Cowboy Caveat

by Vanessa Brooks

  “Of course, for these documents to be legal we need two witnesses unrelated to us,” Ed told him.

  Henderson looked annoyed but he nodded; he was so close to getting what he wanted but he had to make sure it was done all nice and legal.

  “I’ll call Maria, my housekeeper, and her daughter. They can write, so they’ll do as witnesses to our signatures.” He went to the door and yelled, “Maria!” Then he sat back down and finished his statement, as Ed waited uneasily.

  “You call, Mister?” a large Mexican woman said as she stuck her head around the door.

  “Maria, would you and Lou come and witness the signing of a couple of documents?”

  “Si, Mister, I fetch Lou....LOU, LOU, COME HERE!”

  There was a sound of running feet and a pretty, olive-skinned girl of about sixteen or so sidled into the room. Judging by the flirtatious way she looked at Henderson from under her lashes, Ed guessed there was more to the relationship than just employer and servant. Henderson signed the statement he’d written about Amy and the two women signed as witnesses. Then Henderson signed the bill of sale amending the price to include another fifteen percent before he handed the pen to Ed who hesitated but signed since there seemed to be no other choice.

  Just as Ed was handing the pen for Maria to use to witness the signing, the door was flung open and two Texas Rangers burst inside. The very same moment, the glass in the window shattered inwards, and in all the confusion, shouting, women screaming and glass breaking, Henderson was grabbed from behind by Ed, who jerked his arms upwards, twisting Henderson’s arms up his back. Ed pushed him to the floor, falling on top of him to hold him down. He was quickly joined by Rick Cook, who cuffed Henderson adroitly, and between them they hauled him back up to his feet. It was a smoothly executed operation and over within a couple minutes. No one was hurt and not a shot fired.

  “Lawrence Henderson, you are under arrest for robbery and accessory to murder on several counts.”

  “You have no right to come barging in here like this and accuse an innocent man! I demand to see your evidence for these accusations, sir!”

  Rick Cook and two other Rangers began towing the struggling Henderson out from the room. Rick said, “You can contact your lawyer from jail, Mr. Henderson, but you are coming with us now. We have a warrant for your arrest signed by Judge James Richardson.”

  * * * * *

  “So, have you got the statement Henderson signed exonerating Amy?” Ethan asked Ed after he had finished his tale.

  They were all sitting in Hilda’s grand parlor. Lucy and Amy held their breath and leaned forward as they waited to hear Ed’s answer.

  “Sure-nuff!” Ed pulled a paper out of his jacket and handed it to Ethan to read.

  Ethan scanned it quickly and, ignoring Amy’s beseeching cry, stood and handed it straight over to the judge. The judge read the document and nodded, then spoke directly to Amy. “It all seems to be in order and witnessed correctly. My dear, with the number of charges this man Henderson has against him, I am certain this will go no further. I can confirm that the bill of sale is null and void due to the lack of witnesses.”

  “No whipping?” Amy asked.

  “No whipping,” the judge confirmed.

  Amy squealed with delight. She jumped up, as did Lucy and Millie, and they leapt about the room, hugging each other with glee. Everyone began to talk at once and then Rose interrupted the celebrations by announcing there was a Mr. Peabody to see them. Luca looked up in panic and scuttled over to Amy, hiding his face in her skirts.

  “Would you please join us, Jim, we might need your assistance with this,” Ethan said, and he stood and patted Luca’s head reassuringly.

  “I’ll be glad to help but I suggest we all see this man in here.” The Judge nodded to Rose to show Mr. Peabody into the parlor. A short, portly and officious looking man bustled into the room and seemed only slightly taken aback by the number of people present.

  “Which one of you men is Ethan Walker?” he asked without any polite introduction.

  Ethan stood up, saying, “That’ll be me, sir,” and he held out his hand, but Mr. Peabody ignored him.

  “You stole a boy from the inward travelling Dallas train five days ago. I want to know what you have to say to that sir!” Ethan folded his arms and assessed the small man, his hazel eyes narrowed. “I take exception to your tone is what I say sir,” he drawled. Amy jumped in before Ethan could say anything else. “We want to adopt Luca, Mr. Peabody, as soon as possible...”

  “Absolutely out of the question!” Peabody interrupted her rudely. “Excuse me sir but might I ask why the adoption of this child out of the question?” Judge Richardson asked pleasantly. The small man turned to the Judge obviously having no idea who he was addressing. “This boy was kidnapped from the train sir, taken forcibly from his warden-guardian Miss Cardon. The courts do not allow people such as this to adopt children. I intend to return him to the proper facility and back into the capable hands of Miss Cardon.”

  “I am Judge James Richardson, Mr. Peabody, and I can personally vouch for these good people. From what I understand they rescued this poor child from a life of eternal bullying from the harridan you have named as Miss Cardon, a woman who was supposed to be protecting him and other children in her care. I shall personally see to it that this woman no longer works with children and I shall be keeping a close eye on how the Boys Home is run in the future. I will personally arrange the legal adoption of the boy Luca into this loving family. Now then, Peabody, do you have Luca’s papers with you?”

  Mr. Peabody blanched, gulped and nodded, holding out his black bag.

  “Very good. Mr. Walker, shall we go through to the other room and peruse Luca’s records?” Ethan grinned, “Sure thing Jim, come on Peabody, follow me.”

  * * * * *

  “A letter?”

  “Yes, a letter on file which nobody at the orphanage had thought to open. Shall I read it aloud?” Ethan asked the family after dinner that night.

  “Go ahead, dear, and read it,” said Hilda.

  Everyone quietened down and they all looked at Ethan expectantly.

  “Okay, here goes,” he said.

  “‘OPEN: ESPECIALLY IF SOMEONE WANTS TO ADOPT LUCA GONZALES.

  “To whom it may concern. The baby boy what is give to the orphanage this day, must not be adopted he was taken by my husband after he killed the baby’s parents. He took him for me - we ain’t got no kids. The boy’s family name is Campbell and they live at the Lazy Z Ranch. I am dying I think and if I do my husband promised me that he will take Luca to the orphanage. His real name is Luke Campbell.’”

  There was complete silence.

  CHAPTER 15

  In the Wichita Falls County Courthouse the presiding judge asked, “Gentlemen, have you reached an agreement?”

  “Yes, sir,” answered the foreman.

  “What is your verdict?”

  “Guilty as charged on all counts”

  “You are all agreed?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Judge James Richardson reached for his black cap. “Lawrence Henderson, you have been found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit robbery, of receiving stolen goods and of blackmail. In view of the number of deaths that you have caused, I have no hesitation at all in passing the death sentence. You will be taken from here to your place of execution and hanged by the neck until you are dead, God rest your soul! Take the prisoner down!”

  Outside the courtroom, Ed threw his hat up into the air and whooped, “We did it, Eth, we finally nailed the bastard!”

  Ethan clapped Ed on the back as he grinned from ear to ear. “Let’s git on home and tell the girls.”

  “What about telling Grandma?” Ed asked, frowning.

  “I think we can safely leave that to Judge Jim, don’t you? I wonder what’s going on between those two?”

  Ed looked horrified, “We’re talking about my grandmother here. I don’t think so!”

&nb
sp; Ethan shook his head with a grin. He had his own thoughts on that!

  Luke had settled into ranch life like a duck to water. He was back in the midst of his family and life was moving forward as though he’d never left them. There was obviously no need for adoption since he was rightfully theirs. Luke shared Tyler’s room, and he adored Tyler, who was thrilled to have a small brother hanging on his every word. Luke’s nephews were so close in age to Luke that they were more like brothers, and Luke had never been so happy.

  Elmer arrived one fine day with a couple of wriggling toffee-brown and white fluff balls, all pink tongues and wagging bottoms, tiny tails waving excitedly in the air. The two newest members of the family managed to keep everyone on their toes and caused more mess and mayhem than all of the children put together. All in all, life became the nonstop happy chaos that Lucy and Ed were used to, and they loved every exhausting minute of it.

  Amy and Ethan settled down at Aunt Peggy’s house, and Ethan was kept so busy whitewashing walls and shifting furniture around that the hands began to call him Miz Walker! Amy felt that with Lawrence Henderson’s death, the final note had been played in a long and mournful tune. She could move forward, enjoying life with a lighter step. Amy still hated cooking, so for the time being Aunt Peggy was happy to continue with that chore, since not only was she a darn good cook but she enjoyed it, too.

  Ed had contacted the Cullinan drilling outfit, and they were coming to assess the quality of the oil on the homestead land. Together, Ethan and Ed purchased the Red River Ranch from Henderson’s estate. All of the ranch hands who had worked for Henderson were dismissed; most were hired guns as opposed to cattle men anyway. Maria and her daughter had packed up and moved on as soon as Henderson was sentenced, and no one knew where they had gone.

  Hilda had surprised her grandchildren by announcing her betrothal to Judge James Richardson. Ethan ribbed Ed something rotten over the announcement that he had seen coming.

  * * * * *

  It was the Fourth of July, the race was about to begin, and Lucy was moaning.

  “Luce, do you want to jump off now? Because if’n you do, you’d better be quick – the race is about to start!” Amy shouted, looking anxiously sideways at her sister-in-law as she struggled to hold the reins.

  Lucy groaned and shook her head; she would see it through, but she regretted her decision to join Amy now that the moment was upon her. The horses were eager to be off and pawed the ground, tossing their heads with excitement.

  Amy and Lucy had been secretly practicing racing the cart in preparation for the Fourth of July. It had been difficult to find the time because they could only practice when their men were away from the ranch. Millie and Luke had been helpful lookouts and in on the secret from the start, wanting to ride in the cart themselves, until Lucy had convinced them of the importance of their role.

  Ethan had only specified horse-racing and bull-riding as off-limits; he had at no point mentioned cart racing. Amy had persuaded Lucy against her better judgment to be her partner and enter the cart race.

  Now that the race was about to commence, Lucy recognized that it was too late to pull out at this stage. Their husbands were over at the bull ring with Tyler and Lucy’s sons, Ben and Nat, while Millie and Luke were on lookout, with instructions to warn the two women should their husbands appear. So far so good - it was much too late to stop them now! Lucy gripped onto the side of the cart, the starter gun fired, and they were off!

  There were eight other entries and they were all regulars each year; the girls didn’t hold out much hope of winning but they wanted to give it a go just to show their men that they could do it! The dust thrown up from the carts made it difficult to see how close the carts and wagons were to each other and the sound of wood cracking coupled with shouts and wild whinnies told them that at least two carts had collided.

  They were approaching the bend that took them past and around the old hanging tree, when Amy felt two wheels on the left hand side of the cart lift off the ground. For one sickening moment, she thought they would tip over, but then the cart dropped back down to the earth with a crack and they were off again with Lucy screaming blue murder from a heady mix of excitement and fear!

  They successfully overtook a wagon and then another, until there was only one cart in front of them. Amy couldn’t believe it; they were going to be second! They clattered over the finish line and Amy had to stand and drag on the reins mightily to pull the horses up. They were shrouded in dust and Amy and Lucy were clinging to one another. Lucy had tears running down her face; she had been crying with fear during the race but now they were tears of joy! Amy was laughing and bouncing up and down with excitement. Millie and Luke sped out from the cheering crowd and hopped around the cart in joyful excitement.

  It was rather a shock for Amy as she hugged Lucy, to see from over Lucy’s diminutive shoulder two tall and familiar cowboy figures push their way through the crowd, striding purposely toward them. “Oh no,” she groaned aloud.

  “What is it, Amy? Are you hurt?” asked Lucy anxiously.

  “Not yet...but we’ve been rumbled, Luce!”

  “What d’you...? Oh my God, it’s Ed, what do we do?!” Lucy grabbed hold of Amy and shook her in panic.

  “Run?” suggested Amy, jumping swiftly down from the cart and doing just that.

  Ed reached the cart first and nodded farewell to Ethan, who wheeled off to fetch his horse as soon as he’d spotted Amy make a dash for it. He knew his wife extremely well and he was certain sure she would double back and try to lose him with a double bluff.

  Ed meanwhile climbed up onto the cart and took up the reins that Amy had dropped in her haste to escape. He called to Tyler who had followed on behind with Ben and Nat in tow, “Tyler help all the young ‘uns up into the cart we’re going home.” Millie and Tyler lifted all the little ones aboard before jumping up and settling in the back of the cart with their legs dangling over the tailgate.

  As the cart moved off slowly Lucy’s heart beat jarringly, she glanced up at her husband’s stern face, “You okay Luce, not hurt at all?” Ed looked down at his wife, a dark eyebrow raised in question. “I’m just fine Ed,” Lucy replied softly, Ed nodded curtly. “Well darlin’ I don’t think you will be after I reacquaint you with our dear old friend the butter pat!” Lucy blanched, put her face in her hands and groaned. She would never, ever let Amy coerce her into doing something like this, not ever again!

  * * * * *

  Amy was sure that she had finally shaken Ethan off her tail; she had absolutely no intention of going back to their house that night. She was outside town now and decided that it would be wise to stay with Ed and Lucy. Amy was convinced that Ed would laugh the whole thing off and when Ethan turned up, she was sure Ed would help him see the funny side of the cart race and convince him to go easy on her.

  A pounding of hooves coming up fast from behind startled Amy out of her reverie and then there was the man himself looking down on her from high up on his saddle. His hat shaded his eyes but Amy could see from the set of his jaw that he was not a happy bunny, not happy at all! The next thing she knew she was hauled upwards and landed hard on her stomach over the front of Ethan’s saddle pummel; it was not a comfortable position to be in.

  Ethan flung his wife face down over the horse in front of him and flipped up her skirts. In no time at all, he had pulled down her pink pantalets, noting the color with pleasure, around her ankles and landed the first of many painful spanks to her extremely wilful bottom.

  Amy squealed, and in her present position had no choice but to listen to a firm lecture upon the meaning of obedience and her safety among other things, which lasted all the miles home. The entire way back, her bare bottom was soundly - but lovingly - spanked until it was as pink as the pantalets that her husband so admired.

  Racing, especially carts, became a thing of the past for Mrs. Ethan Walker and also for her sister-in-law, Mrs. Edward Campbell. Especially since during the following year’s Fourth of Ju
ly festivities, they spent the time at home with family, celebrating the birth of their own new arrivals.

  The End

  From the Author

  Dear Reader,

  I hope that you enjoyed reading “Cowboy Caveat” as much as I enjoyed writing it. I write to please my readers, so do leave feedback so that I know what you personally like and want from a book. I will take your comments and put them to good use while writing my next book. Thank you and happy reading!

  Vanessa Brooks.

  Blushing Books

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