“What can we do for you, friend?” one man asked.
“My name’s Dan Shaye,” he said, steadying himself in his saddle. “I’m sheriff of a town called Vengeance Creek.”
“I’m Hal Forbes,” the other man said. “Foreman of the Double W ranch.”
“Double W?” Shaye asked.
“Say,” Forbes said before Shaye could go on, “you wouldn’t be kin to a Thomas Shaye, would ya? Well, sure ya would, ’cause he was wearin’ a deputy’s badge when he came by.”
“You saw Thomas?”
“Yeah, him and three others,” Forbes said. “One was his brother?”
“My other son, James,” Shaye said. “When were they here?”
“Oh, some time back, I reckon,” Forbes said. “They were trailin’ some murderin’ bank robbers.”
“That’s right,” Shaye said, “and I’m trailin’ them.”
“Sheriff Shaye,” Forbes said, “you don’t mind me sayin’, you don’t look too good…and is that blood soakin’ into the leg of your pants?”
Shaye swayed in his saddle and said, “I could use a little help, I guess…bandage…telegraph?”
“We can help with both…. Hey, hey, catch him boys, he’s fallin’!”
65
Ben Cardwell believed that everything had gone according to plan. Sean Davis had been left behind, and now Simon Jacks had been taken care of by Bart Durant. With any luck, Durant had also been taken care of by either Jacks or the local law.
He was in the clear.
He now had all the money from the Vengeance Creek bank job in his saddlebags, having left the empty set under the bed in Jacks’s room. Even if Durant got away from Trinidad and came looking for him, he’d never find him. Once he completed this last job, he’d have enough money to disappear for good.
Ben Cardwell had the supreme arrogance to believe that no one could touch him. Not the many partners he had double-crossed and left behind, and not the law. He was too smart for all of them, as evidenced by the fact that he was now riding alone, with all the money from Vengeance Creek.
He was heading north, with the intention of hitting the one bank he’d always wanted to hit—the Bank of Denver.
The Sangre de Cristo Pass was clear, which was good news for Thomas and Cory. The horses had made it fine, and Cory was pleased with his own performance.
“Maybe you’re not as old as you think,” Thomas said across the fire.
“Oh, yeah,” Cory said, “I’m as old as I think, but I’m in better shape than I thought.”
Thomas looked up at the moon, and the peaks silhouetted against them.
“Those are beautiful.”
“Las Cumbras Espanolas,” Cory said, “as our friend Rigoberto would say.”
“And what would we say?”
“The Spanish Peaks.”
“Right, right,” Thomas said, “the mountains we don’t have to go over.”
“It shouldn’t be very hard from here,” Cory said, washing down some jerky with water from his canteen. They had found a waterhole and had been able to refill the canteens with some ice cold mountain water.
“I hope James is all right,” Thomas said.
“Maybe you’ve got to stop takin’ care of him, Thomas,” Cory said. “Let him go off on his own sometime.”
“This was sometime, Ralph,” Thomas said. “This is the first time James and I have been out without Pa. I’ve got to look after him. If somethin’ happens to him, I’m gonna have to explain it to Pa.”
“Well, he’s got Rigoberto with him.”
“Considering Pa pulled Berto out of the back room of a saloon, that don’t make me feel too confident.”
“Berto’s a good man, Thomas,” Cory said. “Don’t worry. When they get to Denver, we’ll be there waitin’.”
“Hopefully ahead of Cardwell and Jacks,” Thomas said. “If he gets there first and manages to put some men together, we’ll be outnumbered.”
“I’ve been outnumbered before,” Cory said. “From what you told me about last year, you and your brother and your pa have been too.”
“Yeah, we have.”
“Get some sleep,” Cory said. “I’ll take the first watch tonight. It’s been a long time since I’ve been here. I want to sit back and enjoy it for a while.”
“Sounds good to me,” Thomas said, pulling his blanket around him. “I’m beat.”
“Yeah,” Cory said, “you better rest your young bones while the old-timer stands watch.”
“Fine,” Thomas said through a yawn, “whatever you say…old-timer.”
When Dan Shaye opened his eyes, he looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings. He didn’t think he had ever been in a bed, or a room, this plush and comfortable. Frowning, he tried to remember how he had gotten there.
He tossed back the blanket and looked down at himself. He was naked, except for a clean new bandage on his wound. When he heard the doorknob turn, he quickly covered himself before the door opened.
“Oh good,” the woman who entered said, “you’re awake.”
“Who are you?” he demanded. “How did I get here?”
“My name is Wendy Williams,” the attractive young woman said, “and you’re in my home. This is the Double W Ranch.”
“Double—I remember. I was talking to a man—your foreman—”
“Hal Forbes,” she said, smoothing down the front of her blue dress and perching herself on the edge of the bed. She smelled like lilacs. He knew that because his wife, Mary, had loved lilacs. “Yes, my foreman. You were talking to him and some of my men when you fell off your horse. They brought you here, and I had the doctor from town come and look at you.”
“What did he say?”
“He said that judging from the severity of your wound—which he judges to be anywhere from ten days to two weeks old—you should not be riding a horse.”
“I have to ride,” he said. “I have to find my sons.”
“Thomas being one of them?” she asked.
“Yes, and James.”
“Your sons…and your deputies?”
“Yes.”
“Have you not heard from them since they left Vengeance Creek to track those bank robbers?”
“No, I haven’t.”
She frowned and said, “Not very considerate of them not to have sent you a telegram, at least.”
“No, it wasn’t.”
“Or could it be they’re just doing their job, the way you taught them?”
Shaye looked at the woman sharply, then relaxed and said, “You’re a very smart young woman, aren’t you, ma’am?”
“I like to think so,” she said, “and please don’t call me ma’am. My name is Wendy.”
“Well, Wendy, I thank you for your help, and I’d like to have my clothes now so I can be on my way.”
“No.”
“I—What?”
“I may not be able to keep you from riding,” she said, standing up, “but I can keep you from riding anymore today. In the morning, if you still want to go, I’ll bring you some clothes. You’ll have to wear a pair of my father’s old pants. Yours were soaked with blood, and we had to cut them off you.”
