Jodi's Journey (31 page)

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

It was noon the next day before Hunt and Jodi
rode out to the campsite. They were laughing and joking as the men
ran eagerly out to meet them.

“Must be good news,” Concho conceded. “They
are laughing.”

“Well, men, we sold the cattle and I've got
the best news yet. You're going to get paid double for bringing
both herds in, and bonuses too. We got twenty-four a head, which is
top dollar for the herd.” Hunt said.

Hats went up in the air and dancing began,
and all kinds of merriment started to take place.

“We'll bed down one more night and take them
into town in the morning, all seven thousand of them. Them that
want to ride back to Texas with us can. Anyone wants to take the
rails, they can. It's all paid for.” Hunt smiled as he looked to
Jodi with confidence.

He couldn't believe she'd totally accepted
him for what he was. He couldn't believe he had a chance now to
make things right in his life. He'd never had a woman who could
heat him up just by looking at her. Jodi was so special, and he had
known that from the beginning when she’d walked into that shed so
bare-faced scared and offered him a job.

He hadn't actually told her he loved her in
so many words yet, but that could wait.

Most of the boys wanted to ride to Texas with
them, so after the official head count and getting paid was over
with, they had a big dinner party. They planned on leaving the next
day for home. Hunt wasn't one for staying in town long. Usually it
just caused trouble.

When the men got paid, they were all shocked
at how much they had made and they were ready to sign up the
following year to take another herd. Hunt told them he would hire
every one of them back, too.

Every man rode into Abilene with their guns
pulled, shooting wildly into the air to celebrate. The town seemed
to welcome them, expect them.

The men wasted no time in lining up for the
barber shop. They all wanted shaves and haircuts. Hunt went with
them because he wanted a bath today. He knew women didn't cotton to
men being trail bums all the time. There was a tub for bathing in
the back of the barber shop, and the cost was seventy-five cents.
Most of the men indulged in that, too, because they had plenty of
plans for the gambling and hen houses.

They all had steak and potatoes that night,
then some of them engaged in gambling. Hunt warned them that if
they weren't good at the game, they should stay away, but they all
laughed.

“Not to worry, boss, we're takin' Matt along.
He can play for us.” Josh laughed.

Hunt laughed. “Just be careful. They don't
have much law in town and I don't want to see all of you in the
jail. That is if they have a jail. Mrs. Gore is known for her
hospitality in taking care of the wounded and such. I don't want to
see that happen either.”

“No, sir, me either. Mrs. Gore is about the
nicest lady I ever met, 'ceptin for Mrs. Johnson. Unfortunately,
she's spoken for,” Cole cajoled.

Dutch and Brady were about to join them, but
Hunt hollered at them. “Boys, I just want to tell you, I know you
two ate more dust than anyone else and were responsible for the
sizable bonus, so I’m letting you know now, that next time, you
won't be riding drag.”

“Thanks,” they both chorused.

Jose and Concho visited the bar at the hotel
and had a couple of drinks, then played billiards for a while.

Jodi and Hunt sat out on the veranda, close
like, listening to all the celebrating going on, and talking about
their plans.

“I know you got a place, Jodi, but a man
likes to do those honors for his lady. Would you be of a mind to
sell it and move on with me?” he asked as he leaned back in the
chair and waited for her answer.

“Got any particular place in mind?” she asked
before answering him.

“Not yet, no. Why?”

Jodi looked at the floor and then at him.
“Well, it's Clem. He's got a broke back and he's been like a father
to me. Right now some Mexican women are taking care of him, but I
want to look after him if I can.”

“That's no problem. We'll take him with us,
or we'll stay there if we have to. I can understand taking care of
your own, Jodi,” Hunt said, lighting a cigarette and twirling it
between his fingers. “I've heard tell Clem is one fine cowman. It
makes me feel proud that you care enough for your people.”

“He’s one of the best,” Jodi said. She eyed
him closely, then smiled reflectively. “He's the one who insisted I
needed to hire you for this job…and he was right.”

“Well, the old son of a gun. Maybe he knew
something we didn't.” Hunt smiled and took her hand in his. “How
long till the baby is due?”

“The doctor in Ft. Worth said that feeling
comes around 4-5 months, so I got about four more months, I
guess.”

“So you went to a doctor in Ft. Worth?” he
asked with no animosity in his voice.

“Yeah…but it didn't do any good. The doc
wouldn't do anything. I was so upset.” She fumbled with his hand.
“I'm ashamed I ever wanted to get rid of the baby, but I honestly
didn't know what to do. It wasn't really aimed at the baby, more at
Hershel. And of course I was scared he might find out, too.”

He squeezed her hand and kissed it. “I'm sure
glad. Having a baby around is going to be real nice.” He smiled at
her.

“I hope you don't think you can just put me
out to pasture just because I'm going to be a mother,” she
protested with a tease in her sparkling eyes.

He frowned at her for a moment. “Well what am
I going to have to do? Make a papoose for the baby?”

“Maybe,” she chuckled.

“We'll figure something out,” he assured
her.

≈≈≈

Along about sundown there was a ruckus up the
street. Cole and Josh had come face to face with the greenhorn
drovers.

“I hear tell you men got all the money for
takin' those cattle through.” Charlie was half drunk and had his
gun in his hand.

“That's right,” Cole answered. “You got a
problem with that?”

“Sure I got a problem with that. We brought
those cattle up from San Antonio. We got them to the Arkansas. The
way I see it, we done most of the work, and you got our money,”
Charlie hollered.

“Is that how you see it?” Cole asked, his
lips thinning into one long line as he put his hand on his gun.

“Yeah, that's how I see it,” Charlie said.
“And I'm calling you out on it.”

“I wouldn't do that, if I were you, kid. You
were lucky already that I didn't kill you for nearly drowning my
boss,” Cole muttered, trying to see his way out of a showdown. It
wouldn't be fair and he knew it. The kid was drunk.

Josh stepped between them. “Let it go, Cole,
he's drunk.”

Cole lowered his hand. “Go sleep it off
somewhere, Charlie. You'll live another day.”

“I'm calling you out, Cole. I want my money,”
Charlie sniffled.

Josh went straight up to Charlie, took his
gun away from him and threw it away. Then he looked him in the eye
and said, “Be thankful you ain't dead…” He threw a right punch and
Charlie staggered and fell to the ground. They left him there.

The next day, Matt, Cole, Willy, Josh,
Concho, Jose, Dutch, and Sparky gathered around Hunt and Jodi,
ready to pull out. All the other drovers were either staying longer
or riding the rails to Louisiana and catching a stage to Texas.
Some of them had families scattered and wanted to stop off and
visit. So after a lot of goodbyes and well wishes and promises to
meet up in the spring, the men parted.

Matt wasn't feeling too well. He'd been up
most the night and had eaten way too much.

≈≈≈

Jodi had grown so fond of the boy. It would
be hard saying goodbye when the time came. But the boy deserved
whatever he wanted because he had worked so hard, and his full
intention was to take his money home to his Ma, which made Jodi and
Hunt very happy.

After gathering what horses were left, and
the chuck wagon, they headed for Texas in great spirits.

It had finally stopped raining and the sun
had come out full blast. It appeared that spring was finally on its
way to Kansas. It was the middle of June and they were right on
schedule.

≈≈≈

Carrying a full payroll in their pockets,
Hunt was a little more cautious than the rest of them. Most of the
people in Abilene knew they'd just gotten paid, so Hunt kept a
watch. Abilene was a wicked little place and he wouldn't put it
past anyone to try and rob them.

“Are you going to relax?” Jodi asked as she
found Hunt scouting the camp's edge.

“Maybe when we get home,” he responded. “I
just want to make sure we get home in one piece.”

Jodi smiled and went to hug him. “We
will.”

“Aw Jodi, I guess I really am a coward.” He
frowned at himself.

“What do you mean?”

“I'm scared to be this happy.”

“Maybe we should move away from Esser
Crossing,” she said after a thought, a flicker of apprehension
sweeping across her expressive face.

“What do you mean?”

“Away from Hershel Walker and people who
don't understand things.” She began as her stomach clenched from
the thought of Hershel.

“I'm not running from anything anymore, Jodi.
If you want to stay there, then that's where we'll stay. I doubt we
could move Clem anyway, in his condition,” Hunt said, studying the
horizon.

“Hunt…Hershel said he'd be back. I think he
meant it.” Jodi admitted quietly, not wanting to upset Hunt, but
wanting him to know. “Just because we got married, I don't look for
him to stay away. Especially since he thinks you are a coward.”

“Well, if he knows what's good for him, he
won't try to mess with you again,” Hunt declared, his voice taking
on an air of authority.

“I hope so…” she whispered softly into the
night.

“We'll deal with Hershel if it comes to that.
I'm not worried about him in the least, except for your sake. I
mean, he is the f—”

She put her fingers to his lips and shook her
head. “No, he isn't. You're the father, remember?”

“Are you sure that's how you want it?” he
asked, looking directly into her eyes.

“Very sure, from now on and forever. And I
don't want to talk about it any longer. As far as anyone knows in
Esser Crossing, you are the father of my baby and it's going to
stay that way.”

He dipped his head and kissed her gently on
the lips, continuing to feather kisses over hers for a full minute.
“I can hardly wait to get you home.”

She smiled impishly, her heart beating
quickly. “Why Mr. Johnson, what do you have in mind?”

“Let's just say being a gentleman gets a
little harder every day.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

The ominous feeling Hunt had all night came
to haunt him about midnight when a shot rang out and woke the
entire camp. There was a loud scramble, the horses made a noise,
and another shot rang out. Someone yelled. Everyone seemed to be
scrambling about, then someone yelled again, a mournful yell.

Jodi lit a lantern so they could see. She
wished she hadn't.

“What the heck?” Cole was on his feet and
drew his gun as someone was trying to make off with the horses. He
fired and felled a cowboy. He ran to get the horses, and to check
to see who it was he had fired at. He recognized the kid right
away; he left him face down in the dirt.

But the damage had been done. Josh lay at
Jodi's feet with a bullet in his stomach. He was bleeding
profusely. Hunt shook his head the minute he saw him. Jodi cradled
his head in her lap and tried to comfort him.

“He cain't do…that…Jodi,” Josh was saying.
“Oh God, it hurts…it hurts bad…” His eyes took on a faraway look,
as though he no longer saw any of them.

“Lie still, I'll get some bandages,” Jodi
cried, moving toward the wagon.

“No…it's no use…I ain't gonna last.” Josh
murmured, his voice slowly becoming a whisper. “Did you get him,
Cole?”

Cole came up to Josh, his eyes red rimmed.
“Yeah Josh, I got him.”

Josh nodded and fell back. He was gone before
Jodi could move.

Hunt picked her up and took her to the wagon.
“Don't.” Hunt saw the pain and tears in her eyes, the questions. “I
don't know why these things happen. I should have stayed alert. I
felt something was coming. I just couldn't put my finger on it. I
began to think I was imagining it.”

Concho and Jose took Josh's body away so Jodi
wouldn't have to look at him like that. But she remembered the
cold, glazed stare in his eyes for long afterwards.

“Did you recognize him, Cole?” Hunt
asked.

Cole nodded. “It was Charlie…”

Jodi cried aloud now. “Why? He was so
young…”

Matt cleared his throat as tears streamed
down his cheek. “He wasn't much older than me.”

“Don't do this, honey. It will not happen
again, I can tell you,” Hunt vowed vehemently. “If I have to stand
guard until we get home, it will never happen again.”

“Did Cole get the money back?” she asked out
of her concern for his family.

“Yes, he got it,” Hunt said as he saw Cole
slinging Josh's saddle bags over his shoulder. Cole deposited the
money in the wagon. He tipped his hat to Hunt and went to help
Concho and Jose.

≈≈≈

“We'll bury him,” Hunt said quietly. “If you
want to speak some words over him, you can do that tomorrow. Now
try to get some rest.” He ordered her in the wagon. She went
because she couldn't be of any use otherwise.

Concho and Jose started digging the grave,
all the while talking in Spanish as they dug. Hunt couldn't speak
fluently in Spanish, but he knew enough of the words to know they
weren't repeatable.

Hunt didn't sleep that night.

The next day Jodi went with the men to the
gravesite. She choked up at first, then she recited the Lord's
Prayer. “Walk with God,” she cried.