The stage drivers were the kings of the line, like the captains of ships, and Holladay dressed them for the part All the Holladay drivers dressed alike. They wore broad-brimmed sombreros, corduroys trimmed with velvet, and high-heeled boots, and they all carried a nine-foot rawhide whip with a big leather handle. All the drivers were well respected around town because Holladay didn’t put up with drunks or derelicts. Nor did he allow swearing around the passengers.
Billy chuckled. Once, when Rattlesnake had gotten the stagecoach stuck in a deep rut, he had to ask the passengers to get out so he could have a word with his team of horses. After one more good cussing to those nags, he got the wagon moving, put the passengers back on the coach, and made it to his next stop on time. Rattlesnake had told the tale one night over supper, and Billy still laughed when he thought about it He felt privileged to be a part of the Holladay organization and one day he hoped to be part owner of the stage line.
“Then I’m right?” Rattlesnake persisted.
Billy blinked a couple of times. “Right about what?”
“Nelly?”
“I just said I like her cooking.”
“Shucks boy, there’s a few other things about her to like,” Rattlesnake said. “ ’Sides, I’m kind of partial to that other filly you been seein’.”
“Mandy. I think she’s getting much too serious, so you need to find another favorite. She’s all yours.” Billy said.
“Wonder how she’d feel about me?”
“Won’t know till you try,” Billy said.
Rattlesnake threw back his head and laughed as if what Billy had said was the funniest thing in the world. Finally, he stopped and cleared his throat. “I could use a danged drink of something cool.”
Billy reached for a canteen, but before he could grab it, a shot rang out of nowhere. “Damn!” Billy grabbed his shoulder. “I’ve been hit!”
“Yer all right, son,” Rattlesnake shouted as he gripped the reins and urged the horses to go faster. Another shot whizzed over their heads.
“Yep, I’m hit, all right. But I’ll live,” Billy yelled. He turned and crawled out on the top of the stage, dragging his rifle behind him. “Get those nags going. I’m tired of being somebody’s target.”
“Ah-wooh-wah!” Rattlesnake bellowed, in what could be called a warpath yell, then cracked his nine-foot rawhide whip above the horses’ heads. Instantly, the team responded. Billy stretched out flat on his stomach, his elbows propped up on a trunk as he took aim at the group of riders galloping behind them. He fired twice, taking one rider down and then another. Whoever these men were, they couldn’t possibly have shot him. They had been too far away. It must have been somebody on the cliffs, waiting for them to pass by.
Somebody wanted him dead, and Billy needed to find out just who it was before he was successful and finished him off. Thankfully, by the time he picked off the fourth man the group of outlaws gave up the chase.
The stage barreled along into the edge of town, dust flying from beneath the wheels. “Whoa!” Rattlesnake yelled and yanked back on the reins until the horses obeyed. Then, at a slower pace, they made their way to the hotel where the passengers were to disembark.
“Come on, boy,” Rattlesnake said, pulling off his heavy buckskin gloves and tossing them under the seat. “I’ll get you to the doc.”
“I’m all right, Pete. Let’s get the passengers off first. You remember Holladay’s rules—the passengers are always our first priority.”
“Not when you have a gaping hole in yer shoulder. But who am I to argue? Iffen you drop dead, I’ll just have the passengers step over you as I welcome them into town.”
Billy couldn’t help but smile. The gruff old buzzard really did care.
As the passengers filed off the stage, most asked if Billy and Pete were all right and then thanked each of them for bringing them safely into town. However, the last passenger complained about the wild ride. He said his hat would never be the same again, and he was going to make sure Mr. Holladay knew about how die passengers had been tossed around like sacks of potatoes.
Billy bit his tongue, causing him to wonder if he was truly mellowing with age. When he was younger he would have had a pistol under the fellow’s nose, asking if he had any further comments he’d like to make.
“Consarned fool looks like a sack of potatoes,” Rattlesnake grumbled. “Let’s get that bullet out and then get a drink,” Rattlesnake said, giving Billy a shove.
Ben Holladay stared at the young man sitting in front of his desk. He was staring out the window as he waited for his instructions.
Ben could barely recognize the kid who had come to him looking for a job three years ago. Now a man sat before him. His black Stetson was pulled down so low that you couldn’t see his eyes, nor read his thoughts.
Billy looked dangerous—like any hired gun, but Ben knew there was so much more to Billy West than his outside appearance. He was a survivor. Billy would be successful one way or the other, and he was no man’s fool.
That’s what Ben liked about him most. He smiled as he shuffled the papers on his desk to gain Billy’s attention. Ben wanted Billy to be successful, and he was about to put him to a test to see how well he could do.
“Can you realize it has been three years since I started the stage route?”
Billy shook his head and smiled like he was casually amused. “Time has gone by fast. I’d almost forgotten that headache I had the first day I met you.”
“It’s a good thing you gave up drinking.” Ben chuckled. “I don’t think you could have handled another hangover like that one.”
“What’s that saying? Older and wiser?”
Ben threw back his head and laughed. “For some... and some only get older and never wiser.” He leaned forward on the desk. “How’s the shoulder?”
“Stiff. Actually, the bullet hit the fleshy part of my arm.”
Ben let out a slow, disgruntled sigh. “I don’t think Kincade is going to let up. When Jake took his life, Kincade had to blame somebody. He wants blood. Your blood.”
Billy’s mouth spread into a thin-lipped smile. “I’m beginning to think the same thing, and I’m not too sure what to do about him.”
“I think I have a solution,” Ben said and watched as he now had Billy’s full attention. Ben just hoped the young man would agree. “I need you to do something for me. It will get you out of town for a while.”
Billy’s jaw tightened. “I’m not running.”
Ben noted the kid’s set face, his clamped mouth and fixed eyes. “Whoa.” He held up his hand, having forgotten the temper the boy had. “That’s not what I meant I have something back East that I want you to bring out here for me.”
“It must be one hell of a cargo if you want me to travel that far to get it.”
Ben chuckled. “You could say that It’s my niece. She wants to come and spend some time out here.”
“And she doesn’t have any family that can bring her?”
“Yes, she has a large family, but they have never been farther West than Kentucky. I want to know that Claire is safe and in your company, and I have no doubts that she will be. How much trouble could it be to bring one girl to Denver?”
Exactly what Billy was thinking. To bring one child across the country had to be easier than what he and Brandy had gone through when they had brought the orphans out West.
“I’ll have my nephew, Fredrick, go with you. His family lives near Oak Hill. My sister’s place is just past Oak Hill, so he can show you the way and introduce you to the family.”
“What’s Oak Hill? A city?”
“No. It’s my brother’s estate. He has a large horse farm, among other property.”
Horse farm got Billy’s attention. He’d always thought about raising horses. This little trip could provide some valuable information. “Why don’t you send Fredrick?”
“Because the kid is still wet behind the ears. Hell, he’d get sidetracked halfway across the country and forget what I�
�d sent him for. He’s so green that somebody would take one look at him and try something. On the other hand, they’d take one look at you and think twice before crossing you.”
Billy’s smile turned into a chuckle. “Thank you. I think. But I don’t know—.”
“Well, I heard about your sudden engagement to Mandy, so I understand if you don’t want to leave her.”
“What?”
“She’s told everybody in town that you were going to marry her. I figured that you’d finally gotten serious about someone. She is pretty enough.”
“She’s pretty, all right, but that engagement business is news to me,” Billy muttered, his voice full of sarcasm. “You know, I’m damned sick and tired of women. You pay them a little attention, and they try and put a rope ’round your neck.”
“All the more reason for you to accept my offer,” Ben said. “I’ll pay you five thousand dollars for your trouble.”
Billy’s brow shot up. Something sounded fishy, and he had the feeling he wasn’t getting the entire story. “That’s a hell of a lot of money. What’s wrong with the kid?”
Ben shrugged. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing. But Claire means the world to me. With your gun,
I know I’ll not have to worry. It’s a simple job. All you have to do is bring her back here. What could be easier?”
That was the problem. It sounded much too easy. But on the bright side, it would get him away from scheming females. And it was only a child he would be getting.
“Why do I have the feeling that you’re not telling me something?” Billy pressed. He knew Ben paid good money for whatever he wanted. Price was never an object, so his niece must be very special to him.
“I don’t think I’ve missed anything. Besides, it will get you out of town,” Ben said, while thinking at the same time, I merely omitted the fact that my niece isn’t a child, as Billy assumed but he would find that out on his own. Ben smiled. “Then you’ll do it?”
“Add two more grand, and you’ve got yourself a deal.”
Ben gave a slow, satisfying nod. “Good. You leave first thing in the morning.”
Billy left Ben’s office with the strange feeling that he’d been hoodwinked. But on the bright side of things, it would give him a chance to see a part of the country he’d never seen before. He’d read in the books that Brandy had made him study that everything was different back East
Billy removed his jacket, rolled it up, and tied it behind his saddle. The days were starting to warm up, and the sun felt good on his shoulders. Speaking of his sister... if he didn’t tell her he was leaving town, he’d have hell to pay when he got back.
It was midaftemoon when Billy reached his sister’s place. They had named the ranch The Wagon Wheel. His family figured they had spent so much time living in a wagon that it was an appropriate name. He glanced up at the wheel they had hung over the archway as he now passed under it There had been a time when he thought the wagon would be their only home forever.
Billy nudged his horse into a trot to cover the short road to the house. He dismounted and tied his horse to one of the white aspen trees.
The front door flew open, and Scott, his brother, came running out, slamming it loudly behind him as he scurried down the steps. Billy noticed that Scott’s britches had a tear in the knee. He was still as energetic as he was at seven, and he still talked just as much, too. But that’s what was so lovable about Scott. His black hair was cut in a bob and his brownish-green eyes bubbled with personality.
“Billy! You’re just in time for dinner,” Scott called as he ran over and jumped into his brother’s arms. “You hungry?”
Billy swung Scott around, then said, “Depends. Who’s cooking?”
Scott giggled. “Not Brandy. They don’t let her near the cook stove. Ellen and Mary are cooking.”
“In that case—” Billy chuckled, rubbing his sore shoulder, “I’ll stay.” Billy held Scott at arm’s length to get a good look at him. “Look at you, I bet you’ve grown two inches. Pretty soon I won’t be able to pick you up at all.”
“Yep. And one day I’ll be taller than you. Then you’ll have to look up at me.”
“I doubt that.” Billy ruffled Scott’s straight black hair. “Let’s get some grub and catch up. Were you out helping Thunder?”
Billy and Scott started up the steps to the front porch. “Nope. I was milking that blamed cow.”
Billy couldn’t help chuckling. “You just can’t seem to get rid of that cow, can you?”
“When I grow up, I ain’t having no milk cows,” Scott grumbled as he reached for the door.
They moved through the large living room and headed back to the kitchen. The minute Billy walked through the door, Mary and Ellen rushed over to hug him. Everyone was talking and laughing at once. It was good to come home to his family, Billy thought
The girls were turning into real beauties. Mary’s long, blonde hair hung halfway down her back and her eyes were just as blue as he remembered, and just as rebellious. Ellen, who had once been a mousy little thing, had filled out very nicely, Billy couldn’t help noticing. Her long, brown hair complemented her hazel eyes—eyes that had lost the sadness that had been there for such a long time.
He hadn’t realized that it had been four months since he’d been back to the ranch. “What’s for dinner?”
“Chicken and biscuits,” Ellen said, placing a pan of buttermilk biscuits on top of the counter.
Mary took a plate from the cupboard. “I’ll set another place. It’s about time you brought your sorry hide home!”
Billy’s brow raised a fraction. “I see you’re as charming as ever,” he teased and gave Mary a swat.
A half-smile crossed her face. “What’s this I hear about you being engaged?”
“That’s what I’d like to know, too,” Brandy said as she entered through the back door, carrying a bucket of water. Quickly, she set the bucket down so she could give Billy a hug. “You look thin. Are you eating? And tell me about the engagement” Her violet eyes glistened with questions.
“There is no engagement. Ain’t nothing to it,” Billy said, moving away from her. “Don’t you think I’d tell you first? Mandy must be spreading rumors.”
“I see,” Brandy said. She wiped her hands, slung the towel over her shoulder and crossed over to sit down at the table. Pushing her brandy-colored hair over her shoulders, she said, “I thought it was Nelly, not Mandy.”
“It’s kind of been both.” Billy smiled as he took his seat at the table on the long bench next to Scott
“A real ladies’ man,” Mary added.
“Once upon a time I had you charmed.” Billy smiled at Mary.
Mary placed a napkin in her lap, then looked at him. Raising her eyebrows she said, “That’s before I came to my senses.”
“There was a time when we didn’t think you had any senses,” he teased her affectionately.
“Did I say that I missed you?” Mary shot back. “I take it back—every word.”
“Where’s Thunder?” Scott asked. “I’m starved.”
Brandy smiled at Scott. “When haven’t you been hungry?”
“Did I hear my name?” Thunder said as he finished wiping his face and arms with a towel. He tossed the towel aside and took his seat at the head of the table. “It’s good to see you kid. About damn’ time you showed yourself.”
Billy eyed the man he admired most Thunder had been dragged into their life when he really didn’t want any part of them, by his sister, Brandy, but the man seemed happy enough about it now. Maybe it just took the right woman ... or blackmail. Billy smiled.
He thought back to when he’d first met Thunder. He hadn’t changed much except that the hard look that had always lurked in Thunder’s dark eyes had been replaced with something ... Billy wasn’t sure what ...Maybe it was contentment. For a long time. Thunder had been torn between the Cheyenne and the white man’s world.
Thunder had once told Billy that he felt as if he were dancing on
the wind, not knowing where he belonged, or who he was.
Well, Thunder had a family now. Billy smiled. It was ready-made when Thunder made the mistake of bumping into Brandy, and she blackmailed him to take them out West.
Thunder still wore his slate-black hair a little long and his coal gray eyes could still make people freeze in their tracks. It had always worked on Billy, he remembered with a chuckle. As fast as Billy was with a gun, he still couldn’t outdraw Thunder.
Even though Billy still thought of Thunder as half Cheyenne, he now knew that Thunder was white and used the white name of Thomas Bradley. But they all called him by his Indian name. Thunder’s mother, Helen, had been captured from a wagon train when she’d barely conceived him. She’d been smart enough to pass Thunder off as her Cheyenne husband’s child.
“Have you forgotten how to speak?” Thunder asked.
Billy shook his head. “Sorry. I was just remembering when we first met you. You really didn’t want any part of us. Did you?”
“Like a toothache. Even when I was forced to take care of you, which I might add didn’t sit well with me, I still didn’t want this rag-tag-lot,” Thunder admitted, waving his hand at the group. “Pass the biscuits.”
Billy received the plate of hot biscuits from Mary and handed them to Thunder. “So what made you change your mind?”
“I’m not sure,” Thunder admitted as he put a biscuit on his plate. “I’ve never told any of you this, but the second night I stayed at the parsonage, it was the night of the big storm. Maybe you remember. I saddled Lightning and rode away from the compound with the intention of never returning. I rode through town and headed for the open prairie. It seemed like I rode all night, the rain pelting down on me. After I’d ridden all my anger out, I finally noticed my surroundings, and I realized that I was back at the parsonage. Why? I don’t know.”
“Well, I’m glad that you came back,” Brandy said softly. “None of us would be here now if you had kept on riding. Of course, I could have had you arrested.”
“And, no doubt, you would have.”
“I’m glad I came back, too.” Thunder looked at his wife affectionately. “I wouldn’t have missed our adventure for anything, although I wouldn’t have admitted it at the time. One thing you can definitely say is that we didn’t have a smooth road, it was full of bumps along the way.”
Until September Page 3