"Cindy, can you come over and look after the boys this afternoon?"
Those words were still ringing in her ears when she got off work at the café and hurried down the street to the livery. It took her a minute to find her brother Dan; he was all the way in the back changing the hay in a stall. His face brightened considerably when he finally saw her.
"Hey, sis, what are you doin' here?"
"It's time, Danny. It's finally time." Her words had a decisiveness to them.
He looked at her with confusion on his face, until he suddenly realized exactly what she meant. "When?"
"Today. At two o'clock. She's going to a meeting at the school. It'll just be me and the boys. Get out to the hideout and make sure Kincaid's got everything ready. And have the wagon behind their house no later than two-thirty." She started to leave and turned back at the last minute. "And don't forget the blankets."
"I won't. Do I need to bring Al with me? Just in case."
Cindy thought about it for a minute. "No, I don't think so. You and me can handle one four-year-old."
"Wait a minute. Whadda you mean, one? What about the other kid, the two-year-old? I thought we were snatchin' him, too."
"That's up to Jess. Night before last he said no, just Beauregard. Unless he's changed his mind . . ."
"I'll see what he has to say. If he wants both of 'em we're bringin' both of 'em. Look, I gotta go. Make sure you're ready."
"Don't worry about me. I was born ready."
Cindy made her way carefully back to the boarding house and packed her small bag. There wasn't much to include - a skirt and blouse, a new pair of shoes, and a blue gingham dress just like the pink one she had on. She'd never been so glad to leave a place in her whole life. The boarding house was somewhat better than the hotel, but not much. An old coverlet on the bed, dingy, well-worn curtains, a small kerosene lamp on the little dresser. And the bottle of rosewater; she'd almost forgotten that. All her dreams, all her hopes and plans were about to come true, and she was so excited she could hardly stand to wait.
She left the boarding house at one thirty, taking her bag with her and removing the bottle of laudanum she'd bought at Freeley's. This she slipped into the pocket of her dress, having wrapped it in a handkerchief to protect it from breakage, and secreted the bag on the far side of the chicken coop in the backyard. No one would see it there. Then she had a quick talk with herself to try and calm down. Everything had to appear normal; this was just another day she was making some extra money by taking care of the boys.
The boys. Two-year-old Breton and four-year-old Beauregard. Breton was a handsome little fellow, with dark hair and dark eyes, but he still had a two-year-olds need for momma and tended to whine incessantly when she was gone. Beauregard was more like a forty-year-old man in a toddler's body. He'd had a crush on her from that first day they'd met at Freeley's – she could see it in his eyes, and the way he ran to answer the door whenever she was expected at the house. She had a twinge for just a moment, almost feeling like she was betraying him, but she shook that off and thought about all the wonderful places she would get to see when this was all over. She straightened her shoulders and walked around the front of the house. She cleared her throat and knocked on the door, waiting for the little man to come running to open it, like always. She wasn't disappointed.
"Hello, Beauregard."
His face lit up with a smile big enough to illuminate the house. "Hi, Cindy!" he beamed at her. Breton was crying in the background.
"Mommy no go!" the two-year-old wailed as Beau held the door open wide for her.
"Sorry, Cindy, everything's normal around here," Doralice practically shouted over the baby.
"That's alright, Mrs. Maverick, I'm used to it by now. He doesn't go on for too long after you leave."
"I hope not. They've had lunch, but there's sun tea on the back porch. I should be home by five o'clock. Feel free to put Breton down for a nap anytime you want to." She bent over and kissed her oldest son on the forehead. "You be good for Cindy, Beauregard."
"He's always good for me, Mrs. Maverick. Kiss your momma goodbye, Beau."
Beauregard reached up and kissed his mother on the cheek. "I love you, Momma. I promise I'll be good."
"I know you will, Angel. Goodbye, my darlings!"
And with a wave of her hand, Doralice Maverick was out the door and gone.
Cindy bent down to Beauregard's level and whispered conspiratorially, "How about some sun tea?"
"Yes, please. When Breton stops screaming, he'll want some, too."
Cindy smiled that secret smile she had. "Don't worry, Beau, I'll make sure he gets some."
She went out on the back porch and retrieved the glass jar with the tea in it. Breton had already stopped crying by the time she returned, and Beauregard had disappeared into their bedroom. She poured herself a glass of the tea and then reached into her pocket to retrieve the laudanum. After opening it, she hesitated while she tried to decide how much to put in the jar. She had no idea how much it would take, so to be safe she poured in the whole bottle, then stirred everything to hide the taste.
She gave a glass to Breton, which he drank without any hesitation. "Beauregard," she called, "your tea is ready."
The four-year-old reappeared carrying a limp and ragged Mr. Giggles, which he handed to his brother. Mr. Giggles was a stuffed bear that Grandpa Beauregard had bought for Bart when his youngest son was just a wee lad. Somehow the animal had survived numerous washings and repairs and had become Breton's favorite toy.
Cindy handed a glass of tea to Beau and he took a big swallow. "Are you sure this is okay?" he asked the girl, and she managed a surprised look.
"Of course it is, I just drank a big glass of it myself," and she showed him her empty glass. "It probably just sat outside in the sun too long."
Beauregard shrugged his shoulders and drank the rest of what she'd given him. Within a few minutes he was yawning, and Breton had fallen fast asleep in his chair. Cindy picked up the youngest Maverick and deposited him in his crib. Now there was nothing to do but wait for Beauregard to fall asleep, and Danny to appear.
Some twenty minutes later, when Danny pulled the wagon up behind the house, Breton was still sleeping soundly, and Beauregard was close to the same state. Cindy made her way quietly out the back door, grabbed her small bag from behind the chicken coop, and threw it under the wagon seat. She looked up at Danny, waiting to hear Kincaid's decision before going back in the house.
"Just the five-year-old," Danny pronounced.
"He ain't five yet!" Cindy had been listening to Beauregard protest his age for so long that she was as adamant as he was. She turned and hurried to the back door, making sure that Breton was snug in his crib before moving to the bed that Beauregard was now sprawled across, snoring softly just like his mother. She gathered up the bag of clothes she'd put together and gently lifted him until he was hung across her shoulder, then headed for the back door. "What? Hmmm?" he yawned and rearranged himself so he was more comfortable, then drifted back into the land of the drugged.
"Hurry, Cindy!" Danny whispered as loud as he dared. He'd gotten down from the driver's seat and was waiting in the back of the wagon. Cindy handed her burden over to her brother, and he wrapped the unconscious child in a blanket and half buried him in the hay. Cindy climbed into the front of the wagon and waited for Danny to join her on the spring seat, grabbing the reins and chucking "giddup" at the horses.
The horses were turned and headed southeast at a slow trot so as to not attract any unwarranted attention. Cindy clenched and unclenched her hands and blew out a breath. "How much laudanum'd you give him?" her brother asked.
"I don't know. I poured the whole bottle into a jar of sun tea and gave 'em each a glass."
"My God, Cindy, ain't you got no common sense? You coulda killed 'em givin' 'em that much. He's gonna be out for hours."
"So what if he is? We don't need him for anything; I got plenty of stuff we can send with the ransom note." The idea was to send something of Beauregard's to his parents, so the Mavericks would be certain to know that Kincaid had the boy. "Just shut up and drive, Danny. The faster we get to the cabin the better I'll feel."
Cindy tried not to worry about anything, just let her mind drift with the wind. The planning and waiting were over, the wheels were finally in motion, and in a very short while she would be Mrs. Al Hammond and could leave this god-forsaken country behind.