All joking aside, Leon turned respectful at once. “Leon Bloodworth, ma’am, I’m right sorry to hear about your husband.” He shook his head slowly. “I know that’s a sorry piece of news to have to bring to Douglas and Martha.”
“Mr. Bloodworth,” Carrie responded politely.
When she said no more than that, Leon looked at Cole and asked, “You wantin’ to board these horses? You thinkin’ about stayin’ in town for a while?”
“Yeah, maybe for a night or two, I reckon,” Cole answered. “At least for me and Harley’s horses. Carrie, here, will most likely be stayin’ with her in-laws, but she’ll be interested in sellin’ those two that belong to her and the mule, too.” He nodded toward the two packhorses. “Maybe more, I don’t know if she’s decided to keep that sorrel she’s ridin’ or not. I reckon you’re still buyin’ and sellin’ horses. But right now, I think she wants to tidy up a little before she sees her in-laws, maybe in your outhouse or kitchen.” He glanced at Carrie for confirmation. She nodded in reply.
Leon, already appraising the two packhorses, paused before responding. He was obviously caught off guard by the lady’s request. “I’m interested in talkin’ trade, always am,” he stuttered. “But I don’t know if my outhouse is any kind of place for a lady like yourself to freshen up. I don’t usually have no visitors usin’ the outhouse. I don’t use it, myself, half the time.” His sudden look of panic faded when a thought occurred to him. “Best thing for you would be to go to the hotel. They’ve got a nice ladies’ washroom right behind the dinin’ room. That’d suit you a whole lot better ’n my stable.” Confident again, he looked at Harley and shook his head. “I ain’t surprised you didn’t think of that.”
“I reckon I should have,” Cole said. “That would be better.” In truth, he had thought of that, but he had assumed Carrie would want to go to Green’s general store right away, even before she saw to her horses. He had not been planning to visit the hotel dining room, even though he knew he would enjoy one of the fine meals Maggie Whitehouse provided. But, he told himself, I’m probably silly to stay away. Mary Lou Cagle probably no longer works there since she married Gordon Luck. Gordon would most likely want his wife to stay home and cook for him.
“That sounds like the best thing to do,” Carrie said, convinced that the condition of his outhouse might even be worse that he described.
“I’ll take care of your animals for you, ma’am,” Leon said. “Water ’em and feed ’em, and when you get ready, we’ll talk about sellin’ ’em.”
“Just so you know,” Cole told him, “it’ll be me you’ll be doin’ the tradin’ with. We’ll walk up to the hotel with Miss Green and leave our horses tied up here. We’ll leave the saddles on ’em till we decide if we’re gonna stay in town tonight.” He was not looking at Carrie, else he might have caught the momentary look of panic in her eyes.
The disappointment in Leon’s face was too difficult to hide, but he tried to make light of it. “Well, I swear, Cole, you know I’d be as fair to her as I would to you or Harley.”
“Ha!” Harley snorted and turned to accompany Cole and Carrie up the street.
* * *
Sheriff John Henry Black stood leaning against the front desk of the hotel, talking to the owner, Arthur Campbell, when Carrie and her two escorts walked in. He stood aside politely when she came to the desk. Both Black and Campbell eyed the woman openly, curious to hear what she had in mind.
“Can I help you, ma’am?” Campbell asked, too absorbed in scrutinizing the young woman dressed in deerskins to give full notice to the two men accompanying her.
“She’s lookin’ to clean herself up a little,” Harley answered for her. “She’s been in the saddle for a few days gettin’ here, and she’d like to use your washroom.”
“I’ll pay for it, if there’s a charge,” Cole said.
“Harley?” Campbell blurted, surprised when he glanced in the little man’s direction. He shifted his gaze immediately to the tall man behind him. “Cole Bonner! I declare, I didn’t even know that was you, wearing those buckskins. Your lady friend had all my attention, I guess.”
He gestured to John Henry Black, who had shifted his interest immediately to the two men, strangers to him. “Say howdy to Sheriff Black,” Campbell said. “It took us a while to find a good man for the sheriff’s job after Jim Thompson was gunned down right in front of the Cowboy’s Rest. Then John Henry, here, came riding in from Kansas one day and took it on. Sheriff, this is Cole Bonner. He’s the fellow we told you about. Without Cole’s help, Slade Corbett and his gang mighta run all the honest folks outta town.”
“I heard about you,” Black said as he continued to study the formidable young man standing before him. “Seems like every time you came to town somebody got killed.” He smiled then and extended his hand.
Cole shook it. “Pleased to meet you. I hope that ain’t gonna happen this time.” He nodded toward Harley and said, “This is Harley Branch.”
“Now, introduce me to your lady friend,” Campbell said.
“This is Carrie Green,” Cole said. “She’s come to stay with Douglas Green and his wife.” He went on then to tell them the sad circumstances that brought Carrie to Cheyenne to meet her mother-and father-in-law. “She lost everything she owned,” Cole concluded. “That’s why she’s wearin’ that Indian getup.”
Carrie, having stood silent up to that point while all four men looked at her as if she was a mare at a horse auction, spoke for the first time. “If I can, I’d like to clean up a little before I go to meet the Greens.”
Realizing she had been practically ignored while they learned why she happened to be there, Arthur Campbell replied at once. “Why of course you can, ma’am, and it won’t be no charge to you at all. I’ll get someone to help you.” He came out from behind the desk and went to the door that led to a hallway, then to another door that led to the dining room. When he returned, he said, “One of Maggie’s girls who works in the dining room will be glad to take you in hand.”
Cole exchanged glances with Harley, each wondering how far their obligation went in delivering Carrie to Cheyenne. Neither made any comment, but both decided independently that the job wouldn’t be over until they handed her over to her in-laws.
In the next moment, the door to the hallway opened and in walked Mary Lou Cagle. She froze when she saw Cole. Equally stunned, he could not speak at once, but after a few seconds, he forced himself to recover.
She was the first to speak. “Cole Bonner.” She said his name softly, as if beholding a mysterious legend. Then in a voice more fitting to her usual confidence, she added, “If that is you in that Indian getup.”
“Hello, Mary Lou,” Cole managed to reply.
“It’s been quite a while since you left Cheyenne,” Mary Lou said as she studied the change in his appearance—buckskins and long Indian-style hair. Realizing she was staring, she shifted her gaze immediately toward Carrie, dressed in buckskin clothing as well, with a heavy blanket wrapped around her shoulders. “Is this lady with you?”
“I reckon so,” Cole sputtered, unable to think of any other answer.
Mary Lou gave Carrie a quick looking over, but before she could address her, Arthur Campbell said, “This young lady just got to town, and she’s had a bad time of it before Cole and Harley found her. How ’bout showing her where she can freshen up?”
“Why, sure,” Mary Lou replied. “I’d be glad to. Come on, honey, and I’ll take you to the washroom.” She stepped back and held the door for Carrie.
When the door closed behind them, Cole glanced at Harley, inhaled deeply, and shook his head. “I didn’t expect to see Mary Lou still workin’ in the dinin’ room. I’m kinda surprised Gordon Luck lets her.”
“Me, too,” Harley said.
Campbell shrugged, realizing there was no reason to think they would know. “Mary Lou never married Gordon.” When he received a quick look of surprise from each of the two, he added, “Mary Lou called it off.”
“Did sh
e say why?” Cole asked at once.
“Said it would just have been a big mistake, is what she told Maggie,” Campbell said. “Gordon didn’t take it too well. But, like I told him, it was better than getting married, then finding out a little ways down the road that she wanted out.” Campbell cocked his head to one side and chuckled as he recalled. “Gordon stands in good with the Lord, so he finally decided that musta been the way God prefers it.”
“Reckon so,” Cole said, remembering then that Gordon Luck ran a sawmill, but also served as the pastor of the church. He glanced at Harley, who was eyeing him, a wide grin beaming through the heavy brush that covered a large portion of his face.
“That ain’t the first time Mary Lou’s had a chance to get married,” Campbell continued. “She was married once, a long time ago, and I reckon she figures once was enough for her.”
“Wouldn’t blame her,” Harley said. “Could be she’s holdin’ out for the right man to come along.” He cocked an eye at his partner, but Cole made no response, his mind still grappling with the unexpected development.
* * *
“Water for that tub is in these buckets,” Mary Lou said, trying not to be obvious as she appraised Carrie. “All you have to do is put it on the stove and heat it up.” She pointed to the little potbellied stove in the corner of the small room. “Are you wanting to take a tub bath?” she asked as an afterthought.
“I wasn’t going to,” Carrie replied. “I was just planning to freshen up a little and run a brush through my hair. But since everything is so handy, I think a bath might be a good idea.”
Mary Lou knew that she should leave without asking any more questions, but she found that she was just irritated enough to pry. “Have you known Cole very long?”
“Only a little over a week,” Carrie answered. Seeing the surprised expression on Mary Lou’s face, it struck her then that the question had held more than casual interest. “I owe my life to Cole Bonner,” she said, then went on to tell Mary Lou about the loss of her husband and the circumstances that had led her to this town with a hastily sewn dress made from animal hides her only garment. “The only dress of my own was torn so badly that I threw it in the fire when Moon Shadow gave me this one.”
When she fully realized the tragedy Carrie had recently endured, and the part that Cole had played in it, Mary Lou felt her cheeks flush with the shameful thoughts she had assumed. She quickly tried to atone for the cool reception she had offered the poor woman who had just seen her husband murdered. “I’m so very sorry to hear about your husband,” she said. “If there is anything I can do to help you, please don’t hesitate to let me know. Douglas and Martha Green are kind, decent folks, and I know they will welcome you into their home.”
“I fear they will think Robert married an Indian woman,” Carrie said. “But it was either this, or meet them for the first time wearing the clothes of one of the men who murdered their son.”
“Maybe I can help you with that,” Mary Lou volunteered, now eager to be of assistance to the unfortunate young widow. “We look pretty much the same size. Maybe I’m a little bigger. I’ll go get you one of my dresses to wear until you have a chance to get some new clothes.”
“Oh, that would be so kind of you,” Carrie exclaimed. “I don’t know how I can repay you.” She hesitated then added, “And Cole and Harley for all their kindness.”
“Think nothing of it,” Mary Lou said. “I’m glad we can help.” With a more positive attitude, she left then to fetch a suitable dress from her room. “You go on now and get to your bath, and I’ll be back with some clothes for you.” She quickly picked up one of the buckets of water and placed it on the stove, then went out the door.
Before going to her room, Mary Lou went back into the kitchen to tell Maggie Whitehouse what she was doing. “I know it’s almost time to serve supper, but I need to help that poor woman get ready to meet her in-laws for the first time.”
“Beulah and I can handle it till you get back,” Maggie assured her. “You better not take too long, though, if she wants to catch Martha at the store. You know, she goes home early to fix Douglas’s supper.” She favored her with a mischievous smile and asked, “So Cole Bonner just showed up at the hotel and brought a woman with him, huh?”
“Bite your tongue,” Mary Lou scolded. “I told you what that poor woman just went through. You oughta be ashamed.” She felt no desire to confess that her initial reaction to seeing Cole again, and with another woman, was one of pure jealousy. She had turned down an offer of marriage to a prominent businessman because of her inability to rid her mind of Cole Bonner. And then to see him return after a year of roaming the wild mountains like an Indian—with a young woman, no less—she felt ready to strangle him.
Reminding herself that she needed to catch Martha Green before she went home, Mary Lou left to hurry Carrie along and help her get dressed.
* * *
At first glance, the men still talking at the front desk thought Mary Lou had bumped into another woman on her way back from the kitchen.
Harley was the first to express his surprise. “Well, I’ll be . . .” he exclaimed, searching for the right words. “If you ain’t pretty as a picture. I didn’t know that was you at first.”
“Harley’s right,” Cole said. “You look real nice, Carrie. Mr. and Mrs. Green will be mighty proud to meet you.” His gaze drifted to focus on Mary Lou and found her eyes focused on him. He quickly looked away.
Carrie could not help blushing with the attention paid to her and tried to make light of it. “I declare, I musta looked pretty bad before.” She could not tell them that she was almost trembling inside with the uncertainty of meeting her in-laws. For, without her husband, she was not confident that they would welcome her. She was a stranger to them and might be a constant reminder that he had been murdered. Once again she wondered if she was making the right decision in coming. Maybe she would have felt more welcome had she stayed with Moon Shadow and Yellow Calf.
It was too late to back out, however, when Mary Lou spoke up. “You’d best take her on up to the store,” she said to Cole. “Martha will be going home pretty soon to fix supper. I imagine she’d like to know her daughter-in-law’s come home.”
“Reckon you’re right,” Cole replied. “Let’s get along then.” He walked to the door and held it open for Carrie.
Carrie glanced furtively at Mary Lou and said, “Thank you. I’ll return your dress as soon as I can buy something.” Then she walked toward the door, much like a convicted felon walking to the gallows.
“You’re welcome,” Mary Lou said. “No hurry about the dress. Keep it as long as you need it.” Then she said to Harley, who was following Carrie out the door, “Harley, you and Cole can come on back here for supper.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Harley replied obediently, for her raised eyebrow and unblinking gaze indicated it was a command and not merely an invitation. “We surely will.” He grinned and gave her a wink.
* * *
Martha Green looked up from the counter when she heard the door open. “Cole Bonner,” she announced, surprised to see him. “We were wondering if we’d ever see you back here again.” She craned her neck in an effort to see the slender young woman almost hidden behind the tall rifleman. “And who’s this you’ve got with you?” Without waiting for an answer, she called out, “Douglas, Cole Bonner is here, and he’s brought some people with him.”
“Howdy, Miz Green,” Cole returned the greeting. “This is Harley Branch. I don’t believe he’s ever been in here before, have you, Harley?”
Harley said that he hadn’t.
Martha was more interested in Carrie. “And who’s this young lady?”
Purposely stalling until Douglas came in from the storeroom, Cole waited until the burly storekeeper entered the room, preferring to report the sorrowful news just one time.
Carrie, thinking Cole might have suddenly become reluctant to impart such tragic news decided she should not saddle him with that burden.
“Mr. and Mrs. Green,” Carrie spoke up, stepping in front of Cole. “I’m Carrie, Robert’s wife.”
“Carrie,” Martha echoed and looked toward the door, expecting her son to walk in. She stepped forward to embrace her daughter-in-law, having known her only through her son’s letters. “Well, this is a pleasant surprise,” she gushed as she gave Carrie a welcoming hug. “We weren’t sure when to expect you.” She looked past Harley to the door again. “Where’s Robert?”
“He’s not coming,” Carrie answered.
Confused, Martha stepped back and awaited an explanation.
Carrie continued. “I’m so sorry to tell you this, but Robert’s dead.” She paused when she saw the shock registered in Martha’s eyes. “We were attacked by a couple of outlaws on our way here and they killed Robert.”
Cole stepped up in time to catch Martha Green before she sank to the floor. Her husband quickly moved in to help Cole settle Martha into a chair by the stove.
Carrie, with tears streaming down her cheeks, blurted out, “I’m so sorry, and I wasn’t sure if you’d want me to come here without Robert.” She appeared too distraught to continue, so Cole told them how he and Harley had happened upon her abductors and managed to free her.
By the time he had finished, both father and mother were staring stone-faced at him, scarcely able to believe this tragedy had befallen them. After a long moment, Martha recovered her senses enough to realize that it was Carrie’s tragedy as well as theirs. She rose from the chair and went to embrace the young stranger again. “I’m so sorry, my dear,” she said, making an effort to sound sincere. “Of course, you’re welcome in our home. We fixed up the front bedroom for you and Robert, so now it’s yours, and welcome.” She looked at Cole and Harley then and thanked them for bringing their daughter-in-law safely to them.
“Yes, ma’am,” Cole said, anxious to leave now that Carrie seemed to have been received graciously. “I reckon we’ll be goin’, then.”
Harley, as eager to go as Cole, was already at the door.
Carrie caught Cole’s arm as he turned to leave. “Thank you for everything you did.”
Massacre at Crow Creek Crossing Page 7