Part 2:
On The Road Again
The wanted poster sat between the married couple atop the dining table between their empty plates. The grandfather clock in the living room ticked away the time as Jack and Maddie sat staring at each other. Supper had just been devoured, the sun was starting to sink below the horizon, and husband and wife were having a stand-off of sorts.
Jack leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms as he studied the drawing of the Latino woman and read the reason for her bounty. His eyes widened at the price on her head. He looked back up at his wife. "So… is this why you came home an hour late?"
She tucked her chin down and nodded. She bit her lip, feeling guilty, but as the flame of rebellion flared outward from her chest, she bravely rose her gaze back up to meet his in challenge. She raised her chin and said, "But it was for a good reason, Jack. Look at the reward."
"You know how much it worries me when you're gone longer than you say you'll be. I can't let anythin' bad happen to you."
Maddie sighed and looked to the side. Her eyes met Django's, who sat off to the side of the table between her and Jack. She frowned at the dog, feeling bad for having him there to watch, but like all their other disagreements from the past four years of their marriage, the dog stood by loyally. She and Jack had hardly ever risen their voice at one another, but when they did, the dog stayed to keep the peace.
Maddie looked back to her husband and nodded to the poster. "Eight-thousand dollars is quite a lot," she argued. She summarized her and Archer's conversation before she added, "It's time someone like me steps in and stops her before things get any worse."
Jack's eyes narrowed a fraction; his frown deepened. "Where?" It sounded more like a demand than a question.
She pursed her lips and looked off to the side.
"Maddie, where is the bounty at now?"
"Mexico."
His eyes widened, and he leaned back further in his chair. "Mexico?!"
She nodded.
Jack shook his head. "That's too far."
"The bounty's eight-thousand dollars, Jack."
"I don't care, Madeline. You're not goin' down to Mexico all by yourself after some psychotic woman who'll shoot you in a heartbeat."
Maddie narrowed her eyes at him. "Let her try. I can take her."
In his frustration, Jack tossed his head and looked down at Django. Man and dog shared a brief look, and as Jack tried to make sense of his wife's impulsive decisions, he looked around his home and became flustered when he was reminded of all the responsibilities he had to uphold. He ran a hand over his beard and mustache and shook his head. "Maddie, this is just stupid. You know we've got this ranch to keep up, and even if I were to just let you go down there alone—which I absolutely will not let you do—what do you expect will happen? That it'll be a breeze and you'll be back home the next day? Darlin', you haven't gone after a bounty this serious since Jackson Randall, and not to bring up your…"
"Rape," she finished harshly. "Just say it, damn it."
He bit his lip, hating to voice the word. "Fine, your…rape. Maddie, I just don't want somethin' like that to happen to you again. Or worse."
"Jack, I'm goin' after a female bounty for once. The chances of me gettin' raped are slim. Besides, the reward is worth goin' down to Mexico and facin' her."
"And what about her gang? Will you face them all alone like a fool? I know you're more than capable of handlin' things by yourself—"
"And yet you're so goddamned overprotective!"
"I have a right to be, don't I?!" he yelled, sitting up in his seat. He banged a fist on the table, causing Django to flinch. "Maddie, I just don't like this whole idea of you goin' after a big bounty when you've been goin' after petty little piss ants for the last four years. You're a bit out of practice, if you don't mind me sayin' so."
Maddie shot up out of her seat, causing the chair to fall backwards and clatter loudly on the wooden floor. She slammed her hands on the table and stared down at her husband with growing frustration. "You know what, Jack? I'm SICK of being treated like some old dusty book on a shelf, some old nag that no one wants! Everywhere I look, there's a fuckin' barbed wire fence here, a shiny goddamned automobile there! Our way of life is dying! Things aren't what they used to be, and it's pissin' me off! I used to be acknowledged and admired in Blackwater; now all they do is curl their lip up at me because I'm not an uptight housewife who submits to her husband's every whim and has a child for each year she's been married! I'm not just some dusty cowpoke or a rancher's wife, I'm nobody to them, Jack! Nobody!"
"But you are a woman they admire, Maddie. I mean, look at you! You're independent, you're strong-willed, and you have the work ethic of a big farm horse. That's why Archer wants you to join the police force: you never quit, and you never tire."
"But I am tired, Jack," she sighed as she stared deeply into his eyes. "I am tired and worn like a rusty nail in a rotting wooden fencepost. I'm as ancient as the life we live, or try to keep living. We're still here fightin' the good fight for whatever it's worth, and yet…" She bowed her head and shook it, her long hair falling to tickle the back of her hands. "And yet here we are, the relics of a decadent past still fightin' for existence in a world that's already moved on and forgotten us." She lifted her head back up and fixed her eyes once more on her husband's. "All I want is an open prairie where I can ride my horse around with the freedom I used to have; all I wish is to be useful again and be worthy of people's respect; all I yearn for is an adventure that makes me feel like life is great once more."
"You shouldn't say such bad things," Jack said. "We're still important. You're still important." He reached out over the table and put his right hand atop her left. He turned her hand upwards and clasped it. He grinned up at her with all the adoration he'd felt for her the four years they'd been married. "You'll always be important to me."
She allowed a smile to burst between the cracks of her frustration and anger as she raised her head and looked back at him. She squeezed back and said, "I would hope for nothin' less. And you I, Jack."
He gestured with his other hand to her upturned chair. "Here, sit down, honey."
She released his hand long enough to right her seat and return to it. As she placed her hand back into his, she was captivated by the expressions on his face as he stared back at her. Maddie watched his countenance morph from worry to acceptance to denial and back many times. Briefly, he looked down and studied the wanted poster between them, and when he released her hand to pick up the poster and examine it one last time, he sighed and looked off to the side at Django, who had recovered his bravery and once again sat between them beside the table.
"You do realize that even if I say yes, you're not goin' anywhere alone, right?" he asked as he looked back at her.
She nodded.
"And we'll have to make arrangements for the ranch while we're out chasin' this crazy bitch."
"Of course." Her eyes sparkled as she looked him over and asked, "So what do you say? Do you have one last ride in you like I do?"
The complexity of emotions that ran rampant across her husband's handsome face made it impossible for her to read. He sighed through his nose and shook his head. A knowing frown tugged at his lips.
"You're not gonna give up on this, are you?"
She shook her head and grinned. "Hell no." She took great care and time staring back at him, paying close attention to how torn and doubtful he looked. She narrowed her eyes a fraction and gave him an empathetic smirk.
At long last, Jack sighed and laid the poster back down on the table. He looked it over one last time before he turned his attention to his wife and answered, "Let me sleep on it, darlin'. You'll have your answer in the morning, I promise."
Maddie bowed her head in appreciation and acceptance of his compromise. "Of course, my love."
"And we should have plenty of hay in the loft if the grass isn't keepin' the cattle and the horses full," Jack found himself saying two days later as he saddled up Sundance. He glanced back over his shoulder and looked Eli Jones over, as well as the other two ranch hands that Bonnie MacFarlane had sent to help keep his ranch afloat while he and his wife were away.
The men nodded simultaneously
"And if you like, you can take the horses for a ride," Maddie added. She stood behind Jack as she saddled Gypsy. She glanced back at him with an excited smile.
Jack could only half-heartedly return it before he turned away and finished tightening up the front cinch. As he moved toward the back cinch, he caught himself looking around his ranch with longing. Already, he was homesick, and he hadn't even left yet. The autumn breeze that morning held a biting chill; his duster kept the cold at bay considerably, but his face and legs were beginning to feel the onset of the upcoming winter. He suspected it would be a harsh winter, and he hoped he'd be back in time to make sure his livestock were ready before the first snow fell.
"Make yourselves at home, boys," Maddie continued. She could hardly contain the excitement as she hastily finished with the saddle and saddlebags. She had packed lightly but not foolishly; there was plenty of rations for her and her husband, as well as an extra set of clothes and ammunition, a compass, a map of Mexico, and her usual accouterments she always brought with her on hunts. Her body trembled as she mounted her mare, but it wasn't the cold the bothered her. No more would she be dreaming of riding her horse across open land; no more would she be yearning for adventure and purpose. She would soon be quenching her thirst for all she desired once they left the ranch.
"Yeah, settle in," Jack agreed as he mounted his horse and gathered the reins. He looked from Eli Jones to the other two men in turn, locking eyes with them all. "This place is as much your home as it is ours. Just be sure you take great care of it while we're gone."
With a broadening smile and a mischievous twinkle in his dark eyes, Eli nodded and said, "A course, Mistuh Mawsten. We's gon' take care a yuh ranch. Jus' promise me 'n' the boys one thing when you's get back."
Jack blinked. "Sure. What is it?"
The Negro jerked a thumb back over his shoulder at the house and chuckled, "Ya'll need to start fillin' up that house. When ya'll gon' have some chil'ren?"
The Marstons blushed and exchanged horrified looks; the ranch hands broke into raucous laughter and smacked each other's shoulders. In between gasps, Eli demanded, "What's the problem, Jack? Ain't doin' yo job good 'nuff?"
Jack hid his face behind his hat. "Jesus."
Despite her face flaring a bright red, Maddie raised her chin and boldly stated, "There's nothin' wrong with my husband, and I'll have you know we don't need children."
The laughter died down after she spoke. As Eli straightened up from his bent stance, he gasped for breath before he asked, "Well, whatchu waitin' fo? The end of tha world?"
Maddie looked Eli in the eyes and growled, "Every time I see you, Mister Jones, you always ask me the same damn question. Well, I'm growin' quite tired of hearin' it. I tell you what: we'll have children when you and Bonnie and Drew and everybody else stops pesterin' us about it!"
Eli threw back his head and guffawed. He slapped his thigh. "Well, then! I guess we all best stop tawkin' 'n' git ta workin', then!"
"You're damn right you do," Jack hissed.
"Oh, ya'll are just bein' sour," the second ranch hand chortled.
"Yeah, we're just pokin' fun is all," the other added with a barely-concealed smile.
"This place had better be in good shape when I get back, or else," Jack warned as he reined his horse around. Beneath him, Sundance pranced in place, swished his tail, and chewed at the bit.
Eli brushed off his warning with a careless wave of his hand. "Ya worry too much, Jack. We gon' take care of yo livestock fo ya."
"You'd better, you old coot."
Maddie elbowed her husband in the side. "You hush it now. C'mon, let's get going. We've got a long day of riding ahead of us." She looked down at the men and tipped her hat to them. "We'll be back as soon as we can. Again, thank you for coming on such short notice. We appreciate it. We'll make sure to pay you double what Bonnie gives you."
Eli shook his head. "No thanks, Missus Mawsten. It ain't no big deal. We's glad to be doin' this fo ya."
She smiled down at him. "Until next time, then," she said as she reined her horse around and urged her down the path that led to the road. Gypsy needed hardly any prompting to go; she half-reared the second her rider's spurs touched her sides and took off at a gallop.
Sundance wasn't far behind her; within two long strides of his muscular body, he'd caught up, and the two horses raced each other to the gate. Their riders were able to pull them up at the gate and open it; otherwise, they knew their horses would've jumped the fence. Once they were on the other side of the fence and their riders back on, the horses took off once again down the road out of the Great Plains, through Thieves Landing, and into Hennigan's Stead. By the time they'd ridden through the MacFarlane ranch, Gypsy and Sundance had worn themselves out and slowed to a relaxing walk. Now spent of all the pent-up energy, the horses settled into a peaceful, ambling gait down the road. At first, the journey was spent in silence as they made their way around Pike's Basin. By the time the sun was directly above them, they ascended into Cholla Springs.
"So," Maddie began as she looked over at her husband, "have you ever been to Mexico?"
"Yeah. Once."
"Really? You've never told me that. What for?"
"Hmm?"
"Why'd you go to Mexico?"
He stared down at the saddle horn and cleared his throat.
"Jack."
"I crossed the border and tracked your uncle down five years ago. Does that answer your question?"
Not knowing what to say or how to react, Maddie stared down the road before them. "Oh."
"Yeah."
The plodding of their horses' hooves and the sighing breeze were the only sounds for a long time as the Marstons made their way closer to Armadillo. As they neared town, however, Maddie reined Gypsy to the left towards Coot's Chapel. Perplexed, Jack and Sundance followed.
"What are we doin' here?" he asked as they hitched their horses in front of the chapel and dismounted. No men were present to tend to the church or graves, and so it was without a doubt that they were utterly left alone. Only the sigh of the breeze and the occasional blowing of their horses was heard.
Maddie waved him after her as she walked into the cemetery. "I figured we needed to stretch our legs and give the horses a rest. Plus, there's someone I want you to meet."
Jack followed her towards the edge of the lot to a gravestone thatm as they neared it, he felt a sense of piousness to the very earth he walked upon. It was only when he stood before the grave and read the inscription did he understand why. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped; he blinked in rapid succession, hardly believing what he read. He hastily took off his father's hat and held it before him, feeling inferior in the presence of the late legend whom his father had idolized and told him about.
"Landon Ricketts?" he gasped. "The Landon Ricketts?!"
Beside him, Maddie nodded proudly and grinned down at the gravestone. "Yes, Jack. Here he is. I told you you'd get to meet him some day."
"But Maddie, you said he'd died around the same time my pa did."
She motioned down to the grave. "Well, yeah, but here he is. Look, I know it's not the same, but here at last in the quiet little patch of land in the middle of nowhere, you can see for yourself that he wasn't more than just a legend." She scoffed. "Well, he kind of was. It even says it on the stone, anyways."
Jack chortled and shook his head, still not believing what he was seeing. "'Here lies Landon Ricketts, the fastest gun in the West. May the Legend forever live on'. God, I wish I would've been able to meet him in person like Pa did! He told me about him when he got back from bringin' in Dutch."
"I wish you would've been able to meet him, too," Maddie agreed softly and sighed. As she read the gravestone repeatedly, a sadness she'd kept buried within her steadily rose and took hold of her heart. She ached for the chance to see the old man again, the father figure she so desperately needed in her time of sorrow and despair. She thought back to the day she and Landon met. She was nothing but a hot-headed, stubborn, and undoubtedly heartbroken girl of sixteen back then when she rode her weary horse into Chuparosa. She recalled how pitiful she must've looked to him, with her long hair in tangles, her clothes filthy from trail dust and the like, and her horse covered with sweat and her head hung low. She had just ridden into Mexico with nothing but the clothes she wore, the money she'd taken from her father and step-mother, and the locket around her neck of her late mother.
"You look a long way from home," Ricketts had said the moment she hitched her horse. The grey, intelligent eyes looked her over with practiced intuition. "You look like some runaway mail-order bride, miss."
"I sure as shit am not!" she snapped and, much to her dismay and shame, burst into tears.
The kind-hearted man she didn't know from Adam suddenly came to her and took her in his arms. "Whoa, whoa, whoa there, sweet girl. What's the matter?"
Maddie remembered being a blubbering, sobbing mess as she explained everything to him. From that moment onward, the old man had taken her under his experienced arm and, with unspoken consent, had become her surrogate parent.
"Maddie? You all right?"
It took a moment for her to snap back in the present and realize it wasn't Landon that was speaking to her, but her husband, who had taken a step closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Maddie blinked and looked up at him.
"You okay? You're crying."
She sniffed and wiped at her eyes hastily with the crook of her sleeve. "I just miss him so much. He practically became my father." She sighed greatly. "I miss his voice. I miss his shooting lessons and his stories. I miss our late-night talks and our bounty hunts and my Spanish lessons. He was the one who taught me to become a self-made woman, and a strong one at that. He made me into who I am."
"I know," Jack said and kissed her cheek.
Maddie sniffed again and choked back a sob as she looked back down at the grave. "You would've loved him, Jack. He was such a good man. He was the peacekeeper of Chuparosa and the one that everyone turned to for advice. He was a good friend and a terrific leader. He was unmatched with a gun…although I've heard tell that your father was right up alongside him."
Jack grinned. "Pa didn't say much 'bout what all he did down in Mexico, but he did mention his time with Ricketts to me. I'm glad he told me about that."
"I'm glad, too," she agreed and wrapped an arm around his waist. "It's good that our fathers met."
"So, do you actually know any Spanish?" Maddie asked, breaking the silence that had developed between them. After they paid their respects to Ricketts' grave, they mounted up and continued, riding past Riley's Charge, Fort Mercer, and Plainview. Nothing was needed to be said as the two enjoyed riding the miles away. However, as they rode down the ascending road to the bridge that crossed into Mexico, Maddie felt it necessary to ask something she knew she should've asked long before they had gotten close to the border.
"Umm...," Jack hesitantly answered.
"Well?" she asked impatiently. "Do you?"
He flashed his wife a facetious smile, tipped his hat to her, and said, "Hola, lady."
Her confounded stare was enough to let him know he was way in over his head. "You can't be serious."
"Hey, Pa never really taught me. Plus, there was no need for me to learn, anyways, since I've always been here in the States."
She sighed greatly, shook her head, and buried her face in her hands. "Excelente."
He half-turned in the saddle to face her as fully as possible. "Hey, let me at least try." He beckoned to her encouragingly. "C'mon, teach me somethin'."
She threw back her head and guffawed. "Really?"
He nodded.
"It's a little too late for me to be givin' you lessons when we're about to cross the border. Granted, that's mostly my fault, but still."
He shrugged. "So?"
"So, what I'm saying is that you're uncultured and therefore not ready for this."
Jack rolled his eyes. "C'mon, Maddie. I can do this."
She cocked an eyebrow. "Can you, Jack? Can you really?"
He narrowed his eyes at her. "Yes, smart-ass, I can."
She scoffed and directed her attention forward as they neared the bridge. "Vamos a ver, Jack."
"What?"
"Exactly."