“I could pull this trigger right now, send this boy to his Maker and sleep just as well as if I’d spent the day picking daisies,” Nick said evenly. “I’ve spilled too much blood for another few drops to make a dent anymore. All it would have taken to keep me from losing so much of my soul was for someone to tell me when to stop. Every man is entitled to his justice. You’ve gotten yours. Now…stop.”
The longer Joseph stared at Nick’s face, the more he felt like he was looking into a cold, bottomless pit. He couldn’t hold that gaze for too long and when he finally looked away, Joseph felt as if he’d been shaken out of a fever dream. The anger was still inside of him, but it no longer had the teeth and claws that had been ripping his guts apart.
When he let out his breath, Joseph felt as if he’d been holding it for weeks.
“Put the gun down, Nick,” Joseph said. “It…it’s over. This is all over. I just want to get back home.”
Nick holstered the Schofield and lowered his head. Even after Joseph had turned and walked toward the house, Nick kept his head down and his eyes open as the coldness slowly worked its way under his skin.
THIRTY-FOUR
The ride back to Ocean was quick and quiet. Although Joseph told Nick a bit about the son who was waiting for him to return, he didn’t ask about anything from Nick’s past. After what he’d already heard, it was obvious that he didn’t want to hear any more.
That suited Nick just fine. He enjoyed listening to the few words that Joseph had to say. Those words were enough to show that Joseph was a changed man. There was a shadow in his eyes, but not the genuine darkness that had been there before. More important, Joseph preferred to talk about the future rather than the past. Joseph sometimes bowed his head in reflection as if thinking about his wife or daughter.
They rode into Ocean early one afternoon. Rain from the night before had left the grass wet and green. A few flowers bloomed here and there, but most of the flowers they could see were already cut and lying at the base of a few tombstones. The graveyard smelled of warm air and freshly turned soil.
Joseph asked Nick to stand with him next to the specially carved markers of his wife and daughter. The two carved angels were still looking at each other as if no time had passed, and Joseph looked down on them as if he were peeking in on a private conversation between mother and daughter. Nodding once, he turned to Nick and said, “Sammy should be here with me.”
The expression on Joseph’s face, shadows and all, was a good sight for Nick’s sore eyes. He led the way to his cabin, anxiously awaiting his own reunion with Catherine.
When they got there, however, they found the cabin’s windows broken and its door knocked off its hinges.
“What in the hell?” Nick snarled as he swung down from Kazys’s back and ran to the doorway. His gun was in his hand before he even knew his arm had moved. When he saw the mess that was inside, he stormed into the cabin in search of an excuse to pull its trigger.
“Good Lord,” Joseph said as he took a step through the doorway. “What happened here?”
“I don’t know, but Catherine’s gone.”
“What about my boy?”
Nick wheeled around to look at Joseph as if he didn’t know whom he was referring to. He then blinked a few times and dropped his gun back into its holster. “I don’t know. There’s nobody here.”
“By the looks of it, there was a hell of a scuffle. Is there any blood or…?”
As Joseph’s unfinished question faded away, Nick took a slower, more careful look around. “No. There’s no bodies. I don’t see any blood. In fact, it looks more like someone tore through here just for the hell of it.”
“Maybe they were looking for something.”
“Where did you tell your son to go if Catherine didn’t agree to look after him?”
Joseph snapped his fingers, already turning to go outside. “His uncle’s place. I’ll take you there.”
Nick practically flew out of the cabin and onto Kazys’s back. He and Joseph raced through town.
They had nearly left Ocean’s limits again before Joseph reined his horse to a stop.
“This is the place,” Joseph said.
The moment Nick’s boots hit the dirt, his hand was resting upon the grip of his pistol. His eyes darted to and fro, looking for any suspicious movement or any face that he didn’t like. When the door to the little house swung open, Nick planted his feet and prepared to draw the Schofield. The face he saw, however, was far from threatening.
“Pa! You’re home!” Sam shouted as he rushed outside.
Nick didn’t relax until he saw Catherine step through the door. Fixing her hair, she smiled and started to say something, but couldn’t make a sound before Nick ran to her and swept her up into his arms. She laughed and tried once more to speak. This time, she was cut off by an urgent kiss.
“Well, well,” Catherine gasped, once she had a chance. “It’s good to see you, too!”
For the next few moments, all Nick wanted to do was hold on to her tightly, pressing his face into her hair and nuzzling her neck. Once he’d filled his lungs with the sweet scent of her, he allowed himself to loosen his grip.
“I thought something happened to you,” he said.
Catherine winced and asked, “You were at the cabin, weren’t you?”
“Yes. What happened?”
“Someone came into town and made that mess,” she replied while shaking her head. “It’s not as bad as it seems. Sam and I weren’t even there at the time.”
“Who did it?”
“I don’t know who it was. The sheriff says he was probably just after money or food.”
“Sheriff Stilson saw him?”
She nodded. “He saw more of him than I did. In fact, he ran him out of town.”
“And you weren’t hurt?” Nick asked. “Or the boy?”
Catherine looked over to where Joseph was swinging his little boy around and happily wrapping him up in his arms. “We weren’t hurt. Sam was so lonely after you and his father left that I thought it best to bring him here. Seeing as how you two were probably headed for some trouble, it seemed best if I stayed with him to make certain we were safe until you two got back. It is just Alice here by herself, after all. Sam’s uncle had some business in Sacramento.”
Nick looked toward the front door and saw a thin woman with short black hair for the first time. Alice was so skinny that she looked like she could be snapped in half by a strong hug, but her smile was friendly enough and she waved to Nick the moment she made eye contact with him.
“Before you ask, I also brought the shotgun,” Catherine whispered.
“You’re one hell of a woman,” Nick said while brushing the back of his hand against her cheek.
She smiled at him and patted his hand. “I’m glad you realize that.”
As the wagon rattled up to the sheriff’s office, Stilson opened the door and ambled outside. His thumbs were hooked over his gun belt and he nodded with mild surprise when he saw who was driving the noisy rig.
“Sorry, but I don’t have any deliveries for you today,” Stilson said.
Nick set his brake and climbed down. “I’m on my way to my parlor and wanted to stop by and have a word with you about what happened to my home.”
The sheriff raised his hands and said, “I did what I could. By the time I got there, most of the damage was already done.”
“I don’t intend on being cross with you. I wanted to give you my thanks.”
At first, Stilson looked at the hand Nick offered as if it might reach out and slap him. He grasped it hesitantly at first, but then responded amicably when Nick shook it in friendship.