The next mornin’ I cross a thick, fast-movin’ crick and find myself in a beautiful clearin’ that’s open in the center, with a thick stand of trees and juniper bushes on either side. A thin, purple line of mountains can be seen in the far distance above and below a pale blue sky. As I stand in my stirrups to let the water drain down my pant legs, a shot rings out.
Scarlett the horse staggers and falls to the ground, and breathes her last breath.
39.
BY STAGGERIN’, SCARLETT gave me just enough time to react. I push out of my stirrups and fall to the ground behind her. I scramble back toward her quickly and lie beside her, hopin’ to make myself a smaller target. Unfortunately, me and Scarlett are lyin’ on the riverbank, which makes me a sittin’ duck. I look around, but see no smoke to show where the gun was that shot my horse. Nor do I see any cover I can run to without gettin’ shot. I reach into the scabbard and pull my rifle free and prepare to shoot.
But nothin’ happens.
As seconds turn to minutes, I decide if someone meant to kill me, they could a’ done so several times. But just as I’m about to stand, I catch a glimpse of somethin’ flashin’ in a bush by the trees a hundred yards to my right. It were just an instant flash, then nothin’. But it’s enough for me to target, so I set my aim at the top of a four foot bush near the base of a tree and pull the trigger.
Nothin’.
I aim two feet lower and shoot again, and hear someone cry out in pain. I feel a tug in my hat as a bullet catches the tip and passes through, just missin’ my skull. That shot came from the opposite side, where the grass is three feet high. There’s no wind, so I know the slight movement of the grass was caused by someone lowerin’ his rifle. I jump to my feet and put a bullet right where I know he has to be, and he don’t scream, but I see a burst of red fan out above the grass.
I’m powerful sad for Scarlett, and the only happy thought is she didn’t suffer. My next thought’s a selfish one, that I’m goin’ to have a devil of a time findin’ Gentry now. But at least I know the direction we’ve been headin’. If I keep walkin’, I’ll eventually find people, and when I do, I’ll ask about David Wilkins. If he’s a big-time rancher, he’s bound to have land nearby.
I give Scarlett a hug and thank her for all she done for me, and silently apologize for all the times I cussed her last week. Then I busy myself with tryin’ to pull the saddlebags out from under her body. It’s hard, noisy work, and I don’t see the group of cowboys movin’ in on me until it’s too late.
40.
THERE’S NINE OF ’em, and they’ve got the drop on me. I look at my rifle propped against Scarlett’s body. It’s only four feet away, but that’s as good as a mile when six pistols and three rifles are pointin’ at me.
I say, “You shot my horse.”
No one speaks, so I say, “I’m sheriff of Dodge City. If you’ll kindly tell me where David Wilkins’s ranch is, I won’t arrest you this time.”
Most of ’em snicker, but the one that’s in charge motions me to drop the saddlebags. I do, and they close in on me. Several point their guns at my face, while another ties my hands behind my back. Then they lead me a half mile through some scrub brush till we come to an open area where I see four circus cages in a line. It’s clear they were brightly painted at one time, but seem to have taken a beatin’ from the elements. It’s also clear they once held wild animals.
The cowboys lift me off the ground and push me into the front cage, then hitch a team of oxen to it, and start travelin’ in the same direction Scarlett had been takin’ me.
As the oxen start movin’, the wagon groans and creaks to life. The wheels haven’t been oiled for years, it appears, based on the frightful noise they’re makin’. While we roll over the hard-packed dirt, I test the bars of the cage, hopin’ to find ’em weakened with age. I can’t budge ’em, nor can I slide my body between the bars.
I can’t see him, but I know there’s one cowboy up front, drivin’ the wagon, and three others I can see, all on horseback. One is on the right, one on the left, and the third is in the back, followin’ at a short distance. I notice another rider movin’ on up ahead. He’s probably goin’ to scout us to wherever we’re headin’.
Four cowboys remain at the river bank available to shoot the next horse that comes along.
41.
Bowie County, Texas
Rose & Shrug, Two Weeks Earlier…
ROSE KNEW SHRUG was heading her way. When he crossed Tuck Crick she was on the other side, waiting for him. After a long hug, she gave him a bottle of whiskey and said, “I’ll apologize in advance for the language I’m bound to use over the next few minutes.”
Shrug smiled and took a pull of his whiskey.
“I’m not one to interfere,” she said, “but this bullshit has gone too far!”
Shrug nodded, but Rose couldn’t tell if he was agreeing with her or simply showing his approval of the whiskey.
She said, “Emmett was too pig-headed to realize the horse would take him to Gentry, so he lost two full weeks, during which time Gentry decided to stop fornicating with Wilkins.”
She waited for Shrug to respond, but instead he took another pull.
Rose said, “They locked you in the animal cage six months ago.”
He nodded.
“You could’ve got out anytime you wanted to, but instead you remained inside the cage so you could be near Gentry.”
Shrug shrugged.
“Then you sensed what was about to happen, and came to see if I’d help.”
He nodded.
“Like I don’t have enough to do here.”
Shrug put his hands in front of him like he was rocking a baby.
Rose said, “The baby’s fine. Faith named him Jed, after her brother that died as an infant. He’s a wild little thing, and it’s all I can do to keep him in sight, now that he’s got use of his legs.”
Shrug made his symbol for a woman.
“Faith is doing well, though she’s bored. She went through a bad spell last year when Bose Rennick went back to the house looking for her and killed her parents.”
Shrug raised his eyebrows.
“No, I didn’t see it coming,” Rose said. “I don’t see as much of the future as you think I do, but I swear, that Bose Rennick’s a hard case. If ever a man needed killing, it’s him. Though it’s not my destiny to kill him, I might turn him into a beaver.”
Shrug held his nose.
“A skunk?”
Shrug nodded.
“Fine. I’ll turn him into a skunk. Or would, if I were a witch.”
Shrug cocked his head.
Rose smiled.
“We’ll see,” she said. “Anyway, I’ve sown the seeds for romance. Jed and Scarlett Rose will meet in Dodge City in her fourteenth year. They’ll fall in love the moment their eyes meet, and I’ll deliver their baby the following year. I’ve erased Faith’s memory of having Bose’s baby or hearing Emmett’s name, so she won’t be a deterrent to the romance.”
Shrug pretended to pull a gun, his symbol for Emmett. Then he rocked a pretend baby.
Rose shook her head. “No, I’m afraid Emmett won’t live to see his grandchild.”
Shrug lowered his head, then looked up at her with an angry expression.
Rose said, “Emmett’s going to die in two weeks. In a lion cage.”
Shrug shook his head side to side.
Rose said, “He and Gentry fulfilled their destiny by having the baby. I love them dearly, and tried to help. I sent horses, food, weapons, and gold. I sent a key to open the locks on his leg irons. I did my best.”
Shrug shook his head again, more forcefully.
“Out of the question,” she snapped. “It’s destiny.”
He put the cork back in his bottle and threw it on the ground. Then turned his back to her.
Rose frowned as she watched him head back to the crick. “Look, I know he’s your best friend. I like him, too. But I can’t just go around keeping people a
live just because we like them.”
He stopped, turned, and gave her a stern look.
She sighed.
42.
Huerfano County, Colorado
Gentry & David, Present Day…
“COME, DARLING,” DAVID Wilkins said. “I’ve something to show you in the barn.”
Gentry set her jaw, but said nothing.
“You won’t want to miss this,” he said.
“I’m not interested,” Gentry said. “It’s time to feed Scarlett.”
“She’ll be fine.”
Gentry frowned, but reminded herself not to be too strident. Though she loathed the man, Wilkins was generally peaceful, as long as she kept him serviced. But three weeks ago she made the mistake of talking back to him. He struck her, blacking her eye, and she’d withheld her charms ever since. He’d felt bad for striking her, and had given her this time to cool off, but his mood had grown steadily sour as a result, and Gentry knew the next beating was right around the corner.
With this in mind, she kept the anger out of her voice, while keeping it steady, and firm. “I’m afraid I have to insist on feeding Scarlett Rose.”
She expected his eyes to narrow into slits of fury, but instead they twinkled, as if he were delighted about something. This was a new emotion, and it gave her pause.
He said, “Come to the barn.”
“I think not,” she said.
He lashed out and cuffed the side of her head, knocking her onto the bed. Then he jumped on the bed next to her, spun her around, and pushed her face into the mattress. He put his knee against her back and dug it into her spine.
Gentry yelped in pain and tried to shake him off. He removed his knee, but held her down with his left hand while pulling her dress up with his right. Then he spanked her bottom as if punishing a wayward child. Suddenly, he stopped. Gentry could tell he was staring at her, and she knew what that meant.
“You can come with me to the barn, or I can pull your knickers down and give it to you in the arse,” he said. “Your choice.”
“The barn,” Gentry said. “But allow me to relieve myself first. Please.”
Wilkins gave her knickers a long look before saying, “Very well, then.”
43.
Barn, Wilkins Ranch
Emmett Love, Present Day…
I’VE BEEN IN the cage since yesterday mornin’. Ain’t sure where I am, ’cause after knockin’ me cold with a gun butt, someone covered the top and sides of the cage with canvass. I’m pretty sure I’m under a roof, though, and if I were guessin’, I’d say I’m in a large barn. I smell hay and hear birds flyin’ back and forth overhead, as if they’re trapped, lookin’ for a way to escape. Me and the birds have that much in common.
I’m thinkin’ slowly, like I’m in a fog. Improvin’ steadily, but my brain ain’t quite a hundred percent yet. ’Course, my head’s on fire from the blow I took. I reach up and feel the knot with my fingertips, touchin’ the dried blood to get an idea how badly I’m hurt.
Other than a severe headache and brain fog, I seem to be okay.
I get to my feet and reach between the bars and grab some of the canvass fabric and try to pull it down so I can see what I’m up against.
But the canvass don’t move.
I’m about to call out when I hear a heavy door slide open. Then I hear a man’s voice speakin’ with a funny accent. I’ve heard that type of accent before. It’s the kind English people have.
He says, “Darling, we’re going to play a little game.”
I move closer to that side of the cage so I can hear him better. At first I wait to see if the person called darlin’ was gonna speak, but no one does, so he says, “There are two cages in front of you. Hank?”
“Sir?” a man says.
“Would you be so kind as to remove the canvasses?”
“Yes, sir.”
The canvasses are removed and I see a man who I take to be David Wilkins, standing beside a beautiful woman who’s wearin’ a gorgeous sorrel-colored dress that runs from the middle of her neck to the toes of her black boots.
It’s Gentry.
She’s rubbin’ the side of her head, as if it’s hurtin’ her. I’m so stunned, I can’t speak. She hasn’t noticed me yet, she’s too busy starin’ at the other cage, screamin’, “Take her out of that cage this instant!”
I follow her gaze to the other cage and see a baby girl sittin’ in the middle of it, surrounded by bars. The baby looks at Gentry and starts clappin’ her hands.
“You haven’t seen the other cage yet, my love,” Wilkins says, calmly.
He points at me. Gentry follows his gesture, sees me, and faints dead away.
“You bastard!” I yell.
“I’ll ignore that for the moment,” Wilkins says, producin’ something from his pocket he puts under Gentry’s nose. Two seconds later, she comes to with a start.
“Emmett!” she yells. She scrambles to her feet and tries to run to my cage, but the man I take to be Hank aims his rifle at me and fires a shot that knocks the hat off my head. It’s a helluva shot, the way it hit my hat while missin’ my head by a fraction of an inch, and missed the cage bars, as well. I could duplicate that shot, but there ain’t many of us that could. On the other hand, that’s the second hole shot into my hat in two days, and I prefer a hat with no holes.
Gentry stops in her tracks and screams, thinkin’ I’ve been shot.
“I’m okay!” I yell.
“That was a warning shot,” Hank says to Gentry. “Back on up now, Miss, or pick flowers for his funeral.”
She searches my eyes, making sure I’m truly okay. When she sees I am, she backs up without taking her eyes off me. “I’m so, so sorry, Emmett,” she says, cryin’.
It hurts my heart to hear the pain in her voice.
In a mockin’ tone, Wilkins says to Gentry, “So this is the great sheriff of Dodge City I’ve heard so much about. The great Emmett Love, father of your bastard child, love of your life. Would you like me to release him?”
“Yes!” Gentry says. She turns to face Wilkins and adds, meekly, “Would you? Please, David.”
“Did you hear that, Hank? She said please!”
Wilkins turns back to Gentry and says, “If I let Emmett go, would that finally make you happy?”
“Yes.”
He nods, as if thinkin’ about it. Then says, “What’s it worth to you?”
She looks him in the eye. “If you set him free, I’ll do anything you say.”
“Anything?”
“Yes.”
“Would you agree to never see him again, as long as you live?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Please!” She looks at me.
“I’m okay,” I say, unable to take my eyes off her.
To my amazement, Gentry looks more beautiful than ever. Last time I saw her she was seventeen. Now she’s twenty, and blossomed into womanhood, and motherhood, and it suits her. I notice tears streamin’ down her cheeks. Every time Wilkins looks away she mouths the words, “I love you! I love you so much!” and also, “I’m so sorry!”
Wilkins says, “I hate to interrupt this heartfelt reunion, but all games come with a set of rules, and this one is no exception. Mr. Love, the rules of courtesy require me to compliment your extraordinary taste in women. Over the past six months I’ve thoroughly enjoyed tasting every inch of Gentry, including her naughty bits. I’ve also made fucking the living piss out of her part of my daily ritual.”
He studies my face to see how I’ll respond.
I’ve been told my mother used to say if a man can’t say somethin’ nice, he should say nothin’ at all. So I don’t.
Then he says, “Of course, I can do anything I want to her, since she’s my legal wife.”
He sees the stunned expression on my face, and laughs.
“Oh, you didn’t know that? Well, now you do. It’s a fact she can’t deny.”
He turns his attention t
o Gentry, who’s starin’ at the ground in shame and embarrassment. Then he says, “But Gentry’s been a bit chilly toward me of late. While I’m fond of her physicality, her insolence is more than I can bear. I’ll cut to the chase. I’m willing to return her to you, if such is her wish.”
“Yes!” Gentry says. “That’s my wish.”
“Sincerely?”
“Yes. More than anything!”
“Is that all you have to say to me?” he says.
She raises her eyes toward his and says, “Thank you, David. I will always remember you kindly, for doing this.”
Wilkins laughs. “Don’t thank me quite so quickly, my love. Remember, we’re playing a game.”
“I-I don’t understand,” Gentry says.
“The game is simple. There are two cages. Your baby’s in one, her father’s in the other. You get to choose one of them. The one you choose will live. The one you reject will be tortured and killed while you watch.”
44.
“WHAT?” GENTRY SCREAMS. “Oh my God! You wouldn’t!”
“I would and I will,” he says. “Make no mistake.”
“I won’t choose between them!” she says.
“In that case, I’ll kill them both.”
“No!”
“The clock is ticking, my love. You have my word. I’ll spare one of them, and kill the other.”
“You don’t understand!”