CHAPTER

5

She’s my wife. I’ll do with her what I please.”

Kindle’s voice was harsh, but his arm moved across my chest, shielding me from the strangers’ eyes. Below the surface, he squeezed my hip in warning.

“As I said, don’t mind us.” The man on a blaze-faced sorrel twirled his hand in the air. “Please, continue.”

“We don’t care for an audience.”

“Then you shouldn’t have tried for a poke in the best watering hole for thirty miles.”

The men dismounted and led their horses to the pond to drink. The speaker squatted down next to his horse’s head and studied us with pale blue eyes. His face was long and thin, made more pronounced by the blond bushy mustache and narrow beard hanging off the center of his chin. His companions were a varied lot. A rope-thin Mexican wearing a sombrero, a portly ginger wearing a derby, and a soft, thickset young man whose pants were being held up by red suspenders, most likely in an effort to distract from his noseless face. My shock and revulsion must have shown because the leader spoke. “She don’t like people staring.”

“She?” I said.

The man paused briefly and continued. “Her name’s Tuesday, ’cause we rescued her on a Tuesday.”

“From where?”

“A small band of Kiowas, up off the Canadian. They were taking her to Fort Scott to ransom her back. Not before they tortured her a while. She got the last word, though, didn’t you Tuesday?” The girl nodded with a sadistic smile.

“Taught us all a good lesson, didnit, boys?”

“Sí.”

“Ja.”

“What lesson?”

The blue-eyed man grinned. “Ain’t nothing more terrifying than a vengeful woman.”

“Enough talking,” Kindle barked. “Move on so we can get out.”

“Get out. We ain’t stopping you.”

Kindle turned us around and said in my ear. “Walk out, get dressed, and don’t act embarrassed.”

I did as he said. The heat was a relief after the cold water of the spring. Water streamed from Kindle’s wet clothes as he put his gun belt on. He picked up his rifle and faced the four strangers across the pond while I dressed with my back to them as deliberately and unhurriedly as I could. “Let me do the talking this time,” I said.

He looked at me from the side of his eyes and dipped his chin in assent. I inhaled and turned to the strangers, with a wide smile. “Would you like to join us for breakfast?”

The leader rose slowly. “What are you cooking?”

I laughed, somewhat nervously, and walked around the pool and across the stream feeding it. “Good question. What do you have?”

The four strangers looked at one another in confusion. “You invited us, lady,” the man in the derby said.

“Yes, and I would love to treat you, but, you see, we aren’t very good at this.”

“At what?”

“Running from the law. Before we get all into that, we must make introductions. I’m Charlotte. This is my savior”—I placed my hand on Kindle’s arm and stared up at him lovingly trying to think of a name—“Oscar.” I turned my attention to the strangers. “We’ve met Tuesday, of course. Lovely to meet you, dear. How dreadful about your nose.” I waited for her to say something, but she merely glared at me. Without taking my eyes from her, I said to the leader, “Doesn’t she talk?”

“The redskins took her tongue, too,” the derby-hatted man said.

“Oh.” I almost lost my composure but held on to the vain, vapid persona I hoped would distract and disarm this group. “I’m so sorry,” was all I could manage.

I focused on the derby-hatted man next to Tuesday. “Kruger,” he said.

“Cuidado,” the Mexican said.

The leader removed his hat—“Charlie Bell”—and with a sweeping bow—“at your service.”

I placed my hand on my chest and twittered. “How gallant.”

Kindle glowered at Bell, either perfectly in character or perfectly suspicious.

To pull this off, I hoped it was both.

I chewed and swallowed the buffalo jerky Charlie Bell gave us for breakfast. “How delightful compared to the cold meal and raw prairie chickens we’ve been eating. Our guide refused to let us light a fire, saying it would draw attention.”

“Who’s your guide?” Bell asked.

“Oh, some Indian Oscar knew from the Army. The younger son of a renowned scout, wasn’t he, darling?”

Kindle grunted.

“I’m not chastising you, darling. He was the best we could get on such short notice. I am so pleased to be away from my horrible husband, I hardly care we’ve been abandoned in the middle of Indian Territory by our scout.”

“Where are you headed?” Kruger asked.

“To the railroad. We thought going through Indian Territory was terribly clever. Why would we head this way instead of south? From Sherman. That’s where we’ve come from. Martin, my husband, is a cattleman. Or at least he wants to be. He’s having a hard time of it. Not many Southerners are interested in helping a Yankee get a toehold into their business. Of course, he took his frustrations out on me.” I clutched at my throat with my damaged hand and swallowed thickly. “That is why I sound like this. Martin is a big man, strong. One night, while he was taking his marital pleasures against my will, he grabbed me by the throat and squeezed.” I mimed the action, seeing not my imaginary husband, but Cotter Black’s expression of pure pleasure and the light of evil in his eyes as he punched me in the throat.

My audience waited expectantly. I dropped my hand and continued. “I thought I was dying, but I only passed out. He finished his business, I suppose, and I woke up alone, unable to speak. That was when Oscar said we were leaving.”

“I would’ve killed him, first,” Kruger said.

“Oh, I had a difficult time keeping Oscar from doing just that. But he finally understood us being together was more important. As fate would have it the murderess escaping from Jacksboro happened about the same time, so a wife running off with a cowboy barely made a ripple in the papers.”

“How ’bout that, two couples running from the law, and through the same country,” Bell said.

“Isn’t it a coincidence? We were afraid Martin might send someone after me, which is why I’m wearing men’s clothes.” I touched my short, damp hair. “Martin cut my hair when he thought I was flirting with one of his business associates. It was one of his least violent punishments, so I didn’t mind overmuch. I was only trying to charm the man, after all. I find Texans are much more amiable to Yankee women than men. I’d heard about Southern chivalry, of course, but was surprised to find it still intact after the war.” I sighed. “I miss my hair much more than I miss Martin. I think it’s a rather fetching style—it’s much less hassle which is good for a woman on the run, it turns out—but Oscar says he’s anxious for it to grow back.”

“Don’t seem to me Oscar says much,” Bell said.

“She’s telling the story good enough. She gets anything wrong, I’ll correct her.”

I prattled on. “Martin didn’t send anyone after me. Not that we can tell. ’Course, the bounty hunters looking for the murderess sure have. We’ve had a heck of a time explaining ourselves. Turns out the murderess is known for dressing like a man. Why in the world she’d choose to do it, I’ll never understand. Though wearing pants makes riding easier. I’m sure you agree, Tuesday.” The silent woman’s glare didn’t alter. I smiled—vacuously I hoped—and said, “You’ve heard our story. What’s yours? Are you chasing the fugitives?”

“We’re up here killing Indians,” Bell said.

The smile froze on my face. I laughed, but cold fingers of fear tickled the base of my spine. “You’re joking, of course.”

Cuidado, taciturn to this point, said, “Never joke about killing,” and crossed himself.

“Haven’t you heard?” Bell said. “Sherman’s advocating the extermination of the Indians. We came up here to do our part.”

“These Indians are peaceful. They’ve stopped fighting,” Kindle said.

Kruger barked out a laugh. “Dey use the Territory as a safe haven to raid into Texas.”

“Ain’t no such thing as a peaceful Indian,” Bell said.

Kindle stared hard at the four strangers with an expression full of hatred. “I’ve heard of you.”

Bell’s ebullient expression didn’t reach his eyes. “And, what have you heard?”

Kindle narrowed his eyes. I could tell he was evaluating his odds. He might get one shot off, but they’d spread out enough that there was no way he’d get all four. I realized Tuesday was gone at the same time I heard her behind me. Kindle must have heard her, too.

“Hear you’re a better friend than enemy.”

“And, what do you and Charlotte here want to be?” Cuidado and Kruger lazily pulled their guns. I didn’t need to see Tuesday to know hers was out and trained on me.

Kindle held out his hand. “Friends.”