Arizona Territory (3 page)

When he and Cole and Jesus arrived at the Diablo Ranch the next evening, he was still looking back once in a while and thinking hard about her. When they dismounted at the corrals, the smell of hay brought the memory of her back to him.

That evening at supper, Bonnie sat at his side. She gently elbowed him. “Tell me about the Mexican widow you entertained yesterday?”

“Cole has been talking to you.” He laughed at her curiosity.

“Since you all got me out of down there in Mexico, he and I are old friends. So, how about her?”

“She's a widow, and has a big
hacienda
down there. She's been a widow for a few years. And she and I just hit it off.”

“Why did she stop there?”

“She wanted a Barbarossa stallion. She said she'd heard that I sold them to a friend of hers in Mexico. I told her I never sold any, except the ones I sold in Texas for the train ride. That, instead, I had swapped them for a person's life.”

“Yes, and, thank God, you did that for me.”

“I'm still not sure she's not a
bruja
. No, she is not. She's very real. The two of us went off on a lark yesterday, and she waded in the river. We had a nice afternoon, and please keep this part to yourself, I started to kiss her. She stopped me and told me she would not kiss me for a horse, but she would kiss me for her love.”

Bonnie stopped eating and put down her fork. “She told you that?”

Chet nodded his head. “Powerful, huh?”

“You'd only just met her, and all that happened yesterday?”

“Yesterday was over a month long.”

“What will you do now?”

“Do my job here and up there. And think about her.”

“Is she as beautiful as Cole said?”

“Maybe more than that.”

“No one in our family will care. It's time you had a life. Marge would want that for you. Why don't you ride down there and grab her?”

“I better let it mellow. She has things to attend to down there. And I have things to do up here.”

“Oh, Chet, it sounds like a romance made in heaven.”

“Time will tell. But I had no intention of even looking for someone.”

She rose and whispered in his ear. “Marge would never complain, knowing you were happy again.”

“I hear you. Thanks.”

The rest went easy. They had drilled two artesian wells on the ranch. The plan was to float some land cleared of greasewood and cactus, then plant alfalfa. Lemon and orange trees came next, then vineyards. Bonnie's house was well designed for the hot desert, an airy structure that caught the prevailing winds. Maria's house would soon be roofed and she'd move over there while her husband was on the south end, catching mustangs and shipping them to Mexico. JD promised him that the operation broke even, and it would eventually increase the range for cattle.

On his final day, before he left, they brought out a sixteen-hand, high-headed blue roan. “This's the horse we've been breaking for you,” JD said. “I wouldn't ride him over the pass, but on the ground he should do alright. He's just green broke.”

“How old is he?”

“Maybe four. He's a handful, but you won't wear him out.”

“Great horse. Thanks, all of you,” he said to the gathered crew. “They will be adding onto your
casas
soon, and you'll have gardens and even grapes. I'm very proud of all of you.”

They applauded him as they left.

Jesus had his lead rope and JD walked beside Chet. “You going to Sonora and find her? Bonnie told me all about her. She sounds good.”

“I have lots of things to do first.”

“Hell, man, don't lose her. Bonnie told me you're afraid the family will think it's too soon to consider anyone. No one will think that. You do great things for all of us, but you have your own life to live. Do something for yourself.”

“I think it's deeper than that. Hey, you're a great organized ranch manager down here.”

“Thanks. It's a lot easier now that Bonnie is here. She makes me get real a lot of the time. And I probably need it. I'm thinking as much like you as I can.”

“You're doing a good job and I'm proud.”

“If I could get five hundred head of stocker cattle out of Mexico worth the money, what would you think about that?” JD asked.

“Buy them and let's try it.”

“Thanks. Who do I contact for the money?”

“I'm going to get a man to do that. Wire Andrew Tanner at the bank in Preskitt. I'll let him know what you need.”

“Good. I'll do it.”

“Take care of Bonnie; she's a treasure.”

“Oh, I'll do that.”

As they rode back, Cole led the spirited roan, and they arrived back at sundown.

Maria had a wire waiting for them. Bandits had robbed a bank in Lordsburg in New Mexico, and they headed down that east side of Arizona for the border. They called them the Gimble Gang, a father, three sons, and two cousins. Wanted posters were available. Could he and his outfit head them off before they reached the border?

“What is it?” Cole asked.

“Some gang robbed the Lordsburg Bank. Where is Roamer? At the fort?”

“Down that way.”

“I'll wire him and we can start that way in the morning, but I think by the time any of us get over there they'll already be in Mexico. Even if Roamer has a day on us. I doubt anyone can head them off.”

“Give one of us the wire and we'll take it to Tubac and send him one anyhow,” Cole said.

“Good idea. I'll do that. Jesus, you prepare a couple of packs. We'll ride out at dawn.”

He quickly wrote both messages. Cole took off and he was alone at the table with Maria. She reached over and took his hand. “My husband was alright?”

“I never got to speak to him. He's down on the border, catching and selling mustangs in Mexico. I guess he don't write?”

“No, but I am fine. We all have so much going on in our lives. Tell me, did the young lady steal your heart?”

“I would say so. I met her so fast. In just one day, so much happened, and my head is still swimming. But, yes, she's an angel.”

“You have any plans?”

“Yes, I'm sure we can reach an agreement—someday. She politely told me she only stopped by to see if I was here and to try to buy a horse.”

“You turned her head that fast?”

“She turned mine. She said she knew about my loss and she wanted to be a candidate for my next wife.”

“I knew she had turned your head. You two looked good, riding together. She is very rich and her
hacienda
is huge.”

“Why she'd want me, I'll never know.”

“
Hombre
, there are lots of women, married and not married, who would take you in a minute.”

“Maria, you're a mess.”

“I am telling you the truth. There are many I have heard say—that Marge has him, but if I ever caught his eye—I'd steal him.”

He stood up and kissed her forehead. “I love you, too.”

The Force left before dawn. The new blue roan bucked under Chet going out the front gate, but once on the road, he finally got him quieted down. But he did pace sideways down the dirt wheel tracks for several miles.

Jesus was trailing with three packhorses, and Cole rode with him and offered to swap horses with Chet.

“Hell, no. I'm fine. I'm going to wear him down today.”

They both laughed at his words. Damn, he was one big tough horse. He must have come from the line of Barb horses the rich Spaniards brought to Mexico. But the stout gelding proved a handful until he got him rode down enough. He knew some horses never slacked in that power stage. JD and Ortega had chosen him well. He might save his life someday, and he could sure appreciate his big heart.

They made good time, and by late evening were over the Mule Shoe Mountains and in the border town of Noco. They put their horses up and Cole noticed Roamer's strawberry roan in the stables.

Shawn McElroy, Bronc Morales, and Roamer soon found them. They went to a Mexican café across the wide border strip and ate supper.

“What's new?” Roamer asked.

“You should have seen this beautiful lady who came to see our boss at the Tubac Ranch yesterday,” Cole said.

Chet held up his hand at their questions. “She wanted to buy a Barbarossa colt.”

“Who is she?”

“Her name is Elizabeth Delarosa Carmel. Her husband's been dead three years.”

“Whoa,” Bronc said. “She is really rich, too. I know I have heard all about her.”

“Maria said the same thing.”

“Oh, she has a
hacienda grande
in Sonora.”

“What are you going to do about her?” Roamer asked, then lifted his glass of beer to his lips and took a drink.

“If I knew that, I'd have already done it.”

Laughing, Roamer blew part of his beer out and clapped him on the shoulder. “I ain't never heard you say that before. What did she think?”

“If things would have worked out—she'd probably say yes.”

“Holy cow, you can find more rich women than a dozen men. And they are all pretty.” Roamer held up his beer stein. “Let's toast the boss. Number one lady killer in the Southwest.”

“Yeah!” they all cheered.

“Did the bank robbers get over here?” he asked, to put off their digging him anymore about Liz.

“Best we could tell, they beat us by twelve hours,” Shawn said.

“They around close? Maybe we can herd them back across the border like we did that one gang.”

Head shakes told him no.

Later, at the stables, forking hay for their horses, the memory of her came back to him. Why had he let her slip away? She was a real witch, a
bruja
. So much for that. But he couldn't rest until he'd written to her.

Wasn't much else to tell her, or his boss, besides reporting the border bandits were way down in Mexico. The feds might want to close the Force. His bunch had tried hard and brought most of the outlaws to the courts or left the others to feed the buzzards.

He mailed the letter to her, sent a wire to the Tucson marshal's office about the gang's escape, and went to his room in the hotel. His head on a pillow, he thought about her some more. She was damn sure hard to forget.

When they got back to Tubac, he sent Roamer home. Shawn had no pressing reason to go home. While Roamer was gone, the five remaining tracked down three horse thieves and sent them to Tucson for trial. Cole and Shawn rode guard on a gold shipment from several of the Tubac mines to Tucson without incident.

Things were simply quiet on the border. When Roamer returned, Chet planned to go back home. Elizabeth sent him two letters, a few days apart.

The second letter read:

“How far south of the border is Liz?” he asked Maria.

“A hundred and twenty kilometers.”

“A hundred miles, huh?”

“I think so.” She frowned at him. “But you shouldn't go down there without an army.”

“Maybe I will have her come to my house at Preskitt.”

“That would sure impress her.”

“But what if she's busy? And it's cold up there.”

Maria laughed and pointed at her gold cross. “If I was her, and you invited me to your house, I would be there in the morning.”

He shook his head. “I don't expect that.”

“All she can say is ‘no.'” Maria looked up at him. “I say she won't do that.”

“Roamer is coming back. All we have are some horse thefts. It will take my answer a week to get to her and a week to get back.” He shook his head. He still wasn't clear enough in his thinking about her and what to do. Was he just lonely without Marge? One way to find out. “I'll send a letter and ask her to wire me if she can come. Jesus can meet her.”

Maria dropped her shoulders and scowled in disapproval at his words. “No. You should meet her.”

“My advisor.” He looked to the sky for help.

“How sincere will she think you are, sending someone else, and not meeting her yourself?”

He laughed. “Damn sincere.”

So he wrote her a letter.

The three of them went to Tubac, where he mailed the letter, then they rode on up to Tucson to see about some horse thieves. They checked with several liveries and found that a man who called himself Fred Cousins had sold the stolen horses. No one knew where he lived, and the town marshal wasn't certain that was his real name.

Chet tried to straighten out the situation, but he found no way. Six horses with ranch brands were sold, and they'd been listed as stolen on the sheriff and brand inspector pages. He informed the livery owners they must keep a current list of reported stolen horses and check it before making any sales. He and his two men went to supper and discussed the situation. The Chief U.S. Marshal was out of town, and they slept in their bedrolls.

Jesus asked him. “Do you think she will come?”

“I don't really know how busy she is. It depends how much help she has to manage the place. I'm not in the know about her business.”

The next day, they rode east to see about a ranch robbery they'd heard about. But the tracks were too old and faded to follow. Three border bandits did the holdup, and Chet had no doubt that they were already back across the border. He told the rancher that he needed to get them word quicker. The man agreed, but Chet knew no one would rob the same person twice, no richer than that man had been.

Roamer came back. His wife was fine, had plenty of firewood, and the kids all had colds. He laughed, telling Chet how Sheriff Simms had a burglar loose up there. The thief waited for folks to go to town and then stole what he could. Someone's ranch hands caught him and solved the crimes themselves.

No telegram. The next day, he got one from her.

“That was sent on Tuesday, and this is Wednesday. She'll be down there on Friday,” Chet figured out loud, standing near Roamer. “We can go down there Thursday and wait for her. You don't need Cole and Jesus. They can go with me.”

“Sure. Good luck,” Roamer said.

“We'll check back. Be careful.”

On Thursday, they rode down to Nogales. With the horses in the livery, he took two hotel rooms on the U.S. side. Across the border, they ate in a café with fine food, then went back to the hotel to sleep.

They got up early for breakfast. After the meal, they did some shopping in Mexico, and about noon the stage arrived. The three stood on the stage office porch and waited for his passenger to arrive. A nice-looking Hispanic girl came down the step first, but he relaxed when his smiling lady stuck her head out the window and waved at him. She wasn't wearing her silver earrings, but if she had they might have cost her those dainty earlobes, in case bandits had attacked and ripped them away.

She came through the crowd to him, and he hugged and kissed her. Whew, it was heart-warming good to have her in his arms.

“Anita, show Jesus what are our bags. Hello, Cole. You two do good work. He is not skinned up any at all.”

She had Chet laughing.

Next, she fake-punched him. “You look good enough to eat,
hombre
.”

“Nothing like you do to me. How long can you stay?”

“Until you throw me out, like old bathwater. Is that long enough?”

“Yes but . . .” He stopped. “The
hacienda
?”

“I have it being handled by my brother-in-law. He is very serious.”

“That is sobering.”

“I can go back.” She held her arm out toward Mexico.

“Like hell.”

She stood on the boardwalk, laughing. “Did I shock you?”

“Some. Time to get my sticks in a row. Do you and Anita need a room tonight? The next stage doesn't leave until early in the morning.”

“She does. I don't.” She looked over for his reaction.

One thing about Liz. She didn't mince words. “A room she will have.”

“Am I being too pushy?” she asked him in a soft voice.

“No, you're not.” He squeezed her hand. “The stage leaves at four in the morning for Tucson. It'll take two days to get to Preskitt. Cole is coming with us. He has a wife he'd like to see. Jesus will take our horses back to Tubac, then follow us home the next day on the stage line.”

“Anita, I am so glad to meet you.” He took the girl's hands in his. “We will have plenty of blankets. There may be snow up there. But the house is snug and warm.”

“
Gracias, señor
, I have never seen snow. But I am excited.”

He got Anita a room and their luggage was sent up. “We'll meet down here at five this afternoon and go to supper.”

“I will knock on your door when we go down,” Liz said to Anita.

She thanked her and went into her room.

Chet let Liz into his, then followed her inside and rested his back against the door.

She took off her cape. “Are you mad? I couldn't tell you my details in a wire.”

“Mad. No. Shocked. Happy. I never figured how I could get it all done.”

She buried herself in his arms and they whirled around. “Squeeze me hard. I have been trembling the last hundred kilometers and asking myself, ‘Does he really want me?'”

“Oh, Liz, I've wanted you since you entered the race.”

“Race?”

“You said you wanted to be a candidate.”

She busted out laughing. “What else did I promise you?”

“Oh, I have a long list. Sit down. I want a few things settled. Can we be married in your church?”

“I am not certain. Why would you want to be married in my church?”

He put his finger on her lips. “I've thought hard about this. We'll talk to a priest. Your religion is precious to you. You could be denied communion.”

“No, Chet Byrnes. You are the most important thing in my life.” She shrugged. “I would simply be your common-law wife.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“We'll see what we can do about that.” He held her tight and kissed her. “We don't need to argue about it. I see a great road ahead for the two of us.”

“I am so happy.” She mopped at her tears with his handkerchief.

“You don't have to worry, we'll make it work.”

They went to supper and enjoyed the meal with his men and Anita.

Once back in their room, under the threat that they must be awake and ready early, he unwrapped his present and the honeymoon began.