HONORABLE INTENTIONS

CHAPTER FIVE

It wasn't till my horse nearly stumbled that I reined him in and slowed to a trot. I knew I'd been pushin' him hard, but all I could think of was Daisy and Mike at home unprotected. I was worried about Slim, too. Knowing that dad blamed stubborn streak of his more 'n' likely meant he wouldn't be following doctor's orders. What if Deevy and his gang did show up? Slim didn't know about the threats and wouldn't be expectin' trouble, especially not from the likes of him. And what good would Slim be anyway, laid out flat on his back with a busted collar bone? Even if he could get on his feet, there weren't no guarantees he'd be in any fit state to use a gun. I eased Traveller to a walk so he could catch his breath, knowin' I hadn't been real smart lettin' him get in this condition to start with, but then I hadn't exactly been thinkin' real clear when I finally rode out of Laramie.

"Easy there, boy," I murmured as he dropped his head, snortin' once or twice and stompin' at the ground just to make sure I knew he wasn't happy. He had company there. That whole business back in town with Tip… and what them folks was thinking had me wound tighter than an eight day clock.

It wasn't too much longer 'fore Traveller quit his blowin' and his head was back up where it should be. I sweet-talked him a mite longer till I was sure he was rested enough, then urged him to a gentle lope, even though every instinct inside a me was screamin' to go harder.

I reckon'd I'd only gone another half mile when he pulled up again, shying and dancing around in circles. "Easy fella, easy there." I said, lookin' around to see what'd spooked him. And then I heard the shot ring out a split second after the dirt in front of me kicked up. My horse reared up and I struggled to stay in the saddle, workin' to keep him calm. Holding the rein in my left hand, and my right one next to useless meant I couldn't reach for my gun.

Another shot zinged past my ear, nearly taking my hat with it and that was too close for comfort. I slapped hard with the reins and kicked my spurs into his flank. "HAH!" My horse came down on all four hooves, fear urging him into a gallop. "Come on! YAH!" I yelled at him again, like he weren't already figuring it was a good idea to get outta there. He found his rhythm, covering the ground in long easy strides beneath me. I reckoned I had a pretty good idea who was shootin', but I sure as heck wasn't waitin' around to see.

Layin' down low, I pressed my face against Traveller's neck, spitting mane from my mouth and blinkin' sweat outta my eyes. I leaned hard to the left tryin' to make myself as small a target as possible, but with my right hand out of action, upsetttin' my balance in an awful big way, I could feel myself slipping too low in the seat.

All I could hear was the sound of thundering hooves, no idea if I was still being fired at and all the time I was edging further and further outta the saddle. 'Fore I knew what was happening, Traveller was sliding out from under me. He was down on his knees and the speed the road was comin' up at me, I knew for certain sure, when I hit, there weren't gonna be no give in it.

Yeah, this was gonna hurt.

In a tangle of knees and elbows I skidded along the dirt, head down and right arm tucked tight against my body, hopin that'd be some use in protectin' my bum hand. I finally stopped movin' with the help of a good solid rock. The kind I usually aim to hide behind when on the wrong end of a rifle sight. 'Ceptin' I was on the side of the rock that sets you up like a duck at a shootin' gallery.

Not sure how long I stayed there wheezin' and wonderin' if I was gonna be left afoot. All I knew for sure it was longer than I wanted, 'specially knowin' I might be lined up for target practice by some dirty, low down bushwhacker.

Soon as I could breathe again, I rolled carefully onto my knees, taking stock of the latest scrapes and bruises. Didn't feel like I busted anythin' new. Exceptin' for a shredded hole in the left knee of my pants and some gravel burns along the side of my face and elbow, I reckon I got out of it pretty light. I sure hoped Daisy was feelin' forgiving when I handed over my pants for some mendin'.

I stumbled behind the boulder and hunkered down, leaning back against the rock. I pulled my iron from its holster, hitting it once or twice against my thigh to clean out some of the dirt. And then I waited.

No more shots were fired and I was getting real anxious about what was goin' on. I eased myself up slow - feeling all them places that bounced along the ground stiff and sore - and risked a look to the side. Nothin', no sign of anybody, no shots fired.

The shooter had to be somewhere close and I wondered if a bullet might land between my shoulders at any moment.

Stretchin' a little higher, I led with my gun and looked over the top of the boulder. Still nothin'.

Then I heard it. A soft nicker from behind and I whirled around ready to empty my .45 into whoever had taken the shot at me. But no-one was there. Traveller stood not forty feet away, tearing at a clump of grass with his teeth and eyeing me thoughtfully as he chewed. I let out a long breath and checked the area for any sign of company.

Edging around to the other side of the rock, I kept my gun trained out in front, just itchin' to let someone have it. Again… nothing happened. With slow, limping steps I made my way back to where my horse was standing, talkin' sweet-like to him in case he got it in his head to take off for home without me.

Seems the grass held a bigger attraction than escape and he stayed where he was. I picked up my hat and slapped it against my leg. A swirl of dust exploded into the air, I coughed once and put it back on my head.

The quiet still worried me. It didn't feel right. Why would Deevy shoot at me then just quit? Why… and then it hit me like a bolt of lightning and there weren't no more considerin' to be done. I shoved my iron into the waist band of my jeans. Then not givin' too much thought to caution, scooped up the reins and pulled Traveller around. And he wasn't givin' too much thought to wanting to leave his patch of grass. He shied away, pullin' his head up sudden and them dang reins nearly slipped outta my hand.

"Easy, boy, easy." He pulled back once more then seemed to remember who was boss so I mounted and turned his head for home, diggin' my spurs in until he was movin' at a full gallop.

The ranch was quiet when I rode in. Maybe too quiet. There was a pricklin' feeling creepin' along the back of my neck when I came down the slope checkin' the ridge and surrounding land for any sign someone was hidin' there. One side of me was reasonin' Slim would be restin' and the small trail of smoke snakin' out from the chimney was more 'n likely Daisy inside cooking supper -and the other side, the one with that nigglin' voice whispering in my ear, was sayin' all that quiet might mean trouble.

I rode up to the corral, eased myself slowly outta the saddle, feelin' dry blood crackling around my knee. I was still nursin' my right hand tight against my body knowin' by now there was no real way to ease the pain. I dropped the reins and pulled the gun from my waist band. Traveller ambled on over to the water trough and started drinkin'. He and I needed to have words and I figured most of them were gonna be me apologizing to him for his rough treatment. I turned in a slow arc, lookin' for any sign somethin' wasn't right, then I limped my way to the side of the house.

The front door burst open all of a sudden. I turned fast, pulled back the hammer and felt my finger tighten against the trigger.

"Jess!" Mike came hurtlin' out like a train with a full head of steam. I clicked the hammer back in place, felt my knees give a little and let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey, Tiger."

He barreled right on into me, woulda knocked us both flying if I hadn't grabbed him under the arms and lifted him. He didn't miss my sharp grunt of pain when my hand connected with his back.

He leaned back, frowning. "Jess, are you hurt?"

"No, Tiger, just a little saddle sore," I lied, easing him to the ground. I straightened up and holstered my gun.

He stood, lookin' me up and down. "You best take a bath, Jess. You're real dirty. Aunt Daisy, ain't gonna like it. She just scrubbed the floor yesterday."

I looked down at my grime covered shirt and pants and, yeah, I'd be lucky if Daisy'd let me past the front porch.

"And you got blood on your face." He added, screwing up his nose and looking hard at that place where I connected with the ground.

I swiped a hand along my cheek, wincing when I made contact with the scrape, studied my fingers and wiped the small trail of blood on the side of my pants.

"And your pants are all torn up." He squinted harder, studying the shredded hole where my knee had dragged along the dirt and pointing a finger said," There's blood there, too." Taking a step back he put his hands on his hips then asked, "You been fightin' again?"

"No I ain't." I said, defensively, thinkin' Mike's stance was just a mite too much like Slim. "Me and Traveller… we had a temporary parting of ways."

"You mean you got throwed?"

"Yeah. Somethin' like that. Now where is everybody?"

"Aw, Slim's resting inside. He's been hurtin' real bad and Aunt Daisy made him lie down. In his bed! And it ain't even dark yet." He lost interest in me and wandered over to my horse. "You want me to put him in the barn for ya, Jess?"

Traveller was lookin' all sad and neglected. He still wasn't real happy with me for pushin' him so hard. I wasn't exactly dancin' a jig, neither, and I knew he needed some careful tending. But I didn't want Mike wandering around on his own. "How about you and me both take him in? He needs a good rub down and I could use the help."

We headed slowly to the barn, mostly on account of my left leg stiffening up some and that graze rubbin' against what was left of the ripped denim in the knee of my jeans. I let Mike hold the reins and lead while I limped beside him.

"Slim was right." Mike said as we approached the barn doors.

"Right about what, Tiger?"

"He said we gotta keep a watchful eye on you on account of you don't always tell the truth when you're hurt."

I stopped dead still, looking down at this four foot kid babblin' on like he was the adult and I was some kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Whatta you talkin' about?"

"You ain't just saddle sore. You're hurt. You got blood on your face and there's a cut on your knee and you're limping. You wouldn't be limpin' if you weren't hurt. And you're sure holding your hand a funny way. Slim said…"

"Slim said. Well ain't Slim just full a good advice." I said, makin' a promise to myself there and then that soon as Slim was on his feet again, me and Mike was going on a fishin' trip. Just the two of us. Seemed to me old Slim was havin' too much say with the boy.

"Slim don't always know everything. So how about you just worry about my horse there and how we're gonna get him cleaned up and bedded down. Now let's go."

We were just about to enter the barn when I heard a noise inside.

"Hold it, Mike." I laid my left hand on his shoulder, getting him to stand still, then I reached around and pulled my gun out.

"What's the matter?"

"Thought I heard something."

"Aw it's probably just that old fox. He was here last night snoopin' around. Aunt Daisy came out to shoo him away but he was already gone. Maybe he came back."

"Not so loud," I said lowering my voice to just above a whisper. "You mean there was noises out here last night?"

"Uh huh." Mike nodded while Traveller shuffled restlessly in his grip.

I eased the hammer back on my gun and considered what he just said, at the same time hoping he was right and it wasn't nothin' more than some critter lookin' for an easy feed.

"You wait here. If there's any trouble run and get Slim. And I want you and Daisy to stay inside."

"Aunt Daisy ain't here."

"What? Whatta you mean she ain't here?"

"I dunno, she wanted to…"

I heard something move again inside the barn. "Shhh." I lowered my voice even more. "We'll talk about this when I'm through checking the barn. You and Traveller move over behind the corral. Just in case."

Mike urged my horse to follow him back where he'd come from. Traveller went willingly, somethin' I wasn't real sure he'd do.

The barn was all in shadow at the back. In front some light was creepin' in through the doors and the holes in the roof where Slim and me shoulda replaced them boards like Daisy'd been askin'.

I edged my way in, gun in hand, my trigger finger slick with sweat. All the horses were grazing in the south pasture, 'cept the stage team, they were in the corral. So I knew it couldn't a been them making that noise. Taking it real slow, I made my way to the back, listening for any sign of someone lurkin' in the shadows.

A bird flew overhead, crossing one corner of the barn roof to the other. It was only good luck that stopped me blowin' its brains out. I wondered briefly if that was whatI heard earlier, till there was a scatchin' sound right at the back.

I glanced quickly at the corral, checking on Mike. I could just see the top of his head over the trough. That'a boy, Tiger. At least he'd thought to try and hide some.

The scratchin' stopped and there was another noise. Shufflin', then the sound of something fallin' over. A tin clattered and rolled out in the open. I took a few more steps forward, then a streak of red fur shot past me. A fox. My knees went all weak and sweat pooled under my arms and there was an awful dry feelin' in my mouth. A fox - well don't that beat all. I almost laughed. Maybe Mike was right. He'd just come back to see if there was more food on the offerin'. I kept my gun in my hand, makin' my way to where I seen it run out, wonderin' what caught its attention.

It took a few seconds for my eyes to get used to the shadows. Didn't seem to be no sign of any human predator so I relaxed a bit, let my left hand drop to my side but held off holstering my gun.

I kicked at some of the straw behind the saddle stand from where that pesky critter'd fled. Nothing there that'd make me think he'd be interested. A little further in and to the right, just past the saddle stand, we got that old barrel Jonesy used to store his liniment pot. I moved between two grain sacks and looked behind the barrel. Something caught my eye on the ground. Blood. Not more'n a few drops but it sure had me wonderin' where it'd come from.

Couldn't see nothin'right off that might account for it. Till I looked up. There, strung up on one of the tack hooks was a rabbit, its head lolling to one side and a rope tied around its neck. But it wasn't the rope that killed it. A neat bullet hole right through its head was what caused the blood on the ground. Looked about the right size that'd fit a .22 slug. And I'd bet my next month's pay it was made by the same gun that'd been firin' them shots at me.

If this was Deevy's idea of a joke, I wasn't laughin'.

"Jess, what's takin' ya so long?"

I turned around quickly and all but fell ass over tea kettle across that old barrel. Mike was standing in the doorway squintin' into the gloom with Traveller silhouetted behind him.

"Mike, whatta you doin' here? Thought I told ya to stay over by the corral?"

"I saw the fox run out. Figured there weren't no more danger."

"Wait there, Tiger, I'll be out in a minute."

"Aw, Jess, can't I…"

"I said wait there! No arguin'." I didn't want the boy seein' that rabbit hangin' there but I sure didn't mean to come down on him like I did. It was too dark to see his face but I didn't miss the slump to his shoulders as he shuffled back outside.

Drawing in a deep breath, I let it out slow, promisin' myself I'd make it up to Mike later. It only took a minute to cut the cottontail down and toe some hay over the body. I'd come back later and bury it somehow.

Making my way to the barn door where Mike was still waiting, I forced a grin and tried lightenin' my tone some, "Guess it was just that fox I heard. Come on, Tiger, let's get Traveller fed and watered. He's done a lotta hard ridin' today."

"Told ya it weren't nothin' but that dumb old fox," Mike whined at me. Couldn't hardly blame him for being sore. Guess the way I been actin' must've seemed like I clean lost my marbles.

I grabbed the rein off of him and led my horse to his stall. "Come on, I could really use your help getting Traveller cleaned up. You still wanna help me, don't ya?"

He cracked a smile. "You bet!" And he skipped along beside me.

Then I remembered Daisy.

"Where's Daisy, Mike?"

"She went to take some of that chicken she's been cooking all morning to Joey Dolman's mom." He looked at me like someone just whipped his puppy and tied it to a tree. "And she took one of them pies she baked. Thought we were gonna have both of 'em. Wouldn't have picked so many berries if I knew she was gonna give one of 'em away." Mike kicked at the ground, gone all sulky.

"When did she go?" I asked, loosening the cinch one-handed.

"I dunno, pretty soon after lunch, I reckon. Mose and me, we helped her hitch up the wagon." Mike had recovered from the sulks and was sidled up closer to me watchin' as I struggled to hold the cinch with my right wrist and work the metal catch free with my left hand.

"Want me to help ya, Jess. On account of ya being hurt and all." He just wasn't gonna quit.

"Sure, Tiger. Traveller could do with some oats, and you could fill up his water bucket, too, while you're at it."

He wandered off and I finally got the strap free and dragged the saddle down, letting it fall at my feet. I didn't like Daisy being out on that road alone. Damn it, I knew I should a come home right away, instead of lettin' Mort and the doc talk me into going back to get checked out.

I spared a look at my hand… black and blue and all outta shape. What if the doc was right? If it'd never go back to how it was? I tested my fingers, wantin' to know if I could make 'em work.

When the barn stopped spinning and I felt I could get back up on my feet without puking, I grabbed hold of Traveller's reins and slowly pulled myself up, cussin' a string of words that would a curled a nun's hair. My horse gave a quiet snort and stamped his right hoof, then turned and nuzzled at my shoulder.

"Yeah, I know, fella. It's been one of them days," I said, running my left hand along his neck and briefly resting my head there. Guess I found my answer; those fingers weren't budgin' an inch, not without causin' me a bucket load of grief and the bones to grate together. I let a few more choice words out into the barn knowin' it weren't gonna ease the pain none, but feelin' the need to say 'em anyway. I sure was thankful Mike wasn't there to hear me.

"Boy, you're lucky Aunt Daisy ain't around to hear you talk like that. She don't even like it when I say darn."

Looked like my day wasn't about to get any better. I turned to Mike, blinking once or twice to bring him into focus. "Them the oats?" I asked nodding at the bucket in his hand and hoping to get his attention away from me.

"Yep." He came around and put the oats in the feed bin in front of Traveller.

"Sorry you had to hear that, Tiger." I said, turning my attention to gettin' the bridle off my horse before he started in on the oats.

"Aw, that's okay. Slim said you had a…a…ten…tenden…tendency for cussing when you're hurt. He said it was your way of dealin' with it and we should just ignore ya."

"Oh he said that, did he?" I peeled the bridle back and hung it on one of the tack hooks on the wall. Traveller shoved his head into that bucket of oats like he hadn't seen food for months.

"You sure must be hurtin' somethin' awful, Jess. Guess you landed pretty hard when you got throwed."

"Well it ain't as if the ground suddenly opens up in a big fluffy, pillow, now is it, Mike? So, yeah, the landing weren't all that comfortable. Hand me one of the groomin' brushes, will ya?" I set about checking my horse for his own injuries. He landed pretty hard when he went down, too.

With Mike's help we got Traveller groomed in no time at all and I applied some salve to the grazes on his knees. He wasn't too worse for wear and for that I was thankful. One last chore was to get that saddle off the floor and onto the stand. Again, I got Mike to help me, feelin' that watchful eye of his borin' into me as I struggled one handed to lift it.

By the time we were through I was feelin' every one of them places that scraped along the road and my belly was grumbling up a storm. If I didn't get some food inside me soon I reckon I might chew the leg right off one a them saddle stands.

"Come on, Mike. Let's get on in and see how Slim's doin'." 'Fore I could get serious bout food, though; I needed to talk to Slim. Let him know about gettin' shot at, 'bout that rabbit in the barn and how we need to be takin' action to protect ourselves in case Deevy came snoopin' around. Maybe even think about movin' Mike and Daisy in town for a few days.

Dustin' off my clothes as I walked, Mike and me made our way towards the house, all the while I was keepin' careful watch on the crest at the top of the road. I was real uneasy about the way things were. The sooner I got Slim on my side and we made arrangements for Daisy and Mike, the happier I'd be.

"Aint you gonna get cleaned up, Jess? Told ya, Aunt Daisy…"

"Yeah, Mike. Later. I need to talk to Slim." I quickened my pace, but with my knee rubbing against my torn pants and gettin' stiffer by the minute, I wasn't movin' all that fast. Mike kept bobbin' around me like a frisky colt, chattering away about how Daisy wouldn't like me just trampin' all that dirt inside. I really needed to get him out huntin' and fishin' and untied from them apron strings of Daisy's. It weren't right for him to be thinkin' so much on women's work before he was ten.

I stomped the dirt off my boots and slapped another cloud of dust outta my clothes and gave my hat one last hit against my thigh before entering.

Continued in chapter 6