Ask No Tomorrows (4 page)

Sam sent her a
scowl. “You tellin’ me you’re the daughter of one of the richest
men in the state and no one cares about you? That’s a little hard
to swallow.”

“
Well…when I wouldn’t go back east like my pa wanted, some of
the folks, mostly ladies thought kinda ill of me. And the men too
because I put britches on and worked my ranch along with my pa,
like a man. So everyone sorta marked me as Morgan’s wayward child.
It didn’t matter to me at first, but as time goes on…it sorta does.
So today, when they started shooting at me, I was just gonna keep
on going. You see, Harry and most the ranchers around here are
pretty good friends. And now that I put it all together, I reckon
they been plannin’ this take-over for some time. It’s kinda easy to
figure lookin’ back at it all. Especially the way Harry was
talkin’. Because of the way most the ranchers treat me, I don’t
socialize much with them, knowin’ their attitude. Oh, I try to be
friendly, but they think I’m what’s the word…”

“
Eccentric?”

“
Yeah, that’s it. Oh maybe they seen me a time or two, but as
for socializing, I just don’t have the time. My pa, he never put
too many hands on, just enough to take care of the place so there
has always been a lot of work to do. Everyone knows me, but not
many paid me no mind. ‘Cause I’m a woman, doin’ a man’s job. It’s
an unspoken law around here that women don’t have no business
runnin’ a place as big as mine. They don’t think I have enough
sense. But they are wrong, I’m a good rancher.”

Sam stopped
again. “And you plannin’ on just leavin’ the place to this Harry
fella? Just up and leave it?”

“
I
don’t know.” She shook her head and stared at Sam, and Sam saw the
forlorn look on her face. “I mean I didn’t plan all this. I have to
have some time to sit down and think about what I need to do. I
haven’t had time to even think on it, much, this just happened
today. I’ve been more concerned with gettin’ away with my life.”
She paused now and stared at the dirt he’d shoveled. “I been too
busy runnin’. I figured once I was safe I could figure it
out.”

“
So
for now, you’re just gonna walk off and leave them to it?” Sam
questioned, his eyes going to her hand on his dog. “Let them go
ahead and figure out how to get that land deed changed. Then you
won’t have anything to come back to.”

Riley seemed
to bow up at his accusation. “For now, they want to kill me. I am
not ready to die, sir. I wanted to get away. Once I’m safe I can
figure out something,” she insisted. “Maybe hire me a gun hand to
take care of them or somethin’. You interested in that kind of job,
by any chance?”

“
I’m no gunman.”

She fell
silent for a few minutes, eyeing his gun with curiosity.

“
How far you figure you gotta go to be safe?” Sam asked,
finding the situation almost funny.

“
I
don’t know…this has never happened before, I don’t have any idea. I
haven’t had time to think of the situation enough to know what to
do.”

Sam shook his
head, his disgust clearly written for her to see on his face. “You
don’t just walk off a piece of land and let someone have
it.”

“
I
know…” Tears were not far from falling, he heard it in her voice.
“I know…that’s true. But I haven’t had enough time to decide what
to do yet. I been a little busy stayin’ alive…”

“
Don’t you have anyone back there that can help you?” Sam
asked, not daring to look at her as his heart began to respond to
her.

“
Not anyone I can trust, no. You see it’s the biggest spread in
the area, and everyone wants it. I’ve even been offered money by
several since my Pa died. But I refused to sell, of course. That
didn’t set well with most the other ranchers. They figured on me
sellin’. They killed my oldest hand, he was the only one I trusted
for sure,” she explained, as one tear floated down her dirty cheek.
“They put a snake in his bed, so it looked natural. No one will
know what really happened but me.”

“
A
snake…how do you know this?” Sam expression changed now, as though
he were finally taking her serious.

“
I
heard them talkin’ this morning as I was hidin’ out.”

“
You must have hid out close, to hear everything,” Sam
acknowledged.

“
Oh
I did, right under their noses, in fact. But I know the place
backwards and forward. I knew where to go. They didn’t.”

Sam took her
in, his glance going over her now. She was small and dirty and it
was hard to tell if she was pretty or not. Sweat and dirt had mixed
all over her face. Her hair was pulled back by some kind of ribbon,
dark. Her clothes were more practical than flattering, it was hard
to tell just how much of a woman she was, but Sam wasn’t looking at
that. He needed to size her up, but sizing a white woman up wasn’t
that easy. He’d never tangled with a white woman before. And this
one was different somehow, innocent-like.

“
This spread you got, you say everyone wants it?” Sam figured
quickly.

“
One of the biggest in the state,” she wailed. “But I don’t
have it right now and if Harry has anything to do with it, it won’t
be mine long. He fully intends seein’ the lawyer.”

“
Good grief, they’ll be out lookin’ for you then. Makin’
sure
you’re dead.” Sam shook his head and
frowned. He couldn’t get involved in this. He’d be on the other
side of a rope himself if he did. Somehow he had to walk away.
“Until they can declare you dead or…worse…out of your head, they
can’t just take it over. It wouldn’t be legal.”

“
I
guess,” she answered. “But Harry fully intends to get me out of the
way, one way or another. And I don’t think he cares which
way.”

Sam finished
the grave digging and hauled the body into the ground. He covered
it with dirt and sat down to build a cross over it. The girl
watched him. He got two branches and tied them together with some
string from his pocket and made a make-shift cross.

“
You carry string in your pocket?” she asked.

“
Sure do. Never know when you might need some.” Sam glanced at
her.

“
Lord, we give him unto You, as he died before his time,” Sam
said, shoving the cross into the ground as best he
could.

“
Amen.” The girl bowed her head.

Nodog
whined.

“
You religious?” she asked out of the blue, eyeing him
carefully.

“
Sure, aren’t you?”

“
Never thought on that too much. Dad and I didn’t go to church
much, had too much work to do. But I believe in God, though. And I
know why Jesus died on that cross, and I reckon that’s about all I
know.”

“
That’s good. That’s probably enough. I’d say you got some
religion then, probably more than most.”

It was getting
harder by the moment to figure out what to do about this situation.
Sam prided himself on dealing with issues as they arose but this
one stumped him. What was a white girl out in the middle of nowhere
with no horse, no buggy and no idea where she was headed, doing out
here?

He couldn’t
take her along. He couldn’t leave her here.

“
Look…if I loan you a horse and gun, you can get back to the
nearest town and contact the Sheriff. Everything will work out
fine, once you do that,” he assured her. Surely they would take the
word of a woman, especially the daughter of the wealthiest rancher
in the area.

“
But you only got one horse…”

“
That’s okay, I’ll make out. You go on and take it; you need it
more than I do.”

She shook her
head as she stood beside him and looked into his eyes. “I can’t do
that. My daddy taught me better. Although that’s about the nicest
thing anyone’s offered in a long time. But no, I can’t leave a man
stranded in the middle of nowhere, without a horse or gun. Pa
always said a man without a horse or gun might as well be dead. No
sir, I can’t take it.”

“
Look, I’ll be fine. I was raised with the Shawnee, I know how
to take care of myself out here. You go on, take it. No matter, no
matter at all,” Sam assured her.

“
I
won’t do that,” she protested as he led his horse straight up to
her. “It’s uncommonly kind of you, but I can’t do it.”

“
Well, right now there just aren’t a lot of choices. So go on,
take it.” He reached to heft her up.

“
Look, it’d be murder to leave you out here with no
protection.” She turned so her face was staring up at him. It was
the first real look he got of her and he realized she had startling
blue eyes against pale skin and dark hair that shone in the
sunlight. The woman was appealing as all get out and Sam squirmed
at the knowledge. He didn’t want to be attracted to a misfit white
woman.

Something made
Sam melt inside at her concern for his safety but he shook his
head. “We don’t have any choice. I’m a black man, you are a white
woman. You go on now. I can’t take you with me…that’s for sure and
certain.”

“
But…”

With that, Sam
hauled her up into his arms and thrust her atop the horse, then
strapping the only rifle between them in the sling, he whipped the
horse. “Go on now…I got a pistol. Besides, I got Nodog, don’t you
see?”

The horse ran
and she held on, looking back at him.

The whole
incident looked surreal to Sam. How could have things gotten to
this point, he wondered. He had to admit, there was nothing the
Shawnee had taught him about being with a white woman. Yet he’d
witnessed his sister and brother-in-law every day.

Sam
instinctively knew that was not an option. He knew he’d done the
right thing though and felt able to handle any more intrusions that
might come his way. Being on foot didn’t bother him, not with as
many treks as he’d made with Lee and Chase.

Well, he did know how
to take care of himself. And with Nodog by him, he would be safe
enough. He’d manage and he wouldn’t have her to contend with
either. What was the girl thinking? That he’d leave her here alone?
That he’d take her along with him? She had to see it was all
impossible.

Chapter Three

Not long after
he’d seen the last of her dust, Sam spotted a couple of riders.
They approached him cautiously. “Mornin’,” they called.

Nodog growled
and this time he didn’t relax when the strangers came
near.

Sam watched
him out of the corner of his eyes, he knew if Nodog didn’t trust
them, he shouldn’t either.

Sam eyed them
curiously from the distance, nothing strange about them, cowhands
obviously, only they didn’t look him in the eye. Sam didn’t trust a
man that couldn’t look him in the eye. They quickly averted
glances, one sat the saddle crooked, drooling tobacco down his
lower lip, the other rider had an arrogant air about him, as he
aggressively approached.

Their
expressions wore arrogance.

An honest man,
when riding into strangers camp would look him straight in the eye,
maybe take off his hat, and smile a little. These men didn’t and he
knew by the bristles on Nodog’s back that these men were not to be
trusted.

Sam cast them
a curious glance before speaking, “Mornin’.”

After burying
a man, Sam wasn’t in the mood for stilted pleasantries. He needed
to be moving along.

“
Nice dog. Is he dangerous?”

Sam cast Nodog
a quick glance and smiled easily. “Depends on who crosses him,” Sam
said matter-of-factly. “He’s part wolf so he’s a little more high
strung than most dogs. As long as you don’t pull a gun or flash a
fist, or bother me, he won’t bother you.”

They’d been
riding hard as their horses were foaming. Cowhands didn’t usually
ride their horses so hard. Most knew better than to treat a horse
like that, unless there was reason. Sam saw the fresh scrapes on
their chaps, how worn they were as though they’d been out in the
sticks all day, their guns at their hip and their expressions wore
a guard.

“
Well now, you’re a stranger in these parts, ain’t you?” the
arrogant older one said, as he glanced at the grave with obvious
curiosity, and leaned on his saddle horn.

Sam sensed the
immediate tension rising between the three of them. He didn’t
flinch or show fear.

“
Yes sir, I am.” His voice remained cool, but
steel-edged.

Determined to
give them the benefit of the doubt, he kept a relaxed
demeanor.

“
Don’t see no one else about; you alone?”

“
Just me and Nodog…” Sam smiled.

“
Nodog, is that his name?” One of them laughed.

“
It
is.” Sam nodded, his voice staid and exact.

Sam figured he
would learn more by keeping his mouth shut. Something Chase Rivers
had taught him long ago, and Lee Nelson, his brother-in-law had
always advised him to listen to Chase as he knew what he was
talking about.

“
Who’d you bury?” the other man asked, glancing at the
grave.

“
I
didn’t.” Sam glanced down at the grave momentarily. “I found the
grave…looks pretty fresh, don’t it?” Sam squatted and straightened
the cross as exasperation climbed his back once more. Their small
talk was unnecessary.