He had no doubt that he and his brothers would follow their father and be successful in killing the men who had taken their mother from them. But what then?
Would his father go back to being sheriff of Epitaph?
Would he and his brothers stay on as deputies?
Would they live in the same house?
He knew there was danger in what they were doing, but he had so much confidence in his father that he felt no fear.
In his father’s eyes, this was not a good thing.
James loved his father, but he idolized his oldest brother, the way many younger brothers did. Like his older brother, he resembled his mother more than his father, and so when the four men were together, Shaye and Matthew looked like big hulking brutes, while Thomas and James were slender and graceful. James was impressed with the way Thomas handled a gun, and hoped that someday he’d be able to do the same. During the target shooting they’d done while on the trail, he had begun to display certain natural abilities with a handgun, but he still had a long way to go to match Thomas—and they both had far to go to be ready to face another man with a gun.
James missed his mother terribly, but felt that he was on a great adventure with his father and brothers, and he hoped that the adventure would not only continue, but escalate.
Like his brother Matthew, James felt no fear.
Thomas, on the other hand, was worried about his father and his two brothers, was afraid that something might happen to them. But he worried little about himself. For someone who had never faced another man with a gun, he was inordinately confident.
For his part, Dan Shaye worried about all his sons. Thomas was too confident, Matthew too brave, and James too headstrong and adventurous. He knew that all of these qualities would have to be tempered with his own experience—and yet could he keep a tight rein on his boys
By the time they rode into Vernon, Texas, all of the Shaye men had had their share of deep thoughts. Also, though they hadn’t met the Langer gang, they came upon their trail in two other towns, which told them they were on the right track.
“How long we stayin’, Pa?” James asked.
“How long do you want to stay, James?”
“Well,” the younger Shaye said, rubbing his face, “long enough for a shave, maybe. I’m startin’ to itch.”
Matthew, who had the heaviest beard of the four, reached out and touched James’s face.
“You got nothin’ but peach fuzz there, little brother,” he said, laughing. “Why don’t you wait until you got a man’s full growth of beard before you complain?”
James brushed Matthew’s tree trunk arm away from him, while Thomas had a good laugh.
“I have to talk to the local law,” Shaye said, “and it’s a few hours from dark. We’ll stay the night, and you boys can all get a shave and a bath.”
“A bath!” Matthew said, appalled. “Why would we want to take a bath, Pa?”
“Because, Matthew,” James said, “some of us smell like a goat.”
Matthew squinted his eyes at his younger brother and said, “You wouldn’t be talkin’ about me, would you, little brother?”
“You all smell like goats,” Shaye said, “and so do I. Take your horses to the livery, be sure they’re fed and bedded down, and then get us two rooms at the hotel. Thomas, you’ll be in a room with me.”
“Yes, Pa.”
“And you’re in charge of these two,” Shaye went on. “After you get the rooms, see that they’re bathed, shaved, and that they keep out of trouble.”
“Yes, Pa…. Pa?”
“What?”
“Do you know the local lawman here?”
“Yes,” Shay said. “He’s an old friend of mine, name of Sam Torrence.”
“I heard you mention him. Weren’t you deputies together?”
“Years ago, boy,” Shaye said, “a lot of years ago.”
“Want us to take your horse, Pa?” James asked.
“I’ll take care of my animal,” Shaye said, “you boys take care of your own.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ll meet you back at the hotel in two hours.”
“Two hours?” Matthew complained. “That’s barely time to see to our horses and have a bath and a shave.”
“And no time to get into trouble,” Shaye said. “That’s about what I had in mind, boy.”
7
When Dan Shaye entered the sheriff’s office, the man behind the desk looked up from the wanted posters he was studying, frowned just for a moment, then smiled and stood up.
“Dan Shaye!” Sam Torrence said, extending his hand. “What the hell are you doing in Vernon? I didn’t think you ever left South Texas anymore.”
“Hello, Sam,” Shaye said. He approached the desk and shook hands with the tall, slender man whose hair had gone completely gray since the last time Shaye had seen him.
“It’s good to see you, Dan,” Torrence said. “What brings you my way?”
“The Langer gang.”
“I heard they hit a bank down south,” Torrence said. “That was you?”
Shaye nodded, then said, “They killed my wife during their escape.”
“Ah, Jesus…” Torrence’s face went pale. “Mary…”
“Rode her down in the street, Sam.”
“Christ,” Torrence said. “Sit down, Dan. I was gonna offer you some coffee but this is better.”
He brought a bottle of whiskey out of his desk drawer, then fetched two coffee cups from the potbellied stove in the corner. He poured a shot into each and handed one to Shaye.
“Here’s to Mary,” he said.
“To Mary.”
They both drank, and when Torrence reached across the desk to pour again, Shaye placed his cup on the desk, upside down.
“One’s enough for me.”
“Not for me,” Torrence said. He poured another shot and downed it. “You on their trail?”
Shaye nodded.
“With a posse.”
“My boys.”
“Your…”
“Sons,” Shaye said. “Three of ’em.”
“That’s right,” Torrence said, snapping his fingers, “I knew you and Mary had three sons. How old are they?”
“Twenty-five, twenty-three, and nineteen. I deputized them.”
“Are they experienced?”
“No,” Shaye said, “but I had no choice. No one else volunteered, my deputies quit. Besides, they deserve to come. Langer and his boys killed their ma.”
“We’re talkin’ about Ethan Langer, right?”
“Yeah,” Shaye said. “Aaron hit a bank in South Dakota about the same time.”
“So you’re trackin’ them north…through here?”
“You tell me, Sam.”
