by Rita Hestand
When someone answered the door, they looked suspiciously at him. "Want something mister?"
"I was answering your ad in the paper sir, about the ranch with cattle on it." Slim told him, playing his role well.
"Oh sure, come on in." Butch told him.
"Exactly how many acres are we talking about, sir?" Slim asked, looking around the room and seeing Gabby sitting in a corner, staring out the window forlornly. When she heard his voice, she turned around. Her eyes widened just the slightest.
Slim tipped his hat to her. She nodded.
"There's one hundred and sixty acres of land, fifty head of cattle on it. There's a corral and barn already on it, and a decent house for two." Butch informed him.
"What's the asking price?" Slim asked.
"$1500." Butch said.
Shorty made a strange sound but didn't say a word.
"Oh, excuse me, this is my partner and a friend, Shorty and Gabby." Butch told him.
"Does the place have its own water supply?"
"Sure, got a stock pond and a creek that runs through it too. Plenty of water."
"$1500 huh? Would you take twelve hundred?" Slim asked.
"Nope, $1500. There's fifty head of cattle on that place."
"Even if I have the cash on me?" Slim offered taking out a wad of bills and flashing it in his direction.
Butch eyed the cash. "Well, I was set for $1500 but since you got the cash with you, we could be done with this deal really quick like. You see, we're leaving the area soon, and we are only looking after her interest, you understand."
Gabby watched the interplay making sure not to give Slim away with her expressions. "It's a nice place, lived there all my life."
"Then why are you selling?" Slim asked.
"I want to travel now that my dad is dead."
"Oh, going, far are you?" Slim asked.
Butch nodded. "She wanted to go to Mexico."
"Alone?"
"Of course not." Butch eyed him suspiciously now. "We couldn't allow that."
Slim looked at the deed. "This says it belong to Harmon Gibson. Is that one of you gentlemen?"
"She's Harmon's daughter, he's deceased now. And we're selling it for her. She can sign the papers over to you now."
"Are you sure it's legal, I don't want any repercussions from this deal gentlemen, since it is a cash negotiation."
Gabby stood up now. "You have nothing to worry about sir. The land did belong to my father, but I inherited it. So, there is no problem if I sign it over to you."
Slim smiled at her, "Alright ma'am. If you say so."
They sat at the small table and Gabby signed over the deed to him. "I hope you'll be very happy with that, sir."
"If it's as good as you say, I'm sure I will be."
"Is there anywhere I can reach you if there is a problem?" Slim asked.
"I'm afraid not, we'll leaving the country as soon as possible, you see. Miss Gibson has waited a lifetime to see something other than a ranch." Butch informed him.
"I see, well then if you'll just make me out a receipt for it, I'll give you my money."
"Fine." Gabby wrote the receipt out, putting an extra word in as a note.
Slim nodded to her and put it in his pocket as he pulled out his money once more.
"Who gets the money?" Slim asked.
"I'll take care of it, as I must arrange travel expenses for Miss Gibson, you understand."
"Of course, well, then good day gentleman, and it's been a real pleasure, Miss…."
Gabby smiled up into his handsome face. "The pleasure was all mine."
Slim left and Butch and Shorty broke out in a laugh. "We did it! We're rich!"
Gabby stood watching them. After scrimping and saving she knew exactly how long that money would last them. They's spend part of it tonight, on liquor and maybe women. They'd be broke in six months to a year.
"You still gonna take me out on the prairie and dump me now?" She asked.
"Yeah, on our way to Mexico." Butch snarled.
"When?"
"Oh, tomorrow. We'll leave tomorrow. Tonight, we're going to whoop it up in town a little." Butch told Shorty.
"Do I get to whoop it up too?" She asked.
Butch eyed her, "I guess it wouldn't hurt. Sort of a last celebration for you. Sure, why not, you can sit at our table."
She nodded.
So, Slim was here, that meant that Cole was here too. Her heart was pounding. He'd come after her. Relief flooded her.
***
Instead of rushing back to see Cole, Slim hung around and listened through the door to hear their plans. It was a while before they decided to leave the room.
When the three of them came out, he followed them to a cantina.
Loud music played, and people were laughing, drinking and dancing. Once Slim was sure they were going to be there a while, he scurried down the street.
Slim returned to the boarding house where Cole was wearing out the floor waiting on him.
"Sorry it took so long boss, but I found out they are celebrating tonight at a cantina. It would be the best place to try and get her."
"Did you find out what they plan to do with her?"
"Not exactly, they did say they were headed for Mexico." Slim shook his head, "They told her it would be her last celebration. Told me they were headed for Mexico but look at this receipt." Slim handed it to him.
"Prairie, what does that mean?"
"I think she' was trying to tell me they were going to dump her in the prairie somewhere."
"You'll have to go to that Cantina tonight. Dance with her or something. Let her know we'll follow."
Slim nodded. "Boss, she looked good. It didn't appear that they hurt her. But I do think she was feeling down about it all, the way she stared out the window so."
She's alive, that's what is important. It won't be long now." Cole nodded. "You be careful."
"I will, just gonna dance with a pretty little senorita." Slim chuckled.
Cole smiled. "They'll probably be celebrating all night and leave in the morning."
"That's what I figured too." Slim added.
"We'll follow them and if they try anything, hopefully stop them. I would do it now, but I don't want the law interfering." Cole told him.
"That's probably a smart idea."
"Right now, we couldn't prove the swindle as we paid for the land. She didn't look hurt?"
Slim grinned, "She's fine."
"Good. Wait a bit and join them, find out all you can."
He nodded.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The cantina was loud, the music blared over all the voices. There was a mariachi band playing and it was lively music.
Slim walked in and immediately spotted Gabby. She was sitting between the two men and she didn't look to be enjoying it much.
Slim walked over to their table.
Butch eyed him, "Care to join us for a drink?"
Slim grinned, "Sounds good."
Gabby didn't say a word. She didn't want to agitate them at this point.
"So, when you headed north to your new place?" Butch asked curiously.
"Oh, I'll probably leave in the morning."
"Good because the stock will have to be tended to," Shorty told him.
"Yeah, I guess they will. No one's looking after them right now?"
"Well, we got a neighbor that sees they can get to the water and feeds them once a day. But cattle have to be tended every day." Shorty laughed.
"Yeah, well, no problem there."
"When are you leaving for Mexico?" Slim asked as he sipped the beer Butch bought hm.
"Tomorrow." Butch sat back and eyed him a bit.
"Ever been…?" Slim asked.
"We have, she hasn't." Butch answered in a clipped voice.
"Well, it'll be an experience for you," Slim nodded and smiled at Gabby.
"Yes, I'm looking forward to getting away." She answered, her eyes holding his attention.
> "Well, this is a celebration, would you care to dance miss?" Slim offered as the musicians slowed the pace a bit to a waltz.
Gabby looked at Butch, then Shorty, "I'd love to."
Slim stood up and reached for her hand.
She followed him onto the small dancefloor.
"Is he here, Slim?" she whispered.
"Yep."
"Alive?" She asked, her heart in her eyes.
"Alive, and anxious to see you."
"They're going to dump me in the desert, somewhere on the way to Mexico…that's all I know for sure."
"Don't you fret, we're going to be right behind you." Slim said in a soft voice.
She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder, "I'm sure glad." She managed to say as she caught Butch eyeing her. "Is Pedro okay?"
"He's got a nasty wound, but the doc is with him and he'll mend."
"I'm so glad, I was scared they killed him."
"Did they hurt you?" Slim asked again very softly.
"No…"
Slim pulled away as the music stopped, "That was nice," he was saying as he led her back to the table. "I haven't danced in a long while."
"Well a person couldn't tell it," She smiled.
"Well gentleman," Slim held out his hand to Butch, shook it, then Shorty's. "I've got a long trip ahead of tomorrow, so I'm gonna get some much-needed shut-eye."
He tipped his hat to Gabby, "Ma'am."
She nodded.
When Slim walked out, Gabby tensed once more. She wished he could have stayed but she was sure Cole was waiting to hear the plans and she hoped they wouldn't have any trouble following them.
"He seemed like a nice man." She murmured.
Butch eyed her closely now. "You sure took to him, laying your head on his shoulder."
"I was a bit tired," She explained.
"He say anything about the deed, or anything else?"
"No, he said now he can ask the woman he loves to marry him, and settle down up there, is all." She decided to invent a story that Butch could believe.
"Getting married huh?" Shorty asked with a smile as he downed his beer.
"That's what he told me, yes." Gabby glanced at Shorty who was enjoying the party more than Butch at the moment. Was he suspicious?
"Kind of old to be thinking of just now getting married, don't you think?"
Gabby's head reared, "No, I don't. But then it might not have been his first marriage. Some men it takes a while to find the right lady."
Butch shrugged his shoulders and pulled a lovely Mexican girl into his lap. He kissed her soundly on the lips and she was his, the rest of the night. They drank and danced and caroused half the night.
Shorty didn't have any trouble finding a woman either. But she felt so out of place. She wished she could relax, but this was the end of her journey with these men and she was nervous they might try to kill her before Cole and Slim could catch up to them. Butch seemed very tense for a man who was supposed to be enjoying himself.
Perhaps he too was thinking of killing her now, instead of waiting.
But as the night went on, Butch became drunk and was loving on the Mexican gal.
Gabby sat sipping a hot cider while the two men loved on the women with them.
Unable to get away from them, she sat bored and sleepy between them. She wished she could escape them, but they kept an eye on her at all times.
Finally, they straggled back to the room. Shorty went to bed and to sleep quickly. Butch eyed her as she lay down on her pallet on the floor.
She saw him staring and she asked, "Something wrong?"
"Nope, just trying to figure out what to do with you." Butch told her, as though he wasn't sure any longer. Had he softened, or was he thinking the other way, in favor of killing her.
"You could just let me go, now. I certainly wouldn’t be telling anyone about this…." She insisted. "I'm mean we'll be in Mexico soon, what could I do?"
"I'm not that dumb lady. No, I reckon Shorty was right, let you die of natural causes out in the desert. Then no one can blame us for it. Kind of a waste though, you are a pretty little thing." He added, his eyes going over her.
But just as he might have messed with her a soft knock came at the door. It was the senorita he'd been loving on all night.
They talked at the door for a moment, then he pulled her inside. Gabby stared at them.
Butch cast her a quick glance, "Be thankful it isn't you." He muttered, then bent to kiss the woman's neck and she giggled.
Gabby laid down as they went to the other side of the bed. They made all kinds of racket and he was decidedly not gentle with the woman, but she did purr a few times, as though she liked his roughness. Gabby tried to close her ears. She didn't want any part of this, but they made love half the night, and it was impossible to drum out the moans and groans.
Finally, she closed her eyes and went to sleep.
The next morning, the woman was gone.
Shorty and Butch were packing their things up in their blankets and they shoved her out the door.
"We gonna get something to eat before we go?" Shorty asked Butch.
"No, I ain't feeding her any longer. We'll be on our way and dump her after a bit. She can starve or die of thirst whichever comes first. This is it. No more Mr. Nice for her sake. We are on our way to some real living now, in Mexico. Our money will last twice as long there, as it will here."
"Yeah, that's true. I hadn't even thought of that."
"We could pool our money and buy a place down there…if we really wanted to."
"Not a bad idea." Shorty agreed. "Or just enjoy what we got!"
Shorty looked at her. "I'm sorry for you, but at least you got a half chance of making it this way." He said lowly so Butch couldn't hear.
Gabby didn't reply, she just stared sadly at him.
"I would have liked to have had you…" Shorty told her. "But then, I'm glad I didn't."
"Who says you can't still have her," Butch laughed aloud.
"Well…I…. well sure, I guess I could." Shorty smiled at her now.
When Butch got their horses, they started riding south. The border was not that far, but somewhere in between is where they were going to leave her, and if Shorty had his way, he'd have her before he left.
Gabby felt cold spear her heart. How could he do this, after all this time with her? How could he be just another animal?
Hopefully, Cole and Slim were not that far behind.
She said a quick silent prayer.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Cole and Slim managed to follow them at a distance. Once the men stopped to tend to her, Cole and Slim would be all over them. They moved slowly, keeping a safe distance, they didn't want them to know they were being followed so they had to lay back a ways as there was little brush to hide them in.
The landscape was changing the farther south they rode, cacti and cholla's appeared, dust was more prevalent, and it looked as though the rain had moved out of the area, and the sun was bearing down on them now like an oven. It was so hot, the wind didn't blow, the stillness was unsettling.
"Wish we were closer," Cole fussed as his patience grew thinner.
"Don't worry, we can raise our guns and start blasting the minute they look like they are gonna stop." Slim assured him. "It'd be too easy to grab her and use her as a shield."
"Did she seem scared?" Cole asked in a softer voice.
"No, I'd just say nervous. She was glad to know we were following though." He smiled. "I saw relief on her face when she saw me."
"You think they knew she recognized you?"
"I don't think so boss."
"Did they suspect anything?" Cole asked, adjusting his hat as the wind had picked up. It looked like a dust storm was headed their way and they used their handkerchiefs to cover their faces.
"I don't think so. I tried to act relaxed and as though I were enjoying the night. But Butch kept an eagle eye on me. I can tell he don't trust most people. Hell, if I was Shor
ty, I'd be worried about now. Now he's got the money, he might get greedy and not want to share it. You know $600 a piece won't last long, but $1200 for one would go a long way."
"Yeah, it sounds like he's actually the leader of the two." Cole figured.
"Shorty don't seem quite as harmful."
"You never know, with people like that, Slim."
"Yeah, I guess you are right."
Later in the day, the sandstorm picked up, and they were nearly on top of them when they heard their voices. Cole and Slim took cover and tried to watch, but it was hard in the storm. Sandstorms could make even a short distance impossible to see.
They realized quickly that they'd stopped. Visibility was nil.
Cole hoped they'd have the sense to take cover.
The wind whirled about making an eerie noise, so much so that they couldn’t' hear what was being said either.
But one thing was for sure, they couldn’t hurt her in this storm, they would be too busy taking cover and shielding themselves.
They couldn't talk, in fact, they could barely breathe as they found a bit of shelter behind some rocks. Slim and Cole buried themselves against the rocks, so the wind couldn’t choke them to death. Many a man had died in such dust storms.
It was an hour before the wind began to die down.
When it did, Cole uncovered his face and stared out to see if he could spot them. But one of them was still buried in the sand and wasn't moving. Cole's heart froze, was it Gabby?
His concern had him heading toward them with his gun drawn.
Slim was behind Cole, both with their handkerchiefs over their faces.
As they got close enough Cole hollered out, "Drop your gun."
Butch spotted him and was shocked. "You!"
"Drop it now!"
Butch went to drop it, but instead jerked it up and shot Cole.
Gabby screamed, "No-o-o—."
Slim stooped to check on Cole and Butch threw her up on his horse and they hightailed it out of there.
Slim shot in the air, to try to freak Butch out but Butch just kept going. Afraid he'd hit Gabby, Slim holstered his gun and turned back to Cole.
"Cole, are you alright?"
Cole opened his eyes, "I will be, got me in the shoulder."