by Ginger Ring
“Coming girl?” Mrs. Brink yelled up the back stairs. The woman sure was in a hurry to get rid of her. Maybe she really didn’t belong. Maybe it was their way of telling her she needed to go. Rose’s moccasins shuffled down the steps as fast as she could go. A headache formed. Was she making the right decision? What if her parents really were here and if she missed them, she’d be stuck here forever. A place she didn’t fit in with no one to depend on or trust. That was the way she’d felt in the future but as least she’d had her family. It wasn’t an easy choice but it was the only one she had.
“Thank you for all your hospitality.” She hugged them both.
“It was nothing and Mr. Peterson paid for your stay when he brought your things.” Mrs. Brink’s brushed it off.
Rose swallowed the hurt. Here he was yet again looking out for her. She studied the town again for the handsome man with the long dark hair. Still nothing. He was gone from her life forever.
“Would you please thank him for all he’s done for me?”
“Of course. Most people in the town don’t know what to think of him but he’s always been fair and right to us.” The older woman embraced her again. “Now go find your family before they head out and you miss them.”
As much as she may want to stay and talk to Seth again, it wasn’t to be. If her family really was here, she had to go. Her place was in the present not living in some prairie town in the 1800s. How she missed shampoo, electricity, and real bathrooms. For some reason, Rose had a feeling she’d be missing Seth more.
“Here you go miss.” The sheriff held her horse so she could jump on. His eyes lingered on her legs as her skirt rose up. Just showing an ankle seemed to be scandalous. “You do know how to ride don’t you?” His look said he was doubtful.
“Yes, I’ve ridden before.” That was with Seth but she’d been paying attention. You just kick the horse and it goes. Right? Taking the reins, she turned the horse and waved good bye to the Brinks. Nudging the horse harder than expected it took off. Rose gripped the saddle horn and hung on for dear life.
It seemed like forever before the sheriff got along beside, reached for her reins, and slowed the horse to a walk. “Easy there.”
A few strands of her hair had come loose and hung in her face. “I guess I kicked him harder than I thought.”
“I reckon so.” He still had control of her horse and pulled the gelding along behind his. “He is also a she. We have to make some time but let’s keep it to a trot for a while.”
The first few minutes were fine. The next thirty was pure agony. All of her hair was now down and blowing in the wind. Between the dirt, heat, and wind it was a tossup of what was worse. All she knew was that she needed a bath.
“How far is it to town?” Rose wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her forearm. At least the long sleeves had kept her from burning in the hot sun. Again her thoughts turned to Seth. Where was he and what was he doing? Did he even think about her after the horrible way she’d treated him?
“We’d make better time if we were moving faster but at this rate, it’s going to take all day,” he grumbled.
“I’m sorry. I guess I’m more of a city girl.” Actually she’d started to enjoy the beauty of the wide open spaces and big sky. The stars at night had been beyond belief. It just seemed like the right thing to say.
“Yeah,” he spit over the side of his horse. “Women don’t belong out here. Just look at the girls they found dead.”
Even with the hot sun, Rose felt a chill down her back. “What about them? It wasn’t their fault they were murdered.”
“No, I guess not.” He opened his mouth to say more but then shut it. Perhaps he didn’t want to worry her. As least he was the sheriff, a real sheriff. The man had guns and knew how to use them if trouble arose.
They settled into a quiet silence again for the next hour. They’d slowed to a walk as the day heated up and only stopped a few times for food and water that the man had thankfully thought to bring along. He was right. She didn’t belong out here. Halfway back, she’d probably have expired on the dirt and been left to die.
The motion of the horse rocked her to sleep and somewhere along the line the terrain had changed. Before they had traveled a well-used road filled with wagon wheel ruts and horse manure. Now, they seemed to be headed to what looked like the Badlands. That was one of the places on her ‘must see’ list that she’d circled on her map before traveling west.
“The Badlands?”
“What did you say?” The man ahead of her stopped and twisted around to face her.
She hadn’t realized she spoke out loud. “This looks like the Badlands, I’ve always wanted to visit here.”
The man raised his eyebrows. Did everyone think she was loco?
“Why?” He took a drink of water from his canteen. “I never heard the area called that or anyone wanting to visit.”
She stopped herself before announcing it was a national park. It wasn’t yet but it would be. “I’ve always heard how beautiful it was here.”
“Who told you that?” The guy didn’t miss a beat.
“I don’t remember.” The view was amazing. All around her were buttes and cliffs of rock. The pictures she’d seen hadn’t done it justice.
“Must have been Peterson. No one ever comes here but the Sioux.”
The mention of his name caused the day to dim. Rose gazed up to the sky. Clouds had moved in.
“Then why are we here?” The question came across snippier than she intended and he stopped his horse again.
He took off his hat and motioned to the sky with it. “Storms moving in. I have a cabin near here to wait it out.”
“I thought we were not that far from town?” A gust of wind blew her skirt up and it spooked her horse. Luckily her hand was on the horn as she was nearly unseated.
“We are but this looks like it could blow up a twister any minute.” He pushed his hat low on his head and signaled his horse to keep going.
Rose studied the dark clouds as they rolled over the sky. It didn’t look that bad. She pulled back on the reins. Wouldn’t it be better to keep going than traveling in the other direction? Her mare danced around wanting to follow the other horse. She struggled to keep the horse under control as she surveyed her surroundings. Nothing looked familiar. If she tried to find the nearest town by herself, she’d be lost for sure.
Thunder shook the ground, and the horse took off to join the other. “How soon before it will hit?”
“Hard to tell. Sometimes it rumbles for hours, other times it can hit in minutes.”
That was true. The other night the thunder sounded for hours before there was even a drop of rain.
“But where are we going?” Her voice could barely be heard over the loud gusts.
“I’ve a hunting cabin near here. Won’t be long. We can ride out the storm, rest the horses, and then continue on after it blows over.”
They circled some of the higher buttes and the deep valleys helped shield against the twirling dirt storms. Even with last night’s rain the wind had stirred up the dust.
Finally a lone cabin could be seen in the distance. Surprisingly there was a good number of cattle grazing nearby.
“Look, there’s cows. There must be a ranch nearby.” The fact that there might be other people in the area lightened her mood.
“Yes. They may have wandered off in the storm last night.”
They stopped in front of the shack. Rose let out a sigh of relief when her feet hit the ground. Her butt was sore and her legs felt like rubber bands from being in a saddle all day. It had only been a few hours but it felt like all day.
One of the cows mooed and Rose noticed the varieties of brands on the sides. That was the only way back in the day for ranches to identify their cattle. From the looks of them, there were several cattle ranches in the area.
“Get in the cabin before it gets worse.”
Rose held her skirt down against the wind as she hurried to the
small house.
Sheriff Anderson led their horses to a nearby wooden corral. She stood by the door and watched as he quickly unsaddled them. With a saddle horn in each hand, he carried one over each shoulder and hurried for the cabin. She’d quickly learned that men cared as much about their saddles as they did about their horses.
Rose held the door open so he could get inside. Shutting it against the impending storm, she glanced around the small one room cabin that was similar to Seth’s. Always her thoughts returned to him and loneliness settled in.
“Have a seat and I’ll make some coffee.” He rummaged around on a shelf for a coffee can and pot. I’ll get some water from the pump outside. With that he left and she took a seat on the only chair in the place. It sat next to a cot. The small bed had a red plaid blanket with a few accents of silver thread.
Running her fingers over it, the thread moved. Looking closer she realized it wasn’t thread at all but hair. They were strands of long blonde hair.
11
After a restless night, Seth downed a quick breakfast and saddled his horse. He should never have left Rose alone. Why hadn’t he made it clear from the start that he wasn’t the law in these parts? He’d been too shocked at the way she talked to stop her. All that talk about Hickok being dead. It was nonsense. No way around it, it just was.
It had also been nice to have someone think of him with such respect. The job he’d always aspired to. It was his goal to help and protect all people. Having that shiny badge on his chest was his one goal in life. Well it was until Rose was dropped into his life. Now he just wanted her back.
His shoulders sank as Kadoka walked lazily into town. Seth was so tied up in his thoughts he could care less as his horse grabbed bits of grass as they wandered. It wasn’t until he spotted a lone figure in the cemetery on the edge of Harvest that his mind cleared. Dammit, he’d missed Alice’s funeral. In the summer and with no ice to keep her cold, they would’ve had the burial as soon as possible.
He still couldn’t believe she was gone. It had to be the same person that killed the other girls. He knew it was. Seth hadn’t known the other women but he had known Alice. Not in the biblical sense but he did know her and the other working girls at Adele’s. That made it personal. The killer had claimed one of their own.
He shaded his eyes from the sun and squinted. The man, by what must be her grave, held his hat in hand and was down on one knee. There was something familiar about him. Taking control of Kadoka, they loped to the town’s burial ground.
Seth dismounted and tied his horse’s reins to the white picket fence that surrounded the tombstones. Even down on one knee the guy was a big fella. The man must have heard him approach as he shoved his hat on and got up in a hurry.
“Wait,” Seth hollered and raced over to catch the man before he could leave. He grabbed the man’s elbow and turned him around. “What the hell?” He wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes. It was Ted Butler and he was sober and wearing a suit.
“I got no business with you Peterson so just leave me alone.”
Seth held up his hands. “I never said you did. I’m just surprised to see you here and, uh…” he looked him up and down, “…you look good.”
“A lot of good it does me now.” The man took off his hat and swatted it against his leg. “I can’t believe she’s gone. Who would do such a thing?” Butler was near tears. “If I get my hands on the bastard that did this?” His fists raised.
He’d never seen the guy like this before. “You really cared about her didn’t you?” He didn’t mean to speak it out loud but Seth never expected the town drunkard to think about anyone but himself.
“She was always nice to me. Saw me as a person.” This time he took a handkerchief out of his pocket and blew his nose. Hard. “Said if I got myself cleaned up and off the whiskey, she’d even go out with me.”
“Alice was a good-hearted woman that was for sure.” Seth patted the guy on the shoulder. “She will be missed.”
“I’m going to kill whoever did this.” Butler spat.
“Did Alice ever mention anyone that she was afraid of?” Seth inquired. Maybe they could work together to find the killer?
The guy shook his head.
“What about any customers who were a little rough?”
“No, Adele would never allow that.” Butler let out a deep breath. “Wait a minute. I saw the sheriff leave the back door of the house not too long before I came in the front door. Maybe she was talking to him before she died. Maybe he knows something.”
“Wait a minute, you saw sheriff Anderson going out the back door of Adele’s while you were going in the front.”
“Well not at the same time. You can’t see the back from the front but as I was walking down the sidewalk. I saw him hurrying out the back. Maybe he was sporting a gal and didn’t want anyone seeing him in the whorehouse?”
“So how long after you saw him did you find out about Alice?”
“I reckon not more than five or ten minutes. I stopped to shoot the bull with Fred in the parlor before I went on up. When Alice didn’t open the door after I knocked, I just went in.” His face was white. “I touched her to see if she was still alive.” The man started to tear up again. “Her skin was still warm but she was gone. Her beautiful eyes stared up with no life in them.” It was a full out sob now. “I ran out the back looking for Anderson but he was nowhere in sight. Then I got scared that someone might think I did it,” he sobbed. “I went home like the coward I am.”
Seth took off his hat. Never had he felt so helpless. There had to be something they could do.
“Butler. We have to find this guy before he does any more harm. Let’s go find the sheriff and see if he’d heard anything. Alice couldn’t have been dead for very long. I think it’s a good chance the sheriff might have seen whoever did this.”
“You think so? Why wouldn’t he be doing something about it?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he didn’t want anyone knowing he was there either.”
Seth stepped back, put on his hat, and glanced toward the fresh grave. The wind blew some of the flower petals off that had been laid there. There had to be something he could do. Badge or not, he would.
“Let’s go see what we can find out.” He led the grieving man out of the cemetery by the arm. “Let’s go find the sheriff.”
Seth mounted his horse and told Butler to meet him by the sheriff’s office.
Anderson wasn’t there. The deputy said he hadn’t seen him all morning but left a note that he was in charge for the day. That obviously meant he was to sit on the porch with his feet up as that was where they found the guy. If Seth was the sheriff, he would have the guy out talking to ranchers and finding out if there were any more missing cattle.
Just as they finished talking, Butler arrived leading his horse behind. At the sound of hoof beats in the distance, they all turned to see the dust stirred by a cowboy galloping toward the town.
“Wonder what the hell he’s all fired up about?” The deputy placed a hand on his gun belt.
It was one of the ranch hands that worked with a neighboring herd. The racing quarter horse slid on its hindquarters when his rider pulled on the reins.
“Hell, Phil what’s all the commotion about?” The deputy placed his hand on his gun.
The rider threw his leg over the horn and jumped to the ground. “Haven’t you heard yet?”
“Heard what?” The deputy spit on the ground.
Phil puffed up his chest and seemed to enjoy the crowd of townspeople that had started to gather. “It’s big news.”
“Well, tell us about it. I ain’t got all day.” The deputy sighed loudly.
Seth narrowed his eyes at the deputy. The man probably wanted to put his feet back up.
“It’s big news. Come all the way from Deadwood.” A few more men showed up to see what was going on. “Bill Hickok was killed.” The crowd gasped. “Shot in the back of the head playing poker.”
<
br /> “Who shot him?” a fella asked.
“A man called Jack McCall. Heard they were playing cards together the day before and McCall didn’t like losing. Came back the next day and shot him in the back of the head. Bullet went clean out Hickok’s cheek and into the wrist of one of the other players.” A woman squealed and fanned herself with a handkerchief.
Seth felt like he’d been shot himself. The day he’d met Rose, she’d mentioned this. Had she seen in the future or was she really from the future as she claimed? “I guess he didn’t have a winning hand, the poor fella.” It was an insensitive thing to say but Seth wanted to hear what else the guy had to add.
“They were playing five card poker. Heard he had two aces and two eights, all black. Not sure what the fifth one was, but that was the dead man’s hand.”
He had to take some deep breaths to calm his racing heart. Not only had she predicted the man’s death but she even knew the cards he’d held in his hand. If she knew all this maybe she might know who had killed the girls. He also needed to make things right with her and tell her how he felt.
“Come on.” He nudged Butler. “There’s someone I got to see before we head out to find the sheriff.”
He took long and fast strides to reach the Brink’s General Store. The bell above the door jingled as they opened and closed it.
“Morning,” Seth called out and both the man and his wife came out from the back room.
“Morning, Seth,” Mr. Brink’s answered before adding, “Mr. Butler.”
The man by his side sheepishly nodded. He’d spent more time in the saloon than he ever spent in this store.
“I came to see Rose.”
“She’s not here,” the Brinks answered at the same time.
“Where is she?” There wasn’t a lot of time to track her down in town but he needed to do it.