FLAME SERIES #16: ALL ROADS LEAD BACK HOME

Chapter 11

Liars and Thieves

Tiny specs of grey and brown appeared on the horizon, heralding the town of Ulysses, Kansas. Tanner was never so glad to see such an ugly sight in his whole life. In the last hour and a half, he doubted if either that scruffy little fella in the funny hat, or the oldest of the three brothers, had shut up for more than ten seconds at a time. It had been a continuous barrage of insults, threats, name calling and just downright stupid remarks. He put a little speed into his horse, in the sincere hope of getting home faster.

Vern and his brothers were on one side of the lawman, while Festus and Wylie flanked the opposite side. "Sheriff, I don't know why we have to come with you. I show'd ya the bill a sale. Them's our horses."

"I told you. There's just too many conflicting stories here and I think we need to sort it out."

"It's cornflictin' all right! I'm telling you, Sheriff, you got your handle on the wrong pot. They is the thievin' liars!"

Wylie leaned over, grabbing a handful of his partner's shirt. "Hey, don't go getting yourself so worked up. You know the truth's gonna come out, sooner or later."

Tanner flashed a grateful look to the young cowboy for quieting down his friend. Even without proof, he was doubting that these two were the horse thieves. But the three brothers did have possession of the written verification.

The sheriff attracted quite a crowd, as he led the parade of suspected horse thieves and string of purebred Morgans down Main Street. Tired, hot and cranky, Tanner climbed down from his horse and motioned for everyone else to head inside the jail.

"Mort," Tanner motioned to a burly young man coming out of the mercantile. "Can you come over here?"

With a lumbering gait that favored one leg, the man smiled as he drew closer. "What do ya need, Sheriff?"

"Could you take these horses down to the livery stable?"

A beefy hand took the lead rope from Tanner. "These are sure good looking animals. Who do they belong to?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out." Tanner gave a nod of thanks and stepped into the jail, just in time to hear another round of threats. "OKAY…STOP! If any of you say one more word, I'm gonna shoot all of you! Now get in those cells!"

"You puttin' us in jail?" Vern was the only one to ask, but the same question was stamped across the identical faces beside him.

"I sure am. You three, in that cell..." He turned to the other pair, "And you two, in that one over there." Tanner watched the five men shuffle into their designated spots. The room was bathed in silence and the sheriff offered a sigh of gratitude. He tossed his hat onto the peg by the door and walked over to the stove. "Would a cup of coffee help to calm everyone down?"

"Got anything stronger—maybe a whiskey?" Vern, again, only said aloud what his brothers were thinking.

"The offer is for coffee. Take it, or leave it." Tanner drawled as he shifted his focus to the other two men. "How about you two?"

"That would be real kindly of ya, Sheriff." Festus settled back on the cot.

The lawman noted that while the scruffy man's tone had mellowed, he continued to cast a hateful glare at the threesome in the next cell.

PrairieRosePrairieRosePrairieRose

Tia was full of smiles, as usual. She was surprised at Kitty's escort for the evening, but it was not apparent to anyone. "Hadley, you look very pretty tonight. Is that a new bonnet?"

"Uh-huh. Momma buyed it." As pretty as it was, the little girl was quick to pull it off and throw it onto the table.

Tia was no different than most people in Dodge when meeting Ollie Dobbs, close up, for the first time. After all, he was the one responsible for that infamous punch to Miss Kitty's eye. The young blonde shook off the memory and graciously welcomed her customer. "Good evening, Mr. Dobbs. We don't see you in here often."

"It's just Bear." The big man's apathetic expression always mirrored his tone. "I eat at home."

Kitty hid her smile as the baffled young girl tried to understand his simple answers. Bear was a paragon of brevity. "Okay. Well, I hope you enjoy your dinner here tonight. Nettie will be right over."

"My family owes you so much. I was hoping we could use this time to get to know each other a little better." As Kitty stared at her dinner guest, she realized that hidden beneath that mass of auburn curls and woolly hair, were a pair of grey eyes. Despite being the color of an ominous, dark cloud in a summer storm, they held no threat.

"Yes ma'am."

"I know you've been working for the LadyK for several years now. Are you originally from Kansas?"

"No. Three Forks County, Oklahoma." Even if he were a talkative man, there really wasn't much more to say about Three Forks. It was barely more than a dirty spot in the road, not far from the banks of the the Red River.

This is going to be a challenge, Kitty thought. "Do you have family back there?"

"No." Bear looked at the beautiful face on the opposite side of the table. Kitty Dillon had taken him into her family, into her heart. If he were ever to give his oversized heart away again—it would be to this woman. The big man knew she was making a sincere attempt to connect with him and he was going to try and respond in kind. It wasn't much of an explanation, but it was a beginning. "Apaches took my parents."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Bear."

"Long time ago." Bear squirmed in his seat, taken aback by the memories her questions had evoked. His folks were good people. Kind people. His ma was a lot like Kitty—not physically, but she was a devoted mother. It was Ida Dobbs who hid her little boy, back behind the crib of firewood, when the Indians attacked.

Kitty tried to split her attention between the man and the toddler. "I know you're good at your job, because Festus relies on you. Have you always been a cowboy?"

Bear cast a wistful glance at Hadley. He took a long breath, as if to brace himself for the words to come. "Farmer. My…wife and…daughter…we farmed." The question in Kitty's eyes was obvious, even to a man like Bear. "Fever took 'em." After almost two decades, he still didn't understand why he was left behind and they were taken.

Now it was Kitty that sat wide-eyed and speechless. It didn't take words to see the pain that still lived in his eyes. "Bear, I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

The big man shifted his focus back to the smaller redhead, who was currently chattering away to Bootsie. "You have a nice family. The marshal is a very good man."

"I do have a nice family; and you know, you are a part of it, too. You do know that, don't you, Bear?"

Hadley chose that moment to pull on Bear's arm, in order to get his attention. With the stuffed animal in one hand and a tiny knitted sock in the other, she dropped them both in front of him. "I can't do it! You do it, Beah."

The smile that normally hid behind so much hair, fought to come out in the open. His husky voice was tempered with affection. "Yes, I'll do it." He took the small toy in his massive fingers and carefully pulled the garment back into place. After handing it back, and receiving a 'thank you' prompted from momma, Bear returned to Kitty's question. "I like belonging to the LadyK. Thank you, ma'am."

The tone for the evening was set and it was an enjoyable dinner. Conversation was sometimes awkward and slow in coming, but it was a step forward. Just two people who were learning how to communicate with one another.

TBC