Black Conley (24 page)

Hot tears stung her eyes and blurred her vision as the roofless barn and the house she so loved came into view. They had made it; they were safe. Roy would know what to do.

As they came closer to the house she felt Black slump against her. Had he been hit during the wild ride? Had he died getting her to safety?

She grabbed the reins of the horse and pulled him to a halt. Once she did, she saw Roy and Annie, along with the girls and several armed men, on the porch.
Am I safe? Are these men friends or foes?

Someone pulled the reins from her hands and reached up to help Black down from the back of the horse. Once he did, someone else helped her. She didn't recognize the man at first, and then realized that it was Roy who now held her protectively while the other men carried Black into the house.

"I have to go to him!” she shouted, as she tried to untangle herself from Roy's arms.

"Let them get him in the house. We'll follow. Didn't you see the stain on the back of his shirt? Someone shot him. He's unconscious."

Belle nodded. “I felt him go limp as we got closer to the house. I heard the shots; I didn't think he'd been hit."

With the tension of their wild ride behind her, Belle began to shake. She wondered if it was from the severity of her wounds, the cold or the relief of being in her own home and at last safe.

"Let's get you in and get you warmed up. Ed can take care of Black while I see to you."

"Ed? Ed's here? When?"

"You'll get answers to all your questions, but for now, we need to get you into the house. You're chilled to the bone."

Roy held Belle close as he carried her into the house. With safety just a few steps away, she tried to relax in his arms.

The house was a beehive of activity. Men, both familiar and unknown, crowded into the large kitchen, making it look small and cramped. She immediately recognized Jeb and Pete. With them were three other men all wearing badges and of course, the girls from the ranch.

"Who?” Belle questioned.

Annie insisted on taking her upstairs to rest.

"As soon as the doc finishes with Black, I'll send him over to check on you,” Roy said, once Annie had helped Belle into a nightdress and put her to bed.

"I don't see why,” Belle protested, even though she winced at the pain prompted by the feel of the flannel nightdress against the welts that covered her breasts, legs and back.

"Because you're injured,” Annie replied, once Roy closed the bedroom door.

The fact that Roy had said the doctor was with Black finally registered in her mind. “Where's Black? How badly is he hurt?” she asked. “He's across the hall. It was a good thing the doctor was here checking on Zeek. Ed is certain the bullet is still in Black's back."

"It's all because of me. What if he dies? How can I live with that?"

"Ssh,” Annie said, as she rubbed Belle's hand.

Annie's gesture was soothing, and Belle closed her eyes to think the positive thoughts Annie expected her to think. If Black hadn't come to her rescue, Clayte would have surely raped her. Once he was finished and realized that she wasn't a virgin, it was likely that he would have given her to the other four in order for them to enjoy her body as well.

From outside the house, shots rang out. She could hear glass shattering and prayed no one inside the house was hurt. Almost immediately, the gunfire was answered with shots from within.

"What's happening?” she pleaded.

Annie carefully peeked out the window. “It looks like Clayte and several others are firing on the house. They have to know that Black was hit. I'm sure they expected to find the girls alone. I'll bet they never expected to run into the sheriff from the next county as well as two U. S. Marshals ready to return fire. Ed would be in on it too, if he weren't with Black."

Annie no more than spoke the words than Belle heard someone rush down the stairs. It had to be Ed getting in on his share of the action. She knew there had always been a powerful hatred between Ed and Clayte. From her father's letters they had crossed paths more than once and never did get along.

It seemed as though the fighting went on for hours until at last all was quiet. Belle finally relaxed. She had wanted to get in on the fight to save what was hers, but Annie hadn't allowed her to ever stir from her bed.

"It's over,” Ed announced when he entered Belle's room.

"Did anyone get killed?” Belle asked, not really wanting to hear the answer to her question.

"One of Clayte's hands is dead, but that's it. Clayte and some of his men are wounded and in the custody of the marshals who came with me. They're guarding the lot of them in that old bunkhouse that you no longer use."

"How did you get here so quickly? Black just sent the wire last night."

"Black's been checking in with me regularly through the mail. I had an assignment in Sheridan. When it was finished, the men who were with me agreed that we should come up here and see what was going on with Black. We were at the stage stop when the wire came through this morning that there was trouble here and the stage shouldn't stop today. We'd tied our horses to the back of the stage, so we were able to get here quickly. Along the way, we recruited the help of the sheriff from the next county. I was shocked when we got here and found not only the barn roof gone, but learned that you were missing. I had no doubt that Black would bring you back here, but I never expected to have him shot in the back."

"Is he going to be all right?"

"He'll hurt like hell for a few days, but that's about all. The bullet was in his shoulder. The only reason he passed out was because of the loss of blood. Of course he won't be any good with his left hand for a couple of months."

"Can I see him?"

"He's still out of it. He won't even know you're there, but I don't see no harm in it after the Doc checks you over."

Consciousness returned to Black slowly. With it came memories of rescuing Belle and the breakneck ride to get her to safety. Had he made it? He hoped so. As the memories returned, so did the pain caused by the bullet that hit his back. He tried to move his left arm and found it was in a sling. Someone had patched him up, but who? It certainly wouldn't have been Clayte and his bunch. If they had captured him, he wouldn't be waking up. They'd make sure he was dead and left for the buzzards.

Slowly he opened his eyes. As things came into focus, he realized it was night and he was in the room he occupied the first few nights he was on the Double Bar B. After getting his bearings, he turned his head. A lamp on the dresser gave the room a soft glow. In its light, he saw Belle sitting in one of the chairs and Ed in the other.

"Welcome back to the land of the living,” Ed greeted him, his voice hardly more than a whisper.

A closer look at Belle told Black why his friend wasn't speaking out loud. She had fallen asleep.

"How bad?"

"Not bad enough to keep you down for too long. I think you've earned the rest."

"How did you know to get here?"

"I read between the lines of your letters. It wasn't hard to figure out that things were coming to a head. I had Rogers and Morris with me in Sheridan, so I decided we should head north rather than go back to Denver right away. It's a good thing we did."

"Did you get Clayte and his bunch?"

"They're locked in Belle's bunkhouse until a judge can get out here from Billings. I stopped in the next county and recruited the sheriff. He's guarded the bunkhouse while Rogers and Morris went into town to arrest Joe. Tomorrow morning we'll take the others into town to join him in his own jail."

Before Black could comment on what Ed just told him, Belle begin to stir in the chair. Once she was awake, she got to her feet. “I was so worried about you,” she said.

He half expected her to burst into tears. Instead, she sat dry-eyed beside him on the bed.

"Takes more than a bullet to stop me for long. Give me a couple of days and I'll be ready to take on the world, or at least take on you in that bed across the hall. That is of course if you're up to it."

"Trust me, Black Conley, I'm in much better shape than you are. The doctor gave me some ointment for the welts, and it took the pain away. The worst pain was sitting here waiting for you to wake up."

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March had turned to April before the trial of Clayte and the others got underway. Belle sat with Black and Ed in the chairs that had been set up in the saloon, which now served as a courtroom.

Clayte and his men looked less menacing as they were paraded into the makeshift courtroom, their hands and feet shackled. Seeing them in such shape made her almost feel sorry for them.

Black squeezed her hand reassuringly, as though he could read her thoughts. “Whatever happens will be for the best,” he whispered, just as Clayte's children were ushered into the saloon.

Around them people whispered about how terrible it was that if the trial went wrong, these poor innocent lambs would be orphans. The very thought made Belle's heart melt. She knew the children had been sent to various households in town and that just wasn't right. They should be together.

One by one, people testified against Clayte. Belle listened as Jeb and Pete told of losing cattle and Zeek related the story of how he was beaten and shot in an attempt to make it look like the rustling had been Belle's fault.

At last it was Belle's turn to testify. With confidence she faced the people who were assembled as well as the jury of her friends and neighbors. With as much composure as she could muster, she began to relate the details of her kidnapping and torture at the hands of Rance and Charlie. In order to implicate Clayte, she told of how they talked about their boss taking her virginity. Not even the cross-examination from Clayte's lawyer could shake her calm or get her to change her story one bit.

When she finished, Black took the stand and told of everything that had happened since his arrival in September. The most damaging evidence was the letter he produced from the widow of the man who he had found dying in the cave on Belle's property.

By noon the testimony was finished and the people who had packed the saloon brought in food they had prepared, while Clayte and the others were taken back to the jail.

"Thank you,” Belle heard someone say. She turned to see Nora Calhoun standing behind her.

"Oh, Nora, why are you thanking me? This has certainly turned your life into a living hell."

"Nothing could be, compared to being Joe's wife and living in this town knowing that everyone suspected him of wrong doing. Since his arrest, I've been able to take care of my children without having to worry about his beatings or being sold to Clayte."

Belle slid closer to Black leaving room for Nora to sit beside her. “What will you do now, Mrs. Calhoun?” Black asked.

"My house is very large. I've always wanted to open a boarding house, and the banker thinks it's a good idea. He's lending me the money to start my operation, and I already have a boarder and he will pay me well. There's also money in the bank. Joe was too cheap to spend anything he didn't have to. I think he had the idea I would be the first to die and leave him with all that money. I have no doubt that he will be going to jail for a long time. It will give me something to live on when he's gone. I'll be fine. The ones I worry about are Clayte and Nettie's children. They're the innocent ones in all of this."

"Indeed they are,” Belle agreed. “I've had word that the railroad will be coming through town and will be here by June. Since that's the case, I won't have the passengers from the stage line to supplement my income. The girls who work for me want to open an orphanage. I'm certain we'd have room for all of Clatye's children until they are old enough to take over the running of the Diamond A. In the meantime, I'll hire men to work that spread so that the children have at least something from their father. I'd hate to see them deprived of what their grandfather worked so hard to build."

Nora nodded, then got to her feet in order to return to the table where her children were sitting.

"Do you know what you just did?” Black asked.

"I put voice to the plans that the girls and I have been making over the winter. I can't stand to see those children growing up without one another. I know what it's like to be taken away from your family. They deserve to be together, just as they deserve to have the ranch that would have belonged to them if their father hadn't been such a greedy man."

Black finished eating and excused himself, allowing the ladies time to talk. Once outside, he joined Ed in a smoke.

"How do you think it's going?” Ed asked.

Black shrugged his shoulders. “It's hard to tell. If it were up to me, I'd find every one of them guilty. It's a shame we couldn't have this trial in Denver. At least there'd be no question about what would happen. I hate to think about how many of those men on the jury are drinking buddies with at least one of the ones on trial."

"I know what you mean. It's hard to find twelve men in this town who don't genuinely like Clayte. Up until all this started happening, I think Belle was the only rancher with a problem with the man."

Black nodded his head in agreement. “I remember when I first got here, Jeb and the others were dead set on blaming her instead of the man who was responsible for the rustling. It didn't take long for us to set them straight, but for a while there, Belle was mighty upset."

"Her being upset bothered you, right?” Ed paused, waiting for Black's affirmative nod. “So since it did, what about you and Belle?"

"What about us?"

"Don't act innocent with me, Black Conley, I've known you for too long. Do you really think you can ride on to the next assignment and leave her here? You have feelings for her. I can see it not only in your eyes, but also in your actions."

"My feelings have nothing to do with it. I have a job to do. I can't put Belle and the others in danger because of who I am."

"That job might not be waiting for you. I saw the damage that bullet did. I want you to see a specialist in Denver. If I'm right, I doubt you'll ever get back the full use of your left arm. If that's the case, your career with the marshals is over."