Whispering Pines

by Scarlett Dunn

  “The sheriff ain’t dead. I heard talk around town that they are going to go looking for you as soon as he’s able.”

  “They’ve tried that, and see where it got them—nowhere. What else is going on?”

  “Rose is going to marry Morgan LeMasters in a few weeks. The new pastor is going to perform the ceremony.”

  Frank stared at him so long Stevie was beginning to wonder if he’d heard him.

  “So she’s alive,” Frank finally said.

  “Yeah, she had busted ribs, but she came home with Morgan. You’d think he was some kind of hero the way Granny is treating him.”

  Frank smirked. “Well, that hero is not going to marry a sister of mine.”

  “I knew you wouldn’t let that take place.”

  “I promise you, that ain’t never going to happen. Langtry blood will never be mixed with LeMasters blood. Now get dressed so we can get out of here. The gang is holed up at the old Conner place.” Frankie pointed to the whiskey bottle on the floor by the bed. “Any left in there?”

  Stevie tossed the bottle to him. “LeMasters took my horse and he hasn’t brought him back.”

  “Why did he take your horse?”

  “Said I was abusing it.”

  Those words sounded familiar to Frankie. He knew Morgan would die protecting animals. Frank intended to be the man to see that he did. He opened the whiskey bottle and took a long swig.

  “Granny didn’t say a word. I told her she cared more about Morgan than she did you,” Stevie said.

  “Granny always did take his part. Where’s Rose and Granny now?”

  “They’re staying at his ranch. Did you see the house? They moved most of the stuff out. Granny is going to live with Rose and Morgan.”

  “Granny is going to leave the farm?” It was difficult for Frank to believe Granny would leave her home.

  “Yeah. LeMasters said I could come work for him. Can you believe he thought I would work for him? Anyway, that’s not all I have to tell you.” Stevie got out of bed, walked across the room, and moved the table once again. He lifted the wooden slat and pulled out the bag of money, carried it across the room, and dropped it in Frankie’s lap. “I robbed a stagecoach.” He sat back down on the bed and told Frankie how he pulled off the stagecoach robbery, and about his partner in Denver. “I got shot in the arm.” He removed his shirt and showed Frankie his wound.

  “Why didn’t you duck?” Frankie teased.

  “I didn’t know another guard was inside the coach. Reuben didn’t either, but he was right about everything else, including how much money they were carrying. We can get out of here and go to Mexico. Just you and me, like we always talked about. We can start our own place now.” Stevie had never forgotten the plans they made when they were younger. Frankie always said he wanted to see the country, and not stay in one place and get old before his time, like Preacher.

  Frank lifted the bag. “How much is in here?”

  “Me and Reuben split the take. There’s two thousand in there.” Frankie wasn’t as excited as Stevie expected him to be. “Aren’t you happy I got us some money so we can leave here and never come back?”

  “Yeah, Stevie, I’m real happy about that. But tell me more about this Reuben fellow. He could be very useful to us.” Frank was already considering how he could use Reuben for a bigger payday.

  “You mean you don’t want to go to Mexico?”

  “Stevie, we’d need a lot more money than this to survive and buy our own spread. After we get even with Morgan, I’m thinking about robbing a bank. I want to set us up so we never have to come back here again.” What he left unsaid was he didn’t plan on leaving Whispering Pines for good until Morgan LeMasters was dead.

  Stevie wasn’t going to argue with his big brother. Frankie had always outsmarted everyone. “Reuben works in the Denver bank; he’s been there over two years. That’s how he knew that stagecoach was carrying the money. Reuben’s smart, and he knows everything going on in Denver. He’s not the kind of fellow who is good with a gun, he’s more of a tenderfoot, but he can give us the information. We’d have to split the money with him. That was how we struck our deal.”

  “How did you meet him? You go to Denver often?”

  “I don’t go there much. I was out target practicing, and he was out for a ride one day and stopped to talk. We talked for a long time about my shooting, and he told me about his job. We became friends, and before I knew it, we were planning the robbery.”

  “Friends or not, he shouldn’t get half of the take. He doesn’t take any risks, he just told you what stage the money was on. You took all the risks.”

  “But, Frankie, I wouldn’t have known about the stagecoach in the first place if not for Reuben. He’s so smart that he planned the whole thing. He staged the rifles on the rocks, and told me exactly what to do. He felt real bad about me getting shot.”

  Frank laughed. “Yeah, I bet he did. But you were getting shot while he was nice and safe sitting on a soft chair in the bank. The man taking the risk always gets the biggest cut.”

  “Is that how you do it with your gang?”

  “If my boys don’t risk as much as me, then they don’t get a share.”

  “I don’t know if Reuben would agree to anything if he didn’t get half. He’s risking losing his job. And I like him, Frankie, he’s a real nice fellow. He even told me I could travel the world with him.”

  Frank stood. “Well, we’ll just have to make him see things our way. Did you two plan anything else? You sure as heck couldn’t travel the world on a measly two thousand dollars.”

  “No. I told him I didn’t think we’d be interested since I thought we were going to Mexico.”

  “How do you get in touch with him?”

  “We usually meet once a month at the place where I target practice. But we met just this past week so he could let me know if anyone talked to him about the robbery. Morgan happened along and saw us talking on the road.”

  “Did Morgan know him?”

  “Nope, and Reuben didn’t mention his name. I told Morgan I didn’t know him.”

  “Good. Now let’s go get that horse from LeMasters.”

  “We’d have to go through the pines to get it,” Stevie reminded his brother.

  “Don’t tell me you’re afraid to go through there.” He’d heard enough whining about the pines from his boys.

  Stevie didn’t readily admit that he was afraid, but he did everything he could to avoid riding in there, particularly after dark. “Frankie, even if we get to Morgan’s stable, you know Joseph or one of the other men will be on watch and will hear us,” Stevie said. “Not only that, but everyone is expecting you to come back here, or to be in Purgatory Canyon. I know LeMasters will shoot you on sight, and I’d bet he’s told all his men to do the same thing.”

  Frankie hadn’t consumed enough whiskey to do something foolish. When he went back on Morgan’s ranch he wanted to take more than one horse. “Yeah, you’re right. It’s not like we can’t afford to buy a horse. I’ll send Walt to town to buy one. No one knows him in Whispering Pines. We might even rob a bank before we rustle again. Then we can sell what we rustle on our way to Mexico.” Frankie planned to send Walt to Denver to find out everything he could about Stevie’s friend Reuben. He had a feeling robbing a bank was going to be a reality real soon.

  “Yeah, we’ll get the horse when we rustle. LeMasters thinks he runs everything. I guess he thinks he’ll have this farm now, since I ain’t staying.”

  Frankie had already figured that out. “That’ll never happen. Just like he ain’t gonna marry Rose. I’d rather see her dead before I let her marry him, and I’ll burn this place to the ground before he gets it.”

  “Yeah,” Stevie agreed.

  “Stevie, I promise you, LeMasters will pay for everything he’s done. Now let’s go meet up with the boys. You keep the stagecoach robbery to yourself. We ain’t sharing this money.” Frankie opened the bag and pulled out a handful of bills before he stuc
k the bag back in Stevie’s hiding place. “This will get you a horse and tide us over until we get a plan together. We’ll keep the money right here for now and come back for it later.”

  Stevie and Frank rode double to the Conner place, arriving just before dawn. Frank took Walt aside and pulled out some bills. “I want you to go to town and buy enough supplies for a week, and buy a horse. Bring back several bottles of whiskey. After you come back, I want you to ride to Denver and check out a man for me.” Frank told him where he could find Reuben. “Don’t say anything to the other men about this Reuben fellow, but find out what you can about him.”

  “Who is he?” Walt asked.

  “Never you mind who he is. Just watch him for a couple of days. I want to know everything he does. See who he talks to, where he goes, if he’s got a girlfriend, or a sister. You understand? I want to know everything about him.”

  “Sure thing, Frank.” Walt didn’t ask more questions. He was happy to go to Denver for a few days and get away from the rest of the men.

  Just because Stevie trusted his friend Reuben, Frank didn’t have the same inclination. He wanted to know more about Reuben in case he needed leverage to make sure Reuben saw things his way. Reuben had told Stevie he was going to travel the world, so it sounded like he was planning on a few more jobs, or something big. Frank was curious to find out what he had in mind. “Walt, don’t forget to keep this between us. Some of the boys ain’t too smart, and the less they know, the better.”

  “Understood. Listen, if you are planning on robbing the bank in Denver, I know a place near town where we can hide out. It’s a lot like this place, well hidden, off the main trail, and no one even remembers it’s still there.”

  Frank liked the sound of that. The Conner place was too close to Whispering Pines to make a safe hideout for long. “That’s good to know, Walt. It might be smart for us to go there while we figure out our next move.”

  Frank walked inside the cabin to get Stevie. “I want you to take my horse and go back home.”

  Stevie shook his head. “I thought I was going to ride with you.”

  “Now listen to me. You’ve got to go back and act like nothing is going on. I don’t want them to get wise to us. Keep the horse out of sight, don’t put him in the stable. I need to plan our next move, and it’s important that you know what’s going on at LeMasters’s ranch. We’re going to rustle his cattle one last time, but we’re also going to get rid of Joseph Longbow. Can you do this for me?”

  Stevie wasn’t happy about going back to the farm, but if it would help Frankie, he would do it. “Yeah, I can do it.”

  “Good. If Morgan comes around, be friendly. Make them all think you’ve had a change of heart about staying on the farm.”

  “How long am I going to have to do this?”

  “Not long. We’ll figure something out.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “You think you’ll be feeling up to coming to the ranch in a few weeks?” Morgan asked Jack.

  Jack was already behind his desk at the sheriff’s office. “What’s happening?”

  “I’m getting married.”

  Grinning, Jack stood and stuck out his hand. “Congratulations. I guess I don’t have to ask who you’re marrying.”

  Morgan shook his hand. “I doubt that you would.”

  “It’s pretty fast, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah. But Granny and Rose need a man to look after them. I don’t think it’s safe for them to stay on the farm, and I figured there was no reason to wait.”

  “Not to mention the fact that you are getting one beautiful bride.”

  Morgan laughed. “There is that.”

  “So I take it that means Granny is going to live with you?”

  “They already are. I moved them to my house on Sunday. We’re in town today so they can pick up a few things that they need.”

  “This is a big change, Morgan. Having women living in your house when you’re not used to it could be difficult.”

  “I’m enjoying it. I know I’m eating a whole lot better.” He found himself looking forward to coming home at night and talking with the women. Their conversations were different than the ones he had with the men, but he enjoyed them all the same. He noticed all the little things they had done around the house in just a short time. His home was tidier, the wood floors were shined, pretty dishes were on the shelves in the kitchen, flowers were on the tables, and everything smelled nice and fresh. “To tell you the truth, I think I’m getting spoiled.”

  “If Granny has anything to do with it, I wouldn’t be surprised. She thinks the sun rises and sets on you.”

  “I feel the same way about her. She’s a fine lady.”

  Jack looked at his friend and asked the question on his mind. “And what about Rose?”

  Morgan frowned at him. “What do you mean?”

  “Are you in love, or do you just want to take care of them?”

  “I care a lot about Rose.” Morgan hadn’t thought much about love; he thought highly of Rose, and he wanted to take care of her and Granny. It’d been difficult for him to say good night at Rose’s door each night since she’d moved into his house. He couldn’t wait to have her in his bedroom permanently. That was something he wasn’t going to discuss with Jack or anyone. “You hear anything about Frank?”

  Jack knew when a door was closed on a conversation. “Nope. But I was thinking about putting a posse together soon and taking a ride to Purgatory Canyon. Since you’re getting married, I don’t expect you’d want to go.”

  “I’ll go.” Morgan fully intended to keep his promise to Rose and not kill Frank if he could help it, but he still wanted to be there when he was captured. He’d make sure he got to jail without anyone else being shot.

  “I’m hoping we will have some word on his whereabouts by then.”

  “Joseph keeps telling me Frank will come here.”

  “I wouldn’t argue with Joseph.”

  Morgan agreed with Jack. If anyone had a handle on people, it was Joseph.

  * * *

  Morgan pulled the buckboard in front of the mercantile, and when he jumped down from the seat he noticed one of the horses tied to the rail. It was a flashy palomino gelding with a white mane and tail. Out of habit, he stopped to admire the horse, and noticed he looked well cared-for. When he walked inside the mercantile, a man carrying several large burlap bags filled with supplies passed him on the way out the door. Morgan spotted Rose and Granny at the counter and headed in that direction. “You ladies have everything you need?”

  “Yes,” Rose said, giving him a wide smile. She pointed to a bundle on the counter. “This is ours.”

  Picking up the bundle, Morgan tucked it under his arm. On the way out the door, he noticed the man from the store loading his supplies on the palomino.

  The man turned and stared at Rose as they stepped off the sidewalk. He tipped his hat and said, “Morning.”

  Granny said good morning to the stranger, and Morgan nodded. Morgan placed the bundle in the back of the buckboard, and assisted the women to the seat. Out of the corner of his eye, Morgan could see the stranger was still staring at Rose. He was tempted to tell him to put his eyeballs back in their sockets, but he figured unless any man said or did anything improper, he’d have to get used to men looking at his lovely bride-to-be. Judging by the supplies the man had purchased, he was probably passing through town. On the heels of that thought, Morgan wondered: If the man was traveling a long way, why didn’t he have a packhorse?

  “Since you were so kind to take time out of your day to bring us to town, we are cooking you a special dinner tonight,” Granny said, taking Morgan’s mind off of the stranger.

  “Sorry, it’ll have to wait until tomorrow night because I’m taking you to the hotel for dinner.” He’d planned to take them to dinner when they told him they needed to make a trip to the mercantile. Not having the time to court Rose properly, he wanted to be seen with her around town. Part of the reason was to show
her he knew how to treat a lady, but he also wanted to make sure every man in town knew she was taken.

  “Oh, I haven’t eaten at the hotel in years,” Granny said. “That will be lovely.”

  “Morgan, you already charged all of these things on your account. You shouldn’t spend so much money,” Rose said.

  “Honey, I didn’t court you, so consider this courting. You two have been working hard at the ranch, and you’re due a break.”

  The man continued to stare as Morgan took his seat beside Rose and picked up the reins. “That’s a fine-looking animal, mister.” He congratulated himself for sounding affable as he let the stranger know he was aware he was gawking at his wife, or soon-to-be wife.

  “He’s a good horse, but he don’t compare to a beautiful woman,” the man said, his eyes remaining fixed on Rose.

  Morgan gave him a hard look. “Like my horses, I take care of what’s mine. You’d be wise to be respectful.”

  Walt had never met Morgan LeMasters, but he didn’t need an introduction. He’d heard about him from Frank and every man in the gang. There was no doubt the woman with LeMasters was Frank’s sister. Deke had described her perfectly, except she was even more beautiful. He couldn’t keep from staring at her, but he wasn’t foolish enough to anger LeMasters, so he wisely mounted the palomino and rode away.

  Rose saw the look Morgan gave the man. His jaw was still clenched after the stranger rode away. She knew Morgan well enough to know that he was keeping a tight rein on his temper. She was curious if he knew the man, but she didn’t want to say something to ruin their evening. Placing her hand on his arm, she said, “Did you just compare me to a horse?”

  “Honey, I don’t think there’s a horse on this earth as pretty as you.”

  “Thank you . . . I think,” Rose replied.

  “I’d take that as high praise coming from Morgan. He places great value on his horses.”

  Laughing, Morgan put the stranger from his mind and headed to the hotel.

  As Morgan assisted Rose from the buckboard, she brushed off her skirt, wishing she’d worn a different dress today. She wondered if they would see some of the women who used to flirt with him after church and cook him dinner. At that thought, she automatically touched her hair, hoping the ride to town hadn’t done too much damage. She wanted to look her best so Morgan wouldn’t be ashamed to be seen with her.