by Duane Boehm
“I need to get back to town. I’m waiting to hear back from the U.S. Marshal on what he wants to do with the prisoners,” Gideon said as climbed upon his horse.
Ethan stepped forward, patting Gideon’s horse on the neck. “Thank you, Gideon. This is a very generous thing that you are doing. I’m much obliged.”
“Where would either one of us be without the other? It’s my pleasure,” Gideon said before wheeling the horse around and riding away.
Sarah looked at Zack and said, “You go on home to Joann and tell her the big news. This is worth celebrating. The wood can wait.”
Zack glanced over at Ethan who stood glaring and obviously perturbed at his wife.
“Go ahead, Zack. I’m sure that Joann will be excited,” Ethan said unenthusiastically.
“See you tomorrow,” Zack said as he walked to his horse and rode away.
“Why did you do that? There’s wood to chop. You won’t think that’s such a good idea when the cabin is cold this winter,” Ethan complained.
Sarah sashayed towards the cabin looking over her shoulder and smiling. “I’ve never gone to bed with a rich man. Your son will be home in half an hour. You can stay out here and split wood or you can split …,” she said, letting her voice trail off into a giggle before disappearing into their home.
Chapter 4
Raising a ten–month–old child was proving to be much more of a challenge than Abby Johann remembered it to be. The task seemed much easier with her daughter, Winnie, nearly a decade earlier. She found that she had much more patience with Chance than she had ever had with her daughter, but not the energy. Chance could give her a smile and get by with things that she would have never let fly with Winnie, but by the end of the day, she felt exhausted. He was a very active child, and since beginning to walk, into everything. Blaming the difference on the fact that the child was a boy, she refused to concede that her age had anything to do with the situation.
Joann, Abby’s newlywed daughter, had started coming over on Wednesday mornings to watch her brother so that Abby could have a break and go visit with Ethan’s wife Sarah. The two women had been friends for years and took comfort in each other’s confidences in the challenges of life on a ranch. Lately, the two women had added Mary to their get–togethers. Finnie had taught her how to ride a horse and she had purchased her own, loving the freedom of riding and leaving her life in a saloon for a while.
The three women sat at Sarah’s table drinking coffee. Abby had been talking for ten minutes about all the precocious things Chance was learning to do. She tended only to recall the joys of parenthood and not the challenges that fell by the wayside and become insignificant when she sat in the company of her friends. Looking up at Mary, she stopped mid–sentence at seeing tears in her friend’s eyes.
“Mary, what’s the matter?” Abby asked.
“I’m pretty sure I’m with child. I’m two weeks late and I’m usually like clockwork. I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Mary said and began sobbing.
Abby and Sarah exchanged glances, neither sure what next to say. Mary’s life had been a series of tragedies before inheriting the saloon and meeting Finnie. She had survived her ordeals seemingly unscathed and her reaction caught them both off–guard.
Sarah leaned over the table and placed her hand on Mary’s wrist. “Don’t you want a baby, Mary?” she finally asked.
Mary used her sleeve to wipe her eyes. “Considering that I used to be a whore, I know that this may sound hard to believe, but I quit thinking about babies a long time ago. After being married to Eugene, and then with all the men I’ve been with since, I never once got pregnant. I figured I couldn’t have children and put it out of my mind. I don’t know what Finnie will do. He won’t even ask me to marry him. What’s he going to think about a baby? I’m afraid I will lose him.”
“Has he ever mentioned children?” Abby asked.
“No, Finnie never says anything about our future and I don’t either. It’s like we’re afraid to bring anything up as if it might all fall apart,” Mary said.
Abby reached over and patted Mary’s hand. “Finnie gave up the bottle for you and he was a pretty bad drunk. You know that you have to mean a lot to him. And he’s great with kids. Look how he is around Winnie and Benjamin and the baby. I think he’s just afraid that you’ll say no if he asked you to marry him and I bet he’ll be overjoyed with a baby. A baby can’t be half as scary as giving up whiskey.”
“I don’t know,” Mary said and started crying again.
“You have to tell him. I think everything is going to be fine,” Sarah said.
“Even if he does want the baby, I’m not fit to be a mother. I was raised in an orphanage and I was a whore. What kind of mother would that make?” Mary said.
Sarah pointed her finger at Mary, shaking it with emphasis. “You’ll be as good of a mother as you want to be. Your past has nothing to do with it. You have a responsibility to that child and you will be fine. Mary, you are a good person and we’ll all be here for you just as you were for us. Abby and I know a thing or two about raising a child.”
“I know I’ll try, but there’s so much to think about. A saloon is no place to raise a baby. What kind of life would that be? And you know that when the child gets older that somebody will tease it about its mother being a whore. I don’t want my child to have a terrible childhood like I had,” Mary said.
“You don’t have to live in the saloon to run it. You and Finnie could get a house. You just need to tell him and figure out things. All the money that he has coming his way now should help a lot. I’m telling you right now though, lots of love fixes a whole lot of problems. I think that you will make a great mother,” Abby said.
“What money?” Mary asked.
Sarah and Abby looked at each other, both regretting that the subject of the reward had been brought into the conversation.
“Finnie has reward money coming for helping capture the Cooper Gang. I figured that he told you. I shouldn’t have said anything,” Abby said.
“It’s not like we are married. I don’t share with him how much I make off the saloon. I guess he has a right to keep it to himself,” Mary said, though her words didn’t sound convincing.
“I’m sorry, Mary,” Abby said.
“Do you think he is planning to take the money and run?” Mary asked.
“No. No. No. I don’t think that there’s any chance of that. Finnie’s a good and honorable man. Just because he’s short, don’t go selling him short,” Sarah said, trying to lighten the mood.
“Well, if I am pregnant, it’s not like I’m not going to have it. I wouldn’t ever do that, but I just don’t know how this is all going to work out,” Mary said.
“As a preacher’s wife, I’m going to tell you to have a little faith in yourself, Finnie, and God. I’m betting on all of you,” Sarah said.
Chapter 5
U.S. Marshal Wilcox arrived in Last Stand accompanied by a deputy and a prison wagon. Gideon and Finnie had just finished feeding the prisoners their breakfast when the two men entered the jail. The marshal made for a dashing figure in black coat and string tie. He was tall and lanky with a bushy handlebar mustache and dark piercing eyes.
“Sheriff Johann, I’m Marshal Wilcox,” Wilcox said as he extended his hand to Gideon.
Gideon shook his hand. “Glad to meet you, Marshal. This here is Deputy Finnegan Ford. I’ll be glad to have you take those prisoners off my hands. They’re a bellyaching bunch.”
“You would have saved the government a considerable expense if you would have killed the whole gang,” Wilcox said.
“I probably should have. James Cooper keeps threatening me with revenge for killing his brother,” Gideon said.
“I don’t expect Mr. Cooper will be spending another day on this earth as a free man. Can I have a look at the prisoners?” Wilcox said.
The marshal followed Gideon into the cell room. Wilcox took a quick glance at the men and walked out of the room with
out addressing the prisoners.
“That’s the Cooper Gang alright. You’re going to be taking my job one of these days if you keep bringing all these outlaws to justice. You’ve made quite a name for yourself in the short time that you’ve been sheriff. I congratulate you,” Wilcox said.
“Thank you, Marshal. I have the other two bodies in a cellar for you to identify them,” Gideon said.
The four men walked to the cabinetmaker’s shop and were led out back to the cellar. The cool room kept the bodies from decomposing rapidly, but the corpses still gave off a pungent stench when the lids to the coffins were lifted.
“That looks like Horace Cooper and Robert Hopkins to me. Let’s get out of here. I’ll lose my appetite for the rest of the day if I stay in here much longer. You can go ahead and bury them,” the marshal instructed the cabinetmaker.
Once back at the jail, Marshal Wilcox said, “I’ll get the paperwork for the reward finished when I get back. It will be sent in your name and you can do with it what you see fit. Let’s get the prisoners and be on our way. I sure wish you would’ve just killed them,”
“Thank you, Marshal. Send the money in care of the Last Stand Bank. Next time I’ll aim better for you,” Gideon said.
The marshal smiled. “You do that,” he said.
As the prisoners were led out of the jail, James Cooper turned to Gideon and said, “You think you’ve seen the last of me, but you’re wrong. I’ll kill you yet.”
“You talk awfully big for a man in shackles,” Gideon said and shoved James towards the wagon, almost making the prisoner fall.
As the two lawmen watched the marshal and his wagon of prisoners leave Last Stand, Gideon said, “I won’t miss them, but I sure look forward to that reward. What are you going to do with your money, Finnie?”
“I haven’t got it all figured out yet, but I’m working on it,” Finnie said.
“If you were smart you’d buy a ring for Mary,” Gideon said.
“You let me worry about that. You could always become my mother if you get tired of being sheriff,” Finnie said.
“I’m just trying to help a friend,” Gideon said.
“Has Mary said something to you?” Finnie asked brusquely.
“No. And I don’t claim to be an expert on how the female mind works, but I know enough to figure out that Mary wants you to marry her,” Gideon said.
“Considering that you left Abby to go fight a war and didn’t get around to coming back and marrying her for eighteen years, I don’t think that you have much room to talk,” Finnie said and walked off down the street.
Finnie avoided the jail for the rest of the morning and waited until the lunch crowd left the Last Chance to go eat with Mary. He found her in an ill mood and gobbled his lunch down to get away as quickly as possible before making a beeline out of the saloon. She was upset with him over something and he didn’t have a clue what he had done. When he asked her what was wrong, she had said nothing and then gave him one of those looks that inferred that he should know good and well what was bothering her. She was giving him a lot more credit than he deserved if she thought that he had any idea what he had done to upset her. He was beginning to wonder if she was tiring of his company with the way she behaved lately.
The stagecoach was due to arrive and Finnie walked to its arrival spot, taking a seat on the bench and waiting. Since becoming a full–time deputy, he liked to keep track of visitors to town. Usually the passengers were locals returning from a trip, but occasionally a stranger would arrive to pique his interest. He waited an hour before the stage finally pulled up. The rain from the night before made travel difficult and delayed the arrival.
The first passenger off the coach caught Finnie’s attention. The man looked to be in his forties, medium height and build, with dark hair. Dressed in a finely tailored suit and derby hat, he looked to be from a big city and definitely stood out in the crowd. With his trunk retrieved, he walked past the coach towards the hotel, carrying himself in a regal manner. Arriving at his destination, he promptly disappeared inside the building.
Finnie flagged down one of the local passengers. “Did you catch the name of the man in the suit and where he is from?” he asked.
“His name is John and he’s from Boston is all that I know. He asked a lot of questions about Last Stand, but he didn’t talk about himself much at all,” the passenger said.
Walking back to the jail, Finnie plopped down in a chair in front of the desk. “Some man from Boston arrived on the stagecoach. He’s dressed in a fancy suit and walks as if he thinks he’s a king or something. He looks as out of place as a virgin in a mining town saloon. Something is not right about it. I think we need to keep an eye on him,” he said to Gideon.
“I’d be a lot more worried if he looked like an outlaw and was armed to the teeth. It’s not against the law to visit the town. Maybe he’s read about the west and wants to see it for himself. It may be unusual, but I’ve heard tales of little drunken Irishmen taking up residence with pretty little saloon owners. That’s pretty hard to believe too,” Gideon said, grinning at his friend.
“Well, you’re funny today. Do you know why Mary’s sore with me? She wasn’t very pleasant at lunch,” Finnie said.
“I haven’t talked to her. Maybe she’s getting tired of you or thinks that it’s time that you marry her,” Gideon said.
“Well, if memory serves me well, you had your chance to marry her and didn’t,” Finnie said.
“If Abby and I hadn’t still had feelings for each other, I very well might have. You can thank me that she was still available,” Gideon said to needle Finnie further.
“I’m going to quit talking to anybody today. Mary is mad and you’re smug. If that man from Boston comes in here and shoots you, it will serve you right,” Finnie said and stood to leave.
“Maybe Mary found out about the reward money. Did you tell her about it? News travels fast in this town, especially if Doc knows about it. She might be mad that you didn’t share the news with her,” Gideon said.
“She doesn’t tell me about her finances. Why should I? It’s not as if I actually have the money in my hand yet. And how would she find out?” Finnie said.
“Well, Abby and Sarah know about it and Mary spends Wednesdays with them. What do you think the odds are that the reward didn’t come up in conversation?” Gideon said.
“Damn. When women get together, they make more noise than a chicken coop full of hens. I’m surprised that they don’t nest on eggs,” Finnie said.
“They kind of do. Ethan and I have the kids to prove it. That stuff can happen when you play with the hens,” Gideon said as he rubbed his scar and chuckled.
“You are so funny. Maybe you’ll be a grandpa rooster real soon then. I’ll go keep the peace in this town while you sit here and think up some more jokes,” Finnie said before dashing out the door.
Gideon finished logging his expenses before walking to the Last Chance. He sat down at his usual table and waited for Mary to bring a beer and join him.
Mary placed the beer on the table and sat down with him. “You haven’t visited me this week. I thought that maybe you didn’t love me anymore,” she teased.
“I’m here now. How have you been?” Gideon said.
“I’m good. Business is booming,” Mary said.
“I hear that you’re peeved at Finnie. Trouble in paradise?” he said.
“At least I got his attention enough to make him talk to you about it. I heard about the reward money and I’m just disappointed that he didn’t share the news with me. I don’t tell him about my money, but I’d think he’d want to share big news like that. I also thought that he would’ve married me by now and you see what that got me,” she said.
“I’m sure he will tell you in due time. Mary, he is afraid to ask you because he’s afraid that you’ll say no. Finnie might be a dried out deputy, but he still thinks of himself as the little drunk that I found in Animas City and he doesn’t feel that he is your equal
. I give him a hard time about it all the time and it doesn’t do any good,” Gideon said.
“That little idiot Irishman. I should just shoot him,” Mary said before a ranch hand walked by reeking of body odor and cow shit. She covered her mouth with her hands and started retching.
“What’s up with you? I’d think that you’d be used to that smell by now,” he said before rubbing his chin and smiling. “Oh, my God, you’re with child. Abby was the same way when she was carrying Chance. I finally got one on you instead of the other way around.”
After the gagging stopped, Mary said, “Gideon Johann, keep your voice down. This isn’t funny. I’m afraid Finnie will hightail it when he finds out. Having a baby is about the last thing that I ever expected to happen to me. It should be one of the happiest times in my life, but like usual, my life is never that simple.”
“Mary, you need to talk to him. Finnegan Ford will do right by you, but you need to let him know. You’ve waited long enough for him to ask you. Just tell him. He won’t run. In fact, I think that you’ll make him a very happy man if you just lay your cards on the table. You’d save him from working up the nerve. He told me in the past that there was a time when he figured that he’d be married and have children. He just gave up on that dream, but it’s about to become a reality,” Gideon said.
“You really think so?’ Mary asked.
“Yes, I do, and congratulations. I think that you’ll make a wonderful momma,” he said.
Mary stood and leaned over, kissing Gideon on the cheek. “You’re a dear friend, but you’d better keep your mouth shut or I won’t rescue you the next time somebody tries to kill you in my saloon.”
Chapter 6