“I’ll be there, and I’ll explain it all. I am standing in for my brother, after all. I might as well start by protecting you from Caldwell.”
~ * ~
Nate and Amalie hurried back to the hotel, and Nate knocked on Mister Caldwell’s office door.
“Come in,” Caldwell called.
Nate opened the door and followed Amalie into the office.
“What is it?” Caldwell snapped. “I don’t have time to see you two right now, and why aren’t you working?”
Nate spoke. “We are here to give notice that we both quit and are leaving town today.”
Caldwell began to smile, but he turned it into a sneer. “You, Sperling, are fired, and as far as Amalie is concerned, she has time left on her contract and isn’t going anywhere.”
Nate shook his head. “Her contract is null and void, according to Judge Evans, because she is married.”
“Married?” Caldwell snorted. “Who would marry her? You, Sperling? I’ll see you in the river before I allow her to leave with you.”
“Not me, Caldwell—she married my brother Deke.”
The smile slowly disappeared from Caldwell’s face as the realization of Nate’s words settled in. “Your brother is Deke Sperling—and Amalie married him?” Caldwell stammered. “Where is he?”
“Waiting for us in Wyoming, but don’t worry—it’s all legal. The judge and sheriff are aware of the situation and your threats. If anything happens to Amalie or me, my brother will come calling on you and Rex,” Nate explained as Caldwell sat behind his desk, speechless. “We’re going now. Don’t have anyone follow us.”
Caldwell nodded his head in understanding as Amalie and Nate left the office and headed for the train station.
Amalie finally found the words to ask, “Is your brother dangerous? I thought Mister Caldwell might faint. He looked frightened.”
“My brother isn’t dangerous in the sense that you need to worry. He’s kind and gentle to those he cares about and those who walk on the right side of the law. If a man crosses that line, Deke can be as dangerous as a rattler.”
Amalie shuddered. “I don’t like snakes.”
“You’ll be fine,” Nate assured. “We’ll talk on the train. It’s a long ride to Cheyenne and then a few hours by stagecoach to home.”
~ * ~
They didn’t have any difficulty boarding the train. Amalie and Nate were happy the sheriff stood watch on the platform, although Nate had assured Amalie that neither Caldwell nor Rex would show up.
Nate fell asleep a short while after the train began its journey. He woke two hours later to find Amalie wholly absorbed in the dime novel Grace Evans had given her.
“Why are you scowling,” Nate asked.
Amalie held the book up and said, “Why didn’t you tell me about your brother and your life in Wyoming? I’m not sure I want to be married, given his grief and anger.”
“What are you talking about? I told you: my brother isn’t dangerous.”
“Yes, you did, but you didn’t tell me the terrible way his wife was murdered, or how the bank robbers shot his baby boy. He went crazy, chased them down, and hanged them without the benefit of a trial,” Amalie stammered as she spoke, and the book shook in her hands.
“Wait a minute…that’s wrong. It’s all wrong,” Nate insisted. “Let me tell you the truth: someone is trying to make money by writing that garbage and embellishing it for the sake of fiction.”
Amalie stared at Nate, waiting for him to continue.
“First, my sister-in-law was not murdered. Deke married Sarah shortly before I left home. He was the sheriff in our local town of Prairieville. I know that he loved her deeply, and she died in childbirth a year after they married. It must have been terribly sad for him, but it happens—she wasn’t murdered,” Nate explained.
“Then, why?”
“For sales, I’m sure.”
Amalie thought for a moment and asked, “If he was the sheriff, how did he become a bounty hunter?”
“Two months after Sarah died, there was a bank robbery in town, and her sister was shot during their escape, but it was only a superficial graze on her arm. By the time Deke had run from his office, the robbers were gone. He carried Laura to the doc’s office and waited to make sure she wasn’t badly injured. He knew that the men responsible would be out of his jurisdiction, so he walked to the mayor’s office and turned in his badge before tracking the men and bringing them in alive for trial,” Nate told Amalie.
“That’s when he became a bounty hunter?” Amalie asked.
“Yes and no. I don’t like the term bounty hunter because Deke gives any bounties on the men he captures to the victims of the crime or their loved ones. He never keeps a penny. The ranch, the Double S, supports him well,” Nate said, smiling at Amalie, hoping to alleviate her fears.
“All right,” Amalie replied. “I can understand how the author exaggerated the details to sell more books, but what about the Indians?”
“What Indians?”
“The ones that attacked the ranch, killing all the hands, and Deke hunted them down and killed them all.”
Nate did his best not to laugh. “That never happened. The few Indians near the ranch are friendly with Deke, and he gives them a few head of cattle to keep them from starving in hard times. In turn, they don’t cause any trouble. That author certainly has a vivid imagination. What else does he say?”
“I don’t know. I’ve only read half the book,” Amalie confessed. “I’m not sure if I should read more.”
Nate smiled. “You can, if you wish, but please ask me about any details before you believe them, or just read it as an adventure story and not my brother’s biography.”
“I can do
