Brides of the West-Part One

by Hestand, Rita

  "Alright Daniel, you go on over to the other side of the creek and hang a few of these up on the trees. Space them so no matter where they are, they can see the sign. Hang em high so they can't miss them. I'll put some over here. Holler when you are through."

  "Okay." Daniel took a handful of the signs and crossed the creek in the shallow end. His horse neighed as the cool water refreshed. They'd made the signs on old pieces of tin off the roof that had fallen away. Now all they had to do was hammer them up with a nail. Within an hour, he had his posted and hollered across the creek.

  Dal waved.

  They met up again and went toward the house. But as Dal got to thinking he stopped, and Daniel reined in his horse. "Something wrong?"

  "Daniel, can you shoot?"

  "Yes sir, pretty good." Daniel puffed up like a peacock. "With my rifle."

  "Well, let's just see how good." Dal said. "Let's go over there in that cove and you can practice some. If Banister comes, I want your aim to be good. We don't want no killin' unless it's necessary. Have you ever killed a man?"

  Daniel looked him in the eye, then glanced away. "No sir…"

  "Nothing to be ashamed of. It's not something you forget easy. Even if it's an accident."

  "Have you?"

  "Yes…"

  Contemplating that news, Daniel squinted in the sunlight. "Did you do it on purpose?"

  "Yes, but I didn't mean to kill him. This fella was drinking in the saloon. His kid came running up and telling him he was needed at home. The man was drunk. He didn't want to be bothered. The kid wouldn’t listen, so he hit him. There was a crowd around because they took the fight into the street. The man kept hitting the kid, hard. It made me mad, and I challenged him. He drew, but I was a little faster. And he's not the only one. When I was a deputy, I killed a man for killing the Sheriff. He was just a kid, but he killed a lawman."

  "The first time, you were protecting the kid!" Daniel excused his actions. "The second, you were seeking justice."

  "The law didn’t see it that way. But the drunk man had pulled his gun first and I had witnesses. Witnesses can be an important thing when you aim to kill a man. Never draw on an unarmed man, and always let them draw first, if you can." Dal said quietly.

  "Did they put you in jail?"

  "No…it was a fair fight. And he had beaten the kid half to death before I laid into him. The second time, the kid was wanted, so there were no charges."

  "I'm proud Dal!" Daniel looked at him with a smile.

  "Of what?"

  "That you were trying to protect the kid."

  "We don't aim to kill anyone. And before you ever call anyone out in a fight, you better know how good you are. Never brag it up either or you'll have people challenging you all the time, and sooner or later, there will be someone faster."

  Daniel nodded.

  He was excited at the prospect of learning to shoot better. He'd never had the opportunity to target practice and he was excited that Dal was helping him learn so many things. He liked the fact that Dal included him in everything and considered him a young man, not a child. He rode right over and dismounted.

  Dal gathered up some old bottles someone had long ago thrown toward the creek bed. He lined them up and told Daniel to try to hit them with his rifle.

  Daniel got three out of five. Dal was impressed. "Not bad, now shoot the bottles at the bottom."

  Daniel aimed and shot two but missed two.

  "That's okay, we'll practice out here at least once a day, and we'll bring Samuel out to practice. When a man owns land, he has to be ready at all times to protect that land. And Samuel needs to know more so he can protect, Bonnie, and Becky. Learning to shoot is important. Learning when to shoot is even more important. Learning who or what to shoot is the most important. Now like I told you, to begin with we are going to turn the cattle away. Guns spook cattle and they'll run, but we'll have to do it so they head one way, not two or three. That could be a mess. Shooting a bottle isn't anything. Shooting a man, is. The first time you shoot someone you will know that as fact, and it could be too late then. But never be too anxious to do so. Never shoot your mouth off before you shoot either."

  "Yes sir." Daniel agreed.

  "We'll practice with a six shooter next time. You will need to know both hardware well. Samuel too. Martin's too young yet, but we might let him practice with the rifle every now and then. I want to teach Bonnie too. Now do you know how to clean a gun?"

  "She don't like guns." Daniel smiled.

  "She's wise. They aren't toys to play with." Dal instructed. "A gun is an instrument you will use most of your life. Use it wisely and it'll be like a best friend, but get smart and cocky with it, and it could be your worst enemy."

  "My Pa didn't believe in them…"

  "He was a wise man. He may not believe in killing, but he knew it was important to have them for protection, Daniel or you would never have had a rifle."

  Daniel nodded.

  "Now do you know how to clean a gun?"

  "I seen my dad clean his, but I never done it."

  "I'll teach you that too. If you are gonna wear one, you need to know everything about them." Dal informed him.

  They practiced for an hour. He spotted some game in the area, a small deer was nearby. He pointed to it as Daniel aimed his rifle. He nodded, and Daniel shot him.

  "Good shot. We can surprise Bonnie and the kids with this."

  Daniel looked proud. It was his first deer.

  Then they headed back to the home place. Dragging the deer with them.

  "What took you two so long?" Bonnie asked when they finally came up to the porch steps. "Oh my, is that a deer?"

  "Yeah, my first one!" Daniel cried out as he laid the deer on the ground.

  "That's wonderful. I heard shooting, was there trouble?"

  "No…we just did a little target practice. Tomorrow we'll take Samuel out with us." Dal instructed. "Oh, and Daniel got that deer with one shot. What do you think of that?"

  "He didn't!" Bonnie's eyes rounded on her brother. "You did?"

  "Yes ma'am." He smiled puffing out his chest as she grabbed him and hugged him.

  Bonnie watched Dal take the deer out back to dress out. He hollered for Daniel to follow him. If he could shoot it, he could clean it.

  Later when he came inside he looked at her.

  "They have to know what they are doing. A kid that is ignorant of guns can be a huge problem Bonnie. I'm gonna teach them how to use them the right way and keep them clean. It's something all men have to know out here where the law is scarce."

  "I suppose you are right. Did you get the signs up?" She asked looking from one to the other.

  "We did."

  "What do we do now?" Bonnie asked as they sat on the back porch and admired the morning. A couple of jays were fighting for territorial rights in the tops of the trees. A hawk flew out and sat upon the corral gate. Dal, Daniel and Samuel had erected a makeshift corral a couple of mornings ago.

  "We wait. From now on, either Daniel or I will stake ourselves out at the creek. On second thought, maybe we should both be there, one on one end, the other on the other end. If Banister's men show up with their cattle, we'll be waiting for them. What I want to do is head the cattle back, from the creek. I don’t want to harm anyone, just move those cattle back from the creek. We do that enough, then maybe they'll get the message. They'll get tired of rounding up the cattle, I can tell you that. By doing that, the men will be so tied up in rounding the cattle up that they won't have time to shoot back. It should avoid bloodshed. If they do come, we should report it to the Sheriff, each and every time and inform him what we are doing, just pushing the cattle back, not shooting at the men. He should respect that, if nothing else. If that don't work, then we may have to do battle, but I don't want to start a range war over that water. Too many people would die. And, I don't want Banister to think he is so high and mighty he can take what he wants for free, either. He can well afford the fifty dollars a yea
r. If things settle out, Daniel and I can start work on the dam. That will help insure we don't run out of water."

  "It's a good plan, Dal." Bonnie smiled, looping her hand in his.

  Daniel sat on the step below him and smiled. "I gotta admit it sounds good. But do you think anyone is going to pay any attention to signs?"

  "It's not important whether he pays attention Daniel. The important thing is we got them up now. Now we have rights. Because we declared them. We are under the protection of the law. Banister will read them, you can bet on that. Whether he respects them is another thing. If we started a ruckus and didn't have those signs up, the law could favor them, and not us."

  "Mr. Banister doesn't have much respect for the law, though," Bonnie added.

  "I know that Bonnie. I know that very well. So we've got to be prepared to push back. Three more ranchers signed up, according to Mr. Coldwell. That's six. That will help pay for the land while we get our crops in. I want to get the dam built before we put in the crop. There's just a heap of work to do. Samuel and Martin will have to help."

  "How come you know so much about everything?" Daniel asked twisting himself to look at Dal as he skinned the deer and prepared him for the smokehouse.

  "I don't know that much Daniel. Some of it comes from living off your wits, some come from a little education, I don't know for sure. I read a lot…keep up with the cattlemen's journals and the paper. I talk to a lot of people, people with the know-how. I listen. All of it combined, I've learned to get by pretty good, since I grew up. I was a cowpuncher for a while, learned a lot then about the herds. Everyone you meet can be a teacher, if you listen."

  Daniel studied him for a long moment. "Our Pa was a farmer. He taught me a few things about farming, animals and such, but I was still pretty young when he died. A lot of what I know I had to learn on my own. He taught me how to use a rifle, but I never had time to practice, there was always too much work to be done."

  Dal nodded with understanding. "And those lessons you learn on your own are the best, because you remember them. Desperation will get you thinking about how you can change things for the better. Sometimes you have to try things by the seat of your pants. If they don't work out, then you learn from that mistake. But you must always keep trying. If they do, you keep going on, learning more and more."

  "Like the rifle?" Daniel squinted from the sun. "I'm pretty good but I sure could use some practice time. Pa taught me about the rifle, first. I haven't handled a six- shooter before."

  "Well, you will soon. Although, learning to use a six- shooter can change things, Daniel. A gun is a tool, just like a hammer or a saw. If used the way it should be, it does what it is made for, if you don't, accidents happen. You know you can jab an ax into your leg before you know it, if you aren't watching what you are doing. I'm not just gonna teach you how to use one, but how to take care of it and when to use it. And when we have a little extra time we'll teach Bonnie and Samuel."

  "That reminds me, I better go get something on to eat." She moved to go inside. "Becky's got some beans going and I'm going to peel some potatoes to make you some mashed potatoes." She grinned.

  "Now that sounds good." Dal almost grabbed her, but thinking himself too presumptuous he pulled back. "'Course mashed potatoes mean you gotta have gravy too." He grinned at her.

  "And gravy too…" She smiled back.

  It was in that particular moment that he realized the depth of his feeling for Bonnie and the kids. His heart was already wrapped up in all of them. He had a lot to lose now, and he wasn't aiming to lose any of it. Bonnie gave him something no one else had—her trust. No one had ever given him that before.

  Life was full of turns and twists, and he had gotten himself involved in this family. There could be no turning back now.

  He also knew that Banister was going to be a pain in his side until something happened to stop the man. He hoped it wouldn't come to bloodshed. But if it did, he'd be ready.

  Chapter Eleven

  The real threat to Bonnie came in a surprisingly different way, a way she had never even considered. Cassie Evans had been her best friend for years since they were very young girls. Cassie lived in town in one of the finer homes along the main street of town. They had traded secrets, dreams and hopes of the future. But they were two entirely different people. Cassie's folks had money, spoiled her endlessly and Bonnie was poor in everything except love. So when Cassie came for an unexpected visit, Bonnie was shocked. Cassie had never set foot on her place before. Bonnie always thought Cassie didn't want to embarrass her. But there she stood one hot, humid morning in all God's glory, decked out in her southern bell dress of lilacs and silk. She looked so out of place as Bonnie must have looked in her mother's wedding dress, Bonnie reflected.

  She stared at her from the front porch.

  "Well now, Bonnie, this is where you live, how quaint. I always wondered." Cassie threw back her dark curls and turned to look at her. "I guess this is the first time I've been out here to visit. I don't know why it took me so long. So… where is your husband?"

  Nothing like getting to the point, she might have known.

  Squashing the instant defense she was conjuring, she tried a different tactic with her friend.

  Bonnie turned her head in question. She eyed her now with precision, seeing her as she was. Wondering exactly what she might be up to. Cassie was a real tease at times and now seemed one of those times.

  Bonnie didn't want her messing things up with Dal. They were getting along fine and Cassie could ruin it all, if she really wanted to. "He's out making sure that Mr. Banister doesn't try to water his cattle on our land."

  "Oh…well, I hope I get to at least see him before I have to leave…" She glanced at Bonnie. "Not that he's what I came for, but I am curious about the two of you." She glanced down on the porch and remarked. "I see he's been busy, patching the place up some."

  "How would you know? You've never been out here?" Bonnie frowned at her.

  "Because those are new boards, not old ones, silly."

  "Yes he has." Bonnie grimaced. "Curious? About me and Dal?" Bonnie narrowed her gaze once more. "It's not like he's new in town, Cassie. I'm sure you've seen him before. He's from Ashville. You are bound to know him, or of him."

  Cassie batted her extraordinary long lashes. "Oh Yeah, I have. I-I mean…we've met before. But after a man marries he seems to mature. You know…sort of change. Most of the boys I know are just that…boys. You've got a man. I find that strange, since I know how naïve you are about boys and men. Tell me, did you hire your husband? Did you place that ad in the paper like you said you were going to." Bonnie opened the door for her.

  Rolling her eyes, Bonnie had forgotten how she had talked in front of Cassie before about finding a husband. Now she was paying for it. "Yes, I did place an ad. But no…Dal didn't answer it, I mean…No…not exactly."

  "W-well…either he did or he didn't, which is it?"

  "I ask him to wed when I first saw him, and he turned me down. Then one day he came out here…and he ask me."

  "And naturally you said yes." Cassie finished for her with a little chuckle.

  "Something like that."

  "So are you in love with him?" She kept scratching for answers until Bonnie was fed up with her games.

  "Look, he'll be in for supper. If you aim to stay." Bonnie didn't know why she felt so strange about this visit. Perhaps because Cassie had never come for a visit. It had always been Bonnie going to see her. Now suddenly she was here and it seemed out of place to Bonnie. She knew Cassie was curious about their arrangement and it seemed she was going to find out, one way or another.

  "So what have you been up to Cassie?" Bonnie sat at the kitchen table for a minute and watched Cassie whirling around in a dress she'd seen her wear to dances. It was made of exquisite silk and bow-tied ribbons. The lilac color enhanced her eyes. Bonnie grimaced. The prettiest dress she owned was her wedding dress, and a body couldn't go parading themselves in a wedding dress
every day.

  She looked down at her homespun gingham and grimaced.

  But what set Bonnie to wondering was why Cassie had dressed up to come see her. Or was it her she wanted to see at all?

  Bonnie bit her bottom lip, unable to admit her true thoughts even to herself. Yet, as close as they had been Cassie had always belittled her in a southern genteel way. She thought Bonnie too naïve, too illiterate for marriage, and she wasn't shy about saying so.

  Truth was, in some ways she was, but so far she had managed with Dal. Their estranged relationship was not one she wanted to share with Cassie or any other woman. It was too delicate.

  Her feelings for Dal had grown, day by day, but she dare not think about them even in private.

  "Well, there is a barn dance next Saturday, I was wondering if you and your husband were going?"

  Why had she put it that way? You and your husband?

  "I don't know. I'll have to talk to Dal about it." She shrugged.

  "Well, just everyone will be there. And we have a lot to catch up on." Cassie remarked.

  "Cassie, dances seem frivolous when you're fighting a land war." Bonnie remarked with a frown. "Banister wants my water, but he has no right. He hasn't paid the fee. Now he's trying to take it anyway. We have to stop him. If we go to the dance, it might be the very night he decides to take the advantage. We've posted signs and everything to keep him out peaceably."

  "Oh, he will. You know that. He has to have water, doesn't he?"

  "I don't think you understand what is going on here. He's sneaking up on our property at night and taking it. That's why Dal is out there now, him and Daniel. The other ranchers paid a fee for the use of the water, he didn't."

  "Honestly, why do you worry about such things? Dal is your husband, let him do the worrying." Cassie twirled around again, as if to say, 'see my beautiful dress.'