Chapter 1

It was cold and I was looking for a place to get under cover for the night. I had come through a herd of cattle back in the hills. I was thinking they should be down in the flat country by this time. Hearing a rifle shot, I went through the trees to observe three men heading for a downed cow. They jumped down from their horses with knives in their hands and proceeded to butcher it. I figured they were hungry.

Deciding I didn’t want to eat stolen beef, I turned back out of sight and continued down a faint trail. It was 3 miles before I came around a point of land overlooking a long valley with a small ranch house on this end of the open land, it being 4 or 5 miles to the hills on the other end. There was a good -sized pond beyond the ranch buildings. Thinking to myself, what a sweet layout this was, I started toward the buildings. The place looked deserted, though. Maybe I could shack up in the barn or another building close by that looked to be a bunkhouse.

I cantered down and pulled up in front of the house. There was just a whisper of smoke coming from the chimney, so someone had to be here. Stepping down I went up onto the four by ten foot porch. I knocked on the door and no one came. I tried the door and found it unlocked. The fire was almost out, but it was still nice and warm inside. I went over and all there was for wood in a box were three chunks. I picked the smallest and put it on the coals. It flared up and I knew it would catch.

I decided to stay for the night at least. I hated going back out into the cold, but my horse needed tending to. There was water in a trough almost skimmed over. It would have a skim of ice on it in another hour. The horse drank and I went across to the barn, opening the door to the stable. There was a riding mount tied in one of the four stalls. It looked like enough stalls to stable a pair of draft horses as well. There were fresh droppings to indicate that a pair horses were out for the two empty stalls.

I tied my horse next to the other mount, and led that horse out and watered her. I went around front and pitched some hay to both. The haymow was about empty. I looked out behind the barn and there was a corral with a sheltered over hang from the barn for more horses to stand and be fed from a manger. This place had about everything.

I went back inside, taking an armload of wood with me. The wood stack was in about the same condition as the haymow, almost gone. I went into the house and looked around the kitchen area. I lighted a lamp. There was a piece of beef sitting in a cast iron pot. It looked good and smelled okay. I pulled the lid from the top of the stove and set the pot into the opening. I found a large fork and was able to use the fat that was on the meat to brown, turning it on all sides. I covered it with water I found in a pail by the sink.

I looked for potatoes or onions, but the one piece of beef was all that was edible that I could see. I hoped whoever owned the place was off buying supplies. I began looking around some more. I opened one door, and looked in. A woman lived here, that was certain.

There were a couple of dresses hung on one wall and a mirror over a bureau. A hairbrush and comb was on top next to an open Bible. Also, there was a black ribbon tied in a bow sitting there. One of the dresses on the wall was all black telling me the woman must be a widow. There were some open boxes on the floor with men’s clothing packed in it. Could be it was her man who was dead. The bed was for two people, but only one side was rumpled. Apparently, the woman still dressed in widow’s attire so it must have happened recently.

Another door off the kitchen opened into a small room. The door to the outside led through this down the steps to a yard. Positioned on the right as a person went down the steps was a small one-hole toilet behind that door. What I surmised as the bunkhouse was behind the house, but nearer the barn. Just then, I heard a wagon and horses. I opened the front door and looked out. A woman stepped down and stared at me standing there.

Quick-like, I said so as to not make her nervous about me, a stranger. “Ma’am, my name is Buck Harrison. I’m honest and my mother called me a good man. Come in and get warm. I put wood on the fire when I got here. Do you have things to unload? I’ll do that and put the team up. My horse is stabled inside for the night.”

The woman answered, “There are groceries in the wagon. Everything can come in ... little enough of it as there is. Thank you. I’m tired so thank you again. Come in when you get the team put up. The team needs watering and my horse in the barn does too.”

“Already done, Ma’am.” I did as directed and thought again about her needing more hay. When I went into the house after finishing outside, the woman was sitting at a table with peeled vegetables in front of her. She did look exhausted. She still had the black shawl around her shoulders.

“Mr. Harrison, my name is Betty Turner. My husband was killed in the woods six weeks ago. I’d like to lay down while supper is cooking. It is a long way to Breckenridge and back in one day when you get started late. Will you see to things here?”

“I’m sorry for your loss. Of course, I’ll tend to things. I’ll call you when it is ready to eat. Shall I wake you if you are sleeping?”

“Yes, please do.”

I kept the meat bubbling and when it was an hour and a half later, I put carrots and onions in and twenty minutes after this, I put the potatoes in. I found plates and tableware. When I deemed everything about ready, I put all but the juice for gravy in one large single serving dish. I took some flour and made gravy. I shouted to Mrs. Turner while I was doing this and she fled out headed for the backhouse. She came in and washed her hands and face.

“I didn’t comb my hair.”

“That’s fine. Meat may be a little under done, but I’m hungry.”

“I am too. Thank God, you were here. I was so tired I would have gone to bed hungry if you weren’t. You appear to be a better cook than me.”

“My mother taught all of us boys to cook. Helping in the house wasn’t just woman’s work, she said.”

“She must be quite a woman.”

“She was. She passed on a few weeks ago. I’ll miss her.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

We decided first names when speaking to each other were in order. Satiated, we paused. I would kill for a cup of coffee. Maybe there were coffee beans in the things I had brought out of the wagon. I didn’t ask, though. I did ask Betty to tell me her story and plans for the future.

“Buck, I’m in a bind and don’t know which way to turn. I’m losing everything, the cattle and the ranch. The man at the feed store said he would ask the town to raise enough money to get me back east to where I came from. He was nice, but I don’t know. He didn’t hesitate to take money for the wagon load of hay I ordered.

“That’s not right.”

“I know, but I’m a widow. My three hands skinned out after Jim died. I think the other two ranches on either side of me want this ranch. When I leave, they will either fight it out or split it between themselves. I’m broke, pregnant three months and don’t have any options left to be able to stay here. I’m not even positive but what my husband Jim wasn’t killed and made it to look like an accident. I complained to the Deputy Sheriff, named Ronald Sims, but he said he couldn’t tell.”

“Tell me about it.”

“I found Jim lying under a tree he had supposedly just cut. I’ve helped Jim a lot cutting wood and I’ve cut wood before I was married to him. I couldn’t see from how the tree was notched and sawed how it could ever have come down on him. It looked to me as if the tree was lifted, thrown on top of him, pinning him down. He also had him a lump on the back of his head as if someone had hit him from behind.”

“Do you suspect anyone?”

“Both of the two ranchers have been trying to buy Jim out of here even before I married him, so I don’t know, one of them could have harmed him. They offered money, but not near enough. Jim was stubborn and I guess it killed him. We were out of cash money and he talked about applying for a loan at the bank. He didn’t use the bank, telling me he didn’t trust them, so I didn’t figure it wasn’t any use for me to go there, either.

“Enough about me Buck, you must have a story about your life. Share with me if you don’t mind.”

“Not much to tell. We are a big family and my mother just died. She left a will. My three brothers all have wife and kids. I’m single and there wasn’t land enough for me to live and make a go of the home place with them. I’m the youngest brother at twenty-eight and should have left before this. I was afraid Mom would pass soon and I wanted to be with her to say goodbye. I received cash money from Mom’s estate, and struck out to see if I can find a home of my own. The other boys each had a ranch in the division of the Home Ranch.”

“Buck, that makes sense. All I have to look forward to is going back where I came from and living with an uncle I don’t care that much for. It will be worse when the baby is born.”

We sat there both thinking. I was afraid to say what was on my mind. I could take up with this woman. Hell, I could have a wife and child in six months. That is if I took up the fight to save this woman’s ranch and her from returning to her roots that didn’t hold that much for her.”

My mind looked into what she had told me. She had cattle that needed to come down out of the hills. They probably would be rustled if they weren’t moved down soon. How would I do that? I thought back to those cowboys who had shot one of Turner cows for meat. Maybe I could chase them down and get them to work for the winter. They owed her already and they didn’t even know it.

The place needed hay for the horses. She said she had ordered hay for her horses. That would have to be gone after. That told me a lot about her. She thought of her animals before she thought of herself. “Betty, what did you plan to do for horse hay?”

“I bought a load today, but I have to go get it. It will be a small load I guess, because the Guy wouldn’t sell to me unless I loaded it myself. At first, he was so nice and then he tells me this. He was kind of grinning. I was so tired I didn’t argue and drove off. He knows I don’t have any help.”

“The people around here don’t like you much, I take it?”

“I think they like me okay, but they do want me gone. I think that it has to do with the way Jim died or maybe himself. He wasn’t a sociable person and didn’t give me a chance to be either.”

I sat thinking about what she was telling me. I had watched her since she sat down. She was a fine looking woman. I suspected she kept herself neat, or she wouldn’t have mentioned not combing her light brown hair. She was shapely and soon to be more so, but that was okay. I was tall at five ten for a man and she was tall, too ... about five seven, I’d guess.

Betty was the first to make a suggestion. “Buck, you wouldn’t like to buy me out, would you. I won’t ask for much, Maybe $500 and then I won’t feel as if I’m taking charity to leave town.”

“Is that what you want?”

“I guess it is my only option. I do like living here. I have had a bit of peace since Jim died, but I can see soon I’m not going to have enough money to buy food. I’m hoping the store will put me on a tab, but then I’m not a very good risk and owner will see me that way. Do you have any ideas?”

“Well, I could buy you out, but then I wouldn’t have money until some cattle were sold. Do you really like it here? Would you live in town if you had the money?”

“Not in this town. Say, maybe you could hire me to cook for you until the baby is born.”

I grinned. “That is one option. How about we becoming partners, say fifty-fifty? That way my money would go further and I could build on what you have here.”

“You won’t be getting much and it could be you are asking for a whole lot of trouble.”

“I think I am capable to handle most things that would come up”

“It might mean gun trouble.”

“It could, but I’m still capable, I do believe.”

Betty frowned, concerned, “Have you ever killed anyone?”

“No, I haven’t, but I have been shot at a couple of times and returned fire. Both men who fired at me received some wounds. I planned it that way.”

“I take it you are saying you are good with a gun.”

“Good enough.”

“I would guess so.”

Betty believed me and made an immediate decision. “Okay, we are partners. I would like $500 for half of everything here and that way I won’t have to ask for charity if this doesn’t work out.”

“I have it in gold coins, okay? I am sure it will work out by doing my damndest to make this work for both our benefit. You have a nice ranch here and will come to a time when you will enjoy it fully, I promise.”

“God, it has been a long time since I’ve seen a gold coin. Yes, I’ll take your offer on the ranch. Buck, what about us outside of partners in owning the ranch?

“It is too soon to tell. I will tell you that I think you are a very nice woman. You may be tarred with a black brush with me living here as your partner. Can you live with that?”

“It will be no worse than the disrespect I get from people now. Yes, I can live with it. I’ll get some paper and write out that you are my equal partner of the former James Turner ranch. I’ll sign it as the widow, Betty Turner. We’ll sign it again as soon as we can find some one to witness us signing it.”

“Fine, I’ll bring my roll in and unpack it. I’ll sleep here by the fire tonight. That room in back will be fine with me as soon as there is room to build a bed.”

“You could sleep beside me. I could put a roll of blankets down the middle.”

“Thank you, no, someone is bound to ask if we sleep in the same bed. I wouldn’t want to lie.” God, I hated to lie about what I wanted, but maybe someday. I had three sister-in-laws and I would match what I had seen of Betty so far with any one of them. Lamplight didn’t show me much of how this woman looked, but although backed into a corner, she seized on her only plausible option to remain. I decided I wouldn’t take advantage of her and I would keep her trust if I could.

It was nine o’clock when we both settled down for the night. I noticed Betty had pounded some coffee beans for my breakfast. Betty brought out a blanket to cover me. The chair was comfortable to sleep in. I turned the lamp down low and I pretended to be asleep already. I wasn’t and I felt her hand brush my shoulder when she turned and went into her room.

I awoke and built up the fire. I heard the schoolhouse clock chime five. Best night of sleep I had since leaving home a month ago. I had stayed in a hotel a couple of nights, but most usually bunked in a haymow somewhere. I put coffee in a small pot to boil and went out back to relieve myself. There was a bar of yellow soap by the sink. I didn’t scrub my face much or I would lose some hide. I relaxed and thought about my first move.

If those three men who had butchered that cow were still hanging around, I’d go see if I could hire them. The horse was happy, he bucked a couple of times, and then we headed for the hills. I had taken the sheepskin coat out of my bedroll and I needed it. It looked like the sun might shine, which damned sure was okay with me. Soon, I was humming a tune. I could see my tracks in the frost covered grass from where I had come down out of the hills yesterday.

Looking around, God, this was one damned fine piece of cattle country. The land was sparsely-wooded, with grass everywhere close to the ranch covering the flat section. I hadn’t got too far and topped out on top of a high knoll. I looked across the valley and I could see stacks of cut wood piled up. That must be where Jim Turner was chopping when he died. It had to be about a mile from home.