Sawbones

by Melissa Lenhardt

  “You have to kill my brother.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  I screamed and shook my head and the sobs returned.

  Kindle limped slowly forward, still sighting down the barrel of his rifle at us. “Let her go, John, or I’ll put a bullet in your head.”

  Black pressed his cheek against mine. My body shielded everything but Black’s head from Kindle’s shot. I felt my hair rip from its roots as Black twisted his fist harder, holding me in place. “You and I both know you aren’t that good a shot,” Cotter Black laughed.

  “You sure about that?”

  “Take the shot.”

  Shoot him and end this, please.

  I tried to twist away from Black but couldn’t. He chuckled in my ear. “He won’t shoot. He loves you too much.”

  Kindle gripped his rifle and moved another step closer but didn’t shoot.

  “Drop the rifle over the edge of the cliff,” Black called out.

  “So you can kill us all? I don’t think so.”

  “I don’t want to hurt Catherine, but I will.” Black jerked the hand holding the knife. The blade sliced through my neck, followed by the sharp pain of the cut. I gasped and raised my bound heads to my neck. They came away bloody. “It’s merely a scratch,” Black said, voice low. My reaction and the blood had the desired effect on Kindle.

  “Goddamn you, John,” Kindle said. He threw his rifle over the edge and held his hands up. “Now, stop hiding behind a woman and fight me like a man.”

  No, I thought, the second before Black pushed me away toward Anna. I stumbled and fell onto the hard rock ground. With Kindle’s leg and shoulder wounds, he wouldn’t have a chance against Black. On my bound hands and knees, I looked up in time to see Black sheath his knife and the brothers run at each other. Just before Kindle was in arm’s reach, Black dropped to one knee and punched Kindle in his wounded thigh. Kindle screamed and fell. Black rose and drove his fist up under Kindle’s descending jaw. Kindle flew backward and landed on his back.

  Black turned away from Kindle and walked a couple of steps toward me and Anna, an amused expression on his face. “I’m sorry he isn’t much of a knight in shining armor, Catherine. You deserve better.” I kept my gaze squarely on Black and watched Kindle rise behind him in my peripheral vision. Kindle’s hair was tousled, his clenched jaw was dusted with the stubble of days-old beard, and his eyes were full of murderous rage. I couldn’t help myself; I grinned. Black stopped and turned, and met Kindle’s fist squarely. Black stumbled backward, regained his feet, and went for his brother.

  Anna was beside me. With fumbling hands, she worked at loosening the ropes that bound my hands together. I did the same for her to the sound of grunts and thuds of hits, the crunch of bone and the scrape of boots on rock. My hands free, I looked up. Kindle had Black around the neck with one arm and punched him in the face with the other, repeatedly. Black’s boots scrabbled at the ground, but eventually went limp, as did his entire body. Kindle dropped his brother to the ground in a heap. Kindle kicked Black in the stomach five, six times, and finished the beating with a kick to Black’s face. Kindle stood over him, chest heaving, his knuckles bloody and bruised, his clothes covered in red dust. Kindle nudged his brother with his boot. Black didn’t respond. I stood on shaky legs and helped Anna stand.

  Mechanically, Kindle removed his gun from his holster and pointed it at his brother’s head. His white shirt was covered with red dust and droplets of blood, his and his brothers. With a loud screech a buzzard flew a few feet above Kindle, startling him. When he noticed us huddling together, the viciousness in his eyes evaporated. He holstered his gun and limped to me.

  “Catherine!”

  He held out his arms as if he wanted to hold me but was too terrified to try. “My God, Catherine. What did he do to you?”

  How I wanted to talk, to tell him how sorry I was and how much I loved him. When I tried, all that came out was a hoarse, painful “Ahh.”

  Anna said, “He punched her in the throat.”

  Kindle found my damaged hands, paused as he realized what it meant for my future as a doctor, and lifted them to his lips. “I love you.”

  I smiled and nodded through my tears—tears of shame and fear, relief and joy—and hoped Kindle understood. I knew Kindle would get us out of here, would keep me from having to choose.

  “Can you walk?”

  “Yes,” Anna replied. Tears had created streaks of pale skin amid the red dust covering our faces.

  With great care, Kindle put his arm around my waist and half-carried me across the table of the rock formation. We were almost to the trail leading down the side of the cliff when Black called out. He stood crookedly, gun aimed at the three of us.

  “You should have killed me when you had the chance, Billy.”

  Kindle tensed. “Go. Someone is waiting halfway down.”

  He turned to Cotter Black. “I should have killed you at Antietam. I’m gonna kill you here and leave your bones to bleach in the sun.” He walked toward his brother. Anna tried to lead me away. I wrenched my arm from her grasp. I pointed down the trail and mouthed, “Go,” before pushing her away. I turned and followed Kindle at a distance.

  “You gonna shoot me with my gun?” Black said. He nodded to Kindle’s holster. “Can’t believe you’re still carrying it. Does that mean you’ve missed me?”

  Kindle glanced down at his holstered gun. “I always liked your gun better than I liked you.”

  “Take it off and drop it on the ground.”

  “No.” They walked around each other, prey ready to strike, waiting on the perfect time.

  “He couldn’t kill me back at Antietam, Catherine. Probably thought I would die in prison, save him the guilt of killing me himself.” I couldn’t see Kindle’s reaction, but the grin on Black’s face told me he’d hit a nerve. Black flinched forward, as if pouncing, before pulling back. Kindle balked, but regained his composure.

  “I got the better end of that fight. Your scar looks good, Billy. Gives you an edge of danger you never had before. I bet the whores love the scar.” Black did his best courtly bow. “You’re welcome.”

  Black had succeeded in walking Kindle around so he stood between us and Kindle. Kindle stood on the edge of the plateau, alone and vulnerable, halfway between the two columns of balanced rock.

  “Catherine, come here or I will kill him right now.”

  The wind whipped around us, almost deafening in its intensity. I didn’t move. Black turned his head toward me but kept his eyes, and gun, on Kindle. “Catherine.” He voice held a note of warning. “Remember what I said to you; I keep my promises. It’s time for you to keep yours.”

  I started forward. “Not you, Anna. You stay right there.” I looked over my shoulder and saw Anna standing a few feet behind me. Stupid girl. Save yourself and us. Go down and get help.

  “You’ve been a good girl so far, Anna,” Black said. “None of this is your fight. Remember that and you’ll make it to Jacksboro alive. Lay down on your stomach.”

  Anna looked at me while she obeyed, her expression a pained combination of hope at being taken to safety and regret she hadn’t left like Kindle and I ordered. I gave her an encouraging smile at odds with the fear in my breast and turned toward Black.

  “On your knees, William,” Black said.

  Black held his gun on Kindle as he knelt, and motioned for me to come closer. Black’s eyes glittered in anticipation as I made my way slowly toward the two brothers. When I was ten feet away, Black stepped forward and kicked Kindle in his wounded thigh. When Kindle doubled over in pain, Black hit him in his wounded shoulder. Kindle screamed and fell to the ground. I rushed forward and grabbed Black’s arm as he hit Kindle across the face with the butt of his gun, taking some of the force from the blow, but not enough to keep Kindle’s scar from opening.

  With a growl of anger, Black punched me on the wounded side of my head. I fell to my hands and knees. The ground pitched and rolled beneath me. Kindle reached his
hand out to me and I crawled to him.

  “How touching.” Black grabbed me by the hair and yanked me to my feet before my hand could reach Kindle. I screamed and grabbed at Black’s hands to stop the pain. Black pressed the gun to the top of my head and I stilled. Through my blurred vision I saw Kindle push himself to a kneeling position. He sat back on his heels to steady himself and glared at his brother with a deep and abiding hatred. He spat blood onto the ground, the red of the blood blending with the red of the dust and rocks around us.

  In that instant, Black’s plan became clear; the last thing Kindle would see was the woman he loved betraying him, as Emma had betrayed John Kindle. I would win Anna’s freedom, and have to somehow live with what I’d done.

  No.

  The bastard was going to have to earn his revenge. I struggled to get away from Black, and punched him as hard as I could in the ribs while stomping on his foot.

  “Godammit, woman.” He pushed my head down and lifted his leg. My nose met his knee with a sickening crunch and he threw me back onto the ground. Pinpricks of light danced at the edge of my darkening vision. “You’re making this much harder than it needs to be.”

  Kindle lunged forward weakly, holding the knife from his boot. Black grabbed Kindle’s wrist and bent it back. Kindle screamed as the knife fell uselessly from his grip. Black punched Kindle repeatedly in the side of the head, and Kindle crumpled to the ground.

  Black picked the knife up and threw it over the edge of the cliff. “Jesus Christ, you two are determined. Don’t even think about it.” Black pointed the gun in Anna’s direction. Anna had pushed herself halfway up. She lay back down.

  Lying on my side I watched through half-open eyes as Black grabbed Kindle’s leg and dragged him on his back toward the discarded saddlebags. He pulled out a strip of leather, jerked Kindle to his knees, and tied his hands behind his back.

  Kindle mumbled something. Black removed Kindle’s gun from its holster and tossed it aside. “What?” Black said.

  “Incorrigible,” Kindle said. His eyes found mine, and despite his pain, he managed to grin at me. “We’re incorrigible.”

  Black pressed his gun to the middle of Kindle’s forehead. “Take a long, last look at your lover, Billy. I knew you’d come to rescue her. Just like you tried to rescue Cotter Black. And my wife, who didn’t need rescuing.”

  “She begged me to help her get away from you, from our father.” Kindle was slumped forward and spoke in a resigned voice, as if he’d had this conversation before.

  “Lies. Enough about Emma. She’s dead because of you.” Black jerked his head in my direction. “Go on. Look what you’ve done to her.” Kindle’s gaze settled on me. Black continued. “The Comanche, they weren’t supposed to fuck her. But, she got a shot off during the attack, hit one of them in the leg. There’s nothing worse than an angry Indian. They spent a day on the banks of the Canadian, taking turns with her.” Kindle looked away, disgust clear on his face. I closed my eyes, hoping to evaporate, to disappear.

  “Father?”

  Beau Kindle stood at the trailhead behind us. I pushed myself into a kneeling position and slowly rose.

  Black squinted. “Beau? You were supposed to come alone, William.”

  “Blame Franklin. He wasn’t as sneaky as he should have been. Beau overheard our conversation and insisted on coming.” Though I was directly in front of him, Kindle looked everywhere but me.

  “I thought you were dead,” Beau said, in a voice that sounded achingly young.

  I turned away from the family reunion. Beneath me, the blood-splattered ground of Palo Duro Canyon swayed like the deck of a ship on a stormy ocean. I held my hand out toward the horizon, a beautiful, cloudless blue against the red canyon, and walked toward the edge of the cliff. The wind pushed against me, blew dust into my face and eyes, replacing the nature’s beauty with the memory of Kindle’s expression of disgust.

  “Catherine, come here.” I looked over my shoulder. Black motioned to me with the gun.

  Beau stepped forward, and with nervous resolve said, “Father, this is wrong. Let them go.”

  Black sighed. “I should have known you’d be weak like your mother.” In a quick, fluid motion, Black turned the gun from Kindle’s head, aimed at Anna, and shot. The ground next to Anna’s head exploded and she screamed. Kindle flinched, but Black held the gun to his head before he could move.

  “Take off your holster and throw it over the edge, Beau.” When Beau didn’t move Black said, “Next time, I won’t miss.”

  Beau did as ordered.

  “Now, lay down on your stomach.” He complied.

  I faced the brothers. Kindle stared at the ground, unwilling or unable to meet my gaze. Not taking his eyes from Beau, Black said, “Catherine, come here.” I walked to Black, who removed his extra gun and handed it to me. It was heavy in my hand.

  Black moved behind me and whispered, “You know what you have to do. You and Anna will get your lives back.” Black stood close behind me and pointed his gun at Anna. She would be dead before I would be able to turn around and shoot him.

  Kindle’s head rose slowly, and he finally met my gaze. Kindle’s beautiful face was a mask of blood, bruises. Shame. Guilt. Pity. Regret. I lifted the gun and pointed it at him. His eyes widened.

  “Dr. Elliston, don’t!” Beau said.

  “Shut up, Beau,” Black yelled.

  The wind flowed around me, silencing everything. Black screamed in my ear to pull the trigger. Anna was sobbing, her eyes closed, her face bathed in tears. Kindle knelt before me in utter defeat. Blood dripped from a cut above his eye. Lips that had gently kissed my breast were split, swollen, and bloody.

  I dropped my arm and closed my eyes and thought of our last night together. I heard Kindle whispering how much he loved me, promises of a happy life and home, a soft bed to share and make love on until we were old and gray. A dream lost to us. I tried to look forward and see a future. All I saw was pity and shame, guilt and misery. I focused on the love I’d discovered with Kindle, an emotion I never expected to be blessed with, and was grateful. I opened my eyes.

  I only saw Kindle. He spoke but the wind carried his voice far away. I watched his lips move, telling me he loved me as his head moved slightly from side to side. I lifted the gun with my uninjured hand and looked down the barrel at Kindle’s eyes. Tears flooded my own, blurring his face.

  It is easier this way. I can’t see him.

  “I love you,” I mouthed.

  I closed my eyes, put the gun to my head, and pulled the trigger.

  * * *

  The sound of the gun’s hammer hitting an empty chamber echoed in my head.

  I opened my eyes. Kindle’s face was red, his mouth open in a dying scream. When he saw I was alive, relief and shock flooded through him and he sat back on his heels, shoulders slumped. I stared at the gun in my hands, wondering what I had done wrong.

  The sound of Black’s laughter cut through the wind like a sabre. “That was even better than I planned. You’d rather die than kill the man you love! God almighty, Billy, this woman here is a keeper!”

  Black’s laughter died down, but his happiness did not. He grinned like a proud father. “Did you think I would give you a loaded gun after what I’ve done to you? By the way, Billy, I did fuck her. Most satisfying one I’ve had in years. The little laundress is a close second but I was thinking of Catherine the whole time so it doesn’t count. I know Catherine’s much older than my usual type, but maybe I should branch out to dried-up old spinsters.”

  Kindle stared blankly at the ground. I shook my head, slowly at first, then more furiously. “Nach, nach.”

  Black holstered his gun, picked up his saddlebag, and slung it over his shoulder. He sauntered back to where Kindle and I were rooted to the ground in defeat.

  “I’ll take that.” He pulled the gun from my hand.

  “In case the idea is running through your head you two might still have a life together…” Black leaned down and whis
pered in Kindle’s ear. With the wind whipping around and the distance, I couldn’t hear what he said. Black smirked and kept his eyes on mine as he poisoned Kindle against me. Black winked at me, kissed his brother on the temple, and hit him on the back of the head with the empty gun. Kindle crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

  My gaze dropped to the ground. The handle of Kindle’s forgotten gun peeked out from beneath the hem of my skirt. I shifted so it was completely hidden.

  Black stopped next to me. He studied me. “Wonder if Billy’s gonna see what you did as an act of love—and faith he’d save Anna and Beau—or as a selfish act by a selfish woman? It’s a good question. One y’all can spend the next thirty years pondering. It wasn’t exactly the betrayal I wanted, but it’ll do. It’ll do.” He patted my shoulder. “Good luck. You’re gonna need it.” He walked on.

  “Come on, Anna.”

  “No! You said if Laura did what you asked, you’d let me go.”

  “But she didn’t do what I asked, did she? I know the perfect band of buffalo hunters to sell you to.”

  I picked up Kindle’s gun and turned. Black was walking away, dragging Anna with him. She screamed my name.

  Beau stood. “Let her go.”

  “Laura!”

  “Come with me, Beau. Army life isn’t for you.”

  “Let her go,” Beau said, his voice trembling. He stepped forward, fists balled.

  “Or what, you’re going to fight me?” Black said. He shook his head and laughed. “Have a nice life, son.”

  I walked up behind Black and placed the barrel of Kindle’s gun behind his ear. He froze, moved his head slightly to see over his shoulder, and grinned. “Catherine, well, I’ll be damned. Billy’s a lucky man, and that’s a goddam fact.”

  I cocked the gun and pressed it harder against Black’s head.

  “You want me to let her go? Here.” He released Anna. She stumbled away toward Beau. Black lifted his hands. “Take her. Her life will be as miserable as yours, regardless.” I pushed his head forward in warning.

  My arm trembled. I stared at the spot where the gun met Black’s head and thought of what was hidden beneath. Of how Black’s sadistic mind had planned and plotted revenge against Kindle for years. How Black had used me to get to his brother, had paid Indians to rape me and abuse me. I squeezed my eyes shut at the memory of what had happened on the Canadian, of Black’s kiss. When I opened my eyes my vision was blurry with tears, but where the gun met Black’s head was crystal clear.