A/N: Here we go with season 11, beginning with Silence at Stillwater. Candy had an entirely different horse this season so I used this episode to explain why. Plus, I wanted to open with a bang and this episode gives Annie the chance to be a little bit of a badass. As always, I own nothing but my OC. An updated episode list for this season is at the end of the chapter and on my profile. Any comments, thoughts, or suggestions, drop me a review or a PM.
And a shout out to OrangeSunset1701 for reviewing the last chapter. Great to see you again and I'm glad you enjoyed the episode!
Now, without further ado, The Silence at Stillwater.
"Annie, we'll be in Stillwater this afternoon, what's the rush?" Hoss frowned and she reined Reno back to a prancing walk. "If you're worried about Pa, Doc said he was doing fine."
"I know."
"Frankly, I can't believe Candy let you take off across the desert like that." She threw Joe a dark look.
"Had it been you, you would have lost your horse and wound up chasing them around with an empty gun and a half-empty canteen. And that's if you hadn't taken one look at April Horn and –"
"I would not!"
"Oh, Joe, you know you would have." Hoss scratched his head and replaced his hat. "As it stood, you almost did anyway."
"Well, she is a good-looking girl."
"Who shot Pa and almost got away with everything the bank had," Annie said heatedly. "If you'd seen Pa laying there on the floor, all you'd feel for April Horn is disgust."
"All right, you two, enough is enough. Pa is gonna be fine and we've still got a few places to visit after we meet up with Candy. What's really the matter, little sis?" She reached up and adjusted her hat against the sun's glare as she scanned the countryside. She wasn't sure, it was just a vague feeling of unease lurking in the back of her mind that she couldn't place.
"Ask me again after we get to Stillwater."
They rode up to the hotel and dismounted at the hitch rail. "I'll take care of the horses." Hoss collected their reins. "I hope they got plenty of hot water."
"We'll check." Annie grabbed her saddlebags and led the way inside. The hotel clerk dropped his fly swatter and jumped up, spinning the ledger around.
"Two rooms," she said as she picked up the pen. "There'll be four of us." The clerk tilted his head.
"Ms. Cartwright?"
"Yes. We're meeting a friend, probably checked in earlier today."
"No, ma'am." Her head came up. He turned to collect the keys and handed them to her. "You're the first guests I've had all day." She glanced at Joe, who shrugged.
"Name's Candy, he's our foreman."
"Sorry, haven't seen him."
"Well, sis, you were in a rush to get here."
"The rooms are right up the stairs." Her fingers closed over the keys.
"Yeah, maybe we did beat him here." So why was that uneasy feeling growing?
"Come on, sis, he'll come dragging in, you know old Candy." Joe clapped her on the back and hurried up the stairs. "We'll get a bath, then go look around town if he hasn't shown up by then."
She finished first, then sat in the second room, brushing her hair out, while Joe washed up. She worked it into a quick braid while it was still wet and hurried to the window overlooking the square.
No sign yet. Blast it, where was he? She let go of the lacy curtain and leaned against the wall. All right, what could have delayed him?
Horse came up lame? Someone robbed him? Abducted him? Ran into an old friend and lost track of time?
Maybe, maybe, maybe, and not likely since he was carrying money owed her pa from Sam Weyland.
Annie pushed off the wall and stalked out of the room. She headed downstairs, passing Hoss on his way in. "Hey, they have a bath?"
"Yeah. Joe's using it at the moment, I told him to leave you some water. You seen Candy yet?"
"No. He should have been here by now."
"You don't think someone robbed him, do you? You know how Weyland is, he prefers cash for everything. What if someone saw him give Candy the money?"
"I suppose it's possible, but if that had happened, somebody would have found his horse, or him by now, and word would have spread, it's not even a day's ride to Big Fork."
"I guess." She sighed and fiddled with her braid. "I'm going to look around town."
"We'll join you as soon as we've cleaned up." Hoss trudged up the stairs and Annie headed outside. The town doctor was always a good place to start. She stopped a man on the street who hadn't seen Candy, but he could point her to the doctor's office.
When she went inside, she encountered a nervous little, gray-haired man with wire-rimmed spectacles who couldn't seem to sit still. "How do, ma'am?" He glanced at her left hand and blinked. "Excuse me, miss. I'm Doctor Mainwaring, how can I help you?"
"I'm looking for my foreman."
"Oh?" He shuffled around his office, adjusting bottles on shelves, then papers on his desk. "And you have reason to believe he requires my assistance?"
"He was supposed to meet us here and he's late." She followed him with her eyes, waiting until he picked up a particularly heavy looking jar. "His name is Candy." The jar hit the shelf and rolled, the doctor lunging to catch it before it hit the floor.
"I'm sorry, but I'd have to have more than a name to go on." He adjusted his glasses. "Lots of men pass through here without ever giving a name."
"Black hair, blue eyes. Red shirt and a black vest. About my age, this tall," she held her hand up a few inches above her head, narrowed eyes fixed on the doctor's face. "Finds trouble like a magnet." The man shook his head, a bead of sweat trickling down his forehead. He sat down behind his desk and stacked his papers.
"Sorry, I've never seen him. Perhaps he already rode through." Annie tilted her head, a feral smile playing at her mouth as she sauntered closer. She leaned over his desk and he flinched.
"You should stick to doctoring, you're a terrible liar." She pushed off the desk without giving him a chance to respond and stalked out, slamming the door behind her.
If the doctor had seen him, chances were he was injured. But how bad, and where did they have him now? And what had happened in the first place?
She stormed down the street and ducked into the mercantile. There was one surefire way to find out if he'd reached Stillwater at all. The clerk behind the counter smiled. "Afternoon. Anything I can help you with?"
"Do you happen to have any peaches?"
"Oh, miss, it's the wrong season for fresh ones, won't have any for a couple months. I do have some canned ones over here." He stepped around the counter and hurried to a shelf on the far wall. "Folks say these are just as good, especially for baking." He held out the can and she took it slowly, turning it over in her hands.
"Are you sure?" She made a face and shook it gently. "I just don't know. Do you sell a lot of them?"
"As a matter of fact, I sold two cans just this morning, some fella riding through."
"Oh?" She kept her gaze on the can, her heart leaping. Sometimes, it was just too easy. "Was he upset about having to settle for canned?"
"He seemed happy. Are you riding through yourself? I don't recall seeing you around here before, miss …?"
"Anne Cartwright." She held up the can. "I'll take three." By the time they got him out of whatever trouble he'd managed to land in, he'd need them. "By the way, have you seen a fella named Candy around?" The clerk's smile slipped a notch, if she hadn't been watching, she'd have missed it. "He was supposed to meet us here."
"I'd remember a name like that. Sorry, never heard of him." He retreated to the counter and totaled her purchase. "That'll be a dollar and a half." She laid the money on the counter and collected her peaches.
"Funny. I figured he was the man you sold the peaches to." The man's smile fell. "He loves them." She hurried out of the store and back to the hotel. If they weren't finished by now, she'd drag them out of there, propriety be hanged.
Luckily for them, they were coming downstairs when she walked inside. "It's about time you stopped primping, we've got trouble." She tossed Hoss a can and he raised his eyebrows. "Peaches? What's that for? What's going on?"
"What kind of trouble?" Joe took the can from Hoss and turned it over. "Looks normal to me, sis."
"You'll see." She leaned against the counter. "Have there been any messages for us?"
"No, miss."
"That's not like Candy," Joe handed the can back. "Are you sure?"
"Positive." The man's voice quivered. Movement caught her eye and she looked down. He was inching the ledger back across the desk. She nodded at it.
"Let me see that."
"I wouldn't forget a name like Candy. It's not in here." She glanced sideways at Joe, then Hoss. They both looked down at the ledger.
"We'll take a look ourselves."
"Can't you take my word for it?" She reached for the ledger; the clerk tugged it back. Slowly, she raised her eyes to his red face.
"Let go." He gnawed on his lip. Hoss cleared his throat.
"She means it, fella." He let go and she turned the book around.
"There's no Candy, you won't find it."
"Because you removed it?" He swallowed hard. "I already know he's been here, you could save yourself and your town a lot of trouble if you just tell me now." The man said nothing. "Have it your way, then." She opened the ledger and found the last entry. "Ten days ago." Joe leaned over her shoulder and fingered the ragged edge in the middle.
"Page has been torn out." The three of them looked up as one and the clerk's eye twitched. He shrugged nervously.
"Fella spilled ink on it." Annie stared at him for three seconds, then reached out and grabbed his vest, yanking him over the counter.
"You're no better a liar than your doctor." The clerk fidgeted.
"I'm telling you, I've never heard of him!"
"Keep it up, and you'll wish you'd never heard of any of us." She released his vest and straightened. "Hoss, take those peaches upstairs, then meet us at the livery." She stormed outside, Joe on her heels.
"What's going on, Annie?"
"Candy was in that hotel, in the mercantile, and the doctor saw him, too, but none of them will admit it. And I can't figure out why." She looked around. "There's something strange going on in Stillwater."
"I'm beginning to think you were right out on the trail."
"The real surprise is that you still doubt my gut, even after all these years."
"Sorry, he hasn't been here." The livery owner parked his hands on his hips and looked between the three of them. "Only horses in today are yours."
Annie crossed her arms and leaned back against the stall behind her. "You real sure about that?"
"Why, yes. And this is the only stable in town." She glanced past him at a flaxen chestnut with a large blaze and high stockings behind. She flicked a look at her brother and Hoss ambled over, nodded at the horse.
"What about this one? It ain't wearing your stable's brand."
"Oh, that's Mr. Burnham's Honeycomb brand, he's a regular customer." The man hurried over with a nervous laugh. "I thought you meant horses I didn't know."
"Annie." She turned, found Joe hauling a saddle out of the straw. "Candy's saddle." The livery man rushed over.
"Oh, you're mistaken, mister, that's mine."
"If it is, you're a thief," Hoss said evenly. "Check under that fender, you'll find the Ponderosa brand. We put it on all of our saddles." The man swallowed so hard his throat worked. "Go on, check it. Or I will."
"Uh … well …" Joe rolled his eyes and yanked up the fender, exposing the pine tree brand. All three of them looked at the livery man, eyebrows raised. He swallowed again.
"Still say that's yours?" she asked, disgust dripping from every word. He shook his head. "I didn't think so. It's time we talked to the sheriff. We can deal with this one later." She stalked out, her brothers trailing. They made a beeline for the sheriff's office and stormed inside.
The sheriff leaned back in his chair and studied them. "I'm Sheriff Austin, anything I can help you with?"
"You can tell me where our foreman is," she said, voice hard as nails. His eyebrows rose and he glanced at the man seated beside his desk.
"Excuse me, miss …?"
"Anne Cartwright. My brothers, Hoss and Joe. We're looking for Candy."
"Never heard of him."
"You sure about that, Sheriff?"
"Quite sure, Ms. Cartwright. I know my town, and the people in it."
"Your doctor saw him, he bought canned peaches at the mercantile, signed the hotel register that was then ripped out, and his saddle was hidden under some straw down at the livery stable." She advanced and leaned over the desk. "Now, unless they're all keeping secrets from you, Sheriff, you know he's been here."
"You say his saddle is down at the livery?" The man fiddled with his pen. "Got his name on it?"
"As good as." She gave him a tight smile. "We brand our gear, mister. That saddle is Ponderosa property." The sheriff swallowed hard.
"Are you –"
"Yes. Where's his horse? You can tell me, or we'll go find it ourselves. That animal carries a Ponderosa brand, if you or one of your friends sold it, that makes you party to theft." Her gaze slid sideways to the stranger. "Even if it's your self-important friend over there."
"Now, see here –"
"You see," she hissed. "I'll find that animal, and Candy, if it takes a week. And when I do, you'll have a US marshal parked in your town, and they'll be a lot harder to stonewall than us." Both men looked at each other, the stranger shook his head. The sheriff swallowed hard and laid down his pen.
"I'm afraid I haven't seen your friend." He stood and came around the desk, making tracks for the front door. "I'm sure he'll show up soon, wondering why you're making such a fuss about nothing." He gave a nervous smile and chuckled. "Why don't you all go on back to the hotel, huh?" Annie's eyes narrowed. Hoss worked his hands slowly and Joe glared.
"Friend," her mountain of a brother said slowly. "We know you're lying through your teeth. And speaking of, if I see 'em again, I'm gonna knock 'em down your throat."
"We'll find Candy," Joe added. "And when we do, you're gonna wish you'd cooperated." The three of them stormed out, Joe slamming the door hard enough to rattle the walls. "Now what?"
"He's here somewhere. Hoss, ride towards Big Fork, see if you can find a ranch or farm, maybe they'll remember him, and if we're lucky, they'll remember when they saw him."
"Might take me a bit, but if there's anyone out there that saw Candy, I'll find 'em."
"Joe, check the saloon, if someone's drunk, they might say something the sheriff would rather they didn't."
"What are you going to do?" She gave him a sideways look and settled her hat more firmly on her head.
"I'm going to take a page out of your book and make a general nuisance of myself."
It was dark by the time Hoss returned. He left Chub at the hitch rail and made his way over to her where she leaned against the wall of the sheriff's office. "Somehow, sis, I think you and Joe have a different definition of nuisance." Annie shrugged.
"What can he say – move along?" She snorted. "He's done that ten times already, but there's no law against loitering, I looked it up before I came down here. He's probably in there writing one up as we speak." Hoss sighed.
"I found one ranch between here and Big Fork, and something ain't right. Place is deserted and the house was burned recent, still smoke hanging in the air. Dead horse in the yard was packing that Honeycomb brand the fella at the livery was talking about."
"Burnham, wasn't it?"
"Yeah. Hey, there's Joe." Their brother hurried towards them.
"Saw you ride in, any luck?" Hoss shook his head and Joe's face fell.
"I've been up and down every alley and street in this town, but the few people out won't say a word. Any luck on your end, sis?"
"Only if you count driving that blasted sheriff up the wall." She straightened. "We might as well head back to the hotel." She hated the not knowing. Why did they even need to hide him, to pretend he'd never been in Stillwater? What was going on? Did it have something to do with that burned house on the ride in? But what? What trouble had found Candy this time?
She followed her brothers up the stairs, shooting the nervous clerk a glare as she passed. He swallowed hard and her eyes narrowed. She knew he was lying about the ledger, same as every other person in this blasted town.
"Where's Anne Cartwright?"
"Shh!"
"I'm looking for Anne Cartwright, now where is Anne Cartwright?" She turned on the stairs, caught sight of a scraggly-looking man with white hair confronting the clerk, who was trying to shut him up and get him out of the hotel.
"I'm Anne Cartwright." He straightened with a chuckle and sauntered over, wiping his hands on his dirty pants.
"I'll take the … uh, the $20." He held out his hand, head bobbing like a bird. Make that a drunk bird, he stunk to high heaven of sour whiskey, even from three feet away.
"$20?"
"Yeah, he said his sweetheart would give it to me." She looked back at her brothers with raised eyebrows.
"Excuse me?"
"The fella, oh, what was his name?" The man scratched his head. "He made a lot of noise with his boots, he got robbed on them boots, you know." He nodded, greasy hair falling over his ears. "It was something like –"
"Lonnie, don't you be bothering these nice people." The clerk rushed over. "Come on, I'll scrape up a couple dollars and you can go buy yourself some whiskey." He tried to pull the drunk away, but Annie drew her gun.
"Hold it right there." Both men froze. "I suggest you let Lonnie finish." There was only one man who'd say anything close enough to what this drunk had babbled out for him to have mixed it up in that particular way. She reached in her vest and pulled out two double eagles. "Did his name sound like something a horse, or a dog – or a woman – might have?"
"Yes, ma'am. Candy, that was it!" Lonnie slapped his hat against his leg. She handed him the first coin.
"Where is he?" Lonnie bit the coin and nodded once.
"He's over to the jail. Sheriff and his deputies beat him up something awful, let me tell you."
"Let's go." She tossed him the second coin and stalked for the door. The clerk backed out of the way and huddled behind his desk. Her brothers scrambled to keep up. "Let me do the talking, and we'll go from there." She hit the door to the sheriff's office full steam. "You lied to me, you've got Candy right back there in a cell." The sheriff leaned back in his chair.
"And he's gonna stay locked up."
"On what charge?"
"Robbery, arson, and two murders."
"That's a pack of nonsense," Hoss scoffed. Joe flicked him a glance and leaned in beside her, all three of them glaring at the man over his desk.
"What's this all about?"
"Doesn't concern you."
"Oh, yes, it does," she said through her teeth. "That's our foreman, and we're going to talk to him." The sheriff shook his head.
"Not while I'm investigating, young lady. After I'm done, he can talk to whoever he likes."
"What about bail?"
"Judge will be here Monday. Be a waste of time asking, though, he won't set bail for murder."
"Candy has the right –"
"Look, honey, your family might carry a lot of weight elsewhere, but I call the shots around here. Now, get out, I'm busy. You hamper me at all, and I'll toss you in jail."
One word. That's all it would take, and Joe would be back there, finding out what was really going on, and reassuring Candy they were here to get him.
But there was no way that man would put Joe anywhere near Candy, much less in the same cell if he could avoid it. This building was a lot deeper than the jail in Virginia City, or the one in River Bend. Who knew how many cells he had back there at his disposal?
"Arson," she said slowly. "You mean that burned ranch on the road in from Big Fork. Which makes your friend over here Burnham." Her eyes narrowed. "You're out to frame Candy."
"Now see here, young lady!" Burnham shot out of his chair. "We've got witnesses that place him at my ranch right around the time it happened. He admits he was there to swap horses cause his pulled up lame, and my boy identified him as one of the men who done it!"
"I'm sorry for your loss, but that's all the sympathy you'll get from me." She looked between the two men. "A nice, neat little frame job you had planned out." She gave them a feral smile. "Joe, head down to the telegraph office and send a wire to the governor, tell him what's going on in this one horse town and don't come back without an answer. I want a posse of US Marshals to arrive with that judge come Monday, unless Candy is released immediately." Joe took off. The sheriff looked to Burnham, who looked about ready to explode, and shook his head.
"I can't do that."
"Wrong answer." She straightened and stormed for the door, whirling around with her hand on the knob. "You're about to have more outside interference than you can handle, mister," she snarled. "Our name may not carry any weight around here, but it sure does in the state capital." Hoss scooted out faster than she would have thought possible, and she slammed the door behind them.
"Well, that went about as well as could be expected." He adjusted his hat.
"It gave him something to think about, but I'm not holding my breath he'll act on it. Come on, let's find the telegraph office and wait for that answer."
Joe looked up when they went in. "Nothing?" She shook her head.
"At least we can guess where Scout went, Burnham must have hidden him, or sold him. That's why the livery man was so jumpy about that chestnut with the Honeycomb brand. We get an answer yet?"
"He just sent it off a few minutes ago." Joe worked his hands. "It's so late, we may not hear anything until tomorrow."
"If we don't, you camp out right here in this nice fella's office until those wires start talking. I wouldn't put anything past that two-bit sheriff right now."
"Me neither," Hoss said. "He ain't gonna like you putting him in his place like you done."
"Do I look like I care?"
Gun shots rang out in the street and they all jumped to their feet and ran outside. "That way," Joe said and pointed towards the saloon and the sheriff's office. They drew their guns and ran down the street, taking cover behind the corner of a building three doors down from the jail. Shots continued to ring out.
"Where are they aiming?" she asked, but none of them could see that much in the growing darkness. Hoss peeked around the corner.
"I'll figure this out. Candy!"
"Hoss?" Her eyes closed and she relaxed a fraction when she heard his voice.
"Thank God," she whispered.
"Yeah," Hoss shouted back.
"Tell 'em to hold their fire. We're coming out with our hands up." Oh, that was not a good idea. "We got something to tell the sheriff!" We? Just who was in there with him? She licked her lips and stepped out of cover.
"Sheriff! I want to talk to you!"
"Over here, Cartwright." Exasperation dripped from every word.
"I'm coming over!" But she wasn't going unarmed, he'd just have to deal with that. She holstered her gun while the sheriff deliberated.
"Hold your fire! All right, come on." She stepped out from behind the wall, hands out to her sides, well away from her gun, and hurried down the street. She could have sworn the sheriff rolled his eyes and stared up at the sky when he saw her. "You delight in causing me problems, you know that?"
"I wouldn't be able to if you had the sense God gave a goose," she retorted. "Candy, and whoever is in there with him, are coming out, no guns. If anything happens to him, those marshals will be the least of your worries, do I make myself clear?" The man sighed, and Burnham looked less than pleased.
"Everyone, hold your fire, they're coming out." She waved a hand behind her, asking her brothers to be ready, just in case someone out there had a very good reason to make sure no one left that jail alive.
The door cracked open and two pistols sailed out, landing with a puff of dust, then a stranger walked out, one hand clutching his shoulder, with Candy just behind him, his hands out to his sides. She breathed a sigh of relief.
He could walk at least.
A gun shot roared, and she jumped, searching for it, even as a shot echoed from behind her a split second later. The lamp on the front wall of the sheriff's office exploded and both men ducked. She ran, blocked in by the sheriff and his deputies, until they reached the saloon, and the men hauling a third, injured, man out between them. Candy stormed over, pushing the other man in front of him, and pointed at the injured man.
"Sheriff, that's one of your killers. And this is the other one. He's ready to talk." The sheriff and Burnham traded confused looks. She noticed the glint of a badge on the one's vest and slanted a knowing look at the sheriff, who swallowed hard.
"Let's go on down to the jail and sort this out." She glared at his back the whole way, her arm wrapped around Candy's back. Their foreman looked terrible, and she had no doubts as to who was responsible.
"Hoss, Joe, get the horses, we're riding out as soon as they clear this mess up, I'm not staying in this two bit town a second longer than necessary." Her brothers headed for the livery and the sheriff chuckled nervously as he let her and Candy inside.
"I'll just go talk to Jim and this other fella if you'll wait out here." The bunch of them disappeared back into the cell room, accompanied by shouting from both killers. Candy sat down slowly and winced.
"You all right?"
"Yeah." He cracked a grin. "It looks worse than it is."
"I find that hard to believe." She touched his face, he flinched, and she dropped her hand. "That doctor's gonna look you over if I have to drag him down here."
"Don't bother, he said there was nothing wrong when I woke up in jail with a splitting headache, he's not likely to change his mind now." She laid her hand on his shoulder and he sighed, his head tilting sideways, resting against her arm. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you."
"We'd have torn the town apart if necessary."
"Lonnie found you, huh?"
"I gave him forty dollars just to irritate the hotel clerk." Candy coughed out a laugh.
"Did you –" The door clanged and Sheriff Austin reappeared, looking decidedly uncomfortable.
"Jim confessed, and so did his partner." She stared at him with narrowed eyes and he fidgeted. She felt Candy's eyes on her face and he choked on a silent laugh that shook his frame. "I'll uh … get his stuff." He stumbled his way behind the desk and crouched in front of a safe, spinning the dial in fumbling fingers. He came up with an envelope and dumped it on the desk.
Candy shot to his feet, snatched the stack of money, and began to count. Annie shifted her stance, thumbs hooked in her gun belt, and stared at the sheriff in silence. He fidgeted, and she stared harder. He forced a smile. "It's all there." Candy didn't even look up, or pause in counting. She shifted her weight, holding Austin's gaze. "I've known Jim Hale forever … I trusted him," he rambled. "It's all right now, he confessed, we can recover the money, right men are in jail … nobody hurt." Candy stiffened and glanced up for a second, then resumed counting. Annie deepened her glare and took one step forward. The sheriff flinched and laughed nervously. "I expect you'll be heading back down Virginia City way."
Candy handed her the money and she took it without counting it herself. She stuffed it into her jacket and gave Austin a feral smirk. "You owe him something else, too, and so does your self-important friend, so you'd better get him in here."
"What?"
"An apology for starters."
"Su-sure." He held out his hand. "I'm real sorry, son." Candy glanced down at his hand like it was a fresh cow pie and ignored it. Austin's hand fell. "Well … uh … you can understand how it is." Candy glared.
"I wouldn't count on it."
"Sheriff." The man flinched and a look similar to what now crossed his face. "The law presumes a man to be innocent until proven guilty. If you'd followed that, you wouldn't have to apologize." She waited a beat, then continued, "You also wouldn't have to worry about being hung on the gallows you had planned for him." Austin started.
"Do what?"
"Candy might ride him, but Scout belongs to the Ponderosa, so if Burnham sold him, or hid him, and you knew about it, you're both guilty of horse theft, which is a hanging offense," she said with a sly smirk. "No bill of sale for that chestnut is legal without a Cartwright's signature. You'd best get Burnham in here so he can explain himself."
The man bolted past them so fast it ruffled her hair. Candy coughed out a laugh. "And I thought the look you gave the sheriff in Olympus was bad." He shifted in his chair.
"Can you sit a horse?"
"Find one and watch me."
The door flew open and Burnham rushed inside, Austin on his heels. "What's this about horse theft? Your man here told us he swapped his horse plus a buck fifty to my father-in-law for the horse he rode into town on."
"As I told your pet sheriff, Scout is owned by the Ponderosa, Candy can't legally sell him or trade him without our consent. The way I see it, he was only borrowing your horse to get to town, intending to reclaim his as soon as he was able." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Where's the horse?"
"I don't have him, he was uh, must have been stolen after …"
"It happened earlier today and you had both in custody not long after dark."
"I told you I don't have him." Burnham fidgeted.
"And I don't believe you." Annie advanced like a wolf on the prowl. "He was at your ranch, but he wasn't there when my brother rode out earlier. So what did you do with him?" The man's throat worked.
"All right! I gave him to my son, are you happy now?" Burnham shot across the room, scraping his hands through his hair. "He just lost his ma and his grandpa, what am I supposed to do when he latches onto a dumb horse? I can't take that animal away from him now."
"That's what happens when you play God," she said evenly. Burnham had the grace to look ashamed.
"It was an honest mistake."
"No, it wasn't."
"Look, I'll … I'll trade you that flaxen chestnut he borrowed, just don't make me take that horse away from Peter." Candy's boot nudged hers and she nudged back. But she wasn't about to let him off the hook that easily.
"That animal isn't worth half of Scout." Okay, so he was, at least from the quick glimpse she'd gotten at the livery, but they didn't need to know that. "The horse plus a hundred dollars."
"What?"
"Ponderosa stock is the best around, and it's not cheap. Take it or swing from a rope." Burnham hesitated. "I already don't like you, so you'd better make up your mind before I raise the price clean out of your reach."
"Don't you care that you'd be leaving a little boy an orphan?"
"You didn't seem to care about hanging an innocent man. I know you're guilty." The man pushed Austin out of the way and sat down at his desk, digging through the drawers.
"You got any paper in this dump?"
"Of course, Mr. Burnham. Second drawer on the left." He glared at the sheriff and began to write.
"Here." He shoved the papers at her. "Sign and we're even." She took them and slowly read both copies, searching for loop holes or tricks, but there were none. She'd be sorry to lose Scout, but if Candy wanted to help the little boy, that was fine with her. She plucked the pen out of Burnham's hand and signed.
They each claimed their copy, Burnham dug out the money, and Candy stood shakily. She steadied him and turned without a word, guiding him to the door. He didn't look so good, almost like he was going to fall over if left to his own devices.
"Thank you." The words hung in the air, but she was done talking. They'd gotten the only concession she was in the mood to make.
Hoss and Joe were waiting at the hitch rail in front of the sheriff's office. "Candy, you look like you went a couple rounds with a bob cat."
"Quit joking around. Joe, go saddle that chestnut with the Honeycomb brand, we're taking him with us." Her twin gave her a look and she jerked her chin at the livery. Candy had the air of a man who'd been holding on for one thing and now that he'd achieved it, was about to collapse.
"Back in a flash." Joe scurried away and Candy sagged against the hitch rail. Hoss moved to steady him.
"He really should visit the doctor before we head out."
"Doc Martin would be better," Annie said. "That liar down there could care less."
"I just want to get out of here and go home," Candy said wearily. Hoss clapped a heavy hand on his shoulder and he winced.
"We're going." They waited a few minutes, then Hoss brightened. "Hey, Joe's back, he must have saddled that pony in record time."
"Good." Candy took the offered reins and managed to climb into the saddle without too much trouble. The rest of them mounted up and rode out of town, Candy in the middle. They wouldn't t go far, only a couple miles, but Annie figured that was all Candy would be able to take right now.
Their foreman sprawled near the fire while her brothers set up camp and settled the horses for the night. Annie dug into her saddlebags and pulled out a knife and three cans. She went over and sat beside Candy. He looked up and she handed him a can.
"You think these solve everything, sweetheart?" She smiled and passed him the knife. He set to work prying the lid open. "I bought me a couple cans this morning, planned to relax in my hotel room and enjoy them while I waited for you three to show up." He speared a slice, devoured it, and went back for another.
"I figured you'd need an extra."
"Do I ever." He inhaled the rest of the slices, then slurped the juice and sighed. She passed him the second can. "Thanks," he said softly. "They said I wouldn't be allowed into a courtroom without a signed, sealed, and delivered confession if they had to beat it out of me."
"They tried that, and they'd be the ones getting the stuffing beat out of 'em," Hoss said as he lumbered over and sat across from them. "As it was, I was afraid little sister here might go a smidge too far and get herself tossed back there with you."
"I knew what I was doing," she shot back. "They didn't want outside interference so I gave it to them in spades. And we're not stopping that wire either, let 'em deal with a pack of marshals in their front yard, they might learn something." Hoss laughed, joined quickly by Joe's familiar cackle as he joined them.
"Sheriff Austin is gonna be cussing you six ways from sundown come Monday."
"It's his own fault." She leaned back on her elbows and stared up at the stars. "Candy, are you sure you're all right?"
"I told you it looks worse than it is," he said between bites. "The bigger issue is losing Scout." She looked at him sharply.
"It was your idea."
"I know." He waved the knife around, a peach slice hanging off the end. "But you didn't see that kid, poor little fella. He was trying to make his pa happy by saying he saw me there, it wasn't his fault. If Scout makes his situation easier right now, I'm okay with it." He stuck the peach slice in his mouth. Annie swallowed the lump in her throat.
"You're a good man, Canaday." He glanced at her over the rim of the can, a teasing spark flaring in his eyes.
"I appreciate the admiration, sweetheart, but I'll settle for that last can of peaches."
Season 11
The Silence at Stillwater
Meena
The Witness
Another Windmill to Go
The Stalker
Dead Wrong
Decision at Los Robles
Is There Any Man Here …?
Long Way to Ogden
Erin
Kingdom of Fear
The Big Jackpot
Caution: Easter Bunny Crossing
A Matter of Circumstance
Never Say Die