“Norquist. Cornell Norquist,” Gabe shouted, tossing the reins to Edditha without giving her a glance. He’d leapt from the buggy and rushed to grab the team by the bit to keep them from bolting in panic.
The road ahead lay hidden beneath rubble from the blast. Rock and dust trickled down off the east face of the canyon. Gabe, looking northward in the direction of the hot spring, felt fairly confident Petra’s rock remained in place, at least for now.
“Hey, Gabe,” shouted the tall, broad-shouldered young man, swatting the dust from his shirt sleeves and shoulders as he walked toward him, a big oafish grin on his face.
Gabe let go of the horses’ harnesses and strode forward to meet the man. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, Corney?”
A stupid look on his face, the dark-haired young man returned with a stupid reply. “I’m blastin’ the hell out of the face of the cliff.”
“The cliff is on Buxton property. Who said you could blast a hole in it?”
“Nobody.” A booming voice sounded from behind Gabe’s back. He spun around in time to see Buck swing out of the saddle, perhaps not as easily as he had a few years back, but with a grace Gabe always admired. His brother Van, following close on Buck’s heels, gave him a nod.
“You’ve got no right to blast this side of the canyon, Norquist, and you know it,” Buck shouted, covering the distance between them in long angry strides, the veins in his temples standing out. Carefully enunciating, he outlined the situation. And to demonstrate, he swung his arms out, first in one direction then the other. “I gave you the rights to the rock on the west face of the canyon, one quarter mile below the south end. You know damn good-and-well which way is north and which is south. I’m guessing you had a specific reason for setting the charge where you did. I don’t care to hear your excuses, or reasons, Norquist. You will stop blasting right now.”
Van reached out, grabbed Norquist by the front of his dusty shirt and, being approximately the same height, pushed his nose into Cornell’s face. “Dad said he set out stakes.” Van’s lips curled up in a snarl, and one arm flew out, a finger pointing to the west side of the canyon. “You were to only take out rock from the designated area. I know you aren’t blind. Your mistake is thinking we wouldn’t come up here and check on what you were doing. You assumed we wouldn’t give a damn where you blasted.”
“I warned your Pa if he disturbed one pebble of the canyon on the east side, the deal would crumble quicker than he could scratch his balls,” Buck said, each word punctuated with a growl. “So get your men packed up and get the hell out of here.”
Norquist put his hand on Van’s wrist and tried to break his hold. Van grabbed his coat with both hands, adjusted his grip and gave the man a little shake.
Norquist twisted from side to side to shake himself lose. When it didn’t work, he tipped his head to the side and with tongue in cheek, snorted and stopped trying. “All right, all right, wait a minute.” He shook his head. Giving up, he put his arms down to his side. “We’ll work this out. You can’t back out of the deal. I know how bad you need the cash, Buck. Pa’s gonna want the earnest money back if you pull out. You got a thousand dollars, Buck?”
Gabe caught the sick look on his father’s face before he hid it behind a scowl. He stepped into the fray. “So you figured you could do whatever the hell you wanted. You and your pa thought you had us over a barrel, didn’t you, Corney? Well, think again. Sounds like you broke the contract. We got damages here. I think damages worth more than a thousand, don’t you, Dad? Now get out of here. Go on, get.”
Van sent Gabe a big grin and tightened his grip on Corney’s shirtfront, his knuckles up against the man’s Adam’s apple. “I think before we let him go, Gabe, I think he should clean up his mess, don’t you?”
Jaw clenched tight with no sign of humor on his face now, Norquist earnestly tried to shove his way loose, to little avail. “Go to hell, Van.”
Buck moved in, and Gabe came up on Norquist’s other side. “Tell your men to clear the road, or we’ll break your legs,” Buck quietly ordered.
Norquist paused, his gaze traveled from one accusing face to the next. His complexion paled, and his eyes dilated. Sweat trickled down the sides of his dusty face, he nodded. “Clear the road, boys,” Norquist shouted above their heads. “And pack up. We’re done for the day.”
His dark eyes fixed on Buck, he vowed, “We’ll be back, Buxton. We’ll be back.”
“I don’t think so. You better not have disturbed the flow to the hot spring. I’ll have to sue your ass off. I should anyway, for breaking the contract,” Buck told the man.
Van, like a man tossing aside garbage, shoved Norquist away, throwing open his fist.
Van, Gabe, and Buck watched while Norquist loaded the boxes of powder and charge, and his men began to move rock off the narrow road. The three of them stood there for a moment. Buck turned to Gabe and smiled broadly. “Welcome home, Son.”
“Yeah, your timing is perfect,” Van chimed in to say, slapping Gabe soundly on the shoulder.
“What the hell is going on around here? What kind of deal did you make with that snake Norquist, Buck?”
“You really think we could get ’em for damages, Gabe?” Van wanted to know. “I sure would like to take old man Norquist down a peg or two.”
“You got ladies with you,” Buck said with a nod toward the horses and buggy. “They look a might uncertain. We best assure them all is well.”
Gabe stopped short, his hand going to his father’s big shoulder. “So, you aren’t gonna tell me what’s going on.”
“Not right now, Son. There’s plenty of time,” Buck assured him. “We’ll get it all sorted out, all in good time. It’s good to have you home. You hinted in your last letter you intended to pay a visit, but I didn’t expect to see you for another couple of weeks.”
Gabe shrugged. He knew better than to rush Buck into giving explanations. Gabe had no alternative but to step in stride beside his father and Van.
Mrs. Millican moved up to take the reins. Buck removed his hat as Gabe began the introductions. “Mrs. Millican, I’d like you to meet my father.”
“Mathias Buxton, or Buck to his friends,” Mrs. Millican interjected, completely throwing Gabe for a loop. Her lovely gray-green eyes danced with mischief, and she winked at him before she turned her attention back to his father.
“You don’t remember me, Mr. Buxton, but I remember you. I’d know you anywhere.”
“I’m sorry Ma’am…” Buck said, shaking his head.
“Before I married Mr. Millican, my name was Ridenhour, Adella Ridenhour.”
His eyebrows knit together, Buck paused. “Ridenhour? Any relation to Pete Ridenhour, Sheriff Bollo’s deputy?” he asked as a warm smile lit up his big face, erasing the worry lines in his forehead and around his mouth.
Mrs. Millican giggled, obviously pleased he recalled her brother. “When Gabriel started courting Edditha, and she said he had family over here near Baker City, I did wonder if he could be any relation.”
Buck tipped his hat and gave his scalp a little scratch. “I’m surprised you’d remember me. I only saw you in the dark and in the middle of the street. And that was twenty-seven years ago,” Buck said, respectfully holding his hat to his chest.
“You saved my life and the life of my brother. I will never forget it. And I would know you anywhere. I sat there in the courtroom, in the back out of sight. You haven’t changed one bit.”
“You were how old, thirteen?”
She giggled. “I was fifteen going on sixteen. But please, I’d like you to meet my daughter Edditha. When Gabriel told us he intended to visit his home, I bullied him into bringing Edditha and me along. I’ve wanted to visit the hot springs for a long time. They were famous back in the day. When I read your brochure, I had to come and see them. And of course, I hoped to meet you again.”
“Back in the day, the hot spring was infamous, not famous,” Buck muttered. He tipped his head, giving the young lady his attention. “Pleased to meet you, Miss Millican.”
“It’s nice to meet you too, Mr. Buxton,” Edditha piped in to say. “But I don’t understand any of this conversation. My mother, it would seem, has kept some dark secrets. I can’t wait to hear the details.”
Van shook his head and directed his comment to Miss Millican. “You are not the only one.”
Gabe groaned and muttered a curse, saying, “I’m afraid I do,” and climbed back in the buggy to take up the reins.
“We’ll get it sorted out, all in good time,” Buck said, setting his hat back on his head. “All in good time.” He glanced over his shoulder and down to the road. “Looks like you should be able to get through now. Let’s get the ladies out of this dust and settled in at the hot spring.”
“It’s good to have you home, Gabe,” Buck said, putting his hand on Gabe’s thigh before he turned away to get his horse.
“Your father is still a fine looking man, Gabriel,” Mrs. Millican murmured. Gabe heard her wistful sigh and groaned with real trepidation before he set the buggy into motion, flicking the reins over the horse’s backs.