“Thank God it wasn’t you.” Tom bent down and kissed her.
“And what if—it was you—Tom?” She broke her words up between kisses.
“Would you grieve for me then, wife?” Tom’s eyes flashed humor now, rather than the rage when he’d come in to tell her about the stampede.
“Terribly.” She slid her free arm around his neck. “Forever.”
Tom let go of her wrist and slid his arms around her waist. He lifted her clean off her feet in a way that always made her feel delicate and feminine. Truth be told, she didn’t feel like either of those things very often.
“Please, I don’t want to sit here and let the Cooters run our lives. I’ve done that for too long. I want to fight back.”
“And you think you can do that with your gold?”
Nodding, Mandy said, “I’ve seen what people will do for gold, Tom. I think I can make life so hard for those feuding outlaws they’ll quit the country and leave us in peace.”
“I can make my own ranch secure, Mandy. You should trust me.” Tom met her eyes with a solid, studying look.
“But your land is sprawled out enough that you can’t hire enough men to cover it all.”
“We can’t just sit there at the ranch and wait for them to cause trouble, that’s for sure.” He had the temperament of a grizzly bear most of the time.
Mandy found that suited her. She really was fond of her cranky new husband. More than fond, honestly. “You won’t let me go to the children, and as it happens, I agree with you. No sense leading these coyotes to them. But we have to do something, and that gold is like an itch I’ve been needing to scratch for a long time.”
“But what are you planning to do with it? You can’t put a bounty on a man’s head unless he’s wanted for something.”
“I’ll use it to get rid of them even if I’ve got to give it away. If I didn’t have any gold, they’d never have been harassing me. I don’t care what they say about Cooters sticking together.”
“You’re not seriously going to just haul it out of that bank in Denver and set it on the street and holler, ‘Come and get it,’ are you?”
“I’ve given it a lot of thought, and I need to give it just a little more. If nothing else, we’ll use it to hire more hands.”
“Bodyguards like Sidney hired?”
“No, tough men. Picked by you. Then we really could secure your range.” Except no matter how tough those men were, the Cooters would do damage. Men would be hurt or killed because of this feud.
She just couldn’t quite decide, but it had become like a burr under a saddle to think of that gold, and the facts she knew of it that no one else did. Somehow that gold meant safety to her.
Finally, with a single jerk of assent, he said, “All right. We’ll go. I’m ready to do something to drive those varmints off my land.”
Before another hour passed, they were in the saddle heading for Divide, to see the sheriff. “We need to be seen leaving Divide.” Mandy urged her horse a little faster.
“So the Cooters will quit the country and come after us?”
“It’ll get ’em away from your ranch and my children.”
“Our ranch and our children.”
Mandy looked at him and smiled.
“Just ride.” Tom’s growling went on, but Mandy decided it wasn’t even really growling. Not when it came to her husband. This was just normal. When he really started growling, there’d be big trouble. “Wanting them to come after you is even more loco than wanting to ride to Denver and give away all your gold. You’re as crazy as everyone said you were when you lived up there in that fortress.”
Mandy came to a wider spot in the trail and pulled up for just a second so Tom’s stallion could ride side-by-side. They each led a second horse. If they pushed hard, switched saddles, and rode long hours at a fast pace, it wasn’t impossible for a rider to make a hundred miles a day. But that was on a good trail. There was nothing good about the route they were taking.
Her heart ached to think of how long she’d be away from her children. To think that maybe she’d never see them again.
And they weren’t going to Denver either. Another of Sidney’s lies. This one Mandy had maintained. She’d break that news to Tom a little later, just before she led him northwest of town instead of east. He was a bit too knowing of a man to fail to miss that little detail.
When they reached Divide, Mandy went to the general store. There were a few things to buy for the trip, but mostly she knew the Cooters seemed to have a knack for finding her. So, if she let it slip that she was riding out, that word would draw the Cooters toward her. That would protect the ranch and send the Cooters off in the wrong direction, toward Denver. Meantime she and Tom would be riding hard for Sidney’s gold.
Mandy gathered the supplies while Tom left to talk with Marshal Coltrain. When he was out of sight, she ducked out the back door of the Bates’ General Store and ran for the telegraph office. She needed to warn a few people, because if this went bad on her and she died, she needed someone to raise her children. Tom would probably do it. Belle Harden, too, but it wasn’t their duty. Besides, she hadn’t sent word to her family in so long it was heartbreaking.
Her days of protecting everyone by keeping them away from her were over. Not by her choice. Tom had dragged her out of her mountain hideout, and now she was forced to stand and fight, and Mandy was in the mood.
She’d find that gold and use it to buy harassment against the Cooters. Or an army of tough cowhands for Tom’s ranch. Or, if that didn’t work, she’d use the gold to lure those Cooters into a gunfight and have it out with them once and for all. She didn’t care how many of them there were. She had lead enough and was savvy enough to win this fight even if it took her the rest of her life.
She was glad now that Tom had stopped her the other night. She knew that had been madness, that desire to slaughter those men. But to face them, to force them to come to her, to track them down and put an end to their stupid feud, that was something she could do and not give up her honor and pride. Killing wasn’t anything she wanted to do, but she was done cowering, done hiding and letting them tell her how she had to live.
Done.
Now she’d fight back. They had no idea who they’d picked a fight with. She suspected that if they did know, they’d run like yellowbellied polecats.
No offense to polecats, which were pretty fearless critters.
Tom would be at her side, and that added to her courage. At the same time, she felt the terrible guilt of putting him in danger.
What a dreadful, life-wrecking burden of a wife the poor man had found for himself!
Fifteen
Tom had rounded himself up a sweet little wife, and now he was riding out from his ranch for the first time in years.
Why, it was almost like going on vacation.
Tom had heard of such things, traveling here and there for pleasure, but he’d never taken a vacation before. Never really knew anyone who had.
True, his vacation might include a life-and-death battle with gun-wielding, back-shooting vermin, but a man couldn’t ask for everything, now could he?
Smiling, Tom crossed Divide’s dirt street from the general store to the sheriff’s office. Zeb Coltrain’s horse was tied to the hitching post out front. He opened the door and saw the sheriff, Merl Dean, and Zeb poring over Wanted posters.
Zeb glanced at Tom and picked up a poster that lay by itself on the desk. “We’ve found one. And I’ve sent out a bunch of wires. I got one back from Tennessee, someone who knows the family and is going to ask some questions to try and figure out what kind of people these Cooters are. Maybe they’re a lawless bunch from way back. Maybe if they’re wanted in other places, I can get lawmen interested in coming here and forming a posse and doing a roundup. If they’ve treated other people like they’ve done your wife and her children, chances are they’re wanted. But I’ve only found one with a poster on him.”
Tom took the poster. “This isn’t
Cord. This one’s too old, and he’s been around for too long.” He read the name aloud. “Fergus Cooter, goes by the alias Reynolds. Wanted for murdering an Army Colonel and his wife. So he’s a man that’ll kill a woman. Probably came west running from the law. He looks like Cord, though, the dark hair and that white blaze. Gotta be kin.”
“Never heard of him, neither as a Reynolds or a Cooter. I bet he’s run afoul of the law since, but if he has, he’s done it quiet. He’s not a known man.” Merl sighed and looked mournfully at the sizable stack of Wanted posters still to go through. “If we keep hunting, maybe we’ll find more on him or some other of his family.”
Merl got up and went for the coffeepot. “Want a cup?”
“Better not. I don’t want to leave Mandy alone for long.”
“These coyotes wouldn’t come into town.” Zeb accepted a cup of the black, steaming sludge that looked thick enough to float a horseshoe and hot enough to burn the skin off a man’s gullet. “They’re back-shooters. They’ll waylay you on the trail instead.”
Nodding, Tom said, “I reckon she’s safe enough with Seth and Muriel in the general store, but no sense letting her wander around loose. That woman is always looking for an excuse to get that Winchester into action.”
“What brings you to Divide?” Zeb sipped his coffee, grimaced, glared down at the offending cup, and then took another sip. “I thought you were gonna tighten the lookouts around your ranch and hole up. Give me a chance to catch these varmints.”
Scowling, Tom considered denying the whole thing. Lying to a lawman. Better than admitting his wife had the bit in her teeth. “Mandy says she’s tired of being a rabbit and she’s turning wolf. She wants to strike out on the trail for Denver, find what’s left of her husband’s gold and do—I’m not sure what with it. She’s a little vague on that, but she’s sure blaming all her trouble on Sidney striking it rich.”
“Is there a lot of gold she’s aiming to get shut of?” Merl looked like he was willing to volunteer to take some of it.
“I saw that castle her loco husband built up high enough to scrape the sky. I wonder if there’s any of that gold left. It had to cost a fortune. And I heard he had people come from back East, real knowing men, who built that. Took the better part of two years to finish it. No man has enough gold to throw it away like that. I’m not sure if I hope we’ll ride into her Denver bank and find the money’s gone or not. Will she be relieved or disappointed?”
“If the gold is gone, you’re gonna have a tough time convincing the Cooters of that.”
“Gray was a secretive man,” Merl said. “I heard he dug until he’d found every bit of that gold he struck, then bought a string of horses and loaded them, right down to the last bit of dust, and slipped away alone. No men riding guard duty back then because he wasn’t admitting yet that he struck it rich. He found himself the sturdiest vault in Denver. Then he locked his gold up without telling anyone exactly where, paid for a lot of big things in Denver, then came home with a pair of bodyguards and a lot of fancy plans, but he didn’t have to ride back with so much as a speck of gold dust to be stolen. Had him some cash but no gold.”
“Then he built that monument to himself.” Tom shook his head. “You should see that castle. Gray stone like something you’d read in a book. It even has a tower.”
“Rich folks get notional about their money,” Zeb said. “And I reckon it’s theirs to do with as they want.”
But Sidney hadn’t cared much what Mandy wanted. To Tom’s way of thinking, that gold was as much hers as his. She should have had a say. “That house was dark inside. A couple of kerosene lanterns to light the whole thing. I don’t think Mandy could get to town to buy more or chop the wood to keep fire going in the fireplaces. She and the three children all slept in one bedroom together. She said it was mostly because none of them wanted to sleep alone in that spooky, cold place.”
“I’m surprised she didn’t make you pack a string of horses to bring all her folderol down with her.” Merl began cleaning his fingernails with his knife.
“Mandy didn’t even bring a change of clothes. She brought diapers and her Winchester and the two horses Sidney bought from me back a few years. That’s it. She wanted no part of it.” Tom turned to Zeb. “So you’ve heard nothing from your telegrams back East about the Cooters?”
“I’ve gotten one wire saying they’re tracking down some answers. They think this grandfather who started that whole family code of loyalty is still alive. They’re going to ask him some questions. They’ll let me know more when they do.”
“Will talking to the old man make it worse?” Tom had decided to marry Mandy, and nothing would have stopped him. But she’d sure been right when she said trouble came riding with her. “Will he send more Cooters out here to buy into the fight?”
“Near as I can tell, things can’t get any worse. The marshals I contacted have heard of this feud. The word is out for Cooters to come a-runnin’ and fight for their family, and they’ve been doing it already for more than a year. A lot of them Cooters are missing. There’s a reason they think Lady Gray is a witch. Men get swallowed up when they go after her.”
“So how many Cooters are there?” Tom felt tired thinking of how long this fight could last. Would they have to wipe out the whole family before they could have peace?
“I’m just not sure. The answers aren’t in yet. I’ve been out every day scouting the land around your cabin, and I’ve got a glimpse of a track here and there. I haven’t caught up with the Cooters, though. Four of ’em from what I can see. I’ve got marshals riding in so we can cover more land. We’ll get ’em, Tom. Just let me do my job.”
“Well, we’re trying to take the trouble with us when we ride, but hoping to leave it far enough behind that we draw the Cooters off without getting under their gun sights. Keep your eyes open, and if you see any sign of these coyotes on our trail, toss a loop on them for me.” Tom adjusted his Stetson as he strode toward the door. “Now I’d better go keep watch on my wife.”
Luther read the telegraph with grim satisfaction. Mandy was finally doing the right thing. And she’d paid for enough words to tell him she’d send a wire to her folks, too. Good.
It was too many miles into Yellowstone to get Buff, though he’d love to have his old friend at his side. He’d love even more to have Buff’s tough, trail-savvy wife. And if he could get to Buff, he could get to Sally, and then they’d really be able to bring a fight to those back-shooting Cooters.
But Luther wasn’t taking any side trips. He’d been hunting and trapping around Helena ever since Mandy had forbidden him to come and stay with her. Having a broken leg that was stubborn healing had helped keep him away.
But no more. He was in good shape again, and he was done listening to the wishes of a little girl, no matter how fast she was with a rifle.
He wasn’t waiting for Clay either. He knew Clay would come, but not in time. And Luther didn’t mean to let Mandy stand alone, not even with Tom Linscott at her side. Luther knew Tom Linscott just a bit. The man’s reputation was solid.
If Mandy’d had the sense to marry a rancher to begin with instead of a greenhorn sidewinder, none of this mess would have happened. He intended to tell her that, too, but he’d soften it so she wouldn’t cry or nothing.
The wire she’d sent included instructions for him to head for Divide, Montana.
Saddling his horse and packing supplies took ten minutes. He was moving down on the trail to Divide at a gallop in eleven. Too bad he couldn’t talk to Buff.
Mandy dashed up the back steps of Bates’ General Store and rushed inside, through what looked like a storeroom. She ran down a hallway to the front of the store, slammed into a cracker barrel, caught it before it tipped over, and earned herself a raised eyebrow from the whipcord-lean lady minding the place. “So”—she had to gasp for breath before she could go on—“is my order ready?”
“Yep. I’m Muriel Bates. So, you married Tom Linscott?”
Between
breaths, Mandy said, “Yes.”
“The man has a hot temper. I’d make it clear right from the start I wasn’t gonna put up with it.”
“I appreciate the advice, Muriel. I have a temper myself, so I have no room to complain. You know I’m Lady Gray. I’ve heard that’s what I’m called.” Leaving a trail was part of Mandy’s plan. And this oughta do it.
Gray brows arched over a deeply lined forehead. “I’ve most certainly heard of you. That there was a—a—”
Mandy could only imagine what this plain-spoken woman was thinking. It seemed likely that she’d say most things that came to mind. “A witch? I live in a castle? My land is haunted?”
“That about sums it up.”
“I did live in a castle, I suppose. My first husband found gold and seemed to think if he lived in a castle on a mountaintop that’d make him a king.”
Muriel snorted.
Mandy couldn’t help liking her. She looked out the front window and saw Tom striding across the street from the sheriff’s office. She almost had her breathing under control now. A quick swipe mopped sweat off her brow, but it was a hot day. Sweat could be caused by something other than running.
“So you don’t want your husband to know you went down to the telegraph office?”
Swallowing hard, Mandy looked into the woman’s eyes. “Uh … no, I’d just as soon he didn’t, but I’m not sneaking to put something past him. I sent away for help. Figured his pride might get in the way if I asked permission, so I did it behind his back. I’m planning on telling him when we’re a few miles down the trail to … Denver.”
“Denver’s where you’re headed?” Muriel’s skeptical tone told Mandy she’d caught the hesitation.
“Yep.” Mandy reached for the loaded saddlebags Muriel had stuffed with goods.
Sophie's Daughters Trilogy Page 77