Brothers in Blood (5 page)

Ben looked at his crowded desk and nodded. “Don't say a word, but I plan to marry her when my divorce is final.”

“I'd say you did well, Ben.” Chet was pleased she'd have a good place with the storekeeper.

“Thanks. Now, I have six mowers and rakes, plus the hardware for several beaverboards. They should be here by March. You want them all?”

“If you can't sell them, I do. But I have those two you delivered from Kay's place. They're going to Hampt's. Two are going to the Windmill Ranch, and two are going to Reg and Lucie up on top. So, you have two to sell. My blacksmith has the used ones on the Verde place all fixed to mow next year.”

“Good. I have buyers for them, and some more if I can get them here. But you were first on my list.”

“Thanks.”

“No, I have to thank you. Your cattle buying around here is sure helping folks pay me off. I think that's great for them.”

Ben sounded real pleased over the debt settling folks were doing with him.

“If they don't hijack the freighters, we should be in good shape on mowers then.”

“Without rails up here, it's a big operation to get them up here. They have to come to Deming, New Mexico, then the freighters haul them on to here.”

“I just came back from there, so I know all about that.”

“Need anything else, you holler.” Ben shook his hand. “Thanks for Kathrin, too. You thought enough of her to bring her here, so I'm in your debt.”

Chet headed for Frye's livery where Jesus joined him and handed him the Oak Creek place map. They'd have to make time to go see it. Marge might like to go, too.

When they walked into the livery office, Frye's wife Gloria smiled and stood up—and she was pregnant, too.

“You made it back, stranger. He's been wondering when you'd show up. I heard all went well over there?”

“Yes, ma'am, we got it settled.”

“Well, he's coming right back. You men have seats. I keep this office hot, so you may cook in here.”

Gloria was a nice-looking woman in her late twenties. Marge knew her well and had told him her story. Her first husband only did day work for ranchers, so when he died, he left her with three small children and no way to make a living. Out of need, she was forced to turn to working in a brothel. When Frye learned of it, he got her out of the business and married her. Gloria could do books, so they hired a housekeeper to keep the kids. It worked out all right for them, and for her children, too.

Frye came in unbuttoning his wool coat. “Hey, you made it back and never got your nose skinned.” When they laughed with him, he went on. “Oh, yeah. I have a man coming from California by the name of Rose. You met him. He's bringing a hundred head of good horses over here and said you could pick choice. Thanked you, too, for getting him to a dentist to fix his tooth.”

“Crazy guy. He needed to see one bad. He was headed for Utah and there wouldn't be no dentist for days. I'm sure in the market for some draft horses. Just send me word.”

“Was that a big deal in New Mexico?” Frye asked, walking him and his men out into the sunshine.

“Naw, we got it settled.”

“He can say that now,” Cole said. “But it was a big deal and he handled it.”

Frye laughed. “He does that all the time.”

They went for their horses, then stopped by Jenn's and had a cup of coffee with her. Everything was all right and she had no news to share.

By the time they made it back to the ranch, the winter sun was setting.

“How was your day?” Marge asked when she met him on the enclosed back porch.

He hung up his great coat and hugged her tight. “Over a hundred thousand dollars better.”

She squeezed him in return. “Your cattle plan has worked.”

“It worked fine. What else?”

“I think you better go see Hoot tomorrow. He's failing, Susie said. But we've all been so busy.”

“I'll do that. That grand old man really helped me at the start and he got all these boys, along with Jenn. Or she found him for me. Anyway, he helped, and found Tom, Hampt, and Sarge, just to name a few.”

“You've got part of your cattle money then?”

“Yes. The first two shipments are paid. And Bo has bought us a place in Oak Creek Canyon that straddles the creek. Has apple trees and fruit orchards.”

“What happened to the old owner, Mr. Kemp?”

“I don't know. But I'll need a man to look after it and I plan to build some cabins up there.”

“That would be wonderful.”

“May's boys will love it.”

“Oh, yes, the fishermen. I'm so amazed to think about how you come up with so many good ideas.”

“Or they come floating downstream to me.”

He hugged and kissed her. Damn, he was lucky to have her. He'd had affairs, knew some good women in his past, but a wife like Marge exceeded his sweetest dreams.

Chet and his two men had their horses saddled and ready at dawn. A cold north wind blew, and their breath looked like steam locomotives as they moved about in their heavy clothes ready to ride for the Verde.

When he put his boot in the stirrup he felt the hump in Sagebrush's back. His leg thrown over the cantle and boot barely in the other stirrup, the big bay horse broke in two. His legs were on springs and he shot sky high grunting like a mad hog. Then he leaped out in a space wide enough to cover the Grand Canyon.

Came down in a head-shaking stomp that about jarred Chet out of the saddle, but instead he stuck spurs to hide. That caused another explosion, but Chet could tell they were getting weaker by the hop. But the pony was still a quarter of a mile from being over it.

On the road, Jesus and Cole caught up with him on some high-headed horses of their own.

“Nice romp,” Cole said, and drew a laugh from his companions.

“You ever been thrown off?” Jesus asked.

“A few times, but that ground out here is too damn hard to land on.”

He wasn't satisfied the boys hadn't picked that horse on purpose as a joke, but he didn't really care—in his book, they were great guys. The three made the lower place by mid-morning and Susie bundled in a coat waved in greeting from the porch.

“We here for long?” Cole asked.

“I imagine so.”

“Give us your horse then and we'll go out where they're feeding hay.”

“I'll just hitch him. I may want to see them, too.”

“Fine.” The pair rode on.

By then Susie had him by the waist and they were headed for her kitchen.

“How is Marge?”

“Wonderful. No, she's a little stiff, she says. Hey, I have some news. We bought a farm with an orchard in Oak Creek Canyon right astraddle on Oak Creek.”

“We did? That's such a sweet place. I went by that orchard. Will that be our place?”

“I figure to build some cabins up there for all of us to use. I need to hire a man to farm it soon.”

Susie beamed with the news. “Wait until those boys hear it's ours. They'll want to live up there.”

“Keep it under your hat until we sign the final papers.”

“I will. You know my husband will be back here in a week.”

“If he rides a good horse to death. We've received payment for our first two deliveries. So we're in line to get more. This one makes three they owe us for.”

“This reminds me of when you used to return from Kansas bringing money home to Texas.”

“Same effect as those sales. It's a big financial help to the ranch operation. We won't make as much money sending our neighbors' cattle over there, but it'll make money for everyone. It's going to help the area's economy too. Our mowers and rakes are coming for all three places as well. Delivery should be April.”

“You never cease to amaze me. We are flying high, aren't we?”

“The move here is going better than I thought, and making places for all of us. The Rankin lawyers want me to step in and manage that place, but that would only cost me money.”

“Oh, yes, Lucie sent me a letter. Do you want to read it?”

“Sure.”

The message was close to Marge's, except some notes for Susie. His sister spoke up, “Lucie is a great lady for being such a cowgirl and ranch hand.”

“A grand gal for him.”

“Yes, I never expected—well, for Reg to pick her out after his last wife was so pretty.”

“Lucie is more than pretty. I think she is so real and so damn good at it.”

“She is. Next summer, we can all have a baby convention, huh?”

“Sure enough. There'll be a lot of us then.”

Susie frowned before she said, “JD hasn't figured out what he wants to do yet. I hope he does soon. But he's still acting like he's not certain of his future. I think he wanted to strike out and do something himself.”

“Perhaps. He's never talked much to me about anything since I offered to help him down at Kay's. And she turned it down. But since then he's sure not been the person we raised.”

“I think he's having a hard time inside.”

“I wish he was better grounded, but I don't know what to tell you. Anything here I need to look at?”

“No. Marge and I did the whole thing. I'll miss doing the books up at the Windmill.”

“I'll miss your attention to details.”

“I guess this baby and moving up there will change it all, won't it?”

“Not how much I appreciate you.”

She chuckled. “I can still recall riding down and telling you they'd stolen all our horses. That kicked it off—. Oh, I hear a horse coming in hard.” She looked out the window, then turned back to him.

“It's Deputy Roamer.”

Chet stepped to the front door and opened it. “What's wrong?”

Roamer swept off his wide brimmed hat and shook his head. “You got time to talk? I tried to catch you before you left this morning, but got around too slow. You guessed it. I have a problem.”

“Come in. Susie will fix us some lunch and we can talk.” He closed the door behind the deputy. “How are you?”

“Aw, fine.

“Hello, Susie. I guess Sarge is over at Gallup?” Roamer asked.

“No, he should be back shortly.”

“Tell him hello for me.”

“I will, and I can fix lunch while you two talk.”

“Thanks.”

Chet motioned. “Have a chair.”

Roamer settled into an overstuffed chair near the fireplace. Elbows on knees, he whirled his hat on his hand. “I understand you had a successful trip.”

“We did. Monica said you came by, but left no word. I thought you were all right or I'd of checked with you yesterday.”

He kept whirling the hat on his hand. “I guess I'm going to need a job.”

“What does Simms have in mind?”

“He says he has too many deputies. Budget cuts, he calls it.”

“When do you want to start working?”

“I guess in two weeks. What do you have for me to do?”

“To start, you can help up here. You need to learn all you can from Tom and then we'll find you a place.”

“I want to be a hand.”

“What else are you doing?”

“Oh, some breed stole a horse and beat up a squaw off the reservation, so I have a warrant for his arrest.”

“Where do you think he's at?”

“Somewhere hiding out on the Verde, they say. Cold as it is, he may be holed up anywhere.”

“What's his name?”

“Jack Kay.”

“Maybe the four of us could find him. Jesus is a great tracker and Cole and I can scatter out and search for him. Tell me something. You really like your deputy job. Maybe if I went and talked to Simms about it that would help you.”

“I wouldn't mind, but you and him don't agree on much.”

“He might listen. Where's this Kay liable to be?”

“I heard there's a camp of breeds somewhere east of here.”

“I've not heard about it. The crew will be in soon for lunch and you can ask Tom about it.”

“Lunch is ready,” Susie announced.

They rose and went into the kitchen filled with good smells. She'd fixed fried ham and German potatoes, plus her fresh-made sourdough bread.

After pouring coffee, she took a place with them. “Is this Jack Kay dangerous?”

“Who knows? These people are not really Indians or whites and they don't fit well anywhere. Most were raised as Indians, so they tend to live among them. But they don't get government food allotments, so they have to steal. But he beat up a woman, typical of the Indians, but it ain't allowed on the reservation, either. Then he took her horse to get away. That's breaking the law, too.”

“Chet helped the Indians.” She looked at him. “Didn't you?”

“They were starving back then and had a bad agent. We fed them cull bulls and lame horses to get them by and the agent even threatened us for doing that. General Crook had him removed and they must be doing fine now.”

“These breeds will be a problem until they find a place like a reservation.”

Chet nodded in agreement.

“How's your wife?” Susie asked.

“She's fine,” said Roamer. “Have you met her?”

“Once at Marge's. Tell her hello for me.”

“I'll do that.”

“When we finish here, we can go down and talk to my men at the kitchen,” said Chet.

“They told you about Hoot?” Susie asked.

“Yes, I'll see him.”

“Good.”

After thanking her, they headed to the cowboys' kitchen. Hoot sat in his rocker by the stove under a fancy trader blanket. He looked very weak and his eyes were drawn.

The old man looked up. “I ain't worth much to you, boss man. I'm not able to do much these days.”

“We're just glad you can visit with us. You've done your part for this outfit. Stop worrying. We just want you to be comfortable.”

“It's grown to be a big outfit. I'm proud I was here from the start.”

“So are we. You need anything, ask Tom.”

“Hell, he's a good one, ain't he?”

“The best. Marge told me to tell you to keep kicking.”

“You tell her this rocker she sent me is the best one I ever set in.”

Chet went out to where Roamer and Tom were talking about the breed problem.

“I haven't heard much about that camp. But I bet if they are in that country over there, Hampt knows about them,” Tom said.

Roamer agreed. “That's probably right. We'll check with him tomorrow.”

“How are the Herefords doing?” Chet asked.

“Great. I have three boys up there full time. And one line rider out on the western side turning any cattle back or running any strays off our range.”

“How many of the cattle are you feeding here?”

“About two hundred fifty mother cows. That means about a hundred of the cows are still out. We have lots of weaned stock and yearlings here, too. Cows outside are some of the wilder cows, but we try to bring them in as we can find them.”

“You've made this program work well, Tom.”

“Ryan never used to feed and we'd lose lots of stock in tough years like this one. But he was pocketing the money instead of spending it for hay.”

“We're doing well. I have draft horses coming, and I plan to complete the other outfit's hay operations as well. Let me know how Hampt's fencing operation is going. I'll go over and look at it.”

“We're making the wire,” Tom said.

“John is really turning the wire out?” Chet asked.

“He has two helpers and they're sending a wagon load a week over there.”

Chet nodded in satisfaction.

They got home late after making a search circle with Roamer. They decided to talk to Hampt the next morning to see if he knew anything about a breed camp in that area, then Roamer headed home.

Since the crew in the bunkhouse was already in bed, Monica fixed supper for Chet and the boys. While she put together a hot meal, Cole and Jesus took care of the horses.

Marge had coffee with them while they ate. After a good meal and some small talk, Chet's two men promised to be ready at daylight to meet Roamer and try to locate the breed camp. Then they headed for the bunkhouse.

After he thanked Monica for feeding them, Chet and his wife went upstairs to their bedroom.

“Everything alright down there at the ranch?” she asked.

“Yes, Tom has things running better than smooth.”

“Who is this breed that Roamer is after?”

“Jack Kay. I don't know him, but he's broken the law.”

“You be careful. Those men on the run get desperate.”

“On top of that, Simms has threatened to fire Roamer again.”

“Oh, that man has lost his mind, hasn't he?”

“I guess. I may talk to him about it.”

She kissed him. “Don't lose your temper with him.”

“I'll try to act nice.”

The next morning, Roamer met them and they rode over to talk to Hampt. He and his men were feeding hay, and his two stepsons were riding their horses around the herd. The boys loped over to meet them.

“You two okay today?” Chet asked them.

“Really riding our horses hard. Lots of herding for us to do.”

“Well, I see you're doing a good job gathering them up.”

He told them to keep up the good work and rode over where the others talked with Hampt.

Roamer reined his horse around. “He says that camp is across the river and north of your property. Let's go see if we can find him.” He moved his horse off and Jesus and Cole followed.

Chet lingered for a few words with Hampt. “Cattle look good,” he said.

“If I didn't have to run off Rankin's cattle, it would be easier.”

“I imagine it would be. How's the fencing coming along?”

“Good. We're really moving on that.”

“Any problems?”

“Just doing it.” Hampt laughed. “We're fine. Good to see you. JD doing all right?”

“I think so. He ain't himself yet.”

“That can come. I promised May I'd do something for her today, or I'd go along with you.”

“Take care of her.” Chet set out at a lope after the others, but taking time to look around at the land. This country had lots of junipers and some sagebrush about it. Everything tilted east from the ranch house to the hayfields below on the Verde. The previous owners had badly overgrazed this ranch. It would be several years recovering.