“Thank you, Cal.” Lucinda smile sweetly.
“What happened to your hair?”
“I took the pins out. Do you like it?”
“Yes. You’re so beautiful. Could…could I touch it?”
Lucinda nodded and he reached out and ran his hand down the full length of her hair. “It’s so soft. Smells good too.”
“I always wash it in lavender water.”
“Do you come from around here?” Becky asked.
“No, I hail from…” He pulled himself up. “I gotta be going.” He backed out of the room and slammed the door shut.
“Those gals too much for ya?” A man said. “I wouldn’t mind mounting them.”
“Pa said we weren’t to hurt them,” Cal protested.
“What makes you think I’d hurt them? Gals like it when I spread their legs.”
“Leave the boy alone,” another said. “He’s a virgin.” The men snickered.
Becky hated hearing such filthy talk, but kept listening in case they imparted useful information. In the dimness she could make out Lucinda covering her ears with her hands.
“When’s Pa coming?” Cal asked.
“Tomorrow I think. I went to the lookout and there’s a posse crawling all over the place. He’ll have to be careful.”
“Don’t worry, Lenny is always careful,” another man said. “That’s why he’s always one step ahead of the law.” The men lapsed into silence.
They had to scoop up the beans with their fingers. Becky ate a few mouthfuls and pushed the plate away, leaving Lucinda to scoff the lot. The coffee was black, unsweetened and very strong. Probably the dregs of the coffee pot by the taste, but she drank it. One thing about Wes, mean and all as he was, he always insisted on buying the best coffee available.
“I’m still hungry, Becky. Ask them to give us some more.”
“Ask them yourself. We’re not guests here, we’re prisoners, be grateful we got anything. Antagonize them and we’ll end up getting nothing.”
“When do you think Pa will get the money? I can’t stand this place much longer.”
“I’m trying to find a way out for us. If there’s a posse it means they’re searching for us.” Would Ryan be amongst them? Of course he would, he was the sheriff; it was his job.
It was too dark to do anything but lie down and try to sleep. Intermittently she woke up, bathed in perspiration. Her dreams were peppered with nightmares of Vaughan Mulligan staring at her naked body. “A bit narrow in the hips maybe,” he said. “But she’s young enough to give me several sons.”
In the daytime she pushed the ugly memories into the deepest recesses of her mind. Asleep, she had no control over her dreams.
“Mount her every night. Ride her hard and deep, and she’ll give you a baby every year,” Wes had said.
“If you touch me I’ll go to the law,” she had screamed at them.
Vaughan gave her a backhander. “Who would believe you?” he snarled. “You’re just like your father, no good. Isn’t she, Wes?”
“Yes.” Wes tossed her gown at her. “Cover yourself and get out of my sight. You’re marrying Vaughan and that’s final.”
She had struggled into her gown. “I won’t. I’ll tell the preacher when he’s marrying us that you forced me.”
“With your belly poking out with Vaughan’s baby you won’t.” Wes gave an evil chuckle. “Now git.”
Becky raced to the door. A gurgling sound had her spinning around just in time to see Vaughan falling to the floor clutching his chest. His heart attack had saved her from being forced to marry him, but she had paid a heavy price for it. Between the two men, her reputation had been torn to shreds.
They had been clever. An innuendo here and there, an accusation or two over the following months. Then the clincher. Two cowboys overheard boasting in the saloon about what a good roll in the hay she had been.
Bile rose up in her throat, even after four years, and she swallowed it down as she had done so many times before. She had never told a soul, didn’t dare because no-one would believe her. Jase had promised to take her away from all that. She had known him since their schooldays. In retrospect he had probably only promised to marry her so he could have his way with her. Had she given into his pleas, would the end result have been the same? Dumped for Lucinda. She would never know.
Lucinda was snoring softly in the corner, but Becky was wide awake now. She couldn’t go back to sleep.
***
Two more days passed, the hole she had poked in the right wall showed where the wagon had entered. The men played cards, drank and slept, but kept their distance except for Cal. He was becoming more and more agitated because his father hadn’t turned up. Had he been caught? It seemed more and more likely. If Lenny was caught what about the ransom? There was angry muttering amongst the men now.
Becky suddenly had a thought. What if she talked them into letting one of them go, so they could collect the ransom. It was becoming obvious Lenny wasn’t coming back.
“Listen, Lucinda.” Becky crawled over to her sister who lay in a crumpled heap in one corner. It was as if she had given up on ever being rescued. She was now refusing to eat, talking about dying all the time, verging on a complete nervous collapse.
“I’ve been thinking.” She touched Lucinda’s shoulder.
“Go away. Pa can’t save me. Let me die.”
“Don’t give up, I’ve thought of a plan.
“What?” Lucinda asked listlessly. Becky was really scared now, another couple of days and she would be dead, if they didn’t try something.
“I’ll try to talk the men into letting you go, so you can see Wes and get the ransom. Cal could take you to a place where you’d be found quickly. Your father leaves the ransom where the note said, and they let me go.”
“What if they take the gold, then kill you?”
“It’s a chance I’ve got to take, but why would they? Why risk being hanged for murder? They want gold. We haven’t seen their faces, we can’t recognize them.”
It was a risky plan, but she couldn’t think of anything else. It was either that or let Lucinda die. They weren’t close anymore, Wes had seen to that. Maybe once this was all over they would be close again. They might never regain the closeness of their childhood, but they could at least be friends.
Cal brought in their breakfast. He was agitated, obviously worried about his father. He had every right to be, Lenny was supposed to have been here a day or two after them.
“I’ve been thinking, Cal. I know you’re anxious to find out about your father, and the other men want the gold. I’ve got an idea that could work, and we all get what we want.”
“What is it?”
She told him and watched the flicker of hope in his eyes. He left them. Becky ate breakfast. What she wouldn’t give for hot, fresh bread or pancakes. Even Lucinda took a few mouthfuls of beans.
Cal came back before they had finished their coffee. “I told them what you said. They’ll think about it.”
“Thank you.” Becky elbowed her sister.
“You’ve been so kind to us,” Lucinda gushed. “I never would have survived except for you.”
His chest puffed out. Filthy and disheveled, on the verge of collapse, yet Lucinda could still get a man to eat out of her hand.
Cal scurried off. “Now listen carefully,” Becky said. “In case they agree to my plan, try to look for landmarks to give you some idea where this place is.”
“All right.”
They hugged each other in anticipation of Lucinda being released.
They waited for an hour or so, then Cal came to collect Lucinda. The outlaws had accepted her suggestion. One last hug, and Becky was overwhelmed by mixed feelings of dread and hope. There was nothing for it, but to wait. “Please God, let the outlaws keep their word to let me go once they get the gold.”
Chapter Seven
Ryan squinted into the sun as a dust cloud rose up in the distance. A horseman came into his line of vi
sion. He urged his mount forward, with Jase and Pa behind him. It was a woman. As she drew closer he recognized Lucinda’s blonde hair. He fired three shots into the air.
Pa and Jase raced toward her. Jase leapt off his horse and grabbed the reigns. Ryan’s gut clenched. Where was Becky? By the time he got up to them Lucinda was sobbing into Jase’s chest. Her hair was tangled, her gown dirty and torn.
“It’s all right darlin’,” Jase crooned. “You’re safe now.”
“It was terrible,” she sobbed. “I thought I was going to die.”
“Where’s Becky,” Ryan asked frantically. His gut clenched and unclenched.
“Still in the shack.”
“What shack?”
“Leave the poor gal alone. Can’t you see she’s been through a harrowing ordeal,” Vaughan said.
“Lucinda,” Ryan said forcibly. “What happened? Where’s Becky?”
“She talked them into letting me go so I could get gold from Pa. Lenny didn’t turn up like he was supposed to.”
“Where is she” he demanded.
Clouds of dust and the thunder of hooves announced the arrival of the rest of the posse. Wes climbed off his horse and plodded over to them as fast as his stubby legs would carry him.
“Angel, you’re safe.” He elbowed Jase out of the way and gathered a now sobbing Lucinda in his arms. “I feared I would never see my beautiful gal again.”
“I’m so tired and dirty, Pa. My nails are all broken, too.”
“Sonofabitch, Wes, she has to tell me where Becky is.”
“I need a bath and clean clothes. All I had to eat was beans and coffee.”
“Lucinda, stop bellyaching. Where have you been?” Ryan started on her again.
“In a horrible tumbledown shack.” She shuddered.
“Whereabouts is it?” Ryan had to force himself not to shake her.
“I don’t know. I want to go home, Pa.”
“Enough questions,” Wes snapped. “My angel is exhausted you can see that.”
“What about Becky?”
“What about her? I’ve got my little gal back. All right men, we’ll head back to the ranch and take my gal home.”
“Goddammit, Wes, it was Becky who talked them into letting Lucinda go. All you have to do is put the gold in the arranged place and they’ll release her.”
“I’ve got my daughter back. I’m not handing my gold to those dirty varmints.”
A couple of men stifled gasps of shock.
“Sonofabitch,” Ryan snarled. “You’d leave your other daughter to…”
“She’s not my daughter. I’ve got Lucinda back, that’s all I care about.”
Ryan couldn’t believe his ears. “Lucinda,” he pleaded, “say something.”
“I want to go home.”
“Pa, Jase, please”
“That whore doesn’t deserve to be rescued,” Vaughan spewed out the words with malicious glee.
“Jase, Becky always said you were friends.”
“Lucinda’s upset. Maybe when she calms down. I swear I’ll ask her.”
“Becky could be dead by then. She sacrificed her own life for Lucinda that should stand for something.”
Wes mounted and one of his men handed up a sobbing Lucinda. “Come on boys, let’s go.”
A few men shuffled their feet, others looked slightly shame-faced.
“We can’t afford any more time off work,” one of the men said.
“Wes is paying you.”
“Not any more, now she’s been found,” another said.
Ryan choked down on his rage. Only four men had stepped forward to help him. His own brother and father had deserted him. He didn’t know whether to scream or cry. He drew his gun and strode up to Wes, who was issuing his orders. What kind of man was he to leave a gal to die, especially one who had saved his daughter?
“Right.” Ryan jabbed his colt against Wes’ fleshy thigh. “Unless you want me to blow your leg off, get your selfish daughter to tell me what she knows.” He spoke with grave deliberation, making sure they knew he would act on his threat.
“I don’t know anything,” she wailed. “Becky said to look for land marks, but I was too tired and kept my eyes closed most of the time.”
“Don’t even twitch, Wes, or I’ll take great pleasure in pulling this trigger.”
“You’ll pay for this Mulligan” Wes snarled. “I’ll have your badge.”
“Here, take it.” Ryan ripped the star off his shirt and shoved it into Wes’ hand.
“Ryan, don’t do this.” Vaughan hurried up. “Don’t be hasty, son.”
“He can keep his Goddamn badge. And the rest of you yellow-bellies can go to hell. I hope drunken cowpokes ride into town and shoot the place up. Don’t come calling on me for help, because you won’t get it.”
An angry murmur rippled through the men.
‘Now, Lucinda, unless you want me to blow your father’s leg off, tell me what you know.”
“I don’t know anything. I’m tired, my nails are all dirty and broken. I want to go home.”
“You don’t care that your father’s refusal to pay the ransom could be a death sentence for Becky? I always knew you were a spoilt brat, but this. To leave your sister to die, it’s, it’s despicable.”
“It’s not my fault. She could have escaped, too.”
“You didn’t escape,” Ryan ground out. “Becky bought your freedom by sacrificing herself, and you’re too goddamn selfish to even try and help her.”
“Tell him what you know, darlin’,” Jase pleaded. “You owe Becky that much.”
“There was a canyon with yellow walls, and Becky said she thought the shack was part of an old goldmine.”
“See, you can remember,” Ryan said. “How long did it take before you got to us?”
“I don’t know.”
“You stop bullying my little gal,” Wes blustered.
“Shut up.” Ryan dug his colt deeper into Wes’ flesh.
“Becky dug holes in the wall. The back of the shack was against the canyon wall, one side of the hut was near another stone wall.”
“There you are, darlin’.” Jase patted her hand. “You do remember.”
“The other side of the shack was where Becky saw the opening in the canyon where we passed through. There weren’t any trees. We had sacks over our heads most of the time.”
“Oh, my poor brave angel,” Wes said. “She’s helped you all she can.”
“Becky is the one who’s brave,” Ryan growled. “And you’re prepared to leave her there to rot.”
Ryan watched his two deputies shifting in their saddles, and the other two men who had volunteered to go with him, looked uneasy also. “Go back to town, boys, and thanks for offering to help. I’m no longer the sheriff, so I can do things my way.”
“I’d come with you,” Jase said, “but there’s Lucinda,” he trailed off.
“Go with her, I’ll be all right on my own. I think I might know where the place is. Deadman’s canyon.”
“It will be dark soon, why don’t you come home to the ranch, and start at first light,” Jase suggested. “Once I know Lucinda is all right, I’ll grab a couple of hours sleep then join you.”
“No, I’m better on my own. I’ve got my bedroll.” He gripped his brother’s hand. “Once I’ve got Becky I’ll come out to see you. We’ll get hitched, then leave here. I don’t think the town will put the welcome mat out for either of us.”
“You marry that whore,” Vaughan snarled. “And we’re through.”
“Go to hell, Pa. I’d like to know why you hate her so much.”
“Listen, boy, it’s none of your business.”
Ryan mounted his horse and rode away. He had never liked Wes, the man had always been a nasty, cantankerous varmint. Poor Becky, waiting for freedom that would never come. He had until Saturday to find her. Wes had signed her death warrant by reneging on the deal to pay up.
Bitterness welled up in his throat until he almost choked
on it. To think out of forty men, only Jase and four others were prepared to go with him. After all I’ve done for Blackwood. How many times had he put his life on the line for them, only to be treated like this?
I’ll never set foot in that town again. He had nearly enough money saved to buy a ranch in Montana, and the bank could lend him the rest.
What if they had already killed her? It came to him then, the reason he was so upset about the town’s treatment of Becky, his father’s hatred of her. He loved her. How, when, he had no idea, but somehow he had fallen for her.
Brave, resourceful Becky with her work roughened hands and soft, sweet body. Even if she had given herself to other men, who was he to condemn her? He was certainly no virgin. Most males adhered to this double standard, but he wasn’t like other men. He had spent years on the range, chasing outlaws, and being a gunslinger who sold himself to the highest bidder. He had passed through a hundred or more towns, met all kinds of people. The good, the bad, and the downright ugly. Life on the trail had been good, but he had a hankering to settle down, that’s why he had taken the job as Sheriff of Blackwood.
Now it was time for him to get his own place, settle down and raise a family. What if he was too late? Happiness had been within his grasp and by procrastinating he had let it slip away. He had offered marriage to save Becky from utter humiliation at the dance. If they had called in on the preacher and got hitched the next day, none of this would have happened.
It was dark by the time he neared the badlands. I’ll stay the night here and leave at sun up tomorrow. It was too risky to light a fire in case the outlaws saw it. He unsaddled Brandy and tied him to a bush, loose enough so he could nibble on the dry grass, but not wander off. Using the saddle for a pillow, he leaned back and chewed on a stick of beef jerky.
What a Goddamn awful day it had been. He washed the jerky down with a swig of water from his canteen. It would be a cold day in hell before he set foot in Blackwood again. As for Wes, he should have shot the mangy varmint.
If Lucinda was anything like him, Jase was in for a tough time after they got hitched. Why should he worry? Jase was a grown man and made his own choices.
At least he had eventually stepped up and offered to help. Anger and worry surged through him. Wes’ refusal to pay the ransom was a death sentence, unless he could rescue Becky. What kind of man would do that?
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