by Al Lacy
Lucinda turned her face to Kathryn. “We’ll have to get jobs. Of course, if we move to Rawlins so we can be close to Gib and Bart, and can visit them, we’ll have to use a good portion of the money to buy a house. The money won’t even last six or seven years. I hope we can find work right there in town.”
“I was lying awake last night thinking about this,” said Kathryn. “Won’t we be taking a big chance on going to prison ourselves if the law finds out we’re married to men who have been convicted like they have? What if they figure we were in league with the gang? Yes, Tag did the killing and is going to hang. But the other four members of the gang are in for life because they were committing robberies when innocent people were killed.”
Lucinda shrugged. “I don’t think the law could touch us since we were never actually in on the robberies or the killings. I’m not positive of that, but—”
“Oh, why did I ever get mixed up in this mess?” wailed Kathryn, jumping off the chair and moving to the large window. She hugged herself with shaky arms. “All these big dreams our husbands had about retiring in California and living like royalty! Look at us now. Doomed to a life of—”
Lucinda looked up to see Kathryn peering at something outside. “What is it?” She left her chair and headed toward the window.
Breathlessly, Kathryn said, “There are riders coming through the trees. They’re heading directly toward us. Oh, Lucinda, do you suppose the law has found out where we are and—”
“Wait a minute, honey!” Lucinda moved closer to the window, squinting. “Kathryn, it looks like there are five of them and—” She gasped and pointed. “Look! That’s Tag in the lead! I’m sure it is! And Bart’s right behind him!”
Kathryn’s eyes bulged and her hand went to her mouth. “Yes! And Gib is right behind Bart! Lucinda, how did they get out?”
Lucinda whirled and ran toward the door. “I don’t know, but they’re out! I just recognized Jason and Tony too!”
Kathryn blinked and dashed after her.
The two women bolted onto the front porch, the crisp air stinging their faces and hands. All five riders waved and put their horses to a trot. When they drew up to the porch, Gib and Bart were first to dismount.
Kathryn stumbled down the steps and dashed into Gib’s arms, breaking into tears.
Lucinda descended the steps and sobbed as Bart folded her into his arms. While this was going on, the other three men dismounted.
While the two women clung to their husbands, Lucinda said to all the men, “A week ago today, Kathryn and I went to Fort Collins to buy groceries and supplies. We heard people talking about your being sentenced to life, and you, Tag, being sentenced to hang! We bought a copy of the Fort Collins Gazette and read every word about it. We were going to go to Rawlins as soon as possible to visit you! How … how did you get out?”
“Let’s get inside,” Tag said.
While the women wiped tears and clung to their husbands as they all entered the cabin, Tag explained about the gunfight breaking out on the street in Rawlins between the cattlemen and the sheep men when they were being taken from the county jail to the prison, and how the escape was made possible because one of the two deputies who were escorting them got hit and was killed by a stray bullet.
Everyone sat down, and Tag went on to tell how he picked up the deputy’s gun and shot the other deputy, killing him.
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly through his nostrils.
“There were lots of witnesses on the street. The law will want me more than ever now. You kill a lawman, and every man who wears a badge becomes a predator. We got away from the posse that came after us, so we’re safe for now. The law has no idea where we’re hiding out.”
“But you can’t hide here forever,” said Kathryn.
Tag grinned. “Don’t plan to. We’ll lay low till early spring, then start robbing banks once more. We’ll just have to be extra careful, especially me. The predators, you know. Of course the law confiscated all the money we had in our saddlebags from the robberies we pulled in Vernal, Evanston, and Green River. So we lost it. When we start in again, I especially want to rob those two Cheyenne banks simultaneously again. Both of them always have lots of cash on hand.”
Kathryn felt as if a ball of cold lead had formed in her stomach.
On Sunday morning, October 31, Dr. Dane Logan and Tharyn Tabor sat together in the preaching service next to her parents, as usual.
During announcement and offering time, Pastor Nathan Blandford announced the engagement of Dane and Tharyn, and gave the proposed wedding date. There were smiles from the people, along with many exuberant amens.
When the sermon was finished and the invitation was given, Dr. Dane walked forward to present himself for church membership. Pastor Blandford explained why Dr. Logan wanted to put his membership in the church until he and Tharyn married. Afterward, they would join the church in Central City. A unanimous vote gave Dane a welcome into the church.
After the service was dismissed, the people crowded around the young couple and congratulated them on their engagement. John and Breanna Brockman were especially expressive in their words of congratulation, as were Melinda Kenyon and Dr. Tim Braden. Tharyn told Melinda she wanted her to be her maid of honor.
Melinda hugged her. “It will be my honor to be the maid of honor in your wedding.”
The couple had dinner at the Tabor home. When the meal was over and Tharyn had helped her mother do the dishes and clean up the kitchen while the men sat at the kitchen table and talked, Dane and Tharyn went to the parlor to have some private time.
As they talked excitedly about their future together, Dane said, “I know it’s going to be hard for you to give up your job at Mile High Hospital, honey.”
Tharyn smiled. “Darling, I love my medical work, but I will love being Mrs. Dane Logan more.”
He grinned. “Well, I brought up the subject because there is something I want to discuss with you.”
“All right.”
“I’ve told you about Dr. Fraser’s nurse and receptionist, Nadine Wahl.”
“Yes. I’m sure you’re happy to have her stay on and help you.”
“Well, that’s what I want to discuss with you. Just recently, Nadine told me that she wants to retire within a short time. We talked about it at length this past week, and she is willing to stay on until the end of next June. Would you like to have Nadine’s job as my nurse and receptionist?”
Tharyn’s face lit up. “Oh, Dane! Really?”
“Really.”
“I’ll take the job, Dr. Logan!”
“Good! You’re hired!”
Tharyn put her hands together and closed her eyes for a moment. Then opening them, she blinked at the tears that had formed. “Oh, Dane, what a marvelous and wonderful God we have! Sometimes I’m just amazed when I look at His plan for our lives. You so desperately wanted to be a doctor, from your earliest years. Then came all the turmoil when you lost your family. On top of that was your being locked up in prison for a crime you did not commit. Then came God’s wonderful way of allowing the law to find the real killer so you would be released.
“And then God allowed you to be adopted by the Logans. Just think of it! When you returned to Cheyenne after graduating from Northwestern, you were living just a hundred miles from me and neither of us knew it. And now here we are engaged to be married, and I just got hired to be your nurse and receptionist after we get married! I’m—I’m just so overwhelmed at how our heavenly Father cares for His own!”
Dane smiled. “You are so absolutely right, my love. It’s just so wonderful to know that when you belong to Jesus—when you’re God’s child—everything is in His control. Even though sometimes we can’t see it, we can be assured by faith that He will always care for us and work everything out for His glory in our lives.”
Tharyn leaned close to him, closed her eyes, and puckered her lips. When Dane had kissed her, she said, “Oh, I’m going to be so happy working with you, d
arling!”
“I’m glad to hear you say it. With both of us devoted to medicine, and caring for the sick and injured, I’m sure we’ll make a great team. But …”
She blinked. “Yes?”
“Whenever you decide it’s time for you to stay at home and for us to start a family, that will be fine too.”
Tharyn caressed his cheek. “We’ll leave that in God’s hands, darling. Of course I want children. Our heavenly Father will guide us about that.”
“Amen,” said Dane, and leaned toward her for another kiss.
At that point, they prayed together, thanking the Lord for the marvelous way He had worked in their lives, and for the wonderful future they had ahead of them.
When they had finished praying, they discussed names for their children and thoroughly enjoyed arguing playfully over the names they each wanted.
After a while, the subject turned to the winter that was ahead of them, and the fact that there would be weekends when the mountain snowstorms would keep Dane from coming to Denver. They agreed that they would write letters to each other, and even if the United States mail couldn’t get them over the mountains, they would give them to each other for mementos when Dane made it over the mountains for a weekend again.
During the winter months, things went just as Dr. Dane Logan and Tharyn Tabor had speculated. On many weekends in a row, Dane was unable to make it over the mountains because of the heavy snow, but he enjoyed visiting the church in Central City where one day he and Tharyn would have their membership when they were husband and wife.
As Dr. Dane and Nurse Nadine Wahl worked together day after day, Nadine talked about her retirement, and how good it would be for Dr. Logan to have his wife as his nurse and receptionist.
One cold, snowy day in late January, after she had assisted the doctor as he set a broken arm for a teenage boy, Nadine brought up again how nice it was going to be for Dr. Logan to have Tharyn at his side in his practice.
Dane smiled at her. “Nadine, I am looking forward to having Tharyn working with me here, but I am still going to miss you. I feel toward you just like Dr. Fraser does. You are one in a million.”
The look on Nadine’s face showed how much his words pleased her. “I appreciate your feeling this way, Doctor. It means a lot to me. And may I remind you, as I have told you before, since I’ll still be living in Central City, I will be glad to fill in for Tharyn when she goes to Denver with you periodically so she can see her parents.”
The young physician grinned and nodded. “Oh, you need not remind me. I am definitely planning on having you here in the office at other times too.”
Nadine’s eyes sparkled. “I’ll look forward to every minute of it.”
In Denver, the weeks between Dane’s visits seemed long to Tharyn, so she kept herself as busy as possible, at the hospital and at home. Melinda Kenyon knew that Tharyn was lonely without Dr. Dane around and often spent time with her in the evenings and on Tharyn’s days off from the hospital.
Tharyn and her mother spent many hours planning for the upcoming wedding. In the first week of February, Kitty took Tharyn to dressmaker Sarah McIntosh’s shop, which was across the street from Mile High Hospital.
Sarah helped Tharyn choose her wedding dress from a book of patterns, then showed her several bolts of material. When the choice of pattern and material had been made, Sarah went to work on the dress. Tharyn dropped in regularly for fittings and was excited to see the progress Sarah was making on the dress. Many nights at home, Tharyn and Kitty found themselves busily stitching on household items for Tharyn’s future home.
One night in the second week of February, they were working together in the parlor while David was in the library, and Tharyn was having a difficult time with her emotions because it had last been Christmas week that Dane had been able to get to Denver.
Tharyn was trying to do some embroidery work on a pillowcase, and after a while, she dropped it in her lap. “Mama, you’d think I could do a better job with this pillowcase. At the hospital, I can make precise stitches in a patient’s skin to satisfy the surgeons, but with this pillowcase, I’m all thumbs.”
Kitty leaned over, picked up the pillowcase, and examined the embroidery work. “Honey, you’re doing fine. Don’t give up. You’ll be so proud to have it in your home.”
Tharyn smiled at her mother. “I won’t give up. I guess I’m just edgy because I’m missing Dane.” She shook her head and blinked at the tears that were gathering in her eyes. “I miss Dane when he can’t get here on the weekends, but there is joy in my heart, Mama. I went nine years without seeing him, then the Lord sent him back into my life. And now, I’m making things to go in our home when we’re married. It’s so wonderful! Sometimes I still can’t believe all of this is really happening.” As she spoke, Tharyn laid aside her sewing, left her chair, and walked to the parlor window.
“Oh my, it’s really snowing hard now, Mama.” A note of sadness crept into her voice. “I’m sure Dane won’t be able to get here this weekend, either.” She sighed, turned around, and let a smile light up her face. “Oh, well. Praise the Lord, He doeth all things well. Even the snow is a blessing because He sends it. It will just be all the more special when Dane does get to come.”
Kitty looked up at her and smiled. “That’s my girl. Just be thankful for all of your blessings, honey. Anyway, it will be spring soon. You can count on it.”
Spring 1881 came, and in the first week of April, Tag Moran stood at the parlor window in the old cabin in the mountains and looked out at the sunshine and the melting snow. The others were seated behind him. He turned around. “Well, another week and Moran and Company will be back in the robbery business.”
Bart, Jason, Gib, and Tony all smiled at him, as did Lucinda.
Kathryn was unable to create a smile, but kept the reservations she felt to herself. She wished with all her might that the robbing days were over, but tried not to show it.
Tag returned to his chair and ran his gaze over the faces of his men. “We’ll go to Salt Lake City first and hit both banks at once, just like we did those two Cheyenne banks. We’ll make a good haul in Salt Lake. Then we’ll drop down into the western side of Colorado and rob the banks in Grand Junction, Delta, and Glenwood Springs. We’ll be back here to the hideout late this month, then we’ll lay low for a while again. On the next trip out after that, I want to hit those two Cheyenne banks again.”
Exactly a week later, Lucinda and Kathryn kissed their husbands good-bye and watched them ride down the mountain with the other gang members, weaving among the trees.
When they had passed from view, Lucinda turned to see Kathryn wiping tears. She touched her arm. “Kathryn, nothing’s going to happen to Gib. He’ll be back, the same as my Bart and the rest of them.”
Kathryn sniffled, but did not respond.
Lucinda patted the arm. “Look at it this way, Kathryn. The more robberies the gang pulls off, the quicker we’ll have enough money to realize our dream and go to California and live like royalty the rest of our lives.”
Kathryn stared at the last spot in the woods where she had seen Gib. Her voice quivered as she said, “But if Gib gets killed during a robbery or in a shootout with the law, the big dream will become a horrible nightmare.”
Early in the third week of April, Chief U.S. Marshal John Brockman was at his desk, talking to two of his deputies who were about to leave in pursuit of a band of outlaws who had held up a stagecoach a few miles east of Denver.
“That bunch are known to be cold-blooded, boys,” said John. “Be very careful.”
“We will, Chief,” said one as they rose from their chairs. “We’ll get help from the local law once we locate them.”
There was a tap at the door. It opened and Deputy Charlie Wesson said, “Chief, Mrs. Brockman is here. I told her I thought you were about through with Jack and Boris.”
Brockman nodded. “Yes. They’re about to leave. Tell Breanna to come in.”
Charlie turned and l
ooked into the hall. “The chief says for you to come on in, ma’am.”
The lovely blonde stepped up to the door and smiled at the two deputies who were coming her way. “Go get them, Jack, Boris. My husband told me he was sending you after that gang who robbed the stagecoach yesterday.”
“We’ll do our best, ma’am,” said Jack.
“Yes, we will,” said Boris, and they hurried away with Charlie on their heels.
Breanna closed the door and headed toward her husband.
John rounded the desk, folded Breanna into his arms, and kissed her soundly. “To what do I owe this visit, sweetheart?”
She smiled up at him. “Oh, I was just lonesome for you, so I thought I’d try to get a few minutes with you.”
“Well, come over here and sit down.”
They sat down on the two chairs in front of his desk, and Breanna said, “I told you I was going to stop by the hospital this morning and talk to Matt about Dottie’s upcoming birthday party. We’ll really surprise her this time, doing it a day early.”
“Good. That’ll be fun.”
“And I had a few minutes with Tharyn.”
John smiled. “She’s been a different girl since Dr. Dane has been making it down from the mountains on the weekends these past few weeks. And then there were those two days he was here last week when he did that hip replacement for Georgene Rogers.”
“Mm-hmm. Getting to assist him on that surgery really thrilled her. The girl was walking three inches off the ground then, wasn’t she?”
“That’s for sure.”
“Well, anyway, Tharyn just told me that Dr. Dane is going to Fort Collins next week to do a hip replacement at Larimer County Hospital.”
John nodded. “He’s becoming quite well known for his successful hip replacements, isn’t he?”
“Tharyn said more and more requests are coming to him from doctors, clinics, and hospitals to perform them on their patients. She reminded me that just since the first part of March, he has done hip replacements as far north as Casper, and as far south as Colorado Springs. He did two in Cheyenne day before yesterday, Tharyn told me. I’m glad for his expertise in this, and for the fact that Dr. Fraser so willingly fills in for him so he can be away to do it.”