“I’ll talk to him. Then we’ll get the padre and bring his parents into town for the wedding. But let me talk to him alone first.”
“Thank you, Chet,” McCully said. “I knew you could get all this straight. I’ll just go get the boy.”
The boy came in. He was about eighteen, dark, handsome, and quite serious. He bowed politely and called Chet ‘Patron.’
“Chet is who I am, son. So you and Petal want to get married?”
He perked up. “Sí, Señor Chet. Will you help me?”
“Only if she agrees. But you do know that she carries another man’s child?”
“Sí. She told me she did wrong, but that you saved her and brought her home.”
“I simply brought her back here and helped her father start this business.”
Vincente bowed again. “And I am grateful to you, señor. I am so pleased in becoming a saddle maker.”
“When she is your wife, you must honor her, take this child as your own, and provide for her,” Chet continued seriously. “If you ever beat her or harm her in any way, I will harm you in return, no matter where you are. You must be business-like and make a place for yourself in this business.”
“I will, señor—I mean, I will, Chet.” The boy smiled. “I am so happy I could cry.”
“Will she tell me the same thing?”
“I hope so.”
“Go to the store today. Buy a new pair of pants, a white shirt, and a tie. I’ll pay for them, but wait until tomorrow to wear them. I’ll bring your family into town so you two can get married. You can have your honeymoon down on Oak Creek. I have a cabin there. Do you know the place?”
“Sí, señor. I took a wagonload of wood up there once.”
“You’ll need supplies for one week on my bill. I’ll loan you a buckboard so you can make the trip.”
“I think I am going to faint. Mother of God!”
Chet wondered if he would, the boy looked so pale. “Well, don’t do that, there’s too much to do now. But first, go get your girl and bring her in here to talk to me.”
“Sí! I mean, yes, señor—Chet—” Still stammering, he hurried off out into the shop. Soon he returned with an obvious pregnant Petal in tow.
She looked in a daze. “He said—” Her eyes rolled up into her head and she stopped talking.
Chet caught her before she hit the floor. “She’s fainted,” he told the boy.
They sat her in a chair. She looked very much out of it.
“Can you hear me?” Chet asked, squatting down beside her.
“Hmmm?” Her eyelids fluttered open.
“Listen to me now, Petal. Is this your man?”
“Oh, yes. I love him . . .”
“He says he loves you.”
Vincente had a hand on her shoulder. She reached up to clasp it. “We love each other.”
“That’s good. You must never forget that. I’ll bring his family into town tomorrow and have the priest marry you. Then you can go for a week to Oak Creek. You have to get revived enough to follow my orders. You need to go buy a decent dress. They’ll have some on the rack at the dress store. Make a list of groceries you’ll need for a week away at the cabin. Leave it to be ready at the store to pick up on your way out of town. Do you hear me now, Petal?”
Vincente hoisted her to her feet and held her tenderly. She was nodding the entire time. Chet couldn’t help but laugh. All she could do was nod. He hoped she’d heard him.
“Take your father’s buggy and go get all that. I have charge accounts at the stores, and I’ll write you permission to get what you need. Tomorrow I’ll have a fresh team and another buckboard to take to Oak Creek.”
“You will bring his family?” she asked in a cracked voice.
He nodded. “That’s right.”
“Oh, Chet, that is so nice. I don’t deserve all this.”
“Listen. I saved you once, once more won’t hurt me. But if you two don’t love each other for as long as you live, I’ll whip the hell out of both of you.” Chet looked at Vincente. “Do any of you boys have a horse here to ride out to the ranch?”
“Sí. We keep two.”
Chet picked up a pen and a receipt for leather and started scribbling on the back.
“Go get the smartest boy in there and bring him to me. He needs to take a note to Monica and Raphael about our plans.”
Monica,
Tell Raphael that Vincente is marrying Petal McCully tomorrow morning at the Catholic church. Time not set yet, but say 10 a. m. Raphael can explain it to Vincente’s parents, tell them I approve. Everyone can come. The honeymooners will need a buckboard, team, and camping cooking gear for a week at Oak Creek. They will get their own food in town.
Chet
Vincente brought one of the other boys in as he licked the envelope shut. “Saddle a horse and take my note to Monica at the ranch. Vincente is marrying Petal tomorrow. You’re the messenger.”
“I can do that, patron.”
“Tell them Liz and I will be there.”
He wrote out the permission slips for the stores and told Vincente and Petal to get busy. They fled.
McCully hobbled in on his crutches. “I heard most of that. God bless you, Chet Byrnes. I owed you my life before. Today I owe you my soul.”
“I didn’t do a damn thing but work it out.” Chet laughed, hugging the crying man.
“Thank God you did.”
“I better go join my wife or I’ll be dead meat myself.” With that, he walked back out to the buckboard and headed back to Shelly’s place.
“Where have you been?” Liz asked with a smile.
He hugged and kissed her. “Arranging another wedding. Too long a story to tell right now. I lost track of the time.”
“Shelly’s to meet Bo at the church after five o’clock.”
He checked his pocket watch. “Get her. We won’t be late. My horses are ready.”
Liz disappeared to get the bride and her maid. He put the three of them on the spring seat and stood up behind to drive the team to the church, keeping them entertained with details about the next wedding he’d set up. He jogged the horses all the way, and they were there by five thirty.
Bo walked out of the church to claim his bride. He kissed her like they’d been apart for a long time, and thanked them one and all. The maid—Cary—blushed to see the display. Chet winked.
She smiled and whispered, “He acts like he missed her since yesterday.”
“Good for him,” Liz said, and the three laughed.
They took seats in the second row of pews. The organ was playing “How Fine Thou Arte,” and the minister stood before them. The winter sun had set, so candles sparkled on the polished wooden walls and the cross above the altar. Bo and Shelly looked happy and prosperous in their fine attire, waiting for the ceremony to begin. It was short and sweet, but no less moving for it. The couple kissed, and Chet, Liz, and Cary joined them in the aisle to congratulate them.
“Cary has supper in the oven at home,” Shelly gushed. “Please join us. You can spend the night so you don’t have to go home.”
“Yes,” Bo agreed. “Please be our guests on this great evening.”
Liz looked at Chet and smiled. “I think we can do that.”
They thanked the minister and went back to Shelly’s house for supper and the night. After dinner, the newlyweds were excused and the Byrneses went in the living room, where Cary soon brought them coffee and cake.
“Can you play the guitar?” she asked. “Most people from Mexico can play it.”
Liz sat up and smiled. “I once could. Do you have one?”
“Yes. Ms. Shelly’s first husband played. I’ll go get it.”
“Thank you.” She left the room in a hurry.
“I didn’t know you could play the guitar,” Chet said, sipping coffee.
“Shocked? I’m sorry. I never felt like I was very good at it.”
“Not shocked. But I am ashamed I never asked you.”
�
�Why is that?” she asked.
“May was in my family for years and we never knew she could sing and play the piano. Not even my sister knew and they were closer than anything. When she married Hampt, he found out. You ever heard her sing?”
“She is operatic. I’m a smoky cantina singer.” Liz laughed as Cary returned holding a gleaming guitar. “My, that is a beautiful instrument, Cary. Thank you.”
Liz’s fingers flew, adjusting and strumming the instrument until she felt familiar with it, then she began a tune that sounded like the wind and rain.
Then she began to sing about a horse no one could catch. He recognized the song—Victor sang it, but he was a tenor, his voice nowhere near as high and strong as Chet’s wife’s, nowhere near as moving. Chills ran down Chet’s spine as she bent over the instrument, the Spanish words clear over the strumming of the strings. He and Cary sat as though tied to their chairs by the chords, listening intently to the pictures Liz painted with her words and voice, amazed. As the last note faded, both shook their heads as though coming out of a trance.
“Why, Mrs. Byrnes,” the maid gushed. “That was as pretty a song as I’ve ever heard.”
“Thank you, Cary—”
“Play some more. Please! I’m intoxicated by your talent.”
“Alright,” Liz said, blushing. “But it gets worse from there.”
She played and sang some more, soft songs of love and heartbreak in her native Mexico, followed by a lively tune of adventure and fun. Finally, she asked Cary for some water and lay the instrument aside.
“That’s enough. You two are a fine audience.” She took a sip from the glass the maid handed her and looked at Chet. “Surprised?”
He shook his head. “All I can say, after the wedding tomorrow, I’m buying you a guitar.”
“Oh, no, you’re not,” said a voice from behind them. They turned to see Shelly and Bo gazing down upon them from the stairs. “She’s taking that one. Bo and I heard her in the bedroom and have been listening from here. Elizabeth, you are so talented.”
“I can’t accept that, Shelly. You’re too kind.”
“But I’ll never play it, and you will,” the other woman said. “Beautifully.”
“After tonight, I fear so. What have I done?”
“Made a very important evening in my life wonderful. Hasn’t she, Bo?”
“Liz, you are a wonderful singer and I was struck by your playing and voice. I hated that you quit.”
“Thank you. You’ve all made me blush. I’ve not sung—well, since my first husband was shot in my house.”
Chet pulled her into his arms. “We didn’t mean to bring back any bad memories.”
She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I know. And it felt good to sing here tonight, just a little . . . bittersweet. I’m glad Cary asked me.”
The girl beamed. “I didn’t know, but most people from Mexico can play and sing.”
“It was a great moment for all of us,” Bo said.
“Do you dance, Cary?” Chet asked.
“I can, sir.”
“Come to the ranch with Bo and Shelly for Christmas. I have several hardworking men out there that would be proud to dance with you.”
It was her turn to blush. “Oh, I couldn’t do that—”
“She’s bashful, Chet,” Shelly said with a laugh. “We’ll bring her, though.”
“Good. It’s been an interesting evening.”
Liz beat on his arm. “A very interesting one, hombre.”
Bo stopped them, waving a finger. “I’ve been to your parties, and there’s a tradition your sister made you do once. I want you to put a blessing on Shelly and me, on Cary, and on the couple getting married tomorrow. In fact on your entire family.”
How could he deny such a request? Chet nodded, took a deep breath, and bowed his head.
Lord give me the strength, the words, and wisdom for this prayer.
“Most Heavenly Father, we are gathered here tonight to celebrate Bo and Shelly’s holy union. May they have a great life together, raise a family, and live out their lives together in peace and happiness. Fortunes are made and lost, but may they walk through their lives in good stead with your Book and find the joys, the pleasure, you have promised them. May they be blessed by Your Hand. Please take this lovely woman who works for them, Cary, and help her find her place in this world, a man who worships her, and a family of children to tend to her and bring her great pleasure in her life here on this earth.
“Lord, we ask that you be with Elizabeth. She yearns for a child. Please help us conceive one so she can become the mother she longs to be. Be with my extended family on the ranches and the Force, keep them in the palm of your hand away from harm and ones with evil in their hearts. Please be in all our hearts, as we ride through this trail we call life together. Amen.”
Amen.
CHAPTER 12
Back at the ranch, and two days later, the snow was gone and Clayton, in town, awaited the grand jury’s decision. Chet sat on the porch, drumming his fingers, impatiently awaiting the outcome while he made plans for the upcoming trip south.
Liz came out the front door under a shawl. It was just cool enough to need one.
“Can we leave Friday instead?” he asked her.
“Well, I am not with child and my time has come. It would be more convenient to leave then.”
“No problem. I’ll have Jesus tell Cole he can stay two days longer. Nothing is that pressing.”
“I’m so disappointed I can’t have children. Others do it so easily and—” she sighed, dashing tears from her eyes. “Oh, I don’t want to dwell on the subject.”
“We had two shotgun weddings this week and I know you are feeling sad that you still aren’t that way, but it does not matter to me.” He swept her in his arms and kissed her hard. “I still love you, and I always will. Is breakfast ready?”
“Yes. Monica sent me to get you.”
“Let’s eat.”
* * *
Luggage and saddles loaded and secured, Chet and Elizabeth, followed by Cole and Jesus, climbed on the Black Canyon Stage for Hayden’s Mill and Ferry. It was just after midnight Friday morning, and so cold that they had to wrap themselves in blankets to keep from freezing. In two days they would be in Tucson, and then on to the Force headquarters at Tubac.
His law enforcement business on the border had trickled down over the past few months. His man Shawn, though, had been keeping the records and filing all the necessary reports to continue their funding. Chet was pleased with the young man’s efforts. He was a damn fine deputy, a steady man who, with his buddy Roamer, had helped Chet back when he’d had to fight to get the Verde Ranch away from the crooked foreman.
By dawn the air had heated enough down in the saguaro desert, they didn’t need the blankets anymore. By noon, they’d stopped to switch coaches at Papago Wells for the final leg into Tucson. They caught a quick lunch and climbed on board for the southbound trip. The stage driver delivered them at the Morales Ranch gate south of Tubac after midnight.
Bronc’s wife, Consuela, was still awake, and rushed out the door to hug Liz. She welcomed them and reported that the men of the Force were all gone running down some bandits near Tombstone. She showed them to the hammocks that had been strung behind the house for them, and they were soon asleep, exhausted from the trip.
Sunup came early and they awoke to the delicious aroma of Consuela making coffee and breakfast. Her sister-in-law, Ricky, was helping.
“They left two days ago to check on some reports of armed robberies on the border,” she told him, stirring some gravy. “I don’t expect them back for some time. It has been very quiet down here lately.”
“I know,” Chet replied, gnawing on a biscuit. “That’s why we’re here.”
“Sí. And we appreciate how you have helped us. We’re really growing as ranchers. We sold several steers and replaced them with cows so we could grow more. Your operation made it all possible.”
“We ma
y ride over to Diablo tomorrow, then.”
“I could go with you,” she offered.
“Nah.” He waved her off. “We know the way.”
“Tell everyone hello and how much we miss them.”
After the meal, they saddled their horses to head over the mountain to visit JD, Bonnie, and the rest. They rode out with the sun and crossed the steep grades to descend into the wide-open desert beyond after mid-day. With a few hours left to ride they gnawed on some jerky for their noon repast.
When the ranch finally came into sight, Liz looked at him and smiled.
“I was so happy to sleep at that ranch last night. There are so many good memories for me back there.”
“Maybe I should have washed your feet.”
She laughed. “You may joke about it, but you doing that made me think about Jesus doing that to his apostles.”
“I’m so glad you did. I just wanted to impress you. I had the same fear that our time was too short and I didn’t want to lose you if I could prevent it.”
“My boldness embarrassed me. But somehow I needed to impress you or my life would never have been settled. I knew that. No man had ever turned my head until that day. Then I fell like a ton of adobe bricks and lost my senses.”
Cole reined in next to them. “Both of us were as impressed, that day, by you as the boss was.”
Jesus laughed. “Maybe more. I thought you were a princess.”
“Well, it sure turned my life upside down.”
Chet nodded in deep thought. “No, you make my days much easier. You going along with us looking for that lost herd. To arrest criminals. My whole life changed.”
“I agree. We have a wonderful life together, and nothing will take it away.”
He reached out to hold her hand. “Nothing.”
When they reined up at Diablo, Bonnie came running from the ranch house. “You finally made it! Maria, go ring the bell. JD’ll bust his buttons to get here.”
All the workers’ wives and children hurried to see what the fuss was about.
“The patron is here! The patron!”
Dismounting, Chet shook his head at the girl’s excitement. “We just came by to see all of you.”
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