Dearly Beloved
Chapter 8
During lunch the next day the family was just sitting down to eat when a visitor arrived. Lou rose from the table to find Ben Ashmore standing inside the front door, looking apologetic.
"Ben, this is a surprise."
"I'm sorry to trouble you folks," their neighbor replied, venturing no further into the house.
Kid joined his wife and was about to invite him to join them when Ben removed his hat and they saw the dried blood covering his left ear.
"Are you all right?" Lou said with a start. "Adam!"
Soon the entire family was clustered around an embarrassed Ben who was ushered into the parlor. Lou pulled the younger boys back so Adam could inspect the wound on his skull.
"What happened?" asked Kid, concern etched in his voice.
Ben winced as Adam touched the swelling above his ear. "Fella stopped by my place wanting to water his horse. He started making conversation, then as soon as I looked away he cracked me on the head with his rifle. When I woke up Red was gone."
At the mention of their neighbor's treasured stock horse which she had long admired, Charlie made a sympathetic noise. It caught Ben's attention, but he averted his gaze as soon as he caught her eye.
"I've had him more'n 15 years. Ain't no other horse like him."
"You ever seen this fella before?" continued Kid.
"Nope."
"Did he take anythin' else?" Lou asked.
"Didn't wait around to find out. Soon as I came to I started tracking him. He cut across your south paddock, so I figured he's following the creek."
Jamie stepped forward. "How's his head, doc?"
"Not too bad. It could do with a few stitches," Adam said, moving back to allow Rudy to also take a look. "We can take you into town to Doc Browne's."
Ben shook his head. "Can't you do it?"
Adam paused only briefly before nodding. "You sure?"
"Sooner I can get after that damn… Oh, excuse me," Ben murmured, noticing an unfamiliar woman in the small crowd before him.
"You haven't met my fiancée, Beth. And this is her brother Rudy. We're in school together."
"Ben Ashmore," he said a little awkwardly, not used to so many people paying him attention. "Er, congratulations."
"Thank you, Mr. Ashmore," replied Beth just as uneasily. It seemed a wholly inappropriate time for small talk. "I'm sorry to hear about your horse."
After a brief discussion with Adam, Rudy collected his medical bag from the kitchen and started laying out the necessary instruments on the sofa next to Ben.
"Charlie," Lou instructed, "take Jake and Ethan on into the dinin' room and finish your lunch."
"But we wanna stay and watch, Ma!" cried Ethan, fascinated by the thought of his brother stitching up someone's head.
"Go on," Lou insisted, to the boys' disappointment. Beth took the lead and ushered them from the room, followed by Charlie.
Jamie clapped a gentle hand on Ben's shoulder, before looking up at his father. "Pa, I'll go get our horses."
Kid nodded. "Reckon we can still catch him?"
"I reckon so." Ben looked away as Adam began to work on the injury. "He looked like he hadn't stopped all night, which is why I offered him food and water for both him and his horse."
"You should have some help around the place," Lou chastised Ben with a familiar suggestion that had always fallen on deaf ears.
"I get help come mustering time when I need it."
Lou shook her head. Ben had lived alone on his small property since his wife had died in childbirth a decade earlier, and no amount of needling could convince him that he needed anyone else around. They managed to have him join them for an occasional meal but other than that Ben always kept to himself, unless a neighbor needed assistance. Then Ben Ashmore was the first to pitch in and help.
Ten minutes later, his head stitched and hastily bandaged by the two medical students, Ben was impatient to leave. Angry at himself for allowing the stranger to get the jump on him, he wasn't about to lose his best horse. He ignored Adam and Rudy's suggestion that he should rest instead, and was soon ready to go.
"Your father and brother are going too?" Beth asked Adam, when she saw the three men saddling up in the yard.
"Yep."
"Oughtn't someone go for the marshal?"
Adam smiled faintly at her. "There's no time to go all the way into town. They'll be lucky to catch him as it is."
"And if they do?"
"Horse theft's a hanging offence."
Beth blanched at the thought. "They'll hang him? Can they do that, even if they're not the law?"
"It's the way things are done out here. Pa and Jamie are deputized often enough when the marshal needs a posse to track down an outlaw."
Adam placed his arm around her as she looked unsettled at the notion. He hadn't considered that something that was so natural in the world in which he'd been raised could be so alien to her.
"Do you ever get deputized?" Beth asked, unable to hide the worry in her voice.
Adam squeezed her waist reassuringly. "No. Not me."
"I'm glad," she replied with relief, not noticing the look that passed through Adam's eyes as he watched his father and brother prepare to ride out.
Lou handed all three packages of food before they left. Beth noticed Kid hold onto his wife's hand a little longer than necessary, although no words passed between them. She wondered how anyone could get used to sending her husband and son into potential danger. Judging by the look on Lou's face, however, Beth realized that she probably hadn't.
"Ride safe," was all Lou said quietly, before going back inside the house.
They did not return until the next morning. Beth had woken later than usual and entered the kitchen to find Kid, Jamie and Ben sitting at the breakfast table. They'd washed hastily so they could eat the hearty breakfast laid out before them. With Adam and Rudy nowhere in sight, no one paid much attention to Beth as they listened to what had happened. Lou did stop long enough to motion her to a chair and pour her a cup of coffee, even managing to flash her a brief smile.
"How long did it take to catch him?" Lou prompted impatiently, as the men were more interested in eating for the moment.
"Five, six hours maybe," replied Kid. "Lucky for us he decided on an early night and we found him camped right by the creek."
"Passed out drunk, more like," Jamie continued with a grin. "Fella barely knew who he was by the time we caught up with him."
"Turns out he found my whisky jug," said Ben. "He was more interested in drinking the whole lot than putting much distance between him and us."
"And Red was all right?" asked Charlie eagerly.
Ben smiled slightly. "Old Red is fine. Though I'd say he was right pleased we found him. I don't 'spose that young fella treated him too well."
"I'm glad. I'll go check on him, if you like."
Charlie grinned when Ben gave her a brief nod. She ran out the back door to the stable where he was currently being tended to by the ranch hands.
Lou and Kid shared a look, then she ordered Jake and Ethan out of the room.
"Go get ready for school, you're gonna be late." Lou waited until she heard them clomping up the stairs before turning back to Kid. "What did you do with him?"
Kid shrugged. "It was Ben's decision."
Beth bit her lip, not quite able to believe that the three men before her could have taken someone's life. She was not used to being around men who had to make those kinds of decisions.
"He was just a boy," said Ben.
"And a horse thief," Kid countered. "He could've been on the run from the law, for all we knew. And he could've killed you, hittin' you in the head like he did."
"But he didn't. Always did have a thick skull."
Jamie wiped at his mouth with a napkin, and addressed Beth as Ben and his father continued their friendly bickering. "He let him go. Told him he was lucky he wasn't gonna be swinging from the end of a rope."
Beth breathed a sigh of relief. Lou smiled at Ben, although she wasn't surprised by his decision. She knew Kid would have made the same one if he were in Ben's shoes, for all his arguments to the contrary. They knew all too well what it meant to take another man's life.
"I just wanted my horse back, and I got him," Ben said, as he got to his feet. "And now I'd best get on back to my place."
"Ben, stay and rest at least," insisted Lou. "Adam's gone in to see Doc Browne but he'll be back soon, and he'll want to check your head."
"I can send over some of the boys to help out," Kid joined in. "They'll see to your horses and cattle."
"Much obliged, but I'm fine. I'd just as soon do it myself." Ben shook both Kid and Jamie's hands, and tipped his hat to the ladies. "Thanks for your help."
He made his way to the door before stopping to address Beth. "Would you thank that fiancé of yours for tending to my injury, Miss?"
"Of course, Mr. Ashmore." Beth smiled broadly which embarrassed Ben so much that made a hasty exit.
"You two should get some rest." Lou tugged playfully at Jamie's ear, only to have him swat her hand away.
"We made camp and slept fine, Ma," Jamie replied a little grumpily, all too aware that Beth was watching them with an amused expression.
"Sounds to me like someone could use some more sleep." Lou was just teasing him now.
"I'll be down in the stables," he glowered, but was unable to get away before his mother planted a kiss on his cheek, relieved to have him home in one piece.
