by Rita Hestand
He almost shouted it in her face, then in a milder tone, he continued, “I ain't sure which one I hate the most, the Negroes or the Injuns. Both sorry. Anyhow, I came back here later, thinkin' it was all over, now I could just sit out my days 'till I retire. But it weren't so.” He gazed at her and seemed pleased that he had her attention. “The Comanche started up again. Had me a woman in the settlement, was gonna retire with her. They killed her. And I couldn't go after the danged heathens. I had orders. Orders. That's all I know. All I ever hear. From the time I get up in the mornin' till the time I goes to bed. Man cain't do what needs doin'. The government don't much care because by the end of the war, anyone worth their salt was done in, and ready to desert. The south was a lost cause. Then what's to become of the settlement people here? Who'll defend them? Just like during the war, those Indians knows they can take the advantage. Just like them bigwigs from Washington, makin' all them peace treaties that they weren't gonna keep. And everybody lies to the Indians, promises them all kinds of wonders. Don't never give them nothin'. Not that they deserve anything, mind you. So they raid and kill, and steal our horses, our cattle, and our food. So I ain't a soldier no more.”
“You still wear the uniform.” She looked at his tattered clothes.
“Ain't got no other clothes, or I wouldn't. Now, you best rest, 'cause Elrod has plans for you later.” He chuckled.
“And you're going to let him carry out his plans?” she asked, this time not quite so bravely.
“Ain't no skin off my back, lady. I cain't go around carin' about everybody…don't you see?”
The old man walked off and Jodi cringed again. Hunt heard her mumble to herself, “Hate, it's so much about hate…” She was obviously scared to death, but she was doing a good job of not showing it. Hunt admired her courage. But they wouldn't have her, not this day, or any other.
He saw the horses and cattle and worked his way over. One by one, he loosened the reins and sent them away. It was a quiet move, and he watched diligently as he continued to loose their hobbles.
When the one they called Elrod woke, he started to grab some jerky from his saddle bag and realized half the horses were gone. He shouted, but a rifle shot brought them all to the same place, in front of him.
Jodi spotted Hunt and ran quickly to his side. “Jodi, get their guns.”
Jodi nodded and moved to take their guns. She pulled them from their holsters, and checked them to make sure they hadn't hidden any. She had captured them all, except Elrod's, when he pulled a knife on her and threatened to kill her if Hunt didn't let them all go.
“She's dead if you don't drop that rifle,” Elrod hollered, his arms clamped around her while his big knife creased her neck. He sneered at Hunt.
Hunt started to lower the rifle, but Jodi stomped Elrod's foot with her booted heel, then kicked him in his privates and ran.
Hunt came up close to Elrod. “Next time you touch my woman you better be ready to die,” he said. Without preamble, he kicked him in his shins, and then looked him in the eye. “If I had the time, I might cut off a few protruding parts so you never try to use them on any woman again.”
Hunt brought his horses around, helping Jodi mount; he kept his gun aimed at them.
“Mister.” The old man stepped forward, his gray-eyed gaze pleading. “We've practically starved most of the winter. We been fightin' Indians and we just came upon some bad times. Cain't you spare us one cow?”
“And I'd buy that story lock, stock and barrel if you hadn't taken her,” Hunt said, waiting for a sign of reasoning among them. “But you did. And you planned to hang one of my men. Now I'm not a hard man, but a just man. You've heard of jack rabbits and lizards. Well, I reckon it's time to get acquainted with such. You won't starve in Texas, boys. There's plenty of vegetation about. But I will leave neither cows, nor horses. And now you can remove your boots.”
“Our boots? You mean to take them away from us, too?” the old man whined.
“You darn right I do. Maybe it will make you think twice about killing people, and hurting women.”
Slowly, they reluctantly removed their boots. “Good, now throw them in the river there.”
“But…”
“Now,” Hunt instructed, his brow creased with a huge frown as he watched their every move.
They obeyed.
“Mister, you're about as mean and low down as I've seen,” Elrod claimed.
“Maybe so. You can still walk to town, but you keep poppin' off, I might just take your clothes.”
The man shut up.
“Good. Now, I'm sorry I had to do this, but you deserve it 'cause you didn't earn any cow from me. You got choices; you can walk to the next town, or back to Waco. It's not my concern, but if you ever try taking my woman, my herd, or my men, again, or anything else that belongs to me, you won't live to see the sunset. Even the Indians understand the trail drivers. It's time you jayhawkers did too. We can be ruthless when needed, you best remember that. Just be grateful I'm not taking your clothes, too.”
“Reckon so.” The older man nodded. “But let it be said, no one harmed the woman.”
Hunt walked up to the old man. “I heard you tell my wife Elrod had plans, and that you wouldn't stop him.”
“Yeah, but…”
“Just keep quiet and don't try anything else because blowing your heads off wouldn't bother me at a time like this,” Hunt thundered.
He leveled his gaze upon them, took Elrod's horse, and loosened the hobbles so it wasn't a problem to run them off. He mounted his horse and they rode away quietly, backwards, as he had his rifle trained on them all the way.
Jodi rode beside him, glancing at him off and on, when he finally slowed to a trot.
“Did they touch you?” he asked lowly.
“No…they were too drunk,” she explained in a contrite voice.
“Good,” he answered, not looking at her.
“Would it have made a difference if they had?”
“Not to me, no. But to them it would have. I would have killed them,” Hunt said quietly, not looking at her.
“You couldn't have spared them their boots?” she finally blurted.
“Now don't you go getting soft on me, Jodi.” He shook his head, reined his horse and looked at her long and hard. “I don't pay nobody that steals and cheats, nor takes my woman.”
“I'm not your woman,” she declared aloud.
“You are my wife, and don't you forget it as long as this cattle drive is on,” he said in no uncertain terms.
“You are as ruthless as they are,” she muttered in an ill humor.
“Boy, you sure got up on the wrong side this morning. And yes, ma'am, I am as ruthless as they are, and don't forget that either. You always this grouchy this early in the morning?”
She made a face at him, and didn't acknowledge the question.
They rode in silence. Then, he looked at her with nothing short of respect and honor. “Best be getting along. Concho is probably up the trail by now. They scattered thirty head, but I reckon they'll find them.”
“They knocked Concho out. Is he all right?” Jodi asked as though it only now occurred to her.
“He's fine.” Hunt smiled, glad that she showed concern for their men.
“And the rest of the men?”
“Everyone is okay, darlin'.”
“They wanted Willy. For God's sake, Hunt, the war is over. Why?”
“Yeah, I know. That's why I put him in the lead. They'd have had to find me first. I knew they were after him, but it kind of shocked me that they took you, instead. What happened to your gun?”
“I-I didn't have a chance to pull it,” she answered shyly. “It was getting dark. I didn't hear them coming up from behind, didn't expect them either.”
With that, they lit out in full speed.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
It took three more days to get back to where the herd had been, and Concho had obviously followed Hunt's orders and started moving the herd. He
was confident they'd found the strays and were back on the trial. He knew how thorough Dutch and Brady could be. He and Jodi rode silently for a long while.
As nightfall came, he pitched a camp. He left her to make a fire while he rode out to find some meat. He didn't have to ride long. The country was scattered with prairie chickens, quail, and wild turkey, and with one in hand, he returned to their campsite.
Hunt killed and skinned the chicken, then hung the meat up over the fire.
Jodi didn't talk much as they ate. She seemed almost pensive. And yet, the tension between them stretched like an invisible wire.
With supper tended to, Jodi went to the spring they had stopped beside to wash herself. She took every opportunity to clean away the trail dust of the day.
It was misting rain as she hurried back to camp. The wind chilled her. She stood on the camp's edge as she stretched herself and untied her hair. Untying her bedroll, she joined him by the fire.
≈≈≈
Seeing how miserable she was with the one blanket, Hunt offered her protection under his. But Jodi wasn't going to join him. He'd been courteous, but a little patronizing too. The woman picked her times to be stubborn, he acknowledged.
His scrutiny made her uneasy. She turned away from him, lifting her chin in decided defiance.
Amused, but totally unmoved by her arrogance, he ignored her. No matter what he did, she still stubbornly refused to accept help from him, even when she knew it was for her own good. But this time, he'd had enough. He'd rescued her from the clutches of bad men. He'd offered her warmth and protection, and she still stubbornly refused to accept him or his help.
“Look.” His voice held little patience. “I'm not offering you a bed, just cover to sleep on. We have to get some rest to catch up with the herd. I won't have you sick on me. Now get under here,” he demanded, his voice holding no arguments. When she didn't move, he added, “Now!”
With a frown bigger than the Red River, she joined him. “Did you rescue me just so you could boss me around?”
“Jodi, my patience is wearing thin. I've had about all I’m going to take from you for one day. I'm bone tired and not in any mood for some she-cat, so stow the claws. And yeah, that's it, I like throwing my authority around, so remember that next time. Look, your virtue is safe with me. You should know that by now. I think I've told you, I like my women willing, if you don't mind.” He built the same tent over them and rolled away from her to get some sleep. She didn't move for a long while. Finally, she rolled the other way and scooted up against his backside. She’d barely lain down before she closed her eyes and went to sleep.
Afterwards, Hunt fastened the blanket around her more securely. He'd placed the rubber slickers under them earlier as protection from the wet ground. It was all he could do, but it didn't seem to matter. She was out for the night.
Sometimes exhaustion was a good thing. He chuckled to himself.
The next morning, he was flat on the ground and she was nearly on top of him. The blanket was sopping wet and the dripping from it woke her. One of his eyes popped open. She scrambled to her feet, obviously embarrassed that she had even touched him. How could women be so impractical?
He said nothing, but offered her some water and jerky, and then they mounted up.
“You're a strange man,” she said after a long silence.
“So I've been told,” he muttered thickly.
“Why'd you come after me?” she asked, her voice full of curiosity. “I mean, you could have left me. You didn't want a woman on the trail with you anyway. That's what you said.”
“Now there's a question,” he resounded, as though he couldn't believe she asked it in the first place. His annoyance was mixed with a gentle understanding of who she was.
“So why did you?” she insisted, feeding his anger.
“Did you want to stay and find out what Elrod had in mind?”
She stammered, flinching, and sheathed her claws. “Well…no, I mean. I just don't understand why you came after me.” Her voice sounded squeaky. “Did you all draw straws or something?”
“Yeah…we did. And I lost.” He shot her a menacing glance. “It's simple. You are my wife, my responsibility. I take care of my own.”
≈≈≈
“I don't belong to you,” she retorted, then chewed her bottom lip and stole a glance at him. It unnerved her whenever she looked at him for any length of time; he was such a handsome man with his rugged good looks. It irritated her that she found him handsome. His face was well tanned by the sun, his eyes such a deep, sapphire blue with long, veiling lashes that covered his thoughts from her at times.
His nose was long, but straight, and his cheekbones set like granite. His jaw was always clean shaven, and his hair, so thick and black that rode high over his forehead. His hair was so shiny on a moonlit night that she could see the reflection of stars in it.
“No, ma'am, you don't. At least, not for always, but for as long as this cattle drive. Besides, you hired me to take this herd through. You are part of it. I'm taking it through.”
And that was the end of her questions for the rest of the morning.
They pushed on, but they slowed their horses by mid day so that they didn't wear them out, and by nightfall, both were ready to fall to the ground they were so tired. After Hunt saw to the horses and helped her build a fire, he decided to find more meat.
He was gone a little while and it gave Jodi time to reflect on the man.
She couldn't afford the luxury of caring for him, so she had to shield herself from his charms.
She wondered about him. What had happened during the war? Why had he been living in that shed? And why was there such a contrast to the man she thought he was compared to the man he was on the trail? Hunt Johnson was a man of mystery.
This time, he came back with a wild turkey and helped her clean it so she could cook it slowly over the fire. It smelled wonderful, and both of them wasted no time digging in when it was finally done.
Again, he built them a blanket together and motioned for her to lie down.
“Don't get used to me being with you,” she said huskily.
“No ma'am, but we do have a hard ride tomorrow, and it gets nippy through the night out here. And also, I don't want anyone sneaking up on us and me having to go rescue you again. So stay close. We'll be getting into Indian Territory soon.”
“I've seen the signs. I was wondering when you might mention them.” She nodded as she glanced about. “Do you think we'll have trouble with them?”
“No, I don't. Not that I’m blind to the fact. But, Indians are like bees. They are only a problem when stirred up. And I don't intend to stir them. The Comanche and the Kiowa's are the ones to watch the closest. If they are in need of horses, they can be dangerous, especially if you don't bargain with them. But I've found that the more you try to get along with a breed of people, the better off you are.”
“You're a strange man…” she uttered almost breathlessly.
He glanced over at her sardonically. “What do you mean?”
“You hold little animosity. I mean, you said your real folks were killed by the Indians. Yet, you hold no grudges.”
“I was just a baby when it happened. And I learned that life is full of the good and the bad. You can't hold a whole race of people to blame for what a few do.” His expression softened on her as she stared at him. “I'm a white man, but that doesn't mean every white man is good either, does it?”
Unable to hold his gaze, she turned her head away.
She lay beside him again, her back to his, and secretly had to admit, at least to herself, that it was warmer this way. But she wasn't about to enjoy it. Even so, her eyes closed and, in minutes, she was asleep again.
Next day they were up before sunup. She marveled at how peaceful she had slept.
Dawn was a beautiful time, and for a second, she marveled at the heavens.
“That's some sky, huh?” He joined her and their gazes locked again.
“What happened to your mother?” He asked, his voice gentled.
“She caught pneumonia two winters before the war. It was so strange. Ma hadn't been sick a day in her life. But that was a bad winter. Half the community came down sick with consumption. She was gone before we could do much of anything. At least she didn't suffer.” Jodi's voice softened, and her eyes misted.
Hunt put his arm around her shoulder, pulled her close, and kissed the top of her head. Jodi didn't resist. She needed his comfort.
After she made a pot of coffee and they divided the last of her jerky, they saddled up again.
“Let's ride,” he said, gazing about the horizon as though he sensed something wrong. It was too still. Even the birds weren't singing this morning. As beautiful as the dawn had been, the stillness brought a new tension.
For most of the morning, she took his orders in stride and did exactly what he told her. But the silence finally ate at her.
“Have you ever been a trail boss before?” she asked curiously, her mind flitting from one question to another.
“A couple of times before the war.” He chuckled.
“What's so funny?” She asked him.
“Kind of late to be asking that question, isn't it?” He smirked.
Jodi considered his words. Tormented by the last few days, she wanted him to somehow dispel her fears. She had been grouchy, but it seemed understandable since she had been practically kidnapped by that bunch of jayhawkers.
“That old soldier back there”—she gestured— “the one who wanted you to give them a cow? He talked about the war. Said he killed his own brother. How can that be? How can you kill kin? How can…”