by Chloe Carley
“Ready?” Louisa asked.
“Yes.” Riley put on her bonnet, scowling a bit and drawing Louisa’s mirth.
“I completely understand and once we reach the schoolhouse, we can take these bonnets off until we get ready to head home. I personally hate how confining they are.”
Riley smiled. “I agree. I would be perfectly happy if I never had to wear another bonnet for the rest of my life.”
“Well, that’s not likely to happen anytime soon. At least, when we’re at home or not going about in public, we can leave them off. Shall we go?”
“Yes.”
Riley and Louisa headed out and Riley felt her spirits lift once more. For now, she had a job to concentrate on and she’d made two new friends. Three if she counted Mrs. Jensen. The day was looking up and she’d only been awake a little more than one hour. Who knew what the rest of the day would bring.
Chapter 5
Two days later…
Roy Sewell waited until the telegraph office was empty before he walked from his hiding place in the alley and slipped inside. His hat was pulled down low over his face, to keep his eyes hidden as they seemed to be his most remarkable feature. They had given his identity away more than once and he was in no mood to be running from a posse today. He approached the counter and kept his voice low to disguise it. “Do you have any messages for Roy Sewell?”
“Why, yes sir. I do. A young lady came in here a few days ago and sent a message. It was the strangest thing, she sent it from here to here. Said it was for her brother.” The older man behind the counter reached behind him and produced the telegram.
Roy clenched his fist against his thigh. “That would be my sister. Pretty little thing, ain’t she?”
“She was very good looking,” the man agreed, swallowing audibly. “No offense intended.”
“No offense taken.”
“Well, she was dressed very smartly as well. It was plain to see that she’s not from these parts.”
“No, she’s from back East,” Roy replied, wondering what had happened to make his sister dress like a girl. Normally she abhorred skirts and dresses unless she was headed to church.
“Well, that would explain it then. Anyway, she was worried something had happened to you.”
I bet she was. I should have answered her earlier telegram when she told me our parents died. “I got detained on the ranch, but I’m here now. Can I have the message please?”
“Oh, sure. There was another one here waiting for you as well. From back in Missouri.”
Great. It seems she tried to warn me she was coming here, and I missed that as well. She took a real chance coming all this way without hearing from me first. Seems she hasn’t outgrown her impulsiveness.
Roy handed over the proper coins and pocketed the messages before leaving the office. He didn’t bother to read them; he could already guess at what they contained.
The message from Missouri was probably Riley informing him she would be arriving, a message he only just received. The second would be her telling him her current whereabouts. He couldn’t get away from the fact that Riley was here. In El Paso.
He slipped back inside the alley, mounted up and rode straight out of town. He didn’t stop until he reached a small wash area.
He carefully directed his horse down the steep bank, and they followed the sandy bottom back into a small canyon.
Several mud houses were nestled up against the small hills that rose above them and he nodded at the women who sat outside the first in a small group, weaving baskets with the tall grasses they’d collected for just such a purpose.
At the third mud house, he dismounted, turning his horse into the corral with the others already there. He propped one foot up on the corral and opened both telegrams.
Just as he assumed, Riley’s first message told him, a second time, that their parents had both died and that she had disposed of all of their belongings to pay the bill collectors. With no family left, she had decided to come and live with him.
Roy read the letter a second time, mentally cursing the fact that he was going to have to disappoint Riley in a big way.
She couldn’t stay here with him; it just wasn’t safe, and there was no way he would ever dream of pulling her into the life he was currently living. He folded that message up, tucked it into his pocket and turned his attention to the second telegram. It was Riley announcing her arrival and telling him she would be staying with Mrs. Jensen for the short term.
Roy cursed beneath his breath at the latest development.
“Problems?” Ollie asked. Ollie was his second in command and a meaner outlaw, other than himself, than Roy had ever met.
“My sister.” Roy didn’t elaborate, hoping Ollie wouldn’t ask any questions and he could quietly deal with Riley’s arrival on his own. He wasn’t that lucky.
“Your sister? I thought your sister lived back East?”
“Well, she does, or did. It seems that after our parents’ deaths, she decided to come live with me. She arrived on the train a few days ago.”
“Your sister is in El Paso?” Ollie cursed. “Why is she here and how did she find us?” All of Roy’s group of outlaws had heard stories about his sister’s antics a time or two.
“First, she’s here because our parents died and I’m the only family she has left.” Roy waved the telegram in the air. “According to this, she thinks to live here on my ranch with me.”
“Your ranch? I wasn’t aware that you had a ranch. Been holding out on us,” Ollie asked in a teasing voice.
“You know I don’t have a ranch, but she doesn’t. As for finding out about us, she knows nothing about us or what I’ve been doing these last three years. Nothing. That’s how I intend to keep it. I’ll ride into town tomorrow and put her on the train out of here. It leaves at five in the afternoon, so I’ll surprise her and then make sure she’s on it.”
“You think she’s just going to willingly board a train after coming all this way?” Ollie asked in doubt.
Roy sighed. “Probably not. She’s stubborn as a mule.”
“So, what’s your other plan?”
“I could do nothing. Just let her think the worst.”
“That might be the kindest thing you could do for her. How would she react if she knew you were the leader of the famous Johnston gang?”
“She’d be upset and determined to save my soul. She’d definitely cause trouble for us.”
“We have enough of that right now as it is. There’s a regiment of army soldiers camped out south of town.”
“I heard. I didn’t check on them, but we both know they’re here to track us down. We’d best be looking for somewhere else to go.”
“The boys and I were talking about that last night.”
“And?” Roy asked.
“We didn’t really come up with anything viable. Do you have any ideas?”
“I have,” he answered with a nod, “but I want to check a few things out before I mention them. Okay, so I’ll just let Riley stay in El Paso. She’ll get tired of me not showing up after a week or two and go back home.”
“Don’t sound so disappointed,” Ollie told him. “It’s the best solution for everyone.”
*****
One week later…
Riley was going to give her brother a piece of her mind when he finally showed up to get her.
She’d spent the last several days helping Louisa get the schoolhouse ready, and then she’d helped her friend move her belongings inside and get everything set up for the beginning of classes. Now she was once again left with nothing to occupy her time and it was irritating her. After breakfast, she decided to walk over to the telegraph office and see if her brother had picked up his message yet.
She was shocked to hear that Roy had picked up not one message, but two messages.
Days earlier! Knowing that he’d not come for her was hurtful and Riley left the office, carefully concealing her emotions from the man behind the counter. His wife
had been sitting just behind him and had given her a look of sympathy, which only served to irritate Riley further. She didn't want anyone’s sympathy, she just wanted Roy to show up and give her some answers.
She trudged despondently back toward the center of town and Mrs. Jensen’s house. There was a small crowd gathering outside the jail as the sheriff affixed new posters on the outside wall.
Riley crossed the street and watched as he took down the previous posters of the Johnston gang and put up the new posters. The faces were much better defined in these drawings and she patiently waited her turn for a chance to see them closer.
By the time it was her turn, most of the crowd had already dispersed and only the sheriff remained.
“Good morning, Miss Riley, isn’t it?” He smiled.
“Good memory, sir. These drawings are much better than the last ones.”
“Yes, I’m hoping maybe someone will have seen these men. The army is positive they are still in this area and we need to find them before they decide to rob someone else.”
Riley stepped forward, taking her time reading the information and looking at the picture of each man. She started at the top left corner and committed the men’s faces to memory. She reached the last poster and felt her heart stop. Staring back at her from the yellowed paper were eyes she knew. Roy’s eyes!
She swallowed and tried to hide her reaction from the sheriff who had picked up her alarm and was watching her carefully.
“Miss Riley, is there a problem? You act like maybe you recognize one of these men.”
She shook her head. “No, there was just something about this man.” She pointed to the poster next to the one she was almost certain was a depiction of her brother, but with a full face of hair and a moustache. “His eyes look so … mean.”
The sheriff gave her a compassionate look. “That’s one mean son of a gun. Ollie Travers is reportedly the second most vile outlaw in the state.”
Riley swallowed again, feeling nausea rise within her stomach. “Who has the honor of being the worst?” She held her breath, already knowing what the sheriff was going to answer.
“This man, right here. He goes by the name of Tseena. No one really knows his true identity, only that the Comanche name he adopted seems appropriate. His eyes remind one of a wolf, and the man has no morals or humanity. He kills just for the joy of doing so.”
He stopped when he saw her pale face, and hurried to assure her, “But you don’t have to worry about ever crossing paths with any of these men. I have the town secured and the army is going to find them. They’ve been combing the countryside and I’ve been assured they will know these men’s location before the week is out.”
Riley offered him a weak smile. “That is very encouraging to hear. Sheriff, I wish you all the luck.”
“Are you sure you’re alright? You still look a bit shaken up.”
“I’m fine. I wasn’t feeling well when I woke up this morning and I think my small walk might have been a bit too much. I’ll return to Mrs. Jensen’s and rest for a bit and should be fine. Thank you for your concern.”
“May I escort you back?” he inquired, holding out his elbow for her to take.
“I would appreciate that.” Riley placed her hand on his elbow, grateful for the support. Her mind was reeling with what she’d just discovered, and a million questions presented themselves. Emotions she couldn’t even begin to process were wanting out, but she held it together until she reached the relative safety of her rented room. Then, and only with a pillow covering up her sounds of distress, did she give way to the tears and sobs of crushing disappointment, despair, and anger.
Her beloved brother was a criminal. And not just any criminal; he was the leader of the most violent outlaw gang this side of the Mississippi. The local townsfolk wanted him dead. Now, the army was actively hunting him. Roy had supposedly killed people! Lots of people!
Riley’s heart was broken. After crying until she had no tears left, she washed her face and set about coming up with a solution. That was what she did. She might give into the emotions of the moment, but Riley was a problem solver and she’d never met one she couldn’t handle. She hoped this wasn’t the first.
Chapter 6
The next afternoon, very early …
“Hey, we’ve got company,” Ollie whispered to Roy, waking him up from a nap where he’d not been running from the army, but he’d been helping his pa plant corn.
Roy blinked his eyes and sat up. “Who is it?”
“Not sure, but I’m guessing a female. You said no one followed you when you left town a few hours ago,” Ollie told him accusingly.
“No one followed me. I checked for messages at the telegraph office and then left town.”
“Well, then explain how that girl out there found her way to us?”
“Girl?” Roy jerked wide awake, dread filling his chest.
“Girl,” Ollie repeated.
Roy ignored the challenge in the other man’s voice and scrubbed a hand over his beard. “I don’t know, but I’ll go handle it. She could just be lost.”
Ollie shook his head. “Funny how this little lost girl looks a lot like you. Same red hair. Just a bit on the small side.”
Roy frowned and shoved his feet into his boots. He pulled on his holster and headed outside to see this newcomer for himself.
He watched as the woman walked amidst the mud houses, her eyes scanning everything for signs of something, or someone, she recognized. It had been three years since he’d last seen Riley, but her walk was unmistakable. He didn’t know how she’d accomplished it, but she’d found him.
“Riley,” he called her name softly and watched as she lifted her head and a myriad of emotions sped across her features.
“Roy?”
“It’s me, little stuff.” Riley rushed into his arms and he hugged her close for a long moment. When he realized they were drawing attention from the rest of his gang, he tossed his head at them, telling them silently to make themselves scarce. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to find you. I figured out a way for you to turn yourself in …”
Roy cut her off by placing a hand over her mouth and dragging her a short distance away from the other’s hearing. “No one is turning themselves in, Riley. Besides, what is it you think I’ve done that I need to turn myself in for?” He was hoping she didn’t know anything.
Riley yanked his hand off her mouth, placed her hands on her hips, and glared at him. “Roy Thomas Sewell, I’m not stupid. I saw the posters of you and those other men. The army is here searching for you. There’s a price on your head!”
Roy sighed and nodded. “Then you know the kinds of things they say I’ve done. There’s no way any of us would turn ourselves in. They hang men here without a trial for even thinking about stealing a man’s horse. They’d roast us alive and hang our dead corpses in the city square if they caught us now.”
Riley shook her head, but Roy silenced her with a hand over her mouth again. “We can’t discuss this here.. Come with me.” He kept hold of her arm as he released her mouth and led her to the corral where his horse was grazing
“Stay here for a minute,” he said.