They Rode Together (16 page)

Chapter fifty-seven

The next day was torture for Jessica.

She kept searching the landscape as they rode, looking for any sign of them. The day passed slowly, and her fear grew with each passing hour.

They had just stopped to make camp that evening when she spotted two riders in the distance.

“There they are!” She exclaimed.

Everybody looked, and a relieved expression crossed Cooper’s face. They all stood as they rode up, and Yancy and Jessica stared at each other.

“You get ’em?” Tussle asked.

“We did,” Lee nodded.

“Good,” Tussle looked pleased. “Climb on down. You’re just in time for supper.”

They tended to their horses and walked up to the chuck wagon. Jessica noticed the dried blood on Yancy’s shirt, and she uttered a small cry.

“You’re hurt!”

“Naw, it’s just a scratch.”

“I fix?” Josie offered.

“No, no,” Yancy said quickly. “I’m fine.”

Josie shrugged and walked away.

“You sit down and rest,” Jessica took over. “I’ll get you your food.”

“Beans?” Yancy asked.

“Yes.”

“Can’t wait.”

He walked away from camp a bit and settled down. Jessica joined him a few minutes later, and it was silent as they ate.

“I was so worried,” Jessica finally said.

“You shouldn’t have been.”

“I couldn’t help myself,” Jessica said, and added, “I’ve never been so sweaty in my life.”

“Heat must be getting to you,” Yancy looked at her, concerned. “Perhaps you should ride in the wagon tomorrow.”

“It wasn’t the heat.”

“Oh? What was it?”

Jessica took in a deep breath and let it out.

“Are you planning on marrying me?”

Yancy was startled, and he almost dropped his plate of beans.

“Marriage?”

“I don’t mean to be pushy. I’d just like to know.”

“Well,” Yancy looked flustered. “Don’t you think we should get to know each other a little more first?”

“You don’t believe in love at first sight?”

Yancy thought on that, and a sheepish grin crossed his face.

“I reckon it does save a lot of time,” he said.

“And a lot of conversation,” Jessica added.

“That it does,” Yancy agreed. It was silent for a moment, and he added, “Tell you what. Coop and I have to go down south and arrest Lucy Nash. When we get back, we’ll finish this conversation.”

“I’m looking forward to that,” Jessica grinned. 

Epilogue

They arrived back at the ranch several days later.

Tussle offered for Josie and Wyatt to stay at the ranch while everybody went south, but Josie objected.

“I go with you,” she told Cooper.

“I know you want to,” Cooper smiled gently, “but you’re needed here. Tussle won’t have any help until he can find some new hands.”

Josie frowned and crossed her arms.

“How long will you be gone?”

“Three or four weeks.”

“That is a long time.”

“We’ll survive,” Cooper smiled.

“Just hurry,” Josie demanded.

“Yes, ma’am,” Cooper’s eyes twinkled.

***

They rode out the next morning.

They saddled their horses after breakfast, and Tussle, Jessica, Josie, and Wyatt stood on the porch and watched them as they led their horses out of the barn.

While Cooper said goodbye to Josie and Wyatt, Yancy just stood there and looked at Jessica. Their eyes met, and Yancy smiled.

“I’ll see you when we get back,” he said.

Jessica nodded and said, “Be careful.”

“We always are,” he said, and added, “Most of the time.”

Jessica smiled and shook her head as everybody climbed on their horse.

“I want to thank you boys,” Tussle spoke up, and his voice was husky. “For everything.”

Cooper glanced sideways at everybody, and then spoke for them all.

“It’s what we do,” he said.

Tussle nodded, and he looked genuinely moved.

Cooper looked once more at Josie, and Yancy looked at Jessica. Several seconds passed, and Yancy turned his horse. Lee fell in beside him, and Rondo, Cooper, and Brian followed. Cooper led Jug-head while Brian led No-see-ums.

Tussle leaned against the porch railing as he watched them trot out.

“There’s a sight I thought I’d never see,” he said.

“What’s that?” Jessica asked.

“Yancy and Lee, riding together.”

A thoughtful look crossed Jessica’s face, and she nodded slowly.

“They rode together,” she said.

Author’s note

The Chisholm Trail led to the new profession of trail drive contractors. Some of the larger ranches delivered their own stock, but trail drive contractors handled the majority of herds going to Kansas. Among them were John T. Lytle and his partners. John T. Lytle took over 600,000 head of cattle up The Chisholm Trail between the years of 1871 and 1887.

About the Author

Born in West Texas, Tell Cotten is a seventh generation Texan. He comes from a family with a ranching heritage and is a member of the Sons of the Republic of Texas. Besides writing, he is also in the cattle business, and he resides in West Texas with his wife, Andi, and their two children.

Tell has enjoyed writing from an early age, and he also has a great love of the history of the west. THEY RODE TOGETHER is his seventh novel in The Landon Saga series.

For announcements of new releases and all other information, please like The Landon Saga Page on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/TheLandonSaga

Or, you can join The Landon Saga Fan Group
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You can also visit Tell Cotten’s website
http://tellcotten.wordpress.com/

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my wife and my family for all their help and support. Without them this wouldn’t be possible. I’d also like to thank God for the gift of writing.

Special thanks goes out to Bill for the fantastic drawing, and thanks to Marcy and Mike for putting the cover together.

And lastly, I’d like to thank Melissa for all her advice, help, and hard work.

Enjoy this excerpt from Tell Cotten’s upcoming novel:

Warpath

Book eight in The Landon Saga series

Rondo pulled up his horse abruptly and leaned forward in the saddle.

“What is it?” Lee asked as everybody stopped behind him.

“The tracks come together again.”

Lee scratched his jaw in thought.

“That’s odd. I wonder why they split off?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Mebbe one of them died, and they went to bury him,” Brian suggested.

“Yancy and Coop will figure it out,” Rondo said, and he glanced up at the sun. “Be dark soon. Might as well make camp and wait for them.”

Everybody agreed, and they dismounted and took care of their horses.

“I’ll gather some firewood,” Jeremiah Wisdom offered.

“Don’t go too far,” Rondo cautioned him.

Jeremiah nodded and took out, and Brian went with him.

Rondo and Lee set up camp, and then they waited for firewood.

Lee sat and leaned against his saddle. He pulled out a cigar, bit off the end, struck a match on his saddle horn, lit the cigar, and took a deep puff.

His face looked thoughtful as he exhaled.

“Been thinking,” he said.

“You usually do,” Rondo replied.

“You have Rachel, Cooper has Josie, and Yancy has Jessica.”

“If she’s still alive.”

“We can’t think that way,” Lee frowned at his friend. “Rachel’s alive, and so is April.”

A wistful look crossed Rondo’s face.

“She’d better be.”

“Josie lived with the Apaches,” Lee reminded. “I remember her saying they wouldn’t kill women or kids unless they had good reason.”

“Josie would know.”

“She sure would.”

Rondo nodded, and it was silent for a bit.

“If we get through this, I’m gonna ask for April’s hand in marriage,” Lee suddenly said.

Rondo turned and studied Lee with a thoughtful look.

“It’s about time,” he said.

“She’s a good woman,” Lee continued. “And, June’s a good kid.”

“I’d say so.”

“We’d get along just fine. And, now that I’m back in the hotel business, I also have something to offer her.”

“I don’t think she cares what you have to offer. She just wants you.”

Before Lee could reply, they heard the sound of a horse.

“Here they come,” Rondo said, and they stood.

Jeremiah and Brian walked in with armfuls of firewood as Yancy trotted up to their camp. His face was grim.

“Where’s Cooper?” Rondo asked, confused.

“He’ll be along.”

Rondo nodded and asked, “Find anything?”

Yancy nodded somberly.

“Back in the rocks,” he said softly. “We found a body.”

“An Injun?” Lee spoke up.

“No, it was a woman,” Yancy replied. He paused and added, “A white woman.”

Nobody spoke, and the silence was heavy. Both Lee and Rondo’s face were drawn tight.

“Was it Rachel?” Rondo finally asked, his voice husky.

“Couldn’t tell,” Yancy said. “We don’t know who it was.”

“What do you mean?” Lee demanded.

Yancy sighed, gathered his thoughts, and continued.

“She was scalped, and her body was all cut up and swollen. From the looks of it, she’s been dead for a day or two.”

“What about her clothes?” Rondo asked. “Rachel had a yellow dress-.”

Yancy looked uncomfortable.

“She wasn’t wearing anything,” he said, and added, “Cooper stayed to give her a decent burial. I came on ahead to find you.”

“I’m going back,” Lee demanded. “I can recognize her.”

“I’m going with you,” Rondo and Jeremiah declared.

They started towards their horses, but Yancy stopped them.

“No,” he said, and his voice was hard and cold. “It wouldn’t do any of you any good. I tell you she’s unrecognizable. Don’t ask me to explain it anymore than that.”

“But we’ve got to know who it is,” Rondo objected, and his voice almost broke.

“We catch those Apaches, and we’ll know.”

Rondo looked at Lee. Several long seconds passed, and they walked back to camp and sat down sullenly.

“All right,” Rondo vowed. “We’ll catch them, if it’s the last thing I ever do.”

Lee and Jeremiah nodded their agreement.

Coming soon from Solstice Publishing

For announcements of new releases and all other information, please like The Landon Sage Page on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/TheLandonSaga
or you can join The Landon Saga Facebook group
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