Sanderson's Hill

by Nancy Howard

  “Oh I just ask around along the way west. Ask if anybody'd seen ya, or new where you might be.”

  Logan is laying on her side facing the fire, looking at Gavin, “So you were looking for me,” she says, with smile on her face

  “Yeah I was, Logan. Been wantin' to find you for a sometime, now. I was lonely as hell last year, after we went our different ways.”

  She smiles at him, “I'm glad you found me, and if it makes you feel any better, I was lonely for you too. Now if you don't mind I need to go to sleep.”

  “What makes you think I'm gonna let you sleep?” Gavin said. Looking at Logan with a teasing grin on his face.

  “Oh please. No, no, no, not tonight Gavin, you sleep over there, on the other side of the fire. I'm way to tired for a romp with you on the desert floor, tonight,” she said to him. Even though her primal urges were telling her she should do otherwise. She's really glad to see Gavin, it's comforting for her to have him near her again, she likes the feeling of him being with her.

  For Gavin all he's been wanting to do is find Logan, she's all he's thought about for several months. Now that he's found her, he has no plans let her get away from him again.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Gavin wakes up the next morning, to find that he's not alone in his bedroll. Logan is curled up next to him, still fast asleep, her blanket over him and her. He looks at her just as she opens her eyes slowly. She looks up at him and smiles, laying her head on his shoulder. And after a few minutes of letting her wake up they begin to kiss, as Gavin draws her close to him.

  “Mornin' sleepy head,” he says.

  “She smiles, “Um, it was so nice being up close, and next to you again.”

  “Yeah, it's been too long, since I was next to you like this,” he says, to her.

  “Yeah I know. There were nights, I would just long for you Gavin. God I missed you so much.”

  “Yeah I missed you too, and I ain't gonna let you go this time,” he smiles at her, then they kiss.

  Quiet for a few seconds, the urge between them has built to where they can't resist it anymore.

  “Now you wanta?” He grins.

  “Yeah, why not,” she says, with a big smile

  LOGAN AND GAVIN BREAK camp, and make the half hour ride into Rio Doso. The first thing they notice is how the town is astir, and disquieted about something. People are running around and scurrying in all directions. Usually when Logan and Gavin ride into a town together, they themselves get gawked at by people not used to seeing them. They are strangers after all, and the fact that they both are carrying guns, usually causes more curiosity among folks, especially Logan. But not this particular morning, no one seems to notice them riding into town.

  They see a crowd of people gathered in front of the sheriff's office. Gavin suggests to Logan, and she nods in agreement, that they ride should over and check it out.

  Last night when Gavin rode into her camp she was glad he found her. Logan is skittish about chasing down Hogg and his gang alone, just as Gavin said he is. That's why the two of them decided to join up together, and now that they've found each other again, truth is they want to stay together. Logan is great full to have him near her again, she knows that Gavin is a good man, she's known him for sometime now. She thought at one time trusting a man would be impossible for her, but that's not so with Gavin. She'd trust him with her life, like he would her.

  It is that mutual trust that exists between them, she thinks about, as she rides by his side and into Rio Doso today. But the relationship between Logan and Gavin goes way beyond trusting each other. They love each other, and have from the very beginning when they first met, in Las Cruces four years ago. Logan catches herself staring at him. And why not? Gavin is ruggedly handsome, lean, and strong, at six feet tall with black hair and chestnut eyes, Logan thinks he is just so damn gorgeous. She can't take her eyes off of him. She wants to touch him and hug and kiss him. He was looking for her when he came into her camp the night before. She smiles as she thinks about him doing that. Even though he was still trying to locate Hogg and his gang, he was looking for her too.

  Gavin knows he found Logan just in the nick of time. He found out she was thinking about going after Hogg alone, something he didn't want to do himself, and he certainly didn't want to her to do it. He's glad he convinced her to join with him to look for them. Logan is all Gavin has thought about for weeks on end. He loves her and he knows it. He has wanted to find her for some time, and now that he has, it is his intention not let her out of his sight again. She is the most beautiful girl in the world to him. He knew it four ago when they first met, and he knows it today, as she rides along side him, a place he wants her to stay.

  They reach the jail and decide to set on their horses, and listen to see what is going on, and being said. The sheriff they learn, is gathering a posse to ride out and investigate what seems to be several murders.

  The sheriff turns to this very old man, who is setting on the edge of the boarded walkway, holding his head in his hands, crying like a baby. The Sheriff asks him, “Billy are you sure that this wasn't work of renegade Apaches?”

  “I don't know for sure sheriff, but everybody was dead,...even the little children.”

  “Sheriff that doesn't sound like the Apache, unless it was renegades,” A deputy said.

  The sheriff looked up from the old man, shaking his head in agreement with the deputy. Then he looks directly into the morning sun and it's glare, and sees the silhouettes of two people setting on horseback, in front of him, one of which he's sure is a woman. He shades his eyes with his hand from the sun, to get a better look. But before he could address them he looks to his left, as he hears a man's voice say, “Sheriff.”

  Logan too sees the man coming up to the large group. He's big man at least six feet four, and is with a lovely lady, who Logan figures must be his wife. Right away, she thought to herself he must be important, because he seemed to command a lot of respect and attention, even from the sheriff.

  The sheriff sees him and says,” John!”

  “What's goin' on Joe,” he asks?

  “Someone, or something massacred the Tanners, and the Blakes. I'm gathering a posse to go out and see for myself.”

  “Kids too?”

  “Yeah, that's what Billy Halladay here tells us.”

  “Who the hell is mean enough to kill women and kids? Renegade Apaches?”

  “We're not sure at this point, and won't know until we get out there and can see for ourselves what happened.”

  “You're not looking for Apaches.” They hear a woman's voice speak up.

  Hearing her the sheriff again looks up at the two people on horseback. At the same time the man named John looks at them too. They're both using their hands as a shield to their eyes against the suns glare, trying to get a better look at the woman who said the words.

  The sheriff asks, “you know who did this?”

  Then Gavin speaks up, “You're looking for five men. They're mean as hell, and they're lead by one Bailey Hogg.”

  “How do you know about them,” the big man asks?

  “I been trackin' em for almost five months now,” Gavin responds. “I chased them all across west Texas, and to here.

  “Who are the two of you,” the sheriff asks?

  “I'm Gavin Sloan, and she's Logan Kincaid.”

  “Bounty hunters,” John speaks up using a sardonic tone. Looking at both of them, still shielding his eyes from the sun.

  “Sir, you say that like you don't appreciate us,” Logan says, with a smile running across her face.

  “I don't,” he retorts. Looking at Logan, and she back at him, she's still smiling.

  Then the sheriff turns to John and talks to him for a minute, then looks back at Gavin and Logan and says, “I'd like it, if the two of you would ride out with me and my posse.”

  Logan and Gavin looked at each other, and then Gavin says, “I'll go.”

  “What about you Logan, ain't you goin',” the sher
iff asks?

  “Nope! Somebodies got to stay here and watch over your town, while you and your deputies are gone, sheriff. Beside Gavin here knows more about them than I do, and he'll be able to help you more than me.”

  The sheriff looked at Logan and says nothing. Knowing she's right, that while he and his deputies are gone, there would be no one here to protect the town, if these criminals showed up here. He also knows of Logan and her reputation.

  Then the sheriff turns to John and asks, “How about you John?”

  “You know I'd love too Joe, but Catherine and I have an important meeting at the bank this morning. Jay here, can go in my place if he wants to?” John said to the sheriff, looking at his foreman Jay Canter.

  Canter who had been standing next to the man named John, has fixed his gaze on Logan and Gavin, after hearing that they're bounty hunters. His look at them is a disapproving one, a glare that said, you're not welcome here. Logan noticed his look at them, and just smiled back at him too, the same way she did the man named John.

  Canter turns his attention to what John had asked, and acknowledged that he would indeed be glad to go along. Then the sheriff turned to the eight or so other men and Gavin, telling them all to raise there right hand, as he swore them in as deputies. Then they all went and got their horses, mounted up and rode off to the north and out of town.

  Logan watches them as they leave, she has dismounted Warrior and has tied him to the hitching post in front of the sheriff's office. As she turns to walk away she is approached by the big man named John, and the lady with him.

  “Logan Kincaid. I have heard of you young lady.” He says walking up to her.

  “What's your name,” Logan asks?

  “I'm John Sanderson and this is my wife Catherine.”

  “Mam,” Logan says nicely and smiles at the woman, acknowledging her, and tipping her hat.

  “So are you and Sloan looking for this Bailey Hogg and his gang?”

  “Well I wasn't until yesterday, when I saw their handy work. They killed a couple of people named Johnson, about thirty-five miles east of here, a couple of days ago. Gavin came into my camp last night and told me he was tracking them. And he asked me to join up with him, and I did. Seems the sheriff over in Lubbock, has put up a seventy- five hundred dollar reward on them.”

  “Hmm, so that's the reason the two of your are after them. The money, I should have known,” Sanderson said. Again, he uses the same tone Logan had heard him use a few minutes before.

  “Well Mr. Sanderson if you must know, it's true we are bounty hunters. And while the money is important, I have a couple of other reasons for catching Hogg and his gang. Their names are Libby and Connie Johnson. I want bring those animals to justice for those two little girls. Hogg and his gang brutally murdered their parents, and they watched them do it. I promised them both, if and when I do find them, and bring them to justice, I will go back out and tell them. And I will make sure they get my share of the reward money. So you see Mr. Sanderson for me it's not just about the money.” Logan spoke this looking John straight in the eye.

  He's quiet, because that's a quality John admires in people. He shakes his head at her in admiration, of her being so forthright with him. He likes her already, though he wouldn't admit it right now, given that she's a bounty hunter. He can see she is honest, and has integrity.

  There is a brief pause between them, and then Catherine who had been standing by listening to John and Logan, asks her, “what on earth were you going to be able to do by yourself, if you did find them?”

  “I wasn't sure mam. That's why me and Gavin joined up, we stand a better chance against them together, rather than alone.”

  Then Sanderson pulls out his pocket watch and looks at the time and says, “Well Logan, we hate to cut this short, but we have an important meeting at the bank, so for now, good day.” Then he and Logan nod to each other, as he and Catherine walk off toward the bank.

  As the Sandersons walk away, Catherine looks back at Logan and asks John, “What do you know about her? She doesn't seem like a bad person at all.”

  “I know that she's a bounty hunter my dear, and she is very good with that gun she has strapped to her right leg. She killed Duke Wymer some years ago, and she's gained a reputation. And no I don't think she's a bad person Catherine, I just think she's misguided in her career choice.”

  “She's a beautiful girl. I can't believe she's a bounty hunter.”

  “I can't either Catherine, and you're right, she's a beautiful girl,” John says, in agreement.

  Logan watches the Sandersons walk down the street, and she figures that's not the last time they will be talking to each other. Logan is now idle, with nothing to do, something that she hates.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  With all this time on her hands Logan decides to check out the general store. She buys a box of shells and some sticks of spearmint hard candy, which she loves. She leaves the store and walks back over to where Warrior is tied up, depositing the shells in her saddlebags. She takes a piece of the candy and puts it in her mouth, and puts the rest in the saddlebag. She loves the flavor that the spearmint and sweetness the candy leaves in her mouth. She has always loved spearmint. When she was a kid, the man that owned the mercantile near where she grew, used to give it away to her. He knew she didn't have much, and gave it to her even though it was bad for her teeth.

  Logan looks around for someplace else to visit, and looks across the street at the dress shop. She figures that with all the time she has on her hands, she will pay it a visit. She thinks to herself, she might even buy something.

  Logan enters the dress shop and notices right away that it is empty, except for the two young women clerks standing behind the glass counter. They immediately see Logan and give her an unappreciative look of disapproval.

  “Howdy,” Logan says, tipping her hat and looking at them, trying to be friendly with them. Knowing the two women have no intention of returning the gesture to her, by the way they're staring at her. Each of them have dumbfounded looks on their faces, arms folded in front of them as if to say, “oh, my, God!”

  She figures from the looks of them they are about her age. One is a tall blonde headed girl, as tall as Logan, and the other one is shorter and has brown hair.

  They look at each other then back at Logan, and the blonde girl questions Logan poignantly, pausing as she speaks, “How.... can we help you,... Miss?”

  “Well I'd like to look at some of these dresses, cause I might buy one,” Logan responds, immediately sensing, that they don't want her in the store at all.

  Then the blonde girl says, “I don't think we have anything in your size.”

  “Yeah, well you never know, I might find something,” Logan says. Turning to speak to them, and forcing a smile, she continues to walk over to a large rack of dresses.

  Logan can see that the two girls both are dressed nice. They have on pretty dresses, with bracelets on their arms and necklaces around their necks. Their hair is clean, styled, and brushed. They're apprehensive about Logan being anywhere near their merchandise, or them for that matter.

  In a way she understands their apprehension, and is aware that her appearance is in complete contrast to theirs. She is scruffy in comparison to them, with her gray britches, and white button down shirt on, both having not been washed in recent days. Her britches cover her and boots, and her hat is thrown off of her head and lays on her back. Her white handled six gun and holster are strapped to her right leg, which women don't wear. And her hair is pulled back in a ponytail, and it too needs to be washed. Logan realizes they don't want her in the store, and ignores their snooty glares at her. She instead continues to go on about her business, of shopping for a dress. She is aware of the fact that the two clerks are watching her every move. She's sure, they are thinking that she is going to steal something.

  After a few minutes, two more women customers come into the store, immediately garnering the adoring attention of the two clerks. They're older
, mature women, and are greeted with big friendly hellos, smiles, and names. Logan hears all of this, and figures it is as much for her benefit, as it is the two women. She's sure the clerks want her to see the type of clientele, they desire in the store.

  Logan doesn't look up while all this is going on, she has found a couple of dresses that she likes, and is trying to decide which one she wants to buy. She decides on one and walks over to where the two clerks, and the two lady customers are. When the to older women see Logan they look up at her, she's five-eight and is much taller than they are. Their look at her is one of surprise. She smiles at them and says, “Ladies.”

  The two women didn't respond at all, in fact they only gasped at Logan, giving her a look of astonishment. Then they quickly walked out of the store seemingly in a huff of being exposed to Logan. As they leave they turn around to look at her, shaking their heads obviously talking about her, and disapproving of her. Logan watches the two women leave, and looks down smiling to herself, and shaking her head slightly, at the way others perceive her. Especially other women like the ones now, who judged her the way they did.

  The two clerks then look at Logan standing in front of them, holding the dress, and the shorter one asks, “What do you want? We'd like for you to leave. You're bad for business.”

  “Yes I agree,” the other girl concurs, as they both scrunch up their noses.

  Logan ignores their rude comments and facial expressions toward her, “well before I leave ladies, I want to try on this dress. Remember, you said that you didn't have anything my size? Well guess what? I found this one that is my size, and as a matter of fact there's whole bunch of dresses over there that would fit me. But I like this one. Now if you don't mind I want to try it on?” Logan said. “So where's your fitting room?” All the time she's forcing a smile at them. One that is not intended to be cordial.