He dismissed the moment and smiled as she joined him. Adam was well behaved while the priest went through the ceremony. She rocked him a little to keep him content.
The two of them answered the questions put to them by the kindly priest, and the ceremony was over before they knew it. Father O'Brian pronounced them man and wife, Chet kissed her, and they turned to go to the back of the church.
She caught her breath, but went on. “They came.”
“I couldn't warn you. I thought it was them.” From the quick look on her face, he saw how upset she was. He quickly said, “They can't ruin our day, Mrs. Byrnes.”
“Right. I don't know what they want.” She shook her head warily and said something to the baby.
Rhea took the baby so they could greet everyone in the line going out the doors. Liz stood with her shoulders squared, and he wanted to tell her to relax. But she wouldn't until something was settled. He had no idea what to do next. They shook hands and spoke to the many well-wishers. She kissed a few on the cheek. Her parents were coming. Some people went by with, “See you later.”
Under his breath, he said, “Be peaceful.”
She never flinched or acted like she'd heard him.
“Ah, you must be Señor Delarosa.”
“You must be the famous border lawman, Chet Byrnes.”
“I am, sir. This is my wife, Liz.”
“Whose child is that you held?”
“Ours,” they both said, and looked at each other.
“He is a handsome boy. You two are very lucky. My wife, Madelyn.”
“Come to the reception out at the ranch today,” Chet invited.
He shook his head. “We are only here for the wedding.”
“One of my men will drive you out there. Cole, find a rig and take the Delarosas to the house.”
“Got it done. There will be one here shortly, sir. Come this way, señor.”
“My damn husband is a traitor,” she said under her breath.
“They came a long ways. We can be polite. I see you in her face.”
“He thinks that Adam is my child.”
“He is now.”
She looked to the ceiling for help.
“How are you, folks? See you at the reception,” he said to the next couple.
When the line dwindled down, he thanked Father O'Brian. She did, too.
When at last they were alone, he asked, “Did I say how pretty you looked in that dress?”
“Chet Byrnes, the family peacemaker. No, but thank you.”
“The photographer is waiting.”
They stood for him, and Jesus came with Anita in a rig he must have rented to get them back to the ranch. Chet was about to laugh. Her parents had gone to the ranch in the one decorated for the bride and groom.
“They even took my buckboard,” she said under her breath.
“Jesus and Anita, you two did wonderful.”
Liz agreed. “Yes, very quick thinking. My husband planned for us to walk home.”
He kissed her furiously. “Today is our day. Enjoy it. I won't ever marry you again. Today we are one; let's treasure our days.”
“You don't know what I have sufferedâ”
“Today, we heal all that. I invited them and they came many miles. Our ranch is a place for healing, not wars. We have enough of that away from there.”
“Chet, I will try.”
“That is all I expect. How did Rhea get back with Adam?” Chet asked.
“The
vaquero
who brought her took her back. Those ranch hands would do anything for her or that boy,” Jesus said.
“Thanks, I only wondered.”
“They think he is their baby, too.”
On the seat, Liz nodded, and more relaxed, snuggled against him. “You won, cowboy.”
“Cowboys always win.”
She laughed. “I am learning that.”
At the ranch, she went upstairs and changed into a less formal dress. The sun came out and warmed things up for the vast crowd in the yard. Raphael's men acted as valets. After they unloaded their passengers, the men took the rigs up on the flat. Even the boys from the saddle shop were working at the parking.
Hampt and May cornered them. “Too damn much for us to get ready in time to be at the church,” he said. “But we heard the ceremony went well.”
“It did. Her mother and father even came.”
“Wow, I want to meet them.”
“You two are forgiven,” Liz said, and hugged May and Hampt both. “I don't know how anyone is left in their right mind.”
“No, missy, but we are so pleased you found us. This is just the foam on top.”
She nodded at Hampt. “The real beer is coming, right?”
“Damn right.”
She stood on her toes and kissed him. “May, how long is your bed?”
May held back a laugh. “Oh, a foot longer than yours.”
They all four laughed.
JD and Bonnie congratulated them.
“The
vaqueros
told me you have two claybank colts?” JD asked her.
“Oh, the Barbarossa ones. Yes, Tom sent them to me.”
“That was what they said you came for.”
She shook her head with a big smile. “I should never have stopped. See what I am into?”
“I like what you told him the day of your meeting,” Bonnie said.
“Oh?”
“The part about you wouldn't kiss him for the horses.”
“He kissed me, anyway.”
Bonnie nodded. “You are what he really needed. You make this place sparkle.”
“Thank you. Someday I will come and see your ranch. He promised me that.”
“Anytime. It's raw today, but I see a great ranch blossoming there in the future.”
“He has a touch, doesn't he?” Liz asked.
“I would not be alive today, if not for him. He traded that man in Mexico those horses for my life.”
They hugged and Chet noted that Liz sniffled. When they were away from them, she stopped and dabbed at her eyes. “Her story got to me. My face may be a mess.”
“Anita won't be much help to you. Jesus has her and they have been dancing.”
“I can go myself and fix it. I am not that spoiled.”
“I won't be much help, anyway.”
“Don't run off, and excuse me for a moment?”
“I can handle that. I'll be somewhere around here.”
After they parted, he saw her parents talking to Raphael.
“Do they need anything?” he asked his foreman.
“No. We've been talking. They live in Mexico City,” Raphael said.
“Yes, they came a long way.”
“I told them how I met you and got my job.”
“We had a rude introduction, but we made it work.”
Liz's father looked at him and nodded. “I understand you are a U.S. Marshal?”
“Yes, there were a lot of border bandits, and I was asked to do something about it. I took some good men down there and we've put a stop to a lot of it.”
“Oh, they talk about you in Mexico City. But how did you meet my daughter?”
“I was down by Tubac where we have our headquarters, and she came by to buy one of my Barbarossa horses.”
His eyes widened in disbelief. “Oh, you have some of them?”
“Yes, I have a stallion. He's down on the Verde River Ranch.”
He shook his head, firm like. “There are no such stallions from that ranch in this country.”
“Come with me.”
“Where?”
“The barn over there. Two of his sons are in stalls.”
Raphael laughed. “He is not lying, señor.”
“I will return,” he said to his wife.
In the barn alleyway, Raphael took one out of the stall by the halter to show him.
Delarosa shook his head as the animal showed off some. “But, how?”
Chet told him the story.
“Did she buy one?”
“They aren't for sale.”
“As spoiled as she is, I bet that made her mad.”
Chet shook his head. “We spent a long day together. And, eventually, we became engaged to be married.”
“This boy is yours, they tell me.”
“He is ours now.”
He nodded. “Why was he there in the wedding?”
“That was her wish.”
“I see that you three are bonded.”
“Exactly.”
“Our family has been strained apart. There is no need in that. My wife has been very sad. I can tell she did not want us here, but I appreciate your willingness to invite us. Your boy will someday have all of her inheritance. Rumors told me she never was able to have children with her late husband.”
“My first wife told me the same thing.”
“Maybe so. He is still the firstborn.”
“Thank you. I will ask Rhea to show him to your wife.”
“She may cry.”
“It's a good day to cry or laugh, right?”
“
Si
, I see why she took you. Something stands out in your character. I heard the border bandits call you, â
El Tigre
Byrnes.'”
Chet smiled at his words. “She calls it my aura. I don't know. I'm simply Chet Byrnes, rancher and lawman. Let me find Rhea.”
“Gracias.”
“No. Thank you, for coming to our wedding.”
He found Rhea and the baby and took them over to introduce Liz's mother. Their conversation turned to Spanish. Adam would not have any skin left on him after this day. Thank heavens, it was warm for the occasion.
His wife returned and asked him what he had done without her. He quickly explained how Adam was going to be her parents' heir.
“They really came to make up, didn't they?”
“We do things we wish we'd never done, wish we'd never said, but the real person has to eat crow and come to awareness; no one wins at any less.”
She looked off toward the mountains. “My husband could settle wars. I will talk to them. They are our guests. I am not going to cry again, alright?”
“Fine, Mrs. Byrnes. I showed him the cause of all this in the barn.”
“What did he say?”
“No one has a stallion from that ranch.”
“Where is my mother?”
“Over there, holding our son.”
“Someday, I will tell you how close I came today to killing you.”
He stole a kiss. “I'm glad that is over and done.”
She hugged him. “No tears.”
He smirked at her. Her lashes held droplets that shone in the sunlight like small mirrors. “Good luck.”
Susie came by with her own baby. “Great party. Who isn't here?”
“Damned if I know. Her parents even came from Mexico City.”
Susie almost was aghast. “She told me they hadn't spoken in years. How did that go?”
“Peaceful.”
“You tired?”
“How did you guess?”
“Brother, I know you. Have fun on your honeymoon. It won't be much different except her name.”
After they parted, he found Monica. “You did wonderful. Thanks, my love.”
“I would not say this to anyone but you. And I don't mean to dig up the past, but Marge would have been proud you did this. We both loved her, but we've mourned enough. Liz is fresh and generous. I can't believe she went on that snow chase with you. When I asked her why, she said as long as she was with you, she'd be fine.”
“Thanks, Monica, we count on you.”
C
HAPTER
10
In mid-April, they branded cattle on Hampt's East Ranch with neighboring ranchers and Sam Holt the brand inspector. They had the Quarter Circle Z chuckwagon set up in a camp and a man called Hanson ran it with two of his boys. They were hired by the day, real good cooks and help.
There was a wild yearling maverick that the hands called “Spook.” He lit out for high country and Chet set in to chase him. The first time, he missed with his head catch. Liz rode past him on a fleet buckskin horse and threw her loop and it settled around his stubby horns. Chet came in and caught the heels, and that dropped him between them.
Chet swung down and ran to tie his hind legs with a piggin string.
“He's one heckuva long ways from the branding fire,” she said in disgust, coiling her riata.
Brand inspector Hanson rode down there. “No one else wants him. Stick your brand on him.”
They were soon there with a hot iron and a sharp knife to notch his ears and make him a steer. Chet and Liz rode back to the herd.
“You aren't bad at heading, either, sister.”
“I warned you I could rope.”
“I'm pleased. You do good.” He rode in close, leaned across, and kissed her.
“But if I have to head from now on, I want a bigger, stouter horse.”
He laughed. “Next time, I'll catch him.”
“Maybe,” she said flippantly and then smiled. “You don't miss very often. Dodging juniper brush makes it hard to rope around. I love to be with you doing this. This horse is very good and I will bite my tongue for sounding ungrateful, because I love you,
hombre
. I am the happiest woman in the whole world.”
“Good, you are easy pleased. Your first man must have taught you how to rope?”
She shook her head. “One of his
vaqueros
had the patience. My husband didn't. You are much more patient with me than he ever was. Oh, he never was angry or mean talking, but I couldn't tell him things that I tease you about. I feel so free with you. I never feel confined. If I amâhow you sayâa tomboy, I am no threat. And you listen, so I never feel I said something to the wind.”
“Good. I'm glad.” The drum of hoofbeats caught his attention. “There's one of the
vaqueros
' sons coming from the ranch. I recognize the small horse.”
“Something wrong?”
“Lord, you never know.” He reined up to the youth who handed him the envelope.
“A wire came for the señor. Monica said you needed it.”
“Tony, thank you.”
He opened it and saw it was very long for a telegram, and from Samuel Severs of the First National Bank of San Antonio.
DEAR CHET BYRNES,
WE DID A LOT OF BUSINESS WITH YOU
DURING YOUR CATTLE DRIVE DAYS.
I NEED TO ASK A POWERFUL FAVOR OF
YOU. MY BANK IS HEAVILY INVESTED
IN A LARGE HERD OF CATTLE BEING
DRIVEN NORTH
â“It's from a Texas banker, and it's obvious he has a large problem with a herd of cattle.”
She frowned at his words. “You know him?”
“I did. Let me read it through.”
“Certainly,” she said. Then she spoke to Cole who rode up to see what was going on. “It is a letter from a Texas banker. We'll let him read it.”
“Sure.”
BOB DECKER, AN EXPERIENCED BLACK
DROVER, TOOK THIRTY-FIVE HUNDRED
HEAD OF STEERS NORTH WITH THIRTY-
FIVE HANDS. THEY LEFT HERE IN LATE
FEBRUARY. THE NEW KANSAS LAW
PROHIBITS TAKING TEXAS CATTLE
ACROSS THE STATE, AND HE HAD TO GO
AROUND THROUGH COLORADO TO GET
TO OGALLALA. WE HAVE NOT HEARD A
WORD FROM HIM, NOR DOES ANYONE
WE HAVE CONTACTED KNOW HIS
WHEREABOUTS. I KNOW YOU ARE A
BUSY MAN, BUT I KNEW OF NO OTHER
MAN BESIDES YOU WHO MIGHT FIND
THIS OUTFIT AND RECOVER AT LEAST
PART OF THIS HERD.
I CAN OFFER YOU TWENTY PERCENT
OF THE PROCEEDS TO FIND THEM,
DELIVER, AND SELL THEM IN OGALLALA
FOR THE BANK AND THE RANCH OWNER.
PLEASE WIRE ME YOUR ANSWER.
SAMUEL SEVERS
FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF SAN ANTONIO
TEXAS
“What does he need you to do?” Cole asked.
“He's lost a large herd of steers headed for Colorado and on to Nebraska. He can't find them and offered me a twenty percent share to find them, then get them up there and sell them.”
“In his low-cut shoes, he'd have a helluva time finding them out there in west Texas anyway.” Cole went to laughing. “What'cha going to do about it?”
“Twenty percent is a lot of money, if they ain't been run off the end of the world, crashed, and burned.”
Liz and Cole agreed.
“Where would they be by now?” Cole asked.
“West Texas. This man is black. I bet every hand he has is black. I'm not opposed to that. But it might be such a sorry outfit, they've left the cattle loose and went home. Hard to tell what happened. What do you two say?”
Cole yielded to Liz.
“Sounds like you could make a lot of money.”
“We all could. If I ask men to go, I'll give them a share of it, too. This won't be heading and heeling at roundup. This could be a real tough job to straighten out.”
“I'll go along,” she said.
“Count me and Jesus in on the deal. Is there any way we could get Hampt to go, too?” Cole asked.
“I know what you mean. May might not let him go. But he's a tough guy, and it may get real tough where we end up with those steers.”
“Them Comanche ain't real settled in that country, either.”
“I know that. Let me think some.”
Hampt came dusting across the sagebrush flat and slid his horse to a stop. “Something wrong? You got trouble in the south?”
“West Texas, a man lost a big herd of cattle, wants us to find them.”
His blue eyes flashed at them in stern disbelief. “How in the hell do you lose a big herd?”
“If they knew that, they wouldn't ask us to find them. So far, I've got three volunteers. My wife, Cole, and he spoke for Jesus. Will May let you go?”
“Who'd take care of this ranch?”
“Tom surely has a man. We know you have obligations, but right off we said we'd ask you.”
“How long will we be gone?”
“Three months, maybe longer.”
“That's a spell. Let me go ask her. When will you leave?”
“Two days.”
“What next?”
“I'm going to wire him I want twenty-five percent, and he pays expenses for the things we need. And if the herd isn't found, he owes us five thousand dollars for the search.”
“Will he pay that?” Hampt asked.
“Listen, Hampt, this guy sits behind a big fat desk every day. How in the hell is he going to find that many steers?”
“I'll tell Vincent he'll be in charge for me, and then I'll go speak to May,” Hampt said.
“Good. We're going to ride to Preskitt and send him a wire. We'll know his answer in twenty-four hours. If you don't want to leave your wife, I'll understand.”
“She'll tell me what she thinks.”
“I know you two get along good.”
“Right.” The big man swung his horses around to leave them.
Cole nodded. “I better get Jesus. Will Anita let him go, ma'am?”
“I imagine so.” She laughed. “They are getting real close.”
Chet watched him ride off for Jesus. “This will be a helluva trip. It was a long ways coming out here and it hasn't gotten any shorter.”
“You think they are in that country where you left the train?”
“Unless the cattle stampeded off in a hundred directions, then most of them are somewhere up there.”
“What else?”
“There are lots of war-happy Indians there, too.”
“You had trouble with them before, didn't you?”
He laughed. “One of our first drives to Gallup, Cole and I got attacked. I had an arrow stuck in my saddle fork. He shot one Indian and I roped the one that shot my saddle. I left Cole to bring the Indian in as a prisoner, but he drew a knife and Cole had to shoot him.”
She was amused. “I never realized he was an Indian fighter.”
“It really wasn't funny. Let's get home and get a telegram off to this banker. I think we're his best chance to find them, and we have some room to bargain.”
“How far away are we from there?”
“Six hundred miles.”
“Whew.”
“Let's ride.”
They headed out in a lope across the rolling upland of sage and juniper for the upper ranch. From the ranch, they drove a buckboard to town where he sent his answer to the banker, requesting twenty-five percent and expenses and a fee if they failed.
He came out of the telegraph office, took the reins, and they drove back home in the dark.
“What is a big cattle drive like?” Liz asked.
“Boring as hell. You drive cattle almost single file and they jog along for fifteen miles a day or so. They get road broke in a week, and then the herders wish one would break and run. At the back are the loafers, who you have to beat all the time to make them keep up and you eat tons of their dust.”
“Sounds exciting.”
“They stampede and run off any chance they can and, usually, in the dark during storms.”
“That sounds awful.”
“That's why I want us and the boys well paid.”
“I can go along?”
“I would not recommend it. But I won't tell you no.”
She rode in close and kissed him. “You spoil me.”
“You won't be spoiled on a cattle drive, I guarantee you.”
“I want to go.”
“Pack light. Today is Tuesday. If he agrees, we'll leave Thursday.”
“Are you two off on another lark?” Monica asked when they came into the house.
“We got a telegram from Texas today.”
“I know. I sent the boy to find you this morning.”
“A banker has lost a big herd of cattle in Texas. They want us to go find it.”
Monica frowned in concern. “A needle in a haystack?”
“Maybe, but if we find the herd, we could make some real money.”
“Or get scalped or shot by Indians,” Monica said. She went off to do her kitchen duties, shaking her head. “You aren't going with them, are you, Liz?”
“I thought I would.”
“I thought so, too. Both of you are crazy.”
“We will know tomorrow if he wants us.”
“Good, I will get some rest.” With that, she hurried from the room.
“She mad at us?” Liz asked.
“She gets that way at times,” he whispered.
The banker agreed to Chet's plan. May told Hampt to go along, that they'd probably need him. Cole and Jesus spent the next day making certain their horses were shod and sound. They put new girths on the packsaddles and new Navajo-made saddle blankets to save the horses' backs. Chet told them to plan for four packhorses, that would be enough. A sidewall tent was included for Liz. They might not have taken it along except for her. But he kept that a secret from her.
He planned for them to ride his roans. His first day's goal was to make Windmill Ranch in one day. That would show them they could make sixty miles in a day, and the trip in two weeks' time, when they'd start looking for the lost herd. There wasn't much he could do until they reached the Texas panhandle.
“Where could they water three thousand plus head of cattle up there?” Chet asked.
“I've never been up on the llano Estacada,” Cole said.
“Me, either. I heard a lot about it, but there isn't much out there, is there?” Hampt asked.
Chet shook his head. “Lots of nothing. I believe he veered too far west to miss Kansas and to go up that eastern Colorado trail to Ogallala.”
“Think we'll find him in New Mexico?”
“No telling, but when we get over there we'll start asking questions.”
May, their baby boy, and her daughter were all at the main ranch house to see Hampt off in the morning. Valerie was staying over to see Cole leave. Several others came by that evening to send them off. Frey came by and told Chet if he needed anything he could do to contact him. Ben Ivor and his wife were there, too.
“How long will this take, Chet?” Ben asked.
“I hope not more than three months. But there's no telling where they went.”
“You get paid, if you don't find them?”
“Yes. But we have to find them.”
“Any idea?”
“You can't have over three thousand steers and all black cowboys somewhere between here and the Indian Territory, and not have someone who knows where they are.”
“What else could have happened?”
“Things get trying, even in a smooth drive. Like ships at sea, they might have had a mutiny. I have no idea.”
The men, who had formed a circle around him in the yard, all wished him luck. Chet was satisfied they thought he had a big lost cause, but no one got in his face and said that.
By wire, he put Roamer in charge of the force at Tubac, saying he would be out of pocket for several months searching for the herd. He sent over thirty enquiries on the wire about where that herd might be, to men who knew that country, giving locations where he could get their message if they learned anything. The first contact would be at Gallup in six days. Then at Bernalillo in twelve days, the next at Santa Rosa in eighteen days, and the last at Tascosa twenty-four days later. He assured them he would reimburse them for any expenses. And to send their costs to Quarter Circle Z Ranch, Prescott, Arizona Territory.