Longarm and the Wyoming Woman (12 page)

“That's a break,” Longarm said, picking the man up under the arms and dragging him inside. “It'll make stitching up his head a whole lot easier and more pleasant.”

“Bring him right in here,” Addie instructed as she led the way into her kitchen. “And put him on the table. I'll get a needle and sutures. Why'd you have to hit him so damned hard?”

“He's a tough man to stop when he gets on the prod,” Longarm said. “And I made the mistake of telling him that your father was murdered and I was pretty certain that Stoneman and Casey had their hands in it. When I told him that, Jed sorta went off the deep end and was determined to get himself killed.”

“I see.”

Addie handed Longarm a lamp and said, “Hold it close to his head so that I can cut off a little of this hair and then suture him up.”

“I talked to Rollie Reed in town.”

She looked up. “I'm glad. You can trust Rollie. He's a fine man and honest as the day is long.”

“He said to tell you hello and he seemed glad that you finally came back . . . at least he did until he learned that I was staying here with you.”

Addie had a pair of scissors and she was carefully cutting away the bloody, matted hair around the wound. “I think Rollie has always liked me.”

“I'd say he feels a whole lot stronger about you than that. Rollie was sorry to hear about your father, and he told me that he'd do anything that he could to help take down Stoneman and Casey.”

“That doesn't surprise me,” Addie said. “And Rollie is capable with guns. He's not as good a shot as I am with a rifle, but he's much better than me with a pistol.”

“I'll keep that in mind.”

“Did you meet anyone else?”

“Dolly.”

Addie almost smiled. “I'll bet that she was excited about meeting you.”

“She . . . well,” Longarm said, trying to put proper words to it. “She's uncommonly bold.”

“That's a huge understatement. Dolly is pretty, but she sure goes through the men.”

“So I gathered.”

Addie's fingers were long and supple. Longarm watched while she did a fine job of quickly suturing up the laceration. “Almost done,” Addie said. “Custis, what are we going to do with Jed when he wakes up wanting to kill you?”

“I think I better be out of his sight,” Longarm answered. “Why don't you see if you can settle him down? If he still wants to go after Stoneman or Casey, we've got to convince him to back off or he'll be killed for certain. As it is, I'm afraid that word will get back to those two that old Jed is on the warpath and after their scalps.”

“Jed needs to stay with us for his own protection.”

Longarm frowned. “Do you really think that Stoneman or Casey would decide to kill him?”

“I'm sure of it,” Addie replied. “They'd kill Jed in a minute, and then they'd forge his signature to some paper that said he'd sold his ranch to Wade Stoneman.”

“And that would fly in Buffalo Falls?” Longarm asked with amazement.

“Sure. You can bet that Stoneman has the local judge deep in his pocket. He'd make the ruling and Jed's ranch would become another of Stoneman's properties.”

Longarm shook his head in amazement. “That man has to be stopped.”

“I know.”

Longarm thought about it for a few minutes. “Maybe I can lure Casey or some of Stoneman's men to Jed's ranch. Set a trap for them.”

“What are you talking about?” Addie asked, looking up with concern.

Longarm was thinking hard. “Well, I'll take Jed's gray horse back to his ranch and I'll tie the animal up in front of his house. If Casey or some of Stoneman's gunnies come to do Jed in, then I'll be there waiting to either kill or arrest them.”

“If they don't kill you first! Custis, I think that's a terrible idea.”

“I don't,” Longarm replied. “It's a good way to get the ball rolling, and it won't be the first time I've laid a trap for killers.”

“Are you sure you want to do that?”

“Hell, yes!” Longarm said. “I didn't plan it this way, but it'll work out for the best. If I'm lucky, Stoneman himself will come riding up to Jed Dodson's place with every intention of killing the old fart.”

“But don't you understand that he'd have men with him? Seasoned gunfighters! How are you going to stand up against them?”

Longarm went over to the corner of the kitchen where he'd placed the big and finely crafted shotgun he'd bought in Cheyenne. “This is my edge, Addie. If I open up with both barrels, it won't matter how many men are standing in front of me.”

“You can't go alone.”

“I have to,” Longarm insisted. “You need to keep Jed right here out of harm's way.”

“He won't stand for that and neither will I.” Addie finished with the scalp wound and put her sutures and medicine bag away. “Early in the morning, we'll all ride over to Jed's ranch house. We'll lay a trap and wait to see if trouble comes calling.”

Longarm wanted to go to Dodson's ranch alone, but he could see that Addie wouldn't stand for that, and he knew that Jed would go crazy when he came around and learned what was going on. As hotheaded as the old cattleman was, he might just decide to come busting over to his ranch and mess up all of Longarm's plans.

“All right,” Longarm reluctantly agreed. “To be honest, I could use some extra guns if Stoneman sends a bunch of gunnies.”

“Sure you could.” Addie smiled. “Let's get that old fella into bed. I expect he'll sleep until we're ready to go in the morning.”

Longarm and Addie got Jed taken care of, and then they went to bed . . . but not to sleep. Addie began kissing him passionately, and soon Longarm was helping her tear off her clothes as well as his own.

He mounted Addie in her own bed, and they made lusty, passionate love as if there was not going to be a tomorrow. Addie started out on the bottom, but was soon on top and riding Longarm for all she was worth. At last, she let out a groan, and then Longarm slammed his seed up into her until he was fully emptied.

They toppled over and lay panting in the moonlight that slanted through Addie's window, each of them wondering what this coming day would bring and if Stoneman would send men with orders to shoot first and ask questions later.

After a while, Addie fell asleep, but Longarm was restless so he got up and quietly dressed. He checked his pocket watch and saw that it was two in the morning. Lighting a cigar, he went outside to sit on Addie's front porch and watch the moon and the stars. Sometime early that cold morning, he saw a shooting star, and Longarm took that as a good omen. Then he went inside and made a pot of strong black coffee.

“Custis?”

Longarm was stretched out on Addie's couch and he must have fallen asleep, because Addie was dressed and the sun was just coming up in the east.

“What time is it?” Longarm asked

“Almost six o'clock,” she said. “I'm cooking breakfast and Jed is awake and feeling mighty grouchy. He wants to leave for his home, but I told him about how you wanted to set a trap and that we were going over to his ranch early this morning together.”

Longarm knuckled the sleep out of his eyes. “Coffee sounds good,” he said. “I made a pot early this morning and I thought it would keep me awake, but I still dozed off.”

“Come and have some breakfast,” Addie said. “And then you and Jed can get the horses ready to ride while I take care of a few last-minute things.”

She started to turn away, but Longarm grabbed her wrist. “Addie, I can understand how Jed would feel mad at me and want to leave for his ranch, but I still think that you should wait here until this is over.”

“Not a chance, so let's drop the subject. I've loaded my Winchester and I'm almost ready to leave,” she said. “Don't you be talking any more foolishness. If Stoneman sends his troops over to Dodson's place, you're going to need me . . . and don't try to tell me that that shotgun will give you an advantage over a bunch of gunmen.”

Longarm ran his fingers through his hair and yawned. “I never said anything about an advantage.”

Jed Dodson stumbled into the room and glared at Longarm. “You big sonofabitch! You like to broke my skull last night.”

“That's a whole lot better than getting yourself shot to death,” Longarm answered.

Jed didn't seem to agree. “Marshal, if it weren't for the fact that you're trying to help Addie, I'd knock your ears down so far they'd look like little wings!”

“Take it easy, Jed. If Stoneman and his men come to kill you later today, you're going to have your chance to spill plenty of fresh blood . . . and it won't be mine.”

Jed glared at Longarm and shouted, “The worst part of what you did last night was to waste half a bottle of good whiskey!”

“We'll have more after we take care of business,” Longarm promised.

Addie frowned and said, “Boys, it's way too early in the morning for this and we're facing too much trouble to fight among ourselves. So come on into the kitchen and have coffee and breakfast. Then let's not waste any more time before we get riding.”

“Suits me,” Longarm said, feeling grumpy.

“Me, too, I guess,” Jed groused as he strapped on his gun. “But the inside of my old head feels like it's got two hungry badgers fightin' over what's left of my scrambled brains.”

“You'll feel much better after you've had something to eat,” Addie told him.

“I'd rather have the rest of that wasted whiskey.”

But Longarm shook his head. “Jed, we're trying to save your ranch and I'll be damned if we need you drunk when trouble comes calling.”

Jed could see the wisdom of Longarm's words, and he nodded reluctantly. “All right. Let's eat and then ride. But Stoneman better come or at least send some of his boys to my place, or I'm gonna be damned disappointed and unhappy.”

Longarm almost smiled. Jed Dodson was a real pistol, that was for certain, and when it came time for a fight, if nothing else, the old man would be plenty game.

“There it is,” Jed told them as they topped a low rise and looked down toward his ranch. “That's my home sweet home. And out there by those trees behind the place is where my Rebecca is lyin in wait for me. I put her up a good iron cross and painted it white like the little picket fence surrounding her. Can you see it?”

“I see it,” Longarm said. “It's a nice place to lie in rest and in wait for you, Jed.”

“Rebecca was the finest woman ever walked this land,” Jed told them, his eyes faraway and dreamy. “She died one January when the temperature was forty below zero and the ice on the water tanks was a foot deep. I had to store her in the barn for two months until the weather warmed a mite. I used to go out and talk to her every night. 'Course, she was frozen and she even had a smile on her sweet face all that time. You know, I was almost sad when we got a spring thaw and I had to put her in the ground. But I still visit her every day.”

“I remember your wife very well,” Addie said. “She was a wonderful woman, kind, intelligent, and strong.”

“She was all of that and more,” Jed replied, his voice hoarse now. “And I sure miss her. I'm glad that you remembered her so fondly, Addie. She always said that you were the daughter that she wished we'd had together. She thought of you that way . . . and so do I.”

Longarm glanced at Addie, and he could see that she was so moved that she couldn't speak.

“It's a nice place,” he said, eyes running over the ranch. “It's a real nice little ranch.”

“I could never leave it,” Jed told them. “Never get far from Rebecca or the ranch. We built it together. My son, he didn't want to live way out here. Wanted to go to the city and be more'n a cattleman. I never could understand that, but he's doing real well. Got a wife and two kids. I go to visit and they come up here to see me and Rebecca every summer. I've had a good life, but I sure do miss my girl.”

Longarm studied the ranch house, barns, and corrals. It was clear that Jed Dodson's spread was considerably poorer than Addie's Lazy H, but any cowboy would have thought it a fine place to spend his final years. There were two windmills pumping water into two big stock tanks, and both the house and the barn were made from rough-hewn logs. The corrals were well built, and the whole place had a nice, homey look to it that made it easy to understand why Wade Stoneman would want the property.

“My wells are only thirty feet deep and they're pullin' up some of the sweetest water you ever tasted on this side of the Rocky Mountains,” Jed told them.

“How much land do you own?” Longarm asked.

“It's a small spread, but big enough to support a family . . . if I had one anymore.” Jed stood up in his stirrupsto stretch his legs, and he rolled a smoke and lit it in the cup of his calloused hands. “I own two thousand, six hundred acres, but about half of my land is rocky mountain or in a steep canyon making it unfit for feedin' cattle. Still, with all the sweet water I've got, you can run about two hundred head of cattle in a good year with summer rains to bring up the tall grass.”

“It's a handsome ranch,” Longarm said admiringly after they'd sat and looked over the ranch for a few minutes. “Why don't we get down there and tie your gray horse up in front of the house while Addie and I hide our horses in that barn.”

Jed Dodson was starting to feel better and he finished his smoke, ground it out on his saddle horn, and put the remains of it in his shirt pocket. Then he gathered his reins and said, “Yes, sir, this is a fine morning. Cold and clear. I sent my cattle to market last month and did pretty well on 'em.”