A/N: I don't own Bonanza, only my OC.
Edited 2-18-21 to add line breaks and fix formatting.
"Annie, how do they look over there?" Joe called across the tail end of the herd.
"Just fine, " she replied, wheeling Reno around to head off a pesky steer she'd been locking horns with the whole way. They were only a day out from Sand Dust, and she was more than ready to get out of the saddle and relax. They'd be making camp soon; she could almost taste Hop Sing's special stew.
She stretched out on the ground near the fire, hat over her face to block out the firelight. Candy and Hoss sat across from her, all of them waiting on Joe and sipping hot coffee fresh from the pot. Boots crunched on the undergrowth and Annie tipped her hat up. "Herd's all settled and I've got the night riders out. Candy, you'll have to take over about one on the east ridge."
"I'll be there."
Hoss yawned and sprawled on his bedroll. "You'd think as long as them critters have been on the trail, they'd be bawled out by now." Candy chuckled.
"I'd think, being a Cartwright, you'd love all that mooing. The sound of money in your pockets." Hoss yawned again.
"There are times after a long rive, that I'd rather have a nice, soft bed over cold, hard cash. Hey, Joe, Candy was telling us about this fancy eating place they got down in Sand Dust, what was it called again?"
"The Golden something. I expect you can find it without me." Annie sat up so fast she almost spilled her coffee.
"Why would we have to find it without you?"
"Well, I told your pa that this was it. You know how much cash I'm gonna have burning a hole in my pocket? I could get all the way to Chicago." Joe raised his eyebrows.
"Now why would you give up a long, hard ride back to the Ponderosa just to sit in a nice, comfortable train, and watch all those pretty girls heading back East –" He stopped. "Hey, Hoss, how come we never ran away from home?"
"I would have tagged along and Pa would have tanned your hides for letting me." Candy smiled. Annie set her coffee down. "I was joking, Candy." Hoss and Joe exchanged looks. Candy shrugged.
"Time I was moving along anyway."
"Candy –"
"Annie, let him be." Joe sipped his coffee. "If the man wants to leave, he can leave." She threw Joe a scathing glare and flopped back down against her bedroll without a word. Hoss shrugged and yawned again.
"Night." He drew his arm up over his face and snuggled into his bedroll. Joe took another sip of coffee. Candy stared into the fire. Annie dumped the last of her coffee and crawled under her blanket. A massive snore from Hoss brought all of their heads up. He snored again and Joe lowered his coffee cup.
"You'd better watch, he just might put out the fire." Candy grinned and Joe giggled. Annie rolled her eyes and turned over. Another snore split the night and she burrowed deeper.
Of all the times to forget the cotton she stuffed in her ears for exactly this reason; Hoss had snored like a lumberjack the whole trip.
The next morning found them waiting just outside Sand Dust. "Fine beef cattle, you didn't drive 'em too hard." Their pa's old friend sat his horse beside Annie, watching the last of the herd amble over the ridge. "When you get back to the Ponderosa, tell Ben how pleased I am you brought your herd all the way to Sand Dust."
"He'll be happy to hear that, Mr. Haskell, but it's not the reason we brought them, it's cause you're paying fifty cents a head more." They all laughed.
"They're worth it to me. I'll have your money ready whenever you want to come by my office." Haskell turned his horse. "I'll see you in town."
"Good enough, we'll be through here soon enough." He rode off and Hoss smacked his lips.
"Sand Dust. I wonder if a man can get a beer in a town with a name like that."
"I'm buying," Candy said, and they all turned to him. "Four farewell beers."
"Candy, I never really figured you was serious." Hoss shifted in his saddle. Candy shook his head.
"Not to be crowding you or nothing, but I'll be moving along as soon as I draw my wages." Annie ground her teeth. She'd told him she was only joking. What was his problem? Joe and Hoss traded looks.
"Suit yourself." Candy nodded at Joe and rode off. They watched him leave, and Hoss spoke up.
"I never did ask, but what did you say to him, Annie?"
"Oh, it was when we took pa to Virginia City to catch the stage, right before that rat Dibbs showed up, remember? Anyway, I said something, and he said something, just joking like I do with all the hands, and then he said something else and I said I'd fire him, but that I'd wait until after the drive to Sand Dust since we wouldn't need him as much then, oh, it was stupid, you know? We were joking, at least I thought we were." She straightened Reno's mane. "He got real quiet after that. He's hard to read sometimes, and then I can't make heads or tails of him."
"He may not realize he can joke around with you, sis."
"Why couldn't he?"
"I'd imagine most places, the hands don't see much of the boss's daughter, much less have the freedom to kid around."
"He's too good a hand to lose. I'll talk him out of it while we're having that beer."
"Maybe so, Hoss." Joe reined Cochise around. "Let's get back to work."
"Annie, if you want to go ahead and find that saloon, we'll be along shortly. I'll collect the money from Mr. Haskell and get us rooms at the hotel."
"I'll get the rooms, Joe. Don't forget to give him the gift Pa sent along. The way you ride, I'm shocked it's still in one piece."
"Like you don't ride like there's Paiutes on your tail."
"Only when there actually are," she replied with a grin and turned Reno. Joe laughed and swung down off Cochise. Annie rode down the street, heading for the only hotel in town. She tied Reno to the hitch rail out front and stepped up onto the boardwalk.
The clerk looked up from his newspaper and frowned. "Can I help you … miss?" Green eyes took in her dusty trail garb. She strolled across the lobby and leaned an arm on the counter.
"I'm Anne Cartwright, my brothers and I just brought a herd into town and we'd like a couple of rooms for the night."
"Cartwright? Of the Ponderosa?"
"Yes." He looked her over once more and sniffed.
"Rooms two and four, left side of the hall upstairs." He pushed the register across the desk. "Sign here, please." She took the pen.
"Would there be someplace to get a bath around here?"
"There's a room down the hall back there." He pointed down a corridor behind the counter. "Water's changed every day."
"Thank you." She scrawled their names in the ledger. Should she add Candy, too? Hoss tended to be mighty persuasive. Ten to one, Candy would be riding back with them, but what if he didn't? Good hands were hard to come by, scarcer than hen's teeth some places. Hoss was right, they couldn't afford to lose one like Candy. Annie bit her lip and added Candy's name beside theirs. She pushed the register back across the counter and gunfire rang out down the street, startling the clerk. Annie froze. No. They'd only been in town – she shot a glance at the clock on the wall – fifteen minutes. There was no way on God's green earth that they could have found trouble in that short amount of time. This was her brothers and Candy and –
She shoved away from the counter, drew her gun, and raced outside, following the sounds of battle until she could see the gun smoke and milling riders. Joe and Hoss hunkered around the corner of a building, exchanging shots with the mounted pack. A rifle roared overhead and she looked up to find Candy perched atop the barn behind Mr. Haskell's office. How did they do it? Was the Cartwright name a magnet for trouble?
One of the riders reeled back, clutching his shoulder, and the one standing near his horse fell backwards, leaping up to press himself against the open barn door. "Doug, wait!" But whoever Doug was, he didn't wait. They rode out, leaving the straggler alone. He ducked back into the barn; Joe and Hoss bolted around the other side. Annie darted after them. Joe headed around the back of Haskell's office. She followed Hoss towards the front.
Gunfire rang out inside; a woman screamed. Two more shots rang out and Hoss shoved through the door. Joe stood just inside, the stranger on the floor against the front wall, and a woman huddled near the safe. Where was Haskell?
"Get him out of here." Joe hauled the stranger to his feet and threw him at Hoss. He went around behind the desk and Hoss took the man outside.
"Joe?" Her twin stood up slowly and looked over at the woman – no, girl – standing against the wall.
"He's dead." The girl muffled a sob with her hand. Annie turned around and headed back outside just as Candy arrived.
"He just killed Haskell." Candy sighed and looked down.
"I had him in my sights, I should have squeezed." More riders appeared, but these had stars on their vests.
"What happened?" The sheriff swung down off his horse. "We heard shots."
"A gang robbed Mr. Haskell and they killed him. Bout seven or eight of them. We got this one."
"There's two more dead out behind the barn," Candy added. The sheriff looked down at the prisoner. "What's your name, boy?" The stranger said nothing.
"Billy," Joe said. "I heard them call another one Doug."
"Put your guns away, if there's any more shooting, we'll do it." Candy nodded and holstered his pistol.
"That's what I like: a man who knows what he's doing." Candy turned and hauled Billy to his feet.
"I want to see you all in my office." They all headed down the street to the jail and sheriff's office. The man set his deputies to question Billy, but he wouldn't say a word. The sheriff shook his head and came back over to them.
"You all ran into a bad bunch, Doug and Billy Slater. Wanted dead or alive in seven states. Might as well settle down, this could take a while. Now who saw the killing?"
"I did, and so did she." Joe nodded at the girl. The sheriff looked up.
"But not you three?" Hoss shook his head.
"All we saw was Billy toss the money bag to his brother. Don't know what all Annie seen."
"I saw him hand over the bag. And I heard the gunfire inside Haskell's office." The sheriff glanced over at Billy.
"Five witness to robbery and two to murder. Looks like there's gonna be a rope waiting for Billy." Billy Slater tilted his head and grinned.
"Doug will get me out. There ain't no jail that can hold me and you know it."
"Mine will." They all exchanged glances when Billy only smirked. The sheriff sighed.
"Valerie, how much did they get out of the safe?" The blond girl shook her head, looking like she was going to faint.
"I – I'm not sure. Enough to buy three or four herds the size of Mr. Cartwrights."
"Shall I lock him up?" one of the deputies asked. The sheriff nodded and they hauled Billy to his feet.
"You'll never convict me," he spit out. "There won't be enough witness left alive to testify, you'll see! You're all gonna be dead!" The deputies drug him back into the cell and Annie took her hand off her pistol.
"I hope none of you people have any pressing business for the next few days. You're staying here." Annie blinked. "You caught me a killer, but that's only half the battle. I need your testimony to get a conviction."
"Well, that's fine with us, Sheriff. How long you think it'll take?" Hoss folded his arms.
"I'll wire the circuit judge today. Two or three days to get here, two or three days for the trial. Unless he's in the middle of something right now."
"Alright, we'll be out at the trail camp." Joe motioned for them to go.
"Mr. Cartwright, you didn't hear me. I said this jail will hold Billy and it will. That means there's only one way Doug can see that Billy cheats the noose and that's to get rid of the witnesses." Annie shot a glance at Joe, then Hoss. "The Slater gang will try and kill you. So, you are now guests of the county. Protective custody, in the hotel, under guard. Valerie, you'll have to move out of the boarding house." He called to his deputies, listing several names. "Tell them I need them right now."
Within twenty minutes, the sheriff had his back up, and they headed down the street to the hotel. He spoke to the clerk in low tones. The man nodded vigorously and dug out a key. He led them all upstairs and showed them into a room at the end of the hall. Annie followed her brothers inside and looked around.
It definitely wasn't Virginia City, but she supposed for Sand Dust, it was as close to a presidential suite as one could find. "The ladies' bedroom is on the left, the gentlemens' on the right." Annie rolled her eyes at his tone. Didn't he just turn into a sack of butter when the sheriff showed up? The clerk left and the sheriff closed the door behind him.
"Keep this door locked at all times." Annie fought another eye roll. What did he think they planned on doing – offering the Slater gang a free shot? "There will be an armed deputy in the hall. You need anything, say the word."
"Thank you." Joe showed the man out and turned around. "Well, guess this'll be it for the next few days."
"Yeah." Hoss commented while staring out the window, Candy beside him checking his pistol. "Ain't no Virginia City is it?"
"Sure isn't." Annie sat down on the sofa and propped her boots on the center table. She tipped her hat back on her head and studied her twin. "Joe, how do you do it, hmm?"
"Do what?"
"At least three or four times a year, somewhere we go, you end up witnessing a murder, or getting blamed for one. Now why is that?"
"Oh, Annie." He set his hat on the end table. "Don't start."
"I'm serious, trouble follows us around like some stray dog looking for scraps." Hoss glanced over form the window.
"In a way, I'm glad it was us and not someone else. Who knows if they, whoever they were, would have the gumption to testify." Candy looked away from the window.
"Pretty soon that street down there will be full of people coming into town to see the trial and the hanging." His pronouncement was met with silence. Joe sighed.
"Well, let's get settled."
"You think they'd send someone to settle the horses at the livery? Maybe bring my saddlebags up here? I never did finish that dime novel I picked up two towns back." She'd have plenty of time now. Her eyes found the blond girl who'd worked for Haskell, Valerie, the sheriff had called her. Wisp thin and nervous as a cat around a coyote, the girl stood near the bedroom doorway, wringing her hands and watching them in silence. Hoss and Joe would expect her to talk to the girl tonight, set her mind at ease that nothing would happen, and she would. She just wasn't sure how much good it would do.
After a long, boring evening – even with her book – Annie readied herself for bed. She draped her britches over a chair in the bedroom and pulled back the covers.
"Ms. Cartwright?" She turned. Valerie stood a foot away, wringing her hands.
"Yes?"
"How – how can you be so calm? It's like nothing happened."
"It's not the first time we've gotten caught up in the middle of trouble, and I can guarantee you it won't be the last." Joe could find trouble if he was eighty and wracked with rheumatism. "We'll get through it." She offered a smile. "Billy Slater will hang and you won't have anything to worry about."
"Are – are you sure?"
"Of course. Get some sleep, I have a feeling it's going to be a long few days." Even longer if Valerie kept hovering like she was now. Did she have to stand so close? The blond nodded and went back to her own bed. Annie crawled under the covers and blew out the lamp.
It didn't take her long to fall asleep, but something woke her in the night and she started to reach for her pistol on the nightstand until the noise registered. She looked across the room, squinting in the darkness.
Valerie was crying, doing a good job of keeping quiet, but crying all the same. Maybe the sheriff would have better luck reassuring her later, after all he knew her better. Annie turned over and went back to sleep.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be hysterical. I've read about robberies and murders, everybody hears and reads about them. But when you're there. Mr. Haskell was so kind to me. Such a nice man to everyone." Annie laid down another card, exchanging glances with Candy. And now Valerie decided to get chatty. Hoss leaned back in his chair.
"That he was, Val, he was a fine fellow."
"I've never even seen a murder trial, I've never been a witness. I probably won't know what to do at all!" She took a breath. "Have you ever been a witness?" Which time? She laid down another card and nodded at Candy.
"Oh, there's nothing to it at all. You just swear to tell the truth, the prosecutor asks you a few questions and you answer them, that's it." Valerie's face crumpled and she dissolved into tears.
"I just wish I could go down those stairs, get on a train, and go home." She turned away. Annie glanced over at Hoss. This girl could change mood as fast as the weather.
"Hey, Val, just where is your home? I don't think you ever said." She took a deep breath and turned back around, tears drying.
"Albany, New York. The state capital." Candy turned in his chair.
"Your family still live there?"
"My mother. She's all the family I have now." She wrung her hands and came a few steps closer. "There's not much opportunity for a girl to work in New York. I thought I could do better out West." She swallowed hard. "If I'd known what it was going to be like I never would have come." Her eyes glistened.
"Oh, it's not that bad. We've got some fine towns, some fine folks."
"Most of them wear guns." Annie stilled. "Almost everyone."
"What's so special about Albany?" Candy didn't look up from his cards. "I imagine people get hurt in Albany. People probably even get murdered in Albany." He laid down a card and raised his head. Valerie stiffened.
"Probably," she agreed. "But I don't have to see it!" She fled the card table and stormed halfway across the parlor. "I didn't have to see the kindest man I've ever known get shot down in cold blood!" She folded her arms around her waist, one drifting up to cover her mouth as tears spilled down her face. Joe hurried in from the bedroom.
"What's the matter, what's going on?"
"Nothing, little brother, just talking." Annie shared a look with Candy. Sure they were. Ms. Townsend was about to lose it. The girl wiped her face with her handkerchief.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lose my temper." Hoss sighed.
"That's all right. You were a little rough on her, weren't you?" Candy looked up from his cards again.
"Frankly, that was the idea." He laid one down. "Your move."
"Candy, is it going to take another hostage situation for you to call me by my name?" If he thought she hadn't noticed, he wasn't as smart as he thought he was.
"You know I'm talking to you, what's the difference?"
"You wanted me to lose my temper?" Valerie interrupted. "Why?" Candy gave her a small smile.
"I once knew an Army doc, he told me people never get hysterical alone, they have to have an audience. The cure is to slap their face." Valerie stared at him. "And the next best thing is to tell 'em something that'll shock them." That was the second time he'd mentioned the Army. Annie studied her cards and laid one down, taking another from the deck. Had he been a soldier? Guessing, she'd put his age maybe two or three years older than her and Joe, if that. He'd been so close-mouthed about his past, any nugget of information was more valuable than gold.
"You're right." Valerie raised her chin. "We're going to be here for two days together before the trial. The last thing you want is a hysterical woman, I mean look at your sister." She looked down at her wrinkled handkerchief. "Thank you, Candy. I'll try and do better." Hoss nodded.
"I reckon Annie's used to it by now. You know, Val, you said you were from Albany, what made you pick Sand Dust?" A good question, actually; big brother Hoss' demeanor may fool some people into thinking he was a tad slow, but he was anything but.
"I didn't exactly pick it. I was trying to get to Virginia City and this is where my money ran out."
"Well," Hoss smiled. "I reckon after this is all over, you'll just have to come on out and pay us a visit. We can certainly rake up enough money to buy a stage ticket, don't you think so, little brother?"
"I think we can guarantee it." Annie shot her twin a sharp look. He better not be falling for this girl; she'd lost count of how many times he'd started out to help some pretty woman in trouble and wound up fancying himself in love. That he was still single at twenty-eight proved they'd all ended badly.
Of course, she couldn't exactly talk, since she was still single as well, but she'd never met a man who interested her enough to take things past a pleasant supper at the hotel. Her gaze flicked to Candy. If she was anything like Joe in the romance department, she'd have already fallen hard. That she hadn't only proved who had the cooler head. Any man who'd ever heard of the Ponderosa only saw one thing when they looked her way and it wasn't forever love, but a quarter share of a 600,000 acre ranch.
"Mr. Haskell told me about the Ponderosa." Valerie left Candy's side and headed over to Joe. "But – but I'm not sure I can accept."
"You'd be more than welcome, I assure you." Hoss folded his arms. Candy turned in his chair with a smile. Oh, please, not him too. Annie threw her cards down, earning a strange look from both her brothers.
"Take my word for it, I wasn't even raised there. It's quite a layout." Before anyone could say anything else, someone pounded on the door. They all shot to their feet, grabbing for pistols, Valerie backing away from the door over towards the far wall. Joe inched his way towards the door.
"Who is it?"
"Deputy Jensen, it's all right sir." Joe opened the door, admitting the heavy-set deputy.
"It's coming on dinnertime, the sheriff thought you folks might want to eat." Hoss adjusted his belt.
"Either his stomach is three hours slow, or mine is three hours fast." Joe cracked a grin.
"We'll be out in a minute." The deputy nodded.
"We'll be waiting." The deputy left and Joe locked the door.
"Tell me the truth, do you think the Slater gang will try anything?" Valerie leaned against the wall with her arms folded.
"It's a rough bunch, I don't think we ought to take any chances."
"Don't worry, Valerie, we'll protect you." Annie holstered her pistol. At least her hair wasn't blond, too; Joe might have come up with some crazy scheme to use her as a decoy, reasoning she could handle herself and worry about what Pa would say later. Valerie bit her lip.
"Now I am scared." Only now? Last night was a good acting job if she hadn't been scared until now.
"Nothing wrong with that." Candy turned his hat over in his hands. "Scared, cautious, it's all the same thing. You're looking at four very cautious individuals, none more so than that young lady behind me. I've come to learn that if she's got her hackles up, there's a good reason for it. Keep your eyes on her and you'll be fine," he said with a grin.
"Thanks." Annie snatched her hat from the table. "I think." He laughed. Joe grinned.
"Shall we go?" They all filed out, guns at the ready, and Valerie in the middle of the group. Deputies were all well and good, but in times of trouble, Annie counted more on those with blood ties since they were far less likely to be bought.
They headed down into the lobby, forced to wait until the deputies checked the street, then headed outside. Candy drew in a deep breath and sighed.
"Fresh air."
"You could have stuck your head out the window," Annie said. He threw her a sideways glance.
"I happen to like it where it is: on my shoulders."
"Restaurant's just down the street, the Clover Bee. Short, lead off." They made their way down the street, a few people watching through store windows as they passed, but for the most part, it was deserted. Annie kept her hand on her gun and her eyes moving. After the bank and the mercantile, they ran out of covered boardwalk and had to step into the street itself. She could see the restaurant up ahead. Galloping hooves rang out, behind them to the right. Annie whirled just as gunfire rang out and the lead deputy went down, blood staining his shirt. A man on horseback fired again; she returned fire, but missed thanks to his skittish mount. Joe's shot found its mark; the man's horse reared and he slid over its rump to lie motionless in the street. Another rider appeared on their left, firing as he galloped closer. "Behind the wagon," Joe called, and they scrambled for cover.
Annie turned, the hairs on her neck standing up, just in time to see her twin tumble to the ground. "Joe!" She lunged; Candy pushed her back behind the wagon.
"I've got him!" He darted out, Annie providing cover fire, and dragged Joe behind the wagon. It seemed like an hour, but was really only less than five minutes before the second man slid off his horse and rolled in the dusty street. Silence descended; she moved to check on Joe when a shot rang out, chipping splinters off the wagon bed inches from Candy's arm. He spun and Annie spun with him, their guns barking in unison, Hoss moving a beat slower since he was shielding Valerie. The third man fell heavily against his horse's neck without a sound, and the animal galloped off down the street.
The sheriff ran out of his office, rifle in hand, and met them behind the wagon. Annie crouched beside Joe and helped him sit up. "You alright?"
"I'm fine, sis."
"They must want you folks pretty bad." The sheriff looked around. "It cost them, tough. Three rode in and they left two here."
"They killed Short," a deputy said, his hands clenching around his rifle.
"Can you walk?"
"Yeah, I'm okay." Hoss helped him to his feet while Candy kept an eye on Valerie. Annie kept her eyes on the street. There could be a fourth man out there, waiting until they believed themselves safe before he rode in to finish what his friends had started.
"Let's get you back to the hotel, take care of Short." Hoss and Joe staretd off down the street with Valerie in tow, Candy hanging back with Annie, both of them punching spent shells from their Colts and replacing them with new ones. "That goes for you too. I want everybody in the hotel, nobody leaves without my permission."
"Yeah." Candy didn't pause his reloading. "They came from three different directions. A little better timing – "
"And you'd be fresh out of witnesses," Annie finished for him. He shot her an annoyed look. "You know that's what you were going to say." He shook his head.
"You know, I like you, sweetheart, I really do, but you can irritate a man worse than burlap drawers."
"You'd actually wear them?" The annoyed look was back in spades.
"I'm not even going to touch that one." The sheriff cleared his throat.
"I can promise you one thing." They both looked at him. "Billy Slater is going to stand trial and you're all going to be there to testify against him if I have to deputize every able-bodied man in this town."
"You may have to," Annie said. Candy cracked a grin.
"Sheriff, I hope you don't break that promise." He snapped the cylinder back into place on his gun and started off down the street. Annie rolled her eyes and followed right on his heels. And he thought she was irritating? Guess again, Mr. Canady, he won that prize, even when he wasn't trying.
Back in the hotel, the sounds of wagons and saddle horses out on the street drifted through the cracked window. Annie leaned against the wall, arms crossed over her chest, her gaze never leaving the closed bedroom door where the doctor was tending to Joe. Valerie hovered near the window while Candy fiddled with the deck of cards. The blond left the window and made her way over to Candy. He looked up. "A murder trial is a holiday for a lot of people." Valerie bit her lip.
"Are you sure Joe's gonna be alright?" Annie darted a quick look her way. Was the girl falling for him? She'd never pictured Joe settling down with someone like Valerie, she'd always figured he'd need a woman made for this land, not some Eastern waif who loathed guns. She stuck around long enough, she'd find out just how often they were required to use them.
"I saw the wound, he's hurting some now, but he'll be alright." Valerie looked over at the door.
"The doctor and Hoss have been in there almost an hour." Annie snorted.
"Probably tying a pretty little bow on his bandages." Candy chuckled, but Valerie's face didn't change. She drifted back over to the window and pulled the lacy curtain aside.
"They're teaching Joe how to use that crutch."
"As many times as he's been shot, you'd think he'd be an expert by now."
"How can you joke about it?" Valerie stared at them incredulously. "He could have been killed."
"Not the first time." Annie shifted her weight. "And –"
"It won't be the last," Candy finished. He shot her a quick glance and swallowed hard. "You, uh, know you were going to say it." He eyed her longer than was necessary. Did he think she'd be mad or something? Good heavens, he ought to know by now he was free to joke around.
She grinned and his face lightened. "You already figured that out, did you?"
"Considering how many times we've been shot at since I met you Cartwrights it wasn't that difficult."
"Any one of those men down there could be with the Slater gang" Candy sat back in his chair and half-turned.
"You know something? You worry too much." The bedroom door cracked open and Hoss came out, helping Joe, the doctor trailing behind as he closed his bag.
"You follow my instructions and that leg will heal a month sooner than if you put weight on it."
"Don't worry, Doc, I will." And she'd make sure of it.
"Are you feeling alright, Joe?" Valerie hovered in front of the chair Hoss had helped him into.
"Oh, he's fine," the doctor replied. "More of a burn than a break, it just barely grazed the bone." The doctor headed for the door. "Now Joe, remember what I said, get lots of rest. And uh, no footraces."
"Don't worry, Doc, I'll keep an eye on him." Hoss showed the man out and locked the door. Valerie bent and scooted the foot stool over to Joe.
"Well, thank you very much." He propped his foot up. "You know, this isn't going to be too bad, here I am practically an invalid, with four people to wait on me hand and foot –"
"Don't take advantage of it, big brother."
"Yeah, we get back to the Ponderosa, it's every man for himself." Joe perked up.
"Hey, speaking of the Ponderosa, we made a decision." Oh, really? Without her input? "When we get back, you're gonna be with us." Valerie looked stunned, but none more so than Annie. "And we're not gonna take no for an answer." The blond smiled, her eyes glowing.
"I'd like that very much, thank you for the invitation." Annie pressed her lips together and looked past them at the window. She saw Candy watching her, his face unreadable. "And for saving my life." She darted past them and slipped into the bedroom. Joe sighed.
"I think a little trip will do her good after all that's happened." A knock sounded at the door and they all reached for their guns.
"It's me." Hoss hurried over and let the sheriff in. "How does he feel?" Joe shrugged.
"I'll live."
"We're all living," Hoss added.
"So far," Candy put in.
"I'm sorry. Real sorry. I just never expected anybody to hit in broad daylight. Not even Doug Slater."
"What we're talking about now, Sheriff, is what we're going to do about the next time."
"You do agree there's going to be a next time?" Annie shoved off the wall. "We – especially Joe and Valerie – are all that stands between Billy Slater and freedom."
"I've deputized another half-dozen men. We've got a way to get you to the courthouse. If Slater wants to get you this time, he's going to need an army."
"For a little while there, I thought he already had one." The sheriff straightened.
"We'll be ready." he paused. "How's Valerie holding up?" Hoss sighed.
"Much better than can be expected frankly. She'll be fine."
"Well, I got one piece of good news. Got a telegram from Judge Wheeler, he should be here by noon tomorrow."
"So can we get down to business, or are we going to have a lot of lawyer palavering?" Candy frowned, no doubt remembering Olympus.
"Judge Wheeler doesn't waste time. That trial will start tomorrow." He turned and headed out the door. "Hang in there."
"We will, Sheriff." Hoss locked it behind him and came back to them. Candy looked up from the deck of cards still in his hands.
"Only twenty-four more hours." He laughed. "I might even beat this game."
"You can't beat solitaire?"
"I'd like to see you try, sweetheart."
"I already beat you twice at poker." He frowned.
"No need to rub it in." He shuffled the cards. Joe sighed.
"I figure this is going to be the longest twenty-four hours we've ever had." Annie wouldn't say it was the longest, she'd probably give that honor to the night they'd spent trying to find Pa before Sam Bryant could hang him in retribution for Adam refusing to ignore murder and release Farmer Perkins. How long had it been now since Adam ran off to sea – three years? She let her head fall back against the wall. Would he ever come back? Letters were few and far between anymore. He'd never really been happy on the Ponderosa, not like the rest of them. In spite of his Yankee common sense and cool head, he'd turned out to be the most restless of all of them. No, if he ever came back, she'd probably be near fifty, as gray as Pa's old mount before they'd bought him Buck.
"Annie? Something wrong?" She straightened and forced a smile.
"Just thinking."
"You think too much." She stuck out her tongue.
"And you don't think enough."
"Stop it, the both of you, or I'll –" A knock sounded at the door.
"Deputy Jensen. Your supper is here." Hoss went and opened the door. The deputy entered, followed by a waiter carrying a cloth-draped tray. "He's clean, Mr. Cartwright." The waiter headed for the sideboard and the deputy left. Hoss sniffed the air. Annie frowned. What was that noise? She tilted her head.
"Smells like fried chicken."
"It is." The waiter set a plate on the table. "And hot biscuits, too." He turned back and the jingle came again. It sounded like – she looked down.
Since when did waiters wear spurs?
She looked back up and found Joe looking at the man's boots, too. Candy threw her a look that needed no interpretation. Hoss nodded. She drew her gun and held it to her side. The man laid another plate on the table, then took the cover off the silver tray. He spun, bringing his gun up, but he was too late and too slow. All four of them were moving before he'd finished his turn, four slugs driving into his chest almost at once. He got off one shot purely by reflex, but it went into the floor. He collapsed and lay still. Valerie threw open the bedroom door, staring in horror.
The deputies rushed back in, guns drawn. Jensen stared, open-mouthed. "But I searched him!"
"He had it on the tray." The deputies carted the body out and Valerie went back into her room. Candy shut the door.
"This Slater bunch really means business. I'll be glad when this is over."
"The trial hasn't even started yet." Annie sighed. If anyone thought Doug Slater would give up now, they didn't know how tight the bonds of family could be.
The next morning, the street was packed with people waiting for the trial to start. Annie found her eyes drawn to the deputies perched on rooftops. Slater might mean business, but so did the sheriff. Surrounded by four wagons bristling with armed deputies, they made their way down to the courthouse. Once there, they rushed inside the building and Annie finally drew an easy breath. "Leave your weapons here, gents – and lady. Judge Wheeler's orders, no sidearms but mine." And what if someone took him out? Annie almost protested, but Hoss caught her eye and shook his head. She unbuckled her gun belt and handed it to the closest deputy, then filed into the courtroom. They took their seats; a deputy brought in Billy Slater and dumped him into a chair. He stared at them in contempt, ignoring the whispers buzzing around the courtroom. The judge arrived and they all stood.
"Any disturbance and I will have this courtroom cleared. Is the prosecution ready?"
"Yes, Your Honor."
"Proceed."
Annie sat impatiently, fingers itching for the weight of a gun she no longer had, as the prosecutor walked Joe through his testimony.
"And who else was in the office when Mr. Haskell was shot?"
"Ms. Townsend." All eyes turned towards the blond. Once she was on the stand, she asked for water.
"Try to compose yourself, Ms. Townsend," the judge said. "Take as much time as you need."
"I'm sorry, please forgive me." She set the glass on the judge's bench and folded her hands over her hat. Did she apologize too much? Was that why Annie didn't really like her? The prosecutor stepped forward.
"Can you tell us what you saw that afternoon?" She looked at Billy Slater, sitting there with a smirk on his face, then back to the prosecutor. The hairs on the back of Annie's neck stood up.
"Well, I was surprised, I was frightened." Around her, her brothers and Hoss exchanged confused glances. "Everything just –"
"Ms. Townsend, did you see Billy Slater come into the office where you were working?"e
"Yes."
"Did he have a gun in his hand?"
"I don't know." Annie frowned and looked sideways at Candy. What was going on? "I can't say."
"After Billy Slater came in, did you see Mr. Haskell get shot?"
"I don't know." She looked down. "No I didn't see him, I was so frightened, I kept my eyes closed." The crowd whispered. Joe sat stone-faced. The prosecutor tried again.
"Did you see Billy Slater shoot Matt Haskell?"
"No! I really didn't!" The crowd buzzed and the judge pounded his gavel on the bench.
"Ms. Townsend, you've told this court that you were present when Matt Haskell was killed."
"Well, yes, but I was so frightened, I didn't look. I heard the shots but I didn't look. I didn't see anything." The prosecutor sighed, barely audible with all the furious whispers.
"That's all, Ms. Townsend." The jury looked back and forth among themselves. Billy Slater smirked. Joe looked over at them as the judge gave the jury their instructions. After he called for a recess, Annie stood, her gaze locked on the blond waif still sitting in her chair. Maybe she was just too weak, too afraid of the Slaters to stand on her own and admit what she saw. Maybe Joe would wake up now and whatever interest he'd had in Valerie Townsend would die a natural death. If she couldn't handle this, she'd never handle life as a Cartwright.
That night, Annie sat in front of the dresser, brushing her hair, when the sound of the boys' door creaking open froze her brush in midair. Valerie was still out in the parlor; she'd bet ten to one that was Joe joining her. Annie stood and crept over to the door, listening in. At first it was too low to hear, but soon their voices rose.
"Do you think so?"
"I don't see any reason not to."
"You want to see him hang, don't you?" Valerie's voice was sharp. Annie frowned.
"Yeah I do. I saw him kill Mr. Haskell in cold-blood, pump two shots into him. I want to see him hang."
"No one's thinking about Billy Slater!" And why should they?
"Did he think about Mr. Haskell?"
"He was afraid, Mr. Haskell went for his gun!" Really? She'd said earlier she didn't see anything.
"Funny, you didn't think of those things at the trial."
"All any of you are thinking about is seeing him hang." She sounded disgusted.
"Yeah, that's what I think about Billy Slater right now. I think about that and the innocent people that have been killed. I think about his brother, and where he is now, and what he's gonna do next." And for once, he was thinking the right things.
"There was forty thousand dollars in that safe, enough to buy a poor man anything he wanted, land, a roof over his head. You wouldn't know about that, would you? Your father owns the biggest ranch in Nevada, I'll bet you never wanted anything you didn't have."
"Everybody wants things they don't have, but they don't kill innocent people to get them!" Joe's voice was hard; he was getting steamed.
And that was probably the reason she couldn't like the girl: she was jealous of everyone who had more than she did, blaming them for her not having it.
"I'll bet you never had to fight for anything in your life!"
"Everybody fights for things they want!" Yep, that was it. She wanted everything the easy way, just handed to her because she was blond and pretty.
Sorry, honey, life didn't work that way. "Val, there's a big difference between fighting and killing."
"You don't know how lucky you are."
"Get away from the window. Come on, get away from the window." His crutch thumped on the floor. A gunshot rang out; glass shattered, and Valerie screamed. Annie threw her door open, dropped her hairbrush, and snatched her gun off the table. Candy and Hoss met her in the front room, all of them crouched as they hurried over to Joe. The deputies pounded on the door.
"Is everyone alright? Open up!"
"Who is it?"
"Jensen!" Hoss opened the door.
"It came from outside, nobody hurt."
"Check outside!" They left and Candy shut the door. They all stood slowly. Candy lowered his gun.
"They're not gonna stop, are they?"
"No." Joe looked back out the window into the darkness. "And it doesn't make a difference if they hit anybody either. Every man on that jury's gonna know what happened and their gonna start wondering whether they ought to find Billy Slater guilty or not."
"All rise!" Annie stood with the rest of them as the judge entered the courtroom. He settled in and called the court to order.
"Has the jury reached a verdict?"
"Yes, Your Honor."
"You may return the jury to the box." The bailiff left the room, returning less than two minutes later, standing frozen in the doorway. Everyone looked up in confusion. What was he doing? Then, Doug Slater appeared behind him, a gun to his head, and shoved him into the room, turning the gun on the judge.
"Everybody freeze! Anybody moves without being told, the judge is a dead man. You sheriff, with your hands up, come here." Billy Slater jumped up and grabbed the lawman's gun.
"Now take em off." He smirked, then shoved past the sheriff. "On your feet, Cartwright." He stopped at Joe, the gun pointed at his face. "Don't try it, big man, or he gets it right here." Joe slowly looked sideways at them. Annie swallowed hard. This was why the judge should have let them keep their guns. Joe stood; Slater looked past him to Valerie. "You, too, come on." She stood nervously and followed Joe towards the back of the room. The second the doors closed behind them, she, Hoss, and Candy were out of their chairs and racing across the room.
Candy hit the doors first. "They're locked."
"Whoa, now folks, just stay here, a lot of innocent people could get killed," the sheriff tried to calm the crowd. Hoss broke through the doors. Annie peered out the window, finding the whole town in a standoff. Candy looked over her shoulder.
"There's got to be a back way out of here."
"Let's find it." Hoss opened the gun cabinet, they collected rifles, and raced back through the courtroom, through the door the judge had used, eventually coming out to the rear of the courthouse.
"Let's go, they can't have gotten far." Annie scanned the street. "Not with three hostages –" She stopped. Was it three?
Valerie crying that first night, her concern for Billy Slater, and her vehement desire for money and more than she had. How long had she been at the window before Joe said something? "I think we've been had."
"What do you mean?"
"Valerie –"
A gun shot rang out. 'That way!" Hoss pointed with his rifle and took off. They ran, rounding a corner in time to see Doug Slater shoot Valerie. She crumpled to the ground and Hoss fired, blowing the man off his horse with one shot. Billy was already down, and Joe was finishing off the last one when they ran up. He crawled over to Valerie and took her hand.
"Val."
"I'm sorry." She choked.
"You'll be alright, we'll get you a doctor."
"I'm scared, please … hold my hand." Joe took her hand; she died less than a minute later. He looked up and they all exchanged glances. Annie took off her hat.
The girl had made mistakes, but she didn't deserve this. What had happened to make them turn on her? She noticed the gun near Valerie's hand. Or had it been Valerie who turned? Maybe someday Joe would tell them what happened.
"I can get in the wagon by myself," Joe fussed.
"I ain't got nothing else to do at the moment." Annie and Candy smiled at each other. "Thanks for letting us borrow the wagon, Sheriff." Hoss climbed in after their brother.
"Not a problem."
"We ready to go?"
"I've been ready since we got to this town." Candy reined his horse up next to the wagon. Joe settled on the seat.
"Yeah, it's a long way home and some folks never get there." Annie bit her lip, almost afraid to ask.
"You still heading for Chicago?" Candy looked her way.
"Not yet. I'm used to you all now, might miss all the trouble we can get into." They all laughed and Hoss clucked to the horses. Annie heeled Reno forward.
Joe was right: not everyone got to go home, but they could. And she'd make every minute count.