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back so I could step in. The wind was such that she
had to hold on to the door before it was ripped off
its frame.
When I was inside, she tried to help me off with
my sheepskin but I said,  I have to get back right
away. But I needed to check on something. And I
know you ll give me a straight answer.
 Say, I m impressed. Asking me for my opinion. I
must be a lot smarter than I think I am.
The banter was light but the solemn eyes told of
her sorrow. Be a long time before the worst of her
196 Ed Gorman
loss would be over. Her brother had been her best
friend and confidant.
She pointed to one of the chairs next to the pot-
bellied stove.
 How s Clarice?
 When she s awake, she s pretty good. But when
she s asleep her nightmares must be terrible. She
wakes up about every hour screaming her head off.
 You look good.
 Thanks.
And she did. Her hair was pulled back, she wore a
pair of butternuts and a white blouse that flattered a
body that didn t need any more flattering, and her
eyes were clear from sleep and good food.
 You look pretty keyed up.
 I am. Tremont s got a bunch of the town boys
thinking about a lynching.
 Tremont? Who s he want to lynch?
 Flannery.
 He s going to take over where my brother left
off except up the ante.
 They all seem to think that Flannery s lying about
selling some of his western land to his Eastern in-
vestors. They think he ll just seize more land when
their payments come due.
 That s what he s telling people? That he s going to
sell them that land he owns west of here? That s
about the poorest grazing land outside of Utah or
Montana up in the mountains. Nobody d buy that
land for cattle. Nobody. He s been trying to sell it for
years and his father tried before him. You could build
a town up there. There s a big timber operation in
that area. The way everything s growing, a small
Cavalry Man: Powder Keg 197
town could probably do right nice for itself. But not
cattle. No way.
 Well, I figured you d know if anybody would. I
just wanted to check Tremont s facts. I guess he was
telling the truth.
Just then Clarice cried out for her mommy. Jen
touched my arm and said,  Well, if nothing else, I d
like to cook you a good meal before you leave town.
I have to admit, I wanted to blame you for Mike s
death not because you deserved it, but because I
needed to blame someone. And I guess I still do. But
not you. You tried your best to save him, I know that,
and, to be honest, right now you and Clarice are
about the only two people in the world I want to see.
I took her to me, hugged her for a long moment.
I d been hoping for more than a meal. She got more
attractive to me the more I saw her, and not just
physically. She was a damned fine woman in every
sense.
Clarice cried again.
 I need to go, she said.
 I know.
This time we kissed briefly and then she hurried
into the bedroom.
Chapter 28
B'
went back to my hotel room to pull on a sweater.
Though the wind had died down, the temperature
I was still in the teens. I had a feeling that I was
going to need some heavy clothes before the night
was over.
The desk clerk didn t warn me. He was reading a
magazine when I came in. He looked up, nodded a
greeting and then went back to his reading.
I went up the stairs, dug my key out of my pocket,
and started to push it into the lock. That was when I
saw that the door was not snug with the frame. I was
sure I hadn t left it open.
I pulled my .44 from its holster, pressed myself flat
against the wall on the side of the door, and then
used my toe on the door to push it open.
A long silence.
Then a female voice:  The only weapon I have,
Mr. Ford, is a hat pin.
At first I didn t recognize the voice but then she
said:  It s Loretta DeMeer, Mr. Ford. It s safe to
come in.
Cavalry Man: Powder Keg 199
I still didn t take any chances. People weren t sup-
posed to be in your room unless you invited them.
Not even very good-looking middle-aged women
with only hat pins to protect them.
I stood in the open doorway, my .44 still in my
hand.
 You look like a magazine illustration, Mr. Ford. I
guess it s the way you re sort of crouched down. And
your .44 all ready to shoot.
Quick check of the room. She seemed to be alone.
 How d you get in here?
 The desk clerk s daughter is in our choir at
church. We re old friends.
I holstered my gun and closed the door. She sat on
the only chair. I sat on the bed. I reached over and
turned up the lamp.
She was as tawny and lush as some great creature
of myth, the enormous brown eyes dazzling with
amused confidence. She wore a brown seaman s
sweater and tan riding pants. The rich abundance of
the body and the shining blond hair would be right
at home in both an elegant apartment and the jungle.
It just depended on where she wanted to eat you up.
 Any particular reason why you re here?
 Well, a couple of reasons. I should ve introduced
myself that day at the library for one thing. You
looked intelligent. My husband was a book reader.
That was one of the many reasons we got along. And
one of the reasons I still miss him. And for another
reason, I d like to convince you that I m not some
harlot who seduced Mike Chaney, despite what Jen
and the town think.
 Why do you give a damn what I think of you?
200 Ed Gorman
Why would you care what people think, Mrs. De-
Meer? You re rich. You ve got one of the biggest
spreads in the Territory. I don t even know why you
work at the library.
 I like being around books. And it gets me away
from the ranch. I only work there a few hours a
week. It s a nice break from worrying about cattle
and the price of feed and how many hands short we
are at any given time.
 I still don t know why you care what people
think.
She shrugged and put her head down, seeming
to study the hands that lay in her lap.  I don t de-
serve my reputation. Then she startled me by
starting to cry.
 Mrs. DeMeer, I don t know why you re here but
I m pretty busy tonight and I m really not good at
this.
When she raised her head, her eyes were as shiny
as her golden hair.  Not good at what? At listening
to women? Admit it. You think I m some kind of
whore.
Now I put my own head down, studied my own
hands. This was confusing, her in my room crying.
Confusing and irritating.
 You know how long I was chaste after my hus-
band died?
I kept my head down. I felt stupid. I didn t know
why she was saying all these things.
 Eight years. I was chaste for eight years. I didn t
so much as kiss another man. But that didn t stop all
the rumors. The women in town were afraid I was
going to steal their husbands. It was ridiculous. I
Cavalry Man: Powder Keg 201
never flirted with anybody, I never even gave a hint
that I was available in any way. But that didn t mat- [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]