Last Chance Cowboys: The Drifter

by Anna Schmidt

  “They’ll all pitch in and do their parts, of course, but the party has always been here, Maria. What would your father think if he learned we were not hosting this year’s celebration?” She stood up and walked with surprising vigor into the house. “Well, come along, Amanda. Let’s get started on those letters. Perhaps we can speed things along by suggesting assignments—after all, everyone pretty much does the same thing every year. Of course…” She began ticking off a list of tasks, matching them with the person she thought best capable of delivering.

  Among the names she gave were the Kellers and Buchanans. Both families had been gone since at least a year before Isaac Porterfield died. It was hard for Maria not to envy her mother’s fantasy world—life had been so much simpler then.

  * * *

  The town of Whitman Falls was small but bustling. In spite of the fact that the railroad had bypassed the town, it was still the thriving place it had been when Maria was a child coming into town with her parents. Of course there were telltale signs that all was not as it had once been—a couple of empty storefronts, open businesses where the owners had given up trying to fight the dust, and more than the usual number of men sitting outside the saloon whittling on a stick or just staring out at the street.

  When Maria and Amanda pulled their wagon up to the general mercantile store, Eliza McNew was sweeping the boardwalk—a useless task since it would be covered in more gritty dirt not half an hour after she finished. It was pretty obvious that the rain they had celebrated out in the valley had not reached town.

  “Good morning, Eliza,” Maria called as she set the brake on the buckboard and climbed down.

  “Mornin’,” Eliza replied, leaning on her broom. “Another perfect day in Whitman Falls,” she added as she squinted up at the cloudless sky.

  “You could sure use some not so perfect days,” Maria replied. Amanda hugged Eliza before rushing into the store.

  “Where’s the fire?” Eliza asked, nodding toward the door.

  Maria sighed. “Mama wants to have a party, and of course Amanda is all for that since she assumes it means new clothes and such.”

  “Constance is better then?”

  “Not really.”

  Eliza wrapped her arm around Maria’s shoulders as they walked into the store. “Anything I can do?” Eliza and Maria’s mother were lifelong friends, having grown up together, gone through school together, and attended each other at weddings, births, and most recently the funeral of Isaac Porterfield.

  “Keep coming to visit when you can, I guess. That’s all anybody outside the family can do.”

  “Maybe the party is a good idea. It might just bring her back to us,” Eliza said as she and Maria entered the cool shade of the store.

  “It’s the perfect idea,” Amanda announced, already standing before the store’s full-length mirror, draping herself in a beautiful satin damask fabric she’d unwound from its bolt. Three more bolts of fabric were stacked on the glass-topped counter next to her. “Lavender has never been my color.” She sighed. “But it’s perfect for you, Maria.”

  Maria held up her hands to stop her sister’s advance. “I have to meet with the association, and I want to speak with Marshal Tucker. After that, I have an appointment with Mr. Cardwell at the bank,” she reminded Amanda. “Wait for me here, and we’ll have lunch at the hotel before we start back. I won’t be long.”

  “Take your time, and don’t forget to hand out the letters for the wives. Eliza and I have so much to do—pick out fabrics and patterns for dresses for you, Mama, and me…” She glanced around and focused on a Stetson displayed behind the counter. “Maybe a new hat for Trey to celebrate that he’s one of the hands now?”

  “Maybe. Let’s not spend us the rest of the way into bankruptcy,” Maria said, glancing at Eliza, who nodded, signaling that she would keep Amanda’s shopping spree under control. Reassured, Maria left the store, nodding to two men on their way into the store who had stepped aside to allow her to pass as they tipped their hats.

  The meeting with her father’s fellow ranchers went about the way Eduardo had predicted. They listened politely to her impassioned call for the need to take a united stand against the Tipton outfit. Then they thanked her for coming and turned back to their conversation about the drought and whether or not moving their stock to higher ground where there was more shade and cooler temperatures would be enough. It was as if she were invisible. After the meeting finally broke up, she saw Marshal Tucker and called out to him. He might not have jurisdiction outside of town, but maybe he would have some ideas about how she might go about finding out what happened to Oscar.

  “Well, hello, Maria.” He removed his hat, exposing his thinning gray hair to the hot sun. “How’s your mama doing?”

  “About the same,” Maria replied. “I hope everyone in your family is well.” She was anxious to dispose of the small talk and get down to business.

  “Fit as fiddles,” he said. “Was there something you needed?”

  She told him about her concern for Joker’s welfare. He listened politely—as the men from the neighboring ranches had—and then he gazed out toward the edge of town. “You see, Maria, times are hard, and when hard times come, it’s not all that unusual for a man to just decide the grass might be greener down the road somewhere. The truth of the matter is that unless you have some proof that this man has met with—”

  “You mean some crime has to be committed before you can help me find him?”

  “I mean you need proof, and the truth is that he may not want to be found.”

  “Well, if you can’t help me find my hired hand, then what are you going to do about the rustlers who raided the herd the other night? They were taking the stock right onto Tipton land and…” He listened patiently while she ran through the list of events she had tallied and chalked up to the Tiptons.

  “You know that’s not my jurisdiction, and even if you go to the fort…do you have proof, Maria? Are you sure that the barn burning that forced the Kellers out was more than just a case of no rain and dry wood?”

  “Well…”

  The lawman was taking the points she had tried to make and ticking them off one by one, and the fact of the matter was that he was right. She had no proof.

  “I can’t do anything about Joker, Maria, and as for the rustlers, if you bring me hard evidence that can lead to an arrest, I’ll take it to the right people in the militia myself.” He put his hat back in place and looked at her with eyes full of pity. “Ah, there goes Clyde Cardwell. Didn’t you have a meeting?”

  Once again, she had been dismissed.

  At the bank Clyde Cardwell greeted her with a wide smile and the clasp of her hand between both of his. “Maria, I do believe you get prettier every day,” he said. He released her hand and used his handkerchief to dust off the seat of the chair across from his. “Now what can I do for you, little lady?”

  The fact that he insisted on speaking to her as if she were ten and had stopped by for the free piece of stick peppermint that the bank handed out to the children of their customers made Maria grind her teeth as she smiled back at him and settled herself in the wooden chair. “I still need that loan, Mr. Cardwell. You said you would look into it and give me your answer by this week,” she reminded him.

  His whiskered jowls drooped as the smile disappeared. “Well now, Maria, we’ve already talked about this. Times are hard and—”

  “Which is why I need the loan. I will repay it in full as soon as we get the herd to market.”

  “You are aware that beef prices are down? When the market gets flooded with product…”

  “I understand the market, Mr. Cardwell. The Tipton concern has ruined that for everyone—including themselves, although with their huge resources and inventory, they hardly feel the pinch.”

  His bushy eyebrows shot up as he gazed at her. Then he grinned as if he’d solv
ed a puzzle. He shook his finger at her. “Roger Turnbull told you to make that point, didn’t he?”

  Maria squeezed her gloved fingers into a fist. She had worn her Sunday best, right down to a bonnet and her good shoes for this meeting. That had definitely been a waste of time and energy. She might as well have shown up dressed for a roundup for all the respect the banker was giving her. But she needed this money in the short-term, so she decided that in spite of how it galled her to do so, she needed to change her approach. “Would you rather deal with Mr. Turnbull on my behalf?” she asked, fighting to make her tone sweet. “Because I assure you, if that will make a difference, I can arrange for him to be here in the next couple of days. It’s just that Papa always said what a fair and understanding man you were. His respect for you knew no bounds.” For good measure, she pulled the lace handkerchief Juanita always made sure was in her purse and dabbed at the corner of her eye. Sometimes a woman had a few more weapons at her disposal than a man did—and Maria was not above using a few fake tears if it meant she was going to get what she needed to save the ranch.

  Flustered, Clyde Cardwell pushed himself away from his desk. “Now, now, Maria.” He poured a little water into a crystal glass and handed it to her. She remembered that whenever her father met with the banker, that crystal glass was filled with whiskey. She wondered what Clyde Cardwell would think if she asked him if she might have something stronger than water.

  “Dry those pretty eyes of yours. I never said no. I just wanted you to understand the circumstances.”

  Maria kept her eyes lowered as she sipped the water. “You’ll give me the loan then?”

  “I think we can manage half of what you requested,” he replied as he returned to his chair.

  She looked up at him then, her eyes dry. “Three-quarters,” she bargained.

  The banker stared at her for a long moment. “All right, but the terms include repayment in full on…” He flipped ahead in the calendar on his desk and tapped a date in October that would fall just after they had taken their stock to market. “In full, Maria, understood?”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you.” She extended her hand the way her father would have when sealing a business deal. Cardwell stared at it as if not sure what she was doing and then shook it firmly.

  “In full with interest, Maria.”

  “I understand.”

  Clyde walked her out into the bank’s main area, where he instructed a teller about preparing the paperwork and transferring the funds. “I’ll have the papers ready for you to sign this afternoon. Shall I send them to the ranch?”

  “No. My sister and I plan to have lunch at the hotel. I can sign them after that.”

  “Then I’ll look forward to seeing you later, Miss Porterfield.”

  Maria understood that the formality was in part for the benefit of the teller, but she couldn’t help thinking that just maybe it was also a mark of the banker’s respect.

  Back on the street, Maria felt as if a bale of hay had been lifted from her shoulders. With the money she’d borrowed, she’d be able to keep up with bills until they could get the herd to market. She wondered what Clyde Cardwell would have said if he’d known Amanda was at McNew’s Mercantile planning a party. Her brow furrowed as she stepped into the street, determined to keep her younger sister in check. They could have a party, but it would not be one of the lavish affairs their parents had given for a variety of holidays or other special occasions in the past. It would not be the ball she knew Amanda dreamed of, with fancy gowns and…

  She was so lost in thought as she planned what she would say to Amanda that she nearly stepped in front of the arriving stagecoach. She jumped back just as the driver pulled the coach to a stop in front of the Wells Fargo station so that both the coach and its team blocked her view of the street. She decided the safer course would be to go behind the stagecoach to cross, and as she did, the coach doors opened and the arriving passengers piled out.

  Maria paused when she heard a baby crying. A man in a suit and bowler hat brushed past her muttering, “Finally. One more mile and I was going to throw that kid and its mother out the window.” He stalked off.

  Maria paused and watched as a woman dressed in a dust coat and holding a squirming child stepped out into the sunlight. But it was the way she held the baby that made Maria look twice. It was as if she had never held an infant in her life.

  * * *

  After ten long, grueling days, Chet and the other cowhands had finally gotten the herd moved to the north range—decent grazing land that was as far from Tipton land as they could get. Horses could be run, but cattle walked at a stroll and moving them took more time. He’d been keeping watch over Trey, even though the boy was now trailing Turnbull and doing the best he could to follow the foreman’s orders. Chet knew that Trey thought a lot of Turnbull. He’d jabbered on about the foreman while they rode the fence line together—how when he started to recover from the illness that had kept him housebound for the first several years of his young life, Roger had taught him the basics of roping; how Roger had been the one he could talk to after his pa died and his brother left; how Roger and Maria would likely get hitched one day even though they fought like two dogs with one bone.

  But as the days since Maria left wore on, it became obvious that Turnbull was losing patience with Trey, especially when the boy pulled out his sketch pad. “Put that thing away,” he’d barked at Trey one night as the men sat around the campfire.

  “He’s doing my picture,” Bunker countered.

  Turnbull ignored him and grabbed the sketchbook away from Trey. “You want to be a cowhand or not?” He tossed the pad into the fire.

  Trey’s eyes went wide with surprise. “But Maria said—”

  “Maria said,” Turnbull mimicked in a high falsetto as he walked away. “You want to be a man? Then stop hanging on to your sister’s apron strings.”

  As soon as Turnbull’s back was turned, Chet plucked the book from the fire and stamped out the embers. “Here you go, Snap,” he said, blowing on the pages to make sure the fire was completely out. “Best keep this out of sight when he’s around.”

  Bunker leaned over and pointed to the drawing of himself. “Look at that, will you? Right handsome, wouldn’t you say?” His comments had the exact effect he wanted. The men snickered, and Trey smiled.

  “It’s not finished yet,” he said shyly.

  “Guess I get to be even better looking than I already am then,” Bunker replied, earning the outright laughter and ribbing of the other men.

  “How about I hold on to that sketchbook for you, Snap?” Chet suggested.

  “Good idea,” Slim agreed. “That way you don’t run the risk that the boss might spot it in your stuff one day.”

  Trey handed the leather-bound book back to Chet. “Thanks,” he said. “There’s a drawing of you in there. You can have it if you like it.”

  The men gathered around Chet. “Let’s see, Hunt. See if you’re a purty as me,” Bunker teased.

  Chet flipped through the first couple of pages until he saw his likeness staring back at him. Nobody had ever made a drawing of him before, and he was surprised at this one. The man in the picture wore his hat and his clothes, and carried a coiled whip over one shoulder. But was that the way he looked—those eyes squinted on something in the distance and that mouth a hard, determined line?

  “That’s you all right,” Bunker announced. “Look at the way he got you looking off toward something out there.” He gestured toward their surroundings. “Me, I’m looking right at Snap here.”

  It was true. The drawing of Chet showed a man looking off the page at something only he could see. “Nita says you’ll leave one day,” Trey explained. “That you’ve got something you need to do and it ain’t here.”

  Chet tore the drawing from the book, folded it carefully and put it between the pages of his tally book. “It’s a good lik
eness, Snap. Thank you.” He placed the sketchbook in his saddlebag and then picked up his saddle and headed for the corral. “Got night watch, gents. Be seeing you in the morning.”

  As he left, he heard Trey say, “He never said whether he was going or staying.”

  “Going,” Rico replied. “Only question is when.”

  For once it was a quiet night on the range. Chet and the other night riders had little to do. Some distance away, Chet could hear Happy playing his mouth organ and found himself humming along with the tune. Music soothed the herd and gave the men something to do to pass the time—and some comfort as well. But the music only reminded Chet of that night when he had danced with Maria in the rain. They hadn’t needed music that night—the way she’d fit perfectly next to him, the way she had looked up at him, rain drops beading on her perfect lips. If it had just been the two of them, and if that lightning bolt hadn’t spooked the horses, he might well have given in to the moment and kissed her. That was sure the thought uppermost in his mind—still was. Kissing Maria Porterfield had become something he thought about a lot.

  Cracker let out a low growl.

  “Yeah, I know. Bad idea. She’s not for me.”

  The dog yipped in agreement then lay down, still watching the herd but taking whatever chance she could to rest as the hours of the long night wore on. Determined to put Maria out of his mind, Chet turned his attention back to the problem he’d seen with the water flow. Turnbull might not think there was anything out of the ordinary about it and even Bunker had dismissed his concerns, but Chet just had a gut feeling, and he had long ago learned not to ignore such feelings.

  “Come on, Crack. Let’s ride over to the creek and see how it’s running.”

  As the first light broke on the horizon, he dismounted to refill his canteen and stretch his legs. Turnbull had not asked him about the water flow problem, and he didn’t feel it was his place to bring it up again, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t continuing to check. As he watched the water run slowly into the opening of his canteen, he mentally measured the flow against what it had been a few days earlier. Of course, there had been the downpour that had come so hard and fast that it had added little to the supply, but did that account for the slow trickle? Of course, the only way to find out for sure was to follow the water to its source, and that meant getting on the other side of that barbed-wire fence.