by Zina Abbott
Beth had never heard nor felt the level of threat that poured off Val at that moment. She was grateful that Val directed it toward her assailant, not her.
Val continued. “She’s a woman—a person who can make her own decisions. Besides, you get right down to it, I’m the one who saw her first. She has given me permission to officially court her and I intend to marry her. Don’t try to jump my claim, miner. Law or no law, I’ll do what it takes to protect her from the likes of you or anyone else.”
In the silence of the room that greeted his declaration, Beth suppressed the urge to remind Val that she had agreed that he could court her, but she had never agreed to his intention to marry her. But, perhaps now was not the best time for her to exert her independent streak.
“Now, Bethie Rose,” Val spoke softly into her ear, “I know how you like to take care of your own business and all without interference from us overbearing men. But, Luther, the boys and I have been working with contrary critters all our lives. We’re real good at moving them out of places they have no business being. We’d consider it an honor if you’d grant us leave to chase this bunch out of here for you.”
Yes! Oh, yes!
“If it won’t discomfit you none.”
Beth could feel Val’s smile against the back of her neck. He stretched out his left arm until the leather glove on his cupped hand cradled hers that still held the knife in a death grip.
“It won’t. Now, Bethie Rose,” Val said with a hint of warning. Beth knew he only called her “Bethie Rose” when he thought she was getting prickly like the thorns on a rose stem about something. She sensed this was his way of telling her now was not the time for her to stand her ground. He continued. “Just drop the knife in my hand. Then I want you do duck under my arm and go stand over by Fritz behind the bar. Don’t try to cross to the kitchen because I don’t want you to get in the line of fire.”
Beth turned her wrist and dropped the knife into Val’s hand. Keeping her derringer pointed at the two men with their backs to the wall, she backed away for several feet before she turned and walked to stand next to Fritz. With shaking fingers, she placed her gun on the shelf behind the bar and clasped her hands together. Until her fingers stopped their trembling, she didn’t trust herself to release the hammer or to shoot at the men who had threatened her. She couldn’t risk hitting Val or one of his men.
The other three men with Val started to close in. The man with the gun on Gus soon realized that he not only faced the meat cleaver poised and ready to take off his arm at the first opportunity, but also another gun aimed directly at him. He released the hammer, slid the gun in his belt and held his hands out to show he no longer held a weapon. The others, seeing the progression of events, also put away their weapons and raised their hands.
The front door burst open. Beth watched Constable Bill Callahan barrel into the saloon.
“Heard we have some trouble here.”
“We just about got things settled down, Bill,” said Val. He nodded in the direction of Jeb. “This one, here, accosted Mrs. Dodd.”
The constable looked at an insolent Jeb clutching his bleeding wrist. Then he turned to look at Beth who had walked over and stood next to Val.
“Looks to me like he was the one accosted.”
“He done threatened me first, Constable.”
“Mrs. Dodd,” the constable said, the condescension dripping in his voice. “I can’t arrest a man because he is rude to you. And, you cannot physically attack someone who is rude to you.”
“He done attacked my person, Constable. He done slapped me where no man has no right to touch me. It ain’t fittin’.”
A smattering of male laughter greeted her statement, but, fortunately, the constable did not find it humorous. He looked out at the crowd of miners and scowled.
“And you kneed him where no woman should.” The statement from one of the men once again caused the room to erupt in laughter.
Val grimaced.
Luther laughed and turned to tease Val. “Take that as a warning, brother.”
With an indignant expression, Beth straightened to her full height and shot Luther a fiery glare. “My pa worried on me and my little sister havin’ no brothers to look out for us once he was gone. He done taught us how to get free of a man tryin’ to take advantage.”
That brought the constable’s attention back on Beth with a questioning expression on his face. “And did he try to take advantage, Mrs. Dodd?”
“After he done grabbed my wrist. I told him to let me be, but he pulled me closer sayin’ if I worked here, he plumb had the right to do what he wanted with me. I was protectin’ myself, without no help from these here varmints.” Beth flung her hand in the direction of the other three men still standing around the table. “They done pulled their guns on me. All but the one who backed away. He wasn’t no help to me, but he didn’t caused no trouble, neither.”
The miner who had made the suggestive remark to her spat out. “You pulled that derringer first, lady.”
“You’re plumb full of lies. You was reachin’ for weapons first. Afore I knowed it, I was facin’ the whole passel of you.”
“You want to press charges, Mrs. Dodd? Not sure what I would do with them, seeing as how we don’t got no jail in Lundy. I’d have to drag them to the county jail in Bridgeport.”
“Best I do a report on them, Constable. Don’t care none if you’re fixin’ to lock them up or not long as they leave me be. But, I reckon it’d be right smart for me to have a record of what they done. Most particular, this one they call Jeb.” Beth pointed to the man whose eyes still glowered at her as he clutched his bloody wrist. “You be slap sure you get his rightful name and where he’s stayin’ and who he’s workin’ for. Reckon if you find me all beat up or dead or—or worse, you best know where to start lookin’.”
“Mrs. Dodd is a respectable widow earning her way doing honest work, Bill,” Val interrupted, obviously struggling to contain his anger. “She should not have to put up with this kind of mistreatment. Now, if you like, Luther, me and the boys, can help you escort these men and Mrs. Dodd to your office for a statement.”
The constable sighed the sigh of all men who hate paperwork. “Fritz, do you mind sending your man to Doc Guirado to see if he can come by my office to look at this man’s wrist? After I take care of things there, I’ll come back and question you and some of the others.”
“I’ll be there directly, Constable.” Beth turned toward the kitchen. She approached Gus who stood next to the doorway between the kitchen and the main room with a surly expression on his face. His arms crossed, he continued to clutch the meat cleaver in one hand.
“I’m right sorry, Gus. Reckon I’ll be tied up for a spell. I’ll finish these here biscuits and roll them out. You can cut them and bake them while I’m gone. All right?”
Gus nodded. “Ya.” Yes.
Beth reached over and placed her hand over his two arms where they crossed.
“Danke, Gus. Thank you. It means a lot to me, you comin’ to help like that. I’ll be back directly.”
After Beth finished mixing and rolling out the biscuit dough, she left her apron in the kitchen, stepped behind the bar in the saloon, and picked up her derringer. She carefully released the hammers so they were no longer cocked before she slipped the gun into her pocket. Squaring her shoulders, she turned to Fritz, who faced the room while out of the corner of his eyes he shot darts of annoyance her direction.
“Thank you kindly for your help, Herr Gluntz. Now, before you go sayin’ if it wasn’t for no woman workin’ here, there wouldn’t be no trouble, I want you to recollect on that ruckus over that card game goin’ on two weeks past. Fists was flyin’ and guns was drawed and the constable was called in then, too. But, I don’t recall you sayin’ nothin’ about that fancy card sharp with the satin vest who done been at the center of it all. Appears to me he’s still roostin’ over yonder at his favorite table. Nary a word about me, Fritz Gluntz. I ain’t done nothin’ w
rong. Them others caused that there trouble, and you know it.”
Fritz inhaled deeply and, with a nod, grudgingly acknowledged her point.
♥♥♥
No one was happier than Beth when they concluded the business at the constable’s office. A frazzled Doc Guirado stopped by long enough to check on Jeb’s wrist. He said Beth might have nicked a vein, which explained why it bled so much. But, the bleeding had stopped, so before Doc hurried away, he wrapped it well and told Jeb to keep it clean.
Back at the Arcade, Beth entered the kitchen and donned her apron before she washed her hands, once again ready to help Gus serve food. She praised Josh when he proudly told her how he kept hot water on the stove and swapped out the dirty dishwater for clean up front while she was gone. Gus also let him help pass out biscuits. However, the warmer above the stove was almost empty of biscuits, so Beth grabbed the ingredients to start some more.
Beth could not deny the thrill that coursed through her when she heard Val’s voice call toward the kitchen doorway. “Heard they got some pretty good cooks here. Any chance some hungry cowboys can get something to eat?”
CHAPTER 3
After the supper rush had passed, the Caldwell brothers continued to sit at a table close to the kitchen. Hank and Frankie had moved to the billiard table where they were the victims of good-natured taunts by the miners who had more opportunity to play than the two cowboys. Leonard Haas who was covering the Arcade that night began to light the oil lamps as the sun dropped behind the sheer wall of Mount Scowden leaving only a glow in the passes that lead to Mill Creek Canyon on the north slope and Lake Canyon on the south.
Through the evening’s conversation, the story of why the Caldwells and their herd were delayed getting to Lundy unfolded. First, the snow was still deep enough in some gullies that they had not been able to drive the cattle in as straight of a path as they had hoped. Then, about ten to twelve miles from the ranch, their plans ran into a hitch—more to the point, a ditch. Luther had been driving the wagon loaded with supplies, most of it feed for Charley Hector’s Lundy and Bodie Stage Livery, plus the rest of the camp supplies for the crew. He had stayed as close as he could to the herd rather than traveling on the road and caught one of the wheels in a crack in a rock. Not only was the wheel pulled off the axle, but three spokes broke on its tumble down a nearby ravine.
Val made the decision to settle the cattle in a small meadow for the night and set up camp early while someone went back to Bridgeport for a new wheel from the wheelwright.
Before he started working for the Caldwells, Hank had been a muleskinner. He volunteered to take a pair of the mules back with him to fetch the wheel. Too late in the day to continue on, he returned with the rented wagon and the new wheel, along with additional feed for the horses and mules. It gave the cattle two extra days of rest in the middle of the twenty-five-mile drive to Lundy, but the men chafed at being stuck all that time on the trail, camping among the rocks and patches of snow.
Beth did her best to ignore Luther’s teasing complaints about how this past winter he had done more snow camping than ever before in his life, all because his brother was sweet on a certain Lundy widow. She ignored his backdoor compliment because the last thing she wanted to do was blush in front of these men. However, she couldn’t deny to herself that his words caused a sense of satisfaction to well up within her. Val really did care for her. He didn’t just stop by to steal a kiss or two because he was up on business, anyway.
As it became apparent that Gus planned to close for the night, Val stood and asked Gus if he could borrow his lantern.
“Ya, sure,” Gus said with a shrug. “In morning you bring to Gus, ya?”
“Sure thing. You have a shawl or anything, Beth?” At her nod, he turned to the others. “Much as I enjoy everyone’s company, I’d like to take my girl courting down by the lake for a little while.” Val nudged his brother and finished pointedly, “Alone.”
Luther was solid, dependable and loyal. However, he had a way of teasing and playing practical jokes that sometimes wore on people’s nerves. It hadn’t taken Val long to figure out that Beth’s nerves frayed faster than most around Luther.
Val followed Beth to the kitchen where she shucked her apron and exchanged it for her shawl she kept on the peg by the back door. She had knit the wrap that winter from the light gray yarn she had found at the Pioneer Cash store run by Rosenwald, Coblentz & Co.
Since Alexander Rosenwald was the postmaster and had built the Postoffice store next to the mercantile, Beth had become familiar with the store when she stopped by to check for mail or to send a letter to her little sister. In the hour or so of lamp light she allowed herself at nights in order to relax from the busy workday, she had worked on the shawl so she would have something to wear in the cool evenings once it turned too warm to justify wearing the heavy coat she bought in Carson City just before she set out to search the mining towns for her runaway husband.
Beth turned to Val with a smile. She eagerly reached for the arm he extended toward her.
“Reckon we should go out the back door?”
“No, ma’am. I want to walk the length of this place, snake past every table full of men in here and show off that you have a beau.”
Beth glanced over at Val with a frown. “You know Luther ain’t the only one who shoots off his mouth.”
Val chuckled softly.
“That’s the point, Beth. I want them to see you with me.” Then, growing more serious, he captured her gaze with his own. “I was proud of you today, Beth. I walked in here and, as scared as I was to see you in such danger holding off all those men, I said to myself, ‘That’s the woman I want by my side in a fight.’ Now, Bethie Rose, let them see me stepping out with the bravest, most beautiful woman in Lundy who will stand up for what’s right, no matter how much she’s threatened. Plus, the faster these newcomers in town get the message that you aren’t available because you are being officially courted by me, the better I’ll like it.”
Beth kept her mouth shut as they made their way out the front door of the Arcade. As she had predicted, Luther hooted at the two. “Don’t go getting lost down by the lake, brother. I wouldn’t want to have to call out a search party.”
“Can’t you find something to do, Luther? Why don’t you let Hank and Frankie embarrass you at a game of billiards?” Val called back. Luther laughed while Hank and Frankie took up Val’s taunt and coaxed him over to their game.
Other men watched Val and Beth leave, some grinning, some frowning, some, their eyes full of envy, nodding their heads. Val, a big grin on his face, nodded back.
Once outside, Beth pulled her shawl more tightly around her in the cool evening air.
“These men ought to be treatin’ me decent whether I’m courtin’ or not, Val Caldwell.”
“I know, Beth. But, in a barrel the size of Lundy, especially since it will be growing within the next few weeks, you’re bound to come across a few bad apples. It’s just the way it is. Once this new bunch gets to know about you, they’ll leave you alone. Plus, you have friends who will stand by you.”
“Don’t like dependin’ on others.”
“Beth, we all need to depend on others at times. Do you think Luther and I could run that ranch without our men? We depend on them doing a good job for us. And, as carried away as Luther can get at times, I depend on him.”
“It ain’t the same. You and Luther, you’re the bosses. You decide what’s to be done. It ain’t the same with women. Someone’s always fixin’ to control us. I done got fed up with that.”
“You don’t feel like Gus tries to control you, do you?”
“No. He knows I don’t put up with it none. If he wants to keep his cook, he’ll treat me right.”
“He seems very loyal to you and you are obviously loyal to him. Someday, Beth, I hope that’s how you’ll feel about me.”
Beth jerked to face Val, shocked by his statement. She did feel she was loyal to him, just like she felt a loyalty
toward Gus and Josh and her sister. She wondered if it was because she hadn’t agreed to marry him that Val didn’t realize she felt a deep sense of loyalty toward him.
They walked on several more moments in silence as they approached the lake. The slapping sound of the rivulets washing against the shore transmitted an aura of calm through the night air.
“I don’t want to control you, Beth. I want you as a partner.”
“You say that now, Val Caldwell, ’cause you know I can walk away and call this here courtship off. But, I done been married once already. I done learned how the law looks at women once they up and marry. Back in Ohio, I done what I had to do to care for my sister and keep a roof over my pa ’til he passed. But, I wasn’t no partner with Jim Dodd. I didn’t have no say in marryin’ him, not after what my pa done. I didn’t have no say in how he run the farm or spent the money we needed to keep the farm goin’. I didn’t have no say in him spendin’ nights at the taverns or sellin’ our farm or walkin’ away from me. All I had was the promises in the contract he done made with my pa and a little scrap of money my pa left me separate. Now Jim Dodd’s dead, ain’t much left to control. Ain’t sure I’m willin’ to give up what little I got left to me.”
“I know you got caught up in a bad deal, Beth. I hope someday I can convince you that not every marriage is like that. I hope someday you will love me like I love you…and you’ll trust me.”
Beth looked over the water. Val just said he loved her. This wasn’t the first time she had heard those words from him. Her question was, could she love him enough?
“Come, Beth, let’s find a rock to sit on and look at the water. The moon’s not quite full yet, but it’s still a pretty sight.”
Val found a rock big enough the two could sit next to each other. He took off his sheepskin jacket and spread it across for them to sit on.
“Ain’t you goin’ to get cold?”
“Not yet.”
“You raise the sheep for that jacket?”
“Nope! There are those in Big Meadows who’ll stoop to raising sheep, but the Caldwells are strictly cattle ranchers. Sheep are okay for wool and mutton and a jacket like this, but I’ll buy from someone else. Have no use for raising woolies myself.”