Dan was sitting at a table in the saloon the next day at lunch time. He watched Lilly for a moment, wishing he could entice her to come around him. Still, Lilly was all business. She spent a great deal of her time keeping the glasses washed up. Besides, she'd never had anything to do with him, why would she start now?
But after about three beers Dan spotted Charlie wiping a table off. He didn't look as though he was enjoying it either. Good, he was bored, and a bored kid would jump at the chance to go fishing.
He motioned for Charlie and Charlie came up to him skeptically. "You want another beer Dan?" Charlie asked.
"Nah, hey Charlie, I heard you like to fish." Dan began, eyeing the kid closely.
"Yeah, sure," Charlie stared at him. Dan wasn't that old and Charlie liked talking to him although he didn't know him that well. There were few that came in the saloon as young as Dan.
Dan was dressed in regular cowboy gear, complete with a gun on his hip. Charlie often wondered if Dan knew how to use a gun. He'd thought about asking him a time or two but never had. His mother didn't like him talking to the Dubs brothers, but Dan seemed all right.
"Well, just so happens we got a creek full of catfish on our place. Ever fished there?" Dan asked.
"Naw…not that I remember." Charlie thought about it a minute.
"How about you and me sneaking out there and goin' fishin' this afternoon?" Dan suggested. Dan was sixteen and could still relate to kids pretty easy. He liked kids, and Charlie had always befriended him to some extent.
"I-I don't know. I got chores to finish." Charlie glanced at his Ma. She wasn't looking their way.
"Then finish them and I'll meet you out back say…two o'clock and we'll do some great fishin', what do you say? Might even have a fish fry later."
Charlie glanced at his mother, but she was washing glasses and had her back to him. He seemed to consider it for a minute. He'd always wanted someone to hang out with, but everyone was too old that came in here. Dan was just a few years older than him, the way he figured. "I guess if I finish I could. But I'll have to tell my Ma."
"Just tell her you are goin' fishin', you don't have to tell her where, you'll be home before sundown." Dan assured him.
"All right. Meet you out back then…" Charlie nodded.
"All right," Dan smiled and nodded.
Lilly turned around about the time Charlie walked away. She looked at Dan then Charlie. Dan finished his beer and left.
As they ate a sandwich together later, Charlie finished his milk, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and glanced at his mother. "Can I go fishing when I finish my chores?"
Lilly looked at him for a moment. Her mind was on the wedding coming up, not on her son's fishing trip. "I guess so, if you finish up your chores, be back before sundown though."
"I will, I promise…" Charlie nodded. "Well, I better get busy if I'm gonna finish."
Lilly glanced at him again, wondering what his rush was.
She went back to work and didn't think anything about it.
Doc came in a little after one.
"Doc, good to see you. What can I get you?" Lilly smiled as she came up to his table. Doc was always wearing a suit and looked immaculate. Lilly couldn't say the same for most of the people that came in here.
"A beer might cool me off." Doc smiled at her.
"One beer, coming up." Lilly went to get it herself and sat down with doc for a moment when she came back.
"So, how are things?" Lilly smiled at him as she glanced at the few remaining customers.
"Good, Lilly. And you?"
"Fine…"
"Getting anxious about the wedding?" Doc smiled at her.
"A little…" Lilly mopped her brow. "I've never been married, it'll be a new experience, but Cord wants me home and so does Charlie so I'm gonna sell this place and become a pioneer woman, I guess."
"I saw you put the place up for sale, in the paper." Doc glanced around the saloon, only a couple of stragglers were up at the bar. "Had any takers?"
"No, but I put an ad in the paper in Pecos and Dallas maybe I'll get some attention there."
"When did you go to Pecos?"
She grinned, "I went there to find a dress to be married in."
"Oh, shopping, huh?"
"Well doc, I haven't bought a dress in a while and I wanted something kind of special."
"Good for you, Lilly." Doc smiled at her.
"Yeah, I'm going to be a mother and wife, Doc. I've never been a wife. Sounds kind of nice, you know. Charlie is so excited about it. He's never had me full time before. And he's certainly never had a father around."
"It's really a good thing that Cord likes kids and wants Charlie, too."
"He even wants more…" She jabbed him in the ribs.
Doc laughed, "Well, that's good, isn't it?"
Lilly blushed, "I always did want Charlie to have a brother or sister or two."
"Well, to tell the truth, I'm proud for you Lilly. Real proud. You deserve it if anyone does." Doc smiled. "Cord's a good man."
"Charlie's sure looking forward to me being home all the time." Lilly chuckled. "And so am I."
"Well, this will be kind of a new experience for you Lilly. But a good one I think." He leaned back and took a swig of his beer. "I hear Cord's really fixing the place up for you."
"Yes, he's working hard…" Lilly smiled.
"Where is Charlie anyway?" Doc glanced around and didn't see him.
"He's finishing up his chores, wants to go fishing this afternoon." Lilly smiled. "I can't hardly keep him away from that fish pond, wish it was further from town and he wouldn't go so often."
"That boy loves to fish, doesn't he? Nothin' wrong with that. You can't coddle the boy, you know." Doc chuckled. "Boys have to learn to do for themselves, and you can't hold the apron strings forever, he's growing up Lilly."
"Yeah, but I can't complain, catfish are mighty good for supper." Lilly laughed.
Doc stared into her eyes now. "Well, I'm proud for you and for Charlie."
Lilly studied doc's expression for a moment. She knew he was sincere. She knew Doc has a soft spot for Cord too, almost fatherly. "So you been out to see Cord?"
"Yeah…and I couldn't be happier for Cord either. I have never seen him so happy." Doc said with satisfied smile on his face. "He's doing well, Lilly. And I for one am glad to see it. You know, when he first hit town, I saw a strange kind of sadness in Cord. My heart went out to him. He took the war hard, Lilly. It changed him, made a man of him."
"I saw that too, Doc. But Cord's always had a soft spot." She watched his expression.
"Yeah, I remember one time when he was little, he found this pup that was all chewed up and brought to me to doctor. The look on that kid's face, nearly broke my heart. I patched him up and he lived. Goes to show you what love can do." He watched her closely.
She sighed heavily, "Doc, you know Cord wants to adopt Charlie don't you? It was all his idea. He didn't want Charlie finding out about Sam and what he'd done. He's claimed him as his own Doc, and that alone is enough to make me love him."
"It's for the best Lilly. It sure is, and I have to say I'm very proud of Cord for stepping up like that. He's a good man Lilly, but then…we've always known that, haven't we?" The old doc nodded with satisfaction.
"Yes, we have," She smiled. "I better get back to work. Thanks for stopping by, Doc."
"You betcha…" He winked at her.
***
"Dan, you ready to go?" Charlie asked as he found him out back that afternoon hiding in the bushes.
"Yeah…are you?" Dan asked eyeing the kid.
"Yeah, I brought my pole. Do you want me to dig up some worms before we go?"
"Naw…we'll get some there…" Dan told him. "Let's get on out here."
Charlie nodded, and Dan let him slide on the back of his horse. As though it just occurred to him he asked, "Why were you hiding in the bushes?"
"Well, your ma don't like me much, she might not let you go, if she knew I asked you."
"That's true, but we're just going fishing." Charlie told him.
They rode out of town quietly only a couple of people seeing them. Dan was nervous but Charlie didn't seem to be.
Dan took him out to his place and after he got his gear they headed for the creek.
From what Charlie saw of the house, it was big and sprawled out. It was a man's place, no frills and Charlie liked that. It was fun being with someone a bit older who would buddy with him.
Charlie was excited, he'd never fished out here and just getting away from town was a good thing to him. In the back of his mind, he knew his mother would be furious if she knew he'd come here, but sometimes he wanted to be on his own, away from his mother. In fact, more lately. He loved her, but after all, she was a woman.
Dan pointed to an old cottonwood tree he liked to fish under and they set up their gear. Charlie dug for worms and found an abundance once he scraped the hard dry earth for them.
They were all set up and had caught several catfish a couple of hours later, when Jason and Butch rode up.
Charlie didn't care for either one of them, but they were Dan's brothers so he had to be polite.
"Well, you fellers caught anything yet?" Butch asked his eyes going around the place and landing on Charlie who was eyeing him suspiciously.
Butch didn't like kids, they were noisy and always asking questions.
"Yeah, got a string of catfish for supper." Dan told him. "Did you take care of everything?"
"Sure did." Jason answered. "Well, Charlie, you might want to stay for supper then and we'll clean them fish."
"Oh, I told Ma I'd be home before sundown." Charlie replied. He didn't look at Jason, because he didn't like the man. But he could stay for supper his mom wouldn't be mad.
"You don't have to fret about that. I done told your Ma you were stayin' for supper and that we'd bring you home in the morning as we had business in town." Jason told him.
"You did?" He glanced up at him now with surprise. He'd never spent the night with anyone else before and it made him a little edgy. But Jason being the most intelligent, Charlie figured maybe he had asked. "I didn't think you liked my Ma."
"Aw now…sure I do, Charlie…" Jason shrugged. "Everyone likes your Ma…" He chuckled and shot Butch a quick glance.
"Well…she doesn't care much for you…" Charlie mumbled under his breath. He didn't like the way Jason said that.
Dan heard him and when Jason and Butch went to the house, Dan laughed.
"Don't pay no attention to them. Nobody likes Jason much, Charlie." Dan chuckled. "Including me and Butch."
Charlie looked at the two men dismounting and going inside the house, "Yeah, I bet you're right about that."
"I don't like him much either, but he's my brother. Got no choice."
"Yeah, I guess that's true." Charlie nodded. "Does he tell you what to do all the time?"
"Pretty much. Well, we catch a few more and we'll have a big fish fry, Charlie." Dan encouraged him. Despite his brothers, he didn't want to frighten the kid or worry him. Left up to him, Charlie would go home before Cord ever got there.
"You were right, there are a lot of catfish in this creek." Charlie chuckled. "Do you fish a lot?"
"Oh sure, I like to fish. And Jason and Butch like them for supper." Dan nodded. "They just don't have patience when it comes to fishing. It takes patience."
"Sure does." Charlie agreed. "You fish much?"
"When I'm not workin' I do. Calms me down."
"Yeah, it can do that. Takes your mind off your troubles." Charlie laughed.
But Charlie wrestled with the invitation to stay for supper and stay the night. He'd never stayed the night out here and he couldn't quite believe his mother would let him. She didn't like any of the Dubs boys that well. "I really ought to be getting back after supper, don't you think?"
"Aw…if Jason asked if you could stay, then it's all right Charlie." Dan insisted. "I might not like Jason, but he's smart about things. I'm sure he got permission from your Ma."
"I guess." Charlie shrugged. "It's just until morning, though. I got chores to do."
"Shore, shore, we'll get you back." Dan promised then glanced at his brothers.
Charlie thought Dan was pretty nice. Maybe if he took the time to get to know Dan, they could be fishing buddies. He was growing up and it would be fun hanging out with someone a little older.
That evening Jason and Butch seemed to be more jovial than usual and Charlie had a good time as he and Dan cleaned the fish and Butch fried them up. They had a pot of beans, cornbread and fried fish and it was a right good supper, Charlie decided.
But later, after supper Charlie felt a bit out of place and suggested going home. Especially after Jason and Butch decided to have a drink.
"We'll take you home tomorrow boy," Jason told him, only his voice was rougher now and his face not as friendly. Charlie didn't feel right about staying the night and he really felt as though he might get in trouble for it. He felt an unease although Dan got him in a checker game that evening before bedtime and Charlie settled out some. Dan was being extra friendly and Charlie decided he'd be home by tomorrow there were no worries.
He bunked on the floor that night and didn't go to sleep for a long while. First time being away at night was a new experience. He tried to relax and go to sleep, but a strange place and strange sounds kept him awake. He heard crickets coming through the doorway, and he thought he saw a mouse earlier, but he didn't want to embarrass anyone by saying anything.
The fire was dying down in the fireplace and the extra blanket that Dan got him was welcomed.
That's when he heard Butch and Jason talking in the other room. He hadn't meant to ease-drop but he was awake and they were talking loud enough to hear because they'd been drinking.
"He go to sleep Dan?"
"I reckon so." Dan fretted.
"Everything is going to be all right, you'll see." Butch assured him. "You need to settle out."
"Did you deliver the note?" Dan asked, his voice anxious and a tad nervous.
"Yeah, I found that kid Juan in town and told him to take it to Cord." Jason smiled snidely. "He'll get it there fast."
"Did you think to get some ammunition, because we'll need it, tomorrow."
"I did." Butch hollered, the one thing he never forgot was ammunition even Jason should have known that.
"You think he'll come that soon?" Dan asked.
"It won't be long. He might even show up tonight."
"What are we going to do with the kid?" Dan's voice raised to a higher pitch as though he was freaking out. Charlie was beginning to wonder what in the world they were talking about.
"If all goes as planned we won't have to do anything but feed him some breakfast and take him home in the morning."
"Yeah, but I don't like this." Dan protested. "If he comes tonight there will be shooting and it will wake him. Then what? He'll know what's going on."
"You want to get Cord or not?" Butch faced him, coming closer.
"I want to…. but…"
"I didn't want to do it either, Dan." Jason said with patience he wasn't really feeling. "But it's the only way to get Cord out here so we can kill him, and you know it…. Quit your worrying this will all be over shortly. You always worry too much Dan. Worry makes you make mistakes."
Charlie heard that and his eyes flew open.
They wanted to kill Cord. They were holding him to get Cord out here? Charlie had to do something. He had a gut feeling they were up to something. But he trusted Dan. Dan let him down. Now he knew he couldn’t trust any of them. He had to get away, and tonight if he could. Although the walk back to town was going to take some time even if he did manage to get away. And if they caught him…they might kill him. Although, he couldn't see Dan killing him. Dan wasn't a killer.
Maybe he was a little too trusting!