Brides of the West-Part One

by Hestand, Rita

  "I think she's known that ever since it happened, somehow. But she won't talk about it. She was real close to that woman. She lived up to her word; she got that money back, like she promised her." Gil smiled in reflection.

  "Have you told her how you feel?"

  "Not in so many words. No, I think I’m gonna have to do something to shake her up a bit, to make her see just how much I do care. An ordinary proposal won't work with Callie. I've got to come up with something. I'll have to think on it a while. But I'll find a way, because after all this, I'm like David. She's the only one for me…"

  Saul smiled. "I'm glad little brother, that's the way it's supposed to be."

  After a long while, Gil shook himself. "Well we better get back into town. We got a lot to do yet."

  "Yeah, you're right."

  ~*~

  When Gil and Saul walked in on Lou that morning at the jail, he was already hammering at Harley.

  "Stealing from a woman, and hitting her in the head like that, don't you know that's about as low as a man can get, Harley?" Lou was spitting mad.

  "What happened now?" Gil asked as he hung up his gun and walked between the jail cell and Lou.

  "I'll tell you what happened; he robbed Jo and hit her in the head with his gun butt. That's what happened." Lou expounded. "I would have told you last night, but you were already asleep when I got in."

  "Is Jo alright?" Saul asked.

  "Yeah, she will be. Sam's been taking real good care of her."

  Gil smiled. "Well Harley, you might be sorry you didn't die with the rest of them out there last night. Jo is Lou's girl, you know."

  Harley swallowed hard. "She is?"

  "That's right. They are gonna get hitched." Gil laughed.

  Lou turned on Saul and Gil. "That's not all. Joe robbed the bank again, like we thought he might do, and he killed Mr. Phelps."

  Gil glanced at his brother, "Mr. Phelps?"

  "Yeah…apparently he went for his gun and Joe shot and killed him. Harley already admitted it was Joe who done it."

  "If the old man hadn't gone for his gun, he'd still be alive." Harley argued. They all turned their heads to Harley as though waiting for the rest of the explanation. "Well, Joe wasn't much of a killer. In fact, Mr. Phelps was the first one he actually killed. Jed killed Mr. Dugan and Billy and Jed were horsin' around with Sally and she fell, nobody kilt her."

  "And the foreman?" Gil asked.

  "Jed again. He was the meanest of the bunch and a dead shot."

  "Who killed Jed, by the way?" Harley asked waiting for someone to tell him.

  "Callie!" Gil frowned at him.

  "So she was there, all the time." Harley sat down on the bunk and stared at the floor for a long moment.

  "Shut up Harley. You'll get your day in court soon enough." Lou warned him.

  "I didn't realize Callie killed Jed." Lou looked at Gil seriously. "She sure was a mess last night."

  "Yeah, she needed some rest. That's why I decided to leave her alone for a while. Let her see Sam and be reassured. You see…Demus tried to kill Jed, but Jed killed him instead. Callie saw it all, and was loading my six-shooter in her hand when it happened. She shot him and killed him. I had to pry the gun from her hands, she was shaking so badly."

  "I didn't know. So…now you want to tell us about Demus?" Lou asked pulling up his chair and sitting down to wait for another story.

  "Demus happened in on us at the cabin. He was escaping his own hanging."

  Lou eyed him sharply. "And?"

  "Since you weren't here, when Mr. Dugan's hand came to find you to tell you about the shootings, he went to Pecos and informed the sheriff there. They rode out to the Dugan place and found Demus standing over the bodies with a gun in his hand. They immediately thought they had found the killer. They took him back, tried him the same day and scheduled him to hang. But when they went to do it, the rope broke. So while he was waiting to see what they were going to do with him, he got away. He ran, but he didn't know where he was going. He stumbled on the shack. That's where we met him. When we found out it was Dugan he was arrested for killing, I told him we could clear his name. He was so happy. He had four kids at home and a wife waiting for him. All he wanted was to clear his name. I told him I'd get that done. I intend to do it." Gil said frowning at the floor now.

  "What was he doin' at the Dugan ranch in the first place?"

  "He was looking for food and shelter. He'd gotten lost, lost his horse and just wanted a little food so he could try to find his way home. When no one answered and yet he found the chimney smoking, he went inside. Naturally, he was a man at the wrong place and the wrong time."

  Lou's mouth was hanging open. "I'll contact the Sheriff in Pecos. We will clear his name…" Lou promised.

  "It would mean a lot to his family I’m sure." Gil said.

  A long silence stretched and Harley had gone to sleep, he was snoring. It broke the peace of the moment. "They are gonna bury Mr. Phelps same time they do Guthrie, so we don't have a parade of funerals around here." Lou said.

  Gil nodded woodenly.

  Harley woke and was scratching his head and looking at them funny when he burst out. "Anyone check on that blacksmith lately?"

  "Homer?" Gil shouted and stood up. "Did you hurt him too?"

  "Naw…Joe said he got picked on enough because he was a black man, to leave him alone. But….we did sort of tie him up and leave him…" Harley laughed.

  "For God's sake!" Lou spouted, "The man's probably starved to death."

  "Aw…the man's got enough meat on his bones to last him a few days." Harley snorted.

  Saul looked up and shook his head. "I'll go see after him. I'll see you later." He gave Harley an incredulous glance.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Gil went to see Callie, but she and Sam were gone.

  "Where'd they go?" he asked Jo who was up and about now and looking her old self.

  "Callie wanted to see the cabin for herself, and she wanted to put flowers on Mrs. Boggs grave. Sam drove her out in the wagon." Jo explained.

  She let Gil inside and he looked around.

  Gil nodded. "It's gonna upset her pretty bad when she sees the cabin. Lou said they didn't leave anything untouched. Poor girl, they didn't have much to begin with."

  "I told her they could stay with me, that I'd appreciate it if they would. Sam's been such a help to me. Callie finally agreed, but she wanted to try to rescue anything she could from the cabin, like clothes and such." Jo informed him. "Can't blame her for that I guess. But from what Lou said there wasn't much to save."

  "Thanks, that's a good idea, them staying here for a while." Gil nodded. "I haven't seen the cabin either, but I wished she would have waited a day or two. She's still pretty shaky."

  "Did something happen out there to her. It seems a lot of her spirit is down right now. She's so quiet, so withdrawn. I just wondered, did she see too much or what?"

  "She killed Jed…" Gil said firming his lips together as though he wished he could change that fact.

  "Good Lord! No wonder!"

  "She was something; she certainly isn't the run of the mill kind of girl, Jo."

  "You gonna marry that girl or not, Gil?"

  Gil turned his hat around in his hands. "I'm sure gonna try, Jo."

  "Well finally." Jo smiled.

  "But I gotta handle this myself Jo. No prodding. She's a skittish filly and it's gonna take some doing." Gil smiled.

  "I'll say a little prayer for you Gil." Jo smiled winsomely.

  "Thanks…I guess I'll see you at the funerals tomorrow." He nodded.

  "You will."

  "And congratulations to you and Lou. Is he hanging his guns up?" Gil asked

  "He says he is…I guess you might have to take his job, now."

  "Maybe I will." Gil grinned and walked off. "If there are no objections, that is."

  ~*~

  It was a warm day and the wind was blowing just enough to stir the dust on the ground. Callie saw
the cabin and her mouth flew open, but nothing came out at first. The screen door was lopsided, the inside was worse. She gasped at first glance. She stared from one thing to the next in total silence. A lone tear fell down her cheek.

  "My God…they didn't leave us anything, did they?" She cried.

  Sam saw the distraught look on her face and tried to console her. "It'll be alright. We'll do just fine. But I reckon we should stay in town with Miss Jo for now. I think she needs us right now."

  Not even realizing Sam had taken the lead, she nodded.

  Just by looking, he could tell she was thinking about old times here, the good old times.

  She picked up an old whatnot and turned it around in her fingers. "This was Ma's favorite thimble." She muttered. One side of the thimble was shattered.

  Sam went to look inside the trunks that rested at the foot of their beds. Some of their clothes had been strewn across the room, but there were a few things that were left inside untouched.

  He dug his clothes out, and some of hers.

  He picked up an old carpetbag and threw them in the bag. "We can take these with us…" He said.

  Callie was still going from one thing to another. Sam watched her closely, worrying about her.

  When she saw the small music box that belonged to her mother, she sat on the floor among all the rubbish and turned it on. It still played, even though the beautiful wooden cover was busted.

  She listened to the music for a long time.

  Sam stared at her. "You think of anything else we should try to take?"

  Callie shook her head. "No….let's get out of here." She shouted.

  As they were loading the wagon though, the mountain lion that had stalked the place for two summers was in the barn, making all kinds of racket.

  Sam heard him, grabbed his gun and went after him.

  Callie screamed. "Sam come back here…."

  But Sam was determined. He marched into the barn and Callie ran after him, but she wasn't as fast.

  A shot rang out and she screamed his name, "Sam?"

  She ran inside and there was the mountain lion lying dead on the barn floor, part of the carcass of the dead horse was in his mouth. Sam stood with his rifle in front of him, the smoke still circling the air.

  "Oh Sam…you could have been killed." She grabbed him to her and held him tight.

  "I told you I'd get him."

  "Yes, but he could have hurt you. Oh…."

  He pulled away with a big grin on his face. "I got him, didn't I?"

  She stared down into his face, "You sure did, Sam. You surely did."

  The stench of death mingled with the pride of the prey. They walked back to the wagon and Sam took control over the reins. Callie stared at him out of the corner of her eye and realized that her brother truly had become a man now. With renewed self-confidence, Sam whipped the horse and wagon into action and they headed for the Boggs farm.

  Callie didn't know what she might find at the farm but she knew she wanted to tell Virginia about the money and that she could rest easy again.

  As they rode up in the yard, it was quiet, peaceful and Callie couldn't remember the place ever looking as grand as it did now. The old house was dark and gloomy, just as always, but that part of the place was no longer important to Callie. She wouldn't even try to remember any good times here. Just her friend.

  Someone had tended the gravesite and Callie was pleased to find the marker that had been placed there for her.

  "I wonder if Joe did that?" She remarked.

  "Nope. The church did it, for her. They got together and pooled their money to buy it. It was…Mr. Phelps idea."

  "It's beautiful, she would have loved that. Mr. Phelps is a nice man."

  "He's dead, Callie."

  "Mr. Phelps?" She screeched at the news.

  "Joe robbed the bank again, and killed him, shot him dead."

  "Oh dear God…." Callie put her hand over her mouth. But she forced the tears to the back of her mind. She had to be strong now.

  She walked around the gravesite, as the wind blew her skirt and it billowed, she pushed it down.

  "Well, you can rest easy now. The money was returned, and everything is all right again, Virginia. I guess Joe won't be joining you right now, and I'm sorry for that, but it couldn't be helped. I kept your secret. He never knew." She said sadly.

  "What secret?" Sam asked when he heard her mumbling.

  "I'll tell you about it someday. But not today." She said. "Today we are going to rejoice because Virginia is in heaven with God, resting. Finally. And I know she's smiling down on us right now, Sam. I can feel it."

  Sam stared at Callie. He took her hand and smiled. "And that's a pretty good place to be…"

  "Yes, it is."

  They spent some time gathering pretty wild flowers and they decorated the grave with them. "She so loved flowers."

  "She's got a lot of them now." Sam nodded.

  "Come on…let's get back to town before dark." Callie said finally, as she gave the grave one more glance.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  That evening Gil went over to Jo's with Lou and Callie and Sam were there helping Jo get things ready for supper. The café was still closed. Lou insisted she take a few days off to rest and get to feeling better. Although the town itself missed the café, they understood.

  Gil watched Callie out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't tell much about how her day had affected her by looking but something in the way she carried herself, something in the way she smiled shyly told him she had found some peace today. Sorrow didn't hover around her any longer. Replaced by strength and courage to go on.

  It had to be hard on both Callie and Sam to see the cabin like it was.

  "Callie I think you and Sam should stay with me, at least until the wedding, then maybe we can figure something more permanent out for you. I know you'd rather be at home, but home just doesn't seem a viable option right now." Jo was saying. "I have plenty of room here and there is no reason not to take advantage of it. I'd love having you with me."

  Callie shot Gil a quick glance, she masked her innermost feelings quickly, as determination took hold. "I guess that would be best, at least until we decide what we have to do."

  She stiffened her backbone, honed her uncertainties.

  "But of course, we'll earn our keep while we are here, Miss Jo. We'll help out at the café every day." Callie insisted.

  "That would be wonderful." Jo seemed touched by her eagerness to pay her own way. "I could use the help."

  Callie's smile blossomed at her. "Then we can help each other."

  Jo took her hand from across the table, "We certainly can, dear."

  Lou's mouth twitched with amusement. "I'm glad that's settled. Sounds as though we've come to a good resolution."

  Gil glanced at Sam who was unusually quiet. "Say Sam, Lou said you got that cougar."

  Sam's eyes lit up for an instant and he beamed like a fat cat. "Yes sir I did. Caught him out in the barn. I'm glad I got him too. He'd have had all the chickens for miles if he kept it up."

  "With one shot?" Gil teased.

  "I was lucky. He was busy feedin' on our dead horse." Sam nodded.

  "Weren't you scared?" Jo asked wide-eyed with concern.

  "I was!" Callie added.

  "I was too mad to be scared. I wasn't even thinking when I went after him. I just knew I had to get him. That's all."

  "Well you sure did that. And there might be a bounty on his head too. If so, you can collect it."

  "I didn't do it for money. It was the fact that he haunted me so long. I had to kill him."

  "A man of action." Lou chuckled. "I like that."

  After cutting up a bit with Sam about the cat, things quieted down again and Gil searched Lou out once more.

  "So…when is the wedding, Lou?" Gil teased him gently.

  "Well, we thought maybe anywhere from two weeks to a month. I'll be resigning as sheriff, and I'm sure you could take over as act
ing Sheriff until an election is held. This will give me time to get Harley to court, sentenced, and tie up all my loose ends at the office. I don't want anything interfering in a little honeymoon I want to take." Lou smiled suspiciously.

  "Why Lou…you never said a word about a honeymoon?" Jo blushed as she shot him a flirty glance.

  Lou's face grew serious as he looked at Jo. "I want to do this right, Jo. I've waited a long time for this, and I want it right."

  The sincerity in his voice had Jo gasping with happiness.

  Gil moved in his chair, restlessly. A month that would be about the right time, he decided silently. He knew what he had to do, and he knew how much time he had to do it in.

  He had a month to figure a way to ask Callie to be his wife. But no ordinary proposal would do. He had to make her see, that she could trust his love and devotion and that it was as real as life itself. There was no question in his mind that Callie was the right girl for him and he welcomed Sam just as much into his life. They would be a family, a good family.

  ~*~

  The funerals were held out at the old city cemetery. Mrs. Guthrie and her entire family were there. Mr. Phelps son had come all the way from St. Louis to be there. Most of the townspeople attended. The only ones that didn't attend were in the saloon.

  The day was dry and windy. The women had a time keeping their hats and skirts at a decent level. The air itself felt clean and fresh and far from the acrid smoke of gunpowder.

  The preacher from the Christian church came to preach Mr. Guthrie's funeral and the priest from the Catholic Church came, as Phelps was Catholic.

  Hymns were sung, and the wind echoed a lonely tune.

  There were quiet tears and sad goodbyes, but it was a dignified funeral.

  As it ended, Mrs. Guthrie came up to Lou and looked him in the eye. "Lou, I know you did your job the best you could. I'm glad you got the ones that done this." She paused a moment, to compose her thoughts. "Arthur was a good man, a good husband and a good provider. He was loved, and he'll be missed, but…all things considered, I'm glad he's repaid his debt and now he'll face his maker a happy man."