Peyton parked and climbed down then helped her from the wagon. He offered his arm and together they walked to where the crowd had gathered.
A young man who must be Pedro waved his arms. “Cowboys there and house staff over here.”
He turned to Peyton. “I am Pedro Vargas, cousin to Carlos. I came as he instructed. Señor Knight, I admire you a great deal but I would like to work for Mac. Do you think that is possible?”
Peyton shook the young man’s hand. “This is my wife and Mac’s sister. She has authority from her brother to speak for him.”
Judith nodded to Pedro. “He would like for you to work for him. Carlos is going to be his foreman. Will that be all right with you?”
“It will be grand, Señora. Now I will step aside so you can tell your people what you plan.”
Mama came to stand beside Judith. “I have never seen such a place. Are we going to live here?”
“Can you believe it, Mama? Isn’t it wonderful? And Josiah will be so close by. If we were not in front of so many, I would hug you and dance around. I hope you don’t regret leaving our house in Cheyenne now. ”
Mama wore a whimsical expression. “I will miss some things about our life there, but our future promises to be much better here.”
Jeff stood on Mama’s other side. “This is a good place to live. A mite fancy for my taste but reckon I’ll get used to it.”
Sarge and Ozzie came to stand beside Peyton.
Sarge looked at the people gathered. “I’m Sarge Dickinson, the new marshal in Los Perdidos. The man with me is my chief deputy, Ozzie Elliott. We were in the Army for years but resigned with honorable discharge. I aim to be strict but fair about the law.”
He looked over the crowd. “I won’t show favoritism and will work by the laws. If any of you ever have a problem, you talk to me.”
He looked at the cowboys. “I don’t mean if your lady friend gives you grief because you didn’t bring her flowers.”
He paused for the laughter. “I mean if anyone treats you unfairly, come and tell me. I’ll deal with the problem. Same goes for my chief deputy. Now I’m pleased to tell you that this ranch has been sold to Peyton Knight. He’s the Pinkerton Detective agent who captured Lawson and his gang. I’ll let him do the talking now.”
Peyton braced his legs and looked every inch a leader. Judith was so proud of him.
“I’m sorry to keep you standing in the hot sun longer. If you wish, please sit down. I want to assure you that all honest cowboys and staff are welcome to stay. Carlos said you’re owed back pay and I intend to see you paid as soon as I see the records of how much is owed to whom.”
He gestured to Judith. “My wife is also a Pinkerton agent. We’ll be living here off and on for a couple of years before we retire from Pinkerton and live here full time to raise our family.”
He gestured to Mama. “This is my wife’s mother, Abigail Davis, who we call Mama. She will live here full time now.”
Mama stood tall and looked proud enough to burst.
Peyton asked, “Who was the foreman here for Lawson?”
Pedro said, “His name was Downing but he cleared out as soon as he heard Lawson was dead. Several of his friends left with him.”
Peyton motioned Jeff to stand with him. “This is Jeff Mason, my foreman. Jeff is a former Texas Ranger and will run the ranch by the book. Any unbranded or re-branded cattle will be sent to the Corrigan ranch, which now belongs to Josiah Mac McAdams, my wife’s brother.”
He walked back and forth in front of those gathered. “In case you think this is too comfortable to be legal, let me assure you otherwise. He explained how Josiah came to own the ranch.
“What you probably may not know is that Josiah was held prisoner in his hacienda by Lawson’s gang and beaten in an effort to force him to sign over the deed. If not for Carlos and Pedro, he would have died.”
Gasps from the crowd proved most were unaware.
“Josiah—or Mac as most people call him—is healing in town with his fiancée at his side.” He went on to explain how he and the men rescued Josiah, downplaying his own role. Then he detailed how he acquired the ranch that had been Lawson’s.
“My brother-in-law and I have redrawn the ranch borders for an equitable split between the two ranches. We both need cowboys, so all men who are willing to ride loyal to the brand are welcome. That’s all from me, cowboys, I’ll let Jeff Mason take over while my wife, her mama, and I talk to the staff inside the house.”
The assembled staff hurried into the house.
Sarge came up to Peyton and her. “We’d like to see your new place on the inside, but we figure we need to get back to town so Diego can go help his dad. We’ll see more of your place later.”
Sarge and Ozzie mounted their horses and rode toward town.
Peyton offered his left arm to Mama and put his right hand at Judith’s waist. “Well, ladies, shall we check out the inside of our new home?”
Chapter Nineteen
Judith smiled graciously as she could while each person told her his or her name and duty. She tried to remember an identifying feature to associate with each name. In spite of that, she knew she would require time to learn
