To Reap and to Sow (4 page)

“I'm glad Mark didn't hurt you,” Lynn said as she pulled apart one of the fresh biscuits that had been set onto her plate.

Clint picked up a strip of bacon and snapped off an end that was burned just right. “You heard about that, huh?”

“It's a small town, Clint. All I needed to do was open a window to hear it.” She shrugged and showed him a tired smile. “Sorry about that. I feel like maybe I am more trouble than I'm worth.”

“I won't hear any talk like that. Seems like all you did wrong was spend too much time with an asshole like Mark. Stepping in was my choice and coming after me today was his.”

“All right then,” Lynn said with a wider smile. “At least let me pay for breakfast.”

Shaking his head slowly, Clint said, “I don't know if you'll want to do that. I haven't even gotten started yet.”

“I think you've earned a big breakfast.” With a subtle wink, she added, “You earned it after our third go-around last night.”

Clint couldn't exactly argue that point, so he picked up his fork and tore into the stack of griddle cakes in front of him. He didn't stop until he was halfway through the delicious cakes. After drinking some coffee to wash them down, he asked, “So what did you ever see in a man like Mark anyhow?”

That caused the cheery smile to drop right off Lynn's face. “Let's not talk about him anymore, Clint.”

“Just making conversation.”

She sighed and bought a few seconds by taking some bites of her own breakfast. When she saw Clint still looking at her, she gave in. “He came along and said some sweet things at the right time. To be honest, we only met up a few times over the last year. He'd come and go while I went about my own business.

“I thought we were just meeting up when we could and going our separate ways when we couldn't. It turns out, he thought we were together for a year and two steps away from the altar.”

Clint laughed and took another bite. “Good Lord.”

“How do you think I felt? I wanted to visit a friend of mine and he said he'd come along as far as…well…here. He caught wind of me spending a bit of time with someone else and lost his mind.”

“That's it?” Clint asked.

“Isn't that enough?”

“I mean, that's all that led up to this whole mess?”

She thought about it for a few seconds, but couldn't think of anything else to add. So Lynn simply nodded and said, “Yep. That's it.”

Shaking his head, Clint could only say the words he had already said. “Good Lord.”

As she looked back on it, Lynn had to laugh as well. It wasn't much of a laugh, but more of a tired couple of breaths that shook as she let them out.

“So what did Mark do while he was away?” Clint asked.

Lynn paused with a fork halfway up to her mouth and shrugged. “I think he worked on a few trail drives or maybe did some scouting.”

“You think?”

“I honestly don't even know for sure. Most of the times, I was hoping he would just go away and not come back. This time was different. There were some other men who came around as if they were up to no good, and Mark chased them away.”

Clint narrowed his eyes and asked, “Really?”

She nodded. “That's why I agreed for him to come along with me this far. Truth be told, I was going to part ways with him before I left. I figured it'd be best if I did it then when I was planning on leaving anyway.”

“Leaving where?”

“Dodge City. I worked there as a faro dealer for a few different saloons. It was pretty good work for a while.”

Chuckling as he took another sip of coffee, Clint said, “Good work for a cheat, from what I've seen.”

“Or good work until they expect you to cheat.”

“You refused to stack the odds for the house?”

Lynn waited for a few seconds, but couldn't keep the mischievous smile from her face. “Actually, I just wasn't very good at cheating. I knew the tricks, but I couldn't get a knack for pulling them off.” She only had to watch Clint for a few more seconds before noticing the expression on his face. “And don't preach to me, Clint Adams. Every gambler cheats and most folks expect faro dealers to be running some sort of game.”

“Just so long as they don't get caught.”

“Yes,” she replied. “And that's why I was given my notice from that saloon. Before I got through the door on my last day, every place in town knew about me. I thought I could serve drinks, but every faro player in town came asking me how a game was rigged or any number of things, so I left.”

“And you came here?” Clint asked. “Must be awfully strange after living in a place like Dodge.”

“I'm just passing through,” she quickly told him. “I'm headed west to a town called Thickett.”

“Actually, that sounds worse. Maybe you should stay here.”

“I'm going to stay with an old friend of mine. Her father owns a farm out there and he's got some space for me to live until I can scrape together enough money to head farther west.”

“California?”

Lynn brightened up as if Clint had correctly told her fortune. “How'd you know that?”

“Call it a hunch. You look like you'd be at home on the Gold Coast. Don't tell me you're working your way there by stage.”

“Oh, no. I'll catch a train in Wichita and ride from there. I just need to save up for the ticket.” Lowering her eyes and poking at her breakfast, Lynn added, “I also need to make it to Thickett in one piece. With Mark acting the way he is, I though…”

“What if I come along?” Clint asked before she could get around to it. It was worth the effort just to see the surprise on Lynn's face grow even brighter than it had been a few moments ago. “But there is a price.”

“Name it.”

“Tell me how to clean up in faro.”

Although he didn't come right out and tell her, Clint wasn't about to let Lynn ride out of Spelling by herself. He also wasn't about to let her stay there, since Mark Rowlett would have been able to mess up both of those simple plans just by being there.

Lynn had intended on staying put until the next stage came through town, but Clint decided to offer the back of his saddle as a way to speed up the process of getting her on her way. She was more than happy to climb onto Eclipse's back and wrap her arms around Clint as they put the small town behind them.

It would have been a couple days' ride to Thickett, but Clint knew a shorter route than the stagecoaches used. Eclipse was also a hell of a lot faster than any team of overworked horses pulling a wagon. The Darley Arabian stallion thundered down the narrow trail like the wind. He barely even seemed to feel the extra weight of Lynn sitting on his back.

Kansas may have been easy to ride through, but there wasn't a whole lot to look at. Clint thought he may have been spoiled after spending so much time in places like the Badlands, the Rocky Mountains or even the deserts of New Mexico.

He kept his eyes open for any trace of Mark or anyone else who might decide to follow him. When he came up short on that end, he was forced to pay closer attention to the landscape itself. Tall grass swayed all around, keeping slow time to the gentle breeze. To some, the sight might have been relaxing. For Clint, it made it difficult for him to stay awake.

The air was dry.

The grass parted for Eclipse like a tall, feathery ocean.

It was easy to see just about anything at all for miles in every direction.

The terrain allowed Eclipse to run at a full gallop most of the time.

Still, Clint found himself wishing for a bluff to climb or even a river to cross. As soon as he spotted the glint of sunlight reflecting off water, he pointed Eclipse in that direction and held on. In no time at all, they'd arrived at a small lake and Clint was pulling Eclipse to a stop.

“What a perfect day to ride,” Lynn said cheerily as she took the hand Clint offered to help her down.

“I suppose.”

“At least there's nobody shooting at you,” she offered.

“I think I'd welcome the change of pace.”

When she stretched her back and took a few steps to stretch her legs, Lynn looked around and then looked back to Clint. “What's wrong with this?” she asked while holding out her arms. “It's a pretty day.”

“Sure, but…I suppose I don't like rides where I could fall asleep in the saddle and not be any worse off.”

She shrugged and replied, “I guess I don't think about that since I was born and raised in Kansas. It does me good to feel like I'm the only one on the face of the earth sometimes. After dealing with the likes of Mark Rowlett, I'd think you could understand that.”

“I suppose,” Clint said as he led Eclipse to the lake. “I'm just a little more accustomed to having other things to look at apart from grass.”

“Like what? Sand? Rocks?”

Now that Eclipse was drinking, Clint could drop the reins and walk over to Lynn. She had her back to him with her arms crossed and her head tilted up into the breeze. Clint stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Like you, for one thing,” Clint said. “I'd much rather look at you than a field of grass.”

Lynn didn't open her eyes, but she did lean back against Clint and smile contentedly. “I guess I can't fault you for that.”

The wind blew some of Lynn's hair against Clint's face, filling his nose with the sweet scent of her. Just as he was about to lean in and kiss her neck, Clint spotted something moving in the distance that wasn't just another patch of long, swaying grass.

When she felt Clint's arms leave her waist, Lynn snapped her eyes open and looked around. “What's the matter?” she asked when she saw Clint rushing toward Eclipse.

Clint didn't answer her right away. Instead, he took the spyglass from his saddlebag and put it to his eye. The other horses were a ways off, but they were still too close for Clint's liking.

“Looks like we're not the only ones out enjoying this fine day,” he said.

There was no need to hurry away from the lake. If the men riding those horses were following him, Clint knew they would have already spotted him. Then again, if they were simply passing by, they would have moved on by now.

“Let me see,” Lynn said as she held out a hand.

Clint passed the spyglass over to her and said, “Be my guest. See if you can recognize—”

“That's Mark,” she said quickly.

“Are you sure? You barely even had a chance to get a look at them. Take a good look. From this distance, it could be easy to see a few things that aren't really there.”

Lynn kept the spyglass to her eye and shook her head slightly. “I know it's him, Clint. Those patches of white on his horse make it look like it's wearing a fancy shirt. I used to tell him that all the time. See?”

Clint took the spyglass and looked through it again. Before too long, he had to admit, “I can't really tell too much. I can see some white on the horse, but that's about it.”

“It's Mark's horse. And since he loves that horse more than anything else, it's got to be him in the saddle.” She paced and wrung her hands. “He's following us.”

“Probably.”

Although she just stood there for the next couple of seconds, there was enough tension building up on Lynn's face to make her seem more like a teakettle that was about to start whistling. When she reached her boiling point, she stormed over to Eclipse and reached for the rifle hanging from the Darley Arabian's saddle.

“I'll finish this right here and now,” she said. “After everything that man's put me through, I deserve to be the one to put him down like the dog he is.”

Clint raced forward when he saw what she was trying to do and just managed to catch her hand before she could get the rifle in her grasp. “How about you give me a chance before you do anything too drastic?”

Lynn nodded. “Sure. You're probably a better shot than me.”

“That's not exactly what I had in mind.”

“Well, that's what you're going to have to do to shake him loose. Believe me. I've tried everything else.”

Since Eclipse had had his fill, Clint took his reins and led him away from the water. “For right now,” he said, “why don't you just try trusting me and see if I can do something to dissuade our mutual friend?”

Watching Clint sternly, Lynn let out a frustrated sigh when she saw him climb into the saddle and reach down to help her up. “Fine,” she huffed. “But I get to take a shot at him if this doesn't work.”

“It's a deal. Now, do me a favor and hang on.”

With that, Clint snapped the reins and tapped his heels against Eclipse's sides. The Darley Arabian stallion responded as if he'd been waiting for that order all day long, and bolted away from the lake as if his tail was on fire.

It took Clint a few seconds to get settled and find Eclipse's rhythm. Once he and Lynn were situated and not about to be thrown from the saddle, Clint looked over his shoulder. At first, he didn't see a trace of the horses. Even so, he let Eclipse keep running for a while.

When he looked back again, Clint could see some dust swirling over a spot of the trail that hadn't been kicked up by Eclipse. Soon, he saw two horses break through the dust and fall into step a ways behind him.

“That's Mark, all right,” Clint shouted over the thunder of Eclipse's hooves. “Either that, or it's someone else who wants to tag along with us.”

Lynn tried to get a look behind her, but she wasn't able to twist around very far without endangering her own balance. Facing forward once more, she said, “I told you so. Now what?”

“Now you'll hang on just like I asked before.”

Lynn didn't need to be asked twice, especially since Eclipse was already moving fast enough to make her nervous. She cinched her arms around Clint and pressed her head against his shoulder.

Hunkering down a bit, Clint gave his reins an extra flick and coaxed a bit more speed out of Eclipse. But it wasn't exactly speed that he was after. Instead, Clint wanted to allow the stallion to build up some momentum for what he had in mind next.

As soon as he spotted a fairly clear patch alongside the trail, Clint steered away from the beaten path. Eclipse did as he was told, leaving the smooth dirt trail for the rougher terrain alongside it. For the first few yards, there wasn't a huge difference. Before too long, however, it became clear as to why a trail was meant to be followed in favor of just riding anywhere the wind blew.

Animals had dug holes here and there, which made the ground a bit unsteady. There were fallen logs as well as a few rocks scattered about. The farther Clint got from the trail, the closer he had to watch the upcoming ground for potential hazards.

“You're right,” Clint shouted over his shoulder. “This country isn't as dull as I'd thought.”

But Lynn didn't seem to be as amused as Clint. In fact, she didn't even try to respond to what he'd said. She simply kept her face down and her arms wrapped tightly around him.

Eclipse responded to the reins so well, it seemed as if the stallion knew what Clint was thinking. One subtle tug or flick here and there got the Darley Arabian to jump over a log or steer around the occasional hole. Although Lynn seemed to be breathing easier as the ride leveled out, Clint was hoping for a bit more to work with.

Looking over his shoulder, he spotted the two horses doing a fairly good job of keeping on his tail. Suddenly, Eclipse left the ground and sailed a yard or two through the air to land with a jarring thump on the other side of a large carcass that had been lying in the way. Clint turned around so he could pay better attention to what was in front of him rather than the two shapes behind.

From what he'd seen, Clint could tell the two riders were following pretty closely in his own path. That gave Clint an idea as to what he should look for. As luck would have it, he only had to ride another quarter of a mile or so before he found it.

Directly in front of Clint, a dirty rock lay slightly to the left and a thick tree stump with a splintered top sprung up to the right. Doing his best to alter his course without being too obvious, Clint pointed Eclipse toward the rock and snapped the reins.

The Darley Arabian was going so fast that the rock and the stump sped up on him within seconds. At the last moment, Clint gave the reins a little pull to the right and Eclipse veered slightly in that direction. They came so close to the rock that Clint was surprised he didn't feel it brush past his foot. The stump was a little farther off than he'd hoped, but he figured it would still do the trick.

Clint turned in his saddle to take another look behind him. Sure enough, the two who had been following were racing up at what had to be the fastest their horses could go. As Clint watched, they reached the rock and steered around it. One of them went left and the other went right. The one who went right had to think awfully quickly once he saw the stump threatening to send his horse to the dirt.

The rider pulled back on his reins hard enough to cause his horse to rear up and pump its front legs into the air. Clint grinned as he and the second rider left that one behind in a matter of seconds.

Spotting a group of trees, Clint steered toward them and hoped the remaining rider cared enough about his partner to hang back at least for a few seconds to see if the man was all right. Clint made it to the trees, which were just thick enough for Eclipse to stand behind.

“He'll catch us,” Lynn whispered.

“Maybe,” Clint replied. “Maybe not.”

“At least get the rifle ready. If Mark follows us this far, I want to be the one to—”

But the rest of Lynn's threat was swallowed up by the rumble of hooves as they pounded against the ground less than fifteen yards away from them. Although the horse got fairly close, it kept moving and faded away before closing in on them completely.

When Lynn opened her eyes, she found Clint looking at her with a wide smile on his face. She looked back to the trail behind them, but couldn't see much through the trees. She looked to either side and saw nothing. When she looked ahead, she saw the dust that had been kicked up by the rider as he had raced past them.

“How'd you know he would do that?” she asked.

“I didn't.”

“You what?”

Clint shrugged and asked, “Would you have believed me if I'd told you I knew what would happen?”

“No.”

“Then take your good luck when you can get it,” Clint said as he snapped his reins and got Eclipse moving away from the trees in a direction other than the one the rider had taken. “Any self-respecting faro cheat would know that much.”