Xenia’s Renegade (23 page)

“But the money from the auction is enough for us to start over?”

He sneered. “There’s enough to get us out of town and start over, but not enough to return to the men and start over.”

“It was a fool thing to do in the first place, Seymour.”

“Seems like I’ve done a lot of foolish things in my life, Sassy Sue. This was just another one.” He closed his bag. “Now, go get packed and meet me down in the saloon. I’ve got to get my brother-in-law back to his wife. When we leave, I don’t want her to send somebody to look for me.” 

****

Clara Poindexter paced the hotel room floor for more times than she could count. Where was Franklin? He’d gone to the saloon to talk to Seymour before dark. It was after midnight. Had something happened to him in this wild town? Was he lying somewhere on the street bleeding and in pain, yet unable to go for help? She’d decided that if he didn’t show up soon, she was going to get dressed and go look for him, even if it made him mad at her.

A knock sounded on the door.

Clara hurried to the door. “Is that you, Franklin?”

“It’s your brother, Clara. I have your sorry husband with me.”

She jerked open the door and stepped back as Seymour and a saloon woman came into the room. He had one of Franklin’s arms around his shoulder and she had the other one over hers. Franklin was mumbling, but saying nothing she could understand.

“What happened to him?”

“What do you think, big sister? The bastard drank himself into a stupor.”

They dropped Franklin face down on the bed and Sassy Sue tossed his derby hat to the bedside table.

“Why did you let him get in this shape?” Clara almost screamed. “He never gets drunk.”

“Well, my dear sister, he did tonight, and you can’t blame me. The fool is old enough to pace himself.”

“But you could have stopped him if you’d wanted to.”

“Look, Clara. I have a business to run. I can’t sit around and make sure the idiots who order drinks don’t get soused. I thought Franklin was smart enough to pace himself. But, no, he drank a whole bottle of bourbon, then passed out.”

Clara turned to Sassy Sue. “Couldn’t you have stopped him?”

She could tell she’d made the woman mad when Sassy Sue snapped, “It’s my job to get the men to drink while they look down the neck of my dress, not stop them. Your husband was no exception. He liked looking at me.”

“Shut up, Sassy,” Seymour said. “We need to get back and close up.”

“Wait, Seymour.” Clara stopped him. “Did Franklin ask you where Xenia and Mea Ann were?”

“Sure, he did.”

“Did you tell him?” She looked into her brother’s eyes and realized he felt nothing but contempt for her. It made her sad.

“I was too busy tonight to listen to his demands.”

Clara put her hand on his arm and he shook it off. “I’m sorry it has come to this, Seymour."

He shook her hand away. “It’s too late to change things now, big sister. You made the choice to turn your back on your family.”

Tears came to her eyes. “I had to get out, Seymour. You know that.”

“Well, you managed to do it, didn’t you?”

“You had as much opportunity to get out as I did.”

“Sure. Our grandmother made it twice as hard on me after you married old Franklin, there.” He nodded toward the bed. “Of course, she never let me forget that she’d arranged a good marriage for you, and you had turned out to be the
right kind
of lady.”

“But, Seymour, I loved Franklin.”

“Sure, you did. That’s why you spent most of the old gal’s money on that fancy wedding of yours in Baltimore. It didn’t matter to you that you were moving off with him to Richmond and leaving me there to sink into a life of hell with the old bat.”

“But you left, too.”

“Only after she had the decency to fall down those winding stairs she was so proud of and break her neck.”

“I know she was a horrible person, but we had no choice but to live with her after our parents died.”

“Stop trying to sugar coat it, Clara. The old bird hated both of us. We interrupted her socially acceptable life. She couldn’t turn us away, though. What would her friends say if she did?”

“That’s true, but what happened to her money? I didn’t ask you for a dime after I married. What did you do with that?”

“You’re delusional if you think there was a lot of money left. After the house was taken for back taxes, and I had to cough up enough to bury her, I was left with a couple of hundred dollars.”

“You’re kidding.”

“No, Clara. I’m not kidding. That’s why I came to Virginia and asked your wonderful husband for help in getting a start in life. Of course, my brother-in-law told me he’d never help me out and dared me to go to you for help.”

Clara gasped. “I didn’t know you came to us.”

“Well, you know now. So, maybe you understand why I don’t give a damn about you, your family, or your daughters.” He pushed down his hat. “Let’s go Sassy Sue.”

“Wait, Seymour. Please.” Clara began to cry. “I don’t care what you think of Franklin and me, but please don’t punish my daughters. They liked you when you came to Virginia”

Seymour ignored her and stomped out the door.

Sassy Sue followed him, then paused at the door. She looked at Clara and whispered, “Go to the Eldridge ranch. You’ll find them there.”

“Where is the…” She didn’t finish her question because Sassy closed the door.

For a moment, Clara stood there, not believing what happened. Finally, she turned and glared at her husband as he snorted and tried to turn over.

Shaking her head, she walked to the bed and attempted to wake him. It didn’t work. Growing angry at him for the first time in a long time, she managed to remove his boots. She then shoved him to his left side and removed his coat and pants. She then rolled him to the right. She finally had his clothes removed, one side at a time. She tossed them to the floor because she knew he’d never be able to wear them again until they were cleaned and pressed.

Still upset with him, she pushed him as far to the side of the bed as she could, blew out the lamp, and climbed in beside him, being careful not to touch him. Huffing her disgust into the darkness, she decided not only was he going to answer for his behavior tonight, but in the morning, he was taking her to the Eldridge ranch to find her daughters—no matter where that ranch happened to be. 

Ty dismounted and tossed his horse’s reins over the wobbly hitching post in front of the Golden Door Saloon. He couldn’t help raising an eyebrow as he looked around. The large window had been shattered. There was blood on the walk in front of the doors. The signs over the door and on the wall hung crooked, or by one nail. The one saying
No Injuns Allowed
lay on the wooden sidewalk.

“Must have been a busy night,” he muttered, and banged on the door.

After several minutes, he realized nobody was coming to answer his knock. He moved to the broken window and looked inside. The saloon was in shambles. He didn’t see a piece of furniture that wasn’t broken or turned over. The mirror behind the bar had been shattered, and broken whiskey bottles lay all over the floor, their liquid spilled and had run in all directions, adding more gunk to the nasty floor.

He knew he could have climbed in through the window, but decided against it. He decided instead to go to the jail and see if Sheriff Ferguson was in. If so, he’d know what had gone on. He might even know where Bullins had gotten to.

At the jail, he pushed the door open. Tim sat behind the desk drinking coffee. “Morning.”

“Morning, Ty. What brings you out so early?”

“Looking for somebody. Thought you might know where he is.”

“You’re welcome to look in the cells. There are a couple of drovers and a minor or two back there.”

“No dandy?”

“Nope. Not a one here.”

Ty lifted an eyebrow. “Know of one somewhere else?”

“Could be.” He nodded toward the coffee pot on the small potbellied stove. “Help yourself, then we’ll talk.”

“Thanks.” Ty poured himself a cup of coffee and took the chair in front of Tim’s desk.

“A couple of men died in The Golden Door last night.”

“Oh?”

“One was a drover. The other, that peddler friend of yours.”

“Damn.”

The sheriff frowned. “You mean you care?”

“I do. Wanted to kill him myself.”

“I can understand that. Would feel the same if he’d hurt my woman like he did yours. How is she?”

“She’s much better.”

“Good. I sure hated to let him out of here, but Seymour Longstreet insisted he’d pay his bail and be responsible for him. Guess he didn’t keep his promise.”

“Since you said Bullins is dead, I guess he didn’t—”

The jailhouse door opened and a middle-aged cowboy stepped inside. “Howdy, Sheriff.” He nodded at Ty.

“What can I do for you?”

“Name’s Clem Terrbill. I’m the head drover with the herd outside of town. Heard you had a couple of my boys in jail.”

“I do.”

“Sorry they was so much trouble, but I need to pay their fines so we can be on our way.”

The sheriff stood. “Fine’s twenty dollars. I’ll let them go, but if they come back to town and cause a ruckus like last night, I won’t be so easy to get along with next time.”

The man plunked down the money. “You ain’t got no need to worry about that. They’ll not be anywhere near by the end of the day.”

“Good.” The sheriff went through a door in the back of the room.

The man looked at Ty. “You the deputy?”

“Nope. Just a friend of the sheriff. He was telling me about the fight last night.”

“Some of the boys came back to camp and said it was a humdinger. One of them even told me that the saloon owner shot the dude acting as a barkeep.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Said he didn’t confess when the sheriff asked who done it and they was too drunk to tell. Sides, they didn’t want to go to jail.”

“I can’t blame them.” Ty muttered this last statement because he was wondering why Seymour Longstreet would shoot Lou Bullins.

The sheriff returned with the two prisoners. “Now, see if you boys can stay out of trouble.”

“They will,” their boss promised as the three of them went out the door.

Ty turned back to the sheriff. “That man told me Longstreet shot Bullins.”

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

“Then it looks like I have somebody else to arrest.” He took his hat from the peg. “Want to come along?”

“Damn right I do.”

They didn’t find Longstreet at the destroyed saloon, but Angela heard them downstairs and came down. She didn’t know where Seymour had gone, but she said Lana was in a bad way and needed a doctor.

“Why haven’t you gone for him?” The sheriff asked.

“I was afraid.”

“Why don’t you go now?” Tim glanced at Ty. “I’ll get this place boarded up so there won’t be any more damage. Do you want to go with Angela to get help for Lana?”

“I’ll take Lana to Hiram.” He looked at Angela. “Go for the doctor and tell him to come to the new saloon that’s opening in the abandoned hotel building.”

****

Ty rapped on the door and couldn’t miss the surprise on Hiram’s face when he opened the door of The Blooming Cactus. “Ty, what in the world are you doing with Lana in your arms?”

“Hello, Hiram. I’m sorry to bother you today, but I didn’t know where else to take her.  She’s been hurt.”

Lily walked up behind Hiram. “Bring her inside, Mr. Eldridge.”

“Is there somewhere I can put her until the doctor gets here?”

“I guess—” Hiram stammered.

“Upstairs,” Lily said. “There are beds in some of the rooms up there.”

“This way.” Hiram led them, and when they got to the top, he opened a door on the left. “In here. Do I need to go for the doctor?”

“No. Angela’s getting him.”

“What in the world happened?”

Ty lay Lana on the bed and turned to him.  “Let’s let Lily make her comfortable and step outside. I’ll explain what’s going on.”

In the hall, Hiram said, “Alright, Ty. Will you explain now?”

“Best as I can. I went to the sheriff this morning to find Lou Bullins. He’s the man who attacked Xenia in the hotel and Mea Ann at the ranch. Turns out, he’s dead. Seymour killed him.”

Hiram frowned. “But they seemed to be as close as brothers.”

“Not really. Longstreet was using Bullins to get his hands on his nieces. I caught him, but he escaped and went running to Seymour. I assume the man thought Bullins either had or would confess the plot, and decided to kill him during the riot at The Golden Door last night.”

“How’d he get away with it?”

“When you see The Golden Door, you’ll understand. The sheriff and I went in through the broken window there and that’s when we found Lana. Angela said some cowboy almost killed her last night, but that didn’t stop Seymour and Sassy Sue from leaving her on her own when they left town. They tried to make Angela go with them, but she insisted she’d stay behind until Lana was better, then the two of them would follow. Of course, she told me she had no intention of going later, and she didn’t figure Lana would, either.”

“I appreciate you thinking they would be safe here, Ty, but I’ll have to talk it over with Lily. She’s going to be—”

Ty raised his hand. “I fully understand. Whether or not you allow them to stay here and maybe work here is entirely up to you and your wife.”

“You know we’re married?”

“The preacher told us. Congratulations, by the way. I think you made a wise decision. She’ll make you a good partner as well as a wife.”

The doctor arrived with Angela. Hiram ushered him upstairs.

Angela turned to Ty. “This place is nice.”

“Yes, it is.”

“I probably shouldn’t ask this, but I’m curious. How do you know Hiram was going to open a saloon here?”

“I don’t mind you asking. I was in the bank the day he talked to the manager about it.”

“I see.” She looked around. “Do you think he’ll let me work here?”

“You’ll have to ask him, Angela.”

She smiled. “I’d be pleased to serve you if he will. I’ve never had the pleasure.”

“We’ll see.” He removed his hat and ran his fingers through his dark hair, then put it back on when he saw Hiram descending the stairs.

“The doctor asked Lily to stay to help him.”

Ty nodded. “Hiram, Sheriff Ferguson has decided that since Longstreet has left town, he’s going to close The Golden Door until somebody wants to rebuild it and start it up again. He said there was no need to leave the whiskey that wasn’t broken there. He figured there would be break-ins to get it, and he thought you could use it here until your stock comes in.”

“That’s great.”

“Of course, if nobody shows up to claim the furniture in a set time, there will be an auction of what’s useable. You could attend, if you want anything.”

“What about our things?” Angela asked.

“You’ll be let back in to get your belongings.”

“There are a lot of dresses there. I know I’d like to get mine, and I can get the others, if you want them. I have a few personal things, too.” She looked at Hiram. “If you’ll let Lana and me stay here for a while, I’ll get her outfits and her personal items, too.”

“Just bring your personal items. Lily and I have talked about it and the women we will hire to work here will wear nice gowns. Not those cheap things Seymour forced the women there to wear.”

“Oh, Hiram that sounds wonderful.” Angela bit her lip. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to let on like you’d already hired Lana and me.”

“We’ll talk about that later.” He turned to Ty and offered his hand. “Thank you. Will you be in town long enough to have dinner with us?”

“No, Hiram. I need to get back. Since Wilt got married last night, I feel I should at least let him have a day off with his new bride.”

Surprise covered Angela’s face. “Wilt got married?”

“Sure did.”

“I thought you Eldridge men were confirmed bachelors.”

“After meeting Mea Ann Poindexter, Wilt decided he didn’t want to be a bachelor any longer.”

“When did he decide this?”

Ty smiled at her and turned toward the door. “Recently. Now, I have something I need to do. Hiram will tell you about it.”

“I’ll fill her in, Ty. Thank you for everything.”

Ty nodded. “I’ll see you folks later.”

****

Xenia looked in the mirror and was glad to see the swelling in her face was about gone. So were the visible bruises. She pinned the last strand of hair in place and stood back, smoothing the front of her lavender dress with the white lace around the lowered neck and short sleeves. She knew it was a little fancy for a day on the ranch, but since Hiram told them her parents were in town, she felt sure they’d show up today. She didn’t want them to think she’d not been her usual self since living here, but she couldn’t help worrying. Her father would demand she go home to Virginia, and she wasn’t sure she could convince him she didn’t want to go.

Going into the kitchen, she smiled at Chapa. “Is there anything I can do to help you with lunch?”

“Not a thing.” Chapa turned and looked at her. “My, you look fancy. I know Mea Ann got married, but you look like a bride yourself.”

“Thank you, but I doubt that I’ll be getting married.” Though the thought ran through her head that if she had a husband, her father couldn’t make her go home. “Is Mea Ann around?”

“She and Wilt took Johnny and said they wanted to spend some time as a family in their private parlor.”

“Oh. I guess that means I shouldn’t bother them.”

“Probably so.”

Xenia walked to the window. “Has Ty returned from town?”

“Not yet. He should be here soon. He said this morning he’d try to be back by the mid-day meal.”

“I hope he gets back before Mother and Father Show up.”

“He probably will.” Chapa opened the oven and basted the roast.

“Do you mind if I make myself a cup of tea? I’m nervous, and it relaxes me.”

“Of course I don’t mind. The water is already hot, so get a cup and I’ll pour it for you.”

“Thank you, Chapa. Do you mind if I sit in here with you?”

“I don’t mind one bit. In fact, I’d like the company.” After pouring the water in the teacup, Chapa returned the kettle to the stove. “Well, look who’s coming, here.”

Xenia turned around and watched as Mea Ann and Wilt walked into the room. Wilt was carrying a fussy Johnny. “The boy let us know he wanted an early dinner, and we came to fix him a bottle.”

Mea Ann picked up one of the clean bottles sitting on the drain board. “I’m not going to give him much because I want to mash some of Chapa’s wonderful vegetables for him when we eat.”

Xenia couldn’t help noticing how happy her sister looked. There was also a light in Wilt’s eyes. The two of them were going to have a wonderful life together. She was sure of that. She was also sure it was what she wanted for her life. She didn’t want to go back to Richmond and be pressured into marrying one of the boring men her father would certainly want her to marry. Xenia promised herself she’d do whatever she had to do to keep that from happening.