Patricia grabbed the other arm. “Daddy, did you see Eachan? They let him ride the black racehorse. He is really, really good.”
“I can’t believe you two got this dressed up just to see a local horse race.” He stepped up next to Jamie Sue and put his arm around her waist.
She stepped back away from him and studied him boot to hat. “Robert Paul Fortune, what happened to you?”
“Chasing train robbers. I’m fine. I’ll explain it all later.”
Veronica held on to the rail, dancing from one foot to the other. “The race is about to start, Daddy!”
Patricia chewed her lip. “This is the most exciting day of my entire life.”
“Darlin’,” Robert began, “we’re going to need to keep Guthrie’s two boys until …”
“Certainly, helping others is what I do best. You know that.” Jamie Sue put a soft finger against his lip to silence him. “But tell me later. There’s the gun!”
“I’m trying to tell you something important,” Robert hollered above the crowd. “What is so important about a horse race!”
“Because our son in on that big gray racing horse!” she shouted back.
Robert looked up to see Little Frank spur the big gray past the first turn.
My son … riding a professional racing horse? But he didn’t … I didn’t … Jamie Sue must have … I can’t believe …
Veronica was bouncing clear off the ground with each jump.
Patricia chewed on her lip like it was candle wax.
Jamie Sue yelled, “Go, Little Frank!”
Robert stared. He stared at his wife, his daughters, and most of all his son who had a full-length lead on the bay mare on the back side of the track and was starting to pull further away.
“Go, Little Frank!” he screamed. “Go!”
The big gray thundered across the finish line three lengths in front of the big bay mare. The crowd roared approval.
Robert studied the crowd. Are they cheering for the gray horse? Cheering for Little Frank? Cheering for the mare. Cheering for all the horses … Or just cheering because it’s summer in Deadwood, South Dakota, in 1891 and it’s a great time to be alive!
Most of the crowd, including the twins, moved down to the finish line to greet the winners. Robert and Jamie Sue stayed at the rail.
“He did very, very well,” Jamie Sue declared.
Robert took Jamie Sue’s hand and laced his fingers in hers. They felt very soft. Very warm. Very right. “I can’t believe you let him do it.”
“Me? It was how you answered his telegram.”
“I didn’t answer any telegram. I was out chasing train robbers.”
“Yes, I know.” She put her hand in his arm. “I believe it said: ‘Train robbery. Delayed. Go ahead with plans.’”
“Well … yes, I sent that when I left Rapid City, … but it didn’t have anything to do with a horse race. I meant go ahead with the plan I told you about the Raxton sisters.”
“We thought you meant go ahead with Little Frank riding the horse.”
“Well, it’s over now,” he mumbled.
“Oh, Bobby, there is a naive statement if I ever heard one. Look at your daughters visiting with those boys. It’s not over, Robert Fortune.”
Robert looked around at the milling crowd. “Look at all these people. They all saw Little Frank ride to victory.”
“Did you notice the entire family is here? Dacee June even brought the sweet little girls.”
“That’s funny,” Robert added. “When we moved to town, no one was at the depot. This is like our welcoming. The entire family is all dressed up and gathered together.”
“Not everyone is dressed up,” she said.
“I think maybe I should wear duckings on this job.”
“And take an extra pair with you on every trip. I will not have my husband look abandoned.”
“Abandoned? Look at this crowd. Every friend we have in this town is here.”
“And every enemy,” Jamie Sue cautioned.
Robert noticed Patricia visiting with Eachan Moraine. “I suppose we will spend a lifetime trying to tell which is which.”
He looked up to see Daddy Brazos walking along with one arm around Little Frank’s shoulder. His other hand carried his carbine.
“I saw you in the crowd, Daddy!” Little Frank shouted as he approached. “I told Mama as soon as you read my telegram you’d be here. I just knew you’d make it back in time! Is that the fastest horse you ever saw?”
“I’m proud of you, son. You did a fine job, didn’t he, Daddy?” Robert replied.
Brazos continued to keep his arm on his grandson’s shoulder. “I’ve never seen anybody that good since we buried Big River Frank up there under a Dakota cross.” He pointed at the graveyard on Mt. Moriah. “Now I’ve got a present for my oldest grandchild, Frank,” he announced.
Jamie Sue glanced over at Robert. “Frank? No longer Little Frank?” she murmured.
Brazos glanced back up at Mt. Moriah. “Well, Big River won’t mind. He was always too big a man to let petty things bother him.” He turned to his grandson. “Frank, this carbine has been with me from Brownsville to today. Except for when I sent it to bring your Uncle Sammy home. It’s like a member of the family. It’s put meat on the table and driven all sorts of wolves from our door. Don’t ever sell it. Don’t ever trade it. Don’t let it rust. It’s yours.” He handed the gun to his stunned grandson.
Tears ran down Little Frank’s cheeks. “Really, Grandpa? … Really … it’s mine?”
Robert put his hand on his father’s shoulder. “Daddy … you don’t have to …”
Brazos held up a slightly shriveled but still-calloused hand to quiet Robert. “Yes, I have to, Bobby. It’s somethin’ I’ve been plannin’ since the day Frank was born.” He scratched the back of his neck, reset his hat, and stared up at the cloudless, blue Dakota sky. “Isn’t that right, Sarah Ruth?” he mumbled. He took a deep breath, then patted Frank on the back.
“And now, Bobby,” Brazos cleared his throat. “I have to go buy me a horse.”
“Which one, Grandpa Brazos?” Frank called out. “Which horse are you goin’ to buy?”
Brazos winked at Robert. “Why, that big sorrel stallion, of course.”
Friends and Enemies Page 25