Joelle gave him a long look and saw that he would not meet her gaze. “All right. We’ll see you later.”
She and Chad rode off, and Owen watched them go. He was disturbed about Joelle, and somehow the idea of her riding off didn’t please him. He had told her the absolute truth about his friend. He had nothing against Chad, who was simply a man who liked to see what was over the next hill. He had been that way himself for a time, but now he had changed, and he knew it. But he didn’t think Chad was ready to settle down yet.
* * *
“NOT MUCH OF A town. More saloons than anything else,” Chad remarked. The two found Sacramento to be busy, which they had fully expected. They walked up and down the main street, and Chad took her into a café where they sat at a table with a red-and-white checked tablecloth and had a store-bought meal. “Not as good as your cooking,” Chad grinned as he ate his steak. “There’s probably a fancier place we’ll find.”
“It’s not bad,” Joelle said. Her mind was on Owen, and she only half-listened to Chad’s teasing. Finally he said, “You wait right here. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Where you going?”
“I’m a man of mystery. Don’t try to figure me out. Sit still here. Some of these ugly miners get fresh with you, just pull out that little .38 and shoot them. I don’t think anybody would care.”
Joelle smiled for he teased her often about the .38 she carried. She sat alone and drank a few more cups of coffee. Indeed, many men eyed her boldly, and more than one spoke to her, but she returned their greetings coolly.
Chad came back, his eyes dancing. “Come on. It’s Christmas—or will be pretty soon. I’ve got a little present for you.”
He paid the bill, led her outside, and said, “It’s working out just fine. Come on. Let me show you what I’ve found.” He led her down the main street and off the busy thoroughfare to the edge of town and an area of houses. He pointed to a small house painted white with green shutters. “Here’s where you’ll be living,” he said with a swing of his hand.
Joelle stared at the house and then turned to face Chad. “What are you talking about?”
“I asked a fellow if there were any houses to be had, and he told me about this one. I rented it for you.”
“Why, Chad, I can’t let you put me up.” A thought came to her, and she grew still. “You—you didn’t think I’d live there with you, did you?”
“Only after we get married.”
“Chad, you’re not ready to marry me or anybody.”
“I don’t know why you’d say that. You’ve hurt my feelings.”
“It would take a stick of dynamite to hurt your feelings!”
“Well, I guess you’re right. But houses are pretty hard to find, and I know you’re sick of that wagon. So I rented it for a month. You can pay me back sometime, but I want to give you a place to be by yourself and think.”
“What a sweet thing to do, Chad! I’ll take you up on it.”
“Come on. Let’s look at the inside. Supposed to be furnished. The fellow that lived here was a dentist, but he got killed.”
“Who killed him?”
“Oh, it wasn’t intentional. Somebody took a shot at another fellow he was having an argument with. He missed and hit the dentist. His widow’s gone back East, and she left the place with the newspaper office here. Come on, let’s take a look.”
They went inside, and Joelle took a deep breath and felt a great relief. She had wondered what she would do. There was bound to be some work she could do here. Maybe taking care of a stable as she had done before. They looked the house over.
“Don’t I get some kind of reward for this?” Chad smiled at her, his eyes dancing.
“Yes. Here, you deserve a reward.” She put her hand out, Chad took it, and she pumped it up and down. “Thank you very much, Chad. You can take your meals here. That’s a nice stove, and it’ll be a place of refuge. I really appreciate it. I haven’t had anybody to look out for me in a long time.”
“Well, you think I’m joshing you about getting married, but I’m not.” His face suddenly grew sober. “I know Owen thinks I’m not through running around, but I’m mighty fond of you, Joelle. You’re a fine-looking young lady and smart and tough. I admire that. We’ll talk about that. I’ll come courting every day. I’ll wear your patience down.” He smiled, and before she could move, he leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. “You want to stay here and look at your house or go back to the camp? I guess folks will be saying good-byes.”
“I’ll go with you.”
She shut the door; he locked it and gave her a key. They mounted their horses and rode back toward the camp. Joelle was relieved to have a place, even for a short time, and she was wondering what Owen would think of it.
* * *
OWEN FIRST HEARD OF what Chad had done from Harry. He listened as Jump told him about the house, how Chad had found and rented it, and that Joelle was moving into it.
“That’s not right,” Owen said instantly.
“What’s wrong with it? She needs a place to stay.”
“Why, it doesn’t look right.”
“I swan, Owen, you’d complain if they hung you with new rope! There’s nothing wrong with that. I kind of admire Chad for looking out for her. She needs a little bit of that.”
“Where is she now?”
“She bought some stuff for the house and went back to put up curtains or something.”
“I’m going to go talk to her, and I’ll have a word for Chad too. He ought to know better. You know how gossip is. Everybody in the camp will think that they’re living together.”
Jump watched him leave and then went to tell Lily what had happened. “Owen’s so mixed up he can’t see straight.”
“It’s easy enough. He loves that girl, and he doesn’t know what to do about it.”
“He made a commitment to a woman once. I knew her. She was pretty as a woman can get, but she betrayed Owen. He’s been offish with women ever since.”
“Well, Joelle wouldn’t betray anybody.”
“Neither would you, Lily. Now, about time you and me talk serious.”
“All right, start talking,” Lily smiled at him. “I’ve never had a man come after me like you have, Harry. I like it. I think I’ll play hard to get for a while.”
“Oh, Lily, don’t be that way. Rachel needs a dad and you need a husband and I sure need a wife. We’re going to make a nice family. I don’t think I told you. I want six kids, all of them boys.”
Lily laughed. “Well, we’ll have to talk about that when it’s proper.”
* * *
JUMP HAD TOLD OWEN the location of the house, and he identified it at once when he saw Chad sitting on the front porch. He was seated in a chair and leaning back with his hat pulled over his eyes, but he straightened up when Owen dismounted in front of the house. “Hey, Owen, you come to help with the housewarming?”
Owen was upset with Chad. They had their ups and downs before, and now he said, “Chad, you’re a fool.”
Chad stared at him. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s not right, you renting a house for Joelle.”
“Well, Owen, she’s got to have a place to stay. She can’t live in that wagon forever.”
“Where is she?”
“Why, she’s in the house.”
Owen walked past Chad and found Joelle standing on a chair and putting up curtains. She turned to him, and her face was pleased. “You come to see my new house, Owen? Isn’t it nice?”
Owen stopped dead still, and seeing one glimpse of his face brought Joelle down off of the chair. “What’s the matter? Is something wrong?”
“Yes, something’s wrong! You shouldn’t be moving into Chad’s house.”
Chad had followed him in. “It’s not my house. It’s her house.”
“You paid the rent, didn’t you?”
“She’s going to pay me back.”
“You step outside, Chad. I need to talk
to Joelle.”
Chad’s smile disappeared. “Nope, I reckon I’ll stay right here.”
For a moment Joelle thought Owen would challenge that, but then he turned to her and said, “You shouldn’t have moved in here. It’s unseemly.”
Two red spots appeared in Joelle’s cheek, and she stared at him. “You think I’m doing something wrong?”
“It’s wrong to live in a man’s house when you’re not married to him.”
Chad said, “Owen, you’re being a fool. You’ve been a fool before but not like this.”
“You keep out of this, Chad, and I’ve told you before. Get out of here. I need to talk to Joelle.”
“I’ll leave when Joelle asks me to.” Chad’s temper was somewhat short at times. He hated being told what to do, and it irritated him that Majors would impugn Joelle. “You’re loco, Owen. Joelle’s straight as a string. I mean her no harm.”
“What do you think the town will say?”
“The town will say whatever it wants to say. It’s none of their business.”
“I’ve told you twice to leave, and now I’m telling you one more time.”
Chad’s lips drew tight. “You can go to grass, Owen! It’s not your house. Not mine either. I’ll leave when Joelle tells me to.”
Anger flared in Owen, and he suddenly stepped forward and shoved Chad toward the door. Taken off-guard, Chad staggered backward, and then his face flushed, and his eyes seemed to glitter. “Don’t put your hands on me, Owen. We’re friends, but—”
“Get out of here! I’ve got to talk to Joelle.” Owen seemed past reasoning and gave another shove, but Chad Hardin was not a man to take shoving. He suddenly swung, and his fist caught Owen right in the chest and drove him backward.
“I told you not to put your hands on me!”
Owen’s temper was short, and he threw himself at Chad with the intent of wrestling him out the door. The two men were evenly matched, both tall and strong, and they wrestled around the kitchen. They ran into a table and knocked it over, breaking the legs off. Then Chad threw a punch that caught Owen right in the mouth.
Chad yelled, “You’re crazy, man!!”
The two got to their feet and began slugging at each other. Joelle tried to break them up, but she was thrown to one side by the violence of their quarrel. The two men were deadly serious now, all thought of friendship gone. Blows were given and taken, and both of them were marked. Finally Chad ran at Owen and wrestled him to the floor, but Owen rolled him over and hit him square in the mouth.
Joelle watched the two and stopped pleading. She saw a bucket of dirty water she used to mop the floor. The two men were struggling on the floor. Joelle poured the water over the back of Chad’s head, but most of it went into Owen’s face. Chad leaped to his feet.
“What’d you do that for?”
Owen was wiping his eyes. He started to speak, but Joelle was furious. “Get out of here! You’re not going to fight over me like two dogs over a bone! I don’t want to ever see either one of you again!”
She hit Owen with a broom, and he threw up his hands in defense. “Wait a minute, Joelle—”
“I don’t want to hear you, Owen Majors! Get out of my house! And you, too, Chad! Both of you get out!”
The two men saw that the young woman was furious. Chad said, “I think we’d better go, Owen. I think we made a mistake.” He turned and walked out the door, and Owen opened his mouth, but she hit at him with the broom.
“Get out, Owen!” she shouted. He followed Chad.
The two men stood on the porch for a moment, then Chad said, “Well, you sure made a mess out of that.”
“What do you mean? It wasn’t my fault.”
“You’re the one who started the fight. You ought to know better. What’s the matter with you? You know that girl is true as steel. She’d never do a bad thing.”
“I know she wouldn’t, but—”
“Well, that’s not what she thought, and that’s not what you said. You as much as accused her and me of living in sin. That was the furthest thing from my mind, and she sure wouldn’t put up with it even if I was trying to do a low-down thing like that. You’ve loosened one of my teeth, Owen. I don’t want to talk to you for a while.”
Owen watched Chad walk away and felt like a complete fool. He hesitated and wiped the water from his face and put his hat on his head. He wanted to go back inside, but he knew that now was not the time. Instead, he walked to his horse, mounted, and for a moment looked at the house, and then he shook his head. “Owen Majors, you are the biggest fool God ever made. What is wrong with you?” He jerked the horse’s head around, dug his spurs in, and shot off down the street at a dead run.
* * *
OWEN DIDN’T SEE JOELLE for two days. He did see Chad, who managed to laugh at the whole thing. “Well, you and me just bound to be foolish at times.”
“I was dead wrong, Chad.”
“You sure were. Not the first time neither. Joelle speaking to you yet?”
“No, I haven’t seen her. Have you?”
“Oh, I went by yesterday and told her how sorry I was about the way I acted. Couldn’t apologize for you though.”
“Did she say anything about me?”
“Not a word. She’s looking for work. She’s probably going to be a cook at that restaurant on Front Street.”
“That’s a rough place for her.”
“She’s tough enough. She’ll take it.” He studied Owen thoughtfully and said, “Look, I figured all this out. The reason you came roaring in like you did, making all those vile charges against Joelle and me, is because you care for her. Now, ain’t that so, Owen?”
Owen stood for a minute, and finally he said, “I guess you’re right, Chad, but she’ll never have anything to do with me now.”
“Don’t be a fool. She was mad, and she should have been. We deserve worse than we got, but when I talk to her about you, I see a soft light in her eyes.” Chad placed his hand on Owen’s shoulder. “Go talk to her. It’ll be all right. You’re right about me. I’ve been thinking about heading down the coast. I’d like to see San Francisco. They say that’s a wide-open place. I guess I’m just not ready to settle down, but I think you are.”
“I couldn’t face her, Chad.”
“My stars, Owen! You’ve faced wild Comanche. She’s just a little woman. She’s not going to shoot you or anything— although she was mad enough to when we tore her house up. Go offer to help her fix it up. She’s lonesome. Besides, you two formed a pretty good bond coming all the way across. She told me about how she took care of you when you were hurt, how you have been taking care of her even when you thought she was a man. Don’t see how you could have thought that unless you’re half-blind. Anyway, go see her.”
“Thanks for the advice, Chad. You won’t be leaving right away, will you?”
“No, no. I’m going to try dabbling around, prospecting a little bit. You want to go with me?”
“No, I’ve got another idea I’m working on, but I’ll see you later.”
Chad walked away, and Owen moved down the street. By the saloon he heard a voice call. Cherry Valance stepped outside. “Where you going, Owen? You might come in and have a drink.”
“No, I’ve got some business, Cherry.” He looked at the saloon and said, “Ash buy this place?”
“Yep.”
“Seems like a nice enough place.”
“It’s a saloon.”
Owen looked down at the woman. Her face had lines that hadn’t been there when he first knew her, and it saddened him for he had once fancied himself in love with her. He still felt a fondness for her. “You ought to get out of this life, Cherry.”
“And do what?”
“Marry a good man?”
“And wash dishes and change diapers? No thanks.”
Owen tried to find a response, a way to persuade her. He saw that her lips were tight, and she suddenly laughed. “Don’t try to convert me. Harry Jump tried it, and he couldn’t make
it.”
“There’s worse things than being converted. I’ve been thinking a lot about that lately.”
“Oh, you’re going to hit the glory trail, and you’re going to marry that little girl that you couldn’t even tell was a girl. You’re not hard to figure out, Owen.”
“I doubt if she would have me.”
“She’d have you all right. She watched you all the time. Nobody could miss it—except somebody as dumb as you are.”
“Well, I wish you the best, Cherry.”
“Are you staying here?”
“I think so.”
“Well, we probably won’t be meeting much, but I’ll always be glad to see you, Owen. I’ll always have a good memory of our time together.”
Owen watched her as she turned and walked back into the saloon. He felt a sense of a loss, not because he wanted her. But he hated to see her throwing her life away.
* * *
FOUR DAYS HAD PASSED since Joelle had driven Chad and Owen from her house. Chad had come back the next day and sheepishly confessed his wrongdoing. She had forgiven him at once. When he started to talk about going to San Francisco, she knew Owen had been right about him.
She had grown more miserable each day. On a Friday night she fixed a meal for herself and found she wasn’t hungry. She sat at the table, drinking coffee, and tried to think about where she was going and what she would do. I’ll have to take that job cooking. I can do it.
She walked around the room, pleased enough with the house, but it was only a house. She was unhappy and felt isolated and alone in a strange land. I was this miserable back home with a stepfather trying to get at me. Now I’m two thousand miles away and still unhappy. The friends she had made on the wagon train were separating, and she herself had nowhere to go and no plan. The thought of cooking for a bunch of men didn’t thrill her, but she was strong enough to do it.
Finally she washed her face, brushed her hair, put on her nightgown, and went to bed. She had not been there thirty minutes and was almost asleep when she heard a sound. Somebody’s on the front porch.
She picked up the .38 she kept beside her bed, and carrying a lamp, she moved into the large front room. She put the lamp down. At the door she listened. A faint knock startled her. “Go away,” she said. “I have a gun.”
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