Chapter 21

I got on my horse and led Rory and Opal Anne, in the wagon, towards Daisy O’Rourke’s house. On the way I stopped at the bank to see Mr. Banks, waving the wagon to go on to Daisy’s house.

As soon as I entered the bank Cody Banks stood to welcome me.

“Hello Paul! Nice to see you so soon as seeing Mick.”

I took his offered hand and then, very seriously, I spoke.

“Cody, I would like to meet with you and Dewey after I’ve been to see Daisy O’Rourke.”

He immediately assumed his full business demeanor.

“When might that be, Paul?”

“Let’s plan it for two hours. Is that OK?” I said severely.

Cody looked at me and sensed that something had happened.

“That’s fine, Paul. Is anything wrong?”

“Yes, and I’m going to need your and Dewey’s help to fix it.”

“I’ll have Dewey here, Paul. Get on with your business?” Cody stood and again offered his hand, which I took.

Walking out to my horse, I mounted, turned and began to follow the wagon, my speed matched my mood. I sat tall and straight in the saddle, sending a message that I was a very serious man. I saw the wagon ahead. It was tied up to the house at the end of the street.

Directing my horse next to the wagon, I dismounted and tied the animal to the hitching post. I unsheathed my rifle and carried it with intent, sending another message to all who saw me. I am Paul O’Dell and all who endanger my friends and family will die.

After knocking on the door, I was greeted by a young pregnant girl.

“Hello, I’m Paul O’Dell. My brother and wife are here to see Daisy.”

“Yes sir, Mr. O’Dell. Please follow me.”

“Gladly,” I said with as much pleasantness as I could muster.

I entered the formal greeting room and found myself being assaulted by a very emotional redhead.

“Oh, Paul ... Daisy ... the girls,’ Opal Anne sobbed.

Just then Daisy O’Rourke entered the room. Not being an overly attractive woman before, Daisy was now almost painful to look at. Her nose was badly broken, and a scar ran from her nose up across the edge of her right eye and high up on her forehead. Shedding my wife gently, I opened my arms to Daisy. The woman set down her tray of tea and came into my arms.

“Daisy, I’m so sorry for you and your girls. How are things now?”

“Much better than they would have been had you not come to our rescue. The doc saved Marissa’s baby, but she died. And he was able to take care of the cuts, bruises, and broken bones. He would have helped regardless of your influence, but the fact that he could spend all the time he needed without having to worry about paying his bills doing other things first was a great help.”

“Well, Daisy, from this point forward you may consider the O’Dell clan to be your patron saint. Whatever you need, we’ll take care of. The same with doc and his needs for a hospital. I believe that once the word goes out, you’ll be getting girls from the entire area. My family will always be there for you and your girls, always.”

Daisy’s uncharacteristic tears were overwhelming. I hugged her and shed tears with her. I was so overcome by the emotion of the moment that I hadn’t noticed Opal Anne was nursing a baby that was not Pauli. Releasing Daisy, I looked down to where Opal Anne had retaken her seat on the couch and at her serene expression.

“What have we here?”

“This is Brandon. He is Marissa’s son, she’s the thirteen-year-old who died from the rape. He hasn’t had any mother’s milk since he was born. Daisy thinks that mother’s milk helps babies not be sickly. I didn’t think Pauli would mind sharing.”

“How about me?” I chuckled.

“You never go without, Paul O’Dell. Daisy doesn’t have a wet nurse. The one she had was not here when the Swede and his men raped the women. When she found what had happened she ran away. So, I figured to give him a good feeding.”

We drank tea and talked about what Daisy needed to get completely back on her feet. After some time, I pulled out my pocket watch.

“I need to go and meet with Mr. Banks and Mr. Howe. We need to set up you and doc with funds to accomplish your goals. Then I need to end the war started against my family. Has Opal Anne told you what has happened?”

“No.”

“My brother, Mick, is dead. He was coming back from Fountain City when some men attacked him. He killed ten of them before he ran out of ammunition and he killed the last one with his knife before he died. The men were from a cattle outfit in Pueblo. They’re going to pay.”

“Kiss me and be on your way, Paul,” Opal Anne ordered. “I’m going to feed this little one as much as he can stand. Then Rory and I will join you.”

Rory had been sitting quietly, taking in all around him in silence. Now he stood and took Daisy’s hand in his.

“I’m sorry for what happened to you and your girls. I’m proud to have been able to be one who avenged you. Call us if you need us.”

“Thank you, Rory,” she said before delivering a kiss to his cheek.

Rory walked to the door, exited and untied the mules. He climbed up into the wagon’s seat and waited. I realized that Rory had slipped into that soldiers resolve so familiar to Mick and me. He was ready to go to war. Ready to die.

“Little brother, you don’t need to come with me. If you wish to stay here, you may.”

“Still don’t trust me with O’Dell family business?”

His expression told me more than the tone of his voice. He was all in.

“Rory, I trust you with my life. And you’re right, you do need to know the family business. You’re not the little brother anymore. You’re the next eldest O’Dell. Let’s go.”

I had unhitched my horse, stepped up into the saddle, and put my heels to the horse’s side. A few minutes later we arrived at the bank. I almost jumped from the saddle. I tied him to the hitching post as Rory did the same with the mules. Then, together, walked into the front door of the bank.

Cody Banks rose to greet us.

“Hello Cody. You remember my brother, Rory.”

“I do, hello Rory,” the banker extended his hand and the two men shook hands. “And where is Mick, we just talked about a land purchase in Denver and the building of some houses.”

“Mick’s dead, Cody.”

Cody dropped into his chair and sat looking at me in shock. I had to repeat myself before Cody shook off the shock of the news.

“He was attacked on his way home. I need some information. First the details of the purchases he made. Second, the effect of Mick’s death upon those purchases. Third, do we have enough money to go after those who killed Mick.”

“I’m sorry, Paul. I am just ... I don’t have words. Mick was a good man and had a very good handle on the world of finance,” Cody said.

“Really?” I was surprised. “We never talked a lot about our finances. I know he was sharp.”

“He was really smart, Paul,” Rory said. “We would sit around and talk about what to do with the money we were making. He put together a plan to make him and me rich without your contributions.”

“Why?”

“Why? Because you left us. You didn’t trust us, remember? In case you never came back or cut us off, he made plans. No one was happier about you still being our brother than Mick.”

I heard my little brother’s words and my heart sank. I was suddenly sadder than before. Knowing that Mick really thought there was a possibility that I would quit the family, hurt. But knowing that he knew I loved him, and that I came back, filled me with the desire to honor his passing by taking down the people who did caused his death. I nodded at Rory and took a seat across from Cody, returning my attention to him.

“Well?”

“Well, Mick didn’t purchase anything. We talked about what he was looking for and he laid out some long-term plans. I was going to have Dewey look into some properties outside Denver that had a lot of land and would allow for the building of three large houses like he wanted.”

“Three?” I questioned.

“Yeah, Paul,” Rory chimed in. “We always hoped that you would spend at least some of the year with us in Denver. After we went to the plain, he understood why you might not, but he had hopes.”

“OK, I think you should still have at least the two houses built. Betty Mae is going to need someplace to live.”

“She can live with us.”

“Can she without you all slipping into the trading thing again?”

“Won’t be trading now, will it, Paul,” Rory said firmly. “There aren’t two husbands to trade off. Mr. Banks, please have Mr. Howe continue his inquiries.”

“All right, Rory,” Cody Banks said, just as Mr. Dewey Howe walked in.

“Hello, Dewey,” Cody said in greeting. “You remember Rory O’Dell, Paul and Mick’s youngest brother?”

“I do. Hello, Rory.”

“Hello, Mr. Howe.”

“Please call me Dewey. I’m sorry to be late. I had a property settlement to arbitrate. It ran a little long. So, what brings us all together? And where is Mick?”

“Dewey, Mick is dead,” Cody said. “He was attacked on the way home and killed.”

“Damn!” the man’s shoulder dropped inches. “I’m so sorry, Paul. Rory. How is his wife?”

“She doesn’t know yet,” Rory replied. “We came looking for him because he was late coming home and we found him a day’s ride out of here. We came in to tell the sheriff and to see what business Mick had conducted with you two.”

“Dewey, I told them that we hadn’t settled anything,” Cody added.

“Right, he asked me to contact people in and around Denver to find a piece of land to build houses. I was supposed to do that and get back to him.”

“Keep doing that, but please get back to me,” Rory asked. “His wife and daughter will be staying with me and my wife and son for the foreseeable future. We still want to move forward with the land and building the houses.”