My Desperado (15 page)

"You are the most goddamn stubborn woman I have ever met," declared Travis. "Give them the money."

"No." It was a matter of pride now. "I won't."

"Hey!" interrupted the brigand nervously. "You two quit yer squabbling or I'll... I'll shoot y'."

Katherine's mouth fell open. "I beg your pardon."

"You beg my... Hear that Luke? She begs my pardon. Don't that beat all? Just hand over the money, lady, and no one'll get hurt."

"You wouldn't shoot me." Katherine wasn't sure how she knew, but she knew. Or thought she knew. The man with the rifle seemed hardly to be any older than some of the boys she'd taught in school. While Luke, whom she had caught only a glimpse of, acted nervous enough to die on the spot.

"What'd you say?"

"I said, you wouldn't shoot me," repeated Katherine, though she was a little less certain now, since the man's tone was sounding increasingly unfriendly.

"You don't think so?" he asked.

"No." She kept her tone firm. "I don't."

He shrugged jerkily. "Maybe you're right, ma'am." He took a step nearer yet, shifting the rifle slowly so that it pointed very directly at Travis's head. "But I sure as nuts would shoot him."

"Good work, lady," said Travis. "I think you'll get me killed yet. It's taking you a while. But I got faith."

"You wouldn't," Katherine said to the rifleman, but her tone had become shaky.

"Wanna test me?" asked the outlaw, shuffling his feet and trying a glare.

"No!" Her answer was quick, as were her hands. She shifted around in the blankets for the little cloth pouch she had carried to Ryland in an effort to buy the very things she dug about in now. In a moment her fingers touched a metallic lump, and she drew it quickly up to show to all. "Here it tis. Go ahead. It's yours."

"Bring it here."

Katherine swallowed hard. Ryland's muscles tensed against her.

“Take it to you?" she asked dubiously.

"That's right. Bring it over."

Her legs shook when she stood. She had felt secure while sitting next to Ryland's solid form, but walking through the darkness toward the shadowed gunman was entirely different.

Only a stride separated them when she reached out. Her arm trembled, rattling the coins slightly.

"Thank ye kindly, ma'am." The outlaw accepted the proffered bundle, but when she took a tentative step backward, he stopped her. "Don't you be rushin' off now. Just stay put."

Katherine froze, her heart thumping against her ribs.

The little pouch was untied with some difficulty, and he poured the coins into his hand. "Where's the rest?"

Katherine locked her trembling knees and scowled. "I had to pay for our room."

"Where's the rest?"

"I told you—" Katherine began, but Travis interrupted now.

"I've been wounded and out of work. She's had to support both of us."

"She your wife?"

"Yes," said Travis.

"No," said Katherine simultaneously.

Travis tightened his fists and swore in silence.

"So what you been doing to earn yer keep?" asked the gunman, balancing the rifle on one hip as he tried to peruse Katherine through the dimness.

"I..." Katherine wet her lips and contemplated a likely lie, but truths came so much easier. "I sang at a... at a..." She cleared her throat, feeling the red heat diffuse her face. "A dance hall."

"You're a saloon girl?" asked Jacob, shocked. "A soiled dove?"

Katherine stepped back as if she'd been slapped. "I am most certainly not a..."

"Hey, Luke, looks like we ain't out of luck after all. We got us a soiled dove. And a good-looking one, too, if my eyes ain't foolin' me.

"Come on, ma'am. Grab your belongin's. You'll be ridin' with us."

"No." She whispered the word, stepping quickly back. "No. I..."

Travis shifted slightly.

"And you. Stay put," ordered Jacob.

"Sure." Ryland's tone was casual. "Been a hard day. I ain't going nowhere."

"You don't care if we take her?"

Ryland shrugged. "I don't deny she's one helluva kisser. But she talks too much for my taste."

"Well..." Jacob laughed. "We don't mind a little talk, huh, Luke? Let's go, lady."

"No. No. I... Mr. Ryland." Katherine turned slightly, finding Travis's face in the darkness. "Don't let them. I..."

"Did I mention she's got the pox?" Travis asked conversationally.

"The pox!" cried Jacob. "She's got the pox!"

"Yeah. 'Fraid so," said Travis. "But she's still a helluva kisser, and if you don't mind her babbling, she ain't half bad—"

"She's got the damn pox?" barked the gunman.

"Yeah," said Travis again.

"Gawd. Luke. Grab his horse. Let's get out of here."

"Horse?" Travis's voice had dropped a notch.

Jacob backed away another step, waving his rifle slightly. "We ain't leavin' here empty-handed. So you stay put, or I'll..."

Ryland charged like a trained cowhorse to thud his solid weight against Jacob. The rifle fell from his fingers. Luke's hands shot into the air as he surrendered.

Travis stood over Jacob's body, and picked up the rifle.

"Take my damn horse, will you?" he asked.

The gunman whimpered, and looked even more like a young boy.

"Damn sniveling pups," muttered Ryland, and leaning forward grasped the man by the shirtfront and dragged him effortlessly over to Luke.

Katherine hurried stiffly behind. "What are you going to do to them?"

"Drown 'em," Ryland said evenly, and reached for them.

Jacob and Luke went pale and cowered away.

"You can't drown them!" gasped Katherine, grabbing his arm. "We'll have to turn them into the authorities."

Travis waited a fraction of a second before snorting. "Now, there's a good plan, lady. First-rate."

She licked her lips, seeing the problem with that decision. "All right. We won't. But you can't drown them."

"Listen," Travis whispered in her ear. "I been shot. I been hunted. I been threatened. I'm hungry. I'm sore. And I'm tired." He glanced at the would-be outlaws then turned back to Katherine. "Let me have my fun without making such a fuss."

Katherine barely nodded, and Travis walked back to Jacob and Luke.

"Please," Jacob said. "Don't drown us."

Travis's glare darkened. "Why not?"

"Cause we... we ain't ready to die. Please." Jacob said again, apparently unable to help himself. "We won't do it again."

"Won't do what again?"

"Steal. We won't steal."

"Who sent you?" Travis asked gruffly, leaning closer.

"Sent us?" There was honest surprise in Jacob's tone. "No one sent us. We was just hungry. And—"

"How do I know you're telling the truth?"

Jacob came woodenly to a sitting position. "We didn't even have no bullets in the rifle. Take a look. I swear it's true."

"No bullets?" Travis said, thinking the statement too pathetic to be a lie. "You ain't got no damn bullets?"

"No. We didn't want to hurt no one."

Travis leaned closer, arms crossed, waiting for the real reason why they had no bullets.

"And... And...this don't seem t' be our line of work. There was an Injun fella few weeks back. We pissed him off pretty good." He swallowed hard. "Thought he was gonna take our scalps."

Travis narrowed his eyes, shifting his gaze to Luke, who failed to do as much as nod.

"Indian?" Ryland asked quietly.

"Yeah. Drivin' a herd of fat cattle. We was hungry then, too. Thought we'd help ourselves to a little beef." Jacob's eyes were huge in his pale face. "Won't do that again."

“This Indian. How'd he look?"

"Big and mean! Like he'd just as soon eat us alive. Kinda like..." He swallowed again. "Kinda like you... only darker."

"Where'd you see him?"

"Ten, maybe twelve days north of here."

Travis remained still, glaring at them and thinking.

"Please don't kill us, mister."

Drawing himself from his thoughts, Travis bent down, now eye-to-eye with Jacob. "Where're your horses?"

"We only got one."

"Jesus!" exclaimed Travis, nearing the end of his patience. "Then, goddamn it, where's your horse!"

"Back there—in the trees. But you ain't gonna take old Buck, are y'? He was our pappy's."

"Damn it all," swore Ryland. "Lady. Get their horse."

Katherine did so, feeling her way through the darkness to find an ancient white gelding tied to a tree.

Travis snorted derisively when she led the mount up to him and eyed the poor old animal with a shake of his head. "Get on the horse."

"You're letting us go?" Jacob whispered, seemingly unable to believe their good fortune.

"Just get on the damned horse," Travis snapped irritably at the two men, and they did so with surprising haste.

"Could we have the rifle back?" ventured Jacob. "It was Pap's, too."

"Get the hell out of here!" yelled Ryland. "And if I ever hear of you two causing trouble again, I'll drown you no matter what the woman says. You hear?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah," piped Luke.

"And find yourselves another profession," ordered Ryland. "Cause you're sad excuses for outlaws."

"Yes, sir."

"Y-yeah," managed Luke, his voice bobbling with gratitude.

"Jesus!" Travis snorted, then, "Go on! Goddamn it! Get the hell out of here."

It was truly amazing how fast that white gelding could retreat with a double load.

Silence took the campsite, and Travis turned, finding Katherine in the darkness.

"You were going to let them take me," she said in disbelief.

"But look at it this way," he replied. "They ain't so dim as they seemed. Cause they left you here with me."

Chapter 15

“You would have let them take me," Katherine repeated blankly. "You wouldn't have raised a hand—not a hand—if they hadn't threatened to take your horse."

Travis shrugged, watching her closely in the darkness. "Old Soldier and me, we go way back."

"B-but..."

She was beginning to sputter, he noticed—a sure sign of upcoming hysterics.

"But they could have... They might have..." Katherine clutched the front of her borrowed shirt in a shaky hand, feeling sick. "They thought I was a soiled dove," she whispered.

"Lady," he said evenly, "you said you was a soiled dove."

"They might have..." she tried again, but still the words wouldn't come."Might have—"

"Damn it, woman!" He was across the distance in an instant, suddenly grabbing her arms in his large, hard hands. "And what about me?" He shook her now, all the fear he'd felt for her swamping his system. "What about me? What do you think I would do to ya? What makes you think you're safer with me? What makes you such a fool? Jesus, woman!" He drew a deep breath, calming his nerves though his grip was still hard. "If you had a hair of sense, you'd of rode off with them. Cause I'm telling you now, them two would have been a long shot safer than me."

He stared at her, trying to read her emotions, to shake some sense into her, to rid himself from the dull pain in his heart. What if real outlaws had found them? Real men with real weapons! God knew the mountains were full of them. Desperate men with nothing to lose. What if she'd been hurt? What if...

"I think I'm safe with you," she said, her eyes luminous in the still night.

Travis remained silent, absorbing her words before he tightened his grip just fractionally. "Well don't."

"But I do."

"Don't!" he rasped. "Do you hear me? I ain't to be trusted. I ain't what you think." He dropped his hands away suddenly, holding them in tight fists at his side. "Some damn puppy to trot along by your side on a string. Jesus, lady! I've killed more men than you've seen. I've killed more men than you can name! You hear me? Do you?"

The night seemed to reverberate with his words.

"Yes." Her answer was no more than a whisper.

"Then why the hell are you still here?" he asked, leaning forward from the waist.

"Where else could I go?" she asked softly.

"Back east."

"I'm innocent, but there are men out there who are trying to kill me. You think I can just ignore that fact? That I can disappear back to my old life and pretend nothing happened?"

"Lady," he said softly, "I think you'll be lucky to have any kind of life at all when this is over. So you better take your best chance, and that means leaving here."

"Well, I won't." Her voice was surprisingly firm. "I'll see my name cleared, with your help or without it."

He glared at her in silence before swearing with verve and turning on his heel.

How had this all come about? he wondered. Why was he saddled with this damnable woman who lacked the wits to fear him?

Because she'd hung on to his stirrup like a tick to a hound's neck, that's why. Because she was the most stubborn piece of human flesh to ever walk the earth. Because she was determined to drive him insane.

"Ryland?" she called softly.

He didn't answer.

"Mr. Ryland? What's the pox?"

He groaned and looked to heaven, hoping for an answer.

"I was just curious," explained Katherine. "It surely seemed to put the fear of God into those two...outlaws. It was quite a clever ploy of yours I see now. And I was thinking. Do you suppose it would be so effective every time? That is to say, this might be the answer to all our problems. Is it a highly contagious disease? I mean, if I wore a sign, or something, proclaiming myself to be a carrier of the pox, perhaps everyone would give us a wide berth. Maybe... Maybe," she said, her perfectly modulated voice filled with excited hopefulness, "maybe the people of Silver Ridge would eventually hear of my horrid disease. Naturally they would assume you had contracted it from me. And that we would both die soon. So they'd leave us in peace. Forget the entire incident with Mr. Patterson." She paused, sounding breathless. "What do you think?"

Ryland closed his eyes. "I don't deserve this," he said flatly, turning away with a shake of his head. "No matter what I've done—I don't deserve this."

Katherine watched him roll himself in his blankets. "Aren't you going to tell me what it is?"