Joe scratched his head. “I—I ain’t eager to go up against him. They say he’s the best of the Texas gunfighters.”
“We ain’t gonna go against him—we’re gonna trick him.”
Joe’s sharp face paled. “I don’t like this. When an Injun wants revenge, he don’t quit until he gets it. That’s why Wilson and Smitty were lynched.”
Hurd cursed again. “Well, the scarred-up bastard is in for a surprise. We’ll ambush that devil at the three cottonwoods when he returns Sunny.” He strode over to the fireplace and reached up on the mantel for the rusty running iron. “He thought he was leavin’ me a message with this, but I’ll take it with me and this time, after we geld him, we’ll brand him to death.”
Joe gulped his drink with a shaky hand. “God, boss, ain’t we done enough? Don’t you figure some of them Injun spirits is wantin’ to take revenge on us? If we don’t kill him, we’ll be lookin’ over our shoulders the rest of our days.”
“I don’t intend we should be lookin’ over our shoulders.” Hurd smiled wickedly and drank right out of the bottle. “Once we get Sunny back and safely out of the way, then we’ll make him wish he’d never been born. Tell your cowhands what’s up. I’ll take my rifle—”
“I thought you said we was to come unarmed for the exchange,” Joe said.
“We’ll hide our guns,” Hurd snapped, “and the running iron. He’ll think ‘raped’ once I put that hot running iron up his—”
“Oh, God, boss. Can’t we just kill him?”
“You weakling!” Hurd pushed him against the fireplace. “He’s humiliated me in front of all Wyoming. Everyone’s talkin’ about this, him lynching my men, stealing my woman. I want to make sure everyone gets the message that nobody messes with Hurd Kruger or the K Bar ranch, or he’ll make them pray for death!”
Joe moved to go out the door. “Boss, you don’t think he’d well, you know, take Miss Sunny and ride out?”
“Are you loco?” Hurd snarled. “He wouldn’t dare, not with Hurd Kruger’s woman. Besides, she’s a very obedient, innocent girl. She wouldn’t go with him without him tying her up and abducting her. Anyone knows a decent woman would kill herself rather than be defiled by some no-count half-breed Injun.”
The man was definitely losing his sanity, Joe thought. “Okay, boss, I’ll get some sleep and have the boys ready to ride before sundown. You ought to get some sleep, too.”
“Don’t tell me what to do!” Hurd threw the bottle at him. “You think I can sleep, knowing my darling is in that Injun bastard’s possession? When I think what he might be doing to her in revenge for what I did to him—”
“Don’t think about it, boss. We’ll hang him up to one of them cottonwoods tonight like we should have done fifteen years ago.”
“Damn Swen for that anyway.” Hurd mumbled and returned to his chair before the fire. “I can hardly wait for sundown. Now get out of here!”
Joe fled, and Hurd only got up to get another drink and stared moodily into the fire for hours. It would be dawn soon, but he didn’t feel like sleeping.
Diablo and Sunny did not speak; instead, they both watched the sun move relentlessly across the sky. Finally he began to break camp. “Sunny, it’s time. You’d better gather up your stuff.”
She came out of the cave, her eyes swollen and red. “I can’t convince myself you killed my dad; maybe because of how I feel about you.”
Diablo sighed. “I told you I didn’t. Now don’t make this any tougher than it has to be, Princess.”
She swallowed back her tears. “You’re so stubborn, and I don’t want to see you killed. You’ve insulted Hurd, and he’s a proud man. I doubt if he’ll abide by the agreement.”
Diablo laughed. “I’d be shocked if he did. Have you decided to let me take you and put you on the train?”
“No. I’ll make my own decision about that, but I have decided I’m not going to marry him.” She shook her head. “I know Hurd. If I don’t go to meet him and let him see I’m all right, he’ll never believe I didn’t want to marry him, and he’ll keep hunting you forever.”
He reached for his bridle and paused, staring at her. “Are you sure you’ve got the guts to stand up to him, or will you let him force you to stay here and marry him?”
“I’ve changed, Diablo. I’m not a pliant, obedient, ideal woman anymore.” Her voice was resolute as she squared her small shoulders. “I’ll tell him I’ve got the money to go to Boston, and he can go to hell if he doesn’t like it.”
“And after that, I’ll kill him,” Diablo said as he put the bridle on Onyx.
“You know he’ll have tricks up his sleeve. He won’t take a chance.” She walked over and put her hand on his arm.
“What’s that to you?” he shrugged.
She looked at him, torn by conflict, yet she loved him with no reservations. “I don’t suppose you’d reconsider letting me go with you?”
He shook her hand off. “You still think I killed your father?”
“I—I don’t know what to think. My head says you did, but my heart says I have to trust you, believe you. I love you, Diablo.”
His eyes moistened, and he blinked rapidly. “You’re one in a million, baby, but we both know this can’t work. We’d be drifting from town to town. I lead a lonely life, Princess, one saloon, one dirty town after another. It’s no life for a girl like you. Sooner or later, some young dude will be faster, and I’ll die in a puddle of my own blood.”
“I thought my love could change you,” she sighed heavily and turned away. “I thought you might want to become a rancher with a little spread and a family, but you’ll always be a killer, a gunfighter, I reckon.”
“I’m playin’ the cards I’m dealt.” He walked over and began to saddle her horse. “We’ve talked enough. Gather up your things.”
He looked at her, and there were tears running down her face. “I—I’ll never forget you,” she whispered.
And he would never, ever forget her. He wanted to run to her, take her in his arms, and kiss her and never let her go, but of course, he was headed to a showdown and, knowing Kruger’s dirty tricks, he might not walk away from it. Revenge is a cold, hard master. “Are you ready to go?”
She looked around the campsite, her eyes blinded with tears. “You’ll take the dog with you?”
He nodded. “I need a friend. The trail back to Texas is long and lonely.”
“All right then, I’m ready.” She swallowed hard. It wouldn’t do to break down and cry in front of this proud, cold killer.
“Here,” he gestured, “let me help you mount up.”
She blinked away her tears and walked over to her horse. He put his big hands on her small waist, and she had to struggle not to throw herself against him and kiss him and kiss him, not caring who he was or what he was. She loved him just the same. “Hurd and his boys will probably ambush you.”
He nodded, his face an impassive mask. “If they do, can you still insist he put you on the train?”
“Yes. I won’t marry him, no matter what.”
He wavered, looking down into those eyes blue as a Texas sky. For a moment, he allowed himself the luxury of thinking how it could be, sharing a lifetime with this woman. He could build a small spread out in the wild country of the Big Bend, and every night he could hold her and make love to her. And there would be children, pretty little girls like her and big strong boys like him. At night, they would sit before the fireplace, and it would be warm and he wouldn’t be alone ever again.
“Diablo,” she whispered, “that thousand dollars would give us a start, build us a cabin.”
“No! Damn it, no! I can’t change now, not after all these years!” He spun away from her, angry with himself that he cared so much about her that he would do almost anything for her.
“Well, then, kiss me one more time, and it’s settled.” She hungered for one more kiss to remember him by all those lonely years ahead of her. For some women, there is only one man—and this was hers, and
she was going to lose him.
“No,” he snapped, “let’s not prolong this. Mount up.”
“Aren’t you going to help me up?”
He knew if he put his arms around her, he wouldn’t be able to turn her loose. He would pull her so tightly into his protective embrace that he would never, never let her go. “You can mount up by yourself, can’t you?”
“Yes.” Maybe she had been mistaken. Maybe she had only been a plaything, a pawn in his game. She mounted the blood bay.
He swung up on the big black stallion, not looking at her. “Gunfighters never change, Princess. They die violent deaths, some sooner, some later.”
She didn’t answer and choked back a sob. If she tried to speak, she would cry hysterically, and it wouldn’t change things. She’d go to Boston, all right, but she yearned for freedom and his love. Together they could live in the wide open spaces of the Lone Star state.
He tried not to look at her because it couldn’t work, the princess and the ugly beast, not in a million years. He glanced up at the sun. The day was warm, and the sun was a big orange ball hovering near the far horizon. “Let’s ride out,” he ordered and whistled to Wolf. The dog ran ahead of the pair as they rode toward the three cottonwoods.
Chapter 19
With a heavy heart, she followed Diablo’s lead as they rode out. There didn’t seem to be anything she could do to stop this showdown. Either the gunfighter would kill Hurd, or Hurd would kill him. All she could do was watch and then get on the train and leave, no matter which man died. If Hurd won, he would try to talk her into staying, but Dad’s last wishes or not, she had made her decision not to marry Hurd Kruger.
Back at the ranch, Hurd took one last drink and stared at the grandfather clock and then looked to Joe. “All right, it’s almost time. Get the boys, and let’s go kill us a half-breed.” He reached to get the running iron off the mantel.
“Maybe he won’t bring Miss Sunny to the showdown,” Joe said as they went out the door to the barn.
“He’d better.” Hurd held up the running iron. “My mistake was not killin’ him fifteen years ago instead of just hurtin’ him a little. This time, we’ll put a hot iron on every inch of him until he looks like a hunk of charred beef. If he ain’t dead by then, we’ll lynch him.”
“You ain’t gonna do that in front of the lady?” Joe asked.
“No, I’ll have one of the boys take her back to the ranch first. She need never know, but she’d probably be happy to watch, after him holding her captive all these days.”
Joe yelled at the bunkhouse, and a couple of men came out.
Hurd said, “Is that all the crew we got left?”
Joe nodded. “I told you that. I haven’t been able to hire anyone. Nobody wants to work for a man they think is . . .” He didn’t finish.
“Loco?” Hurd laughed and rubbed his unshaven chin. “I’ll show you who’s loco.” He turned to the other two.
“You men get your rifles. We’re going to meet that damned half-breed.”
The two nodded, and the four of them saddled up.
“Oh,” Hurd ordered, “bring along that dun mare for Sunny to ride home. She’ll be glad to see it.”
“The foal, too?” Joe asked.
“Of course the foal, too,” Hurd snapped. “That mare ain’t gonna want to come without it.”
They saddled up the fine dun mare and brought her out, the long-legged chestnut filly gamboling along beside her.
Hurd grinned. “Start of our fine herd of horses . . . when I get that black stud back. Now let’s go.”
He mounted his sorrel, and the four of them rode out, Joe leading the fine mare, the filly trotting at her mother’s side.
Joe looked over at Hurd and took an uneasy breath. The man looked a little crazy. He wondered if it was the whiskey or his obsession with the girl. “Boss, it spooks me that he wants to meet us at the three cottonwoods. You know what happened there.”
Hurd laughed. “Hell, three cottonwoods is the right place to finish this. That’s where we should have finished it fifteen years ago, but Swen was too soft-hearted.”
They rode along in silence, the sun hanging low, looking like a fried egg in the sky over the far rim of the horizon.
“Boss,” Joe licked his dry lips, “you think this hombre murdered Swen?”
Hurd hesitated. “Of course he did. Nobody else had any reason to.”
“It don’t make no sense,” Joe argued. “It was Swen who saved him from bein’ lynched.”
Hurd snorted. “You think a cold-blooded killer would show any gratitude? Quit thinkin’ so much and concentrate on what we got to do.”
Joe looked up at the sun. “We’re gettin’ there early.”
Hurd nodded. “I planned it that way. When he arrives, if he does, we’ll be ready for him.”
They rode into the clearing and dismounted.
Hurd looked around. “Joe, build a fire and hide the horses over there behind them rocks. I don’t want him to know how many of us there are. You men,” he gestured to the two cowhands, “you get behind those rocks with your rifles. Once we’re sure the young lady is out of the line of fire, take that bastard out of the saddle, but don’t kill him. I got other plans for him. Also, don’t hit that black stud. That horse is valuable.”
Both cowboys frowned. “That don’t seem right, Mister Kruger. We ought to at least give him a chance.”
“Hell, no, we ain’t givin’ him a chance,” Hurd swore, “not any more than you’d give a coyote.”
Both weathered cowboys looked at each other, then shook their heads.
Clint said, “This ain’t fair play, Mr. Kruger. We didn’t sign on to be part of a deliberate ambush. That’s murder, and we don’t want to be hung.”
“Hell, I am the law in this county,” Hurd snarled. “I can do what I want. Now you men do as I said.”
However, the two cowboys were mounting up. The taller Clint said, “Sorry, Mr. Kruger, me and Mart think we’ll ride on and find another spread to work for.”
“Damn you!” Hurd reached for his rifle, but Joe grabbed his arm.
“Let them go, boss. We can handle this alone.”
Hurd took a deep breath. “You’re right, Joe. We don’t need no yellow bellies on this here spread. You two get the hell outta the county. Joe and I can handle this.”
The two cowboys wheeled their horses and rode out.
Grumbling, Hurd handed over his sorrel horse to Joe, taking his rifle and the running iron with him to the center of the clearing. Joe took the horses over behind a distant boulder to graze where they’d be out of the line of fire. The filly was in high spirits, running and kicking up her heels as Hurd built a small fire in the center of the clearing.
“Boss, what are you doin’? He’ll be able to smell that smoke for miles; any Injun could.”
The other looked up at him and grinned. “I mean for him to. I want him to know what’s waitin’ for him when we get him.” He thrust the iron into the fire, and after a minute, it began to glow.
Kruger was either drunk or really a little loco, Joe decided. Maybe this whole thing was a rotten idea. He rolled a cigarette with shaky hands.
“Boss, why don’t we just shoot him on sight and get the girl back? I’ve had bad luck and nightmares ever since that day. What we did wasn’t natural, and torture is something Injuns do. Let’s just make a clean kill and be done with it.”
“Not you, too?” Kruger roared. “I’m surrounded by yellow bellies, even my top hand.” He picked up the hot iron and grinned, “Oh, this is gonna be fun, Joe, listenin’ to him scream!”
Joe winced and backed away. “Boss, the last time, we was all drunk, but I was ashamed after I sobered up. That Injun’s got good reason to come after us, and he won’t give up ’til he gets us. I want to clear out of this state; I don’t wanta be hangin’ from the gate like Smitty and Wilson.”
Kruger looked up from his fire where he had spread a blanket and lain his rifle under the edge. He
stood up and strode over to face the other man. “Why, you lily-livered coyote.” He slapped him across the face with his quirt. “And after you been with me all these years.”
Joe backed away, rubbing his face. “And you been knockin’ me around for more’n fifteen years. I’ve had a bellyful of your abuse.”
“Oh, shut up, damn you,” Hurd dismissed him. “Now get over behind that rock with your rifle.”
Joe took a deep breath and wiped a trickle of blood from his mouth. “I ain’t takin’ orders from you no more. I can find another ranch to work on.” He shook his head, turned, and started toward his white mare, grazing behind the rocks.
“Hell! You can’t quit now—not when I need you to help me take down this half-breed. Come back here!”
Joe kept walking toward his horse.
“Goddamn it! I order you to come back here!” Hurd swore and grabbed for his rifle. Joe kept walking without looking back.
“You low-down—” In a rage, Hurd shot him in the back. Joe took two more steps and then stumbled and went down.
Hurd dropped the rifle, staring at the crumpled figure.
“Joe? Joe, answer me!” He ran to his side, struggled to turn him over. “I—I didn’t mean it, Joe. You’re the last friend I got! Get up, Joe, I didn’t mean it. I was mad—that’s all.” He turned the body over. Joe’s brown eyes stared sightlessly at the sky, and blood soaked his denim jacket. Hurd shook him. “Stop jokin’ around. I need you, Joe. I can’t take on this gunfighter alone. I can’t run the ranch without you.”
Joe didn’t answer, and Hurd gradually stopped shaking him. What to do now? The sun was almost on the rim of the far hills, and in a few minutes, Hurd would be all alone against the best gunfighter in Texas. Think, Hurd, think, he cautioned himself.
After a deep breath, he murmured, “Hurd, you’re the biggest, most feared rancher in Johnson County. You can handle one lousy half-breed. You don’t need Joe; you can hire more cowhands. You got thousands of cows and the makin’s of a fine herd of horses. All you need is Sunny beside you as your wife; that’s what matters.” He took off his Stetson and wiped the black dye from his sweaty forehead. “Yep, I don’t need Joe. I’ll get my woman back, my fancy rifle, everything that Injun bastard stole from me.”
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