A/N: First update from the new laptop! Hoping it will move a little faster from now on since I don't have to stream an episode over Youtube while I type on the desktop. This one wound up a little shorter than the others, I think, mainly due to most of the behind the scenes action at the Double R which the Cartwrights wouldn't know about. Nothing really spoke to me as far as new filler scenes so here it stands. I may come back later and tinker with this one a little more if the mood strikes me.
I did hint at something else as far as plot in here, but ultimately decided not to turn it into a subplot since I didn't see Jeremy Romans going that far. A bull is one thing, but a person is quite another. You'll see what I mean. I'd like your thoughts on whether I should go back and flesh that possibility out further in a chapter update so send me a review or PM with your input, it's always appreciated.
I don't own Bonanza and this is for fun only.
Tonight: The Passing of a King.
Added line breaks 2-19-21
Up ahead, Hoss drove the wagon while Annie, Joe, Candy, and Ben rode at an easy walk a few horse lengths behind, keeping an eye on the reason for the slow pace.
"Funny," Candy remarked. "Old Henry hasn't charged the wagon once this morning."
"After a thousand miles, even a bull gets smart," Annie replied. Joe snorted.
"I think he's waiting to get a shot at you."
"That'd be downright ungrateful," Candy said with a huff. "Nobody's ever nurse-maided me like we did him." Joe laughed.
"I don't recall you being worth $5,000 either."
"Whoa." Annie's head came up as the wagon slowed, then halted. Hoss nodded up ahead at a loose ring of men. "Wonder what that's all about?" To her, it looked like a lynching in progress. Ben's brow furrowed.
"Let's find out."
Annie reined Reno around the wagon and followed her pa and Joe, Candy at her side. The closer they got, the more obvious it was. She traded a glance with Candy and they drifted apart as they rode in, Ben pulling Buck up sharply in front of the babbling Mexican and the bunch of hard looking men gathered under the trees.
"Anyone here represent the law?" Her pa's voice rang out in the silence their arrival had created.
"Stay out of this mister, ain't none of your business."
"Hanging is everybody's business." Her pa's voice could have cut flint. "Where's the law?" A scruffy-looking man stepped forward, shaking his head with a lazy grin, as Hoss drove the wagon closer, stopping behind them.
"Ain't no need. Caught Rodriguez here red-handed butchering a calf that ain't his. Any fool knows that any cow found here from sun-up to sundown belongs to the Double R."
"Butchering a cow is no reason to hang a man, is it?"
"Don't be telling me what's cause for hanging." His hand drifted down towards his gun and Annie drew before he'd made it three inches, the hammer on her Colt loud in the silence. His hand froze. Joe drew his gun, as did Candy, presenting a ring of loaded barrels. No one moved.
The sound of approaching horses shifted Annie's gaze to the rear of the group as two men rode up, but her aim didn't shift.
"What's the idea? What's going on here?" The two men drew rein. The scruffy man turned his attention to the one who'd spoken.
"Caught the Mex, Jeremy. Red handed."
"Shut up, Carver." The scruffy man halted in his tracks, surprise on his face. The newcomer turned his attention to them, taking in the drawn weapons, his gaze lingering on her before he refocused on her pa.
"You must be Ben Cartwright."
"That's right." His brow furrowed. "Who are you?"
"I'm Jeremy Roman, Claude's son. This is my foreman, Ballenger." Ben's face cleared.
"This is my son, Joseph, my daughter, Anne, our foreman, Candy, and Hoss is back in the wagon. We're delivering this bull to your father and came across what seems to be a lynching." The man's face darkened and he whipped around in the saddle.
"Carver, what the devil's wrong with you? I told you there'd be no lynching on the Double R! Get this Mex out of here and get him into town to the sheriff." Carver spun around and got the rope off the man's neck, then he and two others hustled him over to the horses as Jeremy Roman rode his mount closer to them, throwing her a sideways glance. "I'm sorry about this, Mr. Cartwright. I'll see that he gets to the sheriff."
"Fine." Annie let the hammer down and holstered her pistol. There was something about him, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Yet.
"I'll see you later at the ranch." He wheeled his horse and the whole lot of cowboys took off in his wake.
"Good thing we happened along," Joe said. "That Mexican never would have gotten to see the sheriff."
"Yeah." Ben shifted his weight. "Joe, take your sister and Candy into Mesa Verde and get us rooms. Hoss and I will take the bull out to the ranch."
"Right, Pa." Joe turned Cochise and they rode off. Annie nudged Reno up on Cochise's flank.
"You really think that, Joe?" He threw her a strange look.
"Now, why wouldn't he? You heard Jeremy, Pa's known the Romans for years, since before we were born. He trusts Claude."
"It wasn't Claude making that promise."
"You didn't like him either?" Candy pushed Scout faster to keep pace. "Funny. I thought it was just me after he looked at your sister the way he did." Joe did a double take.
"What do mean?"
"You honestly didn't see that look he gave Annie?" Candy whistled softly. "If she was a steak, there wouldn't be a spot of gristle left after he got through."
"How flattering," Annie muttered. "First a horse, now a steak?"
"I'm serious."
"Oh, I know you are." She reached up and settled her hat more firmly on her head. "I saw it, too. All I've got to say is they're getting a bull and that's it."
They rode into Mesa Verde a few minutes later and pulled up at the hitch rail in front of the hotel. People ran down the street towards the saloon. Annie watched them with a frown as they climbed the steps, crashing into a man coming out.
"Oh, sorry gents." He caught sight of her behind Joe and flushed scarlet. "Ma'am. Looking for rooms?" He turned, looking down the street at the saloon. What was going on around here?
"Yeah, five beds for the night."
"And plenty of hot water," Candy added.
"Tell you what, you go on in and sign the register, then take the keys for rooms five, six, and seven out of the rack." He clutched his hat in his hands. "But you'll have to wait on the bath until my boy gets back, he went to the hanging. Fella name of Rodriguez. You'd better hurry if you don't want to miss it." He shoved past them and scurried down the stairs, pausing at the bottom. "Trials don't take long around here, not when Jeremy Roman says they're guilty. If you'll excuse me, I'm the jury foreman. I gotta run." He cracked a smile. "Free drinks." And then he was gone.
"Sounds like the 4th of July," Candy muttered.
"I knew I didn't like him." Annie worked her hands on her gun belt. "He was too slick, just like Fillmore." Joe shook his head.
"Let's get over there."
"So they can tell us oh so politely to keep our Cartwright noses out of Mesa Verde business?" She replied, and studied her dirty nails. "Why not? You haven't caused any decent trouble in a month of Sundays and we just might be able to stop them. Let's do it." They jogged down the stairs and made their way over to the saloon. A group of men stood outside, adjusting a noose looped over a protruding beam overhead. One of them turned and she recognized Carver.
"That tree would have done just fine," he sneered. Her lip curled in disgust as they headed inside, wading through the packed crowd, the hum of conversation sounding like a swarm of bees. A commotion near the door brought her head around.
More men filed inside and she spotted Jeremy Roman right behind a man who had to be the judge based on his clothes. "Come on, make a path."
"What's all this? This is a courtroom, not a saloon." The judge waved a hand at the empty glasses on the table in front of Rodriguez.
"Carver, get that out of here." Jeremy Roman said. The man removed the glasses and the judge sat down and rapped his gavel on the green felt.
"I declare this court now in session. Remove your hats." Jeremy Roman sat down beside the judge and crossed his legs, lounging in his chair like some kind of king. "Stop the drinking over there until we get this over with." Everyone in the room took off their hats, including her. A few men gave her strange looks that she returned with an even stare and a warning hand on her Colt. "You got your men sorted out?"
"Yes, Your Honor, the jury's ready."
"Sheriff, how does the defendant plead?"
"Well, not guilty, Your Honor, but …"
"But what?"
"Well, most folks already know Carver caught this Mex dead to rights with his knife in one of them Roman calves. Your Honor, even in Rodriguez' lingo, it takes a heap of stretching to plead not guilty if you ask me." The room erupted in laughter and the judge pounded his gavel on the table.
"Order! Order! Or I'll throw you out of here." Joe shook his head in disgust and pushed his way closer to the judge. Annie snagged Candy's sleeve and towed him along.
"Your Honor. Your Honor." The judge looked him up and down. Jeremy Roman's face stiffened, especially when he caught sight of her.
"You yelling at me, boy?"
"Unless you see another judge in here," she said tartly. "Personally, I'm not sure I see –" Joe shushed her.
"Yes, sir, I am."
"Why?"
"We were out on the Double R range this morning when they were trying to lynch this man."
"What's that got to do with now?"
"The way this trial's going, it's no different than a lynching."
"We'll try him, you just shut up."
"Try him, fine, but why the noose outside?" She pushed her way past her brother. "Butchering a calf is no hanging offense." She huffed out a breath. "Are you going to tell me to shut up, too? Or does a lady still garner some respect, even in this one horse town?"
That darkened Jeremy Roman's face until he looked ready to kill right here and now. Had she been a man, there was no doubt in her mind he would have drawn.
"What's upsetting you, Ms. Cartwright? He's just a Mex." Candy's hand touched her sleeve in silent warning.
"He's a man no different than you." She looked him up and down and sniffed. "Only a very little man with something to prove would hang someone for killing one of his calves. What you're doing is murder." It was a very thin line she had to walk, as even respect for women wouldn't go far if she pushed too hard. Romans shot out of his chair and started to reach for her arm, stopping himself a second before she would have drawn, manners be hanged. As it was, her hand was on her gun. His shoulders quivered.
"Down here, we'll decide what offense deserves hanging and what don't." Her eyes narrowed.
"Miss, if you don't want to end up in jail for sixty days for contempt, I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you. Down here, we got our own problems, Mr. Roman's been losing a lot of cattle, we got to teach those thieves a lesson." He looked past her. "Has the jury reached a verdict?"
The hotel clerk glanced over at the line of men who all nodded. He turned back. "Guilty, Your Honor." The judge pounded his gavel on the table.
"Rodriguez. I sentence you to hang by the neck until you're dead." The man's face fell and he bowed his head while the crowd cheered. Joe shot towards the judge.
"You can't hang that man for a calf!" And here they went. She spun, throwing a punch at the man grabbing for her, knocking him back against the bar. Candy struggled, but was quickly pinned by two men, as was Joe. Annie found herself standing alone, no one wanting to make the first move.
Jeremy Romans did it for them. She snatched a bottle off the bar and slammed it against his head, spraying him with amber liquid. He snarled and lunged again. She danced back, hopped up on the bar, and drove both boots into his gut, knocking him back over the nearest table.
"Get her! Carver!" Hands snatched at her sleeve, her hair, her arm. Now that the boss had given the order, it apparently didn't matter that she was a woman. She could have drawn, but that would only get them all killed the mood this crowd was in.
Romans stalked towards her, a feral smile on his face, an almost insane gleam in his frosty blue eyes. He plucked her Colt from its holster, his men doing the same to Joe and Candy. He turned her weapon over in his hands as he turned to the sheriff. "You heard what the judge said, get him out of here." The saloon emptied in seconds and Romans turned back around, that smirk still plastered on his face.
"You lay one hand on her and even your tame judge here won't be able to protect you," Joe snarled.
"I've never laid a hand on a woman in my life."
"Because you couldn't catch me," she sniffed, and his eyes flared as he stalked closer.
"See, up Virginia City way, you Cartwrights call the shots, but down here, I'm the man." His gaze roamed over her like she was a blooded mare. "And I get what I want."
"You wish," she spit, and kicked him in the gut again, hurling him over the table. Candy and Joe broke free and took up the fight. Annie snatched up a chair and smashed it over someone's head, dropping them like a side of beef. She dropped to the floor and rolled, collecting her pistol on the fly. Candy went down, a chair breaking apart over his head, and Joe collapsed after a hard right from Carver. They turned to her and she came up onto one knee, and cocked the hammer. "First one that moves, I put a bullet in him." She motioned to Jeremy with her pistol. "How you going to explain that to his father?" Romans chuckled and put a restraining hand on Carver's arm.
"How would you explain it to the law?"
"Kind of hard to explain something to a dead man."
"I like you, I really do." He waved Carver outside and tipped his hat mockingly. "I'll be seeing you later." He stepped outside just as the crowd cheered. Annie's heart sank and she let the hammer down on her pistol.
A lot of good they'd done. The sooner they got paid for King Henry and left this blasted town, the better.
Candy groaned and sat up, shaking his head. "You okay, sweetheart?"
"Could be worse." She stood up and went over to him. "Need help?"
"I'm not that bad off," he said as he got to his feet. "How's Joe?"
"He's not going to be happy when he wakes up, that's for sure."
"They hang Rodriguez?" She nodded. "Let's wake up Joe and get back to the hotel. I'm already tired of Mesa Verde."
So was she.
"There just wasn't any way to stop them." Joe raised his head from the wash basin and wiped his bruised face. Candy leaned over the second basin sitting on the dresser, his shirt hanging open. Hoss leaned against the wall and Ben sat on the bed. Annie perched on the chair she'd pulled to the foot of the bed. Hoss shook his head.
"I don't understand what kind of a judge would let a thing like that happen in the first place."
"The judge?" Joe scoffed. "The judge did what he was told. The verdict was in before that trial ever started."
"Joe tried to stop them." Candy said as he turned around. Annie winced at the bruises on his face. He looked just as bad as Joe. "If he'd tried any harder, they'd have hung him along with the Mexican." Ben glanced among the three of them.
"Looks to me like you all tried to stop them. I'm sorry about what happened, but I'm glad you tried."
"As far as I'm concerned, the sooner we get out of town the better I'll like it."
"Me, too." Annie touched her cheek and winced. She hopped off the chair and went over to the dresser, nudging Candy aside to check her reflection. "I should have shot him."
"We can't leave just now." Her eyebrows rose and Ben's reflection over her shoulder frowned. She turned.
"Why not?" she and Joe asked in unison.
"We haven't been paid for the bull yet." Annie straightened with a hard jerk.
"I'm sorry we have to do business with men like that." Ben's eyebrows rose.
"Claude Roman is a very fine man." Candy dropped his towel on the edge of the dresser.
"His son, Jeremy Roman, and his men were the ones that beat us up." He shot her a quick glance. "And he's got a rather unhealthy interest in Annie."
"I said the judge did what he was told? It was Jeremy Roman that told him," Joe said in a voice like ice. No one said a word as that sank in. The look on her pa's face was something she wished she'd never had occasion to see in her life.
"What do you mean he's interested in Annie?" And that's what he chose to comment on? She fought the urge to roll her eyes. She was more than capable of handling herself.
"Exactly what I said, Mr. Cartwright."
"Candy."
"You said you saw it too, sweetheart."
"He's a worthless, whiny, little spoiled brat who thinks he's a man that enjoys playing power games with people's lives because he can." She pushed off the dresser. "In other words, he's nothing we haven't handled before."
"Be that as it may, Anne, please let Candy finish." Candy drew in a breath and let it out slowly.
"Mr. Cartwright, his father bought a bull, but I think he wants to add a mare to the deal."
"And we're back to calling me a horse. Really?" Candy shrugged and started buttoning his shirt. Ben frowned.
"I don't like the way this is going." He rubbed his forehead. "As soon as Claude pays me for King Henry we're going home. I'll ride out first thing in the morning and I want you boys to stay in town and keep an eye on your sister."
"Pa!" He held out a hand.
"I know what you're going to say, Anne, and I know you can take care of yourself. The fact remains that Jeremy Romans apparently has this town under his control and he has more men at his disposal than we do right now. If he really intends to start something, I'd rather it not be out at the Double R away from prying eyes. In fact, I think I'd feel better if you left tonight. Candy, will you escort her home and we'll catch up after we've gotten the money for the bull?"
"Remember what happened the last time you asked him to keep an eye on her?" Hoss shifted his weight, crossing his arms over his chest. "I seem to recall they both ended up right in the middle of everything."
"Because they did," Joe spit as he buttoned his shirt. "And we can't all leave to ride herd on Annie, you'd be alone."
"I can take care of myself, Joe. Who saved your hide the last few times it needed saving? Me."
"And me," Candy added.
"Alright, that's enough." Ben rubbed his forehead. "Fine. You four will stay in town until I come back from the Double R. No one leaves this hotel. Have everything packed and be ready to go when I get back with the money."
"You got it, Pa."
"He did what?" Annie shot out of her chair. "That little weasel isn't a quarter the man he thinks he is! No real man would back out on a deal like that." She worked her hands, itching to wring Jeremy's scrawny neck.
"There's more. He said he'd be glad to honor the original contract as a favor to an old friend of his father's on one condition." Ben flung his hat on the bed. "If I leave him with a wife, as well as a seed bull."
"On a cold day in Hell!" she shot back. Joe chuckled under his breath and her eyes narrowed. Hoss shook his head and Candy said nothing. Verbally, that is. His eyes were something else. His fingers whitened on the brim of his hat.
"That's about what I told him, though not as colorfully. I'll take him to court, every court in the state if that's what it takes. First, we're going to go see the judge in this town, not that I expect it to do much good." He collected his hat. "We're all going. Now that's he's made his intentions clear, Annie is not to be alone even for one minute until we're at least halfway home. Let's go."
They marched down the street and straight into the judge's office. The man stood up, almost like he'd been expecting them. "How may I help you?"
"You can order Jeremy Romans to pay me what I'm owed for a bull." Ben's voice had that steely tone to it that most men would heed without question. He took out the contract and laid it on the man's desk, but he didn't even glance at it. "Or I'll go over your head." The man smirked and walked over to his bookcase, then poured himself a drink from the decanter on the top shelf.
"Claude Romans is no longer in control of the Double R, his son is. Whatever he says goes. And Mr. Cartwright, may I remind you I am a public official and I will not tolerate your threatening me."
"Cartwrights don't threaten," Annie said sweetly. "We promise. Pa will go to a higher court than yours if he has to. Because I can assure you I have no intentions of marrying that stunted weasel." Ben shushed her and tried again.
"How is it a threat to ensure you discharge your duty? Will you please sign an order for Jeremy Romans to pay me the money he owes?"
"Well, now, let's be reasonable. I can't settle a personal dispute."
"There's nothing personal about it! I have a contract." The judge shook his head.
"We've been all through this, Claude has no say about anything anymore. That old man can't spit and make it stick." The door opened and Annie turned with her brothers and Candy. The judge looked up and lowered his glass.
"This contract was signed –" Ben broke off and turned.
A woman stood in the doorway accompanied by an older man with the look of experience about him. The judge stood.
"Mary."
"Go on, Judge Rideout." She pulled off her gloves. "As you were saying." She stalked into the room, and Annie found herself liking this woman. How could two such different children come from the same parents? The judge swallowed hard.
"Well, I was just telling Cartwright … Mr. Cartwright here that your brother has sole control over what goes on at your place. And if he doesn't want to honor that contract, well, then, he doesn't have to."
"Because of the writ you gave him, making him my father's guardian?" Her tone could have cut steel.
"That's right." The judge sat back down.
"Well, that's why I'm here. To demand that you rescind that immediately."
"You know I can't do that. As a woman, unless you're the sole heir, in the eyes of the law, you haven't got any rights."
"What about Claude Roman's rights?" Ben demanded.
"That document was executed in this office. It's legal and binding," the man protested, his face reddening.
"If Jeremy uses that paper, it'll destroy my father."
"Your brother's just trying to see that Cartwright, or people like him, don't take advantage of your father, that's all. You know Claude's getting on in years." Annie scoffed under her breath.
"Papa bought King Henry before he turned the ranch over to Jeremy."
"Why don't you let your brother handle the business? He knows what he's doing. And he's going to do a lot for the Double R. And for Mesa Verde, too."
"You mean he's going to do a lot for you, don't you, Judge?" Annie leaned against his desk. "How much of the other two thousand he owes Pa will you be getting?" The glass clinked against the desk and he stood.
"Now, just one minute. These are chambers, but I can still cite you for contempt." He glanced around. "Any of you. Or all of you."
"Yes, you can, Judge." Ben leaned over the desk and picked up his contract. "But let me tell you something. I'll take this to a higher court. This contract will be honored and damages paid."
"Take it to all the courts you want, you still ain't getting the bull back. Down here, possession ain't nine-tenths of the law. It's the whole thing."
"I'll pick up my property in the morning." Ben jerked his chin at the door and they all moved.
"Well, I reckon you can try. But with you holding $2,000 of Jeremy's money, he ain't going to like that."
"There's a lot coming that he won't like." Joe said.
"Judge Rideout. You know you have the power to put an end to this."
"I have already stated the position of the court, young lady –"
"You mean her brother's position, don't you?" Annie snorted. "We all know he owns you. And yet, you're nothing."
"Why don't all of you go on home?" Mary looked at Ben; he nodded at the door and she sighed.
"I might just as well, for all the good I'm accomplishing here." They all headed outside.
"Thank you for trying, Mary." She put her gloves back on and mounted her horse.
"Anne, if my brother was any kind of man, I'd welcome you for a sister. You come for King Henry, you may find there's still some honor in the Roman family." She and her foreman rode away. Annie glanced over her shoulder and found the judge watching them from his doorway. She also noticed Carver hanging around a few feet away.
"Let's get back to the hotel. I want to write out some telegrams, get a lawyer in Amarillo working on this. Maybe find a judge willing to issue that order."
"You know, there's a real simple answer," Candy started.
"She'd never go for it," Annie interrupted. The rest of them frowned and she shrugged. "He did say if she was the sole heir."
"Killing is never the answer."
"I was just commenting on a fact, Mr. Cartwright."
"That better be all you do."
"Of course, Mr. Cartwright."
"Let's go."
The next morning, they all waited on horseback outside the telegraph office for Ben to return. Candy turned in his saddle and looked around Mesa Verde. "This is one town I bid good-bye with no regrets."
"Which ones did you regret?" Annie asked with a half-smile.
"I'll second that. It's been no picnic." Joe looked around, too, and Annie rolled her eyes.
"He's not going to try anything. If he was going to, he'd have done it by now." The door opened before anyone could reply and Ben came out of the telegraph office. Candy straightened.
"Did you get through to him?"
"I sure did. Judge Ferguson's going to be in Amarillo all this week. We'll have a hearing in a couple of days."
"Good. Let's pick up Henry. It's going to be nice meeting Jeremy on equal terms." Joe reined Cochise around. Hoss clucked to the team and Annie and Candy took their places beside the wagon as it rolled forward.
"Candy, you don't let her out of your sight, you hear me?"
"I won't, Mr. Cartwright."
It was a quick ride out to the Double R. The weasel and his henchman Carver swung open the gate for them. He threw her a sneering smile as she rode past, prompting Candy to ride closer, almost running over Jeremy in the process. The runt stumbled backwards, his sneer turning to a glare. He wasn't a real man, and he knew it. He never would be. Given the chance, he'd run this place into the ground; he didn't have what it took.
Hoss stopped the wagon and Ben swung down from Buck, slowly walking over to Claude Romans in his wheelchair, his daughter standing at his left shoulder. "Claude." Ben touched his hat. "I suppose you know why I'm here."
"Mary told me. I'm the one that's been shamed Ben. King Henry's yours. You take him, and nobody will give you any trouble." The old man's face reddened. "And don't you worry about your daughter. My son has a lot of growing up to do and he doesn't know everything he thinks he does." Annie shot a quick, sideways look at the weasel. As she'd figured, that went over as well as a fox in the chicken coop. Jeremy and Carver sauntered over and Annie's hand went to her gun.
"Joseph." Ben turned and came face to face with Jeremy. "Joe, you and Hoss get King Henry." Jeremy smirked.
"You never learn, do you, Cartwright? You're still talking to the wrong man."
"At least he's talking to a man," Annie said sweetly. Jeremy's face darkened.
"You know, I don't like you half as much as I did before. I'd get tired of that mouth inside of two weeks."
"What you don't like is anyone stronger than you." She sidled Reno a few steps closer. "It highlights how weak you really are."
"Jeremy. If you say one word to her, I'll tan your hide." Claude Roman's voice could have cut steel. Annie doubted he could follow through on that threat, but his foreman might be able to do it. A muscle twitched in Jeremy's jaw and she smirked.
"Claude. Mary." Ben threw her a worried glance and she softened the smirk into a sweet smile. "I'll see you later."
"Just one minute. We still need to settle about that $2,000."
"Jeremy."
"That money rightfully belongs to Ben. Virginia City is a long way and he deserves at least that much." That muscle in his son's jaw ticked again. Oh, little bantam rooster didn't like being called out in front of everyone.
"You take that money, Cartwright. I was supposed to give it to you anyway. You see, my sister warned me. Oh, and she said I was supposed to apologize. So consider that done. Now, you can take that bull of yours and get off the Double R."
"Pa!" Joe's shout carried over the racing wagon wheels. Joe hauled Cochise into a bouncing, sideways lope as he reined him up. "Pa! The bull's dead. Someone cut him up." Every head swung around to Jeremy Romans. Ben stalked forward.
"I was right about you, wasn't I?" He mused half to himself. "Contemptible."
"That's strong talk." Her hand was on her gun when Candy caught her wrist. He shook his head and she relaxed her grip on the pistol. If she opened her mouth, she'd say something she should regret, so she kept it snapped shut.
"Oh, it'll be a whole lot stronger. There's a judge in Amarillo waiting for me to press charges against you and if I have to come back here and drag you there I'll do it."
"That won't be necessary." The smirk slipped off Jeremy's face and he faced his father. "I'm gonna do what I should have done right in the beginning. Mary! Fetch the balance of Ben's money." His daughter headed for the house.
"I ain't gonna let you do it, old man!" Jeremy took a step forward and Claude drew a pistol out from under his lap robe.
"Don't tell me what I can do on my own place." In that moment, Annie caught a glimpse of what Claude Romans must have been like as a younger man.
"This ain't your own place, it's mine!"
"Claude, you don't have –"
"Somebody has to," he interrupted Ben. "This is my son, but he ain't fit to live with pigs." Annie winced and Candy whistled softly under his breath, shaking his head. Mary came back from the house and went straight to Ben.
"That money ain't yours to give! I make the decisions around here!"
"This last one I'll make. Sometimes, a man wishes for something so hard he blinds himself. I came to … thinking that I had raised a man." The gun drifted downward and Annie saw Jeremy's hand slip to his own gun. Joe leaped before she could move. He tackled Jeremy and they went down. Carver went for his gun and Candy jumped for him. Ben wheeled around.
"Drop it."
She and Hoss pulled their own guns, covering everyone nearby. "Hold it, boys. Just put 'em right there on the ground." She kept one eye on the hands, and one eye on her brother and Jeremy, fighting their way across the front lawn. They ended up on the porch, and Joe knocked Jeremy into the woodpile. He tumbled to the porch and lay still. Joe staggered over and leaned against the support column, breathing hard. Annie sighed and glanced over at Candy, now finished with Carver and making his way back to Scout.
"Joe!" She whipped around at her pa's terrified yell and found Jeremy on his feet, an ax in hand, ready to swing at Joe.
"Son!"
She drew and fired, a second shot ringing out almost in unison. The force of the bullets spun Jeremy around, a stunned look on his face as he staggered and toppled off the porch to land on his face in the grass.
Mary let out a gasp and buried her face in her hands. Claude didn't even spare a glance at her or his daughter. He stared at his son's still form. "Son?" His face crumpled. "Boy?" He clutched at his throat as choked sobs broke free. Annie stuffed her pistol back in the holster and started to get down. He didn't look right for some reason … Claude choked again, and relaxed back against his chair. Mary must have heard him, or some sixth sense warned her. She looked up and gasped again.
"Papa?" She ran over to his chair and touched his shoulder. "Papa? Papa." Ben rushed to his old friend and touched his wrist.
"Mary," he whispered, and Annie bit her lip, rethinking getting down. There was no way to tell for sure whose bullet had killed Jeremy, but it was probably best she didn't get in the middle. Candy swung back into his saddle and leaned over, hand on her arm.
"You did what you had to do. It was either that or he killed Joe."
"I know." She blinked several times as Mary collapsed over her father's body. "I wish he hadn't fired, too. Bad enough knowing someone else killed your son, but to think he may have done it himself?"
"Probably what killed him," Candy whispered. "He must have had a bad heart or something."
"Yeah," she said hoarsely, her throat closing. "I'll … I'll ride on ahead." She wheeled Reno and took off at a fast lope. Hooves drummed on the ground behind her, but she didn't turn to look. She didn't have to.
She finally slowed the grulla after several miles and pulled him up under a giant cottonwood. Annie scrambled down and left him ground-tied as she walked up to the tree and leaned against it, tears stinging her eyes.
"When I say it was Joe or Jeremy, I'm not telling you anything you don't already know." Candy hopped down from Scout and met her under the tree. "He'd have hacked his spine in two, without an ounce of guilt or remorse, right in front of his whole family." He put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed. "Claude Romans knew it, too, he wouldn't have fired if he thought there was a chance."
"Why did he have to?" She spun around, her hands sliding up his chest. "I don't regret killing Jeremy, if I did, but the fact it killed Claude, too …" She looked away and Candy tipped her face back around.
"That's because you're a good woman."
"But Claude –"
"He made his choice, Annie. He was protecting Joe just as much as you were." She drew in a sharp breath.
"That doesn't stop how I feel."
"It wasn't your fault he died. If you want to blame anyone, blame Jeremy Romans. If it weren't for him, none of this would have happened." She sighed and leaned against him, her arms slipping around his back.
"I know." They stood under the tree in silence, the breeze blowing the branches, until Reno's head came up and his ears pricked. Scout neighed a greeting. Hooves drummed on the ground and they looked up at last.
Ben pulled Buck to a halt a few feet away, Joe on his left, and Hoss driving the wagon at the rear. Her pa cleared his throat. "Mary doesn't blame you for anything, Annie. Jeremy was headed for trouble, and he would have found it whether he tried to swindle us or not. It's regrettable, but he made his choices. And so did Claude."
She stepped away from Candy and collected Reno's reins, then she swung into the saddle. "How could a man like Claude turn out a son like that?"
"I don't know. Maybe we'll never know what turns one man bad when others in the same set of circumstances would never dream of doing such things."
"He was crazy," Candy said as he swung into his own saddle and Ben nodded slowly.
"Maybe." He sighed. "I promised Mary we'd give her the pick of Henry's best yearlings. She's got a difficult task ahead of her, but she's quite a girl, she'll make it." He glanced sideways at her and swallowed hard, and Annie knew he was thinking of how much he hoped she would never be thrust into the position Mary Romans was in.
"That Ballenger seems like a good man," Hoss said. "I don't figure he'd steer her wrong." A half smile touched Annie's mouth. No, he wouldn't, quite possibly for reasons big brother hadn't noticed.
"I think he loves her," she said, making Ben jump.
"What?"
"It was the way he looked at her." She stared off into the distance, her chest tightening. Why was it always someone else finding the one thing she really wanted? Would it ever be her turn? "I hope I'm right, she deserves something good after everything her brother did."
"Yes, she does," Ben agreed. "Come on, let's go home." He urged Buck into a lope and they all fell into line behind him, Hoss bringing up the rear with the wagon.