One morning while Ian slept inside, Maggie was outside beating rugs when Little Dove drove up. On the seat beside her was Georgie Reed, the area matriarch. Maggie hadn’t seen her since the night at the Bentons’ and was honored by the unexpected visit.
“Morning, Maggie!” Georgie called out as Little Dove pulled back on the brake. “How are you on this hot as hell morning?”
Maggie grinned. “Hot as hell.”
“I like a plain-speaking woman.” She was wearing well-worn denims, a man’s shirt, and a large-brimmed man’s hat. It suited her so well, Maggie wanted one for herself just like it.
Georgie got down from the wagon, and aided by a wooden cane slowly made her way to the porch.
”What happened to you?”
She waved off the concern in Maggie’s voice. “Damn horse backed over my foot. Doc says it’s not broken, but for me to take it easy.”
“She wanted to drive herself here, but I told her no,” said Little Dove. Maggie could see the mock scolding in her new friend’s eyes.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Georgie said, and eased herself into one of the empty rockers. “Where’s that handsome man of yours, Maggie?”
“Sleeping. He just got home a few hours ago. Can I offer you a cold drink of water? Charlie’s made fresh lemonade.”
“Sure.”
Maggie went inside. She was placing the drink-filled tumblers on a tray when Charlie came in the back door.
“Who’s here?”
“Little Dove and Georgie.”
“Oh.”
The way he uttered the one word made her look his way. She knew he thought the world of Little Dove so she assumed whatever was going on with him had to do with Georgie. “Do you and Georgie not get along?”
He didn’t respond at first, then confessed, “Got along real well until we got married.”
Maggie almost dropped the tray. “You two were married?”
“Yep, for a couple years, then she divorced me.”
“How long ago was this?”
“Forty years, give or take a few.”
Maggie was stunned and speechless.
“Go give your guests their drinks, before the ’ade warms up.” That said, he went back out the door.
For a moment she stood there rooted in place. A dozen questions clamored to be asked, but she shook them off and carried the tray outside.
“The patrols are a good idea,” Georgie declared, taking a drink from the tray, while Little Dove did the same. “Whoever’s behind all these fires, and we know who it is, needs to be stopped, one way or another.”
Maggie agreed, but she wanted to ask about what she’d just heard in the kitchen.
“But I didn’t come here to talk about Draper. Came to talk about the school Little Dove said you’d been expecting to find. Something wrong Maggie?”
She didn’t know whether to ask her questions or not. “I’m not sure. Charlie just told me you were married to each other at one time?”
A bittersweet smile crossed her face and she sighed. “Yes, but he the loved the trapping and the wrangling and everything else more than he did me. It was like trying to keep a puma in a cage, so . . .”
“I’m sorry. It was rude of me to say anything.”
“No apology needed, my dear. You live here now. You were bound to find out sooner or later. He and I had some grand times, and then it was over.”
Little Dove had a noticeable sadness in her eyes.
“Anyway, back to what I was saying. Since Ian and the rest of the men are too busy chasing Draper to put up a building right now, I’d like to offer the old house on my property as a temporary solution. We dearly need a teacher now that Vivy’s the mayor.”
“Where’d she hold her class?”
“In my parlor mostly. The old house was occupied back then, but the family moved down to Denver and the place’s empty. Might as well put it to good use.”
The offer was a surprising and much welcome one. There was no way of knowing how long Ian and the men would be on patrol and Maggie knew personally how busy they were; she and Ian hadn’t slept together in over a week. “Does the house need repairs of any kind?”
“No. It’s in fine shape. If you want to ride to my ranch with us and see it, Little Dove can drop you back here on her way home.”
The idea of seeing where she would be teaching was too tempting to turn down. “How soon can we leave?”
“Whenever you’re ready,” Little Dove replied.
“Let me go tell Charlie.”
Georgie said, “I haven’t seen him in a while. Tell him I send my love. That ought to shake him up.”
Maggie wondered if Georgie could possibly be still in love with him. Realizing she’d probably never know the answer to the question, she went to find him to tell him she was leaving. There was no need to wake Ian for such a trivial reason. Charlie would tell him where she’d gone.
She found him in the stables tossing clean hay. “I’m going with them to Georgie’s. She thinks the old house on her property would be a good place for the school.”
“Okay. I’ll let Ian know when he wakes up.”
“She also said to tell you she sends her love.”
He paused in mid-stroke. “Did she now? Tell her I send mine back. That ought to get her.”
Wondering what the heck was going on, and if this was some type of game the two former lovers played, she shook her head in confusion and left the stable to rejoin the women on the porch. Maybe Little Dove could help her with the answer.
The house in question was a little over an hour away by wagon and Maggie found it to be perfect. It was a small, two-story structure trimmed in gingerbread and painted pink. There was a pot-bellied stove in the front parlor, along with a fireplace that would keep the children warm during the winter months. The kitchen was small but adequate. Georgie suggested that Maggie consider using the upstairs bedroom as an office, and after seeing it she agreed. There was a stable near the house where the children could house their horses, and Maggie wondered if Lightning would ever be tamed enough for Maggie to make the journey to school on her back.
“Well, what do you think, Maggie?” Georgie asked.
“I think I’d like to start as soon as possible.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do.”
After all the riding and touring the house, it was easy to see that Georgie had tired, so they drove the short distance to her large, sprawling ranch house. She tried to invite them in for sandwiches and cake, but Little Dove had to pick up her son from her neighbor’s place where he’d spent the morning playing, and Maggie wanted to get back to share her news about the school with Ian. So after making sure Georgie was comfortable, the two friends set out for home.
“So tell me about Georgie and Charlie?” Maggie asked.
“From what I can see, she still loves him. Not sure how he feels about her, but they’re both pretty stubborn.”
“Do you think there’s a chance they’ll reconcile?”
“No idea. You heard her say they’ve been apart for forty years.”
“That’s a long time.” Maggie wondered how she and Ian would be in forty years’ time. Still very much in love, she imagined. She also wondered which of Charlie’s many wives Georgie had been.
“Her first, his second, I believe,” Little Dove answered in reply to the question. “He gave her all the land she owns when they parted. At one time, Charlie owned more land around here than anyone. She married twice more. Both passed away leaving her more and more wealthy. She said she had to stop taking husbands because the more she married, the richer she became and she had no way to spend it all.”
Maggie was surprised to hear about Charlie’s past and his wealth.
When they reached Maggie’s home, she gave Little Dove a hug. “Thank you for today.”
“You’re welcome, schoolmarm.”
Maggie grinned. She watched the wagon ramble back to the road and hurried inside.
She found Ian in the kitchen eati
ng and she recapped the morning’s exciting turn of events. “That’s great news,” Ian replied. “Make a list of the supplies you’ll need and we’ll see about getting them purchased.”
She’d made a mental list the moment she left the old house. She’d jot it down later. For the moment, she was focused on her husband. He looked so weary. She wondered how much longer it might be before the Draper business came to a head so he could get a full night’s sleep again.
“I’m glad Georgie stepped in,” he told her, “because I’ve no idea when I’d be getting around to building the school I owe you.”
“I’ll get my pound of flesh some other way.”
“I miss sleeping with you.”
“I miss you as well.”
He sat her on his lap and gave her a kiss, which she responded to warmly.
“We have the house to ourselves, you know,” he murmured while his hands began slowly roaming. “Charlie’s gone into town for supplies and I’m no longer a one-armed man.”
She giggled and said, “Race you!” And took off at a run.
“Cheater!”
He ran after her and caught her before she reached their bedroom door. Scooping her up, he carried her inside and closed the door behind them.
For the next few days, Ian rode night watch and Maggie spent her days over at her school. The former tenants had left their furniture behind so there was ample seating at the large dining room table for the children. Georgie helped spread the word about the school’s scheduled opening and let Maggie know that there would be at least four children attending.
When she wasn’t at the school, she continued her work with Lightning, who’d finally accepted the blanket. Charlie said it was because Lightning watched Maggie drive off in the wagon every morning and probably wondered where she’d been spending her days. Maggie had seen the mare standing by the house in the mornings but she wasn’t sure she agreed with Charlie’s theory, but he knew horses better than she and so she didn’t argue.
The first day of school, Maggie was so excited, she could barely contain herself. According to Georgie, the four children belonged to Sarah Green, the daughter of the cool-eyed Jolene that Maggie met the day of Henny’s party. The gangly woman drove up with the children in the wagon.
“Good morning,” Maggie said to the children as their mother escorted them inside. “I’m Maggie.”
There were two boys: twelve-year-old Nathan and five-year-old William. The two little girls were eight-year-old twins Hester and Hannah. Hester had a strawberry birthmark on her cheek, which helped Maggie be able to tell them apart.
While the children took seats at the table, Maggie asked their mother about their educational abilities. Nathan and the twins could read, but five-year-old William could not. In the middle of the conversation, Little Dove arrived, and in the wagon with her were David and two little boys Maggie had yet to meet.
Sarah drew back. “You’re letting Indian children in the school?”
“Yes.” Maggie waited.
“I want them taught outside away from mine.”
“Then you should probably take your children home because I won’t be separating any of my students by race.”
Maggie could see Sarah trying to decide what to do, so she let her think it over while she went to greet Little Dove.
In the end, Sarah Green’s children stayed and the first day began.
Chapter 27
Ian rode into Osprey at a slow pace. The few buildings that made up the town’s center stood as testament to how small it was. It had started out as a trading post patronized by trappers, Natives, and mountain men. As more and more men drifted into the county to work the mines and lay track for the railroads, a saloon was built and then a boardinghouse and then a few houses. It now sported a barbershop, a mercantile, and a telegraph office that doubled as the office of the sheriff and the mayor. He’d come to town to meet with Harper and to see if there had been any fires overnight. There hadn’t been any in the past few days and everyone was hoping that Draper was giving up. Ian didn’t believe it.
When he reached the office he saw Vivy rushing off to her carriage.
She called, “Tell Maggie, I’ll be by the school soon as I can to see how things are going. You two should come have dinner with me sometime soon, too.”
Ian had yet to meet a busier woman than Vivian Palmer July. If she wasn’t in town, she was in Casper or Cheyenne or Laramie or driving hell-bent across the countryside taking care of the needs of her constituents. She was a stellar mayor, but he understood why Harper had gone to the cathouse for someone to talk to. Getting her honor to sit still was like trying to catch the wind.
Inside the office with Harper was Tom Benton. There was also a man wearing a suit that Ian didn’t know, so Tom made the introductions.
“Ian, this is Walt Clark. He works for the Pinkerton Detective Agency.”
Ian shook his hand. “Pleased to meet you.”
Clark said, “Same here. You look familiar.”
Ian had done work for the Pinkertons a few times in the past but he didn’t try and spark the detective’s memory.
Harper said, “Walt’s got good news. Take a look at this.”
Ian studied the face on the poster Harper handed him. “This looks like Draper.”
The detective said, “We’re fairly sure it is, but he’s changed his name.”
The name on the wanted poster was Harold Mann and he was wanted in Ohio and Pennsylvania for embezzlement. Ian smiled. “Are you here to take him back?”
“Oh yes. He may be wanted in Indiana as well, but I’m waiting on verification from our Chicago office.”
Tom said, “Maybe this will make my daughter come to her senses.”
“Let’s hope,” Ian replied. “When are you going after him?”
“Just as soon as the sheriff, Mr. Benton, and I leave here.”
Harper asked, “Do you want to go with us, Ian?”
“Can you handle him without me?”
“Yep.”
“Any open warrants on Ketchum?”
“No,” Harper said, “but once Draper’s taken into custody he’ll probably head for the hills.”
Ian hoped so. “Then if you have everything under control, I’m going to stop in the mercantile, grab some things Maggie and Charlie asked me to bring home, and head home to spend the rest of my years catching up on my sleep and being with my wife.”
Harp grinned. “Enjoy yourself.”
“I plan to. Nice meeting you, Walt. Thanks, Tom.”
“You’re welcome.”
Ian walked down to the mercantile. After purchasing the items on his list he rode home a happy man.
John Draper aka Harold Mann was arrested without incident a few hours later, and everyone breathed a long sigh of relief.
Maggie spent the rest of the month of June teaching her students and enjoying her husband’s company, especially at night. Lightning finally relented to having Maggie on her back, but only after an entire day of bucking her off as if to emphasize that she was still in control.
But after much fussing and cussing by Maggie in response, along with applications of Charlie’s liniment for all the bruises she sustained in the falls, she and the mare became horse and rider and spent their days galloping across the countryside.
Maggie was riding Lightning home from school one day when she saw Henny Benton approaching on the road ahead. To her surprise, riding with her was Pratt Ketchum. Maggie planned to ride on by but Henny stopped. Rather than be rude, Maggie stopped to be neighborly.
“Well if it isn’t our little schoolmarm,” Henny said.
Maggie hadn’t heard anything about Henny since Draper’s arrest and like everyone else assumed that Ketchum had left town. Apparently not. She wondered if Ian was aware that the gunslinger was still around. “How are you, Henny?”
“I’m well. Say hello to Mr. Ketchum. He’s working for me now.”
Maggie gave the cold-eyed man with his disfigured face
a terse nod.
“Oh, you can do better than that, especially since you’re going to be together for a while.”
Maggie went still. When she looked back at Ketchum he had his gun drawn and pointed her way. She fought to keep her fear under control. “If I don’t return home, Ian will come looking for me.”
“But by then, you’ll be long gone.”
Maggie tightened her grip on the reins in anticipation of making a run for home only to have Ketchum threaten, “That’s a fine mount you got there, be a pity to put a bullet in her.”
Maggie relaxed her hands but not the hard set of her features.
Henny turned her horse and told Ketchum, “Thank you for your services.”
“Anytime.”
She rode away and as she did, he sighted and put two bullets in her back. Henny cried out, slumped over her horse, and then slid to the ground. Maggie turned stricken eyes his way. Henny managed to turn over for a moment and the surprise in her eyes as she stared back at Ketchum mirrored Maggie’s.
“Nice working for you, Miss Benton.”
Holding the gun on Maggie now, he waved her forward. “Let’s go.”
Maggie saw Henny collapse back onto the road and tried not to think about meeting the same fate.
When Maggie hadn’t returned home by late afternoon, Ian figured she was engrossed in something at school and had lost track of time, but when Harp galloped onto the property a short while later to let him know Henny’s dead body had been found on the road near the school, the hair on the back of his neck stood up.
“Someone shot her in the back.”
“Good Lord.” In spite of Henny’s ways, no one would have wished her such a tragic end. “Any idea who might have killed her?”
“No. Old man Jeffers found the body. He said there were at least two other sets of hoofprints there.”
“Maggie’s late getting home.”
“School door was closed when I passed by. Maybe she’s at Georgie’s.”
“Maybe, but something’s not right. I can feel it. I’m going over to the school and see if she’s there. Hopefully she is with Georgie. Where are you going?”
“Back to the spot where Jeffers said he found Henny. I was at Tom’s when he brought her body home.”