by DiAnn Mills
Aiden had passed by less than two hours before. He wouldnt be hard to catch, and soon shed have him. Unless he intended to ambush her on the trail ahead. She glanced up at Hawk circling above and motioned for the bird to join her. More than one man had tried to shoot her red-tailed companion with the idea that killing one equated to stopping the other. A notion that held more truth than she cared to admit. The magnificent bird swooped low on his broad wings and planted his talons firmly onto the shoulder of her leather coat. In the July sun, shed considered removing the outer garment, but a steadily graying sky across the western ridge of mountains had brought on a sudden chill.
With her finger resting on her Winchesters trigger, she stared up to the mountains higher elevation. Unpredictable weather was a hazard for those who chased an outlaw over the Rockies. But if Aiden made it over the tall peaks and found safety, another man could lose his life. Another woman could become a widow, and another child could become fatherless.
Shed been in Denver, sorting through wanted posters at the sheriffs office to see if any of the faces matched Charless killer, when a wire came through that Aiden McCaw had shot and killed an unarmed rancher in the Rocky Falls area. He and his gang of brothers had raided throughout Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska for several years, sometimes hiding out in the Rockies and other times making their way to the hideouts along the Old Outlaw Trail until lawmen grew tired of the pursuit. Shed wired Marshal Parker Timmons in Rocky Falls that she would bring in the outlaw. And Sage always kept her word.
She lowered the rifle and lifted her binoculars to peer toward the tree line. A chestnut horse and its rider picked their way through the aspens. He wore a black hat with an eagle feather, and he had red hair. That was her man.
Hawk, we almost have him, she said above a whisper and stroked his soft feathers. One less killer for folks to contend with. She studied Aiden a bit morethe way he twisted in the saddle and how he rode with his left hand on his rifle. Aiden McCaw was known as one smart outlaw, which caused her to wonder why tracking him had been so easy.
She remembered another trail over higher ground that took a little more surefootedness but would allow her to cut him off at a lower elevation. She preferred surprising an outlaw to trailing him and possibly being led into a trap.
Sage mounted her Indian pony and rode upward and around a wall of mottled gray granite. The summer storm moved closer with blue-black clouds, while temperatures steadily dropped. Thunder rumbled in the distance, like a grizzlys stomach after a long winter.
She swung her pony to the far right. A waterfall roared its power and gushed over centuries-old rocks, drowning out any other sounds, including her horses steps. Through her binoculars, she saw Aiden had stopped his descent from where she planned to intercept him. Perhaps he was looking for shelter from the impending weather. She scanned the area, behind trees, boulders, and brush to make certain this wasnt a trap. Assured that the man rode alone, she rode upward and made her way to the lower pass before him and hid behind a boulder. When Aiden rode into view, she aimed her rifle and rode onto the trail.
Aiden McCaw, drop your weapons, then raise your hands.
He slowly lifted his hands above his head, but his rifle still lay across his saddle. Scars of age and violence creased his bearded face, and his eyes bore the souls of those hed murdered.
I said drop your rifle.
He scowled, and the weapon hit the ground.
Now, with your right hand, slowly reach for your pistol and toss it this way.
He spat a chaw of tobacco from a mouthful of rotten teeth. His eyes narrowed, and the pistol fell. Youre going to regret this, Sage Morrow.
He knows me. Perhaps so since shed worked as a bounty hunter for a few years. I dont think so. Youve just met a worse storm than the one brewing above us.
She rode closer, keeping an eye on Aiden, knowing he could flip a knife with deadly aim. Most likely he kept it in his left boot.
What are you pinning on me?
The marshal in Rocky Falls accused you of killing a rancher. Im sure justice will be served. This isnt the first time youve killed.
So the law sent a woman?
The hair on the back of Sages neck bristled. He figured it was an easy job.
Aidens rock-hard face twitched, and he studied the predator bird on her shoulder.
Hold out your hands.
Aiden slowly obliged. One word from her, and Hawk would attack the man, and if Aiden knew her name, he knew her well-trained bird. She reached over and wrapped a rope several times around his wrists before securing his horses reins and stripping him of his remaining weapons. He smelled worse than a pen of pigs.
How many are behind you? he said.
She could handle the likes of him and worse. I work alone.
Lightning slashed through an aspen, and the ground trembled. The chestnut jumped, but Sage held firmly to the reins of both horses. Without another word, she dug her heels into the side of her horse and headed down the narrow mountainside. A blast of chilling air sent bits of debris stinging into her face.
Wherere we goin? Aiden shouted above the turmoil at their heels.
Youre going to jail until a trial for murder, and Im collecting the bounty.
You got the wrong man.
How many times had she heard that? Tell your story to the judge.
Youll be dead before I stand before any judge. Youve been set up, Aiden said. Mark my words.
Sage bit back a terse remark. The less she talked to a wanted man, the better she liked it. She didnt want to listen to their vulgar speech or hear their excuses for breaking the law. Someday, shed leave this life behind and start all over. But not yet. Not until she found the men whod murdered Charles.
Marshal Parker Timmons couldnt tolerate lazy people, especially when it was a lazy deputy and that lazy deputy happened to be his older brother.
Frank, you have a job to do, and sitting here drinking coffee in the office isnt what the people of this town expect.
Frank rubbed the top of his head, minus any hair. Little brother, youre already talking like a politician.
Which means everything I do is for the betterment of those I represent. Now get to work. Parker nearly added a few more words that the towns preacher could have outlined his next sermon on, but he swallowed his anger. God and Parker had come to an agreement about his temper, and having the Lord in charge of his life meant living right. Even when it came to Frank and his
Ill check on things at the livery. Frank scraped his chair across the wooden floor.
Parker sensed ire rising from the walls of his stomach. The saloon was on the way to the livery, and his brother had a constant hankering for whiskey. Unfortunately, it was destroying Frank and his family. I just came from there. Id rather you pay a call on Mrs. Felter, see if she remembers anything else about what happened to her husband.
I thought youd already talked to her.
I have, but she might have remembered something. See if theres anything she and those children need.
Frank frowned. Thats a womans jobor a preachers.
Parker glanced away, remembering a time when he might have said the same thing. What if Mrs. Felter and her children were Leah and your sons?
Frank picked up his hat and plopped it on his head. All right. For once, I agree with you. And I spect youd go to your grave after the man who sent me to mine.
Thats right. Weve got to look at what happens to folks as personal.
Frank nodded. Im trying, little brother. He left the office, closing the door behind him. Parker glanced around the dusty room and settled into the chair his brother had just vacated, glad of the breeze that puffed through the open window. He reached for a stack of paperwork that needed to go to the governors office.
When the sun had cast its shadows west and Frank hadnt returned, Parker stuffed a burlap sack full of frustration and regret and walked to the saloon. No doubt his brother was there, and this time Parker would have to fire him. It didnt matter tha
t Frank was his older brother. The good people of Rocky Falls needed a deputy they could depend on.
The closer Parker stomped to the saloon, the more his anger bubbled. Certain he heard Franks voice among the drunks, he threw open the door to the popular stain in town where some men tried to forget lifes problems. His gaze swept around the hazy room, where the distinct odor of unwashed bodies mingled with the sweet perfume of the women who worked there.
Frank wasnt posed at his regular corner on the right side of the bar. Neither was he holding a losing hand of cards at the gambling tables where he too often threw away what his family needed to live on. Leah did the best she could to rear their kids and raise a garden in Colorados short growing season, and the older boys looked after the ranch, but Frank didnt know the meaning of responsibility. Seemed like he expected Parker to pitch in and help. Oh, he talked big when he was facing hard times, which was why Parker had given him a job as deputy. Until now.
Frank aint here, the bartender said before Parker stated his business. Aint seen him all day.
After thanking the man, Parker took a minute to assess where his brother could be, finally deciding that Frank must have finished late at the Felter ranch and ridden on home. Theyd talk in the morning. Sure would be a blessing to Leah if her husband had taken to heart what Parker had tried to show him. She needed a husband who took care of his family proper.
By the time Parker caught sight of his ranch and the smoke curling from the chimney of his cabin, darkness had set in. His stomach growled, and he didnt care what Duncan had cooked for supper. He was hungry enough to eat a fence post.
Home. Only one bedroom, but hed built the place himself, and the sight of it always made him feel good. Hed tripled his original 160-acre homestead along the St. Vrain River and was negotiating to purchase more land. Forty-five acres of one of the homesteads had limestone, and thirty other acres had red sandstone. He saw a future in the nearby stone quarries and the likelihood of the railroad making its way to Rocky Falls; both circumstances promised to make his hard work and sacrifice worthwhile.
After feeding his gelding, he stepped into his cabin. From the stone fireplace, the aroma of beef and beans greeted him. Someday hed buy a decent cookstove.
Evenin, Boss, Duncan said. Just about to head to the bunkhouse. I was beginning to think youd spent the night in town. He rose from a chair, his weathered face reflecting the years of working outside.
Didnt mean to be this late. Parker made his way to the fireplace and lifted the lid of a cast-iron pot. Everybodys eaten?
All but you. Let me get you a plate. Duncan lifted a plate from a shelf above the table while Parker dipped into a bucket of drinking water.
Did the horses get shod?
Yep.
Parker took the plate laden with tender beef and beans and a generous hunk of cornbread. Your boss doesnt pay you enough to foreman this ranch and cook too.
Duncan grinned. Ive been meaning to bring that up with him. He poured two cups of coffee and placed one in front of Parker before sliding into a chair with the other. Any luck bringing in Aiden McCaw?
Not yet. Got a bounty hunter headed this waySage Morrow.
Duncan whistled. The woman? Wonder what shes like.
Im about to find out. My guess is shes mean and hard. Doesnt really matter as long as the McCaws are stopped. Parker thought about Oden Felter. Theyd been friends for over ten years. He didnt deserve to die with a bullet in his chest because of two dollars.
Youre the man to bring him in, not a bounty hunter.
Parker stabbed his fork into the beef. But I cant do it all. I need help. And the locals are fearful of the McCaws reputation.
Duncan took a gulp of his coffee. Yeah, but if they arent brought in, folks will blame you. He shook his head. The two had talked of little else for almost a week. Sent a couple of the hands to drive the cattle to the summer pasture. He stood. Ill leave you to your supper. Im turning in.
Duncan seemed to sense when Parker had things on his mind. The problems with the McCaws had made him unsociable. And tonight the situation with Frank refused to let him be. Hard to figure out why two brothers turned out so differently. Both had gone through the war fighting for Virginia and the South, coming out with memories that were better forgotten. Both had come home to learn their father had died of consumption the same day Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox.
But whatever Frank had seen and possibly done had scarred him. He returned home midway through the war and stayed long enough for Leah to get with child, but by the time John was born, Frank had left again to resume fighting. When the war ended, Frank came back with a bent toward drinking that grew steadily worse. He never stated what he saw or what he did. When he decided to move his family to Colorado territory, Parker came too. The war had destroyed much of the spirit of the Virginians, and he wanted to be a part of the countrys healing and growth. Lately, Frank, too, talked more about shaking the pasts hold. Maybe Parkers concern was for nothing. After all, Frank said he was trying.
Tomorrow was another day, and Parker needed some sleep. He blew out the lantern and crawled into bed.
When he thought about it, hed learned some memorable things from Franklike how to laugh when the road got rough. His brother loved music and could make a fiddle sing. And Frank loved Leah and their five sons. Seemed like that ought to be enough to make a man go straight, work his ranch, and provide for his family. John ran the ranch like a man and did a good job, but he needed his pa to show him how to be a man. All those boys needed that. Instead, Frank demonstrated how not to live. For the most part, Parker felt like hed become Franks daddy. Hard to love an older brother like a man should when he neglected his family.
Someone banged on the door.
Uncle Parker.
John? Startled, Parker threw back the tattered quilt and grabbed his britches. Im coming. Is something wrong?
Yes, sir. Pas been shot. Johns voice cracked.
Parker flipped his suspenders over his shoulders and flung open the door. In the dark, all he could make out was the young mans figure. How bad, son?
John sucked in a breath, steadied himself. Hes dead. Shot in the chest. Somebody dumped him on our porch.
FOUR
Sage rode through the sunbathed streets of Rocky Falls, leading Aidens horse. Not a soul was in sight, which caused her to ready her rifle and scrutinize rooftops and the corners of buildings. The journey down from the mountains, along the Fall River, through Estes Park, and southeast to Rocky Falls had taken three days of hard riding, and her body had long since stumbled into exhaustion. Sleep never came to her when she was bringing in a man. Shed rested at night while Aiden slept, but Aidens threats, like those of so many men before him, kept her awake with one hand wrapped around the barrel of her rifle and the other hand on her Colt. Once she turned him over to the custody of the local marshal, shed sleep for two days to recover.
Her fear of succumbing to the pressures of a weary body was her darkest foe, but it was during those sleepless nights that she allowed her mind to slip back to the days when she and Charles were first married, when she carried his child and the world looked sparkling and new. So often she imagined that other widows survived their bleak moments with the same golden memories.
Now, as they rode on through the middle of town, she lifted her face to the cloudless sky. The warmth and the dazzling afternoon sunlight were an indulgence after being drenched to the bone in the chilling summer rains. She could almost taste a decent mealone that promised more flavor than jerky.
Im thirsty, Aiden said.
My canteens empty, she said. You drank it all a few miles back. Ill get you water once youre behind bars.
For a bounty hunter, you take care of me real nice. Wont help though.
Sage ignored the greasy outlaw. After three days of his threats, she was good at it.
This is only the start of your troubles, he continued as she pulled the horses to a halt in front of the marshals office. You best be rea
dy.
Sage had heard enough. Youre wrong, Aiden. This is the end for you, and now Im able to rid myself of your less-than-tolerable company.
He leaned on his saddle horn. Dont understand why a pretty gal like you would want to be a bounty hunter. You must have loved your no-account husband more than he was worth.
Sage bit her tongue. No point letting him get to her. With the mood she was in, he might not make it to jail without a few bullet holes. After shed left Tall Elk in the mountains not far from here, shed let it be known that she was after Charless killers. Aiden wasnt the first to needle her with such taunts.
You didnt even know his right name, he said. Unless he filled you in on the company he was keepin and how he kept money in his pocket.
She choked back another remark and more than a little emotion. This was new. How could Aiden know anything about Charles?
Cat got your tongue? The Ute blood flowing through your veins must run thin, or youd be carving out my heart.
Sage stroked Hawk to calm herself. Shed contemplate how much Aiden knew about Charles later. Still holding onto both horses reins, she dismounted. Relief eased her tired muscles, but not the headache wrapping its demons across the back of her skull. The first thing she intended to do after finding a place to stay for a few days was to eat a hot meal and brew some of the willow bark in her saddlebag.
Aiden spit at her feet. I say, for an Injun, you aint got much of a fightin spirit.
I suggest you keep your remarks to yourself. With all the murdering you and your gang have done, someone might pull the trigger to save a judge the job of sentencing you to hang.
You aint gonna shoot me. You and the hawk bring your men in alive so you get all of the bounty.
Sage eyed him with more disgust than she normally revealed. Theres always a first time.
A note nailed to the marshals door caught her attention. Get down.