A/N: I'm sorry for the delay in updating. I wanted this chapter up last week but a nasty headache left me wanting to do anything but stare at a computer screen for several days.
I did forget an episode that Candy was in before Salute to Yesterday – Child. That's another part of why this was behind schedule. I started planning that one out before I realized it was another episode that belonged to Hoss and unless I tossed one of them along for the ride, it was going to be a lot of long conversations concluding with a shootout where they know absolutely nothing that's going on. So I ultimately decided to ignore Child for now.
I plan to recycle the Candy scenes – especially the moment on the stairs when they all turn and look at each other – into later episodes. And never fear, Mr. Barnett will be making an appearance later on, I'm just not sure under what circumstances yet. Possibly as part of an original (non canon) episode I have in the works.
As always, I don't own Bonanza in any way, shape, or form. Now, on to an episode I'm sure a lot of you have been waiting for: Salute to Yesterday. Enjoy!
Added line breaks 2-19-21
"Come on, will you, big brother?" Joe swung into Cochise's saddle.
"One minute," Hoss replied, as he tightened Chub's cinch. Annie and Candy sat on their horses, waiting. Hoss could be so slow in the morning.
"Hey, Hoss?" Ben nodded at the fire. "It's still smoking there."
"I'll get it." He ambled back and tipped his canteen over the embers. Joe watched him for a minute and sighed heavily.
"Don't take root there, just put it out."
"Hold your horses, little brother." Hoss didn't even raise his head as he capped his canteen and made his way back to Chub. Annie rolled her eyes when they finally started out. They had a long way to go before they reached Tompkinsville and she hoped the horses they were inspecting would be worth the ride.
Several miles later, the sounds of running water brought them out of the trees and up to the banks of a stream. Candy was in the lead and froze. Annie followed his line of sight and found a riderless horse grazing on the opposite side of the stream. Candy turned around.
"McClellan saddle. Cavalry. Somebody's in trouble." He led them across the stream and up to the lone horse. "Over here." He jumped down and ran to a man sprawled face-down in the waving grass. Candy rolled him over gently; a moan left the man on the ground. "Easy, now. Easy. Let me look at that wound." Candy reached for his shirt and the man grabbed his arm.
"Captain Harris sent me to get help," he choked out.
"Easy, easy."
"Get … help." The soldier took a few more gasping breaths and sagged in Candy's arms.
"He has a bullet in his chest, I'm surprised he got this far."
"I've got some medicine and bandages in my saddlebag," Hoss said. Candy shook his head. Annie bit her lip.
"No, Hoss, it's too late." He sat back and thumbed his hat off his face. "All we need now is a bugler."
"To blow Taps," she finished. Candy nodded. Ben straightened and looked around.
"We'd better find whoever this Captain Harris is. Come on." They scrambled back into their saddles and rode on, Candy taking the lead and Annie riding point on one edge, Hoss on the other side in case the trail veered off somewhere.
But it led straight as an arrow coming from the southwest, the blood trail making it child's play to follow. A noise like a racing wagon rose over the crest of the hill in front of them and they galloped up to the top.
Down below, a covered wagon pursued by at least a dozen armed riders tore across the plain. They all looked at each other.
"What do you want to bet we found Captain Harris?"
"Not a chance, Candy," Annie replied and kicked Reno down the hill, drawing her pistol on the fly. They slipped in between the outnumbered soldiers and their pursuers, filling the air with lead. One man slid off his horse and didn't get up.
A shout from the wagon brought her head around in time to see the driver turn the horses into a rocky outcropping. They rode in behind the wagon and leaped off their horses, driving the animals further inside the sheltered clearing and taking up defensive positions around the entrance.
Annie found herself tucked in behind Candy and a sergeant, judging by the insignia on his jacket. The horde of men galloped into range and they opened fire, blowing a couple more off their horses, but by no means enough to even things up. The pursuers galloped around the lower rim of the outcropping, still shooting, and they shifted positions to keep in range.
"Don't fire without a target," the sergeant shouted, and Candy's head came up. "Save your ammunition!" She leaned around to get a glimpse of his face and found he was grinning like they'd just smoked Joe out of the schoolhouse again. The sergeant glanced over and did a double take. "Well. If it ain't Sergeant Canaday's boy all grown up."
"Ordy the ordinance man," Candy said with a grin. "Haven't you blown yourself up yet?" Annie snorted and his grin widened.
"You know, that's what I like about you, always a kindly greeting. Where you been, boy?"
"Riding. Looking around." A man inched out of cover down below and all three of them moved.
"I'll take him," Ordy said softly. He fired and the man toppled over on his face and lay still. Gunfire kicked up from the pursuers' positions and other soldiers scurried over, returning fire. A couple more men fell and the rest pulled back. The two young soldiers – kids really – stood up and whooped.
"Get down!" Joe yanked them back under cover. Ordy scoffed.
"Green kids. That's the kind of horse soldiers we get these days. They think we won this fight."
"We've all got to learn," Candy said.
"Yeah. But it takes time and my guess is these kids ain't gonna have that long." At that moment, a gunshot splintered the log in front of Joe and he jumped back, working the lever on his rifle. Lead zipped through the air for several minutes before Ordy hollered above the din.
"They're under cover, Captain!" Silence fell, broken by Candy's calm voice.
"They'll be coming at us again, real soon." Annie smacked his arm.
"Whatever gave you that idea?" He glanced past her at the wagon, brow furrowed.
"I can guess."
"You know, Candy, it gave me quite a shock when I seen you." Ordy glanced back at the wagon himself. "You better brace yourself, you're gonna have a few shocks yourself." Candy's brow furrowed in confusion. Before he could say anything, Ben and a soldier she presumed was Captain Harris – or he just happened to steal a captain's uniform that morning – rushed over.
"This is Mr. Cartwright, he's going to help us." Ordy nodded and motioned to Candy.
"This is Mr. Canaday, Candy for short." The captain looked over and Candy nodded a quick greeting. "Known him since he was no bigger than my thumb. I helped raise him."
"So that's where you get it," Annie muttered. He snorted.
"You and every other non-com on the row."
"His father was First Sergeant in B Troop, my old outfit. He was killed on patrol."
"My thanks for giving us a hand." Candy nodded and turned his attention back to the concealed men below. The captain went on talking to Ordy, but she didn't hear a word of it.
An Army brat. That explained a lot. And looking at this Ordy fellow did, too. The man in question took off, muttering about setting up guards.
"Captain, those fellows were riding after you pretty hard. What were they after?" Ben asked.
"Gold," Candy interrupted. The captain looked startled. "Army gold, that ambulance is a pay wagon."
"You're right, but I'm going to have to ask you how you knew."
"Like the Sergeant said, I'm an Army brat. I grew up at Fort Despair." The captain's brow furrowed.
"Fort what?"
"Fort Delaney," Annie clarified automatically. Now it was Ben's turn to frown, but he said nothing. Yet.
"The men called it Fort Despair. And a lot of other things. Trouble was, the Army owned the forts and the outlaws owned the trails between them. Old Colonel 'Spit and Polish' John Purcell had an idea to use an ambulance as a pay wagon and move payroll gold. It worked fine for a while. Until the word got out. Captain, I think the Army would be better off to use a real pay wagon now, the outlaws would probably think it was an ambulance." Captain Harris stared in silence and Candy shook his head. Ben sported an amused look and Annie shrugged.
Ordy returned and delivered his report, then glanced back to Candy. "Something I ain't had a chance to tell you, Angel Montana's bossing that bunch down there."
"Yeah, I saw him when he was shooting at me."
"You know him?" Ben questioned.
"Yeah, I know him, too."
"Who don't you know?" He glanced sideways and pretended to think a moment.
"There may be a few people east of the Mississippi I haven't met." She shoved him sideways and he laughed, then sobered. "We were kids together. He was one of the blanket Indians that hung around the fort gate. Half Mexican, half Apache." And all mean now that he was grown up, unless she missed her guess.
"And all bad," Ordy stated, as he glanced back down the slope. A slim, blond woman rushed over to Captain Harris, babbling a mile a minute about an injured trooper. Beside her, Candy stiffened and she focused on the trees at the bottom of the slope. What had she missed? Were they making a move now? Weight shifted and she glanced sideways just enough to see the captain head back to the wagon.
"Anne?" She turned, even as her mind questioned why he'd called her Anne, it was always Annie when he did use her name. So what had –
Her breath caught in her throat. He wasn't looking at her, but the blond woman in her faded calico dress, a braid hanging over her shoulder. Judging by the stunned look she was giving Candy, she'd seen a ghost. "Candy?" She sounded strangled, one hand clutched in the back of Ordy's jacket as she stared at Candy with wide eyes. He nodded and she drew in a shaky breath. "I … I …" She fled.
Ohh, boy. Annie's heart skipped a beat. There was only one person that could have been. A few shocks, he said. This was an earthquake! Without thinking, she reached out and touched Candy's sleeve. Ben frowned, looked after the woman, then between the two of them.
"You know her?"
"Yeah." Candy's voice was soft, but he sounded wrecked. Annie glanced over at Ordy and saw sympathy burning in his gaze. "She was my wife." He stood up without another word and walked away.
"His wife?" Ben stared after their retreating foreman. Annie swallowed hard and forced her voice to steady.
"How could you let him walk into that?" Ordy jerked like she'd slapped him with the barrel of her Winchester. "That's not a shock, Sergeant, that's having your insides ripped out with a knife." She snatched up her rifle and darted after Candy, catching up to him on the far edge of the rocky outcropping. He dropped his rifle and sagged against the rocks, staring out into the distance. "Candy?"
He shook his head, refusing to meet her eyes. "I just … I need to be alone right now."
"Are you sure?" He turned then, a brief glance, but at least he acknowledged she was there.
"Yeah." She nodded and made her way to Reno, quickly stroking the grulla's nose, before digging into her saddlebags for fresh ammunition. She reloaded, watching the captain and his wife attend to the wounded trooper.
Hoss and Joe wandered over, settling in to flank her on both sides. When their pa ambled over and parked himself in front of her with his arms folded over his chest, she knew she was caught. Annie draped her rifle over the crook of her arm and waited.
"You weren't surprised."
"No," she said, aware she was echoing Candy's infuriating habit of one word or vague answers to leading questions – or even questions of any sort sometimes.
"You knew."
"I did."
"He told you and not us?" Joe sounded hurt. She raised an eyebrow.
"If he wanted the whole world to know, he'd have said something."
"Joe, that's enough." Ben rubbed the back of his neck. "Your sister's right, if it was our business, Candy would have told us." He refolded his arms. "My question is, how did it become your business?"
"I traded him a can of peaches for the story." Hoss cracked a grin. Joe snorted. She glared at him with narrowed eyes. "Before you open that mouth of yours for any reason, you'd do well to remember I'm carrying a fully loaded rifle. And I can outdraw you six ways from sundown."
"Stop it, the both of you. I don't recall him ever answering that question." She pulled her gaze from Joe and said one word.
"Postley." Ben nodded slowly and her brothers swallowed hard as they traded guilt-stricken looks. "It wasn't your fault, so stop looking like that. After we ran out of water and it looked like …" she trailed off and looked down at her dusty boots. "All we could do was talk."
"I wondered if something like that hadn't happened." Ben looked over her shoulder. "He doing alright?"
"How would you handle it if Ma suddenly appeared in front of you?" Before he could respond, the captain hurried over.
"We're down to four able-bodied men and my wife." He shifted uncomfortably. "I'm, uh, not interrupting anything, am I?" Ben sighed.
"No. What's their strength?"
"About eighteen at last count." Great. Two to one. "But Trooper O'Brien rode out at dawn this morning, he should –"
"We found Trooper O'Brien." The captain's face fell. "The last thing he was able to say was that you needed help." He shot a glance at his wife.
"As a favor to me, I'd like her to go on thinking O'Brien got through."
"Of course."
"Jim!" They all whipped around, Annie raising her rifle. But Anne Harris wasn't screaming about bandits, she was frantically trying to stem the water leaking from the barrel lashed to the back of the ambulance. Everyone ran.
"Oh, my –"
"It's shot full of holes!"
"I didn't see it in time!" They tried to plug the leaks while the captain tipped the barrel up, preventing water from reaching the holes.
"I know, honey, you were taking care of Perkins, cut it, cut it!" They got the barrel adjusted, not that it would do them much good now as the captain shortly confirmed. She traded looks with Candy, who'd sat down on a nearby boulder. He nodded once and lowered his gaze to his rifle.
Surrounded, probably low on ammunition, and almost out of water. This was beginning to resemble a very familiar pattern that she, for one, could do without.
A flicker of movement caught her eye, bringing her head up just as Anne screamed again. "Jim!" The rifle in Annie's hands leaped upward, flame and smoke jetting from the muzzle as she pulled the trigger, hurling the bandit backwards and off the rock he was standing on into thin air.
Candy spun around, but she was already moving, jumping easily from rock to rock to peer over the edge.
"Annie, get down!"
"He was alone, Pa." She glanced over her shoulder as Candy reached her. He, too, peered over the edge at the crumpled body far below.
"She's right, Mr. Cartwright. I don't think they'll try that again." She sensed more than heard her brothers drift away, their pa not long after, leaving just Candy and Captain Harris.
"Guess we owe you a debt of thanks, too, Ms. Cartwright." Her gaze slid sideways, studying this man Candy's wife had married.
"It's nothing."
"Not to me, I'm the one he would have hit."
"Shouldn't you go reassure your wife?" He blinked a few times and glanced between the two of them, his brow furrowed.
"Yes, I probably should." He hurried away and she looked back down the nearly vertical cliff face and leaned on her rifle.
"That was rude, you know."
"Getting shot at puts me in a bad mood." She shifted position, putting her back to the rocks. "I'm surprised you care, considering the circumstances. Don't get me wrong, I'd like to think I could be civil, but I'd find it mighty hard to not want to put a bullet in whoever stole someone I love." Candy tipped his hat back off his face.
"Who said I didn't?"
"That's what I thought." She looked him up and down, taking her time before she finally asked, "Did you ever think you'd see her again?"
"No," he said softly and sighed heavily. "You mind if I watch the back door by myself for a while?" She squeezed his arm and left him alone, her chest suddenly tight.
How was he not losing his mind right now? His wife is torn away from him, then pops up out of nowhere, and remarried at that. Plus, the sergeant raised him, and he grew up with the bandit leader intent on stealing the gold and killing all of them in the process.
She'd have to ask him later if there was any remote possibility his mother had been a Cartwright. His luck was about as bad as theirs.
She made her way over to her pa and Hoss, laying her rifle against the rocks, and accepted the canteen Hoss offered. "Not too much now," her big brother sighed. "I wish I hadn't wasted all that water on them dead ashes."
"We could use a few buckets of that lake." Ben nodded towards the sparkling blue water too far away to do them any good, but close enough to tempt. Captain Harris approached and stiffened when his eyes landed on her. "Half full." Her pa shook the canteen. The captain sighed and skirted past her to sit on the rock next to Ben. Hoss left, but she lingered.
"That leaves us six quarts for us and the animals and there's a stream within easy reach of where they're dug in. And as for ammunition, my people have about forty or fifty rounds per man."
"We've got about the same," Ben replied.
"I don't know about you, but I noticed more than one man down there sporting full bandoleers." The captain swung around to stare at her.
"When?"
"When they were shooting at me." Ben held up a hand and she snapped her mouth shut. He sighed again.
"We need to pass the word around, don't shoot at anything unless you can't possibly miss."
"Captain Harris!" One of the soldiers yelled from the front guard post. The captain took off and everyone else followed. Annie caught sight of what had grabbed the soldier's attention and scoffed under her breath.
"We see you, what do want?"
A white flag? Had to be a distraction of some sort. She threw a look at the captain. Either he was desperate, or deluded, and she wasn't sure which was more dangerous at the moment. A dark man in a red shirt, vest, and crossed bandoleers poked his head up after tossing the scrap of cloth aside.
"I want to talk to Canaday!" Annie looked back over her shoulder at Candy. Even before the man identified himself, she knew it had to be Angel Montana. But what did he think Candy could – or would – do? "Come on out and talk to me!" Her heart skipped a beat. He seriously wasn't going to consider it, was he? She licked her dry lips.
She wasn't the only one staring at Candy in stunned silence. He looked back and forth between all of them before he shook his head, shrugged, and left his rifle beside Joe, who immediately cocked his weapon and took aim down the slope.
"No," she hissed, and slid forward a couple inches around her rock before a hand latched onto her shoulder.
"Don't," her pa's voice hissed low in her ear. "He knows what he's doing."
"Does he?" she whispered back. By that time, Candy was past them, and walking slowly towards Montana, hands in the air, giving the bandits a perfect target. Her heart climbed into her throat and she raised her rifle. He stopped three feet away from them.
"Angelito, my old friend, here I am. Say your piece." The bandit leader grinned broadly.
"Candy, you are on the wrong side! You should be down here with us." Candy shook his head slowly.
"I like it where I am." Montana laughed wildly, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand straight up.
"Why would you want to help the Army after what they did to you?"
"Give it up, Angel, ride away while you still can."
"Why would you want to die to protect gold that is not yours? Come with me and I'll give you a double share!" Oh, she'd just bet he would. A double share of a loaded shotgun, maybe.
"Not interested." How could he sound like they were playing a game of cards?
"I'll give you back the woman they stole from you!" Her blood ran cold when Candy didn't immediately refuse. "Come on, we'll spend the gold in Mexico City!" She wished she knew what he was thinking right now. There was no way he'd sell them out, but he might pretend, if he saw a way to turn things to their advantage.
Only the captain wouldn't know that. Candy … now was not the time for a half thought out plan. Her grip tightened on the rifle and she focused on Montana, searching for the slightest twitch that would betray his intentions.
"For the last time, I'm not interested!"
"Someone must have kicked you in the head, you are not smart anymore!" Montana jumped out of sight, another man rose out of cover and fired, and Candy leaped for safety. Her rifle barked, nailing the man before he could shoot a second time.
"Oh, Angelito!" Candy sounded like he was having fun and she glared at him in annoyance. Ordy shook his head, an amused smile tugging at his mouth.
"I had him in my sights three or four minutes."
"I had him longer than that," Annie replied tartly. She should have taken the shot, and would have, if the possibility of the rest of the bandits rushing them en mass seeking revenge didn't exist.
"Now you will all die!" Montana's voice rose. "And the women will die a hundred times!" The weight of almost a dozen sets of eyes landed on her back. So he knew she was up there, it wasn't like they'd never dealt with this situation before.
"Good luck with that. I claim his bandoleers." Candy smothered a snort and she blinked innocently. "Oh, I'm sorry, did you want them?"
"I reckon you can have 'em," he said with a grin. "But you have to get them off of him."
"Deal."
"We'd better rest while we can, get some grub. They may try something tonight." The captain swallowed hard, his gaze never leaving his wife. Maybe he should be worried, maybe he shouldn't. Since Montana knew about Anne and Candy's history, some last shred of childhood ties might stay his hand enough to let her escape for Candy's sake, or at the very least give her a quick death.
But as for herself … firing on his man had only sealed her fate if they got their hands on her. She knew as long as her pa or one of her brothers had a bullet left in their gun, that wouldn't happen. Even Candy would make sure it didn't. But if they lost count … and if she did ….
Annie would be lying if she said the thought of ending up in the bandits' hands didn't scare her. But she wouldn't let that fear paralyze her into making a mistake that only guaranteed it.
They weren't beaten yet. She had all afternoon to study their sanctuary and its surroundings. A quick glance at Candy told her he was thinking the same thing. Maybe by tonight they could come up with a plan.
"Candy's pure Army brat, he grew in the forts of the Southwest." Ordy chewed his bite of beans and leaned back on his bedroll. "You didn't know that?" Joe shook his head. "His mother died when he was four, heat, dust, frontier lonesomeness … it happened quite often on non-com row. He knew the manual of arms when he was seven."
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Ordy threw her a look and went on.
"When he was nine, his pa was killed. No folks, no place to go, lot of us had a hand in raising him, if you want to call it that. Mostly he grew up by himself. He was riding scout at the age of seventeen."
"That I knew," she said around a mouthful of beans.
"Yeah, rub it in," Joe muttered. "We're all his friends, but you're the one he tells everything."
"Maybe because I listen and I don't go around telling everyone else things he told me in confidence." Hoss put his hand on Joe's arm.
"Leave it, little brother, and let the man finish." Ordy looked back over his shoulder at something and Annie followed his gaze, a breath catching in her throat when she noticed Candy and Anne huddled together on the far side of camp.
"Bet you're wondering about her, huh? Except your sister, that is. How much did he tell you?" She lowered her plate, her appetite suddenly vanished like a rabbit down a hole.
"Enough. I didn't ask probing questions if that's what you mean. If he wanted me to know details he would have told me in the first place."
"Her pa served with Candy's, both non-coms. When the War come, he got a battlefield promotion, ended up as a colonel. The two of them grew up together. Then one day, Candy come back from patrol, a running fight with the Apache, one of only four survivors. He figured he was a man after that, took Anne into town and married her." Annie stared off into the distance, imaging the scene all too easily.
"He got back and told the colonel what he'd done and the man sent him back out on another patrol two hours later." She glared at Ordy, even though it was hardly his fault. "He had to get his daughter back East and the marriage annulled before word could get around she'd wasted herself on a mere scout. No one less than an officer destined for high rank was good enough, were they?"
Footsteps crunched on dead leaves and they looked up in time to see Captain Harris making his way over to his wife and Candy. Low voices drifted across the camp, but she couldn't make out what they said. The captain lingered for a minute, the look on his wife's face indicating she wasn't too happy about the interruption.
And Candy even less so.
The man left and heated whispers tugged at her heart. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Ordy watching her, not the arguing couple, and Joe giving her a half-knowing look. Annie pressed her lips together when Candy leaned in closer, their voices raising a little, hands flying in angry gestures on Candy's part.
The next instant, they were in each other's arms, and Candy was kissing Anne Harris like he'd never let her go again. A breath caught in her throat and Annie pushed off her bedroll and stalked away in the other direction, her chest unbearably tight. She reached the guard post and veered left, making her way into the trees until she was out of sight of the camp and slumped against a giant pine, arms wrapped around her waist. She slid down the trunk and sat on the cold dirt, staring up at the stars.
Candy. How could he think this was going to end any way other than badly? Anne Harris was married, and not to him, not anymore. Her husband wasn't going to roll over and let Candy walk in and steal her away. A single tear rolled down her cheek and she brushed it away.
Her best friend was setting himself up for heartbreak and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
She lost track of how long she'd sat against the tree before her pa appeared beside her. He leaned her rifle against the tree and folded his arms over his chest. "Yes, Pa?"
"If you're going to hang around out here, you might as well keep watch. Candy with you?"
"No."
"When you see him, tell him I'm looking for him." He turned to go and she straightened.
"Pa?" He stopped and turned back around.
"Yes?"
"What would you do if it was Ma?" He said nothing for a few minutes, staring up at the stars himself. Finally, he blew out a breath and rubbed the back of his neck.
"I don't know." He hesitated for a moment, leaving when she said nothing else. She couldn't; the lump in her throat wouldn't let her. She grabbed the rifle and laid it over her leg while she stared off into the night.
Why couldn't he just forget about her and let it go? Annie glanced over her shoulder in the direction of camp. They didn't have time for this, not surrounded and low on water. He should be using that brain of his to concoct a viable plan, not try and win back the woman he'd lost. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, that ship had sailed long ago. No judge in the country would grant her a divorce if she even wanted one, and if her husband would let her go. If Harris chose to fight, he had far more influence on his side than Candy did, even with them backing him.
If their pa would do that.
Why couldn't he see he'd picked a losing battle? Although, could she really blame him for trying? She tried to put herself in his shoes, but all she could come up with involved bullets or some overly complicated plan of humiliation and revenge.
Annie pushed herself off the ground and headed back the way she'd come. Ordy and one of the other soldiers stood near the fire, discussing the situation. She would have kept going for her bedroll if she hadn't caught Candy's name mentioned.
"Gone, saving his own hide. Can't say I blame him." Her spine stiffened and she marched over. Her face must have matched Ordy's; the other soldier drew back as she approached.
"Say it again and you won't have to worry about Montana's bunch out there." What was he up to this time? Ordy echoed her sentiment, his voice hard as steel.
"Candy wouldn't just leave, Jim, I don't believe it." Anne Harris' voice rose in protest from the other side of the wagon.
"I don't know how or why, but he's gone, we've searched everywhere." The woman was right about one thing: he wouldn't just leave. No, Annie considered as she swung her rifle up over her arm. He'd had a reason for taking off. Last time, he came back with a horse; God only knew what he was after tonight. "You should get some sleep, honey."
"I will. Presently." Annie's back teeth ground together. She did know what he was after: all he wanted to do was impress Anne Harris. The captain walked back to the guard posts and Ordy drew her away from the others and into the trees.
"I been meaning to talk to you, but I figured you wouldn't want nothing said out where the rest of 'em can hear." He drew in a deep breath, words spilling out in a rush. "I'm sorry for the way Candy's done you, Ms. Cartwright, he was raised better than that. I can't blame him for being upset about it, but she's married again and he's got you now –"
"It's not like that, Ordy," Annie interrupted, her chest tight and eyes stinging. "Whatever you think you see between us is the result of a month trapped in a mine shaft thinking we were going to die."
"Cruel, isn't it? Fate, I mean. Took one Anne and gave him another. I thought I saw you react when he called her name, and then your pa yelled at you to get down …" Ordy shook his head. "You know this business won't end well. He's gonna need you and your family when he has to pick up the pieces."
"If there's anything left to pick up."
"Candy's a survivor, always has been. But I'm not telling you anything you don't already know." That level stare unnerved her. "If you didn't mean anything to him, he'd never have told you about his past." She drew in a shaky breath, steadying her grip on the rifle.
"He's my best friend, Ordy, that's all it is." He kept staring into her eyes until she dropped her gaze.
"If you say so." Her eyes flashed.
"Don't you have a guard post to man?" He nodded and walked away without another word. Annie stalked back to the camp, entering the clearing just as Candy sauntered out of the shadows, canteens dangling from his hands, a bandoleer looped over his shoulder, and a smug grin fit for any cat splitting the axle grease coating his face. She almost went to meet him, but Anne was already moving, a relieved smile on her face. He handed her a canteen while Captain Harris looked on, his face blank.
"It's warm but it's wet."
"You went down into their camp … but how?"
"Angel was a friend of mine, remember? He taught me how a long time ago."
"Did you see him?" The captain broke in. Candy glanced his way.
"He almost stepped on me." He looked past Anne and finally noticed her standing there. He grinned and started walking, pausing a few steps later to turn back with one last smug remark. "But he didn't see me." He walked up to her and offered the bandoleer. "As promised, sweetheart, though it's not Angel's since I did say you'd have to get that one yourself."
"Thanks." She took the leather belt and slung it over her shoulder. "I think." Candy laughed as Ordy and her pa appeared.
"Don't expect any cheers from me, I just want to know which guard you walked past," the sergeant fumed.
"Skinny, blond-haired kid."
"It figures. He'll never make a soldier."
"We doubled the guard," Ben announced. "No one else can get through." Candy looked up with a cheeky grin.
"I bet she could."
"We're not finding out." His grin faded.
"All joking aside, they've got us boxed in, no way out. I thought maybe we could spook the horses, take their attention off us long enough to get away, but there's no chance, they've got four guards watching those animals. I counted eleven altogether. Right near a stream and everybody was carrying full bandoleers."
"You're not telling us anything we didn't already know," Ordy grouched. "And you could have gotten yourself killed, could have left us short a gun we desperately need." His voice hardened to flint. "A gun she might need." He jerked his chin at Annie. "Like I said, don't expect any cheers from me."
"I didn't ask for any." They stared at each other for a second.
"You better get some sleep, you'll be on guard duty in two hours." Ordy stalked away. Candy shook his head and yanked out his handkerchief, wiped at the grease on his face. Ben ambled over, watching him, saying nothing. Candy stared back.
"I didn't want to guess at what was down there, I wanted to know."
"Or did you want to impress Mrs. Harris?" Her pa's voice was stern, that familiar, you're on thin ice tone echoing loud and clear. Candy swallowed hard and broke eye contact first, staring down at his boots. "Two hours. I'll be back to wake you." Ben walked away. She swallowed hard, the weight of the bandoleer over her shoulder suddenly staggering. She looked up, those familiar blue eyes drilling into her face.
"You only brought this back so you could show her what she'd thrown away when she married him."
"Annie –"
"I thought we agreed we wouldn't lie to each other," she said quietly. "Or am I remembering a different mine shaft?"
"You're not," he replied after a tense silence.
"Why did you really go down there?" He whipped around and caught her by the shoulders.
"I was trying to find a way out – for them. I'm not worried about us, Annie. You don't need anyone to protect you, you can handle yourself and God help Angel if he ever did get his hands on you. But all she's got is him, and I'm not convinced he's up to this." He released her. "I've got to talk to Ordy."
"She can't pick you, no matter who saves her. You've got to realize that, Candy." He froze in his tracks and looked back over his shoulder. His throat worked, but he didn't answer, and kept walking. Annie bit her lip. "Oh, Candy," she whispered, and let the bandoleer fall. She headed for her bedroll and turned her back to the banked fire, closing her eyes.
She needed to think. There had to be a way to get out of this trap. They couldn't just hand over the gold, Montana wouldn't leave witnesses behind. They couldn't spook the horses, couldn't rush them, couldn't wait them out. The cavalry wasn't going to to come riding in either.
So what were they going to do?
"Come on, Ordy." Footsteps crunched closer and she opened her eyes. Ordy sank down on his bedroll and stretched his legs out, shaking his head. Candy crouched next to him.
"You're guessing again."
"An old ordinance man like you wouldn't walk across a parade ground without three or four sticks of dynamite in your pocket." Her muscles locked and her blood ran cold, an ominous hiss slithering out of the past like a rattlesnake.
"Against regulations."
"When did regulations start bothering you, Ordy? A long escort mission like this, you'd bring a whole bundle." Annie drew in a shaky breath and forced herself to concentrate. They weren't at the mercy of Postley's games nor were they stuck half a mile down the mine in Angelus with ten crates primed to explode.
"Alright. I had six sticks until a week ago when we camped at White River and I had a hunger for fresh trout." He went fishing with dynamite? And she'd thought Candy pulled some crazy stunts.
"I'm talking about now."
"I've got three."
"You got fuse?"
"We're not going to use fuse." She sat up so fast her head spun.
"You've had those things this whole time?" Ordy blinked. Anne, crouched beside Candy, jumped, and Candy frowned. Where had Anne come from?
"What things, sweetheart? And why wouldn't we use fuse?"
"And I thought I taught you well. They'd throw it back. I got something special but, uh, how'd you know, Annie?"
"We have a timber operation and mining interests, I was blasting stumps since I was fifteen." At least she used to.
"Oh. You're good to have around, aren't you? Be right back." He crawled over to his saddlebags and dug around inside. Anne smiled sadly up at Candy and laid her hand on his arm. He reached out and brushed his thumb over her cheek, making Annie's chest tighten. She looked away, and found Captain Harris watching them. Ordy crawled back over, a tiny box in his hand, and her attention snapped back to that deceptively innocent looking box. When she glanced back, the captain was gone. "This is something new." He slipped the lid off the box. "Impact detonators." Air backed up in her lungs and she couldn't get a breath. "Fulminate of mercury, no fuse needed. Eighty-six pounds of impact. The book says eighty-six pounds, but I ain't so sure, I sweat when I look at them."
"I don't blame you." He reached for the box and her head spun. How could he be that easy around anything that exploded after what Postley had done?
"Easy. Be careful."
"So." Candy studied the detonators. "All we have to do is get Angel to lean on these things eighty-six pounds worth."
"That's right."
"You're crazy," Annie managed to say through numb lips. Ordy shrugged.
"I haven't blown myself up yet." Hoof beats rang out and they all looked up. "Captain, no!" Ordy scrambled to his feet as Captain Harris galloped past the front guard post and disappeared into the night. They ran over, but he was long gone. Ben cradled Anne to his chest, his hard gaze lingering on Candy.
"Get some sleep, there's nothing we can do tonight. Anyone on guard, keep your eyes open." He led Anne Harris back to the wagon. Candy swallowed hard and walked away, head hanging. Annie lingered at the gap in the rocks, staring out into the night.
Three guesses as to why he'd taken off, and she wouldn't need all three.
The night passed agonizingly slowly, no sound carrying on the still air to give them any indication of what might have happened down the slope. Annie slept fitfully, her dreams wracked with dynamite sticks and Postley's laughing face.
She climbed to her feet and took off across the camp, needing to move, to remind herself they weren't still stuck in that shaft. The cool breeze cleared her head and her heart slowed to normal. She leaned back against the wagon and closed her eyes.
"Who is it?" a muffled voice choked by tears drifted through the canvas cover. Annie turned as the cover was pulled back and found herself face to face with Anne. The two women stared at each other in silence for the space of a dozen heartbeats. Annie's chest tightened and before she could stop herself, the words spilled free.
"Wasn't once enough?"
"I – what –"
"If you'd really loved him, you'd have fought for him. Instead you broke his heart and what makes it worse is you grew up together, you knew him, knew all he had by that point was you, and you still left him."
"I thought I wanted Jim, I never thought I'd see Candy again."
"No, you wanted what the colonel wanted. And now that isn't enough, is it? You have to play with Candy, teasing him, giving him hope he might get you back, and look what that caused. I saw your husband watching your tender little moment with Candy. You're the reason he went out there, you selfish little witch."
"Stop it, that's not true," her voice broke and she pressed her hand to her mouth, tears spilling over her lashes.
"Isn't it?" Heat rose in Annie's chest. "You've spent more time with Candy today than your own husband. He's seen every touch, every smile, every look the two of you have shared, what the hell did you think was going to happen?" Her voice shook with banked anger. "If you think I'm going to stand back and watch you hurt him again, you're wrong. You mess with one Cartwright, you mess with all of us, and Candy is one of us, so you'd better watch your back, Army brat."
"You're wrong, you don't even know how wrong you are. I love Jim."
"You don't know who you love."
"Yes, I do." She swiped at her face. "I should have known he'd think he wasn't good enough."
"What else is he supposed to think with his wife hanging all over another man?" Annie leaned in close, her voice dropping to a hiss. "I suggest you figure out what you want – and who you want – and stop playing games with my best friend." She spun around and stalked away from the wagon before Anne could squeak out a reply.
Fury tasted bitter on her tongue. Spoiled little brat, playing games even in the middle of this mess. What had Candy ever seen in her? How could she still affect him after all this time? Why couldn't he see what she was doing?
She bent and scooped her rifle off the ground next to her bedroll and stalked into the trees. It was no use trying to sleep now. She might as well lend another set of eyes for guard duty. Annie found a good spot and stared out across the land. Hours passed and the sky slowly began to lighten.
Maybe she shouldn't have said all that, the woman had watched her husband ride off to his almost certain death hours before. But it was true, every word of it, and she wouldn't take it back, not even if they found the captain dead. Life was hard, and games had a way of playing you instead of the other way around.
"Pa!" She leaped off her rock before Joe's call had died away into the still morning. The whole camp scrambled out of their bedrolls and raced to the guard post. Annie swore under her breath, her choice of words something that would have earned her a scolding any other time. "I think he's still alive." Joe sounded shocked.
"Anne, don't look, don't look." Candy tucked her head into his shoulder, but Annie was sure the damage was already done. Some friend, that Angel Montana. Between him and Anne Harris, who needed enemies?
"Anne, ain't nothing you can do, come on with me, now. Come on." Hoss took her back to the wagon, leaving the rest of them to stare at Captain Harris tied between two trees.
"He had to have known he couldn't get past them." Candy's voice was venomous.
"He thought he had to try," Ben answered. Annie kept her mouth shut. She'd already said enough.
"He should have known better."
"Yes, he should have known better. But I suppose he felt he had to impress the lady, too." Candy's head snapped around to stare at her pa and Annie bit her lip, her stomach bottoming out. He should have seen this coming. Candy's mouth firmed and he marched back to the wagon. Annie scrambled after him. Snap decisions made in the heat of the moment rarely worked without mishap.
Especially with dynamite involved.
He jumped into the back of the wagon. "Candy."
"It's our only chance, Annie." Ordy joined her at the tailgate. "Did you get it?"
"What do you think I went to get?" He helped Candy maneuver a small, but heavy, keg out of the wagon. They crouched on the ground and dumped the gold coins from the keg. Ordy handed him the dynamite and her head spun. Candy picked up a sharp stick and slowly began to carve a hole in the top of one stick. "Careful." Her skin washed cold and she lurched back against the tailgate, the world blurring between the past and the present.
"What if I just went away and let you two die?" She shook her head, but it didn't stop the hissing of a lit fuse ringing in her ears. Her breath came in gasps. She had to get it together, they weren't trapped anymore! She looked up, her mind replacing the dynamite in Candy's hands with the one Postley had hurled down the shaft.
"Candy, throw it," she choked out, one hand clinging to the tailgate so tight her fingers ached. "Throw it." His head flew up. Whatever he saw on her face must have been terrible; he shoved the dynamite at Ordy and shot off the ground. Hands clutched her shoulders.
"Annie, snap out of it, look at me, sweetheart, look at me," he practically growled, shuffling them farther behind the wagon out of sight of the others. "I said look at me." His hands slid up her arms, cradling her face. She blinked a few times, the scene in her head shifting, sucked back into the past, as she focused on his eyes. "You with us?" He scanned her face and his hands fell, arms wrapping around her back, cradling her against his chest. The steady thump of his heart under her ear slowed her gasping breaths. She slipped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes. " I'm starting to think it wasn't a coincidence Reno pulled up lame and you had to change horses that last time we blasted stumps," he said softly.
"Dude's trick came in handy," she whispered.
"Do they know?" She shook her head. "It's not gonna happen again, I promise you."
"Candy?" She jumped, turning in his arms to find Anne Harris watching them, tear stains on her face, something almost akin to jealousy sparking for a brief second in her eyes. "What's going on?" She took a few steps closer. "Is something wrong?"
"I'll get him back for you, Anne." Candy's grip tightened and he turned back to Ordy. "You got it ready?"
"As soon as you get over here to help me get it in the keg." The sergeant watched them, concern evident, but thankfully too sensible to ask questions he must have realized she'd never answer anyway. Candy looked down, a question burning in his gaze and she forced herself to nod. Slowly, his hands slid from around her back and he stepped away, taking the bundle of dynamite from Ordy and carefully tucking it down into the empty keg. Anne Harris watched them a minute longer, staring at Annie with a confused frown, before she drifted away, sagging against the rocks and burying her face in her hands. Ordy scooped up a double handful of gold coins and started to pour them over the dynamite.
"Real careful," Candy muttered, his gaze shooting sideways. She bit her lip, her heart pounding. One slip …
Finally, the last of the gold was packed around the dynamite and Candy slipped the slats back over the end of the keg. "We'll need a white flag."
"I'll get a towel from the ambulance." Ordy took off and Candy hefted the keg off the ground, staggering under the weight.
"Be careful."
"I am, sweetheart." Slowly, they made their way across the camp towards the front guard post and everyone else clustered in the gap in the rocks. Candy snatched the towel from Ordy and slithered past her pa, who grabbed for him.
"Candy, what are you doing?!" He shrugged off Ben's grasp and kept walking.
"Angel! Angel!" He waved the towel, the keg of gold precariously cradled in his other arm. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at the keg. If it slipped …
"Candy, what do you want?"
"I have the gold."
"No tricks," Montana warned as he slipped into view through the trees. "Or we kill the captain!" A shuddering gasp turned her attention to Anne Harris, now standing right behind her, and watching Candy as though her life depended on it.
"No tricks. We give you this and you let the captain go."
"One? There are four in that ambulance wagon!" He was getting mad, Candy hurry up. Candy crouched to put the keg on the ground. "You give us four kegs and we give you the captain."
"Just one." Candy straightened, his boot on the keg and she tensed.
"All!" He nudged it forward and the keg rolled down the slope, spilling coins as it went. Candy scrambled back into cover and pulled her against his chest, arms wrapping around her back. "Leave it you fools!" Coins clinked; boots scuffed in the dirt. More shouts.
The explosion made her jump. Dirt and clods of grass rained down on the rocks in front of them. Smoke and silence filled the air, broken finally by Ordy. "Let's go get Captain Harris." He left cover, the rest of them right on his heels, all but her and Candy.
"You alright?" His eyes searched her face and she nodded. Air gusted from him in a heavy sigh and he peered over the rocks. "About those bandoleers … I don't figure they'd be of much use now." Annie choked out a laugh and got to her feet.
"I'll just have to settle for the one you already brought me." She turned, found Anne Harris cradling her husband in her arms now that he was cut loose from the trees, then looked back up at Candy's face. He swallowed hard and looked down at their feet.
"I know," he whispered. "You don't have to say it." He let go and walked over to the horses. Everyone else drifted past, two soldiers supporting Captain Harris, and Ordy shouting to get the wagon ready to move out.
"Annie?" She turned, came face to face with Joe. "Something wrong?" His brow furrowed and he looked over at Candy saddling Scout. She shook her head.
"Nothing. Nothing at all." She made her way to Reno and saddled the grulla, her chest so tight she couldn't breathe easily for several minutes. Movement on her right brought her head up.
"He needs you," Ordy said quietly as he threw the saddle over his chestnut's back. "He just doesn't realize how much."
"We're just friends."
"Maybe," he agreed. "And maybe he's too caught between the past and the present to know just what you are right now." She shook her head.
"I think you've been caught in too many explosions over the years." She slipped the bit into Reno's mouth and gathered her reins, then swung into the saddle, looking down at Ordy. "I told you it wasn't like that. What he did back there, he'd have done for any friend losing their mind right in front of him." Ordy's face twisted in amusement.
"I have a hard time imagining him holding one of your brothers like that. For a minute I thought he would –"
"Stop it, Ordy. If you knew half of what he's been through since we met, you'd understand. That bond is the only reason you think you see anything else." She kicked Reno into a walk.
"If you say so," Ordy's quiet comment hovered like trail dust in her wake, but she wasn't going to answer. Annie stopped the Mustang on the other side of the camp and waited for the rest of them to finish up. Joe gave her a funny look from Cochise's side, but she ignored him, her focus suddenly locked on Candy and Anne Harris standing not five feet away.
"Well?"
"Candy, he's my husband." He shook his head slowly. Why did he have to keep doing this to himself? Why did she?
"You don't love him." Anne's face twisted.
"Please understand."
"No," he protested. "I can't, I can't understand, Anne." She should move, he didn't know she was there, though how he'd missed something the size of Reno was beyond her.
"Please," the woman held out her hands. "Candy, please, help me." Make up your mind! What did she want? Couldn't she see what she was doing to him? Did she even care? He stared at her, not one word passing his lips.
"Anne?" The woman turned, finding her husband watching. "It's time to go." He turned back to his horse and Anne stared at Candy, something akin to begging flooding her eyes, but begging him to do what? Candy sighed and shook his head, staring down at his boots.
"Go on." Slowly, she walked away from him and Ordy helped her onto the wagon seat. Candy stared after her as the wagon began to roll. Annie swallowed hard, her chin coming up and eyes going hard as the wagon rolled past her. She locked gazes with Anne; the blond looked away first.
Candy rushed to Scout and leaped into the saddle and rode after the wagon. What was he doing? "Captain Harris, wait up!" He reined Scout to a halt next to the wagon as it stopped. "Mrs. Harris, when you see the colonel, tell him from me, you married yourself quite a man." All the air left her lungs in a rush and she nudged Reno into motion, riding up on his other side in time to see the small smile crossing Anne's lips as she looked to her husband, then back to Candy.
"I will." Beside her, Ordy grinned himself.
"You found yourself a good bunch of friends in the Cartwrights. Take care of yourself, you hear?"
"Don't blow yourself up, old man." Ordy laughed and snapped the reins over the horses' backs, setting the wagon back into motion. Ben and the boys rode up and they all watched the wagon head down the trail.
"Let's go, I hope old John hasn't thought we backed out on those horses." Ben led them in the other direction and they picked up a lope. Candy rode up on her right and they shared a knowing look. He nodded once and they both faced forward, leaving the past firmly where it belonged.
She hoped.