Hell on the Prairie (11 page)

And him
,
Derrick thought. What could a father say to a grown son? A flash of
envy shot through Derrick as he thought of the conversations he and
his half-brother, Carson, had had this past summer. So many
misunderstandings and deceit had nearly burned a bridge that
Derrick hadn’t even known existed.

Why hadn’t he gone back sooner? Once he’d
known, what had held him in Wolf Creek?

Surely, his father must be wondering the
same thing…

His thoughts cleared as they neared
the end of the Main Street shops, and the horses and conveyances
became easier to navigate. They headed out onto the open plains
once more, toward Briartown. A small enough distance separated the
Anglo settlement of Porum from the Cherokee one of Briartown; an
ocean of distance –and
difference
–inside his own chest at the knowledge that he had a foot
planted in both worlds, now.

As they closed the gap, Derrick began to
think of the things he wanted to say to Collin Ridge. For words of
needing and hoping, the time was past. Regret for what he’d missed
would always be with him. But now, there might be time to look
toward a future, and a heritage he’d not claimed.

If he dared.

***

They rode into the village, Fiona’s head
raised proudly as she met the eyes of some of the women she had
known before, when her husband had been the headmaster at the
Cherokee school.

The three of them were an open
curiosity. It was clear to Derrick that the entire population must
know that Ridge had sent Austenaco for them. Again, that feeling of
not belonging washed over him. He thought of his friend, Charley
Blackfeather, a half-breed of a different sort. But where Charley
had been raised, half-Black, half-Seminole had been
accepted
. Here, with the Cherokees,
Derrick would have been accepted, as well. In the white world,
half-anything would never be more than tolerated.

Derrick tried to settle into his own skin as
well as he could under the circumstances. At least he was not in
any danger here.

They stopped in front of Collin Ridge’s
large wood cabin, where Austen and Derrick dismounted. Derrick
helped Fiona down, her eyes meeting his. There was an awkward
silence, and she started to speak, but then decided against it.

“
You will go in first, Mrs. McCain,
and we will wait at my home,” Austen said, giving Derrick a quick
look. “This, according to Mr. Ridge’s wishes.”

“
Certainly,” Fiona murmured. She
started for the door, climbing the three steps to the veranda.
Before she knocked, she turned back to look at Derrick. “Your
questions will all be answered soon, Derrick.”

At that moment, the door swung open, and
Rella, Ridge’s youngest daughter, greeted Fiona somberly, her gaze
taking Derrick and Austen in as they stood beside their mounts.

“
Father will see Mrs. McCain alone
first.”

Fiona walked into the house, the door
shutting behind her with a soft click. There was nothing to do now
but wait.

***

“
Hungry?” Austen asked. There was
amusement in his tone, and when Derrick turned to look at him, the
warm light of laughter shone in his dark eyes. “If you’re not yet,
you will be before Ridge will see you.”

Derrick raised a brow, and Austen laughed.
“You didn’t think they’d catch up on over seventeen years of
separation in the blink of an eye, did you, Derrick? Ridge’s wife
passed over two years ago. McCain has passed, as well. There is
nothing standing in their way any longer.”

Derrick bristled, stepping closer to
his old friend. “What the hell does
that
mean?”

Austen shook his head. “Come on. You can eat
with us tonight. You and I haven’t talked much on this journey.
You’ve been…preoccupied.”

Derrick gave a low laugh.
“
Rude
, you mean. I’m sorry,
Austen.”

Austen started walking, and Derrick fell
into step with him.

“
I married Josie Martin –do you
remember her?” He went on without waiting for a response. “We have
three children, and a fourth on the way.”

“
Josie Martin…” Derrick mused.
“Haven’t seen her since she was a kid. She was younger than
Kathleen!”

Austen gave him a wounded look. “Only by a
year!”

Derrick laughed again. “So you’re a family
man, now, Austen?” Derrick couldn’t help but think of how wild
Austenaco Little Horse had been as a young boy; a daredevil,
willing to do just about anything.

Austen smiled, leading his horse down
the rough street toward his home. “Yes, I’m a
family man
, as you call it.” He fell silent a
moment before he went on. “I had demons inside my soul, from the
time I was very young. But somehow, Josie quiets them and eases my
path in life. She’s younger in years than I am, but older in her
wise way. It was she who came to me with a marriage
proposal.”

“
She must’ve gotten tired of waiting,”
Derrick said.

Austen grinned. “That’s just what she said
to me. She was in love with me and wanted a life together; that I
needed to stop thinking of her as a child.”

Derrick’s lips quirked. “And then?”

“
And then…” Austen stopped, turning to
look at Derrick, “she showed me how much of a woman she was.” He
started walking again. “We were married the next week.”

“
Congratulations. You
seem…happy.”

Austen stopped in front of a small house. “I
am.” His eyes bored into Derrick’s. “Josie saved my life, in a way.
There’s no telling what might have happened to me without her.”

“
And your children –”

“
Let me tell you something, Derrick.
Each of my children is different. Each one is special. I love them
all, but in ways that are different. Mary is the eldest. Her beauty
shines in her eyes. Her spirit is steadfast and unwavering.
Benjamin, my son, is two years younger. He’s much like I was –he
reminds me of me.” He gave a wry laugh. “But I understand him. And
I know how he thinks. He would give his life for his family. His
loyalty knows no limits.”

“
Again, like you.” Derrick had not
forgotten the way Austen had jumped to his defense on more than one
occasion, even though he had been a couple of years older than
Derrick.

“
Yes. It is a good quality –and one
that is undervalued at times.”

“
What of your youngest?”

Austen’s face sobered. “Sarah. She is the
scholar in our family. As young as she is, she is learning the
history of our people; the stories and customs that we must keep
alive.” Austen glanced at the door. “Come. I’ll have Benjamin see
to our horses. Josie will be glad to see you again.”

The door opened as Austen and Derrick
stepped forward, and there was an eruption of excitement as the
house emptied. Austen’s three children raced out to greet him
joyfully. Behind them, Josie stood on the porch, very pregnant, and
Austen hurried toward her to keep her from coming down the
steps.

But it was the other woman who stood quietly
behind Josie, to the left, who made Derrick’s heart race, his
breathing all but stop.

She was taller than Josie, but there was no
doubt they were related. They had the same beautiful glow in their
eyes, the same gentle smile.

Derrick stood back, not wanting to intrude
on Austen’s reunion with his family. Austen murmured something
quietly to Josie and she glanced at Derrick, her smile
widening.

“
Come here, Derrick McCain,” she
called to him in Cherokee. “You’ve changed since you’ve been gone
from us.”

Derrick smiled. “So have you, Josie.” He
came forward slowly. “When I left, you were one of the pesky
children we were always trying to dodge.”

Josie pecked Austen on the cheek as he put
an arm around her. “Yes. This one finally slowed down enough for me
to catch up with him.”

Austen sighed in mock resignation. “And look
at me now, Derrick. Just miserable.”

Josie laughed lightly, reaching to hug
Derrick briefly as he came up onto the porch, then turned back to
her husband. “I’ve got stew ready and I just made fresh fry bread.
Maybe that will help you forget your misery, eh, Austen?”

Austen laughed. “I’m sure it will.”

As Derrick’s gaze went to the young woman
behind Josie, Austen hurried to introduce them. “Derrick, this is
Josie’s cousin, Leah Martin. I don’t think you two have met –”

Derrick put out a hand to take hers. “No. I
would’ve remembered.”

“
As would I,” she answered softly,
with no hint of coyness.

Her hand rested in Derrick’s for a moment
longer than might have been proper, cool and soft. He had to stop
himself from letting go abruptly when he recognized the playful
reproach in her eyes. She subtly moved her fingers and he released
them gradually.

“
I’m pleased to make your
acquaintance, ma’am.”

“
Thank you, Mr. McCain.”

Austen held the door open for Josie and
Leah. As Derrick walked through, he gave his old friend a sideways
glance. Austen wore a slight smirk that Derrick recognized, but he
said nothing. The two little girls clung to their father, and
Austen spoke swiftly to Benjamin, instructing him to take care of
their mounts before picking up his youngest and carrying her
inside, his big hand on Mary’s shoulder.

After the men washed up, they returned to
the table to find large bowls of stew set out along with the fresh
fry bread. Derrick sat across from Austen, the aroma of the stew so
savory he wasn’t sure he could wait for it to cool.

He hadn’t been this hungry in a long time,
and he realized a big part of that was feeling so welcome –so at
home. He was accepted here. Leah and Josie sat at the table, though
they had already eaten.

“
How was your journey?” Josie
asked.

Austen nodded as he wiped his mouth. “It was
good. Too long away from you though.”

She blushed, turning to look at Derrick.
“And what of you, Derrick? What has happened since you left us so
many years ago?”

He looked up, wondering how to answer that.
He’d been packed up and taken from a whole other family that
belonged to him; only, he hadn’t known it at the time. He’d been
cheated of so much.

“
I –uh –finished my schooling, of
course.”

“
Of course.” Josie turned to Leah.
“Derrick’s fath –Mr. McCain was the headmaster at the Cherokee
school here,” she explained.

“
I see.” Leah took a sip of water from
her cup and set it back upon the table.

“
And then, when –my father was
murdered by a band of damn Jayhawkers, I felt I needed to go off to
war and fight for the Confederacy like my brothers, Benton and Eli.
All I could think of was revenge.”

“
Vengeance for the Bluecoats, you
mean?” Leah asked. “Because your family were Southern
sympathizers?”

Derrick gave a short laugh. “No. More for
finding those men that killed my father. But I fell in with a group
I…would’ve been better off without.”

“
A gang?” Leah questioned with
interest. “One of those groups of border outlaws?”

Derrick nodded, then took another bite
of stew, trying to think of how to reply to that. The censure in
her tone said he had sunk as low as those who had murdered Andrew
McCain in cold blood.
He had not ever done
that
. Somehow, he’s always managed to keep that part
of his conscience clean –almost, finally, at the cost of his own
life. The men he’d killed had needed it.

Conversation fell silent. Derrick
looked up into Leah’s steady black-eyed gaze. “I’ve killed.
I’ve
had
to. But the men who
died by my hand were out to kill me and the men I fought with,
ma’am. That’s how war is.”

“
And…afterward? The border raiders you
joined –weren’t they the same type of men who killed your father?”
There was a hint of challenge in her voice.

Derrick answered it swiftly. She had no idea
what it had taken from him to ride with those men, and how it had
nearly cost him everything. “Yeah. Nearly got killed myself when I
refused to do what you’re talkin’ about.”

“
Derrick healed up and came back to
Wolf Creek to take care of the farm,” Austen put in quickly,
steering the conversation back to safer ground. “When some of those
men showed up and raided the town, he joined the posse to go after
them.”

“
What happened?” Josie
exclaimed.

“
We got most of ’em,” Derrick said. He
would’ve left it at that, but Austen spoke up again.

“
One of them got away and put a new
gang together. They kidnapped Kathleen.”

Josie gasped, glancing at her cousin.
“Derrick’s sister,” she said, in quick explanation.

Leah leaned forward. “Did you –were you able
to rescue her?”

Derrick smiled, pushing his chair away from
the table. “Yeah. We got her back.”

“
They are wicked, cruel men.” Leah put
her hand to her throat. “I’m so glad she wasn’t harmed. Or you,
either.”

No need to correct that
misconception. The scars had healed, for the most part.
Let her think what she would. It didn’t matter
anyway.

Josie said, “Derrick, I’m sorry about the
deaths of your –of Mr. McCain and your brothers.”

Derrick nodded. “Thank you. You know, I
wasn’t close to them, but still…” His voice trailed off and he
looked away. “I suppose it’s anybody’s guess as to why Collin Ridge
has asked to see my mother and me after all this time.” He watched
each of them closely. There was a flicker in Austen’s eyes before
he glanced down. Derrick went on. “Aside from the fact that he’s
dying.”