“Are we gonna sit right here?” James asked.
“You bet we are,” Thomas said. “We can’t get into trouble doin’ that…can we?”
25
As Shaye approached the sheriff’s office, the door opened and Sheriff Cotton stepped out.
“Right on time, Shaye,” the lawman said.
“Actually, I’m a little early.”
“Five minutes or so,” Cotton said. “I was just stepping outside to wait for you.”
“Well, I’m here,” Shaye said. “Can we go?’
“Sure,” Cotton said. “This way.”
“I know which way you live,” Shaye said and the two men started walking north.
“Belinda is very nervous about meeting you, Shaye,” Cotton said. “I hope you’ll be…considerate.”
“I’m not here to scare her, Sheriff,” Shaye said. “I’m just here to find out the truth.”
“Well, Belinda’s no liar—if that’s what you’re implying.”
“I’m not implying anything,” Shaye said. “I’m just saying…Don’t worry. I’m not going to attack her.”
“Well, I’ll be there while you talk to her, so I know you won’t,” Cotton said.
“What about your wife?”
“She’ll stay with the boy.”
“I want to see him too.”
“In time, you will. Okay, here’s my house.”
They walked to the front door of the small one-story house. From the porch Shaye could see the schoolhouse James had told him about.
Cotton opened the door and allowed Shaye to precede him into the house. He showed him into a modestly furnished living room. From past experience Shaye knew that the house usually came with the job.
“Wait here and I’ll fetch Belinda.”
Shaye nodded and Cotton left the room. He surprised himself by feeling nervous about meeting the girl. Or maybe he was more nervous about possibly having a grandson.
Moments later Cotton came back into the room leading a young woman. Shaye saw immediately that she was the kind of woman a young man would find hard to resist. Or possibly even an old man. She was extremely lively, with long black hair, pale skin, and the kind of body he had seen on many young women in saloons, only she was wearing a plain gingham dress, not a revealing peasant blouse or gown.
“Dan Shaye,” Riley Cotton said, “meet Belinda Davis. Belinda, this is Daniel Shaye.”
“Belinda,” Shaye said, removing his hat. “It’s nice to meet you. I came in response to your letter.”
“Mr. Shaye,” she said very formally, “it’s very nice to meet you.”
She put out her hand and he shook it gently.
“I’m sorry it took so long to get here,” Shaye said, “but your letter didn’t reach us until—”
“I understand,” she said, cutting him off. “I knew sending you that letter was a long shot. I’m just glad it finally reached you.”
“Why don’t we all sit down?” Sheriff Cotton suggested.
“Actually, Riley,” Belinda said, “I’d love to have some coffee. Perhaps Mr. Shaye would as well?”
“But…Marion is with Little Matt.”
Belinda smiled at him and said, “I thought maybe…well, could you get it…please?”
“Well…” The lawman looked confused. “All right.”
From the looks of things, Belinda had Sheriff Cotton wrapped around her little finger. And from the look on Cotton’s face, he didn’t exactly think of her as a daughter.
She watched as Cotton left the living room to go to the kitchen, then turned back to Shaye with her arms folded across her breasts.
“You pretty much get your way here, don’t you?” Shaye asked.
“They’re nice people,” Belinda said, “but they can’t give me what I want…what I need.”
“And I can?”
“You and your sons, yes.”
“We don’t have much money—”
“I’m not looking for money, Mr. Shaye,” Belinda said.
“Then what is it?”
“I’m looking for protection.”
“Protection? From who?”
“Do you know a man named Jeb Collier?”
“Collier?” Shaye thought for a moment. “No, can’t say I do.”
“He’s an outlaw,” Belinda said. “He also thinks he’s my son’s father.”
“And you need protection from him?” Shaye asked. “What about the sheriff?”
“The sheriff and his wife have been wonderful to us,” she said, “but there’s no way he’d be able to handle Jeb and his gang.”
“Gang? How big a gang?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “Four, maybe more. Jeb’s brother Ben, Jeb’s longtime friend Clark Wilson. Maybe one or two others.”
“Well, if you’re worried they’re going to come to town, that would be the sheriff’s job—”
“The sheriff isn’t related to my son,” Belinda said. “You are. You’re his grandfather.”
“Well…that remains to be seen,” Shaye said. “I have to tell you, I have a hard time believing my son Matthew and you…well, especially after meeting you—”
“You don’t think I was good enough for your son?” she demanded.
“Don’t get all riled up,” Shaye said. “Good’s got nothing to do with it. I think my son was a little too…I don’t think he could have handled a woman like you.”
“Matthew was a handsome young man, Mr. Shaye.”
“That may be,” Shaye said, “but I don’t think he could have carried on a…relationship with a woman without me or one of his brothers knowing about it.”
Shaye could smell coffee from the kitchen and figured the sheriff would be returning any minute.
“What did you want to tell me that you didn’t want the sheriff to hear?” he asked.
“I just don’t want the sheriff thinking he’s going to protect me and Little Matt,” she said. “Jeb and his gang would kill him. I don’t want to be the cause of Marion becoming a widow.”
“The sheriff’s got deputies—”
“Mr. Shaye,” Belinda said, “you’ve been in this town long enough to get the feel of it. This is Texas, yes, but this is not the Wild West. This town is too damned civilized to withstand Jeb Collier and his men.”
“What do you want my sons and I to do, Belinda?” he asked. “Stand up to them when they come here? Or take you away before they arrive?”
“Jeb Collier has spent the last two years in Yuma Prison,” she told him. “By my reckoning, he either got out a few weeks ago or he’ll get out a few weeks from now. I’m not dead sure he’ll come here, but I believe he will. He believes that I’m his and that my son is his. I’m here to tell you that neither is true.”
“Did you love my son, Belinda?”
“I can’t say that I did, Mr. Shaye,” she said. “I’m trying to be honest with you here. I liked Matthew and we…we have a son together.”
“Let’s say for a moment that’s true,” Shaye said. “Did Matthew know you were pregnant?”
“No, I never told him.”
“Why not?”
“Truthfully, I thought Jeb would kill him.”
“Jeb knew you were pregnant?”
“He found out just before he went to prison.”
