Rena's Cowboy

by Agnes Alexander

  He shook away the thought and edged Spider up the next incline and over the ridge into a small canyon. A frown crossed his brow. He reigned in and dismounted. Squatting by the remains of a small campfire, he found it cold, but used within the last day. He looked around and saw the remains of several smokes. Whoever had been here hadn’t been careful.

  Moving a little farther, he picked up the tracks of several shod horses. He followed them for half an hour. The prints eventually intermingled with those of cows.

  Jake kept going.

  In a little while he heard the low mooing of cattle coming from the end of the box canyon he’d entered. He looked around and wondered if he was being watched. Easing into the open he rode slowly toward the sounds with his hand on his rifle.

  A fence fashioned from the branches of small spruce and pines closed off a make-shift corral. Cursing, he dismounted and tore the brush away. He remounted and made quick work of driving the cattle toward the ranch.

  When they approached the herd, Curly Walker rode out to meet him. “What’s happening, Jake?”

  “Found them penned up in a canyon.”

  Curly watched as the cows mingled with the others. “How’d you find them?”

  “I was looking for something like this to be happening, so all I had to do was follow the tracks. The rest of you keep a close eye on the herd. I’m going back to the house and talk to Silas. We’ll set up guards. I’m sure we’re dealing with rustlers and we have to be prepared.”

  Curly spit tobacco to the ground. “Damn. I hate rustlers.”

  “So do I, Curly.” Jake turned his horse and headed to the cabin.

  Thirty minutes later, he reigned up at the barn and Finn came out of the bunkhouse. “You missed a good feed, Jake.”

  “Adela always puts on a good one” He removed the saddle and threw the blanket over the corral fence.

  “Yeah, she does, but Miss Rena cooked something this time. I forgot what they called it, but it was good.”

  Gil walked up. “It was shepherd’s pie, Finn. I agree, it was good.”

  Jake nodded. “We’ve got trouble, boys.”

  “What?” Gil asked.

  “I found some of our cows pinned in a canyon. I drove them back, but I’m sure they aren’t the only ones missing.”

  “Hell,” Gil said. “That means there’re rustlers about.”

  “Looks like it.”

  “I’ll ride out and give Curly a hand. We’ll keep a sharp eye.”

  “Thanks, Gil. Is Silas in the house?”

  “Yep.” Finn followed Jake into the barn.

  “I’ll cool Spider down then go talk with Silas.”

  * * * *

  The sound of approaching horses reached the cabin and Silas frowned. “Who the hell can that be this time of day?” He stood and strode out the front door. “What the hell are you doing here, Wigham?”

  Rena started to follow Silas, but Adela touched her arm. “It’s man’s business. Maybe you shouldn’t go out there.”

  Rena stared at her. “Okay, but I’m going to the door where I can listen.”

  “Why?”

  “Maybe…oh, hell, Adela, just stand there and wring your hands. I’ll tell you what went on later.” Rena turned from her and went to the door, but kept out of sight.

  From the crack between the door and frame, she could see three men on horseback. One was older, well-built and looked as if he could handle several younger men. He had a white mustache, white hair, a strong jaw line and nice full lips, though he wasn’t using them to smile, just to talk. “Jefferson said the bank was going to take this place over in a couple of months so I thought I’d give you a chance to sell out.”

  “We’re not selling.” Silas’s voice was firm.

  “Selling is better than losing it,” Wigham said.

  “You son-of-a-bitch.” Silas stepped off the porch and reached for him.

  The man moved back enough to avoid being pulled off his horse. “Now, Silas, calm down. You know I’m here as a friend and neighbor…”

  “I’d as soon have a rattlesnake as a friend.”

  Rena knew a situation like this could easily get out of hand. It was similar to neighbor fights she’d broken up in the past. This was one of the most dangerous kinds of confrontation to encounter. She turned to go to the kitchen and saw Adela had crept up behind her.

  “Adela, where do they keep the guns?”

  “You don’t…”

  “Don’t argue with me. Where are the guns?”

  “Silas put his on the rack when he came in.” She pointed to the gun rack beside the sofa.

  Rena grabbed the rifle. It was loaded. She eased to the door and raised it to her shoulder. On Wigham’s left was a young fellow about twenty. He looked harmless enough, but she knew to never disregard anyone. The one on the right had beady eyes that showed little or no emotion. Training told her this was the one to watch

  Silas still stood beside the white-haired man’s horse and was yelling at him. The dangerous man arched his eyebrow and watched.

  Rena didn’t move, and her eyes never left the man’s face. She saw evil there and knew it wouldn’t take much to set him off.

  “I’ll pay you eight hundred dollars for your spread if you’re gone by Saturday.”

  Silas spit on the ground. “Eight hundred dollars wouldn’t buy the outhouse on this place, Jasper Wigham. You’re a damn crook. Now get the hell off my land before I run you off.”

  “And just how do you propose to do that? I don’t see anyone but you challenging me.” Wigham kicked at Silas.

  Rage covered Silas’s face. “You bastard!” He grabbed Wigham’s arm and was about to pull him out of the saddle.

  Rena saw the gunman whip his weapon from the holster. She knew he’d shoot Silas in the back without thinking twice.

  She squeezed the trigger on the rifle. The man screamed and grabbed his wrist as his gun went flying through the air.

  The young man raised his rifle, but didn’t have time to fire. Rena shot again and the rifle fell to the ground.

  “What the hell?” Wigham shouted. “Come out of there, Jake, and fight like a man.”

  At that moment, Jake ran into the front yard. “I hate to disappoint you, Wigham, but I’m right here. I think the shooter saw that your man was about to shoot my brother in the back and stopped him.”

  Wigham ignored that statement. “If it wasn’t you doing the shooting, who the hell was it?”

  “Does it matter? You’ve been out maneuvered. I don’t know what you meant by coming here and insulting my brother and me, but it didn’t work.” Jake picked up the gunman’s pistol, and jammed it in his own belt.

  “Give me back my damn gun!”

  “I think we’ll just hang on to it.” Jake turned to Wigham. “I think it’s time you took your men and got off our land.”

  Wigham watched them. “Have you hired a gunman? I know damn good and well Adela didn’t do it. A mousy, crazy bitch like her doesn’t have the guts or the knowhow to…”

  Silas grabbed him by the arm. “You call my wife a name again and you’ll be trying to get my fist out of your throat.”

  Wigham kicked at him and Silas fell backward to the ground.

  Before he could get up, a shot landed in front of Wigham’s horse. The animal reared, almost throwing the man. Two more shots in front of the other horses rendered similar results.

  “I think we’d better go, Mr. Wigham.” The younger man got his horse under control and turned to leave.

  “I came here to get this place and I damn well mean to have it! I ain’t going to let some…” He pulled his gun and aimed it at Silas’s head.

  A rifle bullet to the shoulder stopped him. He dropped the gun and bent over his horse in pain.

  “Anybody else want to try anything?” Jake glared at him while Silas grabbed the gun off the ground.

  They’d already turned their horses and were riding out of the yard. “I’ll be back,” Wigham managed to yell a
s they rode off.

  “He will, too,” Jake said, walking toward the porch. “Who you got in there backing you up?”

  Silas looked puzzled. “I thought it was you until you showed up out here.”

  “Then who…”

  The brothers stared at each other a moment then rushed inside.

  “Here.” Rena handed Silas the rifle as he came through the door. “I don’t mind shooting the thing, but I hate cleaning it. You can do that.” She turned and headed to the kitchen.

  “It couldn’t have been her. There’s…”

  “It was her,” Adela said quietly.

  Silas was too stunned to say anything.

  “I’ll be damned,” Jake managed to say. As he followed Rena to the kitchen, it dawned on him that one of Gray Feather’s predictions had come true. Rena had saved his brother’s life.

  Chapter 6

  Nothing was said about Rena’s shooting until the hands had eaten and gone to the bunkhouse. Jake and Silas remained at the table with coffee cups. Jake looked across the table at Rena who had gotten a cup of coffee and joined him. “How did you learn to shoot like that?”

  “At the police academy. I’ve won several awards for marksmanship.”

  Silas took a drink of coffee. “I have to say, it was damn good shooting for a woman.”

  Before Rena could respond, Jake said, “It was damn good shooting for anybody. I don’t think I could’ve done as well.”

  “I’ve just got one question.” They looked at Silas. “You shot the guns out of the other two men’s hands. Why did you shoot Wigham in the shoulder? Did you just miss his hand?”

  Rena looked incredulous. “Absolutely not. I don’t miss. By the way the man was holding the gun and the angle his hand was hanging, I knew if I shot it the bullet could go through and end up in your chest. I decided the better option was to take him down another way.”

  “You figured that out in the seconds you had?” Silas frowned at her.

  “Of course. They taught us to make split second decisions at the academy.” She sipped her coffee. “It was the only logical thing to do.”

  “Well, I wish you’d missed just a little and got the man in the heart.”

  Rena raised her eyebrow at him. “I’m a law officer, Silas. Not a murderer.”

  “Have you ever killed a man, Rena?” Jake asked.

  “Yes.”

  “What had he done?” Silas asked.

  “I’d rather not talk about it.”

  “Oh, come on. I want to know what would make you kill someone instead of winging them like you did Wigham.” Silas still watched her carefully.

  She glared at him. “Okay if you must know. He raped and killed his eleven year old step-daughter. When we tried to arrest him he shot my partner in the stomach and turned his gun toward me. I had no choice. I shot him between the eyes and called 911. My partner lived, but ended up retiring. He couldn’t take it anymore.”

  “That’s horrible,” Adela said.

  Rena got up and replenished her coffee. “Things may have been ruled by the gun in the old west, but in my day I think people are actually more evil.”

  For several minutes there was silence in the kitchen. Silas broke it. “If you call out 911, does that make your aim better?” His voice was low, but firm when he spoke.

  Rena threw back her head and laughed. “Oh, Silas. Thank you. You made all my tension go away.” He looked puzzled and she added, “Calling out 911 has nothing to do with shooting. It is simply an emergency number that everyone uses to summons aid. When the call comes in to dispatch, they send an ambulance, police officers, and if needed, fire trucks.”

  They were all looking at her strangely. “How do you get a call in?” Jake asked.

  Rena leaned back. “Let me see if I can explain. We use a telephone and before you ask let me tell you that the telephone is invented by Alexander Graham Bell in the 1800s. It wouldn’t surprise me for you to hear about that invention anytime now. You already have the telegraph, but this is a voice machine where you talk with people. By the early 1900s it is more widely used and in a little over a hundred years from now there will be what we call cell phones. By my time, almost everyone will carry one in their pocket and from it you can reach anywhere in the world.” She sighed. “I wish I could’ve brought my backpack with me here. I had a lot of things in it I’d love to share with you.”

  Jake said nothing else, but knew he was going to have to go through that bag with her soon.

  “It sounds fantastic,” Adela said. “I hope I live to see some of these things.”

  “You will, Adela.” Rena smiled. “You’ll see a lot of them. The next hundred years are going to be crammed full of inventions and discoveries you can’t imagine.”

  “I’m anxious to hear about more of them,” Jake said, “but right now I have to discuss a couple of things with Silas.”

  “What?’

  “Our cattle are being rustled. I found some penned in a canyon today.”

  Rena was glad the topic was changing to ranch concerns. She didn’t want to think about killing and inventions right now. She stood and picked up some of the dirty plates.

  “I’ll wash them, Rena.” Adela stood, too.

  “Okay. You wash. I’ll dry.”

  When they went to the shelf where the dishpan sat, Adela said, “I want to thank you for saving Silas’s life. I know he appreciates it too.”

  “No problem, Adela. You would’ve done it if you could.”

  * * * *

  Several days passed and Rena began to fall into the routine of ranch life. She took over the job of gathering the eggs in the morning and feeding the chickens. But after several tries, she decided to let Adela continue to do the milking. The garden was still hard. Unless it was bearing, she couldn’t tell a weed from a vegetable.

  At supper on Tuesday, Jake announced they were going to start branding the next day. The men discussed how they’d set things up. Silas said he was going to watch the herd with Curly and Gil that night.

  “The rustlers won’t try to steal all those cows, will they?” Rena asked.

  “They’d more than likely stampede them,” Jake explained.

  “I see.” She didn’t, but she didn’t want them to know.

  Silas left, with food for Curly and Gil. Finn went to the bunkhouse and Jake went to take care of the chores in the barn.

  Rena turned to Adela. “What does one do around here to get a bath? I feel grimy and I’m tired of washing off in the bowl in Jake’s room. I want to put my whole body in water.”

  “If you like I’ll go down to the river with you. After what you’ve done to help around here, the least we can do is let you take a bath.”

  * * * *

  The cold river water was refreshing. The soap Adela brought smelled like lilacs. She said Silas had bought it for her in Santa Fe. “I don’t use it a lot because I want to save it,” she explained.

  “Can’t he buy you some more, Adela?”

  “I don’t think he would now.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I’ll explain sometime.” Adela swam off.

  Rena swam too, but she couldn’t help being conscious of the fact that Jake was sitting up on the ridge guarding them. When they said they were going to bathe in the river Jake wouldn’t hear of them coming alone. Adela assured Rena they could trust Jake to keep his distance, but she still felt funny about it. She’d never had to be guarded to take a bath. If it had to be, she was glad Jake was on the job. There was something about this cowboy besides the broad well-developed muscles and handsome face that was getting to her.

  To keep her mind off of Jake, she said quietly, “Adela, I can’t help noticing that you and Silas seem to have a strained relationship. Are you not happy?”

  Adela sighed. “I love Silas. I have since the first time I set eyes on him almost two years ago. He felt the same way. I guess we may have rushed things, but we were too much in love to slow down. I’d only known him a w
eek when we married.”

  “That’s not long.”

  “I know, but we were very much in love.”

  “So, are you still in love?”

  “I am. I’m not sure about Silas.” She sighed again. “We had a baby.”

  “Oh?”

  “It only lived a couple of days. Silas was so proud. He told everyone what a perfect son he had. Then when the baby died, I think something in Silas died. He hasn’t been the same since.”

  “I’m sorry, Adela. I didn’t mean to pry.”

  “It’s good to have someone to talk about it with, Rena. Silas won’t mention the child, so nobody else does either.” She bit her lip. “He blames me for its death.”

  “Why would he do that?”

  “The baby slept with us. We got up that morning and I fed the baby. He tucked us back in bed and went out. A little later he came home to check on us. I was still asleep and the baby was dead. He says I smothered it.” Tears filled her eyes. “I don’t know if I did or not, Rena. How can I know? I was asleep.”

  Rena touched her arm. “I’m sure you didn’t smother your baby, Adela. You would have awakened if you’d have rolled on it or it would’ve cried.”

  “I don’t know…I…”

  “Ladies.” Jake’s voice interrupted them from a distance. “Get dressed. I hear horses coming.”

  They got out of the water and hurried into their clothes. Jake was waiting on the ridge with his back discreetly turned when they came up the bank. “Let’s hurry,” he said. “It could be Wigham. I want you back in the house.”

  They ran about an eighth of a mile to the house and were inside when the horses came up to the edge of the ranch yard and stopped. Jake counted nine of them. They seemed to be studying the situation.

  “Is it Wigham?” Adela asked.

  “I’ve never seen any of these men.” Jake strapped on his holster and checked his gun. “I can’t let them come in here. I’ll go outside.”

  “What should we do?” Rena asked.