“Wha—” he said, but the word wouldn’t come out. He turned his head and saw a woman standing in a doorway. Then he looked around, saw that he was in a room with walls, and a ceiling and furniture. He put his hands down, felt the sheets and the bed beneath him.
“I—I—” He tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come out.
“How about some water?” the woman said. She came to the bed, held his head, and tipped a glass to his dry lips. The water trickled down his throat and felt good.
“There,” the woman said, setting his head back on the pillow.
“I—is this real?” he asked, his voice raspy.
“Oh yes,” she said, “this is very real. You’re in my house, and you’re safe.”
He took a deep breath, looked around again, and looked at her. She was somewhere between a woman and a girl—midtwenties, maybe.
“Your house?”
“My family’s house,” she said. “My brothers and me.”
“How—when—”
“Just relax,” she said. “Your horse came walkin’ up to the house with you unconscious on its back. My brothers caught you as you fell off, and we brought you inside. You’re safe.”
“How—what kind of shape—”
“Are you in?” she finished. “Well, your feet have cuts and blisters on them, and you were kinda dried out from being in the sun. Also, somebody seems to have put the boots to you. Your body’s a mass of bruises, and your face. But other than that, nothin’ seems to be broke.”
“Tha-that’s good,” he stammered, “but I was going to ask you about my—my horse.”
“Oh, the horse?” she asked, laughing. “That wasn’t much of a horse, mister. It’s amazing he got you here. My older brother, Ben, wanted to put a bullet between the poor animal’s eyes, but—”
“No!” Lancaster said. “He can’t!” He tried to sit up, but she stopped him.
“No, no, it’s okay,” she said. “I didn’t let him. The horse is fine. He’s in the barn. Just…lie back.”
Lancaster allowed her to push him back down.
“You need some more water,” she said, “and you need some food.”
“How long have I been here?” he asked.
“Since yesterday.” She held the water for him again, and he took more this time.
“My horse,” he said. “Water…did you give him water…feed…?”
“He’s been watered, fed, rubbed down, and fed again,” she said. “Don’t worry.”
“That animal saved my life,” he said. “I was on foot, and then he was there…”
“Mister, nobody’s gonna hurt your horse, I promise.”
“Okay,” he said, “okay.” He took a deep breath.
“Are you hungry?” she asked.
“Actually,” he said, “now that I think about it…yes.”
“I’m makin’ dinner for me and my brothers,” she said. “I can bring a tray in here—unless you think you can walk?”
“Uh, I don’t know,” he said. “I could try.”
“Well,” she said, “why don’t we try standin’ first, and go from there?”
“Why not?” Lancaster said.
She removed the sheet and blanket to allow him to stand. He swung his legs around, put his feet down, and hesitated. Someone—presumably the woman—had bandaged the cuts and blisters on his feet.
“Go ahead,” she said. “Try.”
He nodded, put his weight on his feet for a moment, and stood up.
“Whoa,” she said as he swayed. “Dizzy?”
“A little.”
“You really should have a doctor look at you,” she said.
“How far are we from the nearest town?”
“About eight miles from Laughlin.”
“We made it that far?”
“How far?”
“Maybe fifty miles or so.”
“On that horse? That’s amazing. All right, do you want to try walking?”
“That would be the logical next step, wouldn’t it?” he said, words coming a bit easier now.
He took a step.
Seven
With her help he made it to the kitchen, where two men were sitting at the table. They watched as he made his way across the floor and she helped him to sit.
“Boys, this is Mr.—”
“Lancaster.”
“Mr. Lancaster,” she said. “My name is Kimmie, that’s my brother Zack, and that’s our brother Ryan.”
“How do,” Ryan said. He looked like the younger of the two brothers.
“We’re waitin’ on supper, Kimmie,” Zack said.
“It’s comin’, Zack,” she said. “Be polite to our guest.”
Zack looked across the table at Lancaster. “You on the run?”
“What does that mean, exactly?” Lancaster asked.
“I mean, is the law after you?”
“No.”
“But somebody is.”
“Not exactly.”
“Then what, exactly?”
Kimmie came over and put a plate of food and a cup of coffee in front of him. “Zack, that ain’t exactly bein’ polite, is it?”
“I’m just lookin’ out for my family,” Zack said. “I gotta know who we got under our roof.”
“That’s fair,” Lancaster said.
Kimmie went back to the stove.
“I was ambushed out in the desert,” Lancaster said. “Three men rode me down. My horse took a fall. They beat me senseless, stole everything I had, left me to die out there.”
“And that horse you rode in on?” Zack asked.
“Found it.”
“You took a chance gettin’ up on that bag of bones,” Ryan said.
Kimmie put plates in front of her brothers and then sat down with one for herself.
“He got me here, didn’t he?” Lancaster asked. “He was—I was amazed. He just…kept going.”
“The way he looks,” Zack said, “a bullet would be a blessin’.”
“No,” Lancaster said, “he just needs some care.”
Lancaster put some stew in his mouth. It was the best thing he’d ever tasted, and he wasn’t sure it was because he had just come off the desert.
“This is great,” he said.
“Probably because you ain’t et in a while,” Ryan said, with a grin at his sister.
“Shut up and eat, Ryan,” she said, grinning back at him.
“You gonna go after the men who waylaid you?” Zack asked.
“I plan to.”
“On that horse?”
“I don’t know,” Lancaster said. “When I’m ready I’ll see if he’s ready. Can you take me into Laughlin? I can rest up there, get outfitted—”
“You got any money?” Kimmie asked.
Lancaster looked at her.
“You said they stole everythin’.”
“No,” he said, “I have no money.”
“Then how will you get outfitted?” she asked. “You’ll need a horse and a gun.”
“I have a horse,” Lancaster said.
“We can loan you a better one,” she said, “and a gun. A rifle, anyway.”
“Now, hold on—” Zack said.
“A ride to town is all I really need,” Lancaster said, not wanting to cause dissension in their family.
“Nonsense,” she said. “You’re in no shape to ride to town.”
“You said I should see a doctor.”
“I can care for you for a few days,” Kimmie said. “When you’re strong enough the boys can take you to town and you can see the doc.”
“Kimmie’s a frustrated mom,” Ryan said. “Always motherin’ us, and now you’re in fer it.”
“Hasn’t hurt him so far,” she said.
“And it won’t,” Lancaster said, “if I can get another bowl of this stew.”
“Comin’ up,” she said.
“We only got his word that he ain’t on the run from the law,” Zack said. “I think we should take him to town tomorro
w.”
Kimmie brought Lancaster another bowl.
“You’ll have to forgive Zack,” she said. “Since Papa died he’s been trying to fill his shoes. Usually he does a pretty good job, but sometimes he’s just downright rude.”
“Ain’t rude to try to protect my family,” Zack said.
“He’s right,” Lancaster said.
“Well,” Kimmie said, sitting back down, “I believe your story. I don’t think the law would’ve left you afoot in the desert.”
“Kimmie’s got a point, Zack,” Ryan said.
“Shut up and eat, Ryan,” Zack said.
Eight
After supper Kimmie offered to walk Lancaster back to bed, but he asked her to walk him outside instead. When they got out to the porch she sat him down in a wooden rocking chair.
“Used to be Papa’s,” she said.
Lancaster looked around. They didn’t have much beyond the house, just a barn and an empty corral.
“It ain’t much,” she said, sitting next to him in a straight-backed chair.
He looked at her. She was wearing a simple cotton dress that looked homemade, long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her face was weathered, but didn’t make her look old. She just looked like she spent a lot of time outdoors. Over the years, though, it would eat away at her looks.
“I don’t want to cause trouble between you and your brother,” he said.
“No trouble,” she said. “You’ll need a couple of days before you can put your feet into a pair of boots. I have a pair of Papa’s that might fit you. Also some clothes.”
“You’re very kind, Kimmie,” he said.
“You’re just somebody in need,” she said. “I can’t very well turn you away.”
“Yeah, but not a lot of people would offer me clothes, and a bed, and a rifle…”
“Then you ain’t been meetin’ the right kind of people, Mr. Lancaster.”
“Just Lancaster,” he said. “No Mister, and you’re right. I haven’t met the right kind of people. At least, not people like you.”
“You just sit here a while and relax,” she said, standing up. “I’ll bring you some coffee and a piece of pie.”
As she went in, Zack came out, with Ryan in tow.
“We still got some daylight to work by,” he said to Kimmie.
“What about pie?” she asked.
“After we’re done,” he said. He looked at Lancaster, then walked away, yanking his brother by the sleeve.
Lancaster watched as the brothers crossed to the barn and went inside. Whatever work they had, it was in there, because they didn’t come back out.
In the barn Ryan asked, “What are we gonna do about Lancaster?”
“What about him?”
“Kimmie wants him to stay until he’s better.”
“Even if we let him,” Zack said, “it’ll only be for a few days at most.”
“And then we have to take him into town?” Ryan asked, worried.
“Ryan, take it easy,” Zack said, putting his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “We’ve never robbed the bank in Laughlin. Nobody there is gonna be lookin’ for us. That’s why we don’t hit banks close to home.”
“You’re pretty smart, Zack,” Ryan said.
“Yeah, I’m real smart,” Zack said. “That’s why our little sister is wasting away out here in the desert.”
“Hey, it’s like you keep sayin’,” Ryan said. “As soon as we have enough money, we’ll all get outta here.”
“Yeah,” Zack said, “right. Okay, let’s fix the axle on this buckboard. We’ll need it to take Lancaster to Laughlin.”
Kimmie came out with a slice of apple pie and another cup of coffee.
“So,” she asked, “will you stay?”
“A couple of days,” he said, “if you can get Zack to stop giving me the evil eye.”
“I can handle Zack,” she said. “He’s the big brother, I’m the little sister. I can usually get what I want.”
“Okay, then a couple of days,” he said. “That’ll give me time to look over Crow Bait and see how he is.”
“Crow Bait?”
“That’s what I decided to call him.”
She clapped her hands and said, “How wonderful! What a perfect name.”
He tried the pie and found it very tasty.
“Tell me, Kimmie, what kind of operation do you have here?”
“It’s not much now,” she said. “When Papa started it he was raising cattle and growing wild meadow hay. He always said we had the desert behind us, but a lot of fertile land in front of us.”
“So what do your brothers do?”
“They work odd jobs on other ranches, or in Laughlin. Zack thinks that someday he’ll be able to bring Papa’s ranch back to what it was…”
“You don’t agree?”
“No,” she said. “I want to leave this place.”
“Can you get your brothers to sell it?”
“Ryan, maybe, but not Zack. That’s one thing I can’t get him to do.”
“So why don’t you just leave? How old are you?”
“I’m nineteen.”
So maybe the weathered condition of her face did add some years. He had guessed her at about twenty-five. There was time for her to reverse the effects, though, if she could get away from this life.
“You have time, then.”
She smiled and said, “Not as much as I’d like. I saw your face when I told you how old I was. I know I look older. And I’ll look older every year that I live here. Unless…”
“Unless?”
“Unless you take me with you when you leave,” she said, grabbing his arm.
“Oh, Kimmie,” he said, “I’ll barely be able to take care of myself when I leave here—and I’m only going to Laughlin. You’ve been to Laughlin—”
“No,” she said, “I haven’t.”
He stared at her.
“It’s eight miles away,” he said. “You’ve never been there?”
“Well, when I was a little girl, but I haven’t ever had any reason to go in years,” she said. “The boys go in for supplies, or to do some jobs. I stay home and…keep house.” She shrugged. “I’m the mother. My brothers think I like it, but I don’t.”
“You’ll make a great mother,” Lancaster said, “but for some of your own kids, not your brothers.”
“How will I ever get married and have my own children,” she asked, “if I can’t get away from here? Unless…” She grabbed his arm again.
“I’m a little old for you, Kimmie,” he said, “and I’m not the marrying kind.”
“I guess I’m stuck here, then.”
“Why don’t you just insist that your brothers take you along next time they go to town?” he asked. “Maybe when they take me in?”
“I suppose I could try to insist,” she said, “but Zack always says somebody has to stay home.”
“Well, you’ve got a couple of days,” Lancaster said. “Work on him.”
Nine
After a good night’s sleep and an even better breakfast the next morning, Lancaster pulled on the borrowed boots that used to belong to Kimmie’s father. He stood up, found that they fit pretty well, even though his feet still hurt a bit. The shirt and trousers she had given him were a little small, but not noticeably.
Lancaster left the house and walked over to the barn. He hadn’t gotten much out of Kimmie’s brothers that morning, except some borderline hostile look from Zack. But Kimmie appeared to have gotten her way, and the brothers were prepared to take him to Laughlin in two or three days.
In the barn he found Crow Bait standing easily, chewing on some hay. As he entered, the animal turned his head and gave him a stare, then looked away.
There were four other horses in the barn—two saddle mounts and a team to pull the buckboard. They were all eight years old or more, but sound.
Lancaster was shocked at Crow Bait’s appearance. He’d forgotten how truly bad he looked.
�
�Wow,” he said, touching the animal’s flank, “you really do look like crow bait.”
He examined the horse, running his hands over him. Aside from seeming frail and knock-kneed, the legs seemed sound enough. His neck seemed too long for his body, and too slender to carry a large head. Lancaster figured that a few weeks of eating regularly would fill that out, make the head and neck look more in proportion. The same with all the bones that seemed to be sticking out here and there. Some extra flesh would smooth them out.
He brushed Crow Bait while the horse continued to chew. His coat was spotty, seemingly worn away in some places, but the flesh beneath seemed unmarked. They could have been just bald spots, and he wondered if the hair there would grow back. Likewise, the tail was thin and ragged. He didn’t know if that would fill back in or not with a steady diet.
“You saved my life,” Lancaster said, stroking the horse’s neck, “so I’m gonna see that you get to live yours.”
By checking the horse’s mouth and teeth, he surmised him to be five or six years old.
“You’ve got plenty of life ahead of you, boy,” Lancaster said. “You’re gonna be well taken care of.”
Crow Bait, unconcerned with his appearance, continued to feed.
Ten
At supper the night before they were to take Lancaster to Laughlin Kimmie said, “Zack, I wanna come with you tomorrow.”
“No.”
“You can’t just say no,” she said.
“Why do you want to go to town?” he asked. “You ain’t never been to town.”
“I been when I was a little girl, but I ain’t been in a long time, and I wanna go.”
“You gotta stay here,” Zack said.
“Why?”
“Somebody’s gotta stay home,” he said.
“Why?” she asked again.
Zack gave Lancaster a hard stare.
“This your doin’?” he demanded.
“Me? I’ve got nothing to do with it.”
“Don’t you dare blame him,” Kimmie said, her eyes flashing. “I’m tired of just stayin’ here all the time, alone, while you and Ryan go off and do God knows what.”
“We’re workin’ when we go away,” Zack said. “You think we’re out there havin’ fun?”
“You can’t be workin’ all the time!” she argued. “You got to be havin’ fun sometime.”
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