by Ember Pierce
* * *
“Is your husband at the farm?”
* * *
“He wasn’t in the house when I came to town. I’m not sure where he is.” She knew it sounded strange, but she needed to go home and she didn’t know where Scott was.
* * *
Hopefully, the man from the coffee shop would be too distracted by the fight, which was still going on, to notice.
* * *
“Okay, Mrs. Henderson, it’ll only take a moment to hitch the buggy up.”
* * *
“Please, would you just ride me home? Or will one of you? On the back of a horse? Please, I need to get home. My husband will worry about me if he hears of the saloon fight.”
* * *
“It’s still going on. Bixby has a contender for town evildoer. He hasn’t been around but his men are the ones having the altercation.”
* * *
A picture of the man raising his gun and shooting at her came, unbidden, to her mind. She was sure he’d recognized her. And he’d pulled the trigger. Did that mean he intentionally wanted to kill her? Or would he have shot anyone?
* * *
“Tommy. Take Mrs. Henderson home on the delivery wagon. Is that alright for you, Mrs. Henderson?”
* * *
“Yes, yes, it’s fine.”
* * *
“Right this way, Mrs. Henderson.”
* * *
The sound of random gunshots still carried into the shop. The road was empty. So was the alley and Tommy and Mae snuck out of the side door and hurried down to the next road.
* * *
The delivery wagon was, conveniently, parked right outside the alley. They got up and Tommy hit the reins. The gunshots faded away and Mae wondered if the law had arrived.
* * *
They got closer to the edge of town. Her arm was throbbing with the pain of the wound where the bullet had grazed her. She held it close, every jostle of the wagon sent fresh waves of pain through her entire body.
* * *
As if sensing her discomfort, Tommy told her they were just about there. She knew it. And she knew she could hold out until she could lie down in her bed and wait for the doctor. Still, it felt as if her whole side was bruised.
* * *
As they pulled up to the fence surrounding the house, Mae saw Scott seated on the top step of the porch. He stood when they pulled up and then came running out to the wagon.
* * *
“Mae! What happened?” he asked as she made her way up the path to the porch. She saw his eyes meet Tommy’s.
* * *
“There was a fight, Mr. Henderson. At The Golden Grain. Wayne Bixby’s men are fighting with a rival gang over who’s saloon it is. The fight went into the street. Next thing we knew, your wife had snuck in our side door.” Tommy filled Scott in on the recent events.
* * *
“Thank you for bringing her home, Tommy. I appreciate what you did.”
* * *
Mae saw a look transpire between the two but she wasn’t sure what it meant. She felt sure it meant something, though.
* * *
“Good day, Mrs. Henderson.”
* * *
“Thank you, Tommy. Goodbye.”
* * *
Tommy turned the wagon around, waved and headed back to town.
* * *
“Mae. What happened? Why did you go into town alone?”
* * *
“Well, you had gone. And you said that we had a day or so when Bixby wouldn’t come around. I had some errands to run,” she said, defensively. She had believed it to be safe. She swayed a little and remembered her wound.
* * *
“Oh lord, Mae.” Scott gasped as Mae’s shawl slipped off her shoulder. Most of the sleeve and the entire right side of her bodice was covered in blood.
* * *
“Mae!” He ran to her and caught her in his arms just as she fainted.
* * *
When she came to, she was in Scott’s arms being carried upstairs to her room. She felt herself being gently lowered onto the mattress.
* * *
Her eyes fluttered open. She tried to smile but Scott was facing the other way. She couldn’t keep her eyes open. Soon, oblivion took over.
18
Scott put Mae down on the bed, after she passed out. He examined the wound. The bullet had grazed her, but no stitches were necessary. She’d been very lucky and he wanted to hear the whole story of what happened. The knowledge that she could have been killed shook him to the core.
* * *
He’d had to unbutton her bodice and pull it aside to get a good look at the wound. After he cleaned the injury and bandaged it, he pulled the fabric back over the shoulder to cover the bandage on the injury. When he looked up, she was watching him.
* * *
He took her hand “Mae. What were you thinking? Didn’t the other night show anything to you about the dangers that are lurking around? Whatever possessed you to go into town alone. It could have been disastrous. You could have been killed, Mae.”
* * *
“You went.”
* * *
“I’m a former sheriff. And I brought my gun.”
* * *
She looked down and didn’t answer.
* * *
“You could have been killed. Do you understand that? Don’t you know how much it worries me? It’s dangerous, Mae. Very dangerous.”
* * *
“I’m sorry, Scott. I needed to run errands. I honestly thought it was safe.”
* * *
“It’s too dangerous, Mae. You’re lucky you weren’t killed and if I wasn’t sure about it before, I’m sure about it now. You and I are leaving. Tomorrow.”
* * *
“What do you mean, we’re leaving tomorrow? Where do you expect to go?”
* * *
“I’m going to buy a ranch in southern Oklahoma. We’re going there to see it tomorrow. Now, what exactly happened in town. How were you shot? Was it…”
* * *
“I don’t know why, but it was one of the men who came here. At first I thought maybe I was overreacting. Why was he following me? What did he want with me? I tried to ignore him, I thought he would leave me alone if I didn’t let on that I saw him. But it frightened me, Scott. And I wondered about it. Why me? I think he knew who I was.”
* * *
“Are you sure he was one of the men who came here with Bixby?”
* * *
“Yes. I recognized him immediately, but I thought Bixby’s problem was with you, not me. The man came around to the top of the alley I was walking in. He looked at me with such a terrible expression, as if he wasn’t really inside of his body. He was so vacant. He looked...empty. But I somehow just knew he was going to draw on me.”
* * *
Scott looked furious.
* * *
“It’s too overwhelming to think that the man might have shot in my direction on purpose. But he did. I mean I know he saw me and aimed at me. But why? It’s too much to fathom, really.” If she told Scott any more about the incident, she was afraid of what he might do. She hoped her rendition of events would pacify him.
* * *
“Okay. You don’t need to go back over it. There’s no need for you to rehash it and get upset again. The important thing is you’re safe. But we’ll be leaving as soon as you’re feeling better. I’ll ride into town and get something from the doctor for that shoulder. In the meantime, pack light. I’m going to hire Tommy from the coffee house and some of his friends to pack up the house and bring our things to us. The advertisement for the ranch says the house is furnished, so we’ll be fine as far as all that goes. The man selling his ranch is leaving everything behind to go to California.”
* * *
“But it’s only been a few weeks. Do we really have to leave Fable Springs?”
* * *
“We can start fresh, in a bran
d-new place, Mae. It will be good for us. A new beginning.”
* * *
“I understand, but what about the fact that I came here for a new beginning? I’ve left everything, everyone behind me! And now you want me to leave all over again? Can’t we wait? Just a little while? Maybe this Wayne Bixby trouble will go away on its own. Don’t you think so, Scott? How long do you think those men are going to terrorize Fable Springs? They can’t keep it up indefinitely.”
* * *
“Wayne Bixby was in jail. He was released and came right back here to exact his revenge. On me. I’ve paid for it already. Now, he’s going after the whole town. I can’t fight that. I won’t. We need to take care of ourselves, Mae. I need to take care of you. I can’t fix this for Fable Springs. I’m sorry.” He couldn’t tell her that he was fighting a mix of anger and pure terror.
* * *
The thought of anything happening to Mae made his blood run cold. He couldn’t risk it. If anything were to happen to her, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself. He wouldn’t be able to live at all.
* * *
“But if we stayed here, we could help the town and everybody in it. We can’t just run away.”
* * *
“Run away? Mae, those men tried to kill us. They’ve taken our livestock, they set fire to the grain fields after they left the house. They did that to show me that I have no power over them. They’re going after Fable Springs. That’s the point. Coming here to show me who was in charge was the only thing Bixby wanted. Intimidation. And you know something? It worked. I’m finished with trying to fight him. He has no ethics. No morals. I can’t beat him without stooping to his low level. And I won’t do that.”
* * *
“The fields? Really? I knew I smelled fire when we went to sleep. I wondered if I’d dreamt it. Why didn’t you tell me that it happened?”
* * *
“I didn’t know for sure until I rode the perimeter of the farm. Although I smelled the fields before I got there, it was still a bit of a shock. But it was a message and I got it.”
* * *
“But Scott, just listen. If we stayed, we can get rid of the gang and rebuild. Get the livestock back that was stolen. Luckily the team found their way back on their own. At least we have the two horses. But Bixby needs to be made to see that he can’t do that kind of thing to people. Someone has to stand up to him. Otherwise, he’ll be able to take everything over, just like you said. He has to be stopped, Scott. You’re the only one who can really do it. You know his motives.”
* * *
“I didn’t know he was going to come here and try to burn us out. If it happens again, if he sends his men here again...they’ll take the house.”
* * *
“I know we can stop him. I just know it. Surely we can come up with a plan to stop him before he starts trying to take over the town.”
* * *
“What do you mean, Mae? He’s already trying to take everything over. The Golden Grain has always been open all day and all night. It originally did so to take care of the night workers in the mines. Or the lawmen. The deputies who finish their shifts at two or three or even four in the morning, for instance. But what happened today, in broad daylight? In the morning? You didn’t even have a weapon on you did you? What were you thinking?”
* * *
“I forgot to put a gun in my satchel. But I wouldn’t have had time to reach it anyway. Besides, it doesn’t matter now. It’s time to show Wayne Bixby who the boss is between the two of you. You have to overpower him. I know you can do it.”
* * *
“I don’t want revenge, Mae.”
* * *
Scott didn’t want to talk about it. He’d wasted too much time already explaining to Ephraim why he didn’t want revenge. He’d decided that no one else needed to know. If Ephraim wouldn’t or couldn’t understand his point of view.
* * *
How could Scott ever expect Mae to? She thought he was a coward. A runaway. It wasn’t fair, but if that’s how it had to be he wasn’t going to fight it with her. She, like Ephraim, would come to see his perspective. Or they wouldn’t come to see it at all. It didn’t matter. He was taking Mae to Oklahoma. He would keep her safe. And that was that.
* * *
“Fine. What do you want me to do, then?”
* * *
“I want you to pack. Pack light, just things you need. Anything else we might need, we can get when we arrive at our destination tomorrow. And mind that shoulder. Try to keep your arm in the sling.”
* * *
Mae said nothing. She quietly left the room and went upstairs.
* * *
Scott went outside to think. When he was through, he walked back in and went up to his room to get his things together. The two of them spent the rest of the day packing so they could leave right after breakfast the next day.
In the morning, Mae was back to making breakfast as usual. Coffee boiling reached Scott’s nose and drew him from his bed even though it was still dark out. He washed and readied himself for the day. It was going to be a long one.
* * *
They wouldn’t reach the new ranch until about three or four in the afternoon. Scott’s plan was to go straight to the place, ride the fences with the owner while Mae had tea with the man’s wife. Then, barring any unforeseen disasters, Scott intended to buy the place. Then he and Mae would have dinner in town and stay at a hotel that night.
* * *
He went down the front stairs and strode down the hall and into the kitchen determined to make the day cordial if not enjoyable. When he’d reached the bottom of the stairs he’d noticed Mae’s carpet bag and satchel standing by the door and ready to go.
* * *
“Good morning, Mae.” He gave a small smile and took his seat at the table. When she said nothing he knew the day would not be enjoyable. He wondered if she would even acknowledge him. He supposed now he knew how she felt when she wanted to talk to him and he wouldn’t respond.
* * *
She set a cup of coffee and a plate of pancakes with sausage and eggs in front of him. Then she made her own plate and sat across from him.
* * *
They ate in silence. Scott felt uncomfortable but he could sense that trying to talk to Mae would do nothing to better their rapport.
* * *
Mae finished and stood up. She washed and dried her plate, silverware, and cup. She scoured the griddle with salt and then went upstairs.
* * *
Scott could only imagine what she was doing. Maybe a last minute walk through of the house to make sure nothing important was left behind? He shook his head and continued with his meal. If she was nothing else, Mae was a superb cook. But she was something else. A whole lot of something that magnetically drew him to her side.
* * *
He felt awful about going against her wishes. How could he make her understand that he knew Bixby? He knew the man’s game and the lengths he would go to. He knew the depths Bixby would sink to.
* * *
Mae didn’t know half as much as she thought she did. He knew that he could make her understand if he told her everything that had happened with Annie. But he couldn’t tell her that.
* * *
Admitting his greatest failure that had led to the death of the woman he was supposed to protect? How would that make her feel safe? It wouldn’t. And he couldn’t tell her. No matter how much he wanted to unburden himself and have her understand.
* * *
Mae was walking around on the second floor. He listened, his gaze at the ceiling until the footsteps stopped abruptly. Scott had another gulp of coffee and reached for the dish of apple cobbler sitting on the table. He’d just filled a bowl when Mae reappeared in the kitchen.
* * *
She had something in her hand and sat opposite Scott. The item was placed on the table and Mae smoothed it out with her hands.
* * *
“Wh
at is this, Scott?”