CHAPTER ELEVEN
At first Jess thought it was
the sun making Laura’s cheeks a fiery red, but every time the buckboard jarred
her against him, her face turned brighter. She sat so close to the edge of the
seat that Jess thought for sure she was going to fall out of the buckboard.
“Relax,” he mumbled.
“How am I supposed to relax
when you’re hauling dead bodies?”
Jess took off his hat and
wiped his arm across his sweaty forehead. “I know in this heat that they don’t
smell too good.”
“That, Jess, is an
understatement.” She drew in his breath sharply then quickly exhaled as the
stench of the dead bodies made her cough. She put her handkerchief to her nose,
as she fought down her nausea.
His only answer was a scowl
as he placed his Stetson back on his head.
As they entered the town, he
slowed the horses to a sluggish pace. Still dust sprayed from behind the rear
wheels, engulfing both of them in grit.
The approaching noon hour
should have been one of the busiest times in this town. People should have been
scurrying along the sidewalk towards the restaurant or towards their homes, yet
many of the town’s citizens were just standing along the boardwalk, leaning
against hitching posts and store fronts, watching, staring. Jess hadn’t covered
the bodies, so it was no secret what cargo he was hauling as flies swarmed over
the remains.
By the time, the buckboard
reached the sheriff’s office, a large crowd had formed outside the lawman’s
door.
“Got a present for you,
sheriff.” Jess jumped down from the wagon.
Stepping off the boardwalk,
the sheriff walked to the back of the buckboard. He studied the men, noting the bullet holes between the eyes of
one of the men. Slowly he glanced up at Jess, “What’s the meaning of this?”
“Our place was attacked last
night.”
If he was shocked, the
lawman didn’t show it. “What happened?” the sheriff inquired.
Jess leaned against the
buckboard, his right hand resting on the handle of his gun. “Last night ten men
rode onto my place shooting and burning. You got any idea who these men rode
for?”
The sheriff started to shake
his head no when someone in the crowd moved forward and said, “Hey, sheriff,
don’t those men work for Phillips? Looks like the new hands he hired. Seen them
in town the other day.”
The sheriff moved closer to
the dead bodies, his gray eyes piercing down at them. “Could be.”
“You going to ask Phillips?”
Jess demanded. “Or should I?”
“Now you listen here,
Harper. We ain’t had a killing in this town in months, and you show up and
yesterday, kill one man and now four more. Maybe they did attack Laura’s
place...”
“Maybe!” Jess snarled.
“I don’t know. I wasn’t
there. I only got your word for it, but I aim to find out the truth. Now I’ll
look into it, but in the meantime you stay clear of Phillips. I don’t want no
more trouble from you. I told you yesterday I don’t want trouble, and I meant
it. And if it takes locking you up...”
“Me?”
“Don’t buck me, boy. Now I
said I’ll look into it, and I will. In the meantime you go back to Laura’s
place and stay there.”
“Look into it?” Jess mocked.
“What’s it take for you do something about the trouble Laura’s been having?
First her livestock is run off and now this.”
The sheriff took a deep
breath then let it out slowly. “I know about your reputation, Harper, but in
this town the law is respected. I don’t need no hired gun to do my job. Now
I’ll talk to Jack Phillips about these men.”
“Tell me something, sheriff,
how good a friend are you to Jack Phillips?”
The quiet that fell upon the
crowd was so noticeable that it sounded noisy.
The sheriff’s cheek ticked
with anger. “I said I’d look into it, and you best remember,” the sheriff pointed his finger at Jess as if aiming a
gun, “don’t go against me in this town. You won’t win.”
“I ain’t planning on causing
trouble, sheriff, but you should know that I’m not running from it either. I
just want everyone to know what’s got my brand on it and to keep away from
what’s mine.” He turned his head and stared at Laura.
Laura’s face turned a bright
red.
The sheriff hurled back his
reply as if firing a revolver, “And you
remember, Harper, that I am the law in this town, and I won’t tolerate gun
play. If you’re thinking I’ll back down from a gunslinger, I won’t.”
Jess spit in the dirt,
barely missing the sheriff’s boots.
The gasp from the crowd was
so loud it was as if the group of people had drawn in a breath together.
Laura started to climb down
from the buckboard. Quickly, Jess moved to the wagon. He wrapped his hands
around Laura’s tiny waist. Her reddened cheeks burned more, but no one seemed
to notice for all were staring at Jess, watching his every movement.
As if she was a delicate
piece of china, Jess carefully lifted Laura form the buckboard. She moved
quickly to the sheriff. “Are you saying
that we weren’t attacked?”
“Of course not! I can see
the bodies. I’m just saying let me handle this, and I will look into it.”
“Like you looked into my
horses being run off?” Laura put her hands on her hips as her foot tapped on
the ground, spraying a small cloud of dust. “Answer me!”
The sheriff’s cheeks turned
rosy. Jess moved closer to Laura, ready to shield her, but the sheriff bit back
his words. His voice was icy calm as he replied, “I’ve searched your ranch
twice. I couldn’t find no tracks and I can’t arrest someone based on your
hunches. I know who you think stole them. You’ve made the entire town aware of
your accusations against Jack, but if you were any kind of a lady...”
“I’d be careful, sheriff,”
Jess spoke softly but his voice carried. Jess frowned so hard that his face
looked as if it had been carved with anger.
“Ma’am, being left alone to
run a relay station...” the sheriff glanced sideways at Jess, whose jaw was
clinched, “made you an easy target. Horse stealing happens out here more times
than I’d like to mention. You should know that. Even your pa came to see me a
couple of times when you were growing up about horses being taken. Like I told
you before, ma’am, this isn’t a safe place for a lady to be left alone. Maybe
you should take Jack up on his offer.”
“Well I have a man to run
the relay station now.” She took a tight hold of Jess’ hand.
Jess felt the dampness of
her palm. She was nervous.
She declared, “So I’m not
selling out to Jack Phillips or to anyone. We plan to stay and run the relay
station together.”
The sheriff replied, “Maybe
you ought to reconsider.”
“Sounds as if you object to
us staying in these parts.” Jess’ hand dropped from Laura’s grasp to the butt
of his revolver.
The sheriff chewed on his
lip before saying, “Harper, this is a peaceful town. I intend to keep it that
way. No matter what it takes.”
“Maybe you should be telling
Phillips that instead of me,” Jess countered.
“Not many men can tell Jack
Phillips what to do,” the lawman admitted.
“Well the question is,
sheriff,” Jess replied, “does he tell you what to do?”
The crowd moved back. Even
Laura put distance between herself and the two men facing each other. Droplets
of sweat broke out on the sheriff’s forehead. His hand gripped the butt of his
pistol.
Jess kept his stare locked
on the sheriff’s face.
“I said I’ll look into it. That’s all I can promise right now,” the sheriff mumbled before turning and walking away.
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