The Badger's Revenge

Lyle looked up at Josiah, confusion on his little face until he realized what his father wanted from him. “Yes, sir.”

“That’s more like it.”

There was smoke rising from the chimney of his house, and for a moment, Josiah was confused and concerned—until he saw Ofelia walk out on the porch as they approached.

It only took Lyle, who was sitting in front of Josiah in the saddle, a second to realize that it was Ofelia he saw, too.

“’Felia, ’Felia, hola, hola!” Lyle yelled, waving madly.

Josiah was afraid the boy was going to jump off of Clipper’s back right then and there. He pulled him closer, tighter.

Lyle looked up at Josiah, scrunching his forehead. “Go, Papa, go faster.”

Ofelia waved back, a wide smile growing on her face as she recognized Josiah on his own horse, Lyle cupped in the saddle.

“You can wait,” Josiah said.

“Don’t want to. Missed ’Felia.”

“I’m sure you did.”

Lyle squirmed in the saddle, and Josiah finally gave in, urging Clipper to move along a little faster. Scrap wasn’t that far behind them, and Josiah didn’t need to turn around to know what kind of look was on Scrap’s disapproving face.

There was no question that Scrap’s views were right, that Josiah needed to live without Ofelia—but to be honest, having his trusted rifle back in his possession and seeing Ofelia on his porch were moments akin to stumbling on a vein of gold right in the middle of Austin. It was about as much happiness as he could take.

He wasn’t sure how he was going to live without Ofelia, and he hoped, for the moment, he wouldn’t have to. He hoped they could work something out that suited them both—a solution that would never leave Lyle in the hands of strangers again.

Josiah brought Clipper to a stop, and before he could get a grip on Lyle, the boy had already slipped out of the saddle and jumped into Ofelia’s waiting arms.

“Alli esta mi nino,” Ofelia said. “There’s my boy.”

Lyle buried his face in Ofelia’s neck, telling her over and over again how much he had missed her. “Alli esta mi Ofelia,” he answered.

Tears welled up in Ofelia’s deep brown eyes. She was short, squat, about as tall as she was big around, and was dressed simply, as always, in a brightly colored cotton dress she’d sewed together herself. This one was yellow, and looked even brighter in contrast to her smooth dark brown skin in the beaming sunshine.

“It is good to see you,” Ofelia said to Josiah, still clutching Lyle tightly. “I feared I would never see you again.”

“It is good to see you, too, Ofelia. I’m glad to be home,” Josiah answered, sliding off Clipper. “And I’m glad you’re home, too.” He looked at her questioningly, waiting for an answer.

Ofelia nodded her head. “Si, I am glad to be home, senor.”

“Bueno! Bueno!” Lyle clapped his hands and giggled loud enough to overcome Scrap Elliot’s grunt of disapproval at the whole scene.

CHAPTER 28

Josiah stood at the end of the lane staring at the house. It glowed in the darkness like a giant honeycomb bathed in bright sunlight.

Every lamp in the large mansion was filled and lit on the highest turn. Torches stood burning under the portico, lighting the entire front of the house. Shadows made from darting insects decorated the front of the house, as the bugs sought out heat on the cool November night.

For Josiah it was hard not to feel a tandem kinship with the insects. He understood the desire of a mere moth drawn to the torches and light in every window, curious, in need of warmth, sustenance, and the hope of a life beyond the darkness. The hesitant human being that he really was ached to turn and go home.

All of the light did little to excite him. The dinner at the Fikes estate was obviously a bigger affair than he had anticipated or thought about, but he should not have been surprised.

The smell of burning hardwood drifted up out of the chimneys and mixed with the unmistakable smell of beef roasting on a spit. Music from a fine piano eased out of the house, a soft ballad sung by a sweet female voice floating carelessly on an unseen breeze. Josiah didn’t have to wonder who was singing. He knew it was Pearl, entertaining a house full of guests, waiting for his arrival.

Leaving was on his mind more than staying. But the light held him in sway, and he knew he was drawn to Pearl in a way he did not understand, even though he was smart enough to know that she was a flame that could leave him wounded or worse.

An impressive collection of buggies, coaches, and wagons sat in front of the house, some manned by drivers sitting, waiting, lazily holding their spots, enjoying a smoke or a nip of whiskey to stave off the boredom and coolness of the night.

Even the horses seemed to be entranced by the easy mood that hung in the air. They stood, mostly with their heads down, feasting on the gift of hay provided by the Fikes estate, the best from anywhere around.

Wispy clouds barely obscured the moon as it rose up behind the house, casting even more shadows on the ground in front of Josiah. The entire world suddenly looked unfamiliar to him. His stomach bound itself up in knots, and he knew he was on the verge of walking into a house where he knew nothing of the rules or ways.

Manners were a medium concern, needed less on a twenty-acre farm in East Texas than in a mansion blocks away from the Capitol building.

Now he was frozen in fear for his lack of them, among other things.

He had nearly been stricken with the same statue-like fright when he was getting ready to leave Lyle with Ofelia for the dinner, but Ofelia would not hear of him not going once he told her of the event.

She’d promised him that she was not leaving the house or Austin again anytime soon. Beyond that, nothing had been settled between them. Time had slowed, and they both seemed glad to have a sense of normalcy return to their lives.

Standing now at the end of the lane, life for Josiah was anything but normal. He was fully prepared to turn and leave, forgo the dinner and Pearl’s invitation all at once, regardless of the implications, when he heard another buggy drawing up behind him on the lane.

He turned to see Juan Carlos driving toward him in a fancy buggy. He was alone. It was not a sight Josiah was accustomed to seeing, Juan Carlos out and about in plain sight for anyone to see, heading toward a big event.

“Whoa, there,” Juan Carlos said, bringing the horse and buggy to a stop. “I thought that was you, Senor Wolfe. Are your feet stuck in the mud?”

“Just thinking,” Josiah said.

“You’ll be fine in there. Pearl will see to it, I promise.”

Josiah eyed Juan Carlos carefully. “What are you doing here?”

“Earning my keep.”

Josiah chuckled. “You’re taking orders from the Widow Fikes? I never thought I’d see the day.”

A wise smile crossed Juan Carlos’s face. “Pedro and I are old friends. I help out when the need arises, when there is something to accomplish.”

“Here? What would that be?”