Connie and the Cowboy (Outlaw Gold)

by Mildred Colvin

  God, that didn’t look so good for Brett. I sure don’t want to do this, but if You give us that miracle we need, and if it’s what You really want, I’ll let Brett go free. He can have that annulment he was talkin’ about when we first got married. I reckon I always knowed Charles Brett Norris the fourth was too good for the likes of me. It’ll fair break my heart to let him go, but I won’t say nothin’ long as he’s safe. I reckon that’s all, God. Amen.

  “This looks official, all right.” The sheriff looked up from the badge in his hand. He handed it back to Curly. “How about you tell me exactly what’s going on here?”

  Curly looked smug as a possum that’d outsmarted the hounds. “Sure, Sheriff.” He nodded toward Brett. “Norris here is part of a gang of outlaws that rode through Purgatory, Arkansas, little less than a month ago. They held up the bank and shot a man down in cold blood. Everbody got away exceptin’ him and one other. Sheriff Burns took him in and tried him for murder. The night before his hangin’ he broke out of jail and took her hostage.”

  Connie cringed inside at the sneer he tossed her way. She caught the sheriff’s attention. “Sir, can I say somethin’?”

  He sat on the edge of his desk and nodded. “Go ahead.”

  “My daddy always said a feller could be truthful without tellin’ everthing they knowed.” She glanced at Curly. “I reckon the same goes for lyin’ only in a backward sort of way. See, there was some truth in what Curly said.”

  “Curly?” The sheriff frowned. “Who’s Curly?”

  “Him.” She pointed. “Deputy Deems.”

  “Now wait just a minute—” Curly sputtered.

  The sheriff held his hand up. “Be quiet, please.” With his hand still raised, he directed his attention toward Connie. “Please explain why you call Deputy Deems Curly.”

  Connie shrugged. “’Cause Curly was his name when he run with my daddy’s outlaw gang. He didn’t have no hair back then. I reckon he shaved it off. Now he’s got hair and a mustache. That’s why I didn’t know him when he followed me to Purgatory two years ago and took the job of deputy.”

  Curly started to protest again, but the sheriff stopped him. “Please go on, Miss.”

  “Mrs. Me and Brett got married after I broke him out of my uncle’s jail so’s he could show me the way to Springfield.”

  “I see.” The sheriff started to nod then shook his head. Didn’t look as if he saw at all.

  “Brett didn’t kill nobody. I figured that out real quick. Anybody could see he ain’t no outlaw.”

  “Am I to assume that you know outlaws when you see them?” Amusement danced in the sheriff’s eyes.

  “I rode with my daddy for eight years until just afore my sixteenth birthday. I seen plenty of outlaws come and go. Curly joined up with us about a year afore the shootout that wiped out the gang.” She sent a scorn-filled look at Curly. “I reckon he’s one of them that got away. Now he’s tryin’ to get away with my daddy’s gold.”

  The sheriff looked at Deems with raised eyebrows. “Can you honestly deny what she just said?”

  Deems shrugged. “I mighta rode with her old man, but I gave that all up when I took this badge. I’m a changed man, Sheriff.”

  “Well, this is very interesting.” The sheriff crossed his arms and turned to Brett. “Mr. Norris, would you care to add anything to this story?”

  Connie stood to the side while Brett told the story all over again including the part just that morning at the cave. No one mentioned Sheriff Burns, even to ask what happened to him. Even Curly didn’t seem to think it strange that he’d disappeared. Or did he know? Maybe he’d left Purgatory before the sheriff. Maybe he didn’t know the sheriff trailed them to that first cave.

  When Brett finished, Jim said his piece. He talked about Brett’s family and how they were all upstanding citizens. He said Brett had never been in trouble, and he didn’t believe for one minute that he’d done any wrong this time. The sheriff’s eyes lit up when Brett told his story of salvation in the jail.

  He grinned real big and said, “Hallelujah! Praise God.”

  A big knot formed in Connie’s chest then and pushed down as if it weighed a ton. Brett, Jim, and the sheriff all sported big smiles while she felt as if all the bad, ugly, and hurtful things in her life had just squeezed themselves into her heart so that she could never be happy again. Curly didn’t look like celebratin’ either.

  Then the sheriff turned to Brett, and the hurt slithered right out of her heart. “I’m letting you go in Jim’s custody while I get to the bottom of this. Make sure you don‘t leave town.”

  Curly opened his mouth, but the sheriff shushed him and pinned Jim with a hard look. “Are you willing to keep an eye on Norris so he doesn’t get into any more trouble?”

  Jim grinned. “I think I can do that.”

  The sheriff nodded and turned to Curly next. “Because of the inconsistencies of your story I’ll have to hold you for a day or two while I check out what you’ve told me.”

  “You can’t do that,” Curly protested. “I’m an officer of the law. I came up here to take that murderin’ skunk back to face what’s comin’ to him. If you detain me, you‘ll be interferrin’ with justice.”

  “In case you haven’t noticed, Deputy Deems, you are out of your jurisdiction here and threatening to kill an innocent young lady isn’t acceptable behavior for a lawman.” The sheriff straightened. “Besides, riding with the Davis gang makes you a wanted man. Most of those who weren’t killed in that shootout three years ago, have been brought in. I was sheriff here at that time and remember it all too well. So, for now, Deputy Deems, I reckon you’re gonna be my guest.”

  Connie held her lips tight so she wouldn’t smile when the bars swung shut on Curly. She turned from his glare and trudged out into the sunshine ahead of Brett and Jim, no longer feeling like smiling. Even after what happened, a bleak, dark gloom settled on her heart. Not even the early summer’s warmth and light surrounding her lifted her spirits. She’d go back to Brett’s family home with him for their family dinner, and she’d go to church with them tonight. But she couldn’t go back on her promise to the Almighty. Not after He’d saved Brett’s hide a third time. Come morning, she’d high tail it out of town so Brett could get that annulment like he said he wanted. Now she understood why he’d held back all these weeks of their marriage. Because a real, forever kind of joining of the two of them just wasn’t meant to be.

  Folks like her and Curly couldn’t be ‘haves’ no matter how hard they tried. Davis was wrong about the gold. It never would have made her a ‘have.’ There wasn’t enough gold in the world for that. Nope. It took something down deep inside a body to be a ‘have.’ And Connie Davis just didn’t have whatever that was. Much as she’d like to be Mrs. Connie Norris the fourth, she might as well be content to stay plain ole Connie Davis without a number in her name because Brett was just one more thing she didn’t deserve.

  ~*~

  Brett rested his arm around Connie’s shoulders. He breathed the fresh air and let his gaze rove over the city square he’d missed for the last five years more than he cared to admit. God had dealt with him as a father chastising his son. He hoped his lessons were finished now that he’d come home. Yet, in spite of all the troubles they’d encountered in Purgatory and along the way, he’d been blessed well beyond his imaginings. Only two more hurdles and then he could settle down to living his life with Connie. He didn’t know who would answer the sheriff’s telegram, but surely the people of Purgatory had known he was innocent. Even Deems knew, although he’d tried to use the false charge of murder to his advantage.

  The second hurdle was Connie’s spiritual relationship with the heavenly Father. She’d softened so much, becoming more interested in the Bible and even bowing her head when he prayed. Surely tonight at church, she would make a commitment to serve the Lord. He smiled at the thought certain he had nothing to worry about.

  He patted his stomach. “We missed church this morning and if we don’t
hustle, we’re going to miss dinner.”

  “You getting hungry?” Jim untied his horse’s reins.

  “Starved might be a better word.” Brett watched Connie untie her horse and mount before he followed suit. “I didn’t get any breakfast this morning.”

  Jim pulled a pocket watch out and flipped it open. “Looks like we’ll have barely enough time to wash up before everyone gets home from church. I’d better get a move on and help Liz with the boys.”

  “We’ll see you there, then. And Jim, thanks for helping. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

  Jim shrugged with a grin. “Wouldn’t have missed it. I’ll see you later.”

  Brett watched his brother-in-law ride off before he turned to Connie with a smile. “Hey, you’re awfully quiet. You okay?”

  “Yeah, just glad that’s done and over.”

  “Are you still angry with me about the gold?” Brett figured she hadn’t liked it when he took the gold into the sheriff’s office, although she hadn’t made a protest.

  She shook her head. “I don’t want that gold no more, Brett. Reckon I learned me a lesson back there at the cave.”

  “A lesson?” Brett followed Connie around the square, catching up to ride beside her. “What kind of lesson?”

  She shrugged, looking as if she’d lost her best friend. Brett figured giving up the gold hadn’t been as easy for her as she’d let on.

  She glanced at him and then away. “I’m a ‘have-not’ like Curly. When he took the gold from me, I saw somethin’ I never seen before.” She turned to Brett, as if searching his understanding. “Curly had the gold, but that didn’t make him a ‘have.’ You’re a ‘have,’ Brett, not me and Curly. It don’t matter how much gold we got, we’ll never be ‘haves.’”

  Brett shook his head. “I don’t think I’m following your line of thought. If the gold doesn’t make a person a ‘have,’ what does?”

  She smiled a sad, little smile that touched his heart. “I can’t rightly say. Seems like there’s somethin’ inside, maybe what’s born into a person, that makes ’em a ‘have.’ It’s like knowin’ when you walk down the street that folks is gonna greet you with a smile. They listen to what you got to say. They sure don‘t throw rocks at you.”

  She glanced back toward the jail. “In case you didn’t notice, Curly’s in jail and you walked free.”

  “I’m innocent.” Brett jerked as if she’d hit him. “Do you think he’s not guilty?”

  “No.” She shook her head. “Course not. That was just my disgruntled ‘have-not’ nature a-talkin’.”

  Brett laughed. “Connie, what you don’t seem to understand is that the something inside a ‘have’ isn’t born into them. I’m praying that you will very soon come to realize that a true ‘have’ is a man or a woman who has accepted God’s love into his or her life. If I’m a ‘have,’ it isn’t because my family has money and lives in a nice, big house. I was one of the biggest ‘have-nots’ ever until your uncle arrested me and sentenced me to die.”

  “That don’t make sense, Brett.” She gave him a disbelieving look.

  Brett sent a plea heavenward for her to understand. “No, not in the natural sense, but think about this. God used my fear of death to get my attention. He’d been knocking on the door to my heart for years, but I never listened to Him until a noose swung in front of my face. That’s when I accepted the sacrifice Jesus made for me. When I gave up my old ways, I became a ‘have.’ A person hasn’t got anything, no matter how rich they are in gold and possessions, until they have God’s forgiveness.”

  They pulled into the lane at Brett’s family home and followed it back to the barn. If only Connie would think about what he’d told her. He breathed a prayer that she’d listen for God’s knock and open the door to her heart. Until that happened, they shouldn’t make their marriage real. Only problem was, how much longer could he live with the sweet temptation of her presence without giving in? Surely tonight at church she’d accept salvation. Tonight had to be the night.

  They finished unsaddling the horses at the barn when the family drove in. Brett’s father stopped near the front door to let his mother and sisters out. Brett unhitched the horse when he stopped at the barn.

  “I could get used to service like this.” Charles Norris rounded the buggy. When Connie stepped out of the barn, he turned toward her with a smile. “Connie, I’m glad to see you’ve made it back home safely.”

  Brett slipped his arm around her waist. “We’ve had a pretty rough time this morning, Father. Connie needs to freshen up before the others come. I’ll walk her in and come back out.”

  “Certainly.” The older man turned away from them to begin unhooking the harness from his horse.

  Brett turned Connie over to Nora who promised to help her prepare a bath. He overheard Nora mention fixing Connie’s hair and grinned. Nora had turned into quite the young lady. He had a hard time associating the refined beauty his sister had become to the little girl he remembered who used to delight in getting into his belongings not that many years ago.

  By the time he reached the barn, his father was leading his horse through the back gate into the pasture with Fugitive and Chester and the bay.

  The three horses lifted their heads and Chester whinnied at the intrusion. A restlessness stirred in Brett’s soul. His father stepped beside him. “You’ve got some good-looking horses there.”

  Brett nodded. “Yes, but there’s not enough land here for four horses.”

  “I imagine Jim would be glad to let you pasture your horses out at his place.” Did he hear a hopeful ring to Father’s voice? “You know we have plenty of room for you and Connie here.”

  Brett stared out at the bright, summer day. When he turned to his father, he didn’t look up to meet his eyes. He was no longer a boy, but a full-grown man. That knowledge moved him strangely, reinforcing his decision. He and Connie could not stay in Father’s house long.

  He smiled. “I don’t see any reason to take up extra space in the house either, Father. We want our own place. A place where Connie and I can live together and make our own way.”

  “So, you do plan to stay here in Springfield?” When his father looked at him with raw hope and pain mingling in his gaze, the weight of Brett’s guilt, accumulated over the last several years, dropped on his heart.

  He covered the burden with a laugh. “That’s right. You don’t know what happened this morning. The short of it is I’m under Jim’s custody until the sheriff gets my name cleared of the murder charge in Arkansas. Until then, I can’t leave town.”

  A wagon pulled in the driveway, cutting off anything his father might have said. The Hurley boys jumped from it one at a time and ran toward them. Elizabeth’s oldest son held a squirming puppy in his arms. “Look what I got, Grandpa.”

  Mr. Norris knelt in front of his three grandsons and admired the puppy they said had appeared on their doorstep that morning.

  Brett walked toward his sister and brother-in-law as a buggy pulled in behind their wagon.

  “Look’s like Kate’s here now.” He draped an arm around Liz’s shoulders. “Come on. Let’s go meet her.”

  Chapter 19

  Brett went through the front door into the house with a couple of bags full of baby things, which he dumped on the living room floor. Did all women pack up the house when they took their babies visiting, or was it just his sisters? He thought of the emotional meeting he’d had with Kate. Her tears and warm embrace at the sight of him had been one more confirmation that he’d done wrong in staying away so long. His oldest sister Della was the only one he hadn’t seen now, and she lived so far away, it’d probably be awhile before he could find time to go see her.

  Brett turned toward the kitchen and found Connie. She seemed more at ease than she’d been since they arrived at the house Friday night. He grinned, watching her slice onions fresh from the garden. Maybe all she needed was to feel a part of the family.

  She stopped to brush a strand of blonde h
air, still dark from her bath, away from her face with the back of her hand. She seemed intense on the task, not noticing his presence.

  “Brett Norris, get out of this kitchen. There’s no room for men in here.” Brett turned at his stepmother’s voice and grinned wider.

  “Kate’s here. I want Connie to come meet her.”

  “And why doesn’t Kate come in and help?” Mary straightened from the stove oven, her face flushed from the heat.

  “Because after almost twelve years of marriage, I still can’t cook.” Kate strolled into the kitchen. She held a baby too young to walk.

  Brett put his arm around his sister’s shoulders and guided her across the room to the table where Connie stood. “Kate, I’d like for you to meet my wife, Connie.” He grinned. “Connie, this is another of my sisters, Mrs. Stephen Denville, otherwise known as Kate. The little one she’s holding is Todd. I just met him a couple of minutes ago.”

  Connie smiled, extending her hand. “I’m proud to meet you.”

  “Thank you. I’m very glad to meet you, too.” Kate grasped Connie’s hand. Her eyes were a soft, warm green as she smiled. The freckles across her nose made her look younger than her years. She slanted a look toward Brett. “I understand you saved this big fella’s life.”

  Connie turned laughing eyes toward Brett. “I’d reckon me and Brett’s even on that score now.”

  “You mean there’s more you haven’t told me?” Kate frowned up at Brett with a question in her gaze.

  Brett laughed aloud. “Kate, it’s going to take more time than we’ve got today to tell all the adventures Connie and I’ve had in the last month.”

  Kate opened her mouth to speak, but Liz swept into the kitchen with a baby on each hip. “Hello, everyone. I was hoping we’d be late enough so all the work would be done. Did I time it right?”

  “I’m afraid you did.” Mary smiled over her shoulder at her stepdaughter. She pulled a pan of fresh baked bread from the oven. “Brett, since you’ve invaded our private domain, you can carry this to the dining room. Put it on the sideboard and make sure there are hot pads underneath.”