Logan's Promise

by Nancy Howard

  Logan gets down to the bottom step, she could hear voices coming from the direction of the kitchen. One of the voices was Catherine, and the others belonged to Jose' and Lena the two Mexican cooks who work for the Sandersons. Logan, has learned, forever. They along with Zelda have been here at the ranch for many, many years. Just like George and Timmins. They all live here on the ranch in their own quarters, that John built for all of them down near the stables, years ago.

  Logan walks over to the kitchen entrance and stands there, and listens to what's being said. Catherine and Jose' are in a discussion about getting the carcass of beef cooking for the party, and what time it should start? They seemed to be having a slight disagreement as to the time to start it, and how long it should cook.

  Then Lena notices Logan, and asks her, “can we help you, Miss Logan?”

  “Oh, I, just came down for, Catherine.”

  “Are you ready dear,” Catherine asks her?

  “I am.”

  Before she leaves the kitchen she gives Jose' some final instructions about cooking the meat. He starts to argue, but doesn't, he just agrees to cook it the way Catherine wants it done.

  Catherine smiles as she and Logan go into the bathroom. She has a chair at the end of the tub that Logan sits down on. After Logan is seated, she wraps a towel around her then picks up a comb and scissors, and begins to cut Logan's long hair. She starts by brushing it out, using long gentle strokes. And every now and then having to work at it harder to get the tangles out. Both women were somewhat quiet, with Catherine apologizing to Logan about not doing this for her sooner. Logan of course said that she understood, especially with all that goes on around here on a day to day basis. And she should know, because she's the one who creates a lot of the chaos on the ranch with her instructions to the ranch crew, as to how she wants things done.

  “You okay? You seem kind of quiet,” Catherine asks? “I hope you like the clothes?

  “Oh! I do, trust me, I love them. It's just that I've been wanting to talk to you about something for a longtime.”

  “Oh? What's that dear? You know you can talk to me anytime about anything. Is everything alright here on the ranch for you? Because if it's not I'll talk to John, and have him correct the situation.”

  “No, no, it's nothing like that, things are fine for me here. But I do want to talk to you about my dad, and what it was like living with him. I been wanting to have this conversation with you for a long time, now. I've felt like if and when I get the chance, I'll tell you about it. It never seemed to be the time to do it, until now.”

  Catherine stops brushing her hair and comes around from behind Logan, and looks at her, “I've been wondering when you might be willing to open up to me, and talk about him.”

  Logan looks at her, shakes her head, and pauses, “his name was Calvin. Cal for short. He was a mean drunken Sonofabitch.”

  Logan realized what she'd just said, and she'd not heard Catherine use swear words since she got here. She looked at Catherine, and said, “sorry, I swore like that.”

  “Oh, don't you apologize for that, I live with John Sanderson. Remember? Please go on dear.”

  Logan smiles, and then continues. “He used to come home at night when I was a little girl, so drunk he could barely stand up. Knocking things over, yelling and cussing at me and everybody else at the top of his voice. I was scared to death of him, because I didn't know what he was going to do. I often wondered if he was going to kill me. But he'd always just fall into his bed, and puke and pee in it—to drunk to go to the outhouse to relieve himself. Then next morning he'd yell at me, and make me clean up his mess that he'd made. If I refused, or complained, or cried that I didn't want to do it. He'd strip me down and beat me with his belt. Beatings that left huge welts on my butt, that often took days to heal.

  “After he beat me, I'd lay low and try to do his bidding whether I wanted to or not. I didn't want him to beat me again, but he did at least once a week, because of my persistence of not wanting clean up after him. This type abuse happened off and on until I was eighteen. He hated me. And I hated him, too. I remember he called me everything when I was growing up, so his abuse was verbal as well as physical. This crap went on until I was eighteen.”

  “What happened when you were eighteen? And where was your mother during this time? For God's sake.”

  “Mom died when I was seven, from pneumonia, so she wasn't there to protect me from him. She was always weak and sick so I doubt she could have done much to help me. When I was eighteen, about two months before I left is when he started to sexually abuse me. He'd come home in his drunken stupors and sexually assault me.”

  Shocked at what she's hearing this young woman tell her, Catherine looked at Logan, in disbelief, exclaiming, “My God! That Sonofabitch! He committed incest with you and raped you!”

  “Yes, he did. You want to hear the rest,” Logan asks, wondering if she should continue?

  “If there's more I want to hear it.” She puts her hands on Logan’s shoulders.

  “There is.”

  “Then tell me, Logan, I want to know everything.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yes, I'm sure. I want to hear the whole story, so I can tell John. You understand I want him to know all of this, too, and he should know. Are you okay with that?”

  “Sure, I'm fine with it, I want him to know, like you.” She pauses, then says, “Anyway, the evening I got out of the twelfth grade, he came home early one summer evening. He was as usual, drunk as hell, barely able to walk or stand up. It was a hot evening and the neighbors where all out on their front porches. I heard him coming, because he was yelling and cursing at them. Slurring his words, screaming at the top of his lungs. I was waiting for him though. I was packed and ready to leave. I wanted to get even with him for what he'd done to me.

  “I had his carbine that he kept in the house, and he'd showed me how to use it. We'd go shooting sometimes when he was sober, and I being a kid thought he might be going to change his ways toward me. Of course that didn't happen.

  “I was standing on the front porch with the rifle in my hands when he got home. I wasn't going to let him in the house. I was determined not to let him violate me, ever again. I told him to stay outside and sleep off his drunken stupor. That we'd talk the next morning. He didn't want to hear any of that of course. He said he was through talking to me. So we argued for several minutes, with him yelling and cursing at me, calling me everything he could think of. Then he said he wasn't gonna let me keep him out of his own house.”

  She pauses.

  “Then what happened?”

  “Then he did something that completely surprised me. He drew his little derringer out of his jacket pocket, and pointed it directly at me, to shoot me. He said he'd kill me if I didn't give him the rifle, and get out of his way and let him into the house. At first, I wasn't really sure what I was going to do? I had to make a split second decision, so I pulled the trigger on the rifle, and shot him?”

  “Did you kill the sonofabitch?”

  “No, I shot him in the shoulder, and he fell backwards to the ground. He was cussing me, and calling me everything.”

  “Then what did you do after that?”

  “I never bothered to look at him. I just dropped the rifle on the porch, turned and went in the house and got my satchel and left. That's the last time I saw him, more than nine years ago, now.”

  “Do you know if he's still alive?”

  “No. And you know, I sure don't care.”

  “What would you do if you saw him today? Would you kill him, Logan?”

  “I don't rightly know the answer to that question, either. Because I hate him so much, I don't know if I could kill him.”

  Catherine is still in front of Logan and puts her arms around her, hugging her, “You poor dear. Those must be very, very painful memories that you have. And I'm not talking about you shooting him, he deserved that. It's horrible that he drove you to that point. But his sexual abuse of
you, are atrocities that are unforgivable. There are no words that can describe what he did to you. Not to mention the emotional scars he left.”

  Logan now has tears forming in her eyes, as Catherine releases her. Logan is shaking her head, she looks down, as she remembers, “He used to leave bruises on me. He'd hurt me and hit me when he was on top of me. He'd knock me out, cold, and I'd have a black eye for days. He screwed me like I was a saloon whore. I was just a kid, and I didn't know what to do.” She says this, crying, as Catherine hugs her tightly, again.

  Catherine is aghast at the story Logan just described to her, at what it was like living with her dad. The horror of it all, that this girl has gone through, she thinks. No wonder she trusted no one, and became a bounty hunter. The pain and anger she feels inside, must be unimaginable.

  Catherine has tears in her eyes, too. Then she tells Logan that all of that's in the past, it's over, and he can't hurt her like that anymore.

  Logan wipes the tears away. She's crying, something she never does. But this time it's different. Her crying is deep and real, as she releases this pain that has been bottled up inside of her all of these years. Left there by the abuse of Cal Kincaid.

  “Catherine is still hugging her tightly, and says, “cry dear. Get all that pain out.”

  After a few minutes Logan stops crying and begins to settle down. Catherine has given her a towel to wipe the tears from her eyes. Eyes that are now red from all of those tears, tears that until now couldn't flow. They couldn't because she didn't have anyone to talk to about all of this, until now.

  “God, I can't imagine carrying all that pain around, like you have for all of those years. Sweetie, you're so brave.” She says putting her hands softly on Logan's shoulders again. “I'm not talking about you being a bounty hunter, either. You are such a brave young woman, to have put up with all of that abuse for all of those years. It's a wonder that you survived.”

  Logan is looking down.

  Logan, look at me, sweetie” She says with her hand underneath her chin. Logan looks directly at Catherine.

  The compassion in her eyes and her voice is that of a mother to a daughter. “I want you to remember this most about yourself, this is what John and I think about you. We think that you are a, graceful, smart, sweet, beautiful young woman. One that John and I have come to love, and are so very proud to have you here, to go places with us like you do. We love you Logan, and we trust you so much, that we decided to let you run this ranch for us. That's what John and I know and think about you. I want you to always, always, remember that.”

  Logan shakes her head, “I will. I've felt that ever since I walked through the front door the first day I got here. I am so grateful to the both of you, for all you're doing for me. I never have thought that I deserved anything like what you and John are doing for me. I wondered if I should burden you with all of this, since I know about Jennifer and how you've grieved her. I just wasn't sure if I should even talk to you about it.”

  “You didn't burden me, Logan. Jennifer is gone, and we will love and miss her forever. But you are here with us now, and we're so very glad you are. I have wanted you to open up to me about this for a longtime. You finally have and I'm so glad you did.”

  Catherine is still in front of Logan with her hands still laying softly on her shoulders.

  Catherine then returns to cutting Logan's hair, now understanding the correlation of her becoming a bounty hunter. She knows that after all the abuse that Logan put up with, it was a logical choice for her to hunt down bad men. After all it was the only kind of man she'd ever known.

  18

  Several miles away at the Running 'B', Henry Baker's ranch, a lone rider rides up to the ranch house. He is new to the area, and is here to work on Henry's ranch as security. Though Henry indicated in his letters to the man that his duties will be varied. The man is from Texas and is a known enforcer there, and that is why Henry Baker wants his services.

  As this man dismounts in front of Henry's house, he looks around tying his horse to the hitching post. He is trying to size up the situation as best as he can. Wanting to see what he is getting himself into. He knows that this ranch is very large, because he rode several miles before he even laid eyes on this house.

  He steps onto the porch and knocks. The door is opened by pretty young woman with long dark brown hair. Just as the man was about to ask the girl for Henry, he walks up behind her, and says, “you must be Tass Jones.”

  “I am,” Jones responds. Taking his hat off in the presence of Brittany Baker.

  “Come in, Come in, I've been expecting you. This is my daughter Brittany. Britt, meet Tass Jones, our new security man.”

  “What do you need him for? Isn't that Jay's job?” She says to her father rudely, not at all comfortable with Jones' presence.

  “Well Britt, you know with John having trouble with all those rustlers on his ranch, I felt like it was time for me to hire someone to look out for the security of our property, too. The same way he has Logan and Gavin doing at Sanderson's Hill.”

  “Have you told Jay about this,” she questions? Flippantly.

  “No, but I will. Jay is a very busy running our ranch, I made it clear to him that was his job when he came to work here. He'll have to accept this, because it is purely a business decision.”

  She just shakes her head in disgust and walks away, not liking any of this. Knowing she can do nothing about Jones being here. She doesn't understand her father's thought process in hiring him at all.

  Baker and Jones proceed into Henry's office. Henry closes the door behind them.

  “You come highly recommended Mr. Jones, as someone who can get things done. If you know what I mean.”

  “I do, and I can,” Jones replied.

  “Good! I want you to know that I have one hundred fifty thousand acres of land, and fifteen ranch hands, as well as a thousand head of cattle. My foreman is Jay Canter, but you won't be answering to him. His job is to run the ranch. Yours will be to answer directly to me, and to no one else. Understand.”

  The man shakes his head, “understood.”

  “What, we, you and I discuss stays in here, stays between us. What I tell you to do, you will carry it out with my blessing. Do you understand that?”

  “I do,” Jones answers.

  “Good! Because what I have here Mr. Jones.”

  “Tass.”

  “Alright, Tass. I have a situation that I hope a man with your skills can help me with. You see my land is not prime grazing land. In the next five years I plan to double the size of my herd, but I can't do that without more good grass for them. If I am going to double the size of my herd. The only way to accomplish that is to obtain control of the other large ranch in this area. Sanderson's Hill. It's more than twice as big as my spread, and is owned by John and his wife Catherine Sanderson. Have you ever heard of him?”

  “No.”

  “I need you to do everything you can to help me get control of his property. I have for some time been hiring rustlers to steal his cattle. But it seems to have had little effect on the day to day operation of his spread. My plan has temporarily run a muck so to speak, because he's hired a couple of bounty hunters as security. And that has really stopped anyone for wanting to do my bidding of stealing his cows, for me.”

  “Oh yeah, why?”

  “The bounty hunters are named Logan Kincaid a woman, and Gavin Sloan. Ever hear of either of them. I'm told the woman has quite the reputation.”

  “Never heard of either of them.”

  “I am also told that the girl, Logan, is now running the entire operation over there. I learned that from Jay, who used to work as the foreman at Sanderson's Hill. That's one of the reasons he left there, to come to work for me. He doesn't like her at all.”

  “Could he be an ally for us?”

  “I doubt it, he's a straight shooter, and not given to underhanded tactics like this. So we'll leave him out of this. Besides he and Brittany are going to be married, and
I don't want that ruined for her.”

  Jones sets there taking all of this in. He is a rugged man. His face is chiseled with lines running all over it. He has deep set brown eyes and dark hair, and is of average build. He's an underhanded individual. He's no security man. He's an enforcer. And Henry's is hiring him to do his dirty work for him, and that is to rustle cattle at Sanderson's Hill.

  “One more thing. I don't want you staying here at the ranch, it will cause a commotion, especially with Jay around. You are to come here to report to only me, understand. The less time you spend here at the Running 'B' the better. I want you to stay in Rio Doso, in the hotel. I will pay all of your expenses for your entire stay while you're here.”

  Jones sets and listens.

  “My first task for you is to go into town and ask around for men who want this job. You want to try and hire those who have left Sanderson's Hill and are still around, that would be good. They may want to settle a score with Logan or John, for some reason.”

  “I'll do it, but you gotta tell me how much these men will get paid. This could be dangerous work, especially with a couple of bounty hunters hangin' around over at that other ranch.”

  Henry thinks for a second. “Tell them five dollars a day. You're going to need at least four or five men.”

  “That ain't a lot of money.”

  “I know, tell them that each of them will get two hundred dollars each, when the job is complete.

  “Oh one more thing. They're having a shindig at the Sanderson's ranch tomorrow. I want you to meet me there at the entrance, say four tomorrow afternoon. You can ask at the hotel how to get there.”

  “Why do you want me there?”

  “I want them and everyone to see you, Tass. I especially want Logan and Gavin to see you.”