by C. J. Petit
Libby was nestled under Gus’s right arm.
“You know, Gus, I should really stop by the other house and get my clothes.”
“We can do that on the way home from Hendrick tomorrow. You’ll be my wife, so I’ll be allowed in your room to help you. Maybe you can finally explain all of those frilly things to me.”
“I’ll do better than that. I’ll put them on and take them off for you.”
“Now, there’s an advantage to being married.”
“We need to go to the bank before we leave. I need to find out how much money Joe had in the bank, and you need to create an account and deposit that draft over there.”
“I had totally forgotten about it. See what you do to me, Libby?”
“Gus, I’m glad that I can make you happy.”
“You do that very well, Libby.”
“So tomorrow we go to the bank in Kinnick, and then we go to Hendrick and see the sheriff and get married.”
“Let’s put off the sheriff. Let’s get married first.”
Libby wiggled in closer. “Let’s do that.”
Chapter 9
They set off at eight thirty to head to Kinnick. They were riding so that they could move more quickly. By nine twenty they were in the bank, where Gus opened an account and deposited the $1,000 draft. Libby found that Joe had a big balance of $17,875.55. She moved the balance to her account, making her the largest depositor in the bank with $23,433.71.
“I feel like a pauper, Libby, and this is by far the most money I’ve ever had in my life.”
“Well, when we come back, we combine the accounts and we’ll have the same amount.”
“You handle the money, Libby. You’re probably better at it than I am.”
“All right, if you trust me.”
“With my life, Libby.”
That earned him a kiss before they rode out if Kinnick.
Thirty minutes later they were passing through Chadwick.
Gus pointed out the OK Saloon.
“That’s where Sara works.”
“Oh. You don’t feel the urge to stop in, do you?”
“Nope. I’ll give Eli and Rachel an update in a month. You can come along and chaperone if you’d like.”
She laughed. “No, Gus. I trust you. Besides, I’ll make sure to really tire you out before you come up here.”
“I may threaten to visit every day, then.”
“I won’t object.”
They left Chadwick behind and were chatting constantly and enjoying the unseasonably warm weather. They never checked their back trail. They should have. Less than a mile behind, Ernie Blanchard trotted along. He had been headed to the Star A to see if he could talk Libby into coming with him, and he had seen them ride past on the road north. He had almost missed them, but Gus’s copper horse was like a beacon. He was going to confront Libby right there, but he decided to see where they were headed, and hopefully there would be a time when they were separated.
They reached Hendrick at ten twenty. He wondered where they were going in town; he had lost them on the last bend before the town.
Gus and Libby went into the courthouse and told the clerk at the front desk that they wished to be married. The clerk had them fill out the appropriate forms and directed them to Judge Hamilton’s chambers.
Libby was floating along, and Gus was grinning widely as they walked into the judge’s office. His clerk and his secretary would act as witnesses, as they did for many of the marriages. Five minutes later, they were ushered into the judge’s chambers, where he performed the short ceremony.
Gus had forgotten to buy rings, but he assured Libby that they’d stop and get them before they saw the sheriff. It didn’t really matter to Libby. When the judge pronounced them man and wife and Gus kissed her for the first time as her husband, nothing else mattered. Nothing at all.
They shook everyone’s hands, and Gus and Libby stopped at the outer office while the judge and witnesses signed the two copies of their marriage certificate. One was handed to Gus, who put it in his shirt pocket, and one was for the county records.
The left the offices at 11:05.
“Well, Mrs. Matthews, shall we go to the jewelry store and buy two wedding rings and make it official?”
“That would be wonderful, my husband.”
They left the courthouse with tightly linked arms, and they walked down the brick steps to their waiting horses. Gus swept Libby in a circle and pulled her close to give her a real marital kiss. If the passersby didn’t like it, too bad.
One passerby wasn’t passing, and he most assuredly didn’t like it. Ernie Blanchard had found Belle and had stepped down from his own horse when he spied Gus holding Libby, his Libby, in a tight embrace and kissing her. In public.
He pulled his Colt and cocked the hammer. Even as locked as they were, Gus heard the distinctive sound and quickly pushed Libby down to the ground. He turned as he saw Ernie raising the pistol at him from twenty feet away. He thought Ernie was going to shoot Libby, and so he charged at him. His body was the only weapon he had. Ernie was stunned. He had expected many reactions, but not this. He only had a second to react. He didn’t aim; he just shot at Gus.
Gus felt the bullet rip through his shirt as he slammed into Ernie. Then Gus crushed Ernie’s right arm with his knee, snapping his ulna in two. Ernie screamed. People ran. Gus just kicked the gun thirty feet away and ran back to where he had pushed Libby, preparing to apologize, when he saw her on the ground, a pool of blood spreading rapidly about her. He dropped over her and turned her over. There were no last-second promises of everlasting love. No last longing gaze into those blue eyes. His wife of eight minutes was dead.
Gus fell apart. For the first time in his life, Gus lost all control of his emotions. He wept without concern about his manhood or what others would think. He held her close as he sobbed without letup. His Libby wouldn’t be there with him anymore. They’d had such little time together. He paid no attention to the sounds coming from Ernie. He didn’t notice the deputy sheriff coming over and grabbing Ernie. He never heard another sound. He just held Libby as tightly as he could, as if holding her would restore her life.
He spent fifteen minutes in agony in front of the courthouse. A crowd of onlookers saw the depth of his pain. Finally, it was Sheriff Gannon who walked up behind him and crouched down. He laid his hand on Gus’s shoulder.
“Gus, you’ve got to let her go. She shouldn’t be in the street like this. She deserves better than to be lying in the street. We have the undertaker here. Let him take her away from here.”
Gus finally realized that the sheriff was right. Libby shouldn’t be here, where everyone could see her. He nodded and gently lowered Libby to the ground. The two undertakers were very respectful of Libby. They put her on a stretcher and put her into their hearse.
“Where will they take Libby?” Gus croaked.
“Over to the funeral parlor. Let them take some time to clean her and get her ready, all right?”
Gus nodded. He had regained some semblance of control, but he felt like his soul had been ripped from him. He had only told her he loved her once. Just once. He thought that he would have so many more opportunities. He realized that she had never told him that she loved him. She’d never had a chance.
The sheriff walked him back to his office. He sat Gus down and then sat across from him. He took out a pencil.
“Gus, I know you may not want to talk about it, but I need to know what happened. Can you tell me?”
Gus blew out his breath and told the tortured story.
“Why did he do it, Gus? Any idea?”
“Libby said that he had been after her for years. She said he’d catch her sometimes and grab her. I guess he didn’t want me to have her. He tried to shoot me. Why couldn’t he have been a better shot? I would have rather died than lose Libby.”
“Gus, she wasn’t on the ground when she was hit. One of the witnesses said she had stood up and was starting to run to you when the b
ullet hit her. If she had stayed where you had pushed her, it would have missed. You did everything you could.”
Gus didn’t know if that made it better or worse. He had done what he could, but she felt she had to try to do something.
“What do I do next, Sheriff?”
“Call me Rich, will you, Gus? We’ve got him over at the doc’s now, setting his bone. We’ll bring him to the jail after that. We’ll have a trial, probably in two days. You’ll need to be there. Why don’t you just plan on coming up here in two days? Serious trials like this start at ten o’clock, but the prosecutor will want to talk to you before then.”
“I’ll go back today and come back tomorrow and stay at the hotel. Where is the prosecutor’s office?”
“In the courthouse building. Second floor. You come here and I’ll run you over.”
“Okay.”
“Gus, this is the worst thing I’ve ever seen happen. I know it’s really hard on you. Is there anything I can do?”
“No, Rich. I’ll be all right. I’ve got to go and get the horses.”
“Oh, Gus, before you go, I have to give you this.”
He took out a large envelope of cash.
“This is the reward for Louis Feldman.”
“I totally forgot about him. I’ll put this in there, too.”
Gus pulled out his marriage certificate and slid it into the thick envelope.
Gus was numb inside but knew he had to function.
“I’m going to go to the funeral parlor and arrange for her burial.”
“Did you want me to come along?”
“No, I’ll be okay. Where is it, anyway?”
“Straight down the main street, at the very end on the right.”
“Thanks, Rich. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Gus stood and shook Rich’s hand. He didn’t know who offered first, him or Rich. Didn’t matter.
He walked across the street to the courthouse. He wondered why Rich didn’t have his office there. Must have something to do with the jail.
He saw the pool of blood and hoped someone would clean it up. It tended to be dry for long stretches in Oklahoma.
He walked over to Belle and rubbed her neck. He unhitched Cleo and put a trail rope to Belle. He mounted Belle and walked her down to the funeral parlor. As he walked her, he thought of where he should have Libby buried. Certainly not on the Slash M. He’d have to get rid of that cursed name. The Star A wouldn’t be right, either. He decided that the Kinnick cemetery would be best.
He stepped down and left Belle. He walked inside. The undertaker didn’t ask who he was or what he wanted. He stood and guided Gus back to where Libby lay in a casket. They hadn’t embalmed her yet, but they had known he’d be stopping by.
“Sir, can you give me the lady’s name for our records and the memorial stone?”
Gus suddenly realized he didn’t even know her birthday. He pulled out the thick envelope and removed the marriage certificate.
“It’s all on here. Her name is Libby Matthews. Her date of birth was May 8, 1852. You know her date of death.” The undertaker was writing the information down. He was shocked to see the marriage certificate’s date. “What I’d like on her stone is ‘Beloved Wife,’ and under that ‘Different Circumstances.’”
“Different circumstances?” he asked.
“Yes. It meant something special to us.”
“Very good, sir. The stone will take a while, but we can proceed with the burial and implant the stone after it arrives. Now where is the burial to take place?”
“At the Kinnick cemetery. Can you arrange that?”
“Of course. And the time?”
“Can you do it tomorrow morning at ten? I have to be back here for the trial of her murderer.”
“We can, sir.”
“What is your fee? I’ll take care of that now.”
“Seventy-seven dollars and fifty cents.”
“Fine.” Gus counted out the money from the envelope.
“We’ll meet you tomorrow morning at the Kinnick cemetery at ten, Mr. Matthews.”
“Thank you.”
He shook the undertaker’s hand and returned to Belle. He pointed her south and set her at a medium trot. Cleo trailed. He passed through Chadwick and thought about talking to Sara, but he pressed on. He reached the Slash M before Kinnick. He needed to talk to the boys.
Hank saw Gus first, and the first thing he noticed was that he was leading Cleo but there was no Miss Libby. He called the other four members of the crew, and they all watched as Gus neared.
He stopped in front of them and stepped down.
He motioned for them all to come near.
He looked at Hank. “Hank, as of today, you’re the new foreman of the two ranches. Hire two more hands when you get a chance.”
“What about Ernie Blanchard? He just got in last night.”
“Ernie is going to hang for the murder of my wife. He shot Libby when we were coming out of the courthouse.”
The words spilled out of his mouth so fast that the men had a hard time understanding.
“What did you say, Gus?” asked Hank,
“God, don’t make me say that again! That bastard killed Libby!”
Then Gus felt the tears coming again. He fought against them as best he could and mostly won. But some escaped.
They heard that clearly enough.
“He killed Miss Libby?”
Gus just nodded.
He took a deep breath. “We’d just got married, and we were at the bottom of the courthouse steps. I was kissing Libby and heard him pull back his hammer. I shoved Libby to the ground and charged him. He shot at me, and the stupid son of a bitch missed me and hit Libby. I should have beat him to death, but I wanted to tell Libby I was sorry for pushing her to the ground. But she was already dead.”
They were all stunned. Nothing like this could happen.
“Tomorrow at ten we’ll bury Libby in the Kinnick cemetery. If you want to come, please do. After that, I have to go back to Hendrick to meet with the prosecutor and then be there the next day for his trial. I’ll probably stay until he’s hung.”
“Gus, um, boss, can we all come to the trial and hanging?”
“Call me Gus. It’s my name. I’d be honored if you’d all come. Can one of you take care of Cleo? I’m going to wander over to the Star A. Just to let you know, I’ll be combining the two ranches. Libby and I decided that last night. I’ll hang on to the Slash M brand until the last of the cattle are gone, but that sign will be replaced. I don’t know what the new spread will be called yet.”
John Phillips stepped over and untied the trail rope from Belle and led Cleo to the barn.
“Hank, are there any pressing needs right now?”
“No, Gus. We’re in good shape.”
“Thanks, Hank. I’ll need a lot of help these next few weeks.”
“We’ll do whatever we can.”
Gus patted him on the shoulder and mounted Belle. He walked her across the pasture to the Star A ranch house. He took Belle to the barn, unsaddled her and brushed her down. He walked into the kitchen and took one of the apples that such a short time ago Rachel had used to bake him another apple pie. Libby had never made one for him. He shook his head. He had to stop doing this. The house would be full of those kinds of things. So would the other house. For a moment, he contemplated burning them both down. That would be stupid. The houses weren’t to blame. He cut the apple in half and walked back to the barn. He let Belle take the halves from his hand. He rubbed her nose.
“Belle, it looks like you’re the only girl I’m meant to be with.”
He returned to the house. He needed to eat something. He found some leftover chicken in the cold room and ate that. It was pretty good when sprinkled with salt. He went outside and checked on the chickens. He began spreading chicken feed.
“Sorry, ladies. Forgot this morning. Too excited. I was getting married.”
For some reason, talking to the stupid chicke
ns helped. Maybe because they didn’t talk back. He continued to spread feed as they scurried everywhere.
“Libby was so special. We were only married for eight minutes. Eight minutes. That’s not enough time to feed you ladies. What could I have done differently? If I hadn’t kissed her? If I hadn’t pushed her down? If I had my gun? A man could go crazy thinking things like this. All I can do is what Libby expected us to do. I’ll still have to come up with a good brand for the combined ranches. I need to go to the bank, to the land office, and then to the county to register the new brand. Then we’ve got to decide what to do with two houses. The big house over there is better, so I should live there. What do you think? I’ll keep this house clean and in good condition. Maybe find a widow or a couple to live here and take care of the house and you ladies. I still have to go through the trial. I want to see that bastard hang. I suppose I should get your eggs out of there today, too.”