Authors: Sabine Starr
Lady Gone Bad (20 page)
Chapter 39
B
y the time they neared Robber’s Cave, Lady felt as if she’d been on one of Quantrill’s lightning raids. She was battered, bruised, scratched, but victorious. Tears of relief stung her eyes when she thought about Copper. She’d always hoped that she could find him, but a small part of her hadn’t believed it. Now that she had him back, she could get justice for her parents and rebuild their dream. She even stood a chance at building a life of her own.
y the time they neared Robber’s Cave, Lady felt as if she’d been on one of Quantrill’s lightning raids. She was battered, bruised, scratched, but victorious. Tears of relief stung her eyes when she thought about Copper. She’d always hoped that she could find him, but a small part of her hadn’t believed it. Now that she had him back, she could get justice for her parents and rebuild their dream. She even stood a chance at building a life of her own.
Spider Grandmother’s web had caught Zip and his gang, but Lady must spring the final trap. She couldn’t get ahead of herself. Zip, Heck, and Lampkin were powerful, deadly outlaws who stood to lose everything if they didn’t win. They’d already proved they’d stop at nothing to defeat a lowly saloon singer and an ousted deputy marshal. Somehow she had to find a way to defeat them.
Night had fallen while they struggled under the canopy of trees. When they stepped out onto the open plateau, stars twinkled overhead like glittering jewels and moonlight bathed the area in silver.
Empty. Not a single person or horse remained where hundreds had been when they’d left. Only the acrid scent of smoke hung in the air.
“Where is everyone?” she asked, unease rippling through her. She abruptly stepped back into the shadow of the trees. “Jipsey and Justice are gone, too!”
“Thought I’d see Crystabelle again.” Rafe glanced around, and then walked back and forth, looking for sign on the ground. “Churned up. No way to follow a track, especially in this light.”
She felt her chest tighten in concern. “Zip and his gang were on horseback. Do you think they beat us back here? What if they got Crowdy? Copper?” Fear clutched at her heart. She headed toward Stone Corral at a run.
“Wait!” Rafe went after her, quickly catching up. “Don’t go in half-cocked.” He grabbed her arm, spun her around, and pulled her tight against his chest. “They were bleeding. Maybe we took the fight out of them.”
“Hope so.” She shivered and wrapped her arms around him, seeking comfort and strength. “Please let Crowdy and Copper be okay.”
“We go in armed for bear.” He set her back. “You got ammunition left in your gun belt?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s load. I’ll keep Pecos Pete’s six-shooter.”
Silence surrounded them except for the sound of bullets clicking home and then revolvers sliding back into leather holsters.
“Let’s get moving.” Rafe squeezed her hand.
Lady followed him, single-file. They stayed in the dark shadows near the tree line, moving quietly until they reached the base of the mesa. When he paused, she listened, but heard nothing except a few dull thuds that abruptly stopped. Most likely hunting animals. When he moved forward again, she hugged the stone face that rose up into the sky to skirt around the wide base. When she passed the jagged stairway that led above, she glanced upward and saw an owl take flight, hooting as its wings beat against the air.
When they neared their goal, she felt her heart beat faster in anticipation of trouble. Yet all remained quiet. Good or bad, no way to know.
Rafe stopped near the recessed area that hid the natural rock steps leading into Stone Corral. He raised a hand, indicating for her to remain still while he checked ahead. She didn’t want to stay behind, but she didn’t argue. Time was past for that kind of trouble. When he took a step, he kicked a rock that tumbled against other rocks. Noise ricocheted through the night.
The nearby cock of a rifle made Lady’s blood run cold. Somebody was nearby, no way to tell if friend or foe. Rafe heard it, too. He silently stepped back to her. A bullet zinged close to them. She caught her breath, not daring to make any sound and give away their exact position.
“Another step and you’re dead,” a deep voice boomed out of the darkness along with another cock of a rifle.
A huge sense of relief surged through her. “Burt!”
“Lady?” Burt stepped out of the shadows, rifle held upright in one big hand. “You’re alive?”
“Yes!” She threw herself against his broad chest, hugged him hard, and then stepped back, hoping she hadn’t embarrassed him. “Did Crowdy and Copper make it here?”
He huffed, a sound of relief. “Yep. Crowdy told us ’bout your run-in. Did you settle their hash?”
“No. But I nicked them.”
“Better’n nothin’. You got more lives than a cat, or an Indian.”
“Got back here quick as we could,” Rafe said.
“Bob’s up on Lookout Point, rifle at the ready,” Burt explained. “I’m keeping watch down here.”
“What happened to everybody?” Lady pointed at the empty plateau.
Burt chuckled. “All that shootin’ sent folks runnin’ for cover.”
“They left, just like that?”
“Seein’ as how lawmen don’t cotton to dodgy horse brands, they hightailed it out ahead of what could’ve been a posse.”
Rafe shook his head. “I’d like to have seen it.”
“Greased lightin’.”
“What about our horses?”
“Got’m.”
Lady let out her breath and sagged against Rafe, feeling his warm, hard body as the only stability in a constantly shifting world.
“Hey, Crowdy, she’s here!” Burt called, and then motioned toward Stone Corral. “Go on back. I’ll keep watch.”
Lady hurried up, and then stepped onto the soft sand of the corral. Rafe came right behind her.
Surprised, she saw lots of horses. Six mares. Jipsey. Justice. And the Hayes Brothers’ geldings. Pecos Pete, now gagged with a bandanna tied around his mouth, sat cross-legged with his hands behind his back in front of a huge boulder.
A kerosene lantern had been set in a niche in the rock wall to shed light on a stranger busy filing down Copper’s hoof.
Lady glared at Pecos Pete, and then hurried over to rub the blaze on Copper’s face as he nickered to her. “Is he going to be all right? Not lame?”
The stranger with sandy blond hair and full beard didn’t look up. “Caught him in time, looks like. Somebody did a good job on that special shoe.”
She pressed her face against Copper’s blaze, hardly able to believe he was finally safe with her again.
Crowdy slipped up beside her. “Close call.”
She turned and smiled at him. “Thanks. How did you find a blacksmith?”
“Horses here. Blacksmiths follow.”
“I’m Rascal Reynolds.” He glanced up and nodded before he went back to work. “Proud to do Lady Gone Bad a good turn. Sorry I can’t forge you a new horseshoe, but I’ve got one that’ll do till you get him home.”
“That’s wonderful. Thank you.”
“He needs food and rest. That’s all.”
“Copper’ll get it as soon as . . .” She trailed off, wondering what she was going to do with him. She glanced at Crowdy. “Fine looking mares.”
He nodded. “I got mares. You got stallion. All set.”
“You get your land yet?”
He nodded again.
“Where?”
“Takin’ Copper home. Needs company.”
She smiled, happy with his response. “Corrals. Fences. They’re still usable. But the house, the barn—”
“Fix up or rebuild,” he said, stroking between Copper’s dark eyes. “It’s the land that counts.”
“You don’t mind Ma and Da died there?”
“Medicine Doctor will clean out bad spirits.”
She felt as if a great load had been taken off her back. “Da always said you’d make a good horseman someday. Once you set your mind to it.”
“Day’s here.”
Rascal pounded the last nail into the horseshoe, lowered Copper’s hoof, and stood up. “Okay. Checked all the horses. They’re in good shape. I’m moseying out. Law could turn up. Don’t want to be caught here.”
“What do I owe you?” Lady asked.
“My pleasure.” Rascal grinned. “Like to hear you sing again. Maybe out at your ranch some day.”
“Any time when I’m there,” Lady said. “And thanks.”
Rascal picked up his tools and looked at Crowdy. “See you at the ranch in a month or so.” He stepped out of sight.
Burt came in right after the blacksmith. He held out a chamois bag with the drawstring pulled tight. “Lady, this is for you. Bob passed the hell out of that hat.”
Lady took the bag. “It’s heavy!” She pulled it open and peeked inside at a wide variety of coins. “Bob got all this?”
“More’n that. We took our twenty percent cut.”
“Thought it was fifteen.”
“Easier to split twenty.” He grinned, white teeth gleaming in his black beard.
She smiled, too. “Best to start out as we’re going on. At this rate, I can help Crowdy put my family’s ranch back together faster.”
“What ranch?” Burt asked, appearing surprised.
“Long story,” Lady replied. “I’ll tell you sometime. Right now, not much is left there, but it’s important to me.”
“Crowdy’s a good man.” Burt nodded. “Let him take care of the horses. We’ll take care of the business. All you need to do is sing like an angel and look pretty as a picture.”
“Guess I can try.” Lady glanced down at her dirty, torn clothes. “But not tonight.”
“Tonight,” Rafe said, “we better stay on the lookout. If we didn’t scare them off, Zip and his gang are gunning for us.”
Burt nodded, clutching his rifle.
Lady glanced at Crowdy. “I’d feel better if you got the horses out of here tonight.”
“Hide them in brush. Want me to come back?”
“No. Best thing you can do for me is head to the ranch. If anything happens to me, I’ll know you’re all safe.”
“If they get you, I’ll track down Jipsey and Justice.”
“Good. I trust you to go forward with the ranch.”
Crowdy nodded.
She looked around at Rafe and Burt. “That suit you? One less gun. Burt, you and Bob can take off, too. Rafe and I will hunt them down if they don’t come after us first. But it’s not your fight.”
Burt looked hurt and shocked. “And miss out on another Lady Gone Bad legend?” He tucked his thumbs under his gun belt. “Figure we can make a pretty penny off your new ballad.”
“What new ballad?”
“Lady Gone Bad’s Shoot Out at Stone Corral.”
Rafe threw back his head and laughed, startling the horses. “Burt, up to this point in life, you sure as hell missed your calling.”
“Got inspiration now.” He grinned. “Lady Gone Bad’s Fire Fight at Boggy Saloon.”
Rafe laughed even harder. “I don’t want to miss any of this.”
Lady shook her head. “You boys! We better get serious. If Zip’s boots are filled with blood, he’s mad as a hornet.”
“And mean as a rattler,” Burt added. “I’ll go back out and watch with Bob. Nothin’ ought to get by us.”
After he left, Lady tucked the bag of coins in Jipsey’s saddlebag. She had more than enough to buy new clothes, if she lived long enough to need them.
She walked over to Rafe who was checking the back side of the corral, where rocks and tree limbs had been piled chest high to close off the opening.
“Crowdy, help me remove enough of these rocks so you can get the horses out of here,” Rafe said. “Sooner you’re gone, sooner we can put it all back in place.”
As Crowdy picked up a rock, he checked the area. “Better keep a guard back here.”
“Hayes Brothers won’t let anybody in close,” Rafe said, picking up a huge rock and setting it aside.
“I’ll help.” Lady gave Pecos Pete a hard stare. “After Crowdy’s gone, a certain outlaw has two choices. Answer my questions or meet his maker.”
Chapter 40
R
afe walked past four saddled horses to the back of the corral and jerked down the bandanna gagging Pecos Pete. “You tell Lady exactly what she wants to know, or you get horsewhipped, maybe worse.”
afe walked past four saddled horses to the back of the corral and jerked down the bandanna gagging Pecos Pete. “You tell Lady exactly what she wants to know, or you get horsewhipped, maybe worse.”
Lady stepped in front of the outlaw, planted her feet apart, and stood like an avenging angel, yellow light from the lantern illuminating her.
Pecos Pete rose to his knees, hands behind his back, and bowed his head. “I’m sorry ... so, so sorry, Lady.” He blinked back tears as he looked up.
“Sure been acting like it,” Rafe said in disgust. He didn’t figure sorry’d cut any slack with Sharlot.
“I’ll tell you what you want to know. Just ask.” Pecos Pete stared at Lady with awe, not fear, in his muddy blue eyes.
“Why did you call me those bad names at Boggy Saloon?”
“Had to do it to stay aces with Zip.”
“Why did you set fire to my tent?”
“Followed Zip’s orders.”
“Why did you try to run me down with my own horse?”
“Didn’t want to shoot you.”
Lady sighed. “You got excuses for everything?”
“I’m real tore up. If I’d known that horse belonged to Lady Gone Bad, I’d have figured out some way to get him treated right.”
“That brings me to the bigger question. Did you murder Ma and Da Eachan?”
He hung his head in shame. “Nasty business.” He looked back up, unshed tears in his eyes. “I swear I didn’t know Zip and Lampkin was gonna wreck havoc on that ranch.”
“But did you do murder?”
“I swear on my mother’s soul that I’m nothin’ but a horse thief. Heck’s a scout. We threw in with Zip and his gang for work. Not murder.”
“My folks?”
“Zip and Lampkin filled your folks with lead. They fired the house, the barn. We were busy rounding up the horses.”
“But why kill my parents?”
He looked down, as if into the past, and then focused on her again. “Made Zip mad. Lampkin, too. They both got short fuses.”
“They got mad?” Lady’s voice rose in anger, punching past her tight control. “But they were stealing the horses, not the other way around.”
Pecos Pete sighed. “Your folks put up a fuss. Your pa threw down on Zip, winged him.”
“Hope Zip hurt like hell.”
“See . . . Zip, he don’t allow nobody to mess with him. Your pa set him off.”
“Da had every right, every reason to shoot. I just wished he’d killed the lot of you.” Lady turned her back on Pecos Pete, shaking with fury.
“I’m so, so sorry,” the outlaw mumbled, dropping his chin to his chest.
“Is he telling the truth?” she asked, reaching out to Rafe.
He took her hand, felt the coldness, and squeezed in comfort. He stared at the outlaw. He’d interviewed plenty, judging the truth of their words. From his own experience, Pecos Pete rang true. He doubted the outlaw was much of a liar, but he could be wrong.
“What about me?” Rafe asked, stepping in front of Lady to confront the poor excuse for a desperado.
Pecos Pete looked up. “You fooled Zip back at the Boggy. But not long. He knows his deputies.”
“You were part of that lynch mob that tried to hang me back at the Bend,” Rafe said, determined to get his own answers now.
“Zip thought you was putting two and two together. Lady was your excuse to be at the Red River Saloon. You was really there to catch Lampkin.”
“I didn’t know then,” Rafe said quietly. “I recognized Lampkin riding with the necktie party at the Red River. Surprised the hell out of me.”
Pecos Pete snorted, shaking his head. “Goes to show Zip ain’t near as smart as he thinks.”
“Neither is Lampkin,” Rafe added.
“Who was that boy?” Pecos Pete asked. “If he hadn’t helped out, you’d be six feet under and we wouldn’t be here.”
Rafe glanced at Lady, smiling.
“You don’t mean—” Pecos Pete straightened his back. “Lady Gone Bad rescued you!”
She gave him a slow smile. “Fooled you, didn’t I?”
“You’re a huckleberry above a persimmon.” Pecos Pete stared at Lady with admiration shining in his eyes. “Zip’s been looking all over for that dang fool boy. Turns out it’s a big joke.”
“We’re not laughing,” Rafe said. “My face is on a wanted poster.”
“Lampkin’s idea. He thought it was a funny way of gettin’ you out of the picture.”
“How’d he do it?”
“Don’t know. When you got away, we rode straight to Paris. He went to the courthouse. We went to the saloons.”
Rafe nodded, thinking about the best way to handle the situation. “If we let you live, would you be willing to give all this information to Judge Parker in Fort Smith?”
“Yep! But I don’t wanna hang. Can you put in a good word for me? Get me jail time?”
“I’ll do my best to see you don’t swing.”
Pecos Pete rolled his neck, easing the strain on his shoulders. “I get outta prison? I’m goin’ home to Texas and stay there. I’ll even work the farm.”
“Sounds like a good idea.” Lady laid a hand on Rafe’s arm. “As much as I want to get Zip and Lampkin, maybe we’d be smart to take Pecos Pete to Fort Smith first.”
“Get my face off the wanted posters, pick up a few deputies, and come back with enough firepower to arrest Zip and his gang.”
“Good plan.” Lady glanced upward, sighing in relief.
Rafe followed her gaze, looking up at the twinkling stars in a velvety dark sky overhead. Moonlight turned spiky treetops silver. He wished he was alone with Sharlot and all the bandits were behind bars. But at least now they had enough information to set the past as right as possible.
“Quiet so far,” Lady said. “I bet we sent them packing with their tails between their legs.”
“Hope so. But we’ll stay alert and skedaddle at dawn.” He turned down the lantern. “I’ll take first watch. Why don’t you get some sleep?”
“Don’t know if I can.”
“You gonna untie me?” Pecos Pete asked hopefully.
“What do you think?” Rafe asked.
“Pecos Pete, just relax. Get some rest.” Lady stood near him, glancing down with a slight smile.
Rafe thought she looked as good with twigs in her hair and rips in her clothes as she had when she wore a red dress and sang on Lookout Point. Guess he was prejudiced, but Sharlot sure did know how to catch and hold a man’s attention. She’d probably charm Judge Parker, like she did every man, when she had to stand before him, explain her actions, and decry her life of crime. At least, that’s what he hoped would happen.
“Trouble!” she cried out, putting a hand to her head as she glanced around in alarm.
Rafe looked for trouble, too, but saw nothing. Still, he reached for his Peacemaker as he put his back to the wall. He focused on their one weak point at the open end of the corral. Huge shapes materialized out of the darkness.
Yelling at the top of their lungs, Zip, Heck, and Lampkin leaped their mounts over the barricade and landed in Stone Corral, six-shooters blazing.
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