Daisy hadn't expected the sight of the charred remains of her home to affect her so strongly. She knew the house had burned, but seeing it was a shock. The charred spot on the desert floor bore no resemblance to the home she remembered.
"It's almost as if it was never here," she said to Tyler. She couldn't explain the feeling of loneliness that assailed her. Not only was her family gone, almost all trace of her life had disappeared. It was almost as if she had never existed.
"We buried your father next to your mother." Tyler looked over the charred remains of her home but found nothing worth salvaging. "I wonder why your father didn't build closer to the river. The soil would have been better for a garden."
Her mother had asked her father to move several times, but he wouldn't. For him the difficulty of finding water to irrigate the garden didn't outweigh the view of the mountains above and the river valley below. Daisy slipped from the saddle and reluctantly approached the graves. She had been here so many times before, times when talking to her mother was all that kept her sane. Her father had never understood. Now he lay here as well. She wondered if he would be glad of her visits now.
"I know it's not much, but the ground was frozen."
"It's okay." If she managed to find the money, she would have a nice stone marker made. Her mother would like that. She would hate having nothing but her name carved on a piece of board. In a few years, there would be nothing to show she had lived or died in this place.
Daisy found that unutterably sad.
"Let's go," she said, turning away from the graves. "I imagine the killers know we've left the cabin by now. I won't feel safe until I'm in Albuquerque."
* * * * *
"Son-of-a-bitch!" Toby cursed when he slammed through the cabin door. "There ain't nobody here." The whole left side of his head was badly swollen from a nasty-looking wound to his cheek.
"Looks like they ain't been gone long," Frank said.
Ed dismounted with painful slowness. He hobbled inside and dropped into a chair to take his weight off a heavily bandaged leg. "This can't be the place," he said. "Looks like a woman's been living here. I never seen so much kitchen stuff in all my life."
"If it's a woman, why do they have bunks?" Toby asked.
Frank threw back the curtain to Daisy's corner. "They got a bed back here," he said. "Now why would a man keep a woman and let her sleep in the corner?"
"Maybe there's two of them, and they take turns at her," Toby said with a lewd snigger.
"You ain't never seen that kind of woman keep a place like this," Ed said.
"You two stop jawing and let me think," Frank ordered.
He didn't understand. Three animals had occupied that shed, but he could find the tracks of only two leading down the mountain. That cabin sure looked like a woman lived here regular, but mountain men didn't go to any trouble to hide it if they were keeping a woman. None of the dried-up pieces of leather he'd talked to these last few days had said anything about a woman. If the Singleton woman was brought into the mountains, this had to be the cabin. They had been everywhere else.
"We'll stay the night," Frank said. "The answer was here somewhere."
"You'd better catch up with that son-of-a-bitch soon," Toby said, making himself comfortable in Tyler's bunk. "I mean to fill him full of lead for this cut across the cheek."
"And my leg," Ed reminded him.
"You just find him," Toby said to Frank. "Then you leave the rest to me."
"I wouldn't be too anxious to tangle with that hombre if I was you," Frank said. "Any man who can hit a rifle barrel at a hundred yards can kill you before you got within pistol range."
* * * * *
"This ought to do for tonight," Tyler said as he pulled up his mule in a cottonwood grove on a wedge of land between a noisy stream and the Rio Grande. He dismounted and tied the mule to a willow. Daisy slid from the saddle, her body stiff, her legs sore. She stumbled when she tried to take a step. Tyler caught her. The electricity was still there. Even his touch was sufficient to send her pulses racing.
She had to put some distance between them. After tonight she wouldn't have to worry about her desire to be in his arms, but just now it was nearly overpowering.
"I'm not used to riding," she said, reaching out to lean against the trunk of a massive cottonwood. "Papa thought women should ride in a buggy. Only we didn't have a buggy, so we stayed home or walked."
Tyler waited, but Daisy didn't release her hold on the tree. "You ought to meet Iris. She wouldn't allow Monty to go anywhere without her. She rode down the outlaw trail once in little more than a week."
Daisy didn't know a thing about the outlaw trail, but she gathered Iris's accomplishment was something out of the ordinary.
"Who's Iris?"
"My sister-in-law."
"You've got so many relatives, I lose track."
Tyler began to unsaddle the animals. "You wouldn't forget her if you ever saw her. She's enough to knock your eyes out."
Not only could she ride better than Daisy, she was ten times as pretty. No wonder Tyler wasn't interested in her. He'd seen far better.
Tyler spread out Daisy's mattress and blanket. "Here, sit down for a few minutes."
"I'd better walk around a bit to loosen my muscles." She hobbled away from him. Anything to keep her mind off her desire to be near him.
She told herself Tyler wasn't the kind of man she wanted for a husband, that if he asked her marry him, she'd refuse. But would she? Her heart leapt at the thought, and she realized with a sinking feeling she did want to marry him. She sighed aloud as she hobbled back and forth. It was silly enough she should fall in love with him. It was inexcusable she should consider marrying him.
She walked around a second huge cottonwood, letting her fingers trail over its rough bark. A mat of damp leaves squished under her feet.
She tried to tell herself Tyler was exactly like her father, but she knew that wasn't true. He might be a dreamer, might never make anything of himself, but he was thoughtful and kind and handsome and so big that for the first time in her life she felt small and feminine. She could marry him for that alone. Feeling a little better, she walked toward him. He was arranging stones for a fire.
"I can help," she offered, determined to put such thoughts out of her mind.
"No need. I can handle it."
She stopped. She was so close she practically stood over him. "Why won't you ever let anybody help you?"
Tyler looked up, surprised. "It only takes one person to make coffee."
"There's water to fetch, wood to find, the fire to build, the food to dig out of the saddle bags, and everything to get ready for eating. That's more than enough work for two people. Sometimes I think you'd eat for me if you could. That way you wouldn't have to be bothered with me at all."
"It isn't that." He broke some dry sticks and lighted them with a match.
"I know. You don't even think about it. You did the same thing to Zac. You only let him take care of the animals when you wanted to get rid of him."
"I don't need help." Tyler arranged some larger sticks over the tiny flame.
"That's just it," Daisy said, waving her hands about in frustration. "You don't need anything. Don't you think that's strange? It's not normal for a person to go through life not needing other human beings, not wanting their company, never depending on them for anything."
"I've always been this way." Tyler dipped some water from the stream and put it on to boil for coffee.
Daisy knew she ought to stop right here. It was none of her business how Tyler chose to live his life, but this was her last chance. It was inconceivable she should disappear tomorrow and leave no trace on his life.
"Look where it's got you. You live in the mountains by yourself, avoiding the company of every living soul but your mules. You spend all your time searching for lost gold mines that don't exist. You seem to have a large family, but you never see them. Twenty years from now you'll still be there, and what will you have to show for it?"
Tyler dropped some coffee beans into the steaming water. "I've got less than six months."
His response dried up the stream of words she was about to utter. "What do you mean?"
"I've given myself a deadline. If I don't find anything by June seventeenth, I'll quit."
Daisy felt a surge of hope. "What would you do?"
Tyler opened the pack where he'd put the meat. "My family would find me a job in Denver, probably in a bank."
Daisy spoke before she thought. "But you'd hate that."
"Yes, I would, but I promised George I wouldn't play in the woods for the rest of my life. Like you, he finds it an inappropriate pastime for a grown man."
"It might not be as bad as you think," she said, hopefully. "You'd have a regular income. You could have a house and everything."
"I don't want a house." He opened another pack and took out a pan.
"Well you can't expect your wife to want to live in a cabin in the mountains. It's no place to bring up children."
Tyler looked up at Daisy, a faintly baffled expression on his face. "Whatever made you think I want a wife and children?" He put some venison steaks in the pan.
"I j-just assumed y-you did," Daisy stammered. "I thought every man did."
"I don't."
Daisy felt hope die. It wasn't a terrible death because it had only been a faint hope, but it was a sad death nonetheless. It was the only hope she had.
"Don't you ever get lonely?"
"No." He carefully seasoned the meat.
"Don't you want to like people and have them like you?"
"I've got family."
"You might as well not. You never see them. I can't imagine wanting to hide in the mountains from my family."
"I'm not hiding."
"Yes, you are."
"I'm there because that's where the gold is."
"You mean you'll like living in Denver?"
"It doesn't matter where I live." He unwrapped some bread he'd cooked at the cabin.
Daisy gave up. She didn't believe Tyler knew what he was talking about. He had probably convinced himself that as long as he had his hotels he could live anywhere. She imagined he was in for a big surprise. She had to confess she didn't know anything about big hotels or big cities, but she didn't think a man who liked living alone in the mountains would feel comfortable there.
Tyler poured some coffee into a cup and handed it to Daisy. Then he put the steaks on to cook.
Daisy took her coffee and settled down on her blanket. If Tyler wanted to do everything himself, he could. She wasn't going to offer any more. She wasn't going to do anything except work at putting him out of her mind.
* * * * *
Tyler leaned against the trunk of a cottonwood, standing watch. He didn't think he needed to. He doubted the killers would have followed this far today, but he couldn't afford to be wrong.
Anyway he couldn't sleep. Daisy's accusations had raised questions in his mind he couldn't answer. Everything he told her was true. At least, it had been until now. Now he didn't know. He only knew he didn't feel comfortable leaving Daisy.
It wasn't just because of her safety. He was concerned about what she was going to do for her future. He believed she could do anything she wanted. But she didn't.
He was concerned about her marrying Guy Cochrane. He didn't know the man, but he couldn't be worth much. Daisy had never mentioned him. No woman keeps quiet about her fiancé when she thinks he's the greatest guy to wear pants.
Then there was the fact she had almost let him make love to her. He wasn't blaming her, but if she loved this Cochrane fella, she'd never have done something like that. She might have let him kiss her, in a casual, brotherly fashion, but she wouldn't have let him kiss her like he did. Or allow him to repeat it.
He didn't know why she had agreed to marry Guy Cochrane, but she didn't love him.
No. He did know. She had told him. Cochrane's father was the richest man in Albuquerque, and her mother had spent her whole life telling Daisy never to marry a poor man.
Hell, the Randolphs were probably richer than the Cochranes. He wondered if she'd marry him for his money?
He knew that wasn't fair, but the thought wouldn't leave his mind. She'd never missed an opportunity to tell him how little she thought of his notion of finding gold. Clearly she had no intention of linking her future with anyone she considered a dreamer.
Then why had she almost let him make love to her? Everything in Tyler's head was a muddled mass of questions and fragmented ideas mixed up with a few hopes and a lot of fears. Most confusing of all, he couldn't figure out why this was all happening to him.
He didn't love Daisy. He didn't want to marry her. He did want to make love to her, but he had wanted to make love to other women as well. No. He had wanted to find sexual relief with a lot of other women, but what he looked for with Daisy was something entirely different.
That unsettled him. What was he looking for, why should he be looking for it with Daisy? All he could say for sure was he liked her and enjoyed having her around. He found her attractive and wanted to make love to her. He hoped she wouldn't marry Guy Cochrane.
What did it all add up to? He'd be damned if he knew except it had given him a headache and was keeping him awake.
* * * * *
The color drained from Ed Peck's face as he stared at the stack of letters in his hand. "Do you know who this place belongs to?" he asked. His voice sounded hoarse.
"A dead man," Toby promised from the bunk.
"What you got there?" Frank asked.
"Letters," Ed replied, "all of 'em addressed to Tyler Randolph."
Toby's cigarette paused on the way to his mouth. "You sure?"
"Yeah," his father replied.
"Who the hell is Tyler Randolph?" Frank demanded.
"If you'd ever worked cows in Texas, you wouldn't have to ask such a dumb question," Ed said.
"Well, I didn't work no damned cows in Texas, and I'm damned glad of it. And I ain't heard of no Tyler Randolph."
"There's seven of them," Ed said.
"Seven men named Tyler Randolph?" Frank asked in disbelief.
"No, seven brothers, you fool," Toby said.
"Then I guess the Randolph in town must be his kin."
"There's a Randolph in town?" Toby asked. He sat up so fast he hit his head on the slats.
"Yeah. He has a stupid name, I can't remember it just now."
"Hen?" Toby asked.
"Yeah, that's it. Arrived with enough wagons to start his own train." Frank paused. "That's it! This Randolph fella did find that woman. And he's taken her into Albuquerque to his brother's wife." He grinned, pleased to have solved the puzzle. "All we have to do is follow him and kill her."
"You'll do it without me," Toby said, getting up from the bunk. "Don't you know who Hen Randolph is?"
"No, and I ain't interested."
"You damned well better be. He's the fastest gunfighter you'll ever see," Ed said. "Ain't nobody else can come close."
"I'm not planning on going up against him," Frank said. "We can get her and this Tyler fella from cover."
"You touch one of them Randolphs, and you'll have the rest down on you faster'n you can spit," Toby said.
"I ain't going with you, either," Ed said. "I didn't agree to killing that gal in the first place. I sure ain't having nothing to do with killing no Randolph. You should have knocked her over the head. It's about all you did anyway."
"What the hell are you going to do?"
"Head south, probably to Mexico."
"Okay, run out on me, but you ain't getting no more money."
"You go around shooting at Randolphs, and you won't live to spend it," Toby said.
"Go on, get out," Frank shouted.
Toby looked defiant. "I think I'll stay a few more days," he said. "No need for Pa and me to rush off. This Randolph won't be back for a week or so. It'll be a lot easier traveling after the snow melts."
"Where are you going?" Frank asked.
"I don't know exactly," Toby replied, "but I don't want to be anywhere near here when you tangle with those Randolphs. Besides, it's too damned cold here, and Pa needs to rest up while that leg heals. What are you doing?" he asked when Frank started to collect his gear.
"I'm leaving tonight. I'll kill them on the trail, and beat you to Mexico."
Frank smiled to himself. This was exactly what he needed to make his reputation. If he could kill a Randolph on top of the other work he'd done for Regis Cochrane, his reputation would be secure.
* * * * *
"I didn't know the Parrishes had sold up and left," Tyler said, as they turned from the ranch road back onto the route to town. "I was planning on getting some horses here."
"That's the third rancher to sell out within the last year," Daisy said. "I wonder why none of them said anything before they left?"
Tyler took the time to scan their back trail with his binoculars.
"That's the fourth time you've done that today," Daisy said.
"Somebody's following us."
"This is the road to Albuquerque. I imagine we'll see lots of people."
"I'm just being careful."
But Tyler had a bad feeling. Three men followed them, and one of them was riding a big horse. He knew the killers could easily identify them. No other travelers would be riding a mule and a burro, certainly not a man and a woman. The coincidence would be too great.
"You think they're the killers, don't you," Daisy said after he stopped twice more to study the horsemen through the binoculars.
"Yes," Tyler said.
She looked anxious but calm. She expected him to know exactly what to do.
"Here. You look through the glasses," Tyler said.
"I can't tell. They're still too far away," Daisy said. Fifteen minutes later Daisy still couldn't be sure. "I only saw one of them. What are you going to do?"
"Nothing until I know they're the men I'm after. We'll wait in those cedars and hope you recognize one of them when he passes."
"That's not the man," Daisy said a short while later. "I'm sure of it."
Tyler was relieved these men weren't the killers, but he was certain they were somewhere behind them.
"I think we'll take the trail down by the river," Tyler said. "We'll be late reaching town, but a man and woman traveling on a mule and a burro are too easily noticed and remembered."
* * * * *
The town of Albuquerque was irregularly laid out around a plaza of some two or three acres into which all the principal streets led. Adobe buildings were grouped without order, giving the town a tumbled-down look. A white picket fence surrounded the plaza, which contained a low adobe building used as a barbershop, its flagpole a hundred and twenty-one feet high on top, the tallest west of the Mississippi. The twin towers of San Felipe de Neri church dominated the north side of the square, its yard also enclosed by a picket fence. Businesses and private homes crowded the other three sides of the Plaza. Some fronted immediately on the street. Others had the luxury of covered walks. Some of the roofs were made of wood, others of sod.
Albuquerque was not a large town. Even late at night, it wasn't difficult to locate the hotel. Tyler led Daisy down a narrow alley just off the Plaza. They stopped at the back of a two-story building; he dismounted and helped her down. She was just as stiff as she had been the night before.
"We're going in the back," he told her. "I don't want anyone to see you enter. That way nobody will be able to say for certain when you arrived."
"But how can you manage that?"
"There's a stairway at the back. While I find out where Hen and Laurel are staying, you can sneak up the stairs when nobody's looking."
"Are you certain they won't mind helping me?" Daisy asked. She had been worrying about that the entire way.
"All you have to do is volunteer to look after Jordy and Adam, and they'll welcome you with open arms."
"Zac mentioned Jordy. Is he truly a terror?"
"That's his reputation. I stay out of the way. It was Hen's idea to adopt him."
Daisy wondered if anything would ever penetrate to Tyler's heart. She was beginning to wonder if he even had one. There were times when he didn't seem to have any of the feelings ordinary people had. She wondered what the rest of his family was like. With Zac and him for examples, she had no idea what to expect.
Daisy felt abandoned when Tyler left her on the back stairs. The building was dark and quiet, the three-foot thick adobe walls rough and cold. She forced herself to mount the stairs despite her uneasiness. The abrasive scrap of her shoes on the steps was loud in the confined space. She was relieved to reach the upper floor and feel a straw mat under her feet. The dim glow from a lamp below pierced the gloom of the upper hallway. She felt her muscles unclamp when she saw Tyler emerge from the stairwell.
"He's reserved the whole top floor," Tyler said when he reached her. "He ought to have plenty of room for both of us."
A tall blond man opened the door in response to Tyler's knock. Daisy knew it had to be Hen. There was a strong resemblance between the brothers.
"What brings you out of the hills?" Hen asked, not moving aside to invite his brother in. "I was sure you'd have dug through half the Sandia range by now."
"I need your help."
Only then did Hen notice Daisy standing in the shadows behind Tyler. He moved aside.
"You'd better come in."