Warmth spread through her body and Clare wished it could have come from Loretta’s embrace. “Thanks for being my friend,” she whispered. “For understanding.”
As she began to pull away Peg stopped her. They stood staring at each other for a few moments in uncomfortable silence before Clare said, “You feel real good, Peg.”
Peg brought her face closer to Clare’s. “So do you, sugar. I know what you need tonight.” Her lips lightly brushed over Clare’s before she stepped back.
Not often, but occasionally, when the need to connect to another person, a woman, became overwhelming, Clare had gone to town and sought out Peg’s company. Peg never judged her and never told anyone, not even Mavis, what they did together.
The kiss between her and Loretta earlier in the day had unsettled Clare. She needed to relieve the frustration she felt when she was near the much younger woman. She should tell her to leave the ranch and not return. Clare moved closer to Peg and leaned down to kiss her again, this time with more pressure. Peg responded by running a hand up Clare’s bare back and the rancher smiled down at her.
“It’s been a long time.”
“You need to find someone to be with all the time, sweetie,” Peg sighed.
“I don’t want anyone who will leave me alone again,” Clare said through clenched teeth. “I didn’t want to go bumping around in the back of a wagon halfway across the country. I didn’t want my folks to be murdered, leaving me to fend for myself in the middle of nowhere. I didn’t want to be riding around day and night staring at the asses of a bunch of cows.
But that’s the hand I was dealt. I’m doing the best I can, Peg,” she muttered as her fingertips drifted down the brunette’s bare arms. With a smile, Peg leaned closer until their lips met. Clare felt her body react and she grasped Peg’s shoulders, drawing her closer, inhaling the amazing scent that was uniquely Peg’s.
“Come on to bed and get some rest now, sugar,”
Peg whispered. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
A moment later Clare felt Peg slide back against her and draped her arm around the woman’s warm body. She liked the feel of Peg’s naked body pressed against hers. She frowned as she wondered if Loretta’s body would fit as well against hers and feel as soft.
THREE DAYS PASSED and there had been no sign of Clare. Loretta was becoming concerned even though work around the ranch seemed to be progressing as usual. Ino hadn’t mentioned the incident at the stream again. He spoke to Loretta as he always had and shared dinner with her in the big house in Clare’s absence. If he was worried about Clare’s disappearance it wasn’t evident to Loretta.
That night over dinner, Loretta fidgeted with her food, pushing it aimlessly around on her plate.
Periodically she glanced at the empty chair where Clare usually sat.
“She’s okay,” Ino said between bites.
“You’ve seen her? Talked to her?”
“She works the herd every day, same as always.”
“But she hasn’t been back to the house in days.
Not since last week.”
“Clare’s fine. Just not eating as good as we are right now. I told her to come on back, but she won’t.
Says she can’t.”
“She’s staying away because of me, isn’t she?
Because I’m still here.”
“She doesn’t trust herself.”
Loretta gently set her fork on her plate and pushed away from the table. She took a deep breath and tilted her chin up slightly. “I won’t leave until I speak to her.”
Ino took a deep breath and puffed his cheeks out.
“There’s much you don’t know about Clare McIlhenney. No one does.”
“Except you.”
“Si. I see many things.” He wiped his moustache with a napkin and studied Loretta for a moment.
“What have you heard?”
Loretta laughed. “Everyone thinks Clare is having sinful relations with not only you, but all of the men who work for her. That seems to be the most widespread rumor.”
Ino nodded and smiled. “Also the oldest. It is true that I once offered to live with her as man and wife.
To protect her property. She said no, but told me to tell the man at the Land Office I was her husband to get the property boundaries of her papa’s land after he was killed. She was with me and I guess we convinced the land agent. As for the other men who work for her, there is nothin’.”
“Someone told Cyrus she’s killed people,” Loretta said.
“That is true as well, but if you tell the sheriff or anyone else I will say you are lyin’.”
“Surely she only killed to protect herself or her property.”
Ino picked up his coffee cup and took a long gulp.
He reached for the package of tobacco in the bowl in the center of the table and rolled a cigarette, striking a match before answering.
“Life here can be very hard. It was harder twenty years ago. If you’re a woman it’s twice as hard. What has Clare told you about what happened to her family?”
“Just that they were killed.”
“Their wagon was alone and it was attacked by a group of riders who hoped to steal their horses and whatever else they would be able to get money for. I heard the shots, but arrived too late to help anyone except Clare. I patched her up the best I could.” He rubbed his forehead. “You seen that scar on her head?
She’s got a worse one on her shoulder where I dug a bullet out. She wanted to hunt down the men who murdered her family. She could shoot a rifle, but not that good.”
“When did you and Clare move here?”
“Soon as she could sit a horse. One day when she was mostly recovered, she went inside the wagon to get dressed. When she came out she was the Clare you see now. Put on her papa’s pants and shirt. His boots, hat, and coat. Ain’t dressed any different since then except to buy new pants or boots. Far as I know, I’m the last one who’s seen her in a dress. She looked like a real lady back then. Kind of fragile. She decided to use her papa’s old Henry rifle and practiced until she could hit a gnat in the ass at fifty paces. And real quick, too. We rode to town and got the boundary lines, then pulled the wagon here and got to work.
Her papa had some money hid in the bottom of the wagon that got us started.”
“What does that have to do with killing anyone?”
“Clare used to go to town at least once a month. I taught her to play some poker and she got pretty good. Wish I never taught her ‘cause it wasn’t long before trouble showed up.”
INO AND CLARE rode into Trinidad to pick up a few meager provisions they could afford just ahead of a thunderstorm that was making its way over the mountains behind them. It was too late to stop at the dry goods store and they headed for the Cattleman’s Saloon. A chill was in the air and a few drinks would warm them up. Ino went straight to the bar and ordered a drink. He turned around to see Clare join four men at a poker game. Early in the morning they would saddle up and return to the ranch. He sipped from a shot glass of whiskey and felt the liquid burn its way to his stomach and hoped the cold rain that had started falling would let up by morning.
It was still early evening and the rainy weather kept the number of customers at the Cattleman’s Saloon small.
Ino heard the sound of horses outside and watched as three men, strangers in town, wearing slickers pushed their way into the saloon. Rain ran down the slickers and off their slouched hats. The spurs on the men’s boots jingled lightly as they made their way to the bar and ordered drinks. Ino didn’t recognize them and turned his attention back to the card game.
Once the men consumed a few shots and apparently felt warmer, they drifted toward the ongoing game.
Between hands the players scooted their chairs around and invited the strangers to join them. Within a few minutes the slickers and hats were strewn across chairs at a nearby table and all but one of the strangers had anted up. It didn’t take more than a few hands to wipe most the new
comers out. Ino had taught Clare well and she had paid attention. She knew the regulars in the game and was familiar with the way they played. Ino hoped she’d win a few dollars from the strangers. He picked up his drink and sauntered closer to the table and rested his shoulder against a nearby post to watch the action.
By the tenth hand and fifth round of drinks, money in the center of the table was stacking up as some of the players attempted to win back their losses in a single hand.
From the look on his face, one of the new players must have believed he had a winning hand. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, red draw-string pouch and tossed it into the center of the table. An older man, one of the locals, reached out and picked up the pouch. He pulled out a gold necklace. Hanging from the necklace was a cream-colored cameo set against a dark pink background. Clare leaned forward to get a better look at the piece of jewelry. Ino saw her eyes narrow slightly stare at the man who had tossed it in. “I won it in a poker game about six months ago,” the stranger said with a friendly smile. “It must be worth somethin’.”
Another player picked it up and examined it before passing it around the table for each player involved in the hand to look at. When it was passed to Clare her fingers seemed to caress the fragile filigreed gold chain. She turned the cameo over and looked at the back. Her fist tightened around it before she placed it back in the pouch and tossed it to the center of the table. When the hand played out the stranger who thought he had a winning hand was wrong. The winner scooped the chips and necklace from the middle and pulled the pot in front of him as the strangers stood and wandered back to the bar.
“I’ll buy it from you,” Ino overheard Clare say when the winner started to stuff the pouch into his shirt pocket.
“Fifty dollars.”
“Might be worth more than that,” the man said.
“It’s not,” Clare said. “My mother had one like it.”
Ino hoped the man would turn down Clare’s offer.
They really couldn’t afford to waste the money. He held his breath as the man thought about it for a moment and then slid the pouch toward Clare. She picked it up as she stood and slipped it carefully into her pocket.
“Let’s go,” she said as she picked up her rifle and walked past Ino. A heavy mist settled in over the town as they wordlessly left the saloon and walked toward the livery where their horses were stabled for the night. Clare paid the stable boy and began saddling her horse.
“What’s the rush?” Ino asked, belching from the drinks he’d consumed in anticipation of eventually falling into bed with one of the saloon girls.
“Something’s come up,” Clare answered. “If you’re too drunk to go with me I can handle it alone.”
“Naw. I’m good. Just need to take a piss is all.”
“Go out back.”
By the time Ino returned, the heavy mist had become a steady downpour. He pulled his slicker over his head and followed Clare into an alleyway near the saloon and waited. It was less than an hour before the strangers left the saloon and got back on their horses. They rode away with Clare and Ino following at a distance.
“Where we goin’?” Ino asked when they were out of town.
“Depends on how far they go,” Clare answered without further explanation.
DESPITE THE MISTY, cold weather the cowboys eventually found a shallow overhang in the foothills outside Trinidad and started a small fire. Clare and Ino tied their horses in a grove of trees and silently made their way toward the campsite on foot. Ino heard the sounds of the men’s laughter and cursing as they crept up on them.
From behind a stand of brush Clare and Ino watched the men, although Ino still had no idea why.
“You sober enough to shoot?” Clare whispered.
“Yeah,” Ino said with a nod.
“Then go over to that clump of bushes and wait for my signal,” she said.
As the men began to settle down, Clare stood and brought her rifle to her shoulder. Ino stood a few feet to her left. “Don’t move!” Clare called out.
One of the men reached for his rifle and she rapidly fired two rounds into the ground close to him, forcing his hand back.
“What do you want?” one of the men yelled back. “We ain’t got nothing.”
“Where’d you get the necklace you gambled with tonight?” Clare demanded, taking two steps closer.
“Won it in a poker game about six months ago,” he answered.
“You’re a liar!” she screamed and fired another round so close to his head that dirt flew up and struck his face.
“Who the fuck are you?” he hollered as he jumped back slightly.
Rainwater streamed from Clare’s hat as she moved closer. “You stole it from my mother after you murdered her, my father, and my brother,” she said calmly. The coldness in her voice sent a shiver down Ino’s spine.
“That’s impossible,” another cowboy said. “Everyone there was…”
“Obviously not,” Clare said in a hard voice.
“So now you’re going to arrest us all?” the leader of the group laughed.
“No,” Clare said. “Who was your leader? Tell me and you’ll die fast.”
When no answer came, Ino asked, “Now what?”
“If it takes all night, I’ll get an answer. My parents and brother deserve justice,” Clare spat. “Can you handle this?”
she asked when she saw Ino rub his hand over his face.
“Yeah,” he answered softly.
“Then stake them out,” she ordered. She held her rifle on the men. When one of them reached into his jacket Clare shot him without hesitation. Ino ran to the man’s body and rolled him onto his back. He pulled out a pistol and tossed it into the brush.
“Anyone else feel brave?” Clare snapped.
While she kept the remaining two covered, Ino tied them down spread eagle on the ground.
“You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to,” she said when he rejoined her.
“What you gonna do?”
“One of them will tell me who their leader was that day even if I have to peel the skin from his body one strip at a time to find out.”
“Let’s take them back into town and turn them over to the sheriff,” Ino pleaded. “You can’t just murder them. It won’t make you feel no better, Clare.”
“I’ll sleep like a baby. Did you take any other weapons off them?”
“Just this pig sticker.”
She took the knife from him and anchored it in her belt.
He grabbed her arm as she started to walk away. “What if you’re wrong and these ain’t the guys?”
“My mother’s initials were engraved on the back of the necklace. I’m not wrong.”
“He said he won it in a poker game.”
“He said six months ago. In fact, he said it twice.
When did you find me?” When Ino didn’t answer she said,
“Four months ago.”
Without another word she strode to where the men were staked out. She stood over the first man and looked down at him. “I’m your judge and jury tonight. Who led the attack against my family?”
“Go to hell, bitch!”
A single rifle shot shattered the bone below the knee of his right leg. He screamed in pain as she chambered another round and brought the rifle to her shoulder once again, aiming higher on his leg. His arms strained against the rope holding him down. “Who led the attack against my family?” Clare repeated.
“Leave him alone!” the second man yelled. “He don’t know nothing.”
Clare turned and fired down at the second man, striking him in the thigh. “Shut up! It’ll be your turn soon enough.” She swung back to the first man. “Who was it?”
“I don’t know. I only joined up with these men last month.”
Another bullet ripped through his upper leg just above the knee, followed by another agonized scream. Ino was watching and beginning to feel sick to his stomach. He came up beside her and took a deep
breath. “Stop,” he said.
“Go stay with the horses,” she ordered. “This might take a while.”
“You’re not any better than they are if you keep this up,” Ino said through gritted teeth.
“No! They had a choice! Now go!”
She looked back down at the man who was now crying in pain. “I can shoot you lots of places that won’t kill you right off, but you’ll suffer. Tell me what I want to know.”
“I…I don’t know his name.” Clare chambered another round. “I swear to God! I don’t know his name,” he begged. “He headed out on his own afterward and we ain’t seen him since.”
Clare turned the rifle on the other man. “What’s his name?”
“TJ is all I know. Never knew his last name.”
“Do you regret what you did?”
“You was easy pickings. All alone out there. You were asking for it,” he sneered defiantly.
Ino saw Clare’s face turn red with rage as she brought the rifle to her shoulder. “My brother was only eight-years-old. All he was asking for was a chance to live.”
Without another word Clare pulled the knife from her waist and knelt between the two men. She ripped open each man’s shirt and drew the blade across their chests. Blood oozed to the surface of their chests and traveled down their sides. “I won’t kill you, but you’ll die soon enough,” she said. She stood and looked down at the bleeding men before she strode away without looking back. Ino followed her a few seconds later.
“SO YOU SEE, senorita, Clare’s not the woman people think she is. She can be kind, but, like everyone else, she has a dark side,” Ino said with a sigh. “There are times when she can’t control her anger.”
“That’s…horrible, Ino. And you never told anyone about that night?”
“No. Someone found them, still staked out, half-eaten by vultures and coyotes, and told the sheriff.
But many days had passed. What could he do?” Ino said with a shrug.
“If they murdered her family then perhaps they deserved to die.”
“Perhaps. But it is not my place to judge. She still looks at strangers wondering if they’re the leader, TJ.
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