Horse With No Name (18 page)

Each of them looked away from her when she
met their gaze. Some lasted a few seconds longer than others, but
they all broke their eyes from hers first and busied themselves
with their meals.

She considered this a victory. Also, she
noticed her body hadn’t reacted to any of their faces. Both these
things gave her courage.

"Mr. Cecil," she said, turning to the man on
her left, and adopting her clearest and calmest but most
no-nonsense voice, "was it you who attacked Mr. James Hunter in his
shop the other day?"

This was obviously not the question Cecil had
been expecting. His spoon paused half-way to his mouth, his jaw
partway open. She watched his eyes carefully. They registered
curiosity and a lack of understanding, but Julia wasn't sure if
they also held guilt.

He covered whatever he was thinking by
finishing the spoon's journey to its target. "Wha?" he said around
his mouthful of stew. "Who?"

This last question was for sure a lie. Julia
could tell that right away that Cecil knew perfectly well who
Hunter was. She could see it in his eyes before he glanced away,
looking down at his bowl.

"James Hunter the sissy, you mean?" This was
from a man across the circle. He had finished his supper and set
the bowl beside the seat he was on. He was leaning forward, elbows
on knees, rolling tobacco into a cigarette paper. He looked up at
Julia with a confident expression. She glanced at the other men and
saw most of them were watching him. This, then, was their de facto
leader.

"What do you mean, 'sissy,' Mr....?" Julia
let the end of the sentence ask the question for her.

"Roberts," he said, licking the edge of the
paper. He sat up straight, owning the moment, and put the cigarette
into his mouth. From his front pants' pocket he pulled a box of
matches and lit one, inhaling the smoke from his cigarette and then
tossing the match into the cook's fire. Roberts looked back at
Julia. "He's the girliest man I've ever seen. That's what I mean by
‘sissy.’ If he tried to fuck a sheep I'm sure it would have its way
with him first."

The other men laughed on cue, a little too
loudly, proclaiming their allegiance to Roberts. When the noise
quieted down, they looked back to Julia. Your move, their
expressions said.

"I meant Mr. Hunter the watchmaker," Julia
said, doing her best front of the room stare at Roberts. He picked
a piece of tobacco off his tongue and flicked it away,
shrugging.

She turned her gaze back to Cecil, and raised
her eyebrows, "Well?"

Cecil scrunched up his nose and shook his
head. "What're you asking me for?"

Julia answered his question with a question.
"Is this yours?" She held out the glove. She had brought it with
her in her saddlebag and transferred it to her coat pocket when
Cobbs showed her to a stall where she could leave Stanley.

Cecil glanced down at it, and then away,
shaking his head. He looked indifferent but she couldn't be sure if
it was feigned or not.

"Where are your work gloves?" Julia asked,
pushing Cecil.

He held his bowl in his left hand and reached
around his back with his right, pulling a pair of gloves out of his
waistband and showing them to her. He smirked at her while he did
so, and then put them back.

"Has anyone else lost a glove?" Julia looked
around the group, but the men just stared back at her, some
chewing, some smoking.

She was getting nowhere. She met Cecil's eyes
once more and he quickly looked away.

She stood up from the milking stool and
tucked the glove back into her pocket. "Thank you, gentlemen," she
said and began to walk away.

From behind her she heard Roberts' voice.
"Don't leave yet. Each of us needs to have a turn."

Cobbs had hardly spoken since he and Julia
had arrived at the cookhouse. He had fallen in beside her to walk
her back to the barn.

He turned now and stared at Roberts. "Say
that again."

The group was quiet. Roberts' and Cobbs' eyes
were locked. For a few seconds Roberts kept a smug and
self-satisfied grin on his face. Cobbs continued to stare at him
and eventually Roberts' expression fell. He shifted in his seat
slightly, and took a pull on his nearly finished cigarette. Cobbs
waited, patiently, like the earth. Roberts moved again in his seat,
uncomfortable now under the weight of Cobbs' gaze.

"What?" he finally said to Cobbs, his tone
sullen.

Cobbs only jerked his head in Julia's
direction.

It took a moment, but then Roberts finally
spoke. "I apologize, Miss."

Julia nodded and then began walking again.
Cobbs lingered for a moment and then fell into step with her.

Twenty-four

Julia and Stanley took
a circuitous route back to town. It was a gorgeous autumn evening
with clear skies and a not-unpleasant crispness in the air.
Everywhere the land was alive with birds and she saw what she
thought was a fox disappear into a burrow at one point. She let
Stanley choose the pace. At times he galloped so that she had to
nearly close her eyes against the wind. Then he would slow and
catch his breath before taking off again. He was enjoying himself
immensely, as was his mistress, so Julia was in no rush to return
home. Only when the light began to fade in earnest did she decide
that perhaps they should think about making their way back to
town.

Cobbs had given her a leg-up when they
returned to the barn. When she was settled in the saddle, her reins
gathered, she leaned down to shake the man's hand.

"Thank you, Mr. Cobbs. I appreciate your
help. And I thank you for defending me just now." She nodded back
in the direction of the cookhouse.

Cobbs placed a hand on Stanley's neck and
looked up at her. "You're most welcome, Miss. May I offer you a bit
of advice?"

"Of course."

"I can see you're a very independent lass.
There's not many women who would come out to a place like this on
their own. My wife was a bit like you. Smart. And stubborn." He
smiled at the memory and shook his head slightly. "But if I ever
tried to tell her what to do, she'd do the opposite, just to spite
me, I think."

"She sounds like a colorful woman," Julia
said.

"Aye. She was. She's been gone six years now.
I miss her something fierce." He paused for a moment, reflecting.
When he looked up into Julia's face again, his eyes were a little
shiny. "Here's what I'm askin' you. Please don't be so stubborn
that you can't see when people are trying to help you and keep you
safe. D'you understand me?"

Julia nodded brightly, "I do, Mr. Cobbs.
Thank you." She straightened her spine a bit and was about to
squeeze Stanley's sides and turn his head.

But Cobbs continued, not letting her brush
him off so easily. "I mean it, Miss. You're bright and capable. I
can see that. Please don't be reckless with yourself."

Julia looked down into his face again.
Earnestness and concern were painted all over his expression. Julia
found her voice caught in her throat.

Cobbs spoke again before she could. "Don't
let your need to prove yourself put you in danger."

Was this man a wizard? How did he know her so
well after such a short period of time, Julia wondered.

She leaned down again and placed her hand on
Cobb's arm and looked directly into his eyes. "I promise," she
said.

"Good girl." Cobbs patted Stanley's neck one
last time and stepped back, smiling at her. "Straight home
now."

She arrived back at the livery filled with
the joy of being alive and the pleasant exhaustion that comes with
hours spent outside. Stanley was happy too, she could tell. He
shook his head and jingled his bit as they rode down Main Street.
He was prancing almost, and made her laugh when he bounced sideways
like a kitten after a crow lifted up off a hitching rail in front
of the millinery. She was still laughing at him and chatting to him
about his good mood as they rode through the wide barn doors and
she prepared to dismount.

A voice came out of the gloom at the back of
the building toward her. "Where have you been?"

She hopped down to the ground and lifted
Stanley's reins over his head. "Merrick?"

The man strode toward her. She had seen him
angry before but the expression on his face now was something new.
He looked taller than usual and was taking long, determined
strides, swallowing up the distance between them. He stopped when
he was three feet away from her. "I asked you a question."

If there was one way to put Julia Thom's back
up it was to boss her around. Cobbs had assessed her exactly right
in that department. Merrick should know this by now, but he was
obviously struggling with his emotions. Julia pretended she didn't
know what he meant. "I was out for a ride."

"Where?"

"Around," she said, glaring at him. She heard
a noise in the back of the barn and assumed Walt was back there
somewhere.

"You went to the O'Brien ranch."

It wasn't a question so Julia didn't answer.
She looped Stanley's reins over her left arm and began loosening
the saddle girth. Stanley blew out a breath and shook his head,
ears and mane flapping.

Merrick came around Stanley's head and stood
close to Julia's left shoulder. "Answer me."

She turned and looked directly up into his
face. "You didn't ask a question."

He was very still and his lips were pulled
together in a thin line. He held her gaze for several beats without
saying anything. When he spoke it was with exaggerated quiet. "Were
you at the O'Brien ranch?"

Julia gave a quick nod, "Among other
places."

"What other places?"

"Oh, we were just out for a ride mostly. It's
a beautiful evening." She patted Stanley's neck. "Now, if you'll
let me pass I want to unsaddle this sweaty boy and get him
groomed."

"You will do nothing of the sort until I say
so." Merrick raised his voice and pushed his face closer to
Julia's. She leaned back instinctively. "Do you mean to tell me
that you went to the O'Brien ranch all by yourself? What were you
doing there? Talking to Alan Cecil, I expect."

That he knew all the details of her mission
only put Julia's back up further. She raised her voice, telling him
to mind his own business. Merrick countered, telling her that the
safety of the town's inhabitants was his business.

"Oy!" A loud voice broke into the argument.
"Take this shit outside. You're bothering the animals." Walt
appeared and reached past Merrick to take Stanley's reins from
Julia. Together he and the horse walked down the aisle toward
Stanley's stall. Walt looked over his shoulder. "I mean it. Go
outside." He pointed toward the open door.

Julia whirled on one heel and marched out of
the building, kicking up dust with every step. Merrick followed
her, and by some silent but mutual agreement they stood in the
front yard of the livery and faced off.

The three livery dogs watched the angry pair
for a moment and then slinked away, ears pulled back with
concern.

When the pair stopped and stood facing one
another, Julia opened her mouth to speak but Merrick cut her off,
waving a finger under her nose. "Do you even know how dangerous it
is for you to do something like that? O'Brien has two ex-convicts
working for him. And the rest of his crew are not much better, just
smarter. They haven't been caught doing something illegal yet.
Those men would cut you up and eat you for breakfast without a
second thought."

"And yet, here I am in one piece." Julia held
her arms out proclaiming her status as a living person who was not,
in fact, anyone's breakfast.

"Only by God's good grace. What on earth did
you expect to accomplish by going out there? Besides taking a
chance on getting yourself killed. Or worse."

Julia started to speak but Merrick held one
finger up and didn't let her interrupt. "Someone means you harm.
For chrissake, do I have to remind you about the rabbit staked on
your front door?"

He was concerned about her, Julia could see
that on his face. It was lined with real worry, not just anger at a
woman who was trying to do his job for him. But now he had angered
her. She had been frightened by the men at the ranch, and it was
only because Cobbs had been with her that she had left the property
unscathed, though she was loathe to admit this to herself. She was
also disappointed that the trip offered her very little, if any,
new information. She wasn't any closer to figuring out who had
beaten up Hunter than she'd been the day before. Admitting this to
Merrick when he had pushed her so far into a corner was all but
impossible for her, despite his genuine concern.

Forgetting what she had promised Cobbs, Julia
said, "I'd do it again in a heartbeat," she flung the words at him,
"especially since you're not doing anything about figuring out who
beat Hunter up."

Her words stung Merrick. She saw that
immediately. If she had been any less angry she would have felt
guilty about it.

Merrick was still and silent, watching her,
taking deep breaths. The pause lengthened and Julia was about to
say something else when he finally spoke, his voice quiet. "Are you
safe? Did any harm come to you out there?"

The abrupt change of direction threw Julia.
"I'm fine," she said. "There was a nice fellow there named Cobbs.
He made sure I was safe."

Merrick nodded once. "Cobbs is a good man."
He thought for a moment. “All right then." He turned and walked
away.

Julia watched him go and for a second, though
she didn't know why, she had to fight back tears.

Stanley's jaw was crunching on something when
she found him and Walt in his stall. Walt had removed the horse's
tack and was brushing him in long, firm strokes with a dandy brush.
Julia leaned against the stall door and watched them for a
moment.