by Barbara Goss
Annie smiled at him. “I like that idea. Now, let’s put our heads together and decide how we’ll do it.”
Logan spotted Sy coming out of Della’s Saloon with a bottle of whiskey. He needed to follow him without being seen. It was tricky because horses aren’t quiet. The trail Sy took went north and Logan rode on the grass beside the path, about twelve feet from the trail. It softened the noises from the horse’s hooves while still allowing Logan to catch occasional glimpses of Sy through the brush. Sy turned to look behind him several times, but he saw no one and continued on his way. If he’d have galloped, Logan might have lost him by trailing him that way, but Sy trotted with one hand on the reins and the other clutching a bottle of whiskey.
They rode for about three miles before Sy took a turn down a narrow lane. Logan stopped to tie his horse to a tree. He crept through the brush and hid behind bushes until he saw the log cabin. Otto was unsaddling his horse, and Homer was leading his horse into the small corral. Their horses were sweaty and it looked like they’d just returned from a fast ride.
Sy held up the bottle of whiskey and Otto yelled, “Ya only got one bottle?”
“I only had money for one,” Sy yelled back.
Otto led his horse into the corral and the three men moved into the house. Logan crept back to his horse. He knew where the house was, now all he had to do was bring his posse there to capture the scums.
It was dark by the time Logan returned to town. He took his horse to the livery before starting his short trek home. Logan was always excited to see his beautiful and loving wife. Soon, he’d be able to spend a lot more time with her.
He was walking from the livery toward the boarding house when an acrid smell offended his nostrils, while alerting him to danger at the same time. It was the smell of burning wood. He flew around the corner to see flames coming from the boarding house, and he started to panic. Paulina was in there! He carefully scanned the crowd that had gathered around the house, but he didn’t see either Woody or Paulina.
He ran toward the house but was stopped by one of the men in the water bucket brigade who was trying to put the fire out. “You can’t go in there!”
“My wife’s in there!” Logan broke free and ran into the house. He pulled his bandana up over his nose and mouth and ran up the stairs, shocked to discover that the fire seemed to originate from their suite.
He couldn’t enter the suite; the flames were too high and wild. The heat began to make him feel faint, and he turned and ran back down the stairs. He ran to the nearest water trough to wet his bandana and wash his face before sitting down on the ground and crying. He knew he’d lost his precious wife whom he loved so dearly. He felt as though he had nothing to live for, now that she was gone.
The rest of the night was a blur for Logan. He wandered the streets but always came back to sit in front of the boarding house. That was where he was the next morning, sitting on the wooden walkway with his head in his hands.
Wilhelm Tayler, one of the firefighters, stopped to kneel next to him. He handed Logan Paulina’s gold wedding band and said, “I’m so sorry.”
Logan wandered around town without direction or destination. He had nothing. Where in the blazes had Woody been? He understood about death and how some people needed to go early, but why Paulina? She was his life. He’d never known love before, and it had totally consumed him.
He looked at the ring clenched in his fist. He felt like throwing it as far as he could, but then he remembered that it was all he had left of Paulina. Logan kissed the ring and put it in his pocket.
Chapter Twelve
Logan was more fired up than usual as he and his posse galloped toward Otto Washburn’s house. The town’s mayor said the fire had been set. His wife had tried to escape and he'd found her body lying near the door. Logan kept asking himself: where had Woody been? They'd found only one body in their suite. It had to be the Washburns that killed her, and he aimed to get revenge. He hadn't killed a man yet, but he would, if he had to. Logan secretly hoped the situation would call for him to kill both of the Washburn men.
When Logan and his posse reached the lane that cut off from the main road, they left their horses and crept to the house on foot.
It was just a bit past dawn, and Logan knew they’d probably been drinking the night before, so they’d all be asleep. Perfect. If he weren’t a man of God, he’d storm in there and shoot them all as they lay in their beds, but his love of God, despite Paulina’s death, was as strong as ever. Even though God had allowed Paulina to die, Logan knew it wasn’t God’s fault. He’d given men free will, and because of that, Logan knew God wasn’t to blame but these men were.
The surprise attack was successful. His posse stormed into the two bedrooms and came out with the prisoners that Logan pushed roughly to the ground and tied up. They caught all three of them.
The men were groggy, surprised, and angry.
Logan walked up to Homer and grabbed his collar. “Why did you have to kill my wife”
“I ain’t never killed a woman,” Homer said.
“Then who did?” Logan demanded, tightening his hold on the man’s neck.
“Annie Flynn. Otto’s lady friend.”
Logan let go of Homer and grabbed Otto by the throat. “Where is this Annie Flynn?”
Otto shrugged. “She ain’t never come back here for her thousand dollars,” Otto said.
Now all Logan could think of was who this Annie Flynn was, why the name sounded familiar, and where she was now?
Paulina awoke to find she'd been thrown over the front of a horse. When she tried to sit up, the rider—Woody—helped lift her to a sitting position in front of him.
“What’s going on?” The last she remembered, she was having tea in the suite with Woody and Anita.
Anita rode her horse close to Woody’s. “Can we stop yet? I have to make a nature call, and I’m sure Paulina wants an explanation.”
Woody nodded and slowed his horse. He led them to a shady area and stopped. “Take Paulina with you.”
Paulina watched Woody lead the horses to drink at a creek nearby. She and Anita took a nature break in some thick bushes, not too far away. By the time Woody returned, the women were sitting under a tree and Annie started to confess the whole story. Paulina folded her hands on her lap and listened.
“I was hired by Otto Washburn to kill you for a thousand dollars.” Paulina gasped, but Anita put up her hand and continued. “But once I got to know you and Woody, I just couldn’t do it. I’ve never taken a life before. I thought it would be easy, but you were my friend, so I confessed it all to Woody, and we came up with the plan.
“You see, Paulina, we had no choice but to kidnap you and make it look like you were dead, because if we didn’t, Otto said he would do it and torture you first. I set your flat on fire after Woody took you out and put you on his horse. He rode to the outskirts of town where I met him later. Otto will think you died in the fire.”
“But a fire? Logan must be frantic!”
“I’m sure he is, but we couldn’t tell him or his reaction wouldn’t be real. We had to make those evil men believe you were dead,” Anita said. “Oh, and my real name is Annie.”
“All right, Annie, what did you use for my dead body?”
“We dug up a recent grave and put the poor soul in the room before we torched it. Oh, we put your ring on her finger.”
Paulina looked down at her left hand. “My wedding ring! We need to get word to Logan. We can’t let him suffer any longer. I know how I’d feel if I thought he were dead.”
Annie patted her hand. “Woody will go back and tell him as soon as he gets us settled in Socorro. It’s isn’t far. We’ll get a hotel room, and then Woody will ride back and get Logan.”
“How long will we have to stay in Socorro?” Paulina asked.
Woody patted Paulina’s shoulder. “Just until I let Logan know you’re alive. I’ll bring him back with me.”
“What if the Washburns kill Logan?” Pa
ulina asked.
Woody stood and brushed off his pants. “He’s pretty smart. He can take care of himself. Don’t worry.
“Let’s get moving. It’s just a few more miles.”
“One more question,” Paulina said as she walked to Woody’s horse, “how did you knock me out and throw me over a horse?”
Annie answered, “Easy. I went to the town doctor and complained I wasn’t sleeping, and he gave me a sleeping potion. He said to take one spoonful at bedtime—I put three in your tea.”
“No wonder I feel so groggy,” Paulina said. She reached out and touched Annie’s shoulder. “Thank you, dear friend, for changing your mind and not killing me.”
Annie mounted her horse. “How could I kill the best friend I've ever had?”
Once Woody had the ladies settled in a Socorro hotel room, he told them the town was sixteen miles southeast of El Paso. It would only take him a day to get back to El Paso. He would return, hopefully, with Logan.
Paulina leaned on the door after Woody had left. “Dear Lord, keep Woody safe and let him bring Logan safely back to me. Amen.”
“Were you praying?” Annie asked.
Paulina nodded.
“Does that stuff work?”
“It does if you understand how it works. Logan explained it to me. Would you like me to teach you?”
Annie shrugged. “I don’t think so. I’ve never been one for religion. I suppose I should tell you about my real background: I wasn’t from Wyoming, and I've never lived on a ranch.
“I grew up in a one-parent home. My mother didn’t know who my father was. I’d walk down the streets of Fort Worth and wonder, after I'd passed a man in the street, if he could be my father.
“My mother brought home a lot of 'uncles,' and my four brothers and two sisters were no better than she. Before I left home, we had a house full of babies without any fathers. My brothers skipped town, probably because they had gotten other girls in trouble. That wasn’t the kind of life I wanted, but the one I got was even worse.
“I’d planned on a career in a saloon. I wasn’t going to go down the same path my older sisters had. I wasn’t intimate with anyone until I met Otto. He was a good-looking man when I met him, tall and slim with that same, blond hair. Since then, he’s let himself get mean and sloppy, but I had nowhere else to go. I tried getting a job in a saloon, but I was told I wasn’t pretty enough. Imagine that—most women have to use henna to get red hair, and I had it naturally. Of course, I also had the freckles.
“I’m not trashy, Paulina—I swear, Otto was the first man I was ever intimate with. Lately, I’ve tried to stay away from him. Since he’s met up with his brother, he’s been nasty, and his hygiene has been terrible. I thought that the thousand dollars would get me free of them both.”
“My background wasn’t too different from yours, Annie. I never went to church or thought about religion, but now I can't live without it. Goodness, what do people in trouble do? If they don’t have a god, things would seem completely hopeless. God doesn’t always grant our prayers, but He knows what’s best for us, and that’s something I wouldn’t give up for anything. Logan taught me about the Bible and Heaven and Hell.” Paulina shrugged. “I suppose it’s just a matter of how you want to live your life.”
“So, if I want Woody to marry me, and I pray for it, it will happen?” Annie asked.
“First, let me say how thrilled I am that you want him to marry you, but I’m not sure if God answers prayers about love. I’m new to God and prayer. I’d have to ask Logan, but it certainly can’t hurt to pray for it.”
“What else can God do for me?” Annie asked.
“You’d never be alone. He’s always with us. That makes me feel secure and loved.” Paulina’s voice raised to an excited pitch. “Oh, did I mention He loves us?”
“How can He love me? He doesn’t know me.”
“Yes, He does. Logan told me He knew me before I was even born.”
“How can you know that for sure?”
“The Bible says so. The Bible was written by God as sort of a rule or guide-book as to how we should live our lives. He inspired men He trusted to write His words to make up the Bible. It's been around for ages and no one has ever found an untruth in it. Logan’s been reading it to me every night. The Bible is sometimes hard to understand, as back in those days, they wrote in a different way, but Logan explains it to me.”
“Can you recall something from the book that proves He loves me?” Annie asked.
“Yes: 'For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son to die for us.'” Paulina tapped her chin. “I think that’s how the verse goes…it's something like that, anyway.”
Paulina spent the rest of the afternoon explaining God and the Bible to Annie. By the end of their talk, Paulina was convinced Annie would be a praying person, given that she was interested, responsive, and serious.
The two friends spent most of their time while Woody was gone in talking about their early home lives, their hopes and wishes, and about God and the Bible.
Woody was gone two full days and Paulina and Annie were worried something had happened to him. Paulina was thrilled when Annie asked her to pray with her for Woody and Logan's safe return.
When Woody finally arrived on the third day, he gave the secret knock, and Annie sailed to the door to let him in before flying into his arms.
After hugging her for several seconds, he let her go and faced Paulina who had been too afraid to ask why Logan wasn’t with him. She prayed silently, Please God, don’t let him be dead.
Her face must have been pale and frightened-looking because Annie ran to her and put her arm around her. “Tell her: where’s Logan?”
“Well,” Woody said as he leaned on the door post, “he isn’t dead.”
Paulina let out the breath she’d been holding. She let Annie lead her to the bed where she sat with her hands covering her face. When, at last, she looked up, it was to ask Woody, “So, where is he?”
“After he heard about what they supposedly did to you, he went after them with a vengeance. They’re all locked up. The very next day, he quit his job as sheriff and left town with two other people. That’s all I could get from the people I asked.” Woody closed the door and walked to Paulina. He knelt and took her shaking hands. “Where do you think he might have gone?”
Paulina shrugged. Tears ran down her face. “I don’t know.” Then her eyes widened. “Wait—he might be on his way back to Laredo. He said he’d use the money from the bounties to buy tombstones for his sister and her friend. I’m sure that’s where he’s headed.”
Woody stood. “Get your things together, then. Let’s get started following his trail.”
Chapter Thirteen
Woody bought the supplies they’d need for traveling and a horse for Paulina, and they trotted to the trail alongside the Rio Grande River.
“This is the same trail we came to El Paso on,” Paulina said. “I remember this spot.” She pointed to an old campfire.
Woody examined the ashes in the fire. “This isn’t a recent one. I’m not exactly sure when Logan and his party left El Paso, but since we’re joining the trail in Socorro, we’re a good sixteen miles south of where he started. Chances are he isn’t too far ahead of us if he used this trail.”
The news excited Paulina. She balked when they wanted to stop to rest, because she just wanted to keep on going. She knew the horses needed a rest, however, so she agreed, but she was anxious to start again.
Paulina felt a bit uncomfortable watching the love blossoming between Woody and Annie. She was happy for them, but watching them made her miss Logan even more. The two of them put their bedrolls beside each other. While they didn’t carry on, thank goodness, they did cuddle with each other, which made her feel very alone, lying on her bedroll by herself.
She felt badly that Logan had thought she was dead all this time. They had to catch up to him so he could see she was very much alive. If she had known about Woody and Annie�
��s plan ahead of time, she’d have insisted that Logan be informed of the plan. It was too cruel to let him think she was dead.
Each time they passed a campfire, Woody felt the ashes and shook his head. Paulina wondered where Logan and his party had made camp for the night or if, perhaps, they had taken a different trail.
“Logan told me there are several trails from El Paso to Laredo. Maybe Logan took a different trail,” Paulina said that night when they camped.
“It’s possible,” Woody said. “In that case, we’ll meet up with him in Laredo.”
Paulina felt disappointed. She thought she might see him sooner. It would take another four or five days to reach Laredo, weather permitting.
“One of the other trails meets up with this one just north of Laredo at Del Rio,” Woody said.
Paulina grimaced. “What did Logan do with my…my body?”
Woody nodded to Annie, who took the cue to put her arm around Paulina for what Woody was about to tell her.
“Logan had the carpenter build 'you' the finest coffin from the best wood they could find. He placed your ring on the chest of the body and buried it under a maple tree in St. John’s Cemetery. He had a church choir sing, Nearer My God to Thee at the service. Everyone in town showed up, since he was the sheriff then. After, he marched up to the mayor and handed him his badge.”
Tears rolled down Paulina’s face. “Oh, poor Logan.”
“He packed and left town. According to the barber, a man and a woman went with him. He wasn’t sure who they were, as he only saw them riding away,” Woody said.
“A woman?” Both Paulina and Annie chimed together.
