Chapter 13

If this wasn't a fucked up deal I didn't know what was. I probably didn't have much room for talking or for bitching about it, but I'd liked William and just because his wife shared a little pussy with me, that hadn't changed. He was a nice kid and he'd drawn a shitty hand in the end.

I wasn't trying to say he was innocent and blameless, because no one made him go into town and get shitfaced drunk. He was responsible for his own vulnerability. To my mind it was completely useless to boot. If you're old enough to get married and move away from kith and kin you should be old enough to take at least some responsibility for your wife's safety.

He'd dragged Helga out into the middle of no-fucking-where and fucked around and got himself killed, leaving her with no security or safety. She hadn't intended it that way but she'd had to provide her own security now.

There was no doubt many women stranded this way had ended up as whores in two bit saloons. At least Helga didn't have that to look forward to. In a round about way she had secured her future with her body, but at least it wouldn't come down to selling it as a work-a-day job.

That thought reminded me I needed to go and let her know she wasn't alone now that William had been killed. I walked over to the back of our main wagon and climbed in.

They all looked up at me when I came in and then Helga burst into tears again.

"Oh Frank. What will I do now?" she moaned.

I didn't speak, I just opened my arms wide and when she came to me I wrapped her up in them.

"Don't worry Helga. I can't bring William back but I can make sure you are safe and sound and cared for. I'll take care of you as long as you let me," I said, and she sagged against me, in relief I hope, and then squawled again.

There was nothing else I could do for now except hold her, but at least I wasn't going to do it standing in the wagon. I maneuvered around until I found a place to park my ass and then pulled her into my lap after I had. Thankfully she was down to occasional sniffles after a few minutes.

Jack had been planning to move out this morning, but he came by half an hour later and called me out of the wagon. He was hemming and hawing with the best of 'em for a few minutes so I tried to help him out.

"We're going to take Helga in and look out for her Jack. If you have to go ahead and move on we'll just stay here and try to catch on with another train later," I said.

"I ain't about to leave you here and the others wouldn't go if I tried. You ain't noticed what an impression you made on folks when you ran that Injun down and got Becky back. Almost every damned man, and all the women on this train for sure, feel better about you being with us. I'd like to go on sure, but we can hang around a couple of days to go to the trial and then bury William.

"It's a damned shame what happened to him, but you know as well as I do we can't do nothing now but try to keep on," he said.

"That's a damned fact, and he ain't the first man to let the bottle overload his good sense," I said, and then Jack went about his business.

Helen came out of the wagon then and told me Helga had cried herself to sleep.

"It's probably just as well for now. Do you know if she has any widow's weeds?"

"No, but we can get some in town if she doesn't. I noticed a store with a good stock yesterday."

"Don't rush her or anything but she needs some. Jack said the train would stay for a couple more days. I think we should bury William day after tomorrow. I'll go see if there's a church and a decent cemetery. You try to get her something to wear this afternoon or tomorrow please."

"Mary and I will take care of that. You be careful in town," she said, and gave me a kiss.

I put Bob's new saddle on his back and then rode him to Jasper's shop. He was sitting on the porch so I swung down to see if he could give me any pointers about preachers, churches, graveyards, and such.

"Morning Frank. How 'bout some coffee?"

"It won't hurt me probably, even if you did make it."

"I know I'm old and not much to look at, but Blossum don't mind and she's stayed with me. Still makes my coffee every day too," he said, grinning.

"There's a shock. I'd a bet money you couldn't hold on to a woman."

"All you know. Blossum, can Frank have a cup of coffee?" he yelled toward the inside, and it sounded more like a question than I'd have thought it would.

We didn't get an answer back, but a minute later a Sioux woman walked out onto the front porch.

"This Frank? By saddles and riatas, other things?" she asked.

"This is him," Jasper said, grinning again.

"He have all coffee want. Good man. Pay gold. I get," she said, and went back inside.

"Now you know I'm a squaw man, and I ain't a bit shamed of it neither," Jasper said, and I could tell he was proud of it instead of ashamed.

"You can't get my goat with that. Charlie, one of my drivers, is a squaw-man too, and Nadine makes the best damned buckskins I've seen. She looked your saddles over and told me they were passable," I said.

"Passable? Hell they're as good as you can buy!"

"Yeh, she said they'd do," I said, and he finally figured out I was gettin' his goat.

"What the hell you doing still hanging around? I thought you folks was moving out today."

"We was, but something come up," I said, and then gave him the whole story.

"Well I'm sorry as hell the boy got kilt, and it's a shame about his young bride. The Marshal knowed there was something shitty down to the Big Boy, but he couldn't catch 'em at it. I'm beginning to think you was right yesterday. This is a crappy little town and I'd probably do better somewheres else."