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«You know these boys?» Whip asked.
«Culpeppers, from the look of their mules.»
«Friends of yours?»
«I’ve been hunting them ever since Appomattox. All eleven of them.»
«Any particular reason?» Whip asked mildly.
«They’re wanted, dead or alive, in Texas. During the War Between the States, they murdered three young Texas women and sold their children to the Comancheros. By the time the fathers came home from the war, found out what had happened, and went to rescue their children, it was too late. Every last child was dead.»
Whip didn’t ask any more questions. He didn’t need to. The man was obviously a former Confederate officer. Whip suspected that the man’s wife had been one of the three young women murdered by Culpeppers.
As for the rest, Whip had only to look at the man’s bleak eyes to know that his children had been among the missing.
«Hunting Culpeppers, huh?» Whip asked softly. «Well, this is your lucky day, my friend. Those three are Clim, Darcy, and Floyd.»
«Dead?»
«Darcy is. Clim and Floyd are alive for the time being. Wouldn’t bet a Confederate dollar on their chances, though. Clim’s back is broken and Floyd’s wrist smells like it’s gone bad.»
«Gangrene?»
Whip nodded.
«From the fight in Holler Creek?» the stranger asked.
«Wasn’t much of a fight. I took them by surprise and just kept at it until the job was done.»
If one corner of a mouth lifting slightly could be called a smile, the stranger smiled.
«Thought it might be you,» the man said, looking at the long, restless lash. «Whip, isn’t it?»
«That’s what they call me.»
«I’m called Hunter since the war.»
«Hunter,» Whip said neutrally, nodding.
«Heard Beau was with them,» Hunter said, gesturing to the Culpeppers.
«He was.»
«Then he got away again,» Hunter said savagely. «Damn his slippery hide! Excuse me, ma’am.»
«Don’t apologize,» Sha
Hunter’s black eyebrows rose. «A Culpepper?»
Sha
«Well, ma’am, some folks would argue that a Culpepper doesn’t count as a man, ’ Hunter said.» «Especially the folks who buried what was left of those three young women.»
Hunter turned back to Whip.
«Which way did Beau go?» Hunter asked.
«Straight to hell, I imagine.»
«He’s dead?» Hunter asked, looking around again.
Whip nodded. «In the cabin.»
Hunter gestured with his head toward Sha
Again, Whip nodded.
Some of the fierce tension left Hunter’s body. Not until he began to relax did Whip realize just how poised for battle Hunter had been.
«I owe you,» Hunter said simply. «There was five hundred dollars on Beau’s head, two hundred on Floyd and Darcy, and one hundred on Clim. I’ll see that you get it.»
«No,» Sha
Hunter looked at Whip. Again, the left corner of Hunter’s mouth turned up very slightly, not even Enough to disturb his black mustache.
Though he didn’t say a word, Whip knew that Hunter understood what Sha
«If you’ll help me load the Culpeppers on two mules,» Hunter said, «I’ll give them to the first bounty hunter I find.»
«You’re not taking them in yourself?»
«Abner, Horace, Gaylord, Erasmus, and Jeremiah are still alive. Erasmus and Jeremiah are rumored to be on their way to Virginia City. I’ll be looking for the other three now that these boys are taken care of.»
«What about the rest?»
«My brother Case is tracking Erasmus and Jeremiah. When the Culpeppers split up, we split up, Too. Case drew the short straw, so he only got to Chase two of the sons of bitches. He’ll make up for It, though. I expect he might beat me to Virginia City.»
«Eleven, you said,» Whip muttered. «Is that all of them?»
«All there is to speak of,» Hunter said dryly. «But Pappy Culpepper was a tireless old goat. I expect he left quite a few eggs in other nests before my daddy shot him.»
«Eleven. Damnation. What about the rest of the alphabet? Am I likely to meet them any time soon?»
«Not likely. They’re buried back Texas way.»
Whip didn’t have to ask who had done the burying. Hunter had a look about him that reminded Whip of Caleb Black; a good man, but hard as flint.
The kind who made a very bad enemy.
«Hope you get the last of them,» Whip said.
«We will. You can count on it.»
Whip smiled slightly, glad that his name wasn’t Culpepper.
«Get on one of those racing mules and fetch that shaman,» Whip said, turning to Sha
Sha
«We,» Whip corrected. «We’re going to my sister’s ranch.»
Sha
«No,» Whip said, cutting across whatever she had been going to say. «Common sense be damned. You’re going with me this time if I have to tie you to the saddle.»
13
Sha
Whip’s voice calling.
Caleb Black’s voice answering.
That was what had awakened Sha
Sha
Hurriedly Sha
It was no easier for Caleb, who had the cattle and horses to tend, wood to chop, fences to build and mend, outbuildings to construct and maintain, waterholes and troughs to keep clean, horses to shoe, barns and corrals to muck out, calves to brand, horses to break, furniture to make…the list was endless.
With quick steps Sha
Willow was working over the wood stove, frying bacon and making biscuits and stirring a pot of stewed fruit. Her hair was heaped in gleaming golden coils on her head. If the sunlight color of Willow’s hair hadn’t told Sha
«Good morning, Mrs. Black,» Sha
Willow turned and smiled. «Call me Willow, please. It’s the western way to be informal.»
«Willow,» Sha
«That’s a pretty name,» Willow said. «Has the West given you a nickname yet?»
Sha
«Not yet,» Sha