To Reap and to Sow

by J. R. Roberts

  Before anyone could snap their reins, another voice made itself heard from among the posse. “They’re probably already long gone by now,” it said. “We chased ’em off. Ain’t that good enough?”

  Sheriff Copeland turned in his saddle so he could get a good look at the man who’d spoken. “Most men know they’re gonna be chased when they tear out like that. One or two of them might have even caught some lead along the way, which means they’ll have to stop and lick their wounds. Either way, they could still be nearby, so shut your mouth and do the job I swore you in to do!”

  After that, nobody else among the posse wanted to say a thing.

  They rode ahead for a few more miles and kept on going. Even after Clint was certain they’d reached their limit, Copeland led them farther along the eastward trail. Considering they didn’t have a tracker along for the ride, Clint soon began to think that there was no real reason for them to continue riding.

  It was always painful to admit when the naysayers had it right, so Clint kept his mouth shut and his eyes open.

  As they approached a fork in the trail that was marked by some tall grass and a cluster of large rocks, Clint came to a realization: the sheriff may have wanted to catch up with the gunmen, but his posse wanted nothing to do with them.

  The men who had been sworn in barely seemed to take their eyes from the trail ahead of them. Every last one of them flinched when they caught sight of a critter scampering across the trail or of a bird been flushed from its hiding spot, but none of them made a real reach for their weapons. In fact, Clint was convinced more than half of the men would have shot off a toe or killed their own horse by accident if they’d tried to clear leather.

  Sheriff Copeland led the men toward the rocks as Clint rode up alongside him.

  “Hold on a moment, Sheriff,” Clint said.

  Copeland signaled for the others to stop, and the posse was more than happy to oblige. “What’s on your mind?” Copeland asked.

  “Maybe we should fan out and circle around toward town. There’s not much else this way beside more trail.”

  “Yeah,” one of the posse members eagerly added. “If they was out here, we would have seen those bastards by now.”

  Surveying the land in front of him, Copeland nodded slowly. “I guess you’re right. Half of you men circle around to the north and the other half will circle to the south. All of us will make our way back to town and fire a few shots into the air if you spot the robbers.”

  Clint led some of the men to the south as if he was herding sheep. “I’ll take this group and you can take the other.”

  “Fine. Let’s get moving.”

  Smalls peeked around the rock and started laughing under his breath. “Looks like them laws are dumber than I thought. They’re close enough for me to spit on and they’re heading back.”

  “Should we finish them off?” Vincent asked.

  After a bit of consideration, Smalls shook his head. “Nah. Let’s just get back.”

  Mark let out the breath he’d been holding and felt his heart start to beat again inside his chest. Seeing the lawmen actually turn and leave before taking the few more steps that would have sparked another gunfight made him feel like the luckiest man alive.

  “What about these two?” Vincent asked as he fixed his eyes on Mark.

  When Smalls looked at Mark again, he had the same coldness in his eyes as Vincent. Actually, the coldness Smalls showed was tempered with a bit of wildness that made it even more unsettling.

  “They’re comin’ along with us,” Smalls declared. “They did a good job of covering our backs. Besides, it ain’t like we can just let ’em go.”

  “We could always leave them here,” Vincent offered. “That way, they won’t say anything to anyone.”

  “When you hear about the deal I can offer you men,” Mark sputtered, “you’ll be glad to have us along.”

  Smalls bared his teeth in a wolfish grin. “We’ll just have to see about that.”

  THIRTY-FOUR

  Having taken a roundabout way to get back to town, Clint found Sheriff Copeland to be just short of agreeable when he returned. The lawman stood outside his office with his arms folded sternly across his chest. Upon seeing Clint riding down the street, Copeland marched straight ahead to meet him.

  “Where the hell have you been?” Copeland demanded.

  Clint looked around just to make sure the sheriff was addressing him. “Was I supposed to report for duty? I thought I was just a member of a posse.”

  “You ain’t even that anymore. There is no posse.”

  “Fine. Then I’ll be on my way.”

  Copeland hopped to the side so he could stay more or less in front of Clint. “The rest of the men already came by to collect their fees. I didn’t see you among them.”

  “Keep the fee,” Clint replied.

  “That isn’t exactly what concerned me. It seems you went off on your own.”

  Clint sighed and weighed a few options in his head. Since he and the sheriff were the only ones on the street, Clint met the lawman’s gaze and lowered his voice a bit. “That posse you rounded up was a joke.”

  “Those men ride along with me whenever I need help.”

  “And I’m sure they’re quick to collect their fee. Have they ever caught anyone?”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Copeland asked.

  “Just what I said. They didn’t look too anxious to actually confront anyone out there. If they’d ridden far enough to meet up with anyone, I’d say most of them would have been killed right then and there.”

  Although the sheriff wasn’t happy to hear that, he wasn’t about to refute it. Finally, he had to choke back his anger and let out an exasperated breath. “They’re not gunfighters, that’s for certain.”

  “Maybe you should think about hiring another deputy or two. Even if you narrowed your sights to a few men who could handle themselves in the event of actually stumbling onto an armed man, you might have a good posse. It defeats the purpose if you just bring along a bunch of cowards who are more ready to head home than to do the job they were hired for.”

  “You’re right. Truth is, this town hasn’t really seen the likes of those gunmen. There wasn’t even much to rob from the bank.” Narrowing his eyes a bit, Copeland added, “But if you saw something out there, your duty as a sworn member of that posse is to tell me what it was.”

  Clint took a moment to consider that and finally nodded. “You’re right, Sheriff. I think I saw some men lying in some tall grass not too far from where I had us stop and turn around.”

  “And you didn’t say anything?”

  “No, sir. That would have led to shots being fired, and I wasn’t about to have something like that happen when I was surrounded by the likes of that posse. Frightened men with guns are more dangerous than a burning powder-keg.”

  Copeland let out a sigh and ran his fingers through his perfectly clipped hair. “As true as that may be, those men could have been the ones who killed the locals during the robbery.”

  “And they could have killed you or any number of the posse members before it was done.”

  “Are you certain about that?”

  “Yes, sir,” Clint replied without batting an eye. “I am.”

  “Well, you seem pretty knowledgeable about such things. Couldn’t you have done something against a few men lying in the grass?”

  “I only caught a glimpse of one or maybe two men lying in hiding in a perfect spot for them to start picking targets off with a rifle. That posse of yours rode up and were shouting back and forth loudly enough to let the whole world know they were coming. What surprises me the most is that the men in the grass didn’t pick off a few of us before we got that close.”

  “Maybe they were just waiting to see if we’d spotted them,” Copeland offered.

  “My thinking exactly.”

  “I’m still not comfortable with letting them go like that.”

  “Neither am I,” Clint replied.
“But, as a friend of mine recently reminded me, there’s a time to reap and a time to sow. That wasn’t the time to reap.”

  “But what were we sowing?” Copeland asked.

  “A little confidence. You’d be surprised how much damage a little confidence can do to a reckless man.”

  “I guess you’re right. It would have been nice to catch them, though.”

  “They’ll be caught, Sheriff. Don’t worry about that.” After tipping his hat, Clint steered Eclipse toward the corner. He then snapped his reins and headed toward the seamstress’s shop.

  Copeland watched Clint go as his deputy stepped up next to him.

  “That the man who was missing from the posse?” the deputy asked.

  “Yes, it was.”

  “He tell you where he went after leaving all the others?”

  “No.”

  The deputy stood in the doorway and watched until Clint rounded the comer and disappeared from sight. “Something about him don’t seem right.”

  “Maybe, maybe not. Don’t concern yourself with it too much, though. You need to look for some more men to ride with us when we head back out after those killers.”

  “Should I round up the boys we normally use?”

  Copeland gritted his teeth and shook his head. “No. See what Mr. Lockley and his son are doing. They served in the Federal Army. I’m going to see about hiring another deputy to help out full-time.”

  “I bet I could get the regular boys a lot quicker.”

  “I’m sure you can. Just do what I told you, all right?”

  THIRTY-FIVE

  Tina was sitting on a small bench outside the seamstress’s shop when Clint rode up and brought Eclipse to a stop in the street. She took her sweet time getting up and made sure to sigh loudly enough for him to hear as she made her way to her horse.

  “The shop’s been closed for hours,” she announced.

  “Then why didn’t you go to the hotel? I’m sure it’s a lot more comfortable than sitting on a bench.”

  “Because I hoped you’d be back before I needed to do that. Daddy’s probably worried sick.”

  “Well, I’m here,” Clint said. “Let’s go home.”

  Reaching up to grab the saddle horn, Tina put one foot in the stirrup and then stopped. She looked over at him and asked, “Isn’t it a bit late to be riding all the way home?”

  “It’s not that far.”

  “We could still stay in the hotel, you know.”

  “We?”

  “Sure,” Tina replied with a little smirk. “No need for you to sleep outside when I’m all cozy in a warm bed.”

  She managed to put a bit of a purr into her voice that ran through Clint like soft fingertips along his back. He would have been lying if he told her the offer wasn’t tempting. Then again, he figured that saying anything along those lines would only cause Tina to up the ante. Clint knew himself well enough to be certain he wouldn’t last long under such circumstances.

  “We need to get back to your farm,” Clint said. “Wes is going to be worried and the bank robbers aren’t caught yet.”

  “Bank robbers?” Tina asked casually.

  “Don’t tell me you were here this whole time and you didn’t know the bank was robbed before we arrived?”

  “Oh, that’s right,” she said under her breath as she slid her foot a bit deeper into her stirrup. “I did hear something about that. If they’re out there, perhaps it would be better for us to stay put. At least, until morning.”

  “No. We should be heading back.”

  Pausing after lifting herself up halfway into the saddle, Tina let her other leg dangle before swinging it over her horse’s back. Even though she wore a dress that covered her down to her ankles, the position she was in gave Clint a lingering view of the curve of her back and the inviting roundness of her backside. “Are you sure about that?”

  “Yes, Tina,” Clint forced himself to say. “I’m sure.”

  “It seems like someone else thinks differently.”

  Before Clint could ask for an explanation, he saw Sheriff Copeland round the corner on his horse. The lawman fixed his eyes on Clint and rode directly to him.

  “Mr. Adams,” Copeland said. “I’ve taken everything you said under consideration and I agree with you wholeheartedly.”

  “Thanks. I’m glad I could help.”

  “You can help by riding with me now as we make one more attempt at trying to track those killers down.”

  “It’s a bit dark for that now, isn’t it?”

  “Maybe, but time is of the essence,” Copeland said. “Since the hour’s getting late, the killers are probably trying to find a place to make a camp, and that means they could make a fire. Even if they don’t, they can’t get too far, which means we should be able to catch up to them.”

  Looking back at Tina, Clint said, “I have other commitments. I was just about to accompany this lady back to her home.”

  “Good evening, Miss Petrowski,” Copeland said. “If you’d like, I could send someone to tell your father you’re in safe hands. As far as that goes, I could just have some of the boys escort you back to your property.”

  “If Clint’s not going back, then neither am I,” Tina said. “I think I’ll stay in the hotel.”

  Copeland shrugged. “That’d be fine. I’ll even arrange for you to spend the night for free. That is, if Clint decides to help me follow his own advice.”

  Clint looked at the smug little grin on Tina’s face and had to laugh. “Looks like you’ve got me. Do you think one of your boys would mind keeping an eye on the Petrowski farm for the night?”

  “You expecting trouble?”

  “Not as such, but there are killers on the loose. If your boys are headed out that way to tell Wes what’s going on, then one could stay and see that Wes doesn’t get introduced to the killers if we flush them out.”

  “I’ll send my deputy,” Copeland said. “That is, if you’d help me again.”

  “Let’s get going,” Clint replied. “No use wasting time.”

  “All right then,” Tina said. “You’ll know where to find me, Clint.”

  THIRTY-SIX

  Clint returned well after midnight and rode directly to the only hotel in town. Like most everything else in Thickett, the hotel was perfectly maintained and very tidy. The register was aligned with the edge of the desk so well that Clint didn’t want to touch it as he looked for Tina’s signature.

  “Mr. Adams?” the fellow behind the front desk asked.

  “That’s me.”

  “I saw you with Sheriff Copeland. Did you find the killers?”

  Clint shook his head. “Nope, but we searched the area well enough to know they’re long gone. I can only think of a few places that are close enough for them to rest up while staying hidden. They’ll be caught before you know it.”

  “Splendid,” the clerk said with a beaming smile. “You’d be looking for Miss Petrowski’s room?”

  “That’s right.”

  “She’s expecting you. It’s number four at the end of the hall. Here’s the spare key.”

  Clint took the key that was handed to him, but didn’t walk away just yet. “Has there been anything else happening here in town?”

  “Not any more shootings, if that’s what you mean. No, it’s been nice and quiet.”

  Since he was too tired to keep the conversation going, Clint walked down the hall and stopped in front of the door marked with a large number four. He fit the key into the lock and pushed the door open. It swung on well-oiled hinges, allowing Clint to walk into a good-sized room that was lit by a single candle.

  Tina lay stretched out on the bed wearing nothing but a thin white slip. The flickering light coming from the single candle danced along the ample curves of her body in a way that made every shadow look like it was caressing her.

  She slowly shifted until she was on her stomach and facing the door. “I’ve been waiting up for you,” she said while brushing the hair from her face.r />
  “I hope you didn’t get too comfortable. We’re leaving.”

  Tina’s head snapped up and her eyes widened. “What? But it’s the middle of the night.”

  “And I know for a fact the trail’s clear. We can get back to your farm with enough time to get a few hours of sleep.”

  For a few seconds, Tina just stared at Clint as if she was expecting him to do a dance for her. Then, while shaking her head, she slowly began to crawl off the bed. “You’re really going to drag me out of here, aren’t you?”

  “Yep.”

  “Really?”

  Clint grinned and bent down to pick up the dress that was lying on the floor. “I can think of plenty other things I’d rather be doing, but we really need to get going.” Before she could say another word, he added, “Really.”

  Tina snatched the dress from Clint’s hand and pulled it on over her head. “Fine. I just hope you know what you’re missing.”

  “Believe me, I’ve been thinking about that quite a bit.”

  Once she’d gotten the dress on, Tina straightened it and made sure it was properly tied and buckled in all the right places. The expression on her face was a bit softer when she looked at him again. “I heard all about what happened with those robbers. You’re truly brave for chasing after them like that.”

  “Let’s just get going before I have to drag myself along with you out of this room.”

  Seeing the torture she was inflicting upon Clint seemed to cheer Tina up. She took no small amount of pleasure from bending slowly at the waist to pick up her boots and then allowing her skirt to fall away to reveal a generous portion of her legs while lacing up the boot. “You really are missing a lot, you know,” she whispered.

  Clint’s eyes wandered from the arch of Tina’s foot, all the way along the slope of her calf and up to the creamy skin of her supple thigh. As he looked at her, Clint saw Tina’s leg open just a little bit before being lowered to the floor so she could stand upright.

  “I know,” he said breathlessly. “Believe me, I know.”