“What’s the matter?” He asked, patting her back awkwardly.
“We’d best get back to the house.” She said in a desolate voice, as she tried to shrug his hands away. Straightening her clothing became a difficult chore.
Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Gabe shot to his feet and quickly re- fastened his pants.
“It was just a joke.” He mumbled, more to himself than anyone.
“Well, I’m tired of being the center of your amusement!” She fired back.
It was official. The woman was crazy! She ran hot then cold. Pulling him close and then pushing him away. He wasn’t sure what she was talking about half of the time.
“You need to make up your mind about what you want lady!” He snapped at her, unable to keep his temper contained.
“You sir, are a beast!” Melody wailed.
“Oh please, don’t go getting all prissy with me. You and I both know that you liked what we just did.” He bit out, completely misunderstanding her ire.
“I’d like to kick you a good one Mr. O’Malley.” She threatened him in a huff waving her tightly closed fist in his direction.
Gabe believed her. She might be tiny, but with the glare she was giving him he knew she wanted to do him bodily injury.
“Mrs. O’Malley, you lift one foot to do so, and so help me I will paddle your bottom.” He continued, when he saw a new gleam come into her eyes. “Put that shoe down, you aren’t going to throw that either!”
“I have had enough of your abuse.” She stated in disgust, turning on her heels. Head held high she walked away from him, as graceful as a queen.
“Abuse my ass! You are the one, who is always hitting me with things!” He shouted at her retreating back. Yeah, he knew he screwed that up.
**********
Bright red blood seeped through the makeshift bandage, the coarse cloth sticking to the fresh wound. He would be lucky if he didn’t get an infection. “Goddamn mutt!” Jack growled. Too bad he hadn’t had the chance to kill the son of a bitch. He’d been so close to grabbing the blonde haired witch, when the dog had sprung up on him sinking his teeth into Jack’s thigh
ripping into the flesh with all his might.
Not wanting to raise the alarm, Jack could only slam the butt of his colt, into the hulking beast’s head. Even after three hard thumps, it hadn’t wanted to let go of Jack’s leg. The fourth blow however did the trick, causing enough pain to make the dog release Jack. Shooting the dog would’ve been preferable, but a bullet would have made too much noise. If only he could have reached for his knife… Jack sighed. Now wasn’t the time for him to get sidetracked. It was only a few feet further, to the crumbling old line shack. Hidden between a thick clustering of trees, it had stood empty for years. Until now.
Jack had found it easily, last week. The best part was that it was so close to his prey, he could almost hear their heartbeats. It was perfect. Small, but it had plenty enough room to work in. He really should thank, Mr. Claymore Billings for the directions. The old man, was quite useful to have around, though a tad too nosy. Someone should cure Claymore of that. Smiling, Jack thought of just how he was going to show his appreciation….
“The fox never had a better messenger than
Himself”
An Irish proverb
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“Let this meeting come to order!” The call came from the portly bald man, seated to the right of Fergus. All eyes turned to Josiah Brown, the leader of their group. As usual when it came to council meetings, he was dressed to the gills in his Sunday finery. The owner of the hotel as well as the town council’s chairman, Josiah relished his job.
The small expanse they gathered in was smoke filled and cramped. It was free though, on account of it being in the back room of the saloon. Josiah wouldn’t comment on the shabby state of the room, at least not with the owner of the Rot Gut in this very room. Casting a quick glance at Marlon Jones, Josiah continued down the row of council members. Seated next to Marlon was his twin Harlan. Though their features exact copies of the other; their personalities couldn’t be any more different. They were like night and day. Marlon was quiet and reserved; While Harlan was opinionated and mouthy.
Josiah guessed their mama must have been pretty bad in a former life; to get stuck with the likes of those two squabbling twins.
The brothers hardly spoke to each other, other than to argue. Which they did regularly there was an unstated rivalry between the siblings, which probably began with the race to see which would be born first. Both had thinning gray hair, full beards, and were stick thin. Harlan owned the general store, and had the honor of being the town drunk much to the disgust of his brother. Marlon may own the Rot Gut Saloon, but he never partook of the spirits he peddled. He thought they made a man weak, just looking at Harlan confirmed the fact in his mind. Every night after sun down, one could watch Harlan waltz down the path to his brother’s place. If asked where he was off to, he would just say, he was spending time with family. Brotherly bonding and all…..
Josiah caught sight of the youngest member of the council. Mathias Sinclair, as he sat stiffly in his chair his large size dwarfing the room further. The look on his face told all. If he could be anywhere else, he’d be there right now. The only thing that stopped him was a simple fact. The council was well aware of the promise he’d made his pa. They were not above exploiting that promise either.
Fixing the young man with a stern frown, Josiah began again. “Tonight’s meeting will be centered on the up and coming bridal bidding.”
A groan escaped Mathias before he could stop it.
“Do you have something to say, young man?” Josiah challenged.
“No sir.” Mathias mumbled respectfully.
“Good son. ‘Cause you should pay close attention to the bidding. After all you’re still unmarried...” Josiah wasn’t going to let even a wealthy rancher escape from his lecture.
“So is Marlon.” Mathias blandly commented.
“Hey boy! Don’t you go dragging me into this pickle.” Marlon shouted. He was proud of his bachelor status. At sixty three, he was nowhere near ready to give up his freedom.
“This is not about Marlon.” Josiah calmly stated.
“Yeah, he’s too old for a woman.” Harlan chuckled. “He dun’ near forgot what to do with one.”
“Look who’s talking. You’re older than me.” Marlon snapped at his brother.
“By five minutes.” Harlan shot back.
“Enough!” Fergus snapped at the group. As co- chair, he wanted this meeting to get back on track. “It’s almost the first of June. The Bidding begins after the Independence Day dance.”
“Right you are Fergus. I think we need to make sure, that all of the ground rules have been laid.” Josiah seconded the older man seated beside him.
“Why exactly do I need to be here for this?” Mathias questioned his fellow council members.
“We need your input that’s why.” Fergus ground out.
“You didn’t need it when you voted for this debacle.” Mathias muttered.
“That’s beside the point young man.” Josiah said frankly. “As I was saying… I believe for propriety’s sake that we should all take turns standing in as chaperone, for each couple.”
“I’m not going to stand watch over giggling lovebirds!” Mathias declared. “I’d rather be shot.”
“Why not? It might put some thought into your head on finding a good woman.” Josiah reasoned.
“Good women aren’t what they used to be, trust me.” Mathias said bitterly.
Everyone in the room was well aware of Mathias’ deep resentment towards the female population. He’d all about lost his trust in women, with the exception of his Ma and baby sister Serena. All because his once intended bride, high tailed it back east and found her a city boy. Most everybody in town knew that it would one day happen. Better before the marriage took place, than after.
Daisy Lynn Howard had always been spoiled
and flighty. Pretty as temptation itself, she had a reputation for being fickle with her affections. Many a young man had pinned their hopes on Daisy. Only to end up broken hearted. No one wanted to push Mathias, but it was high time he got over that fluffy headed, light skirt.
“The duty wouldn’t be so bad. How I see it, each woman would take turns providing a home cooked meal. As the chaperone, we would be welcome to sample their cooking.” Fergus explained.
“Lord, please have mercy on us, if Etta Howard cooks for her groom.” A round of agreeing grunts followed Mathias’ statement.
Etta Howard could burn water. Most folks avoided eating her homemade goodies, during social gatherings. To spare her feelings, Reverend Peterson usually had to dump them discreetly into the nearest bush. To the Reverend’s immense relief, the old maid never seemed the wiser. It was hard enough having a beautiful sister, while being so plain. Not having the ability to cook, well that truly was a shame. To Josiah’s way of thinking, Etta was going end her days alone.
“Alright then gentlemen, any of the ladies interested can either prepare a home cooked meal or make arrangements with the hotel dining room.” Josiah liked the idea enormously. He’d make a tidy profit off of some of the eligible ladies.
“You think some of them women; will want to have supper at the Rot Gut?” Harlan asked hopefully. His mouth was already watering for the taste of a whiskey.
“No, you dim wit. Proper women don’t go into saloons. Sides’ I don’t cotton to no women prettying up my place.” Marlon answered. “Next thing ya know, they’ll want to have their tea parties or whatnot there.”
“Look, we don’t have much time. Gabriel is waiting for me over by the hotel.” Fergus said pointedly trying to hurry the meeting along.
“How’s married life treating the boy?” Harlan asked his friend.
“Just fine.” Fergus lied. Fergus knew something was wrong between the stubborn newlyweds. Though for the life of him, he couldn’t understand what the problem was. Hell, when he’d married Moira they’d been too busy in bed to fight At least for the first year. The little spats they did have were settled by a good dose of cuddling.
For weeks now, Gabe had been acting like a bear, with a sore paw. Melody on the other hand, had been all sunshine and light. Fergus could tell that the brighter her smile, the more the tears shone in her eyes. There had to be a way to fix things, the matchmaker in him shouted out.
“Who’s the injun Gabriel’s got workin’ for him?” Harlan inquired, interrupting Fergus from his deep thoughts. “I seen him talking to Miss Sinclair.”
“His name’s Hunter. You got a problem with him?” Fergus wasn’t going to let the drunkard, run off one of Gabe’s workers. The lucky M took care of its own.
There was something about the quiet young man that Fergus found intriguing. Hunter was polite but never overly friendly. He kept to himself mostly, choosing to eat alone than in the bunk house with the other hands. There was a story to him. Fergus would bet his best whiskey on it.
“Nah. Paid for his stuff up front. Got no problem with injuns.” Harlan shrugged. Most people in the territory had a natural fear of them. Harlan fortunately saw money as a bridge of communication. Added was the fact that the local tribes were peaceful towards the town at the moment, had been for years.
“Why was he talking to my sister?” The hair on the back of Mathias’ neck rose. He’d seen the man in question, and something was vaguely familiar about him something dangerous. He did not want his sister around the hombre until Mathias himself investigated the guy.
“It was more like she was the one talking. One would think that man’s a mute, with as many words as I heard him say.” Harlan assured the young man. “No offense Mathias, but your sister could talk the ears off of a statue.”
“Could we please turn our attentions back, to the matter at hand?” Josiah whined, as his audience began to fade.
“Did I tell ya about how Miss Serena, ran off the Mayor?” Harlan crowed. “Gave him a what for... right up there on the boardwalk, in front of god and everybody.”
Mathias rolled his eyes heavenward. “Sounds just like Serena.” He said drolly. Though Alec was his best friend and Serena his baby sister, Mathias was not going to get involved in one of their many spats.
“Told him to mind his own business, she did.” Harlan chuckled at witnessing such a scene. “As my sainted Da’ woulda' said, there are three creatures beyond ruling… a mule, a pig and a red headed woman…” A chorus of laughter echoed Fergus’ bit of wisdom.
“Gentlemen please…” Josiah tried once again to regain a semblance of order.
Just as the laughter subsided, a commotion came from the front of the saloon. A shout and the thud of chairs banging against tables sounded, as the thunder of footsteps pounded through the main room.
“What now?” Josiah groaned.
Before Marlon could leave his seat and investigate, the door to the room banged against the wall.
Baxter smith the owner of the town’s livery stumbled in, gasping for breath. His thin frame wracked with violent shudders.
“Smithy… good god man, what’s the problem?” Mathias steadied the old man. Smithy was eighty if a day, and quite worked up. Dragging the man over to the nearest bench, Mathias sat beside him gently pounding him on his back.
“Indian attack…” The old man managed to gasp out between big gulps of air. “Found the body…”
“Where?” Mathias demanded.
“What body?” Harlan questioned his friend.
“Couldn’t tell… Too much blood… The scalp was gone.” Smithy shuddered, with the memory of his gruesome discovery.
“Where?” Mathias demanded for the second time.
“On the way to the lucky M…. Found it, when I went to deliver the new saddle Gabriel ordered.”
“Everyone stay here. I’ll go ride out and check on things.” Mathias ordered. Rising to his feet he made Mathias made his way to the door before Smithy stopped him.
“No use, they’re dragging the body into town.” Smithy informed him. “They are bringing it to Doc Bixby’s place, right now.”
“Let’s go see what’s going on.” Harlan encouraged the group, with morbid fascination.
“We can’t just go see what’s going on Harlan!” Josiah ranted. “We are in the middle of a meeting.”
“Gol’ durn it Josiah! They’s probably got a posse ready to ride out now. Most the town will be out watchin’ by now.” Harlan pouted.
“They’re probably gathering at yer’ place Josiah, fer’ coffee and the likes.” Smithy informed the chairman.
“Meeting adjourned!” Josiah cheerfully called out. The prospect, of gaining money momentarily, was outweighing his need for self-importance.
**********
“Thanks for helping out.” Sad brown eyes regarded Gabe, as the gentle voice spoke.
“No problem Doc. Just too bad, no one got to him in time.” Gabe patted the young doctor on the back.
“There was nothing you could do.”
Sebastian Bixby was young. Just barely twenty, he was too damn young to deal with such slaughter. Hell, he’d just gotten back to town from the fancy school that his parents had sent him to. The boy was still wet behind the ears.
Back east Sebastian was one of a hundred doctors, in Liberty he was the only doctor. Sure, most folks didn’t want a kid for a physician. Over the past year though, he’d proved himself worthy to the folks of Liberty. Going from little Sebastian Bixby, to Doc Bixby. It was a fact that the barely grown man appreciated.
“It’s a shame that Mr. Billings had to die so painfully.” The young doctor shook his head.
“I’m still wondering what Claymore was doing so far from town, without a horse.” Gabe commented.
“The Indians probably took it, when they killed him.” The doctor speculated.
“Maybe, but why attack Claymore in the first place? We haven’t had any trouble with the local tribes, in almost ten years.”
“Yes, we’ve been lucky. With the majority of tribes being pushed onto reservations, maybe they’ve decided to become hostile?” Doc reasoned.
“Maybe.” Gabe wasn’t buying it. Claymore’s murder smacked of something more than a hostile Indian attack. The fact that the murder was so close to the Lucky M, made Gabe’s skin crawl.
“We’re going to have to put him in the ground at dawn. Tomorrow promises to be a hot one.” Doc prophesied.
“With Claymore not having any family, it won’t take much to arrange it all.” Gabe agreed.
“So, you never got around to telling me what brought you by tonight.” Doc questioned, turning the subject.
“Well as you know, I’m newly married…”
“Go on.” Doc prompted when Gabe stalled.
“I was just wondering, if you knew why someone would have trouble talking.”
“Gabe if you and your missus are having problems, you really should talk to Reverend Peterson.”
“No, no. It’s not that. My wife’s baby sister, she was at the wedding.” Gabe reminded him.
“Yes. I noticed the young girl.” Doc said bewildered by the turn in conversation.
“Well she doesn’t speak. I’ve never heard her, but Melody says she has a hard time getting words out.”
“Hm. Does she seem to hear you, when you speak to her?” Doc asked, trying to grasp the child’s problem.
“She seems to. Do you think she’s deaf?” Gabe asked.
“No. Although a slight hearing problem, might be to blame. I’m not an authority on hearing loss or impairments.” Doc explained. “I had a professor at university, who might be of some help.”
“Really?” Gabe asked hopefully.
“I’m sure he knows of someone who could take a look at the child. You will probably have to meet the doctor in Austin.” Doc Bixby cautioned.
“That’s not a problem Doc. You just arrange things, and I’ll pay whatever they want.” Gabe promised him.
He’d take Lily to the ends of the earth, to get her help if he had to. In the short time that he’d known her, his little shadow had become part of his family. She was such a sweet tiny thing. She had burrowed deeply into his heart. He loved her as if she was his very own daughter. Which the thought glumly, if his wife didn’t resume relations with him soon Lily might very well be the only child they raise together.
A Bargain Bride (Brides of Liberty, Texas) Page 10