trusted…I guess it's because I know he feels the same as me about it."

  "I can understand that…" Gil pulled her back against him. "But I'm asking you to try. You put a high mark on trust Callie, but I'll do everything I can to earn it." He wrapped his arms around her middle and held her there for a minute. It was a glorious moment, Gil decided, holding her against him, feeling her warmth and knowing that for a split second, she let her defenses down and allowed it.

  When she finally turned to look at him with a flushed face she offered him a shy smile. "I wouldn't still be here, if I hadn't trusted you a little."

  He smiled. "Good, because we're going to be in some strange predicaments and we will just have to manage through it. Understand?"

  "Of course." Readjusting her clothes a bit.

  "You shouldn't ever have kissed me…" She muttered miserably.

  "What did you say?" His brows met in a frown.

  "Nothing…" she turned away to hide her embarrassment.

  He helped her with the shirt that had come loose and then her hat. When he finished he looked into her eyes once more. His finger reached up to dot her nose, and a smile broke over his face. "You look fine, Callie, just fine."

  She stared at him a long time and then they rode off.

  He handed her some jerky, when they slowed down a bit. "This is the only breakfast for now. But it won't be long we'll be at the shack," he promised.

  "I'm looking forward to that…"

  Chapter Eleven

  In the meantime, while Callie and Gil were making an escape plan, Sam had made it into town but it was late and the Sheriff office was closed and dark. The only thing open was the saloon. He found a dark alley close by that was lit with the afterglow of the lights from the saloon. He found some old crates, scattered them around him and hid out for the night, knowing he couldn't get the money to the Sheriff right away. He couldn't allow anyone to find him with the money on him. When it rained, he built the crates over him to protect him. It was a long wet and miserable night.

  The next morning the bartender came out to the alley to pour the gunk from the spittoons out in a barrel. Sam was very still so as not to be noticed.

  The bartender stopped for a minute, staring at the crates, but shrugging went on back inside.

  Sam let out a big sigh.

  He glanced over at the Sheriff's office. He decided to take a chance and see if it was open yet. Rushing across the street, he tried to open the door, but it was still locked.

  Precious came to lie down in front of the door. Sam bent down to pet him. "Hi boy."

  Where was the Sheriff? He needed to get rid of the money. It was getting mighty heavy in his shirt; in fact, it had slipped down around his waist now.

  He was about to leave when a deputy walked up, it was Walter Cobb. Cobb filled in for Lou a lot. "Is the Sheriff here?" Sam asked him as he walked up to unlock the door.

  "Nope, he's over in Nickelville this morning, checking on his ailing mother. What can I do for you?"

  "Are you the acting Sheriff now?"

  Walter scratched his chin, and looked at the boy. "Well, seein' as how Lou's gone, and Gil's gone, I guess I am."

  Sam never trusted Walter too much. He wasn't sure if he could now.

  "Maybe later," Sam said and walked toward the door.

  "Suit yourself young fella."

  Sam didn't have a plan, but reasoning told him that he had to get the money in a safe place, and the safest place was the bank! "Come on Precious, we got to get."

  He ran two blocks down and crossed the street.

  By the time he got there, his face was scarlet red.

  Fred looked at him strangely, then Precious.

  "We don't allow dogs in the bank." Fred said drily.

  "I know. He just followed me." Sam shrugged. "Stay Precious."

  Precious laid down in front of the bank door.

  Fred started to reprimand them both then Sam started to ask for Mr. Phelps.

  Mr. Phelps saw him and walked toward him. "Well now Sam. I rarely get a visit this early in the morning from you. Come in, come in. What can I do for you?"

  "Mr. Phelps. I need help." Sam
said, with Precious standing at his heel now.

  Mr. Phelps saw his face and the serious look and immediately closed the door to his office so they could have privacy. He pet Precious and offered Sam a chair to sit in.

  "Alright Sam, what can I do to help."

  "Okay, the Sheriff isn't in town, and I don't trust Walter Cobb enough to handle this." Sam was saying so out of breath he could barely talk straight.

  "I see. Well, I can understand that. I don't put too much faith in the man myself."

  "I got the bank money, Mr. Phelps. But I gotta tell you the story so you understand and I'm sure you'll know what to do, 'cause I don't."

  "The bank money? You have it? How in the world did that happen?"

  "Gil recovered it, he told me to take it to the Sheriff."

  "I see. Well, may I see it?"

  "Sam took the bags out of his shirt. The money was so heavy it had fallen to his waist and it was hard to get out, so he unbuttoned his shirt to take it out and then hurriedly buttoned his shirt once more, his face turning scarlet.

  Precious must have felt right at home, he curled up next to the chair and waited, wagging his tail occasionally as Sam related his story.

  Mr. Phelps' eyes were big when he saw the moneybags.

  He took it, counted it and then tucked it in a drawer and closed it.

  Sam related the entire story to Mr. Phelps and he had an avid listener. Mr. Phelps nodded when he was through. "Well Sam I am sure there is a reward in store for you for recovering the money."

  "Oh no sir. I didn't recover it. Gil and Callie did, I just delivered it."

  Mr. Phelps smiled. "You are a very honest young man, Sam, and if you ever need or want a job in this bank, just ask me."

  "Thank you sir."

  "Well now, I'll redeposit this and what of you now. Won't you be in some danger yourself if they spot you?"

  "Yes sir, probably."

  "Well then, since the Sheriff is out of town, and Gil and your sister are not available. Why don't you stay with me and maybe I can find a few things for you to do for me, then we'll go home and you can meet my wife and stay with us until Lou gets back. Sound alright to you?"

  Sam nodded, "But…can I bring Precious with me? Gil will worry about him until he gets back…eating and stuff."

  "Sure, he's a good dog." Mr. Phelps smiled at them.

  "Good." Sam smiled down at Precious.

  "Oh Sam…I'm mighty proud of you, the whole town will be."

  "Maybe it's best we don't tell everyone right away…" Sam felt fear climb up his back at being exposed in any way.

  "Of course, when the varmits that did this are caught, then we can celebrate. I agree. You are not only honest, but you've got a good head on your shoulders."

  "Thanks…" Sam smiled.

  ~*~

  After camping out at the mine, Joe and Harley saddled up to track his Pa.

  "Maybe we should take the lantern with us," Joe suggested as he mounted.

  "Sure, I'll go get it…" Harley rushed into the mine to pick up the lantern.

  He saw something over in the corner. He waited until his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He still couldn't see so he lit the lantern and then nearly dropped it.

  "Joe…you better come have a look at this." Harley yelled. "Joe!"

  "What the hell….?" Joe tramped into the mine to look at Harley.

  "Look…" Harley pointed.

  Joe went over to the corner, bent down and then stood up. His face was gnarled with a huge frown. "Pa he's dead!"

  "I thought so." Harley gulped.

  Joe looked down again. This time he turned him over with his boot. He saw the blood where the bullet hit him. He also saw there was no gun.

  "He's been shot." Joe proclaimed.

  "But who?" Harley scrunched up his face like a puzzle.

  "Yeah…who knew about this…the money and the place we hid it?"

  "Could have been old man Dugan came in and found him with the money and killed him. Could have shot him for trespassing, and not even seen who he was."

  Joe scratched his chin with his gun in his hand. "Yeah, only old man Dugan would have seen the money and took it himself. He's just greedy enough. You don't get to be rich being a nice guy. Maybe we better check that out first."

  "Good idea." Harley said.

  "Let's ride."

  "Ain't we gonna follow those tracks?"

  "What tracks, they are washed out from the storm, you idiot." Joe reined his horse around and headed for the Dugan place.

  "We gotta be careful Joe." Harley warned him as he caught up to him.

  "What do you mean?" Joe looked at him.

  "Well, if old man Dugan didn't do it, then somebody else did, right?"

  "Right." Joe frowned.

  "But who else knows?"

  "I don't know. Maybe that's what we need to find out." Joe pushed his hat down over his eyes to shade himself from the morning sun.

  "How we gonna do that?" Harley leaned over his horse and saddle.

  "The only way to find answers is to ask questions." Joe told him.

  "But if we talk too much, there will be a lot more people knows about it. Won't there?"

  Joe stopped his horse to look at Harley and smiled. "You know Harley, every now and then; you make a lot of sense."

  "Thanks. Could it be one of the other boys?" Harley questioned.

  Joe sat back in his saddle and stopped abruptly. "I'd hate to think that, Harley. I know it wasn't you, 'cause you are with me, but it could have been Billy, or Jed. Maybe you are right. We got to play this smart Harley until we get some answers. Okay, let's go back to the house. Dugan can wait a while longer. If he has the money he'll either bury it on his land or put it in the bank."

  "So where we going? Your folks place?" Harley looked surprised.

  "Yeah, we got a funeral to attend to, don't we?"

  "Well yeah, but…."

  Joe shook his head. "We got to keep our heads on straight Harley. If one of the other boys was with Pa and Pa tried to double cross them, then, they could have killed Pa and took the money with them. So we go back, have the funeral and watch the other two. If they are there. If they aren't, we can be pretty sure they got the money. If they did it, we'll take care of them fast. We didn't rob that bank to come up empty handed."

  "Sounds reasonable to me." Harley smiled.

  "Don't let on, that we know anything yet," Joe advised him. "Let's see if we can't get them to confess. If they did it. There's plenty of time to get Mr. Dugan if they didn't. 'Cause if it isn't one of them, it's got to be Mr. Dugan."

  "You are right. It's gotta be. Nobody else knows we robbed the bank…do they?"

  Joe thought about that a minute. "Maybe…but let's check on the boys first. And get Ma buried. We don't want anything to look funny, and not bein' at her funeral would sure look bad for us."

  "What about your Pa? Ain't we gonna bury him?"

  "He was running out on us…let him rot where he is." Joe frowned and turned his horse toward his home place.

  There were any number of people at the house, and Joe's mother was lying out in the parlor for all to see. Joe wondered who told them.

  "I reckon Callie would have been the one to tell them." Joe explained to Harley when he stared at the woman in the casket. "But I don't see hide nor hair of her either. Ain't that funny?"

  "Yeah, but, she didn't…she ain't the kind to…" Harley frowned at Joe. "She'd never keep stolen money."

  "Anyone can be tempted by money. Besides,…I got some other ideas about that. But like you said we'll take this slow and easy just to see if we can catch who it was."

  Everyone was sitting in the parlor staring at his mother and talking about all the times they had come to eat dinner with her and make over her fine cooking. Some of the local women were hovered around her talking about how sweet a woman she was. There were tears and Penny even cried.

  Joe walked up to Penny and snuggled up to her, "Did you or Callie let everyone know?
"

  "I ain't seen Callie. I let everyone know. I thought someone should." She sounded insulted that he thought Callie might have told everyone.

  "You did good honey. Thanks." Joe kissed her cheek and walked off.

  She blushed and joined the other women.

  Joe nodded to Billy and Jed. "Where's your Pa?" Billy asked. "Shouldn't he be here?"

  That told Joe all he needed to know about Billy. He wasn't the guilty one. Now to find out what Jed might know.

  "Penny been here the whole time?"

  "Yeah, she was here all last night and today. She let the preacher know too, and they are going to bury her here on the property tomorrow." Jed said. "She told the preacher that's what she wanted."

  "This ain't her house. I ain't sure we can bury her here. This is rent property. Someone might object. You seen Callie?" Joe asked him.

  "Naw…not since the day she and Sam came over." Jed looked at him strangely, "kinda funny, huh? Your Pa ain't here either. We thought that maybe he went to town to get some whiskey when she died, but he ain't come back yet. Maybe he's got a bad hangover or something."

  So neither of the boys was guilty, Joe concluded. Penny was here, so she was innocent. That left Mr. Dugan and maybe Callie. Although Callie wasn't the sort to steal money, so he couldn't imagine her getting involved. Callie was a lot like his mother, it must have been what he liked about her from the beginning.

  It had to be Dugan.

  "Come on boys, we got some ridin' to do." Joe motioned for them to follow him.

  Before he left he leaned over at Penny. "Better find out if it's alright to bury her on this place, honey. Don't want anyone digging her up, later, you know."

  "Oh, I hadn't thought of that. I guess I can get dad to ride into town and find out. Or the reverend might know."

  "You do that," he kissed her on the cheek and left.

  "Just so you all know, Pa's dead. He's got a bullet in his heart. He was about to run out on us."

  "Who done it?" Billy hollered.

  "I'm not sure, yet. But I got some ideas."

  The boys were upset with the news. "But Mr. Dugan is rich, why would he want the money?" Billy asked.

  "Greed Billy, greed. Rich men get rich because they are greedy in the first place. They never have too much."