Spirit's Song (16 page)

The newlywed couple scrambled out of the coach behind Kaylynn. John Porter descended more slowly.

Jesse knelt beside the driver and the shotgun guard. Both were dead, as was the man who had been riding on top of the coach. One of the hold-up men was dead, a second one lay in the dirt. Blood poured from a wound in his chest. Jesse doubted if he’d live much longer.

Jesse glanced in the direction the robbers had gone. If he hurried, he might be able to catch them.

With that thought in mind, he moved toward the back of the coach.

Kaylynn followed him. She frowned as he checked the saddle cinch on the roan, then slipped a bridle on over the halter. “What are you doing?” she asked.

“I’m going after them.”

“No.”

“Ravenhawk was with ’em.”

“Ravenhawk!” she exclaimed. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. You might want to bandage him up,” Jesse said, nodding at John Porter, who stood near the coach, clutching his shoulder.

“Please don’t go.”

“I’ve got to.” Jesse glanced at the other passengers. “There’s plenty of water onboard. Just sit tight ’til I get back.”

“What if you don’t come back?” John Porter asked.

Jesse shrugged. “You can try taking the coach back to Twin Bluffs, or you can just sit tight.” He untied the roan from the back of the Concord. “When the stage doesn’t show up at the next stop, they’ll send someone looking.”

“Jesse. Don’t go.”

“I have to.” He kissed her, hard and quick, then swung aboard the roan and rode after the bandits.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The outlaws’ trail was easy to follow. Five horses headed north, moving fast. He recognized the tracks of Ravenhawk’s big Appaloosa gelding among them.

He hadn’t gone more than a mile or so when he found one of the bandits lying facedown across the road. The man’s horse stood a few feet away, grazing on a patch of short grass.

Reining his horse to a stop, Jesse dismounted, one hand resting on his gun butt as his gaze swept the surrounding area. There was no cover here, and little chance of an ambush, but years of bounty hunting had taught him to be cautious.

He approached the outlaw warily, prodded him in the side with the toe of his boot.

The man groaned softly.

Reaching down, Jesse plucked the man’s Colt from his holster and shoved it into the waistband of his pants, then rolled the man over.

Jesse grunted softly. The outlaw was just a kid, probably not more than sixteen years old.

“Got any water?” the kid asked.

“Sure, in a minute. How bad are you hurt?”

“I don’t know. Feels like I’m…I’m dyin’.”

Jesse lifted the boy’s shirt, then shook his head.

The boy lifted his head, trying to see.

“Don’t look,” Jesse said. He dropped the boy’s shirt back in place.

“Is it bad?”

“Real bad. I doubt you’ll last more than an hour or two. You got any kin that needs to be notified?”

“Sister in Kansas City.”

“What’s her name?”

“Rosemary Clemens.”

“And your name?”

“Jimmy Claudill.”

Jesse grunted softly. Unless he was mistaken, there was a three hundred dollar bounty on Claudill’s head.

“Give me some water.”

“Not a good idea. Water now will just speed things up. Where are the rest headed?”

The kid shook his head. “Go to hell.”

Young and stupid and scared, Jesse thought. “Tell me where they’re going, and I’ll see you get a decent burial.”

“No.” The kid licked his lips. “Dammit, gimme some water.”

With a nod, Jesse went to get the canteen from his saddle. Returning to the wounded man, he hunkered down on his heels beside him and shook the canteen. “Tell me what I want to know.”

“Bastard.”

Jesse shrugged. “Your friends left you here to die. I don’t know why you feel you owe them any loyalty.”

Claudill laughed, a dry, hollow sound. “You’re right. They’re headed for Mazza’s place.”

Jesse grunted softly. Victor Mazza was a cold-blooded killer. “Where’s that?”

“Outside Twin Bluffs. Mazza and his brother have a spread in a box canyon about twenty miles out of town.”

“How long will they be there?”

“I don’t know.”

“Who’s ramrodding the gang?”

“Victor Mazza.”

Jesse filed the name away as he uncorked the canteen, lifted the man’s head and let him drink. “That’s enough. Come on, let’s go.”

“Go? Go where?”

“I’m taking you back to town.” If what Claudill said was true, then the bandits would be holed up for a few days. He could see Kaylynn safely back to town, claim the reward for Claudill, then alert the sheriff as to the whereabouts of the Mazza gang after explaining that Ravenhawk belonged to him.

“I thought you said I was dying?”

“I lied. That bullet just nicked a rib. You’ll be all right in a day or two.” Rising, Jesse grabbed Claudill by the arm and pulled him to his feet.

“You really are a bastard.”

Jesse chuckled softly as he pulled a set of handcuffs from his saddlebags and cuffed the kid’s hands together. “So I’ve been told. Let’s go.”

* * * * *

Kaylynn sat in the scant shade offered by a windblown pine. Earlier, she had bandaged John Porter’s arm. As he had said, it wasn’t a bad wound, just a shallow furrow along his shoulder.

Doris Whiteside sat beside her, her hands clasped in her lap. Earlier, with much sweating and straining and more than a little swearing, Ben Whiteside and John Porter had secured the bodies of the driver, the shotgun guard and the two dead outlaws on top of the coach. Now Whiteside and Porter stood a few feet away, trying to decide whether they should attempt to drive the coach back to Twin Bluffs or wait for help from the station at Logansville.

Kaylynn hoped they decided to wait for help. Neither Porter nor Whiteside had any experience driving a six-horse team. Of the two, Kaylynn thought that, even with his injured arm, Porter was the better man for the job. Ben Whiteside had all the self-confidence of a turnip.

Porter glanced up at the sun. “Well, we need to make a decision. It’ll be dark in a couple of hours.”

“I think we should go,” Ben Whiteside said. “I don’t like the idea of spending the night out here.”

“Me, either,” Doris agreed.

“All right then, let’s go.”

Kaylynn glanced in the direction Jesse had gone. Was he all right? Had he found the outlaws? Would she ever see him again?

The thought had no sooner crossed her mind than he was riding toward her, a second horse and rider in tow.

Kaylynn stood up, relief at seeing Jesse alive and well sweeping through her.

“Did you find them?” Porter asked.

“No, but I know where they’re headed.” His gaze swept the area. “What did you do with the bodies?”

“Up there,” Porter said, jerking a thumb toward the roof of the coach.

Jesse nodded. Dismounting, he fixed his prisoner with a hard stare. “Step down.”

With a grimace, Jimmy Claudill slid from the saddle.

Kaylynn laid her hand on Jesse’s arm. “Are you all right?”

“Fine. You?”

“Fine, now.”
Now that you’re here
, she thought.

“We’re going back to Twin Bluffs,” Jesse said. Pulling the halter and lead rope from his saddlebags, he removed the bridle from the roan, slipped the halter in place and tethered the mare to the rear of the coach. He dropped a rope over Claudill’s horse and tied her to the coach beside the roan.

“All right,” Jesse said. “Everybody inside. Porter, keep an eye on the kid, will ya?”

“Sure.”

“Jesse, do you know how to drive a stagecoach?” Kaylynn asked.

“Sure.”

“Really?” she asked dubiously.

“Would I lie to you?”

“I don’t know,” she replied tartly. “Would you?”

“I’d never lie to you, Kay,” Jesse said quietly. “Believe that if you believe nothing else.”

“I do. Would you mind if I rode up front, with you?”

“No, I don’t mind.” He smiled at her. “Be glad for the company.”

He held her gaze a moment more, then walked toward the coach window and looked inside. “Everybody settled?”

Porter nodded. “Let’s go.”

Jesse helped Kaylynn climb up to the driver’s box. She slid across the seat and smoothed the skirt of her rumpled suit as Jesse took a seat beside her. “Ready?”

“I guess so.” She grinned at him. “No stage I’ve been on yet has reached its destination.”

“Well,” he said, grinning back at her, “that’s about to change.”

Taking up the reins, he turned the team back toward Twin Bluffs.

The ride back to town was uneventful. Occasionally, Jesse could hear Claudill complaining about the ride, his bad luck, the fact that Jesse had lied to him.

Jesse glanced at Kaylynn. She sat close beside him, one hand holding down her skirts. Every time they hit a rut in the road, her knee bounced against his.

“You sure you don’t want to ride inside?” he asked. “Less breezy in there.”

“No, thank you. I’d rather be out here.”

He didn’t argue. He liked having her close. He wished he could slip his arm around Kaylynn and draw her closer, but handling a six-horse hitch was no easy task for someone who wasn’t used to it. Still, he was ever aware of the girl beside him, of her constant glances in his direction. She had a lot of spunk for a gently reared city girl.

It was going on nine o’clock when they pulled into Twin Bluffs.

The unexpected arrival of the coach caused quite a stir at the depot. As quickly as possible, Jesse told the agent what had happened. The agent sent for the sheriff, the doctor and the dentist, who was also the town undertaker, then hovered over the Whitesides, assuring them that they wouldn’t have to pay for another ticket, offering to pay for their hotel room for the night.

Claudill sat on the bench against the wall, muttering under his breath. Porter sat beside him, rubbing his injured arm.

The sheriff arrived first and Jesse told his story again, saying he’d stop by the lawman’s office to fill out the form for the reward on Claudill after he got Kaylynn settled in the hotel. “Fine, fine,” the sheriff replied. He glanced at the other passengers. “I’ll need to see all you down at my office at your convenience.”

Jesse took the sheriff aside. “I reckon you’ll be going after them.”

The sheriff nodded. “I’ll get a posse together. We’ll ride out at first light.”

“Mind if I ride along?”

“Glad to have you.”

“Obliged.” It wouldn’t be easy, but somehow he was going to have to find a way to get Ravenhawk away on his own. He had come too far now to lose the reward to someone else.

The doctor arrived as Jesse and Kaylynn were heading out the door. Outside, Jesse stopped at the coach and untied the mare, then pulled Kaylynn’s valise from the boot.

“Do you want me to carry that?” she asked.

“I’ve got it.”

“That boy seems awfully young to be an outlaw,” Kaylynn remarked as they made their way down the street.

“Lots of young kids on the wrong side of the law,” Jesse remarked. He’d brought in a few of them in his time, boys who ran away from home looking for adventure and wound up robbing banks and stagecoaches.

They left the roan at Hays Livery. Kaylynn smiled as Jesse introduced her to the owner of the stable and then gave the man instructions, admonishing Mr. Hays to be sure and give the horse a double helping of oats. He sure loved that horse, she thought. It was obvious, from the way the two men bantered back and forth, that they were old friends.

Jesse gave Hays a friendly slap on the arm, settled his saddlebags over one shoulder and picked up her valise, again refusing her offer to carry her own baggage.

The clerk at the hotel seemed to know who they were. Jesse was always surprised at how fast bad news spread.

“We need a couple of rooms,” Jesse said.

“Yes, sir,” the clerk said. He glanced at Kaylynn and smiled. “Sorry to hear of your ordeal.”

“Thank you,” Kaylynn replied.

“Terrible thing, when decent folk can’t travel in safety,” the clerk remarked. He plucked two keys from the board behind the desk. “Just terrible.”

“Terrible,” Jesse agreed. “We’ll be wanting some hot water.”

“Yes, sir.”

The clerk handed the keys to Jesse.

“Don’t forget about that water.”

“No, sir. Right away, sir.”

Jesse took Kaylynn’s hand and they went up the stairs.

“Home sweet home,” Kaylynn muttered as she opened the door and stepped into her room.

Jesse grinned at her as he dropped her valise and his saddlebags inside the door. “Seems like we’ve been through this before. I’m going over to the sheriff’s office. I won’t be gone long. Lock your door when I go, and don’t open it unless you’re sure who’s on the other side. Here.” He handed her the Colt he had taken from Claudill. “Keep this handy.”

“Jesse…”

“I won’t be gone long. Save me some hot water.”

“I will.”

“Damn,” he said, and sweeping her into his arms, he kissed her, his lips scorching hers like the hot winds that blew across the prairie.

She was breathless when he released her. “Jesse.”

He winked at her, and then he was gone.