Cole's Redemption (Love Amongst the Pines) (21 page)

             
Maybe his heart was beginning to heal a tiny bit after all.

             
Must be inhaling all that sawdust," he muttered. He rubbed his eyes twice with his fists. When he opened them,
Tildy
was gone.

             
"Hey Judge!" Dermott called out from behind him. "What is it,
Derm
?" "There's a wagon coming up the road, headed this way!" "I thought everyone in town was already here!"

             
"So did I. It's a buckboard, and I can see a man and a woman riding shotgun."

             
"Anybody you know?"

             
Before Dermott could answer, Bill Watkins called out, "Let's pull out the fiddle!"

             
With the shout of invitation, the crowd gathered in front of the new house. The walls were all closed in now and window glass set into the panes. In a matter of hours, the dwelling was near to livable. Of course, it needed a few coats of paint and trim to be put up, but the foundation was solid, and the walls could withstand the winter storms.

             
A cheer went up, as Bill struck up his instrument. In minutes, there was music and dancing. Dermott, never one to back away from a performance, took out his mouth organ, and the wedding party was in full swing.

             
As he stood apart from the celebration, Judge had a niggling feeling climb up his spine. He was glad for the two young people, but it had been his experience that things rarely went off without a hitch. Life always had a way of throwing a basket of thorns on the path just to make things interesting. Then, as the first song ended and a second one began, his concerns became reality. The wagon that Dermott had seen a few minutes before came trundling up into the yard.

             
"Stop this!" The woman on the wagon shrieked. "Stop this at once! I need to see if my son is here!"

             
The music trailed off into silence, and the townspeople turned their attention to the new arrival.

             
The woman was a petite blond. Her hair had been once primly styled under a fashionable hat, but the combination of the South Dakota wind and a rough ride had pushed it all akimbo. Her outfit, a summer dress that had once been decorated with yellow daisies and blue ribbons, now hung soiled and ragged. Clearly, the past months had been hard on her. Her eyes remained sharp and her chin pointed upwards. She breathed heavily, looking like a mountain lion just about to attack.

             
"I
said
,
I need
to know
if my son is alive! Can someone help me?"

             
The silence of the gathering seemed as deep as a well. Judge moved to step forward, when he felt a hand grasp his right arm. He turned into the stern set face of Cole
Remmington
.

             
"Yes, Mother. I'm alive. You can go home now." With that, he said nothing else, turned, and stormed into his new house.

             
Once inside, he slammed the door behind him and disappeared into the dimness.

             
"Well, I'll be damned." Natty said to no one in particular, then turned and fled into the house after him.

             
"Cole! You come out here this minute!" Natty ran through the house, careful not to trip over the toolboxes and building materials that were thrown about. "That
ain't
no way to talk to your mother.
Cole, please."

             
When she made it to the kitchen, she saw the back door standing open, hanging askew, still off two of its hinges. Natty pushed it open and followed her husband outside. He stood at the back of the property, looking out over the ravine that dipped down into darkness.

             
"Cole, answer me, please!" "Go on back, Natty. I've got nothing to say." "I don't understand, you told me your Ma was dead!
Ain't

you
surprised to see her? I'd give my right arm to see my Ma one more time."

             
He turned on her, rage filling his features, his fists clutched at his side. "Natty, this isn't any of your affair. My mother is as dead to me as yours is to you!"

             
She shook her head. "Don't say that, Cole. You don't mean it!"

             
"Yes, I do. That woman ruined my life and, by her actions, set the path for Maggie and Zachary's death."

             
"Did she hold the gun that killed them?" Natty asked her tone quiet and accusing.

             
"No, but, she might as well have. She convinced my father that my marriage was a sham. My father died in a carriage accident after disowning Maggie and I. She's the one to blame for that!"

             
"Cole, accidents happen. I won't say she wasn't wrong, but surely, you can't blame her for it all!"

             
"Can't I? Because of my parents, I had no chance to start my own practice in Boston after my father discharged me from his. We had to set out west for me to find a position. If they had accepted my life the way I wanted it, two people would be alive today."

             
Natty stood quiet for a moment. "Cole, I am truly sorry for that woman and your child. It was the worst kind of tragedy, but nothing is
gonna
change it. If killing the men who were responsible didn't bring your loved ones back, then blaming your Ma won't either. Your wife and child are still as dead as ever."

             
"Don't you think I know that?" Suddenly, he turned away from her. His pain was written on the tightly corded muscles of his back.

Natty moved to stand behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Laying her head between his shoulder blades, she held onto him, feeling the ragged breaths that shook him, muscle and bone.

             
"I am so sorry, but this
ain't
a time for hating anymore, Cole. You've got to let go of what happened or it's
gonna
kill you!"

             
"It's not that easy, Natty! It's just not that easy."

             
"I know, but you
gotta
try. I know I can't ever replace what you lost. I want so much to give you as good a life as I can. If you don't let your wounds heal, then it's as good as if you've already put that rope around your neck. This kind of hate can kill a body."

             
Turning, he pulled her into his arms, enfolding her in a crushing embrace.

             
"I don't want to die, Natty!"

             
"I know that, Cole. Don't worry. I'll keep you safe, I promise!"

             
Miriam felt like a trapped animal. She looked around at the faces of the strangers who surrounded her. The expressions staring at her were suspicion, anger, shock, and puzzlement.

             
"Well, I guess that's that." She sniffed, dragging a soiled handkerchief from her sleeve. "I'll just go back to Deadwood tonight." She turned back to the wagon, but the need for explaining herself overwhelmed her. Stiffening her spine, she whirled back to the townspeople.

             
"I'm not sorry I came. I had to make sure he was alive. I'd heard so many bad things, and I couldn't believe my son was a murderer. That's why I came. That and to help him if he needed me."

             
A man stepped out of the crowd. Clearly mature in years, his gray hair and sharp blue eyes caught her attention. She could tell by the way he carried himself he was a man respected by his peers.

             
"Excuse me for saying it, Ma'am, but that is one mule headed son you've got there. He's got more starch in his shirts than a San Francisco Chinese laundry."

             
Miriam attempted her best Bostonian lady's glare but he met her gaze with a steely expression. As she held him with her stare the edges of her demeanor started to crack. She knew that in a few moments her hard corseted attitude would fall to shambles, and she'd have no dignity left to hold on to any longer.

             
"He's always been a strong willed boy."

             
"Uh-huh." The man's face barely twitched. "And would he be getting that strong will from his mother's side of the family?"

Miriam couldn't keep the smile from her face. "You could say that, yes."

             
"Well then, I can see I have my work cut out for me. Ma'am, my name is Judge James
Alyiousis
Cummings, and I am the one responsible for that young mountain goat in there.
Myself, along with our Sheriff Watkins, Doctor Evans, and Preacher Dean all helped to save that boy's neck from the noose.
Ain't
none of us been able to convince him that life is worth living. Except for that half-filled cup of a girl in there."

             
"I see."

             
"No, I'm afraid you don't." Judge stepped forward, taking her arm in his, guiding her away from the gathering. The townspeople would not be denied and followed like a herd of sheep behind them, leaning forward, listening to every word.

             
"Please come to the point, sir. It's been a very long day, a very long journey, and a very upsetting afternoon."

             
"Yes, Ma'am. The truth is that our girl, Natalie, is the one really responsible for saving your son. In fact, I tend to think she's probably the only one who can keep him in line for the rest of his life."

             
Miriam stopped. "What are you talking about?"

             
"Your son married our Natty about two weeks ago, and today in a public ceremony they repeated their vows. This is the house we have built for them, just put up the walls today."

             
Miriam's knees buckled under her. "This can't be happening!"

             
Judge grasped her by her shoulders. "Here now! You're not going to swoon on me, are you?"

             
Instantly, Miriam felt a charge shoot through her. "I can't believe my son would jump into another marriage so soon after the disastrous affair with that other woman!"

             
"I don't rightly know that you would call it jumping. In a sense, he was
kinda
pushed."

             
"Oh, that makes all the difference." She turned, pulling away from him, and nearly walking into the wall of people behind them. Instantly, the townspeople moved out of her way, leaving a wide berth between her and the wagon.

             
"Mrs.
Remmington
," a small, shy voice said from the crowd. She looked over to see the same young woman who had followed her son inside after her public humiliation.

             
"Yes?"

             
"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but Cole can't come out to give you his apologies right now. I'm sure, when things settle down; he'll be of a mind to mend some fences."

             
"Since you pushed yourself off on my son, you now speak for him, too?"

             
"Oh, no, Ma'am. It's just that he was so surprised to see you, and this has been such a devil of a day, with the wedding and then the house..."

             
"You don't have to apologize for me," Cole said above the crowd. He now stood on the flat pieces of wallboard that sat propped at the front of the house, like a makeshift porch.

             
"I
ain't
apologizin
.' I'm just being polite," Natty called back.

             
"You don't owe her anything, least of all consideration."

             
Natty turned on her husband. "Now, don't you go starting a row,
Cole.
I won't have you disrespecting your Ma in my house, either."

Miriam watched her son's reaction. "Natty, are you taking sides against me?" His tone was soft as he stepped down from the house.

             
"No. I'm just keeping you from saying something you'll regret later," she countered. "I learned something important today, Cole. Sometimes when you say or do things, it's awful hard to take them back. My Ma missed out on so much. If only she'd have just given in one time, things
woulda
been better. I don't want something to happen between you and your Ma that you can't fix."