Jesse reined in his horse, allowing the tired animal her first chance in nearly an hour to slow down. He was fairly certain he had lost the posse – at least for the moment. The only sounds he could hear were his horse's breathing and the soft thud of her hooves as she walked. Still, he knew he needed to keep moving. Those goddamn Pinkertons were relentless; they never gave up. He'd run into stubborn lawmen in the past, but the detectives from Chicago were something else altogether.
All he wanted was to get home to his family. It was more than six months since he and Frank had been to the house in Missouri. Six months since he had last seen his ma and his wife. He could count on two hands the number of nights he and Zerelda had spent together, finally married after what Frank joked was the longest courtship in history. To be fair, Frank had a point. Jesse had met the girl during the War Between the States but hadn't gotten around to tying the knot until almost a decade later. He supposed that was unusual. But Frank had no right to talk. Jesse's big brother remained unmarried and didn't even have a sweetheart.
He and Frank had split from the Younger brothers a couple of weeks ago, after robbing a bank in Minnesota. The gang had initially fled as a group but decided to separate in Des Moines. Jesse had no problem with Cole Younger - with any of the Youngers, really. They were damn near fearless and handy with their guns. But with lawmen on their trail, they'd agreed it made sense to separate, because two smaller targets were harder to track than one big one. He and Frank had continued to the Missouri border; then they'd decided to split up too. They would travel alone, taking different routes to get home, meeting at the house in a day or so.
Or at least that's what Jesse had planned, until he'd run into the Pinkertons. Now the odds of him getting home were starting to look very slim.
Jesse was weary and - he could admit - a little lonely. He'd been wounded during this last robbery - a simple graze along his upper arm that should have healed quickly, but instead was angry red and warm to the touch. Zerelda would know what to do for it. She had nursed him once before and had a list of remedies that were as good as any doctor's. He'd been looking forward to her tender touch; to lying in their bed as she administered a poultice and fed him stew. He wondered if Frank was having better luck evading the Pinkertons, and for a moment felt a spark of resentment at the idea of his brother getting home when he could not.
Then he shook off the thought and urged his horse onward. At times like these, it helped to focus on the immediate future and not think too far ahead. And right now, he needed a plan that would get his arm cleaned and find him a fresh horse. He recalled from his days at the Pony Express station that the riders changed their mounts every ten or fifteen miles. He'd pushed his for almost thirty and she was clearly spent.
He considered his options and realized that he wasn't far from St. Joe. The town had grown large enough to be considered a city these days, which presented both opportunity and risk. Opportunity because a larger population meant a stranger on the streets didn't stand out. Risk, because if he was recognized, there were plenty of people to corner and capture him. He didn't know what the price on his head was anymore, but it had to be pretty damn high. When he and Frank had started out years ago, the reward had been a measly hundred dollars - maybe two hundred in the bigger towns. Interesting, but not enough for a man to risk his life. When it had first crept over a thousand, Jesse had been proud; he'd taken it as a mark of respect. Now, though, the bounty was a real threat. Ten thousand dollars, which he'd seen on some posters, could support a man's family for years. People were willing to take big chances for that kind of money.
Jesse wasn't a man given to introspection, but there were times he couldn't help wondering how they'd gotten to where they were. Back when he and Frank had started, when he'd left Teaspoon and the riders in Rock Creek, they'd had a real mission. They'd joined Quantrill's Raiders and turned to robbery because the organization needed guns, ammunition, and horses to support The Cause. He knew his Pony Express family thought that Cause was wrong, but Frank had seemed so certain that Jesse had had no choice but to go along. After all, Frank was Jesse's real brother. Blood had to stick with blood.
But now, fifteen years later, the war was over and Quantrill was long dead. And yet he and Frank were still robbing. It had become a way of life; a job, like working the farm or driving cattle. And with such big bounties on their heads, it had become impossible to quit. They were never going to be able to settle in one place and live peaceably.
Jesse decided he would risk St. Joseph…but quickly. He would ride into the city, grab a bottle of whiskey to clean the arm wound, get a horse, and then get out of there. If all went well, he could take care of his business in less than an hour and maybe even find a way back to the family home afterwards. What other choice did he have, except to keep riding?
Three hours later, he was on the streets of St. Joe, his hat pulled low over his eyes, his coat collar turned up high. So far, things had gone his way. He'd bought a bottle of whiskey at the general store along with a couple of clean shirts, and no one had looked twice at him. The horse was a trickier situation, though. He could hardly tell the man at the livery that he needed an animal with speed and stamina because he was trying to outrun the Pinkertons. Plus, the man would expect him to examine the horse and negotiate, which meant spending enough time to show his face and be recognized. Jesse thought the safer course of action was to hitch his own horse next to a promising animal and then make an exchange. In his mind, he could justify this as not quite horse thievery - something even he and Frank tried to avoid.
He surreptitiously glanced at the horses as he rode down the streets and eventually spotted a good-looking chestnut. The gelding was leanly muscled and appeared bred for distance. He also looked well cared for, with neatly trimmed hooves and a glossy coat. In fact, he reminded Jesse a little of the animals they used to keep at the Pony Express station. Those horses always got the best of care.
Jesse dismounted and hitched his own mount next to the chestnut. He glanced around, and seeing that no one was paying attention, reached for his saddlebags to transfer them to the chestnut's saddle. Before he could do so, however, two men approached. Fortunately, they were engaged in conversation with each other and hadn't noticed Jesse. He was relieved to see that neither was wearing gun. They weren't lawmen. From their clothing, he guessed that they were ranchers.
Jesse tugged his hat over his eyes and turned his back to them. He began fussing with the cinch on his saddle, trying to look busy.
"Nice animal," the first rancher said to the other. Jessie assumed he must be talking about the chestnut.
The second man replied, "Thanks."
"You breed him yourself?"
"Nope. Bought him off a fellow in Nebraska. The man used to ride for the Pony Express and knows horses real good. Raises and trains 'em. He don't sell 'em cheap, but they're worth every penny. This here's the best animal I ever owned. He can cover fifty miles a day, easy. And he's so well trained he answers to my voice."
The first rancher cleared his throat. "No kidding. Does the fella train horses to work with cattle?"
"Sure does. When I was there, he and his wife were teaching some to cut cattle."
There was a pause. Then the first rancher said, "His wife?"
The second man laughed. "Yeah, I know – kinda strange. But the woman is nearly as good as her husband when it comes to horses. She got up on this animal to put him through his paces while her husband talked to me. She can ride as good as any man I ever seen."
"Are you sure it was woman? Maybe it was a boy."
The second rancher laughed again. "No, I'm sure she was a woman. Pretty little thing. Slim, and not even as high as my shoulders. Big brown eyes that warm your heart just to look at them. But she could sure sit a horse. Even jumped a fence with one of them."
Intrigued, Jesse stopped fussing with his saddle and risked a glance at the men. They were still studying the chestnut and didn't spare him a look. A small woman with big brown eyes who could ride as good as a man? He knew a woman who fit that description. And the last time he had seen her, she was marrying a Pony Express rider. Jesse had walked her down the aisle himself.
"What's the name of the fella?" The first rancher asked.
The second rancher shook his head. "Can't recall. He calls his wife Lou, though, I remember that because it was kinda unusual. His place is near Serenity Springs, little town south of Lincoln. Can't go wrong if you're looking for good horseflesh."
The first rancher nodded. "I'll keep it in mind." He paused and pulled out a pocket watch. "Got time for a beer before we look at that bull of mine? I promise you, he's prime breeding stock. You won't be disappointed."
The second rancher grinned. "Yeah, I'm a little dry. I could use a beer before I take a look."
"Good. Saloon's just over there. Let's go."
And the two men walked away, leaving Jesse to himself. His thoughts were whirling. Lou and Kid were living south of Lincoln? By his reckoning, that put them at a little over a hundred miles from St. Joe. They'd been family once, of a sort, when they'd lived together at the Pony Express station. Teaspoon Hunter had been a kind of father and Rachel Dunne a mother - although she was too young and pretty to really be their ma. And the riders had treated Jesse like a little brother, which had been gratifying and - at times - annoying. Jesse had never looked at Lou as a sister, though. In fact, he would have liked to have made Lou his girl; he'd been jealous of Kid. But she'd made it clear back then that she considered him too young. He wondered what she thought of him now, if she thought of him at all. Was she disappointed at the way he'd turned out?
More to the point, what would she do now if she saw him? He could use a place to rest and regroup, and the Pinkertons would never think to look for him at a horse ranch south of Lincoln. He would be safe - if Lou and Kid considered him family enough not to turn him in. He figured he had a decent chance with Lou. She had a good heart - a kind heart. And she would remember their time together at Rock Creek. Kid…well, Kid he wasn't so certain of. But he'd cross that bridge when he got to it.
He glanced around once more, then quickly shifted his saddlebags to the back of the chestnut gelding. If the animal could easily do fifty miles a day, that meant he was less than two days away from Lou.
He mounted the chestnut, then loped down the street and out of St. Joe.
A/N: So, a bit of trivia. Both Jesse James's mother and wife were named Zerelda. He received a chest wound in the Civil War and was nursed by his cousin Zerelda Mimms. They married nine years later and had two children who survived past infancy. His son, Jesse Jr, eventually became a lawyer.
The bounty on Jesse's head caught up with him in 1882, when he was 34 years old (about 7 years later than this story). He was shot in the back by Robert Ford, a man he considered a friend. (See the movie, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" or the older film, "The Long Riders".)
Jesse's brother Frank turned himself in to the governor of Missouri after Jesse's death. He was tried for two robberies (one in Missouri and one in Alabama) and acquitted of both. (The fact that he was tried in the south probably played a large role in his acquittal. Frank had fought for the Confederacy.) He died in 1915 at the age of 72.
Thanks again for reading and for the reviews.