Junction City Cowboy

by Jet MacLeod

  “Mmm…”

  “Miss Rayne,” I said a little louder.

  “Mmm…what is it, boy?” she grumbled.

  “There is a storm, Miss Rayne; we are going to take shelter. I think you should wake up, now,” I suggested.

  “Oh, if I must,” she said straightening in the seat.

  “I think it would be for the best,” I replied.

  I helped her down off the wagon. She was light in my arms. God, even on the trail she still smelled wonderful. She leaned her full weight into me as I set her down on the ground. I held her close to me for a little longer than necessary, but how long is necessary with a beautiful woman in your arms?

  Juan and I made a quick shelter out of some canvas and the wagon. We tied the horses up without their saddles to a clump of trees nearby. We didn’t want them too close, in case they spooked. Juan made a fire and began to make some sort of trail chow for us to eat. I was doing my best to make Miss Rayne as comfortable as I could.

  We ate in silence, not knowing what to say to each other. Juan decided to take first watch. He didn’t care. He told me that he would sleep in the wagon if he had to on the way tomorrow.

  I kind of got the feeling that Juan didn’t want to be there. I wasn’t really sure that I wanted him there either, but Jed insisted. So, who was I to argue? Then, again, I was afraid of what I would do if I was alone with Miss Rayne, so there was some part of me that was happy he was there. I wasn’t sure I was to be trusted with such a lady.

  After chow was over, I cleaned up everything, stoked the fire, and rolled out Miss Rayne’s and my bed rolls near the wagon so we would be sheltered from the storm. Juan took up position, rifle in hand, under the shelter of some trees and a bit of canvas. I knew that he wouldn’t get too wet where he was. He would also be able to sleep without us knowing.

  The storm hit right after I got her bedded down for the night. I watched her doze off, promising her that I would still be there when she woke in the morning. I waited until she was asleep to go talk to Juan.

  “I know you don’t like me, but what did I do?” I asked him.

  “You’re the whipping boy,” he said with his Hispanic accent.

  “Come again, I don’t understand,” I stated.

  “You are her new plaything. She uses you, then let you go. Seen it enough to leave her alone, if you get what I say,” he replied.

  I looked over at the sleeping woman. She was using me. I was using her. We were using each other to try to get what we both wanted.

  “I am to be her lover, then.”

  “Si, she use you and you leave. Too bad, you’re a good ranch hand,” Juan added.

  “Juan, why is she unmarried?” I asked, brazenly.

  “Too much talk. She likes the mens too much. She can’t settle on one. Mens don’t like that. Plus, too many know that she don’t like the mens too much, as much as others do. I hear that she fancies womens, sometimes, but I ain’t ever seen it,” he told me.

  I was elated. I could tell her, maybe. She might understand why I had the ruse to begin with. I might be what she is looking for, but then again…

  “Women? I doubt it. She is too power hungry for that,” I told him.

  “Been like that since her Madre died. When her Papi died and left her the ranch, it was everything Jed could do to keep her out of the bunk house, if you know what I mean. He became like a papi to her. That’s why he is so pertective of her, got me?” he asked.

  “Si, amigo,” I replied.

  “She’s mucho loco, amigo. Watch yer self,” he told me, “Now, go get some sleep.”

  I lay back down next to her. She immediately curled up next me. She draped one arm across my body. It wasn’t meant as a sign of possession, but a sign of love and comfort. I heard Juan laugh. I guess he thought it was funny that a drifter-stable boy had finally turned the heart of his mistress. I did, too. We fell asleep like that.

  *****

  We had been driving for a couple of hours. It was hot. The horses needed water and I could see a small pond up ahead. I motioned towards it and Juan nodded. We needed to rest as well. It had been a long journey.

  “What are we doing?” she asked me.

  “We need to stop for the horses’ sakes. We won’t make it back if we don’t,” I told her.

  “Oh,” she replied.

  We pulled up to the watering hole. I undid the leads on the horses attached to the wagon and took them to the water. They drank quickly. Juan did the same with his horse and Scout.

  I was glad that Juan was with us. He knew where we were. I am sure that I could have gotten Miss Rayne and I back to the ranch if I had to, but there was so much prairie between us and that ranch. It all looked the same, a giant sea of grass with small hills, ponds, creeks, and patches of trees.

  I decided that we should stop and have lunch before we moved on. I was happy to hear that they both agreed with me. I began to pull out some jerky and apples from my saddle bag. I handed some to Miss Rayne, who looked at them questioningly. She eyeballed them. I put a piece of jerky in my mouth and bit down.

  For a ranch boss, she sure didn’t know about that trail. I laughed as I continued to eat my jerky. She was still eyeing it, when I moved on to my apple.

  “You best eat up, Miss Rayne. We aren’t going to stop again for a while,” I told her.

  “Eat what?” she asked.

  “Some jerky and an apple,” I answered.

  “This isn’t food,” she told me.

  “Then, what is it?” I asked her.

  “I dunno, but it isn’t food,” she explained.

  “Well, that is all you are getting at the moment. We don’t have time to cook anything for lunch. So, if you are hungry, I would eat,” I told her.

  She gave me a look that said that I would pay for this little indiscretion later. She decided that I was right and began to eat an apple. She studied the jerky, deciding if her delicate stomach could handle such a thing before she took a chunk out of it.

  Juan and I both laughed. We couldn’t’ help it with the absurdity of the situation. She glared at us both. It only made us laugh more.

  When we were done letting the horses rest and water up, we climbed back up and continued our journey. She sat right next to me again on the seat of the buckboard. Juan rode only a few feet from us up ahead, constantly scouting to make sure that everything was going to be good.

  Once he rode ahead where I couldn’t see him, she made me pay. She whispered in my ear. She nuzzled my neck. She blew across my skin. It was almost more than I could bear. I wanted to push her over the seat and into the back of the buckboard and have my way with her. I knew that would have been a sight for Juan to return to and I knew that I wouldn’t do it, in the broad daylight. I smiled.

  Juan came riding back. There was nothing up ahead out of the ordinary, so we kept riding. This was the norm for most of the day. He would ride up to check on things, she would tease me while he was gone, and then she would stop when he came back. I would still be sitting there with a grin on my face.

  The last time he rode off, she didn’t play. I guess she was tired of her game. When he came back, he had his rifle in his hand.

  “What’s wrong?” I called.

  “Rustlers,” he answered.

  “How far?” I asked.

  “About four leagues, I’d say,” he replied.

  “Can we get around them?” I questioned.

  “Doubt it,” he stated.

  “Suggestions?” I inquired.

  “Stop and wait, punch through, or hope they don’t bother us as we ride past,” he offered.

  “That’s it?” I questioned.

  “Unfortunately, yes,” he answered.

  “Great,” I said, sarcastically.

  “What do you want to do?” I asked Miss Rayne.

  “What do you want to do, Juan?” she asked him.

  “I’d say go, but it is up to you, señora,” he said.

  “And, you, Reece, what would you d
o?” she asked.

  “I’d stop, but we’ve already lost too much time, so I might go and hope they don’t bother us,” I explained.

  “Hmm,” she started, “I guess we are going then, aren’t we boys?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” we both answered, cocking our pistols and rifles.

  “Miss Rayne, can you shoot?” I asked.

  “Yes, why?” she questioned me.

  “You can ride, too?” I asked.

  “You know that I can,” she answered.

  “Good, if it comes to it, shoot, ask questions later. If something happens to both Juan and me, take my pistol and the rifle, cut the reins, get on Scout and bolt. You ride until you get to some ranch or small town, do you hear me? Do you understand what I am saying?” I asked her.

  “Reece,” she said, scared, “What about you?”

  “If it comes to that, you do it. You hear me? Don’t worry about me and Juan, you get out of here. Those men won’t care. They’ll dishonor you and keep doing it until they kill you, so you run, you hear me, Rayne. Do as I say, please, don’t argue about this with me, okay?” I demanded.

  “Okay,” she said quietly.

  “Good,” I stated.

  “Reece, I love you,” she barely whispered.

  I turned sharply and looked into her eyes. She was frightened. I was worried. I didn’t know what was going to happen and all I could do was hope.

  “We’ll be alright, you’ll see, I promise,” I told her.

  We rode on, ready for them. I was looking in every direction waiting to see if they would come. I couldn’t see them. Juan stayed closer to the wagon. He was on the other side, ready to protect Miss Rayne.

  I heard their yells before I saw them. They came down on the ridge at us in a cloud of dust. Juan and I both raised our weapons and started firing. We hit them. There were just so many. I saw Miss Rayne reach for the rifle.

  “Go ahead,” I told her, “It’s us or them.”

  There was so much smoke from us all firing. I had to stop to reload. That is when I felt the burning in my shoulder. It didn’t stop me; however, I didn’t want them to have Miss Rayne. I lined up and started firing again.

  The pain was seething, but I wasn’t going to stop. I saw Juan get down and put her underneath the wagon behind the wheels. I could hear my rifle still being fired by her, even from underneath the wagon. She wasn’t going to let us go down without a fight.

  “Get down, Reece!” I heard Juan yell at me.

  I stood up, fired a couple of rounds, and tried to get down. Then, I remembered fire burning my leg, like a hot poker went right through it. I hit the ground and I heard something snap. I growled in pain. Somewhere during it all I heard Miss Rayne scream.

  I lay on the ground. I couldn’t move. Then, the firing stopped. I looked around, expecting to see one of the rustlers to be standing over me. Juan crawled up to me.

  He set me up against the wheel of the wagon. I began to survey the scene. I couldn’t see Miss Rayne or Scout, and I started to panic. I began turning my head, looking everywhere from the position that I was in to see if I could see anything.

  “They’re gone?” I asked Juan.

  “They’re gone,” he answered.

  “Scout?” I asked.

  “Gone,” he said.

  They shot me and took my horse. That is when I felt the pain and the tears start to break me. I, then, thought again about Miss Rayne, wondering if she was okay, or I should I lay back down and die, right there.

  “Is she okay?” I questioned, finally.

  “She’s fine. She got a few of them. You should proud of her,” he told me.

  “How bad is it?” I inquired as he looked at my wounds.

  “Bad, Reece, it’s bad,” he told me.

  I knew that he wasn’t lying. I could feel the blood oozing from the wounds. I was starting to get dizzy and my thoughts weren’t making sense. I was just glad that she was okay.

  “Juan, do me a favor?” I asked.

  “Anything, amigo,” he said.

  “Go into Amarillo. Ask for Doc Steven. Bring him and Eli James from the Circle B Ranch. They’ll know how to help me,” I demanded.

  “The Circle B? Where is it?” he asked.

  “One mile east of Amarillo. We aren’t that far from it, I believe,” I told him.

  “Reece, I have to stop the bleeding,” he stated.

  “Do it,” I said.

  I felt him apply pressure to my arm and then my leg. I heard him telling Rayne something, but I couldn’t understand it. I felt her kneel beside me. She brushed my hair away from my face.

  “You’re going to be fine,” she told me. It was the last thing I heard before I passed out in her arms. I couldn’t think of anywhere else I would like to die at that moment, but in her arms.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Rayne, Dr. Steven Von Kamp’s office in Amarillo

  Juan and some local hand named Emilio carried Reece’s lifeless body into the doctor’s office. I was so scared. I couldn’t lose him like this. It just wasn’t right. He was too young.

  “Move back, boy, so I can do something,” the doctor said.

  He had rags and water. He began washing the wounds trying to figure out where all the blood was coming from. He shook his head.

  “Damn rustlers!” he swore.

  There was so much blood. It was flowing everywhere. He poured something over his hands, some instruments, and then he poured some whiskey on the wound on Reece’s shoulder. Reece bucked up in pain.

  “Easy, boy, I am trying to help you,” he told him.

  He put something in the wound. It looked like he was digging around. Then the doctor smiled.

  “Well, you were luck with that one, boy. It went clean through. It’s the one in your leg that I am worried about,” he said and then looked at me.

  I could see the horror on the doctor’s face. I could see the pain on Reece’s face. I could feel the sadness taking me over. I…couldn’t…lose…him…this…way.

  Reece grunted. At least I thought it was a grunt.

  “Ma’am, are you sure you want to be here? This isn’t going to be exactly nice and easy. It’s going to get messy,” the doctor warned me.

  “I am not leaving him,” I stated.

  I watched the doctor. He cut away the rest of the shirt. He was making sure that Reece didn’t have any more wounds on his torso.

  I was surprised to see the binding that ran across his chest. If he was hurt, then why did he ride with me? Why didn’t he tell me? Is that why he wouldn’t let me touch him?

  The doctor sewed up the bullet hole in his shoulder. He continued to wash off the blood. There was still so much. I couldn’t help but think that was not good. The doctor searched around for more wounds, before he moved on to the leg. His face betrayed his worries.

  “Is it bad, doctor?” I asked.

  “Yes, child,” he replied, “But, I don’t know how bad it is yet.”

  He cut away the bit of cloth that still remained on Reece’s leg. There was dirt and blood mixed up. He leg was all funny looking laying there on the table. It didn’t look right. I mean I didn’t think your leg could bend that way.

  He picked up the leg and moved it, this way and that. I heard Reece scream. He laid it back down and put his hand on Reece’s forehead.

  “I know it hurts, but I have to set it so it can start to mend. Listen, I can give you something for the pain, but it will dull everything or I can give you something to bite down on, your choice,” he told Reece.

  I wanted to Reece to take the medicine. I couldn’t push him to do it, but that is what I wanted him to do. I watched him push up off of the table almost sitting. He grabbed the doctor and mumbled something. The doctor, then, handed him a leather wrapped stick. Reece fashioned it in his mouth and nodded at the doctor.

  Doc, once again, began to set his leg. Reece was watching him. His eyes were wild with the pain and the tears tan down his face. Suddenly, I heard a pop and a slight
grind. Reece wailed out in a voice so high pitched and young. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell back onto the table.

  “Reece?” I called.

  “Quiet, girl,” the doctor told me. He listened to Reece’s breathing and his heart. He smiled at me. “Sleeping,” he said.

  “I’m going to take Reece upstairs to a room. You should go get yourself something and then come back. The patient should be awake by then and you can talk, then,” the doctor told us.

  I watched him take Reece away, upstairs. Juan came back in and took my hand. He questioned me with his eyes.

  “Sleeping,” I told him.

  “Let’s go. I’ll buy you a drink. We’ll come back in a hour or so, Miss Rayne,” Juan suggested.

  “I want to be here when Reece wakes,” I said.

  “It will be okay. He isn’t going anywhere for a while. Come on, you know you need something. It will calm you down,” he told me.

  I decided that it was probably a good idea for me to be calm when Reece woke up. I was a wreck at the moment. A drink was probably all I really needed. One drink and then I would come back to nurse Reece back to health.

  *****

  I walked slowly back to the doctor’s office. I still couldn’t believe what Reece had done. He saved my life. No one had ever made such a noble gesture for me before. I was a little crazy over the whole matter. I didn’t know what to say or do.

  As I neared the office, I saw Juan, Emilio and some dashing looking man standing outside the office. They were lost in conversation and a serious one at that. I felt like I had missed something huge. And, I don’t like not knowing what was really going on and for some reason, I felt cheated.

  “Hello, boys,” I said, walking up to them.

  “Miss Rayne,” Juan answered.

  The other two simply touched and tipped their hats to me. The new gentleman looked like he was in charge, but of what I didn’t know. He had to be a ranch boss or something.

  “What’s going on?” I questioned them, looking form one to the other to the other and back again.

  “Miss Rayne, I need to speak with you,” Juan told me. Suddenly, I felt my heart sink. This was bad, this was very, very bad.