“I didn’t think you’d believe me,” she said. “She’s so young, so pretty…I see that way you look at her.”
“Marion!” he said. “I never—”
“I know you never have, Riley,” she said, “but sometimes I think…you want to.”
“Marion,” he said, putting his hand on her arm, “I love you.”
“And I love you, Riley,” she said. “What do we do?”
“Well, we’ll let the Shayes make up their minds,” he said. “If they decide that this baby is part of their family, they’ll do whatever they can to protect him.”
“You mean, they’ll fight this Jeb Collier and his men? And kill them?”
“Yes.”
“And then what?” she asked. “Will they want to take Belinda and the baby with them?”
“I don’t think so,” he said. “I think I could convince them to leave the baby with us. After all, they’re three men living without a woman.”
“But Belinda—”
“Belinda can’t control Dan Shaye,” Cotton said. “He sees right through her.”
“But how do we get Belinda to leave him here if we put her out?” she asked.
“If what you say is true about her, then she won’t want to take him with her. Or if she’s the kind of girl Shaye thinks she is, maybe she’ll sell the baby to us.”
“Sell him? My God, would she do that? Could we have been that wrong about her?”
“I don’t know,” he said. He stroked Little Matt’s chubby cheek with one finger. He had to admit he loved the child too. He also had to admit—to himself, but never to his wife—that he had, in the past, entertained the thought of being with Belinda. If she would leave, then that temptation would be removed forever.
“I think we’ll have to wait and see what happens when Jeb Collier and his men get here, Marion.”
“But if Dan Shaye and his sons won’t face them, you’ll have to,” she said.
“It’s my job.”
“You could be killed.”
“Maybe.”
“I love this child, Riley,” she said, “but I don’t want to trade him for you.”
He was thinking she wouldn’t have to. If Jeb Collier killed him, he and his gang would probably take the child—and Belinda—away with them.
He didn’t tell her that, though.
30
That night when Dan Shaye turned in he made sure Thomas and James did as well. He didn’t want to take the chance of any more trouble with drunken ranch hands.
At breakfast they talked about what they would do if they were to decide that Little Matt was, indeed, Matthew’s son.
“We could take both of them back with us to the ranch,” James said.
Shaye and Thomas didn’t comment.
“Are we goin’ back to the ranch, Pa?”
“Well, we have to go back,” Shaye said. “Even if we decide not to live there, we’d have to sell it.”
“Without a ranch,” Thomas said, “What would we do with a woman and a child?”
“It might not be up to us,” Shaye said. “What if Belinda doesn’t want to leave here?”
“But now that the sheriff knows she’s not who she pretends to be, would they let her stay with them?” James asked.
“I don’t know,” Shaye said. “That would have to be between them. All we have to do right now is decide if the boy is Matthew’s or not. The rest will come after that.”
Thomas pushed his plate away.
“What if what she says about this gang is true?” he asked. “What if all she wants is for us to get rid of them? And the rest is a lie?”
“I get the feeling this girl has lied a lot,” Shaye said. “Maybe the gang is a lie too. Today I’ll send some telegrams to find out.”
James finished his coffee and set his cup down.
“If we’re all done,” Shaye said, pushing his chair back, “we can go and do that right now.”
At the telegraph office Shaye sent off three telegrams to lawmen he knew in the West.
“We’ll be waiting outside for replies,” he told the clerk.
“Yes, sir.”
He joined his sons outside.
“Think we’ll get an answer right away, Pa?” James asked.
“Maybe,” Shaye said. “No harm in sitting right here and waiting until it’s time to go.”
“Well,” Thomas said, sitting on one of three chairs, “Can’t get into much trouble just sittin’.”
“We hope,” James said.
That morning Cotton asked Marion, “Can you resist confronting her until later?”
“I hope so,” she said. “For the sake of Little Matt, I’ll have to.”
Cotton put his gun on, preparing to leave for his office.
“We’ll have it out with her later, Marion,” he promised. “After Dan Shaye’s sons meet her and the boy.”
“You go to work,” she said, patting his arm. “I have to feed the baby and make breakfast for her. Don’t worry. I’ll be good.”
Sheriff Cotton kissed his wife good-bye and left for his office.
On his way to open his office, Cotton passed the telegraph office and saw Shaye and his sons sitting out front. He crossed over and greeted them good morning.
“I sent some telegrams about Jeb Collier,” Shaye told him. “Thought we should know for sure what his situation was.”
“Good idea. Will you let me know when you find out?”
“Sure thing.”
“Gonna wait here until noon?” the lawman asked.
“Why not?” Shaye asked with a shrug.
“Sure,” Cotton agreed, “why not?”
“Did you tell your wife what I told you?”
“Yes, I did. She was upset.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. Turns out she’s known more about Belinda’s true character than I have.”
“Is that a fact? And she was willing to put up with it?”
“For the baby’s sake.”
“He’s two, ain’t he?” James asked.
Cotton looked at him. “Yes.”
“Not really a baby anymore, is he?”
“To my wife, he is.”
“We’ll see you around noon, Sheriff.”
The sheriff gave a small wave and continued on to his office.
The telegram they were waiting for came at eleven-thirty. The clerk came out and handed it to Shaye.
“What’s it say, Pa?” Thomas asked.
“Jeb Collier was sentenced to two years for a stage robbery in Arizona,” he said. “He got out last month.”
“And is he on his way here?” James asked.
“No way to know that.”
“Well,” Thomas said, “at least we know she told the truth about that.”
“At least we know,” Shaye said, “that she can tell the truth—when she wants to.” Shaye folded the telegram and put it in his pocket. “Time to go.”
31
It was all Marion Cotton could do to hold her tongue all morning. When she saw the three men walking toward her house, she was relieved. As they got closer, she recognized Daniel Shaye. When they reached her backyard, she saw that his two sons were quite handsome. One seemed barely a man and the other several years older—and bigger. They all wore guns. She hoped that the three of them would be a match for the Collier gang.
“Mrs. Cotton,” Shaye said as they reached the fence surrounding the backyard. He removed his hat and his sons followed his example.
“This is my son James…and my son Thomas.”
“Ma’am,” Thomas said and James just nodded.
“I’m happy to meet you both,” she said.
“Where are Belinda and the boy?” Shaye asked.
“They’re inside,” she said. “I’ll go and fetch them.”
“And your husband?”
“He hasn’t come home yet,” she said. “He must have been held up at his office. Please, come into the yard and wait.”