“Just lay off his body for a few weeks,” Teresa said, “isn’t that what you’re trying to say, Doctor?”
“Exactly,” the man replied, turning away and removing a stethoscope from his neck, then pretending to arrange his tray of instruments.
Rolf paid the doctor and they led Nathan outside. He looked around the town, and then he actually nodded his head and a faint smile played at the corners of his mouth.
“Look at him,” Carole said, hugging Nathan’s arm, “my love thinks the doctor’s advice about us not doing it was every bit as ridiculous as I did!”
“Or,” Teresa said, “he recognizes things here in Prescott and they bring back good memories.”
“There’s a land office up the street,” Rolf said, shouldering a pair of saddlebags heavy with counterfeit hundred-dollar bills. “Let’s go buy a ranch.”
The land office was staffed by just one man, a very jolly and heavyset fellow who introduced himself as Albert A. Atherton.
“But you can call me Big Al,” he said, motioning them all to chairs in his tiny office but obviously having a difficult time keeping from staring at Nathan.
Finally, Al said, “His face is very familiar. Isn’t he … isn’t that Nathan Cox?”
“Yes,” Teresa said before Rolf could think of some alias that might help to protect them.
“I knew it!” Al said. “The rest of the family left here a couple years back. I heard they went down to Tucson and started raising sheep in the desert. I don’t know that for a fact though. What’s wrong with Nathan anyway? Why doesn’t he say something instead of just staring at the floor?”
“He’s grown quite shy since leaving Arizona,” Rolf said, not wanting to go into a long explanation that would only lead to further questions that could be detrimental to all their futures. “We have cash and we want to buy a cattle ranch.”
“Cash, huh!” Al actually rubbed his fat hands together. “Well, cash always talks! How much cash and how much of a ranch do you want to buy?”
Before Rolf could tell the man that they had about twenty thousand dollars, Teresa said, “What kinds of good ranches are available?”
“Actually,” Al said, “the old Cox homestead is up for sale. Big ranch with about four thousand acres of excellent land, timber, and grass. Six water-holding ponds that will save your beef in the fall when Granite Creek gets low, and even a couple of silver mines that still haven’t produced but that could someday.”
“How much?” Rolf asked, knowing in a flash that this was the ranch that Nathan would want. “Asking price is twelve thousand dollars.”
“Twelve thousand!” Teresa exclaimed.
“That’s just the asking price,” Al said quickly. “I suspect that you could get it for … oh, about nine cash.”
“What kind of buildings does it come with?” Carole asked.
“Why, Nathan can tell you that,” Al said, staring at Nathan, who kept staring at the floor.
“Why don’t you tell us,” Rolf said.
“All right. The Cox ranch has a big main ranch house with a veranda and cellar for roots and potatoes, apples and such. Then it has another smaller but nicer log cabin with four rooms and a fine stone fireplace. There are barns, a toolshed, blacksmith shop, and tack rooms. Comes with some wagons and harness. The land is completely fenced with three strands of wire and good cedar posts. There are four wells, the best right at the house and-“
“We’ll take it,” Rolf said, reaching for the saddlebags and the counterfeit money.
“Well!” Al said, rubbing his hands together. “We need to sign some documents over at the bank and then we can settle this today.”
“Good,” Rolf said, “but we also want to be married.”
“Today?”
“Right now,” Carole said, “before we sign the papers as joint owners.”
Rolf started to object because the counterfeit money really belonged to Nathan, but then he realized it really didn’t. The counterfeit money didn’t belong to anyone, or at least it wasn’t supposed to have any value to anyone.
“I expect that we can find a preacher at the church,” Teresa said, grabbing Rolf by the arm and practically dragging him out the door.
“His name is Deacon Ward!” Al called. “Just pay him up front and we’ll all meet at the bank in fifteen minutes. Okay?”
“Okay!” Teresa called back as Carole hustled poor Nathan out the door and caught up with them.
The wedding took only ten minutes. Signing all the papers in order to buy the old Cox ranch and then opening an account with the Bank of Prescott took nearly two hours. But it was worth it. All four rode out in the buckboard, grinning like mad fools. And the best part was yet to come, when they took over the old ranch, spent their first nights as husband and wives, then began the job of cattle ranching, providing the place came with some cows.
As far as Rolf was concerned, this whole thing was just a miracle, a dream come true. It was hard to believe that less than a month ago he was riding with outlaws who treated him like dirt and called him a snot-nosed kid.
Chapter 15
“You want to wait outside or come in with me?” Longarm asked Diana one cold afternoon as they reined in before the Purgatory, Arizona, general store.
