The Gallows' Bounty (West of Second Chances) (27 page)

“That would be nice, Mrs. Boden,” Marshall said.

“Please,” Benjamin said with adult politeness.

Well one thing was for sure, the boy’s presence would at least keep her entertained.  They were both trying so hard to be men it was hard to keep a straight face.  She sat the promised milk and cookies in front of them before setting about her daily routines.

It was peaceful and comforting to have the boys in the house with her.   They played jacks and marbles, and as the day lengthened, more and more of their stashed weapons made their way out of their hiding places.  Quite an arsenal had accumulated on the kitchen table by the time she served supper.  Outside the wind had taken to howling; a fierce storm gripped the Dakotas.

Willow fought the urge to look out the window for the first few hours after the sun set.  Since Boden had left, her bread had risen and been baked, she had cooked and served supper, the boys had helped her tidy up, and she had read Marshall and Benjamin “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Now all three of them were running out of things to do, and on top of that they were sufficiently spooked and anxious for the men to return home. 

Finally, she couldn’t resist any longer.

She looked outside and saw exactly what she expected to see–blackness and swirling white snowflakes.  Many a man had been caught in a lesser storm and failed to tell the tale.  No wonder Nathan had wanted his boys safely at home.

She looked to where the two sat playing cards in the living room.  They looked as ready for a chance to get out of the house as she felt.

“I think it’s time we did the evenin’ chores, boys,” Willow said from where she’d begun to bundle up at the kitchen door.

The pair scrambled up and headed her way.

“We can get them,” Marshall said and began to put on his winter wear, stashing a few weapons on himself as he did so.

“We sure can,” Benjamin chimed in and followed his brother’s suit.

“I’m sure you both could get them by yourselves, but I need a break from this house,” she said.  They looked ready to argue, but apparently decided to hold their tongues when they saw her determined look.

Worry threatened to overwhelm her, and she had run out of things to do in the house.  Not even these two helpful boys would have stood a chance at keeping her inside, so she bundled up, grabbed the gun, and headed out.

Once outside, the strength of the storm far surpassed what she’d suspected.  The wind howled, and the icy flakes bit into her cheeks.  She could barely see a few feet in front of her.  The boys turned back at her, their twin expressions questioning the wisdom of her decision.

Not answering their unspoken question,
Willow stepped back into the house and grabbed the rope off the back of the door.  Venturing back outside, she tied the rope around the porch rail.  The rope wrapped around one hand and the rifle gripped in the other, Willow gestured for the boys to take hold of the rope as well.  Together they trooped toward the barn.

There were a couple of times they had to retrace their steps, and without the help of the rope, they surely would have wandered out onto the flat, endless prairie and frozen to death.

Once in the barn, she milked Bertha while the boys forked hay down from the loft and checked on the stabled horses.

“We’re all done, Mrs. Boden,”
Marshall said a while later.

“Yep, all done,” Benjamin said.

She smiled broadly at both of them.  “Well done.  I don’t know how I would have done it without you.”

The boys beamed under her praise.  Together they grabbed the milk pail.

“Sure you boys can get that back to the house?  It’s pretty heavy.” She may as well have asked them if they were girls.  The looks they shot her were full of offended pride.  She held up her hands.  “I should never have doubted you.”

Moments later they trudged back through the snow.  Back at the house, the three quickly unbundled.  The boys placed the pail of milk safely in the kitchen while
Willow replaced the rope on the back of the door.  A while later she prepared the milk for storage in the cellar.  Worry assailed her as soon as she had time to think, and she didn’t want to think.  Not about him.

When she thought of Boden freezing and lost in a whiteout, she worried.  And her stress couldn’t be good for the baby, just like losing Boden wouldn’t be good for her.  Besides she didn’t want Nathan’s boys to see her concern.  Nathan was the only parent they had left.  She knew Boden would raise the boys if anything ever happened to their father, but for boys’ sakes, Willow prayed that never happened.

She put together a cold snack, and brought it to Marshall and Benjamin in the parlor.  They were back at their games, and both gave her an absentminded thank you.  Despite their distraction, it didn’t take long for the pair to down their food.  However, the beef sandwich stuck in her dry throat.  She reminded herself she needed to eat.  On cue, the baby kicked, and she took another bite.

Later, the boys went to sleep in front of the fire, and Willow retreated to her bedroom.  She tried to sleep, but the bed felt empty without Ezra in it with her.  After tossing and turning for a few hours, she ambled into the parlor.  Careful not to wake the boys, she went to sit near the window and draped the quilt from their bedroom over her lap.  It smelled of Boden.

The rifle propped nearby, she fell asleep curled up in the chair.

THE SNOW AND WIND
eased, a full moon popping out from behind the clouds, and Ezra forced his men to leave the shelter of his old soddy behind.  Willow was sure to be crazy with worry, and truth be told, he didn’t feel all that comfortable having left her alone with only the boys for protection.  French remained on the loose.

The sun had yet to rise, but he and his men headed his cattle the rest of the way home in the moonlit darkness.  The cattle had been closer than he’d thought. His cow hands thought he was crazy, and he agreed.  Crazy about Willow’s safety.

A quiet, snowy barnyard welcomed Boden home.  The darkness was easing, but he could still see the lamp burning brightly in the window.  So, she had been concerned. 

He rode Beast up to the porch and dismounted, handing the reins to one of his men with orders to care for the animal.  He needed to let
Willow know he was home.

Quietly he walked into the parlor, stepping into the archway to watch his sleeping wife.  Her petite body was curled into his favorite parlor chair, the quilt from their bed wrapped around her.  There was no way he could have bent himself into that position, and knowing that made her look even more vulnerable and precious to him.

Boden knelt beside her.  He reached out a hand and softly caressed her cheek.

“Hey,” he whispered, careful not to wake Nathan’s boys.

He waited for her eyes to flutter open and smiled when she looked not all that happy to be awakened.

“Good morning,” he said.

She brightened when she realized who’d awakened her.  She enthusiastically wrapped her arms around his neck, but said quietly, “Thank God you’re home.”

Teetering on the balls of his feet, he returned her embrace.

“Anything happen while I was gone?”

“I wore out the rug pacing,”
Willow said.  “What took you so long?”

“We got caught in the storm,” Boden explained.

“You must have frozen,” she said, standing and heading for the kitchen.  “I’ll put some coffee on.”

“All right, but it really wasn’t that cold.  We played poker in my old soddy.”

“You lived in a soddy?”

“Yes, and it made me realize I couldn’t wait for a real home,” Boden explained.

“I lived in a few of those myself,” Willow admitted, putting the water on to boil.

“With Roberts?”

“Yeah, but when I was little, too.  Ma and pa couldn’t afford a real house right away either.  The thing I remember about soddies is that they’re toasty in the winter and cool in the summer.”

Boden was glad she willingly talked about her parents, and that she found it easier to share things with him.

A knock sounded on the door.

“Come on in,” Boden hollered.

“Mornin’, Willow,” Nathan greeted as he walked into the house.  He headed straight for the stove to warm his hands.

“Mornin’,”
Willow returned.

“Pa,” a couple of young voices shouted from the parlor.  They came running to him and wrapped their arms around his waist.

Nathan returned their hugs and tousled their hair.  “Glad to see you two.”

Love for his boys shone in his eyes, and Boden hoped someday that he, too, would make as great a father to his children.  He looked at Willow then, and they shared a smile.  It looked as though she’d been thinking along the same lines.

“What do you need, Nathan?” Boden asked, taking a seat at the table.  Truth be told, he hoped Nathan didn’t need much.  He had a few ideas on how Willow could warm him up, and it wasn’t with coffee.

“Just thought I’d let you know that there’s a rider approachin’,” Nathan commented.

“In this weather?” Willow voiced what they were all thinking.  It was cold and snow covered the ground.  Although it had stopped snowing for a bit, it looked like the snow would be falling again soon.

“How far off is he?”  On the flat plains, it was possible to see a traveler many miles off.

“You’ve got a while yet,” Nathan informed Boden.  “A half an hour or so, especially with all the snow his horse has to fight through.”

A half an hour might be enough time.  “Let me know when he’s close, Nathan.”

Nathan nodded and helped his boys collect their arsenal.

“Thanks for keepin’ an eye on
Willow for me, Marshall, Benjamin.  I appreciate it.”  Boden smiled at the pair.

“She was hardly any hassle at all,”
Marshall said.

“Marshall!” Nathan said, surprised at his son’s comment.

“Well, Pa, she insisted on helping us with the chores.  She could have gotten hurt,” Benjamin interceded for his brother.

Willow
laughed.  “I couldn’t have done the chores without them, Nathan.  And they probably could have done them better without me.”

Nathan shook his head.  “I’m not sure what to do with this pair.”

“Seems you’re doing mighty fine to me,” Boden said.

Their goodbyes said, the trio left Willow and Boden alone. As it turned out, Willow thought a half an hour would be plenty of time as well.

THE RIDER TURNED OUT
to be Marshal Owens, much to Boden, Willow, and Nathan’s relief.  And true to Nathan’s approximation, Owens arrived about a half an hour after he’d been spotted on the flat Dakota horizon.

The three met Owens in the barnyard.

“Howdy, Owens,” Boden said, sticking out a large hand for a shake.  “It’s been much too long.”

“I don’t know, Boden. No news from you is generally good news.”  Owens winked at his friend and took his hand.  “Ever since you saved my hide, it’s almost as if I owed you a favor or two.”

No wonder Boden was so sure he’d come
, Willow thought as she hovered close to her husband’s side.  Strangers, especially male strangers, still made her nervous.  Boden recognized her agitation and slipped a comforting arm around her shoulders.  The action drew Owens’s attention to her.

“Now who’s this little lady?” he said, offering her his hand as well.

She took his hand in hers, and his handshake gripped hers firm and strong.  She met the man’s eyes, and they had a depth to them.  He stood shorter than her husband, about six feet, but he was brawny with large forearms and meaty hands.  His dark hair was thick and his face handsome.  She thought she understood why her husband admired the man.  Owens had a cool confidence about him and was about ten years older than her husband.  Instinctively, she knew he had been the man who had shaped her husband.

“This,” Ezra began, tugging
Willow a bit closer, “is my wife, Willow.”

“You? Married?” Owens questioned, looking genuinely startled by Boden’s pronouncement.  “I never thought you’d allow yourself the pleasure.”

What a funny way to word it
, Willow thought.  Never allow himself the pleasure?  Willow wondered at the past these two men shared.  How had Boden saved Owens’ hide?  Why did Owens find it so startling that Boden had married?  She made a mental note to ask Ezra for details later. She had a feeling the telling of it would make for some interesting stories.

“It’s nice to see you again, too, Nathan,” Owens said by way of greeting the foreman.

“Likewise,” Nathan returned.

These three men had obviously known each other for a long while, and Willow’s curiosity increased.  The group made their way out of the cold and into the barn.  Owens took care of grooming and feeding his horse as the discussion lengthened.

“So, what made you send for me, Boden?” Owens asked, uncinching his saddle.

“Devils
Lake needs a new sheriff,” Boden said as he made himself comfortable on a nearby hay bale.