Rather than encourage Josie, his words had the effect of sucking the energy right out of her. She looked almost frightened. “I can’t do that. Does that mean I’m not in love with you?”
“In all likelihood, it does,” he said. “It’s probably a good idea to go to Tombstone. I’ll get Adam to accompany you.”
“Don’t you need him here?”
No. He needed to be so busy he wouldn’t have time to think.
Any further discussion was postponed when Hawk and Suzette came in, closely followed by Adam and Jordy. Breakfast was a noisy affair punctuated by Adam and Jordy’s jabs at each other. Neither Hawk nor Suzette said much, but Zeke could tell by Hawk’s grin that he was extremely happy about something. From the smile on Suzette’s face, he had a good idea what that was. It just made Josie’s decision to leave all that much harder to endure.
“We’ve got an announcement to make,” Hawk said when they finally pushed back from the table. He reached for Suzette’s hand, which she eagerly joined with his. “Suzette and I are going to get married.”
Jordy whistled, jumped up, and pounded Hawk on the back. Adam did the same in a less boisterous fashion. Zeke hoped Suzette and Hawk were too distracted to notice Josie’s stunned reaction. Zeke imagined she was feeling abandoned. He was happy for Hawk and Suzette, but he wondered if their marriage would leave him as alone as Josie. After all, Hawk hadn’t told him about his plans.
“I’m so happy for you.” Josie had pulled herself together enough to be able to face Suzette with a smile. “I knew you were in love with Hawk.”
During the next half hour, Jordy weaseled out of Hawk and Suzette a step-by-step retelling of their courtship. Adam seemed particularly interested when Suzette said she was bringing her sister to stay on the ranch for a while. Zeke could foresee the boy making a lot of trips from his father’s ranch on Sonoita Creek.
“I don’t want this to change your partnership with Hawk,” Suzette said to Zeke. “I want you two to be as close as you’ve always been.”
Zeke appreciated Suzette’s thoughtfulness, but things would have to change. It wouldn’t be a good marriage otherwise. As the years went by, a man would naturally share more with his wife and less with his brother. That was as it should be, but even so, Zeke felt abandoned.
“I hate to throw a damper on this celebration,” Josie said, “but I have to get ready to leave for Tombstone. Do you mind if Adam goes along with me?”
The awkward silence that followed was an insufficient indicator of the drastic change in the atmosphere. It made everything that had gone before seem out of place, even tasteless. Everyone studiously avoided looking at Zeke.
“I’ll go hitch up the mules for you,” he said.
He knew that everyone would believe he was running away to keep them from seeing the effect Josie’s leaving would have on him. And they were right, but he was also leaving because he couldn’t stand to watch her collect her things, pack them, and carry them out to the wagon. It would be the same as killing him inch by inch. He would say good-bye in one quick sentence. Then he’d spend the rest of his life trying to figure out how to live without the woman he loved.
Josie wished she’d asked Jordy to come with her. Adam, who was riding his horse alongside the wagon, was too sensitive to her mood. Jordy would have chattered on, impervious to the fact that she felt as if her life had come to an end. She still couldn’t get over Suzette’s deciding to marry Hawk without saying a word to her. Suzette had told her she hadn’t decided until last night, but that hadn’t made Josie feel less abandoned. She thought at first she was upset about the dissolution of their act, but it didn’t take long before she admitted she was jealous because Suzette had what Josie wanted but was too afraid to reach for.
Leaving the ranch was like physically removing a part of herself. She could feel the pain as the widening distance caused her sense of contentment to fade. By the time the ranch house was out of sight, she felt drained.
For the short time it took to reach the nearby town of Fairbank, she’d gone back and forth in her mind, first telling herself every reason why she could marry Zeke, then countering with every reason why she shouldn’t. She ended up with lots of reason for marrying Zeke, but only one reason why she shouldn’t.
Fear.
“I want to stop in Fairbank,” she said to Adam.
“Is something wrong?”
“Everything. I just can’t figure out what to do about it.”
They had reached the river just outside of town. A narrow canopy of towering cottonwoods offered dappled shade from the sun. The noise of the wagon stilled the song of a vermilion flycatcher and caused a pair of green kingfishers to utter piercing cries of protest. Willow saplings, catclaw, mesquite, and hack-berry formed a dense underbrush before giving way to grass and cattails at the river’s edge. The thin stream of water snaked through a sand-and-gravel riverbed pockmarked with the footprints of deer, coyotes, raccoons, and many smaller mammals. The mules splashed through the shallow water without hesitation. Just up the bank, she pulled the wagon to a stop.
“Why are you stopping here?” Adam asked.
“I want to stretch my legs.” That wasn’t the real reason, but she couldn’t explain her sudden restlessness. She didn’t understand it herself. Adam dismounted and helped her down from the wagon.
“You’re in love with Zeke and you don’t want to leave him. Don’t look so surprised,” he said when she stiffened. “Everybody knows it.”
“Then why can’t everybody explain to me why I can’t make up my mind?”
“You just have to decide what you want the most.”
Why was it young people thought answers were so simple? She walked toward the edge of the trees, looked out over the scrub growth between the river and the town. “I know what I want. I just don’t see how it can work out.”
“Why? Zeke’s a great fella.”
She turned to Adam, who’d followed her. “It’s not Zeke. I hated growing up on a farm. I’m afraid I’ll hate living on a ranch, and Zeke doesn’t want to live anywhere else.”
“Sounds a lot like my parents.”
She withdrew to the shade of the cottonwoods. “Zeke said your parents have been happily married for more than ten years.”
“They have, but it almost didn’t happen. My father was a gunfighter. When he was killed before I was born, my mother swore she’d have nothing to do with any gunfighter again. Hen was a gunfighter hired to protect Sycamore Flats from my father’s kin. He wouldn’t consider marriage because he was afraid he’d turned into a killer. My mother left him, just like you left Zeke, before deciding she had to go back.”
“What changed her mind?”
“She loved him so much she decided it would be better to try marriage and fail than not try at all.” He grinned suddenly. “Besides, I liked him, too.”
Another simple answer. He was a sweet boy, but he had no idea of the pain it would cause both her and Zeke if they tried and failed. It was much easier to back away. “You don’t think I love Zeke as much as your parents love each other, do you?”
Movement in the distance caused Josie to look past Adam. She got a sick feeling in her stomach when she recognized one of the approaching riders. She reached out and gripped Adam’s arm. “Do you see those men who just rode out of town?”
He looked surprised but turned in the direction of Fairbank. Six men were riding toward the river. “Yeah.”
“Do you recognize any of them?” She thought she recognized the two leaders, but they were still a long way off.
He stared for a moment, frowning as he concentrated. “I don’t know the others, but one is the sheriff of Benson. I wonder what he’s doing here.”
Chapter Twenty-one
“The man with him is Solomon Gardner. They’re going to try to take Zeke and Hawk’s horses.” Josie turned and ran back to the wagon.
Adam hurried after her. “Why would they do that?”
She told him about the men w
ho’d tried to steal the horses, and about Gardner’s attempt to kidnap her. Then she climbed into the wagon, turned the mules, and drove them into the thick undergrowth.
“What are you doing?” Adam asked.
“The sheriff has no authority this far from Benson. I’m sure he’s here to make it easier for Gardner to steal the horses.” By now the wagon was out of sight of the river crossing. Without waiting for Adam, she jumped down from the wagon and tied the mules to a cottonwood. “Help me up behind you. We’ve got to warn Zeke. Don’t worry,” she said when Adam looked too shocked to move. “I started riding astride before I was four.”
“What about your wagon? Somebody might take it.”
“I can replace the wagon, the mules, and the costumes.”
“Hawk and Zeke can buy more mares.”
“But their reputations may never recover from being branded thieves. Now stop wasting time and help me up.” With Adam’s assistance, Josie managed to scramble up behind him. “Now head for the ranch. We have to get there as quickly as possible.”
Adam took her seriously when she said they had to ride fast. She had to wrap her arms around his middle and hold on for dear life. His slim torso was in stark contrast to Zeke’s powerful chest. She could feel the sinewy strength in the boy’s arms and back, but she could also count his ribs. Being this close to Adam made her realize how much she longed for Zeke’s solid strength. When she saw him step out of the ranch house at the sound of their approach, she wondered why she’d ever been fool enough to leave him.
“Josie says somebody named Gardner and the sheriff from Benson are coming to take the horses,” Adam shouted to Zeke before his horse had come to a halt.
“We saw them leaving Fairbank,” Josie said as she slid from the horse into Zeke’s arms. “They’ve got four men with them.”
The others had come out of the house in time to hear what had been said. “Suzette and I will take the mares up into the mountains,” Hawk said. “Jordy, take the rest of the horses and head toward Hen’s ranch.”
“Adam, find someplace along the Babocamari River to hide Dusky Lady and her foals,” Zeke said. “Josie and I will stay here and try to hold them off as long as possible.”
Suzette and Hawk headed off at a run. Adam and Jordy mounted up and rode out in different directions. Seconds later, Josie was alone with Zeke in the quiet. It happened so quickly she could almost believe she’d imagined the whole thing.
“You ought to keep out of sight,” Zeke said. “If Gardner sees you here, it could make the situation worse.”
Josie started to object, then realized Zeke knew more than she did about handling people intent on taking what didn’t belong to them. “What do you want me to do?”
“They’re after the horses, so they have no reason to search the house. Just stay inside. And no matter what they do, don’t come out until I tell you. All our lives might depend on it.” His mood changed, his features softened. “I don’t have time now to tell you how much I appreciate your coming to warn us, but—”
“You can tell me later.”
Josie hurried into the house. She couldn’t understand it, but she was about to cry. How stupid was that when thieves were practically at the front steps? She didn’t want to go inside and hide. She wanted to stay and help Zeke. She wasn’t used to feeling useless, and she didn’t like it. She wanted to stand at the side of the man she loved.
The man she loved.
How stupid she was to think she could go to Tombstone or anywhere else knowing she loved Zeke and wanted to be his wife, knowing she never wanted to sing and dance for strangers again. She wanted only one man looking at her, thinking of her, wanting to make love to her. She started to go outside to tell him, but Gardner and the sheriff were riding into the yard.
Zeke watched from the porch steps as the men walked their horses toward him. He wondered if it was a mistake to have left his rifle inside the house, but he hoped being unarmed would keep the situation from getting out of control. If they were using the pretense of checking to see that he and Hawk legally owned the horses, they’d have no need for guns. Not that he trusted Gardner. He was the kind of man to take unfair advantage of any situation. Zeke wondered if he and Hawk would ever get to the point where they didn’t have to keep proving themselves. They were known in five states and three territories. What was it about them that made it impossible for people to believe they were honest, upstanding citizens?
“Howdy,” Zeke said when the men pulled up in front of the ranch house. He let his gaze hone in on the sheriff. “You’re a long way from home, aren’t you? What brings you out this way?”
“I’m here to check on a complaint.”
“What kind of complaint?” Zeke shifted his gaze to Gardner. The man looked unduly pleased and confident. The four men with him looked too hard-edged to be regular cowhands. Zeke was beginning to wish he’d strapped on his guns.
“There’s some doubt as to whether you and your partner actually own the horses.”
“What horses?” Zeke made a show of looking around the ranch yard. Except for the chickens in their pen, there was no sign of life.
“The mares you had when I hooked up with you on the San Pedro River,” Gardner said.
“You mean the ones your men tried to steal?”
“I told you those men didn’t work for me.”
“Where are the horses?” the sheriff asked.
“I don’t know,” Zeke said.
“Where’s your partner?”
“I don’t know that, either, but I can prove we own the horses. I have the bills of sale.”
“I’ll have to see them,” the sheriff said.
“They’re inside. I’ll get them.”
“Hold it!” Gardner ordered. “You can’t go inside by yourself.”
“Why not?” Zeke tried to appear utterly unfazed, but inside he was boiling mad. It was preposterous that being young, rich, and white could enable this villainous man to do as he pleased.
“You could be lying, saying you’ve got them inside just so you can get your gun.”
“If I’d wanted my gun, I could have gotten it before you arrived.”
“He’s got a point there, Solomon,” the sheriff said reluctantly.
“People like him don’t know how to tell the truth,” Gardner said as he dismounted. “I’ll go inside with him.”
“I ought to do that,” the sheriff said.
“You stay here with the boys in case that partner of his tries to sneak up on us. Don’t forget he’s a redskin. He’s liable to lift your hair if you don’t keep an eye out.”
Zeke’s fists clenched, but he knew it was useless to say anything against prejudices that were deep and pervasive. Gardner’s swagger was as offensive as it was unnecessary, but Zeke had learned long ago that little men had to do something to make themselves big in their own eyes. And it had been a long time since he’d met a man who was smaller than Solomon Gardner.
“Where do you keep these bills of sale?” Gardner sneered as he walked up the steps. “In a pot under the house?”
“In a lock box with other important papers.”
Zeke hoped Josie was already hidden, or he’d have had to knock Gardner down to keep him from entering the house. “In here,” Zeke said, indicating the sitting room. “We keep them in a cabinet.” Zeke opened the cabinet door, picked up a key inside, and unlocked a drawer.
“Doesn’t look secure to me,” Gardner said.
“We’ve never had any trouble with thieves before,” Zeke replied. He opened the drawer and took out the papers lying on top.
Gardner stuck out his hand. “Let me see them.” He took one quick look, turned, and walked out of the house. “They’re fakes,” he said to the sheriff.
“They’re copies.” Zeke had followed close on his heels. “The originals are in a bank in Globe. I can get the bank president to send a telegram attesting to that.”
“You’re lying,” Gardner shouted. “I knew trash li
ke you and that Injun couldn’t have come by such horses honestly. Let’s go get them. Harvey,” he said, pointing to one of the men, “stay and watch him until we get back. If he tries anything, shoot him. Nobody’s going to worry about a dead black man.”
“Where are you hiding those mares?” the sheriff asked Zeke.
“I don’t know. My Injun partner has them. You never know what a redskin will do.”
The sheriff didn’t like Zeke’s tone but ignored it. “They won’t be far from the river,” he said. “That’s where there’s the best grass. I don’t think we ought to leave any of our men here. We can tie this fellow up and leave him until we get back.”
Gardner took personal satisfaction in tying Zeke to one of the chairs in the kitchen. The rope was so tight it nearly cut off his circulation. Gardner looked disgruntled when Zeke didn’t complain. He gave one last hard jerk on the rope for good measure. “That’s just a sample of what’s going to happen to you after we get those horses you stole.”
“I’ve run into a lot of cowards like you who hide behind daddy’s money and reputation because they’re nothing but pale imitations of their old man.”
Gardner backhanded Zeke across the mouth. “Shut up, you black bastard. I’ll see you hanged as a horse thief yet.”
“There never was a rope that could tell a black neck from a white one.”
Gardner hit Zeke again, then stormed out of the house. “Let’s go,” Zeke heard him say to the sheriff. “The sooner we find those horses, the sooner we can string up that black son of a bitch and his Injun friend.”
Zeke waited until the sound of their horses’ hooves had died away. “You can come out now and untie me,” he said to Josie. “We have a lot to do.”
“It’s just a small cut,” Zeke said as he collected two rifles. “It’s more important that we find Hawk and Suzette.”
Josie had been horrified when she saw the blood running down Zeke’s chin. She felt more guilty than ever for having stayed out of sight in the bedroom. She had taken one of Zeke’s pistols with her. It had been almost impossible not to come out and use it on Gardner. “How can we do that? We don’t have any horses.”
The Mavericks Page 29
