Long Time Gone

by Mary Connealy

  Marriage changed a man.

  Heath’s instincts were to get Sadie far away to somewhere safe, but he knew how his wife felt about that and knew just how tough she was. She’d wanted to go, and he respected her enough to see that she’d be a mighty big help if he needed one.

  They followed Windy along, he on horseback, they on foot. But the trail was so winding and treacherous that Heath figured they could keep up well enough, and it was hard to trail a man when you’re seated high on horseback. They stayed after him for ten minutes, reached the top of the incline, then started down. He wasn’t far ahead.

  “What will he do when he can’t find his partner?” Sadie kept up so well, Heath had to hustle or she’d leave him behind.

  “They must have some signal they send each other. Windy will send the signal—or maybe he already did somehow. He may think he’s meeting Dantalion.”

  Heath came around a curve and saw Windy dismount. With a darting grab, he tugged Sadie back behind the cover of trees. He noticed how she was tugging him back just as hard. She’d seen Windy the same time he did, or maybe a second sooner. They’d all but walked right into him no more than twenty paces ahead now. They crouched behind scrub trees and watched. But of course Dantalion wasn’t coming, he being dead and buried, after all. And Windy could have no reason to have come up this trail but a traitorous one.

  There was no sense waiting another minute.

  With a squeeze of Sadie’s hand, Heath let her go and drew his gun silently. He didn’t cock it; Windy would hear that. He heard Sadie arm herself, too. Heath didn’t protest. For one thing, she’d do as she pleased, so why waste his breath? And for another thing, when a body went to chasing down an outlaw who had a rifle in his saddle scabbard and a gun in his holster, well, being armed seemed like a right fine idea.

  Windy hadn’t impressed Heath as being all that sharp. The man didn’t look around him, didn’t seem aware they were close or worry anyone was following. But then he’d fooled them all into thinking he was loyal, so Heath took him seriously.

  He caught Sadie’s eye and nodded for her to go into the woods to the right. He wanted them coming up from two directions. With a single nod of agreement she melted silently out of sight.

  He really loved that woman.

  Slipping into the woods to his left, he inched forward, choosing every step to avoid snapping twigs or crushing dead leaves. With each pace forward he closed the distance. Meanwhile, Heath kept a sharp lookout for anyone else coming to meet Windy. It’d be reckless to rule out other conspirators.

  Two more long paces and Heath had his quarry within grabbing distance. Windy was facing away. A quick look and Heath saw Sadie barely visible in the underbrush across the trail. Their gazes met, and Heath held up a hand, hoping it kept Sadie in hiding. He nodded at their target, holstered his gun, drew in a deep breath, focusing on Windy while never forgetting the man was armed.

  He hurled himself forward and slammed into Windy’s back. They landed hard on the trail.

  Windy gave a startled shout, then attacked as fast and hard as a striking snake, landing an elbow against Heath’s cheek. He was a skinny man and none too tall, but he was wiry and quick. He struck again and then raked a spur down Heath’s leg.

  He’d nearly gotten free when Heath clobbered him in the side of his face, then flipped the wriggling fool onto his back and plowed another fist into his chin.

  Windy lay flat on his back, and Heath let out a sigh of relief to have the man subdued. He was sitting on top of him and he moved to disarm the man, letting go with one hand to reach for his pistol. The second Windy was free, he brought a roundhouse punch straight into Heath’s gut. Heath tumbled backward. Dazed, Heath scrambled to grab the thrashing, kicking man again before he could get to his gun.

  But Windy didn’t reach for his gun. Instead he sprinted forward and leapt onto his horse. Heath’s hand flew to his six-shooter and drew it even as he swung around. A shot rang out and blasted into a tree just inches behind Windy’s head. Sadie had joined the fray.

  Windy spurred his horse, jumping into a gallop. He bent low over his horse’s neck as another bullet missed him by a hair. Vanishing downhill, away from the ranch, he rode around the closest of a hundred curves in the trail.

  Heath ran forward, Windy’s gun peppering his back trail. Heath threw himself flat on his belly just as he rounded the curve. He had his gun out and aimed just as Windy reached the next curve and was out of sight again.

  Footsteps pounded behind him, so Heath rolled onto his back, expecting another attack. Instead he saw Sadie standing there in her blue skirt. She had her smoking gun gripped tight, aimed straight at . . . nothing. No one was there.

  She said in disgust, “I missed him. I had two clear shots.”

  Heath jumped up and dashed down the trial. “We might be able to get him from above. You can see the lower parts of the trail from up there,” he said, pointing. He rushed forward and then realized, this high up, no part of the lower trail showed. He’d be running for a long way, and by then Windy would be gone.

  Gasping for air and still reeling from Windy’s blow, Heath turned to see his wife only a few paces behind him. “You are the best kind of woman there is, Sadie Kincaid.”

  She grinned, then gave him a sassy nod. “Don’t you ever forget it, Heath Kincaid.”

  As he stood, breathing hard, Sadie’s eyes focused on his cheek, and she reached up. He caught her hand before she could touch the bruise. It was bound to pain him if she did.

  “You’re hurt.” Sadie closed her fingers around his hand. “I won’t touch it. I don’t want to make it feel worse.”

  Heath said, “I reckon I’ll have myself a beauty of a black eye come morning.”

  She smiled, her eyes brimming with kindness. “I’ll still love you, Heath, even if you spend a few days not being so pretty.”

  “I appreciate that, Mrs. Kincaid.” He looked in the direction Windy had ridden. The frustration was like a maddening itch, but on foot there was no chance of catching him.

  “Let’s go home.” He turned toward the uphill stretch of the narrow path. “We may not have him, but we identified the coyote and he’s gone from the ranch for good.”

  It wasn’t a very satisfying end to their trap, but there was nothing to be done about it now. They headed down the heavily wooded, twisting trail to the ranch yard.

  Heath and Sadie entered the house through the kitchen door. Once there, Heath turned toward his tough little wife. “Now, I need to thank you properly for saving my life.” He then dragged her into his arms.

  19

  Justin, who’d left his crew to support the story they’d told about his going alone to the mines, rode into the ranch yard in time to see Heath enter the house with Sadie a step behind him.

  Justin made short work of stripping the leather off his horse, then turned the animal out in the corral to roll in the dry winter grass.

  Running to the house, he found Heath and Sadie, arms wrapped around each other, kissing.

  “Will you two knock that off?” Justin’s voice jerked them apart.

  Sadie rubbed her lips, which did a poor job of hiding her smile. Heath just grinned like a cat full of cream.

  “Did you find out anything?” Justin thought they seemed mighty cheerful if the plan had failed.

  “Windy.” Sadie’s eyes lost their spark of humor and went narrow, angry.

  “Windy?” Cole came into the kitchen from the direction of Pa’s office. “How long’s he been working here?”

  “Better part of a year.” Justin knew he’d been here for spring roundup. “For certain before Pa got that avalanche sent down on his head.”

  “We saw him come back from the south.” Heath had a bruise forming on his face.

  “Don’t look like Windy came along peacefully.” Justin fought down the grim disappointment.

  Heath lifted a hand to his cheek, then pulled back, not touching it.

  “That looks mighty tender.” Cole
went to the sink and got a cloth wet and wrung it out. He handed it to Heath, who tossed it on the table.

  “I reckon Windy is even more tender than me right now.” His eyes went bright as he looked at Sadie. “My little woman fired twice at him and drove him off when he would have killed me. That’s the second time you’ve saved my life.”

  She moved into his arms and hugged him tight. “Please stop getting into the kind of mess that leads to you needing your life saved.”

  “I’ll do my very best, Mrs. Kincaid.”

  “You shot at a man twice and he’s still alive? That’s plumb shameful, little sister.”

  She just smiled at him and didn’t say a word. The kind of thing a very confident woman would do.

  Justin shook his head. He had to face the fact that his sister was one tough western woman. “You’re sure he’s the traitor?”

  “He’d ridden out with the other men, but either he made some excuse or just dropped back until they didn’t notice him leaving the group.” Heath explained quickly what had happened.

  “That must’ve been where he and Dantalion always met to exchange information.”

  “I thought this was about someone trying to stir up trouble with Mexico. There ain’t nothing Mexican about Windy.”

  Justin nodded. “Maybe we’re wrong about the whole revolution nonsense. That never made no sense anyway.”

  He wondered again what it all meant. They’d figured out Viva México, but what in the world did cuidado have to do with it? Something about Juarez maybe. He thought he’d heard it called cuidado. Though it was a long ride away, it was one of the closest towns over the Mexican border.

  Heath said, “I’m sorry I couldn’t hang on to the slippery varmint.”

  “Yep, I’d have liked to get some answers from the man,” Justin said grimly. “Our troubles aren’t over, but at least we don’t have a spy on our payroll anymore.”

  Angie caught Melanie’s attention with a nearly silent hiss.

  Mel grinned and came over. The last child went into the dining room to eat. “What is it?”

  “Shhh.”

  Mel whispered with an irreverent grin, “I feel like we’re the naughty children trying to get away with mischief.”

  Angie frowned. “Aunt Margaret is furious with me for riding out to the Boden place last night.” She’d gotten home early, only not early enough. Aunt Margaret was awake and worried nearly to the point of collapse. When Angie walked in, her worry was replaced by anger. Angie had never seen her aunt that angry before. It was impressive.

  “As she oughta be. That was a reckless thing to do.”

  “But don’t you ride home alone to your pa’s ranch every day when you’re done with school?”

  “Yep, but not at night. And besides, my family doesn’t have trouble like the Bodens. I don’t think of my ride home as dangerous and neither do my folks. The truth is that, except for out at the CR, things have gotten mighty peaceable in this part of the country. It’s a shame someone’s out there stirring up trouble, but I trust Cole and Justin to get to the bottom of it soon.”

  “I need to help them, and I want you to help me. I think Justin would be less furious, along with Aunt Margaret, if I were with you.”

  Mel arched a brow. “What are you up to now?”

  Angie wished Mel had just said yes instead of asking questions. “Justin is running himself ragged with his pa gone from the ranch and this trouble boiling all around him. He mentioned talking to Ramone again, and I thought maybe I could do that for him.”

  “Now, Angie, I think it’s best if you just leave it to the Bodens. This is men’s work.”

  Angie plunked her fists on her hips. “And when, may I ask, Melanie Blake, have you ever admitted there was such a thing as ‘men’s work’?” She knew her friend hated being called Melanie and so she needled her with her real name.

  “Do not call me Melanie.” She said it in a threatening way, but then she ruined it by letting a sheepish grin slip out. “Now, it’s all different when you’re talking about me, Angelique.”

  Angie didn’t like hearing her own full name any better than Mel did hers.

  “I’m tougher than most men and a sight tougher than you’ll ever be. If it were my problem, you’re right, I’d wait for no man. But I’m a whole lot better at taking care of myself than you are. I wear a gun and can draw it quick and put my bullets right where I want ’em. I can swing a fist that’ll take all but the toughest men to their knees. I can outride, out-rope, and out-bulldog every man on our place, except Pa. And he’s slowed down some over the years—I’ll beat him one of these days.”

  Angie believed every word. “So does that mean it would be all right for you to ride alone to the Bodens’?”

  Mel frowned as she gave that some real thought. “I’ve never hesitated to do it before. I rode out there after their pa got hurt.”

  “You mean in the avalanche that broke his leg?” Angie asked. Justin had talked about that just last night.

  “Yes, and it was a terrible break. Heath’s quick thinking and medical skill may have saved his life, but it absolutely saved his leg.”

  “How’d Heath get his doctor skills?”

  “He spent time riding with the cavalry or something like that. He worked with an army doctor.”

  “I never heard that.”

  “Yep, then Doc Garner rushed out to the Bodens and found that Heath’s treatment made it possible to save the leg. He knew a man in Denver who’d done some special work with breaks that cut through the skin, and the doctor convinced Chance and Veronica it was worth a try to get to Denver. And from what Sadie has told me, it looks like they saved the leg. Chance is gonna be a long time gone, but he’ll be back—walking and able to run his ranch again.”

  “And all this trouble started when Justin’s pa broke his leg?” Angie had heard the story but only in bits and pieces.

  “They’ve had two or three more attempts on their lives. Heath got shot when someone opened fire on the Bodens from the top of that big mesa by the Boden place. Then Cole got shot. Maria, too, the day Justin came here.” Mel shook her head when she mentioned that.

  Angie remembered how Mel and Cole had fought when Mel came to visit. “You’re not safe, Mel. The risk can come to anyone who gets close to a Boden.”

  Angie looked at Mel. They were both good friends of the Bodens.

  “Maybe I oughta ask Pa what he thinks before I ride over there again. The trouble does seem to be all around them.”

  Angie knew the Blake Ranch wasn’t one of the old land-grant holdings. But it was a large spread all the same. Just how safe were they? If someone wanted the land grants, why wouldn’t they want all the land in these parts? If there really was a revolution, they certainly wouldn’t leave any land behind. She was tempted to tell Mel everything and warn her that she might be in danger. But did the Bodens want anyone else to know? It seemed to her that they’d been pretty secretive about it all.

  The indecision was enough to drive her mad. She had to talk to Justin right away. It could be a matter of life and death to the tough and fearless Mel Blake.

  “Angie, where are you, dear?” Aunt Margaret’s voice was raised but it sounded friendly. Something Margaret feigned for the sake of the children. Angie now understood Margaret’s temper was formidable.

  “I need to talk to the Bodens again,” she whispered to Mel. “How am I supposed to do that if I can’t go out to the ranch?”

  “Angie, Mel, I would appreciate your help.” The words and tone were nice, but Angie knew a threat when she heard one.

  Mel had heard Margaret’s voice just as well as Angie did. She immediately started toward the dining room. “I’ll think of something.”

  They both hurried along, not wanting to face the wrath of Sister Margaret. Before they entered the dining room, Angie got an idea and asked Mel, “Could you teach me to be as tough as you?”

  Angie had never heard laughter that loud come out of Mel Blake.

&n
bsp; Aunt Margaret gave them a look of confusion when they stepped into the room. “What on earth are you laughing about, Mel?”

  Mel laughed all the harder.

  Angie got straight to work. Not because she was so conscientious—though she was—but because she’d never hit anyone before in her life, and starting on someone as tough as Melanie Blake was a really poor idea.

  And then she remembered what tough really was. What would it take to be tough enough not to be intimidated by a cranky nun?

  20

  Justin led a group from the ranch into church on Sunday.

  Well, he didn’t exactly lead, because Cole rode along, strong and straight. And when Cole was in on something, he liked to think he was the leader. Because Justin felt a little sorry for his healing big brother, he didn’t squabble over who was in charge.

  They didn’t make good time, as Justin didn’t want to push Cole in any way, yet his brother held up just fine. Justin was so pleased to see him looking so good, it was all he could do to keep from smiling right at him. Which would be so strange that Cole would think Justin had gone pure mad.

  Sadie and Heath rode along, as well as most of their cowhands.

  Justin planned to talk some more to Ramone after the service. Alonzo would be there because he visited his father as often as possible. That was just as well, because Justin didn’t want to be accused of being hard on a weak old man.

  He wanted to be mighty hard on Ramone—he just didn’t want to be accused of it. So Alonzo’s presence would make Justin behave.

  Angie was in church, sitting with Mel and her pa and ma, and a crowd of hands from the Blake Ranch. They were sitting toward the front, and Angie was fidgeting and turning around like she was plagued with an itch.

  She saw him come in and whispered to Mel, then got up and came over to him right in front of everyone. “I need to talk to you after church.” Her voice was so serious and earnest that he was sure this had something to do with the troubles at the ranch. “I have to say some things you might need to know.”