Gone, Gone, Gone

Chapter 1 – Bad News

It was something I tried not to think about; but it kept popping back into my consciousness. I'd been friends with Anderon Garrett for a long time, and I'd always known that Anderson was older than I was. Still, when I got the telegram it was unexpected. It was from Rose Ketchum, Anderson's daughter. 'My father passed away last night. Holding the funeral and burial for your arrival. You can stay here. Please hurry. I need a friend. Sorry, Rose.'

It was a shock, to say the least. Many, many years ago, before I met Doralice, I'd been enamored of Rose Garrett. I know she felt the same, but it wasn't meant to be. She later married and divorced Riley Ketchum, the father of her three children. Heck, I couldn't call them children anymore. Let's see, Riley Junior would be twenty-three, Sarabeth twenty-one, and Andy nineteen. She and the kids had moved in with Anderson when Riley senior lost everything they owned, primarily due to his gambling.

Anderson had come to visit us when Maude and Belle were just two years old. The girls were about to turn eighteen, and Anderson and me had written back and forth over the years, but we hadn't seen him in all that time. Like I said, it was a shock to hear that he had passed.

Much as I didn't want to leave, I knew I had to go. The man was almost my father-in-law, and Rose was a good woman. She needed help, and she'd turned to me to provide that help. Doralice agreed and she was going to go with me to see what she could do. That is until the whole family, one after another came down with some kind of fever. The adults seemed to be resistant to it, but there were five sick children for Doralice and Lily Mae to take care of. So like it or not I had to go alone.

I packed a bag and Doralice took me to Little Bend to catch the stage. "Remind me when I come back, the buggy's lookin' kind of shabby. We need a new one."

"I still wish I could go with you."

"I do, too, but it just won't work. Lily Mae would be tearing her hair out by the time we got back. She's gettin' old, too, and you can't expect her to do everything, much as she would like to."

"I know," she continued, "and I know you're right. But after what happened the last time you went someplace alone, I don't wanna let you out of my sight."

The last time I'd try to go anyplace it was to Orell, Kentucky, and we all know how that turned out. So I understood her reticence in lettin' me go by myself. But what was I gonna do? I felt terrible as it was leaving the two women in my life alone with all those sick babies, but you can only hold a burial so long.

With mixed emotions, I boarded the stage for Carson City. It was a long ride, and I had a lot of time to think about Rose and reminisce about Anderson. He'd shown me a perspective that I didn't have before, especially when it came to my brother. You can't replace family, and at that time I thought Bret was the only family I had. It wasn't until years later that I learned to see Pappy in the same light. I had to change coaches in Albuquerque and again in Flagstaff, which was just beginning to grow. Believe you me, I was the most careful man you'd ever want to meet. I made sure I was always close to the other passengers.

The last leg of travel, from Flagstaff to Carson City, was an interesting journey. The coach was full and a lot different than the last time I made the trip. I was still using a cane and had spent some time with the church ladies that were bent on seeing to my salvation. This time there was Ed Latimer, a linen salesman, Grace Esterhaus and her new husband George, Georgina Thomas, who looked to be a businesswoman of some sort, and James Dooley, a man of unknown origins whose only claim was his speed with a gun. Grace and George made a cute couple, and they were pleasant to talk to. Georgina was concerned about her business going broke, and Latimer wanted to sell us all fine linens. I gave him Dandy's name and how to get in touch with him.

Dooley kept mostly to himself, and I kept thinking he'd be handy if we ran into any hostile Indians. Which we didn't. We made a mail stop in Virginia City, and I remembered that we'd made one that time I came to visit Anderson. That's where Rose got on the stage.

We talked about a lot of things on that journey, and I got to know her a little. Anderson had insisted he had a problem child on his hands, and from what I could see she certainly wasn't a child. And her biggest problem was Elliott Stander.

After he tried to kill me, and darn near succeeded, we had a lot of time to spend together as I convalesced. Elliott was eliminated for good when Rose and I fell in love. The only thing that prevented us from being together was me. The lure of the cards was too strong, and my feeling for Rose wasn't strong enough. We parted company and I never saw her again. She married Riley Ketchum and I eventually married Doralice. I've never regretted that for one second.

Her marriage seemed to be happy, and for a while they were. Then the investments Riley recommended lost money big time, and he started gambling. I don't mean playin' poker like Anderson and me did, I mean gambling. They eventually lost their house and everything they owned, and that's when they moved in with Anderson. Riley kept gambling and added liquor and women to the mix, and Rose divorced him. According to the letters I received, Rose never saw him again. I'm sure that was tough on the kids, but at least they had Anderson.

And now he was gone. I understood why Rose needed a friend, as long as that's all it was. The closer we got to Carson City, the more worried I got. By the time we pulled into the stage depot I was a wreck. I was the last one out, and it took me a minute to find Rose. She was still a lovely woman, but there were worry lines on her forehead and lines around her eyes that hadn't been there before. And those beautiful eyes were red from crying. She was all alone, and she looked small and fragile. But she gave me a big smile when I got off the stage, followed by a hug.

"My God, you look just like you did twenty years ago. Except for the silver in your hair and the fact that you've got some meat on your bones. Remember how frail and thin you were? You look good now, Bart."

"Rose, beautiful Rose, you haven't changed a bit," I lied. "It's been too long. And I can't believe your father . . . "

"I know. It doesn't seem possible, does it? He was always so big and strong. I thought he'd live forever. I guess we're human after all."

"Are you in the house by yourself?" I retrieved my suitcase from the driver and we started across the street.

"No, I'm not. Sarabeth and Andy still live with me, but Riles, as he likes to be called, is in Denver right now. He has a place here in town. He's in his last year of law school."

"Riles, huh?" I asked.

"You can imagine why he doesn't want to be called Riley."

"Have you seen him? Do you even know where he is?"

She shook her head. "No and no. And if I never see him again it will be too soon. The kids missed him when they were growing up, but they figured out a long time ago that he had no interest in being a father. Speaking of kids. How are yours? Anybody married yet?"

"No, nobody's married yet. The twins are about to turn eighteen, Little Beau is fourteen, Bret is twelve, Lily is ten, and Tim just turned six."

"I can't believe you've got six babies. You two must be real happy together." Rose looked sad when she said that.

"We are. We've had our ups and downs, but I'm happy with my life." We'd reached her buggy and I helped her in. "I'm sorry for the way yours turned out." I meant it, too. I'd never wanted Rose to be anything but happy.

"So am I. But I got three wonderful children out of it, and we were there for a lot of years with Dad. The kids loved him a lot. Andy is really hurting. When you lose the man you're named after . . ."

"Do you want me to drive?" I asked her.

"Do you still remember the way? After all this time?"

"I do." She handed me the reins.

"You always were a gentleman."

I laughed at that. Anderson had called me a gentleman when he described me to Rose, and I guess I'd finally grown into the moniker.

And we were off . . . I wasn't sure what to expect at the house. I guess I'd soon find out.