Molly's Hero

by Susan Amarillas

  “Sure I did,” Jack countered.

  “Oh sure, you rode out of here and never looked back. All you cared about was finding that damned gold. Did you care about your responsibilities here? Did you wonder how we managed to put food on the table? Did you send any of that precious gold you say you found home to us?” Suddenly, she cared nothing about Jack or his feelings—as he cared nothing for hers.

  Jack’s expression turned dark. “Now look, Molly, I won’t have you lecturing me like some schoolmarm.” He surged to his feet, his chair scraping back as he did. “I went off to find that gold for us.”

  “For yourself, you mean. I never asked you to go. I asked you to stay, to help us make a go of this place.”

  Jack raked his hands back through his greasy hair. “I ain’t no damned rancher. I only went along with taking this place cause it were winter coming on and I knew you wanted it, and like I said, a man gets lonely.”

  A shiver of revulsion scampered over Molly’s skin. She felt unclean. So there, it was said, what she’d known all along, but never wanted to admit. Now, looking at Jack, she realized it was a foolish dream of her own, as foolish as Jack’s quest for the mother lode.

  “Jack, I want to stay here. I want to be a rancher, a rancher’s wife. I want to raise Katie here.”

  “Well, fine. Who’s stopping you?”

  “I can’t do this alone. There’s too much to be done. The barn’s got to be finished before winter. We need to dig an irrigation ditch from the creek to the vegetable patch in the back. You can see daylight through the log walls, and come winter—”

  “Hell, woman, I ain’t home ten minutes and you got me working like some field hand. I ain’t no field hand!”

  “Not a field hand. A rancher. A farmer. Call it whatever you want.”

  “I call it stupid. This is stupid when there’s gold out there just waiting for me to find it. Then I’ll buy us a big house with servants and we can all live a life of ease.”

  “It’s never going to happen, Jack.”

  “It is. I’m gonna do it.” He thumbed his chest.

  Molly shook her head in dismay. “You have about as much chance of striking it rich as there is of cows suddenly sprouting wings and becoming birds.”

  Jack glared at her hard. He even took a step in her direction and for a moment she thought perhaps he meant to hit her, he looked that angry. He didn’t, though. Instead, he said, “How much money you got left?”

  “What?”

  He headed for the bureau and the porcelain dish where he knew she kept her stash. He had the drawer opened and was dumping her meager savings out into his hand by the time she closed on him.

  “Hey!” she shouted. “Give me that!” She made a grab for the money but he turned and elbowed her aside.

  “That’s mine! You can’t take—”

  “Oh, yeah,” he growled, shoving the money in his trouser pocket.

  Molly blocked his path. “Look, Jack, you can go on back out there and hunt for gold if that’s what you want but you aren’t taking my money. That’s all I’ve got to see me and Katie through.”

  He tried to go around her and she spread her arms wide as though she could stop him, a hundred-pound woman against a work-hardened man. He shoved her aside as if he barely noticed her.

  “I’m going into town!” he announced as he grabbed up his hat and saddlebags and headed for the door. “I’m going someplace where a man can get a drink in peace.”

  With that he slammed out the door.

  Molly was hot on his heels. She was primed and ready for a fight. Too many days of being alone and afraid. Her Irish was up.

  The sunlight glinted in her eyes and she had to blink hard a few times, shading her eyes with her hand. Jack was already mounted on his horse and reining over.

  “Oh, no you don’t, Jack Murphy!” She ran the few steps to grab at his horse’s rein. “You give me back that money!”

  The horse reared, front hooves pawing the air. Molly had to duck to keep from getting kicked. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Katie barreling full out in her direction.

  As the horse settled to the ground, Jack said, “Woman, you better watch yourself if you know what’s good for you!”

  “Mama! Mama! What’s wrong?” Katie was shouting as she slammed into Molly’s side. Instinctively, Molly grabbed the child up and that was all the time Jack needed to make his getaway.

  Teeth clenched, Molly watched him go. If he thought he was getting away that easy, he had another thought coming. That money was hers and she needed it…more than she needed Jack Murphy, she realized suddenly. Hell, she cared more about the money than she did her husband.

  The dust was still settling when Molly, with Katie perched on her hip, marched for the corral. “We’re going into town,” she told the child, letting her slide to the ground.

  She hitched the team in record time and whipped the horses all the way, the wagon rumbling and bouncing so that at times there were only three or even two wheels on the ground.

  Still, Jack was ahead of her and she didn’t catch up with him until she stormed into the El Dorado Saloon. All talking stopped and all heads turned at once in her direction. Some looked simply because she was a woman in a saloon but others, she knew, scowled because she was the troublemaker, the one and only impediment to their getting their all important railroad. Molly hated that railroad and she hated Ethan Wilder, and right now she was about to take all that hatred out on Jack Murphy.

  Molly spotted Jack hunched over the table near the far wall. He was alone, pouring drinks for himself from a nearly full bottle. A bottle he’d paid for with her money.

  Her rage doubled.

  “Katie,” she said firmly to the child as she shoved her back outside through the double glass doors. “You wait right here for me. Don’t move. I have business to take care of.”

  She stormed through the doors like Grant taking Richmond, and men actually scrambled to get out of her way.

  “Jack!” she shouted as she came up to his table. “Give me the money!” She held out her hand.

  Jack looked slowly up in her direction. One hand was wrapped tightly around an empty shot glass and the other around the neck of the whiskey bottle. His expression was dark, his mouth drawn in a tight line.

  “Get outta here woman, if you know what’s good for you,” Jack snarled. With that he straightened in his chair more and fixed his icy stare on Molly.

  But Molly wasn’t having any of it. She wasn’t intimidated and she was too damned angry to be scared. “The money, Jack!” she demanded again. “It’s mine, and I’m not going to let you have it to drink with or to go running after some pipe dream again.”

  “Woman, if you don’t—”

  Molly grabbed the whiskey bottle away from him before he could stop her and she hurled it across the room. The glass smashed against the painted wall making a wet brown stain as it dribbled to the floor.

  Jack came half out of his seat. “Why you—”

  “Excuse me,” a male voice said close by and both Molly and Jack turned at once. “Name’s Ed Bartel. I couldn’t help but overhear what you were saying. You are Murphy right? You own the ranch down by the creek?”

  “Yeah, that’s me. What’s it to you?” Jack snarled.

  “Well,” Bartel said. “It sounded as though you might be in need of some money and I’d like to buy your—”

  “No!” Molly shouted. “He doesn’t want to sell.”

  “Buy my what?” Jack’s expression changed from one of anger to one of smugness. “Let the man talk.”

  “No,” Molly tugged on Jack’s sleeve like a mother trying to get an errant child to obey. “Let’s go. We can talk about this outside.”

  Jack jerked free of Molly’s grasp and stepped away, his concentration now focused on Bartel. “You wanna buy my ranch?”

  “Yes,” Bartel said.

  “No!” Molly interrupted, but neither man appeared to be listening.

  “So,” Jac
k asked, “how much?”

  “Oh, how does a thousand sound?”

  “Dollars?” Jack repeated clearly stunned.

  “Cash,” Bartel said. “We can walk across to the bank and get it right now. All you have to do is sign a bill of sale.”

  Molly felt her heart sink. “Jack, we have to talk. You can keep my money, only don’t—”

  “Done!” Jack announced before Molly could finish. The men shook hands. “If you’ll just sign this…” He produced a quick deed and someone quickly appeared with pen and ink. In what seemed only a moment, a few words were scrawled on the paper, Jack signed and the deed was done. The railroad now owned the land.

  Bartel turned to everyone present and said, “Boys, drinks are on me!”

  As the men surged to the bar shouting orders, Jack and Bartel started away. Molly’s rage could not be contained. She rushed after Jack, grabbing him by the arm she spun him around. “I hope you’re happy!” She spared those gathered a hard look. “I hope you all feel good about what you’ve done today. You put a woman and child out of their home.” Some men looked sheepish, others seemed to laugh as though it meant nothing to them. Why should it, she realized. She was nothing to them, nothing to anyone.

  “I’ll never forgive you for this, Jack. You hear me? Never!”

  “I don’t care what you do,” Jack replied. “I’ve had enough of you and what you want to last me a lifetime. Why hell, if I’d wanted to be nagged and railed at I could’ve stayed with my other wife.”

  Molly went very still as the words soaked into her brain. “Other wife? What other wife?”

  “Why Mabel, back in California. She took to demanding I take up pig farming.” He glanced knowingly around at the other men. “Can you believe it?”

  Molly asked, “Are you telling me that when you married me you were already married?”

  “Sure.”

  “Why, you son of a bitch!” Molly was not a violent person but this was more than she could stand. She balled up her fist and hit Jack Murphy. Hard. Right in the face. She heard the sound of bone crunching and the force of the impact sent pain ricocheting up her arm.

  “Ouch!” he yelled as he grabbed at his lip that was already squirting blood.

  Before he could do more, Molly turned on her heel and strode for the doors. Tears slipped down her cheeks and her hand ached but she wasn’t about to let this man see her fall apart.

  Just as she reached the door, in walked Ethan and another man.

  Oh, great. This was all she needed.

  “Let me pass,” she ordered. But he didn’t obey.

  Ethan grabbed her by the shoulders. “Molly, what are you doing here? Did something happen?”

  “I’ll say something happened,” Bartel said with a grin. Holding a piece of paper in his hand he hurried over to them. “This here is Jack Murphy and he’s just sold us the ranch.”

  Ethan knew instantly what this meant. Molly had lost her home and he, Ethan, was the cause.

  “Ethan,” Billy said, shouldering through the doorway into the saloon. “This is great news.” He took the paper and scanned it.

  “We were just on our way to the bank,” Bartel said. “Care to join us?”

  Ethan still held Molly by the shoulders. She looked up at him then, tears glistening in her eyes. Her voice was thick with emotion when she said, “You win.” With that she twisted free of him and, taking Katie’s hand, she headed for the wagon.

  Ethan just stood there. Billy was practically doing a jig he was so happy—as was everyone in the place. Except Ethan. But he’d had no choice. He had to take the land. He knew that; nonetheless the cost was high. Higher than he’d ever thought it would be, and he wondered what it would take to have her forgive him. If ever.

  But Billy was dragging Ethan into the saloon even as Molly climbed up onto the wagon seat, Katie nestled beside her.

  Shaking loose of Billy, Ethan started for the door. He couldn’t let it end like this. He couldn’t. But she was driving away as he reached the doors and he stood there and watched her go, thinking that some part of himself was going with her. He loved her. Married or not, he loved her and there wasn’t a damned thing he could do about it.

  Ethan declined to go when Bartel and Murphy went to the bank.

  Billy studied Ethan. “What’s the matter with you?”

  “Nothing,” Ethan snapped, seating himself at a nearby table. “Everything is just great.”

  Billy’s expression turned serious. He glanced toward the now empty doorway then back to Ethan as though coming to some understanding. Billy dragged out a chair. Without asking, the barman brought them a bottle and two glasses.

  The men ignored it.

  “Ethan, is it the woman?”

  Ethan’s head came up sharply. “Be real careful, Billy.”

  Billy hesitated a moment then sank back in his chair. His voice was sincere when he said, “I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

  “Yeah, me too.” Ethan helped himself to a drink.

  “Can’t you—”

  “What? You want me to give her back the land?”

  “We can’t. You know that.”

  “Yeah, I know that.” He took another drink, tossing the liquid back in one swallow. He toyed with the glass.

  Around them the men, local businessmen and a couple of ranchers were talking, laughing, celebrating. He was only half listening.

  “…good thing Murphy showed up when…”

  “…that wife of his has some nerve coming in…”

  “…ain’t his wife…”

  There was a general laugh.

  “Yeah,” the barman spoke up. “Who’d a thought Miss High and Mighty weren’t nothing more ’en Murphy’s secondhand woman.”

  There was another round of laughter. What the devil were they talking about? He waved the barman over.

  “What’s going on?” he asked cautiously.

  The barman grinned. “Turns out Murphy already had hisself a wife when he hitched up with the second Mrs. Murphy. Ain’t that a laugh?”

  Ethan came slowly to his feet. “Let me get this straight. You’re saying that Murphy and Molly—Mrs. Murphy—aren’t married?”

  “Yup.” The barman glanced over his shoulder to the men lining the bar. “That’s right, ain’t it boys?”

  “Yup,” they all seemed to say in unison.

  “How do you know?” Ethan pressed.

  “Murphy said so hisself. Said if he’d wanted to work like a field hand he coulda stayed with his other wife and raised pigs!” The barman doubled over in laughter. “Can you imagine…” He was laughing too hard to finish.

  Ethan stared at the man. Could this be right? Molly wasn’t married to Jack Murphy. Molly wasn’t married at all?

  Billy touched his arm and brought him back from his musings. “Ethan?”

  “Yeah?” Ethan looked down at Billy.

  “What are you thinking?”

  Ethan sank back down in the chair and the barman went back to tending his customers.

  “She’s not married,” Ethan mumbled. Then he looked Billy directly in the face. “No land and now no husband. Everything gone and it’s all my fault.”

  Oh, God, Molly, I’m so sorry.

  “I wouldn’t say it was your fault,” Billy countered. “Murphy’s responsible for lying to her and for selling the land, though thank God he did.”

  Ethan nodded. “I know. We have to have the land for the track and yet I can’t just leave it like this.” I can’t let her go on hating me, he thought to say but didn’t.

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know….”

  Billy and Ethan walked outside together.

  The day was bright and clear and Ethan had to blink a couple of times against the sudden sunlight.

  Ethan moved around Billy and undid the reins of his horse from the hitching rail. “We’re going to make that loan deadline.”

  Ethan swung up in the saddle.

  Billy mou
nted his horse, mumbling a few choice curses under his breath.

  “What’s come over you, Ethan?” he demanded, adjusting the reins through his fingers.

  “It’s a good day.” With that he rode off leaving Billy scratching his head in wonder.

  Gone. Everything she’d worked so hard for was gone. Just like that. With a stroke of a pen her whole life was a shambles and there wasn’t a thing she could do about it.

  She strolled over to touch the yellow calico curtains, remembering the day she’d made them. Instinctively, her fingers straightened the creases in the fabric. Slowly she went to inspect the stove. It had taken her nearly a week to get it cleaned. Her knuckles and hands were red for two more weeks after from the lye soap. Standing there she could look out the window and see the garden, her garden. She’d never see the beans come in now, or the cabbages.

  Tears welled in her eyes. “It’s not fair!” she pronounced, her right hand curling into a fist that she pounded on the counter with.

  “What’s not fair, Mama?” a small voice said, and Molly turned. She had been so angry, so sad, she’d all but forgotten about the child.

  Bending down, Molly swiped the tears from her eyes and forced a smile, shaky as it was. She took Katie by the hand. “Honey, we are going to have to move.”

  Katie’s expression drew down in hard concentration. “You mean leave here?”

  Molly nodded. Her throat was clogged with tears and she didn’t trust herself to speak.

  “But why?”

  Molly took a minute to clear her throat. “Well, Jack sold the land to the railroad so they’ll be building here and we’ll have to find someplace else to live.”

  Katie looked grim. “Where?”

  “I don’t know, honey.” With no money she didn’t know how, but she was determined to find a way.

  “Is Jack coming with us?”

  “Absolutely not!” Molly practically shouted.

  “Good. Can we take Mr. Ethan? I like him much better.”

  At the mention of Ethan’s name Molly’s heart did a funny double sort of beat. She wanted to hate him for this and yet, deep down, she knew that she didn’t. She understood now what this railroad meant to him, how much of himself was invested in it and she admired him for his work.