HisBootsUnderHerBed (19 page)

T
he two riders slowed at the outskirts of the town. They both rode tall in the saddle, with a casualness that reflected confident skill.

Colt Fraser shoved his Stetson to the top of his forehead. “Well, here we are. Sign says Hope. Why Garth would want to come to this godforsaken town is beyond my understanding.”

“Uncle Henry’s map, remember?” his brother said.

As they rode slowly down the street, Colt continued, “Look at this place. There’s not a decent-looking building in the whole damn town. They should have named it Hopeless.”

“Tierra de Esperanza,” Clay Fraser replied. “Land of Hope.”

“You speak that Spanish lingo pretty good, Brother Clay.”

“I’ve lived in California for over a year now. ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans.’ ”

“Romans? I thought these people were Spanish,” Colt said, tongue-in-cheek. He pointed. “Hey, that must be the mission we’re looking for, up there.”

“El Misión de La Dueña de Esperanza—the Mission of the Lady of Hope,” Clay said, unable to resist the temptation of getting another rise out of his brother.

“All right! I’m impressed! Enough!” Colt reined up at a hitching post in front of the cantina. “Let’s stop for a drink, and hopefully something to eat. I’m hungry.”

The saloon was empty except for an old man behind the bar. They sat down at a corner table and the old man came over to take their order. He didn’t speak English, but Clay managed to make himself understood.

“So what did you order?” Colt asked when the man shuffled away.

“Beers and a couple of sandwiches.”

“What kind of sandwiches?”

“I hope it was chicken, but I’m not making any promises,” Clay said, chuckling. “I told him to just make sure it’s cooked.”

“You had me believing you spoke their lingo.”

“I’m
learning
it. Actually, it’s a beautiful language, Colt. Kind of rolls right off the tongue. You ought to try and learn it, too.”

“I don’t expect to be in California that long—any more than I expected to spend my honeymoon with
you
, stumbling over loose rocks, choking on dust, and bathing in frigid water. Nothing personal, Brother Clay, but I can’t wait to get back to New Mexico and settle down on the Lazy B.”

“I thought you wanted to be a lawman. Since when did you take up ranching?”

“Cassie’s family owns a cattle ranch. It’s not real huge, like some there, but it’s beautiful. Rolling hills, streams to fish in, plenty of graze for the cattle.”

“And Indians running wild and massacring the settlers,” Clay added drolly.

“Remind me to tell you about my encounter with Cochise sometime,” Colt said.

“You mean that Apache chief who’s been stirring up all that trouble in Arizona?”

Colt nodded. “One and the same, Brother Clay.”

“My God, the newspapers are full of him.” He reached over and patted his brother’s shoulder. “Now
I’m
impressed.”

“Clay, have you thought about going back to Fraser Keep?”

“As things stand now, I don’t think so. Becky and I have put a lot into planting the vineyard and getting the winery built. We’ve just bottled our first wine for commercial sale. But once the railroad is completed, I promised to take Becky to Virginia to see the plantation.”

“When you do, Cassie and I will go with you. She wants to see it, too.”

“Will’s last letter to me said that Jed’s gone to sea. I guess he has no heart for plantation life, either.”

“He’s always loved the sea. But I think the South has changed so much since the war that we’re all looking for something different.”

“That’s for sure. But I’m willing to bet nothing would ever get Will away from there.”

“And shouldn’t,” Colt said. “Fraser Keep is his heart and soul. He worked his ass off to preserve it. Thank God one of us did.”

Suddenly a young boy dressed in a choir robe burst through the door. “Abuelo, abuelo!” he shouted, and began to wave his hands and talk excitedly to the old man.

“What’s his problem?” Colt asked.

“He’s talking so fast I can’t follow it. Apparently the old man is his grandfather, and I made out the word
muerto,
which means dead, and
bandidos,
which are bandits. He keeps pointing to the mission.”

“Maybe some bandits killed someone at the mission?” Colt said.

When they heard the word
Fraser
come out of the boy’s mouth, both men jumped to their feet. They exchanged startled looks, then ran outside and galloped up to the pink stucco wall at the top of the road.

As they dismounted, they saw a priest standing over a gray-haired man sitting on a bench fanning himself with his hat. A younger man stood beside them.

A door slammed and a mature woman came out of the rectory and handed the older man a glass of liquid. He took a drink, then handed it back to her with a twisted expression of disapproval.

“Excuse me, who’s in charge here?” Clay asked.

They all turned around, except for the old man, who sat slumped and continued to fan himself.

“I am Father Chavez. If you will excuse us, gentlemen, I cannot be of service right now. We have a serious problem to deal with at this time.”

“That’s what we’re here about, Father Chavez,” Clay said. “We heard in the cantina that there was trouble here at the mission; and we believe our brother’s name was mentioned.”

The younger man spoke up immediately. “Are you the brothers of Garth Fraser?”

“Yes, we are. Where is he?”

“I have some bad news for you.”

Colt stepped forward. “He’s not dead!”

“Not when we left him, señor, but his situation was hopeless.”

“What do you mean? Was he ill? Wounded? We heard the mention of bandits?”

“Rico, why don’t we go inside where you can explain everything,” the priest said.

“There isn’t time for that,” Rico said. “If there’s any hope for Garth and Rory, we must get help back to them as quickly as possible.”

“You just got it,” Colt said. “You can tell us the details on the way.”

“I’m afraid three of us will not be enough,” Rico said.

“There’ll be four, countin’ me. Me daughter’s up there, too,” the gray-haired man said.

“Damn it, will somebody just tell us what happened?” Clay asked.

“Garth and Rory have been mining for gold,” Rico began. “Yesterday the vein ran out, so we packed up and were going to leave this morning, but bandits discovered us last night. Garth stayed behind to stall them and give the rest of us a chance to get away. Rory went back to be with him, and I don’t know if she even made it.”

“How many of them are there?” Clay asked.

“Fifteen for sure. There could be more.”

“How was Garth set for ammo?” Clay continued.

“He had his pistol, and his and Paddy’s rifles. About a half a box of cartridges for the rifles and a couple dozen for the pistol.”

“And the cover?”

“The cover’s good. There are rocks around him for protection. If we leave now, we could be back there by morning.”

Clay opened up a folded sheet of paper he’d pulled out of his pocket. “Is this the same mine we’re talking about?”

Father Chavez glanced down at it. “I believe so. That is the same map he showed me.”

“Garth made me a copy before he left the Napa Valley. He wired me once a week to let me know where he was, and the last wire was from Sonora. The sheriff there remembered him asking about this town. When I didn’t hear from him for a while, we figured we better start looking for him.”

Rico pointed to the map. “The mine here is a natural cavern in solid rock. There’s no further trail beyond a waterfall that is right next to the mine. The waterfall drops sharply off the edge of the mountain for at least a thousand feet and forms a stream below, so the only way to reach the mine is from this trail that ends at the waterfall. And the only way to go higher would be to try and scale the wall above it, but it’s a solid rock surface with nothing to grab.”

“So the cover sounds good, as long as he can hold them off,” Clay said.

Colt was not as optimistic. “It may be good cover, but the only way out is the same way he got in. If they rush him or he runs out of ammo, it sounds like Brother Garth’s rode himself right into a box canyon. Let’s move out.”

“We must travel light,” Rico said. “Just a canteen, blanket, a rifle, and all the ammo we can find.”

Paddy stood up to follow.

“You’re not coming, Mr. O’Grady,” Clay said. “It’s clear that you’re physically exhausted.”

“That’s me daughter up there,” Paddy declared.

“I understand your feelings. But frankly, you can be more helpful to your daughter by remaining behind. You’ll only slow us down.”

Father Chavez patted Paddy’s arm. “They are right, Paddy. The job is for the young men who have the energy and strength. Let us go to the sanctuary and pray for our Lord to give them His helping hand.” He put his arm around Paddy’s shoulders and led him away.

Colt glanced back at the mission as they rode out. The woman at the mission was standing at the gate watching them. A breeze suddenly caught her dark hair, lifting it off her shoulders like a black silk flag fluttering in the wind.

Was it a good omen or a bad one?

The climb was strenuous for both man and horse, made more difficult by their attempt to hurry. Jagged crags and narrow trails slowed their progress as the trail snaked up the side of the mountain. It was made more treacherous by deep hollow clefts on the rocky trail, where one misstep could send horse and rider plunging into the narrow canyon below.

Occasionally they paused briefly on a level woodland to rest and water their horses.

Time and again they had to dismount to duck under an overhanging precipice, moving from the shade of a bluff into the blazing sun reflecting off the bald face of a granite wall.

“And you traveled this in darkness, supporting that old man?” Colt asked during one of their rare rests.

“Sí, Señor Colt, but think of how much worse it would have been if I had to carry him.”

“You think we’ll find him alive, Clay?” Colt asked as they mounted up and followed Rico.

“You know that if Garth has good cover and his ammo holds out, he’s an army unto himself.”

“I wonder if O’Grady’s daughter made it back to him? Sounds like it could be serious, if she had the chance to get away and turned back to be with him.”

“Sounds like she’s in love with him. I could see Becky doing the same thing if she was in the same situation.”

“Yeah, I can see Cassie doing the same thing, too.”

The sudden sound of gunfire caused them to rein up, and Clay and Colt exchanged looks of relief.

“He’s still alive,” Clay said, and he dismounted. “Let’s see what we’re up against.”

They tied their horses to a shrub and moved stealthily through the trees, then stopped at the sight of some tethered horses.

“I count fifteen,” Colt said. “And no picket. These aren’t the smartest fish in the pond, are they?”

“I figured that out when they took on Garth,” Clay said.

They moved closer and saw that the bandits were stretched out in a semicircle from the trail to the waterfall.

“So if the mountain drops off at that waterfall,” Clay said, “they can only attack him from two directions: Garth’s left flank or the front. Have I got that right, Rico?”

The young man nodded.

“If one of us covers his left flank and keeps them from getting to their horses, and another gets behind them in those fir trees opposite the entrance, we’ll have them surrounded,” Clay said.

“Surrounded!” Rico exclaimed. “Señor Clay, how do the three of us
surround
them?”

“That’s only five to one,” Colt said. “Those are better odds than we had during the war.”

“Yes, but did you not lose the war?”

“Sure, but when Garth jumps in, that’ll be another gun.” He slapped Rico on the shoulder. “See, the odds are better already.”

“The way I figure it,” Clay said, “one of us will have to get to the cave in case they try to rush it. If Garth is low on ammunition, he won’t be able to hold them all off.”

“I’ll do it,” Rico volunteered. “The entrance is a narrow crack and I know where it is. I can get to it quickly.”

“You’ll need a diversion,” Clay said.

“I suggest we stampede some of these horses into the clearing between those fir trees and the entrance,” Colt said. “The confusion should help prevent one of them getting an easy shot at Rico.”

Clay nodded. “Good idea. Okay, I’ll hold the left flank, and the front one is yours, Colt. Rico, when I stampede those horses, you go in with them and get to Garth. When you reach him, the two of you come out, and these bastards will be in the squeeze of our crossfire.”

“I’d say it’s got a good chance of working,” Colt said.

“What do you think, Rico? You’ve got a dog in this hunt, too.”

Rico flashed a grin. “I’m still trying to understand what you meant by
surrounded.”

“Just make sure that you stampede
all
the horses,” Colt said. “I don’t want any of those men getting away and picking us off on the way back.”

Clay nodded. “Give me a signal when you’re in place.” The two brothers shook hands. “Watch your back, Brother Colt.”

“Same to you, Brother Clay. See you when it’s over.” He shook Rico’s hand. “Keep your head down, amigo.”

“Usted también, Capitán Colt.”

Colt slipped away into the trees.

T
hroughout the night and most of the day, the bandits had not tried to rush as a gang. Garth had picked off or held back any of the more daring ones, but in another few hours it would get dark, and the bastards would surely rush them then.

Garth spun the chamber of his pistol. He had three rounds left, and he’d used up all the bullets in his and Paddy’s rifles. He glanced at Rory, sitting nearby with her back against the wall. Her eyes never wavered from his, but he knew she suspected the time was drawing near.

“Soon be dark, honey.”

“Garth, you know why I came back. I want us to be together at the very end.”

“For God’s sake, Rory, think about it. They won’t kill you right away. I know what they’ll do to you will be horrible, but if you could just hang in there for a couple hours, Rico should be back with some help.”

“It doesn’t matter. I love you, Garth. I wouldn’t want to go on without you.”

“You’ve got a whole life ahead of you, regardless of what happens here. If you don’t care about yourself, think about Paddy.”

“Garth, I knew what the outcome would be if I came back, and I don’t have any regrets.”

“Baby, I can’t do it.”

“Then give me the gun. I’ll do it.”

He felt as if he was going to blow apart. “God, if only we could have had more time together.”

Her smile was tender with love. “I’m grateful for the time we did have, and I wouldn’t trade one moment of it for a lifetime.”

“But think ahead, Rory. With the gold, you’ll be able to have a better life than you’ve ever thought you could.” His eyes were full of poignancy. “Picket fence and all, honey.”

“That picket fence included my knight in armor.”

“I love you, Rory. That’s why I want you to live. Nothing else matters.”

“And nothing else will matter to me if you don’t,” she said.

“Oh, God, baby, I was such a damn fool in the beginning. I kept telling myself I couldn’t trust you, when my heart told me differently.”

“We must have been the two biggest fools on earth, my love. Always bickering with each other like children.”

“And now we have to try to squeeze everything we should have said to each other into a few minutes.” He looked longingly at her. “Rory, when did you realize you loved me?”

“Who can say the exact moment a person falls in love? I think in the beginning, what I felt was the concept of you more than anything else—what I wanted my knight in armor to be like. Gradually my knight took on more and more of your attributes, and sometime between then and now, he became you.

“It was the night I spent in that black hole, waiting for you to come and rescue me.” Her eyes glowed with worship as she gazed at him. “Because I knew you would come.”

“Funny how your heart knows what your mind refuses to recognize.”

She nodded. “I kept telling myself you were out of the reach of a girl like me, and that your only intentions were to have sex. And so I tried to will myself not to be foolish enough to fall in love with you. But I failed miserably at the attempt.”

Then her mouth curved into that gritty little grin he loved so much. “Your turn, Fraser. When did Cupid’s arrow strike you?”

He marveled at her. Even now, facing death, the spunk and courage that he admired so greatly never faltered.

He chuckled. “Lord, how I fought it. I tried to convince myself you were a liar, a thief, a trollop. That the only thing I wanted was to get you into bed. Yet despite all that I believed, I liked you. I was captivated by your wit, and your mood changes fascinated me. And those blue eyes of yours mesmerized me every time I looked at you.” He grinned. “And the sex sure didn’t hurt, either.

“It got to the point when I thought of nothing but you, and wanted to be with you every waking moment.

“You’re the most incredible woman I’ve ever met, Rory. I never had a chance from the beginning.”

Their love arced between them, as tangible as the rock beneath their feet, and they reached out and clasped hands.

“Any regrets, Rory O’Grady?” he asked tenderly.

“No regrets, Garth Fraser.”

One of the bandits suddenly appeared in the doorway, and Garth reflexively stepped in front of her and fired a shot. “Get down, Rory.” He kicked the dead man’s body away from the entrance.

Now you’ve only got one more shot, Fraser. Then there’ll be one left to…

He suddenly had a glimmer of hope. Maybe they didn’t know Rory was with him. He looked around in desperation. If they didn’t know, maybe they wouldn’t think of looking in the darkness at the rear of the cave. They might not even check out the mine at all, if he went outside and surrendered. The sharks would be too occupied with their bloodletting. So how was he going to convince Rory to get back there?

The idea became academic when the hoot of an owl sounded from the fir trees. From the trees nearest the trail, he heard a similar hooting.

Then something clicked in his mind. He hadn’t seen or heard an owl the whole time he’d been up here. If he didn’t know better, he’d think it was Indians, or the signal he and his brothers used to make when they were hunting back in Virginia. But there were no Indians around here, and it sure as hell couldn’t be his brothers. It had to be a signal the bandits were getting ready to rush him.

He tightened his grasp on the pistol and started to back up slowly toward Rory.

Take only one shot, Fraser. You have to save the last one for her.

Suddenly the famous Rebel yell rent the air, and gunshots exploded from all directions. Racing wildly, a slew of riderless horses thundered into the clearing as all hell broke loose. Many of the bandits, flushed out of concealment, began running around as helter-skelter as the horses, shooting wildly at unknown targets.

One of the horses raced directly toward the entrance, a crouched rider hanging low off the side of the animal. Garth took aim.

“Don’t shoot, it’s me, Rico,” the rider shouted. He jumped free and made it behind a rock as bullets ricocheted off the surrounding rocks.

Garth handed Rory his pistol. “Honey, the cavalry’s just arrived! There’s one bullet in there. Get into that corner and stay there until I tell you to come out. And if any of those bastards comes through this entrance, shoot him.” Garth pointed a finger at the dog, and Saddle trotted back and lay down at Rory’s feet.

Garth ran to the entrance and grabbed his empty rifle. “Rico, I need ammo.”

Rico tossed Garth a box of cartridges. “We figured you could use these.”

Garth saw several of the bandits fall to the ground. “What the hell is going on?” he shouted.

“I’ve brought some help. One’s in the fir trees over there and the other one is near the trail, so pick your target carefully, amigo.” His shot took down one of the bandits. “We’re supposed to move out to outflank the bandits and catch them in a crossfire.”

As Garth loaded his rifle, Rico sent a steady stream of fire at the routed outlaws, while Clay and Colt picked off the bandits who were running amok trying to escape. Garth took cover behind the same boulder as Rico, and added his fire power to the rout.

When the shooting finally stopped, Clay and Colt came out of concealment.

Garth was beside himself with exhilaration. “What in hell kept you guys? I was down to my last round,” he grumbled, to disguise his real emotions.

“We figured you could handle them alone, Brother Garth,” Colt said. “There were only fifteen of them.”

Then the three men broke into laughter, followed with hugs, handshakes, and back slaps until Rico joined them, looking grave.

“Garth, I have some very bad news. Rory did not go back to the mission.”

“I know. She’s in the cave, safe and sound.”

“Thank God,” Rico said, crossing himself.

“What about Paddy?” Garth asked.

“He’s with Father Chavez.”

“We convinced him to stay behind,” Clay said.

“If you won an argument with that stubborn old mule, that’s more than I could ever do. Colt, I hear you got married.”

“Wait until you meet Cassie, Garth. You’ll love her,” Colt said.

“I’ll go get Rory. She’s probably wondering what’s happening.”

“Is she wounded?” Clay asked.

“No, I just told her to stay where she was. She’s the most remarkable woman I’ve ever met.” He raced away.

Colt looked at Clay. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

Clay nodded, and they turned to Rico with questioning looks.

Rico nodded. “Sí, caballeros, he is in love. Muy enamorado.”

“I suggest we get out of here before any more of those bandidos show up here,” Colt said.

“How many are dead?” Clay asked.

“I counted fourteen, so one got away,” Rico said.

“I don’t think he’ll give us any more trouble. But I’m for getting out of here, too,” Clay agreed.

Garth found Rory sitting where he’d left her. He rushed over, picked her up, and spun her around. “Honey, you aren’t going to believe this! My brothers, Clay and Colt, are the ones who came with Rico to our rescue.”

“Your brothers! Where did they come from?” she asked, happy to see his pleasure. “What about Pop—is he safe?”

“Yes, he’s at the mission. I’ve got a dozen questions for them, but I’m holding off until we get out of here.” He grabbed her hand. “Come on and meet them.”

“This is Rory O’Grady, the woman I hope to marry,” he announced when they rejoined his brothers.

Rory was as stunned by Garth’s announcement as his brothers appeared to be, but she managed to smile.

Both men doffed their hats. “Pleasure meeting you, ma’am.” Clay said.

“It certainly is,” Colt said.

“I don’t know how to begin to thank you. You saved our lives.”

“Miss Rory, the pleasure was all ours,” Colt said.

Clay nodded. “Yes, ma’am, it sure was.”

Rico led Boots over to them. “Rory will have to ride a mule, or ride double with you.”

“We’ll ride double,” Garth said. “Did you dig up the gold?”

Rico nodded. “It’s in my saddlebags.”

“You mean you actually struck gold?” Clay exclaimed. “Looks like we all have a lot to talk over—so let’s get moving instead of standing and gaping at each other.”

Colt winked at Rory. “You have to excuse Clay’s shortness, Miss Rory. He’s always been the serious one in the family.” He hoisted her up to Garth, who set her in front of him.

As they started to move out, Clay leaned over and whispered to Colt, “Rico’s got that right. Muy enamorado. Brother Garth’s in love.”

“What about burying those dead men?” Rory asked.

“Let their friend come back and bury them,” Garth said. “We need to get as far down as we can before it gets too dark.”

As Garth glanced back and thought about how close he had come to losing the woman he loved, Father Chavez’s words echoed in his memory.

Montaña del Diablo. Mountain of the Devil.

Soon the trail became too dangerous in the dark, and with the experience of three veteran soldiers—who insisted Rory sit down and rest—within minutes they had a pot of coffee brewing on a campfire.

Garth discovered a few sticks of jerky in his saddlebags and Rico and Colt had filled the canteens before leaving, so there was plenty of water for everyone, including the horses and mules.

Garth stretched out with his head in Rory’s lap, the other three men sitting or lying nearby.

“At least the coffee’s hot,” Rory said as they chewed on the jerky.

Colt winked at Garth. “We could slaughter one of those mules of yours if you’re hungry, Miz Rory.”

“Don’t you dare! The poor things have suffered on this wretched mountain the same as we have.”

The men broke into laughter, and she realized Colt had just tried to get a rise out of her. “All right, Clay, tell me the truth. Which one of your brothers has the most devilment in him? Garth or Colt?”

“Hmmm,” Clay pondered. “I’d have to say they’re a matched set.”

“Listen to him, Brother Colt,” Garth said. “Seems to me, our brother Clay was never the last horse to the trough.”

“Now, Colt, you know Mama never raised any son to speak disrespectful of a lady,” Garth replied.

“Did I say I was referring to Ellie Deveraux?” Colt asked in an innocent voice, with twin devils dancing in his eyes.

Clay groaned. “You boys just aren’t going to let me forget that, are you?”

“Well,” Colt said, rubbing his chin reflectively. “It’s like having a good knife, Brother Clay. You’ve got to keep honing it to keep it sharpened.”

Rory stood up. “I think on that happy note, I’ll go to bed.” She bent down and kissed Garth on the cheek. “Good night. And good night to the rest of you. These last couple of days have been rather tiring, and once again, I can’t tell you how grateful I am to all of you.”

“You’re safe now, Rory, so have a good night’s sleep,” Clay said.

Colt grinned. “Good night, Rory.”

Rico echoed it, and stood up. “I think I will do the same. Buenos noches, amigos.”

Sublimely contented, Rory lay down on her bedroll and smiled as she listened to their soft voices. When she was with them, she could feel their love and loyalty for one another. And all the teasing and joking was part of it, because they were friends as well as brothers.

“Rico’s a good man,” she heard Clay say.

“I’d say a good friend, as well,” Colt added. “How long have you known him, Garth?”

“Just a short time. He showed up just when a bear was about to rip Rory apart. Funny how someone like him shows up when you need him the most. There’s no doubt that Rory, Paddy, and I would be dead by now otherwise.”

“It sure gives a person food for thought.”

“About what?” Clay asked.

“Oh, divine intervention. Providence. One’s own mortality.”

“I thought about those things during the war,” Clay said. “Whenever the guy next to me took the bullet or was blown apart. I never could figure out why him, not me?”

“I did, too,” Colt said. “Though deep down you’re relieved that it
was
him, not you, it makes you wonder why.”

“It’s not only about life and death,” Clay said. “It’s about falling in love with that special woman. For instance, in Independence, with all the men there who were heading west, why did Becky pick me?”