Chapter Twelve

The Problematic Cavanaughs

They rode in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Jordan didn't seem to mind when Woody missed the turn to go back to town and followed her to the claim. Even after all the hard words it almost felt natural for him to be there. Something achingly nostalgic. She didn't say anything when he offered to take care of her horse for the night and check the rest of the livestock. She barely had the energy to say goodnight when he knocked on the door. Woody waited in the paddock for the homey sight of smoke coming out of the chimney before he rode back into town.

He took his time taking care of his own mount trying, to put in perspective what he had just experienced. Mrs. Stoneman wasn't any bigger than a minute. He remembered the first time he saw the young woman on the arm of her husband as they took their spot in a pew the first Sunday he as in town. He remembered thinking that the young couple had no business being married, let alone starting a family. He rode out to the Stoneman's little farm with Jordan having bad feeling about the whole thing. He couldn't picture how a young, tiny woman like Lori Stoneman could give birth without splitting in two. He left totally amazed by the strength of both women.

After he finished combing his paint's fancy coat, he scooped the gelding an extra measure of oats. Chevelle greedily body checked his master out of the way in his effort to get to the feed bag.

You'd be history if you weren't so damn good-looking," Woody said with a lopsided smile. "You're too high maintenance for you own good."

"Marshal..." Max's voice came out of nowhere...so did his fist.

The Irishman in Woody had been hit enough to know that Max had pulled his punch...but not by very much. He tasted blood and ran his tongue over his teeth, counting each one. Satisfied they were all still there, he swore; ready to take a swing himself. Only Max's yielding hands made him stand down.

"I should beat you to a pulp for taken advantage of my little girl, Hoyt...but since Jordan didn't see the need to lay you out proper, I won't."

Woody grinned at the memory of Jordan doing just that. "Right neighborly of you," Woody said sarcastically wiping the blood from his lip.

"I'm here to give you some advice..."

"I know what you're about to tell me. You're about to tell me to back off. That Jordan's a handful of trouble and I should just keep on moving without stopping.."

In spite of himself, Max had to chuckle. "Maybe you should listen to that little voice in your head, Hoyt...But no," Max's grin faded as quickly as the oats in Chevelle's feed bag. He looked up and down the quiet corral. "It's because of Jordan I want to tell you that this might be a fine time to ride out of town and forget about this crazy-ass idea you have about guns being smuggled through Tyler."

Damn...damnit...damn Woody would have rather had Max tell him to ride out of town because of the liberties he took with Jordan. Woody took a deep breath before he spoke. "Would you care to explain that?"

Whatever nonchalance Max had in his voice disappeared leaving,Woody no doubts that Max knew everything. "No, I don't care to. Just...go Hoyt. Before someone gets hurt."

"I can't do that Max. I have job to do and I intend to do it," Woody said with the cold conviction of a professional, while inside he felt his heart break just a little. I intend to do it even if it means taking you in. And if that ended up being the case, Woody knew Jordan would never forgive him.

Max simply nodded like he had made some decision. "Well, you have to do what you have to do. Just watch your back, Marshal."

With that Max walked away.

The lawman in Woody told him to follow Max and force whatever he knew out of him. The man in Woody told him to wait, and figure out how to handle this without hurting Jordan. Woody kicked a stone. He'd wait.

The next day Woody realized it was a decision he'd regret for the rest of his life...

"What do you mean he left!"

Nigel stood behind the bar, in his shirtsleeves and garters, and simply repeated himself to the irate marshal. "I'm sorry mate. He's gone. He said he wanted to take some time for himself and make some peace with his life. He asked me to keep an eye on the place until Jordan decided what to do with it."

Woody draw in a breath and expelled it with such a force that he hoped would take that sinking feeling out of his gut. It didn't work. He knew if he went upstairs he'd find it empty...as well as the claim.

Woody mumbled a quick thanks and asked Nigel if he knew where Jordan was -- to which Nigel answered that he would assume Garret's office. But when Woody went to see her, she wasn't there.

"She was obviously distracted this morning, so I sent her out to check on Mrs. Stoneman and the twins, and then I told her to take the rest of the day off, " Garret replied. "Jordan and Max have been having problems lately, Woody. This really didn't come out of the blue."

"What do you mean 'problems'?"

Garret turned away from the younger man and shifted a roll of bandages from one shelve to another and back again. "Max hasn't always been honest about certain things with Jordan that he should have and she's been challenging him on them."

"What do you mean 'certain things'? What has Max been hiding, Doc?"

Garret was saved from saying anything else when Jeffery Brandau all but fell in the front door holding his silk handkerchief over his mouth. "Peter was shoveling the road and apparently took a pretty deep splinter. If he didn't feel the need to...fling that shovel so far, he wouldn't have this problem. I told him to wait around back. I don't know how a man can get so dirty shoveling a few piles of shi...good morning Marshal. I hope you're feeling alright. I've been feeling a little under the weather since the dance but I'm just not used to being outside in the night air.."

Garret gave Woody a thin smile and excused himself. He was more comfortable with Peter's genuine horseshit than Brandau's imagined. The Marshal looked like a man that could deal with him for awhile.

Jordan stayed with Lori Stoneman longer than she had expected. The babies were doing wonderfully. They were pink, healthy, and absolutely adorable. Jordan let herself escape in Ben and Lori's happiness. That way she didn't have to think about the heartbreak of night before.

Once Woody left, Jordan had fixed herself a simple meal and debated on whether she had enough energy to haul water for a bath or not. She was surprised to hear her father ride up. Thinking that the bar must be slow and he locked up early, Jordan hurried to put another sandwich together. Max walked in and told her to forget dinner and asked her to fix him a pack. He was going away for awhile. He tried to tell her that he was leaving because she needed to move on with her life and she couldn't if she had to take care of her old man...Jordan saw through the flimsy excuse immediately. She tried to confront him. She argued until she was blue in the face, but Max was adamant and stuck to his story. Before he could walk out the door he told her that if anything happened to him that she should trust Marshal Hoyt. If she needed help Woody was the only person that could help her. He didn't leave her any other choice but to let him ride away.

"Ben suggested we name them after our fathers."

Lori's pride broke through the dark shadows in Jordan's mind and brought her attention back to the warm, wiggly baby in her arms.

"I think that would be wonderful, Lori. I'm sure they'd be very proud."

Jordan smiled and cooed at the little person she cradled so close, but when the baby turned his head and began to root against her breast Jordan felt a little pang of feminine disappointment. Almost reluctantly she passed the baby back to his mother and after giving the new mother some last minute instructions mumbled her excuses about getting back to town. Jordan stepped back out into the bright Texas sun and brushed her hands over her face hoping to stop her self-indulgent tears before they started.

"Are you alright Dr. Cavanaugh?"

"Ben? Oh yes...yes. It's...it's the sun. It's bright today."

Ben squinted and looked up at the cloudless sky. "Yes ma'am, it's a scorcher, that's for sure."

Jordan rode out too preoccupied to realize that the young Ben Stoneman called her "doctor" let alone notice the rider waiting on the trail for her.

Malden waited until Jordan was out of range of the Stoneman spread. It's not that he couldn't handle young Ben, but the idea of leaving little Lori a widow the day after giving birth to twins was too much even for him. Still he had his orders. The sheriff made sure his gun was loaded and rode out after the problematic Cavanaugh chit.