by Lyn Horner
“Come, let us go to Señor David,” Luis urged, jarring Tye from his brooding thoughts.
“Right. He’s in no condition to face the Crawfords alone.”
By the time they reached the buckboard, Shorty Thompson, who was driving it, had pulled to a halt. David lay propped on a pallet in the wagon. When Tye and Luis drew rein alongside the conveyance, opposite Lil and her companions, he noted his brother-in-law’s strained features. David was clearly in pain.
Tye sensed Lil’s distress at the sight of him, just as he had when she’d heard of his brush with death. Her reaction roused Tye’s jealousy – again. Angry at himself, he forced his attention to what Del Crawford was saying. Shouting was more like it.
“Why the devil didn’t you order your crew to move on without you? We’ve been ready to hit the trail for over a week.”
Glowering, Tye started to speak, but David beat him to it.
“Sorry to hold you up, Del. Some people don’t listen real good.” Canting his head, he glanced pointedly at Tye, then focused on Del again. “We’re back now, so why don’t you start branding these mavericks we brought in.”
“Don’t worry, they’ll be branded and ready to move out tomorrow if I have to work the men all night,” Crawford vowed. He squinted at David. “And in case you’ve got any fool notion about still coming along, forget it. I won’t hear of you slowing us down any more. You’ll have to trust me to get the herd to Kansas.”
David gave a tight-lipped smile. “You’ve got things turned around. I’ve never had a problem trusting you.”
Crawford’s gray brows dipped lower.
“And I’m as anxious as you to make up for lost time,” David added. “I’ll stay behind. After I mend, I’ll head north by train and meet you in Wichita. Until then you’re in charge. I’ll make sure my men know that.” He glanced at Luis. “Medina is still willing to sign on as wrangler. He did a fine job for me two years ago. You won’t find a better man.”
“Glad to have you,” Crawford rumbled with a curt nod to Luis.
Hardly hearing the vaquero’s soft-spoken response, Tye eyed Lil, again thinking of the vow he’d made to her in Clifton. His conscience decreed that he was wrong to pursue her, but another, more primitive part of him declared otherwise. “I’ll be coming along, too,” he said suddenly.
Lil gaped at him, wide-eyed.
“No you ain’t!” Del Crawford roared. “You’re not sniffing after Lil all the way to Kansas. I won’t have it!”
“Pa! Don’t!” Lil cried. Turning bright red, she dropped her gaze and bit down hard on her bottom lip.
Tye felt her intense embarrassment and wanted to throttle her father. “I’ll thank ye to guard your tongue, Mister Crawford,” he bit out. “Your daughter’s too fine to be hearing such talk.”
Lil gave him a look of wonder. Smiling, he willed her to see herself through his eyes.
“Don’t you tell me how to talk!” Crawford thundered, face mottled with fury. He slashed a glare at David. “I don’t want him along. He’s your kin. Keep him home.”
David frowned at him, then at Tye.
Jaw set adamantly, Tye prepared to stand his ground. He’d made up his mind to go, bejasus, and nobody would stop him.
Still frowning, David swung his gaze to Lil. She held his probing stare briefly before looking away. After a second or two, he said, “To tell the truth, Del, I kind of favor him going with you. You need somebody to take my place and, like you said, he’s kin.”
“I thought you said you trust me,” Crawford snarled.
“I do. Just the same, I’d like you to have someone along who can speak for the River T if need be.”
Startled by David’s faith in him, Tye realized Crawford was boxed in – unless he chose to break his word and pull out of the drive. Obviously, he realized it too. He gave an enraged growl and his steel colored eyes skewered Tye like twin spikes.
“Come along, dammit! But you’ll ride drag and eat dust all the way. And the first time you whine about it, I’ll send you packing, no matter whose kin you are.”
Returning his glare, Tye squared his shoulders. “I’ll work harder than any man you’ve got, and I won’t do any whining.”
“Yeah, well, you better remember one more thing, Devlin. If you wanta keep breathing, you leave Lil alone!” Crawford ignored his daughter’s gasp, jerked his horse around and galloped off.
Tye snared Lil’s fear-filled gaze. “Don’t fret, colleen. ’Twill be all right. We’ll –”
“No!” she cried, backing her chestnut away from the wagon. “Don’t talk to me, don’t come near me. Better yet, don’t come on the drive!” With that, she raced away.
“Lily!” Tye turned his mount, preparing to ride after her, but David stopped him with a sharp command.
“Let her go, Tye. And stay clear of the herd for now. Give Del time to cool off.”
“That’s good advice, son,” Jeb Crawford agreed. “I know my brother, and I wouldn’t push him just now if I was you.”
Tye’s impulse was to disregard them both and try to set things straight with Lil. Common sense told him, though, that if he came to violence with her father, it might lead her to hate him.
* * *
A while later at the homestead, Tye watched Jessie turn white as a sheet when she saw David lying in the wagon. Reece didn’t look much better. Dashing to the buckboard, Jessie checked David’s wound and splinted leg. Satisfied he was in no danger of dying, she gave him an unabashed kiss that made Tye grin.
Next, she fired off orders, brooking no argument even from David as she had him carried inside and straight to their bedroom. Enlisting Tye’s aid to strip her husband of his filthy trail clothes, she cleaned him up, fed him and settled him in bed for a rest. Tye thought she’d make an excellent general.
That evening, after stuffing themselves on the welcome home dinner Jessie and Maria prepared, David asked Tye to stay a while before heading for his bunk. They sat alone in the parlor, sharing a quiet brandy. The elder Reece had taken himself off to his room, and Jessie was putting the children to bed.
David reclined on the sofa with pillows cushioning his back and his injured leg. Seated in a chair by the hearth, Tye noted his brother-in-law looked a hundred percent better than he had that morning. A woman’s loving touch worked wonders, he mused.
Absently swirling the amber liquid in his glass, he stared at it, visualizing a pair of dark brown eyes set against smooth, copper-gold skin and a sensuous mouth waiting to be kissed. And for a tantalizing moment, he allowed himself to imagine what it would be like to come home every night to Lil.
David cleared his throat, drawing Tye from his fanciful reverie. “I never told you the whole story of the outlaw raid, when the house was burned, did I.”
“No, ye didn’t,” Tye replied, surprised David would raise the subject now.
“Pa had thrown a party, mostly to show off his pretty new daughter-in-law.” David grinned at the memory, then sobered. “Things had been going pretty well between Jessie and me, but on the evening of the party she flew into a temper – because of Lil.”
Tye stiffened and frowned, not sure he wanted to hear any more.
David smiled wryly at his reaction. “Don’t get your dander up. There’s never been anyone else for me since the day I met your sister.” He studied his own brandy. “Jessie misunderstood my attention to Lil at the party, though, and we got into a battle. Then the raiders struck, and if not for Lil, I would have lost Jessie.”
As David related the details of the attack, Tye listened with growing rage. He envied David the pleasure of killing the bastard behind it all. Lil’s part in the episode left him stunned and deeply grateful for her help in saving his sister.
“I owe Lil more than I can ever repay,” David said, “and it pains me knowing I once hurt her. Even if I didn’t mean to. So maybe you can understand why I wouldn’t want to see something like that happen to her again.”
Tye shot to his feet. “I told y
e once I’ve no intention of hurting her, but it seems ye don’t believe me.”
“Oh, I believe you don’t mean to, any more than I did,” David replied, running a finger slowly around the rim of his glass. “Even so, I’m afraid you might.” He looked up abruptly. “Just what are your intentions toward her, Tye? Do you know?”
“Begorra! Ye must be in league with her father!” Wheeling, Tye strode to the fireplace, slammed his glass down on the oak mantle and leaned a hand against it. He suddenly had a pounding headache. It wasn’t caused by someone else’s invading emotions, but rather by his own tormented feelings. Screwing his eyes shut, he rubbed his neck. David’s silence finally drove him to speak.
“She fascinates me. I want her as I’ve never wanted any other woman. Sometimes I think I’d like . . . .” Unwilling to finish his half-formed thought, he shook his head. “No, I don’t know.”
David sighed heavily. “Then for Lil’s sake, don’t go on the drive.”
Tye spun around. “Don’t be telling me that! You’ve held Lil’s heart captive long enough.” Seeing David glower, he charged on. “Maybe I’m not sure of my feelings for her, or of hers for me, but I intend to find out. I want a chance for us to get to know each other, and I believe she wants the very same. Even if she won’t admit it.”
The anger slowly ebbed from David’s face. “That won’t be easy with Del watching your every move.”
“True, but it’s a long trip. I’ll find a way.”
* * *
Standing on the porch in the chill gray dawn, Tye hugged his niece. “Don’t grow up too much while I’m gone, me lovely,” he said, kissing her plump, petal-soft cheek.
She yawned and gave him a wet kiss in reply. “Nora wuv Unca Tye,” she declared sleepily in her high-pitched voice. Her tiny arms squeezed his neck.
“I love ye, too, colleen,” he whispered thickly.
He gently disengaged himself and handed Nora back to her father, seated nearby on one of the porch chairs. David tucked her against his good side, and she snuggled close.
Tye pivoted to face Jessie. Dressed in her robe, she stood holding her infant son. Worry lines creased her brow.
“I wish you’d reconsider and stay here,” she said.
“Jess, I’ve promised to be careful and to keep out of Crawford’s way, haven’t I?” He suspected the last half of that promise might be impossible to keep.
“Aye, but ’tis more than that.” Jessie looked to David, as if seeking strength. Receiving a gentle smile from him, she went on, “I had a dream about ye last night, Tye.”
Tensing, he regarded her with a feeling of dread. Like the visions she sometimes saw when gazing into water, Jessie’s dreams had a way of coming true. “Did ye now? And what happened in this dream?”
“It was strange. I saw ye in darkness.” Her eyes flickered with the memory, and she frowned in concentration. “I don’t mean at night, under the stars, as ye might expect on a cattle drive. This was inside, in a dark, narrow place.”
Tye’s stomach clenched. “A mine tunnel perhaps?”
“Aye, that’s what I’m thinking. ’Twas a tight space with a barrier ye were trying to break through. And I had this dreadful feeling something lay beyond the barrier, something terrible.” She shook her head. “As I said, ’twas most strange.”
Forcing down a memory of black terror, Tye managed a smile. “Och, don’t worry, Sis. It probably means nothing. I’m not likely to find myself in a mine tunnel on a cattle drive. Give me a hug. Luis is bringing the horses. We don’t want to keep Del Crawford waiting.”
Grimacing at his mention of Lil’s father, Jessie moved close and pressed her cheek to his, cradling the baby in one arm and hugging him with the other. Tye held them both close for a moment, until little Reece set up a whimper. Releasing them, he stepped back and caressed his nephew’s downy head, meeting Jessie’s teary eyes.
“Stop your worrying. I’ll be fine,” Tye told her firmly. Receiving a wobbly smile from her, he turned to shake hands with David’s father, who’d just limped out to see him off.
“Don’t let Del’s bark scare you. It’s mostly worse than his bite,” Reece advised.
Tye grinned. “Thank you, sir. I’ll keep that in mind.” Lastly, he offered his hand to David.
“Good luck, and remember what we discussed. I’ll see you in Wichita,” David said.
“Aye, I’ll do that,” Tye said dryly. With a quick smile at Jessie, he went to meet Luis as he rode up leading Patch. Off to his left, Tye saw Maria and the couple’s children standing outside their log dwelling, set back and to the side of the main house. Luis had already said his good-byes.
“Watch out for Injuns and lightning, boys,” Reece Taylor counseled from the porch as Tye mounted up.
“Goodbye,” Jessie called.
Tye waved to her and returned David’s nod. Luis sent his family a farewell salute as the two of them rode out.
By the time they reached the herd, it was full daylight and Del Crawford was impatient to start moving. He shot Tye a disdainful look and addressed Luis.
“Medina, the remuda’s over yonder. Stow your gear and get to work.”
“Sí, Señor.” With a silent nod at Tye, Luis followed orders.
“Your spot’s at the butt end of the herd, Devlin,” Crawford said with contempt.
“Yes sir, Mister Crawford,” Tye replied, clamping down hard on his temper. With a tap of his spurs, he followed Luis to the hoodlum wagon, where he dumped his bedroll and war bag, containing his spare clothes and shaving gear. As Luis went to take charge of the extra horses, he headed for his lowly post.
Moments later, Crawford gave the signal to move out and a round robin of voices cried, “Yip-yip-yip-yipeeeee! Yah-ah-ah-yay-yeeeeee!” They sounded like shrill coyotes.
Tye imitated the eerie yell as best he could and caught a glimpse of Lil riding left point at the head of the herd as it began to string out. Opposite her at right point rode Neil MacClure. Tye took comfort, realizing the seasoned trail hand was there to watch over Lil and help her in case of trouble. Nevertheless, he fiercely resented being separated from her by the entire length of the herd.
“As far away as Crawford could arrange,” he muttered. “But good fortune abides with a fool, Mum always said.” He laughed bitterly. A fool he surely was for imagining Lil could ever be his.
CHAPTER EIGHT
By noon, Tye was glad to know Lil was riding up front, far away from his miserable position. Together with Kirby Daniels, a rail-thin young cowboy with wheat-colored hair, he had the unpleasant job of shagging along the slowest animals – the drags – and making sure none turned back.
Tye had ridden drag before, on the drive from the Nueces, but that small herd didn’t compare to this river of cattle. Grinding the grassy turf to bits with thousands of iron-hard hooves, they kicked up a choking, foul smelling shroud of dust. Tye wore his bandanna up most of the time in order to breathe, but his mouth still grew gritty and his eyes turned raw from the nasty stuff. It furred him like a second skin by nightfall, when they finally stopped.
Neil MacClure, serving as Crawford’s segundo, or second in command, told Tye he was to ride bobtail guard, the first night-herd shift. He was partnered with Dewey Sherman, the same man he’d shared a cramped line shack with over the previous winter. Tye had spotted Dewey riding at left flank earlier, with his coffee colored face half hidden behind a bandanna. Flank wasn’t a whole lot better than drag, dust wise.
As the two of them circled the herd slowly in opposite directions, singing softly to the tired cattle, Tye recognized this assignment as another way to keep Lil and him apart. He’d barely had time to eat before taking up his night herd post. There’d never be a chance for him to socialize with Lil in the evenings if this continued. Exactly what Del Crawford intended, damn him!
By the time he and Dewey returned to camp after their two hour shift, Lil was rolled in her blankets asleep. Tye quietly spread his own bedroll, removed his boots, and lay
down with a sigh. One big ache from head to toe, he fell into a dreamless sleep.
A banging noise jarred him awake. The sky was still pitch dark.
“Roll out, you lazy son-of-a-guns!” Chic Johnson hollered, hammering an iron pot with his spoon. “Breakfast on the boards.”
“Stop that racket!” one of the men complained.
Tye groaned and sat up, feeling as if he’d just gone to sleep. The scent of coffee and frying meat helped revive him. It also made him wonder what time the cook had crawled out. Running a hand through his matted hair, he crammed his hat on, stamped into his boots and rolled up his bedding. As he carried it over to the hoodlum wagon, he saw Lil.
Having just stowed her belongings, she turned as he drew near. She froze and stared at him. Even dressed in a baggy checked shirt, pants and leather chaps, with her sable hair hidden beneath her hat, she provided a feast for his starved eyes. He smiled, suddenly wide awake.
“Good morning, colleen.”
“Morning,” she replied, trying to circle around him.
Tye stepped into her path, unwilling to let their encounter end so soon. “Are ye riding point again today?”
She stopped short and gave him a wary look. “Pa assigned me there. That’s where I’ll be every day.”
“Mmm, and that means I won’t be seeing much of ye. And I won’t have a chance to tell ye how much I’ve missed ye.”
Catching her breath, she whispered, “Don’t say that. I told you before, don’t talk to me at all. It’s not safe.” Her eyes darted back and forth, obviously searching for her father.
Tye followed her gaze and spotted Del Crawford over beyond the chuck wagon. He was speaking to Neil MacClure. If Crawford’s back wasn’t turned right now, he’d be charging over here like a mad bull, Tye supposed. He curled his fists, angry at the man for making Lil afraid to even speak to him. However, when he considered that the fear radiating from her was for him, his emotions softened, gentling his response.
“Don’t worry, colleen. We’ll find a way, you and I.”
She looked at him as if he’d gone daft, shook her head and slipped past him, hurrying to join her father and the segundo. All three had their horses saddled and waiting. Evidently, they’d risen early and had already eaten.
