The first time the Shayes rode into town, a year or so ago, he didn’t like the way it felt. The people eyed them in a funny way, a way he knew his father could not miss, and yet Dan Shaye insisted that this was where they were going to settle. Not in town, but on a small ranch just outside of town that he knew was for sale cheap.
Every time Thomas rode into Winchester, he had the same feeling—and this was no exception. Maybe this girl’s baby wasn’t Matthew’s son at all, but maybe the little tyke was going to pry them away from Winchester, Wyoming, once and for all.
The three of them reined in their horses in front of the telegraph office and dismounted.
“Go over to the café and get a table, boys,” Shaye said. “I’ll join you for breakfast after I’ve sent my telegrams.”
Eating at the café—at any café—was a treat for Thomas and James and they were looking forward to it today. Eating away from home was the only time they really looked forward to a meal as something other than a necessity.
As they were shown to a table, Thomas felt the eyes of the other early diners on them.
“I don’t know what they’re so all-fired curious about all the time,” James said.
“You feel it too?”
“Every time we come into town.”
“I felt it the first time we rode in, but I didn’t wanna upset Pa,” Thomas said. “He seemed so set on settling here.”
James took his hat off and set it underneath his chair, then ran his hand through his hair.
“I reckon we got to talk more, brother,” he said. “I didn’t know you felt the same way I do.”
“You’re right, little brother,” Thomas said. “We do have to talk more—to each other and probably to Pa too.”
“God,” James said, “we’ve spent the better part of a year here, not really knowin’ what each other was thinkin’? That’s sad. Thomas, I woulda told anybody that we was a close family.”
“Reckon we ain’t as close as we thought we were at all.”
James was going to say something else, but the waiter came over and asked what they wanted. Thomas ordered three steak and egg breakfasts and a pot of coffee.
“He acts like we ain’t never even been in here before,” James complained, “and I know he’s waited on us more’n once.”
“James, this letter is our chance to get out of this town,” Thomas said. “All three of us.”
“Yeah, but…do you really think this gal’s baby could be Matthew’s?”
“No, I don’t,” Thomas said, “but I think Pa is gonna be the one to decide that. And I guess this is gonna depend on how bad he wants to be a grandpa.”
Dan Shaye sent a couple of telegrams to the town of Epitaph, Texas: one to the man who had replaced him as sheriff when he and the boys left and one to the mayor, Charles Garnett. One or both of them would be able to check with the authorities in Pearl River Junction to find out if a gal named Belinda Davis was still living there.
He told the clerk he’d be at the café across the street when a reply came in and then left to join his boys for breakfast. Crossing the street, he found himself thinking about Mary and how she’d longed for a grandchild. She’d always wondered which of her sons would marry first and make her a grandmother.
“Thomas,” she would say, “because he’s the oldest and the most charming.”
Then, on another day, she’d say, “Probably James. He’s the most sensitive and romantic.”
But Shaye could not ever remember her guessing that it would be Matthew. His middle son was neither charming, nor was he romantic. Matthew, to the day he died, was childlike himself and never gave any indication that he’d change. The probability that he’d sired a child seemed small, and yet Shaye felt compelled to check it out for himself. If there was another Shaye out there…after all, they’d lost two in two years, hadn’t they?
By the time Dan Shaye reached the table in the café, there were three steak and eggs plates on the table.
“Good,” he said, seating himself, “you went ahead and ordered.” He poured himself a cup of coffee and drank half of it down.
“You get the telegrams sent?’ Thomas asked around a mouthful of steak and eggs.
“Yep,” Shaye said, “I sent two to Epitaph. Either the sheriff or the mayor should be able to help us find out if this Belinda is still in Pearl River Junction.”
“And if she is?” James asked. “Then we’ll go there?”
“We’ll outfit and leave tomorrow morning,” Shaye said. He stopped with a forkful of food halfway to his mouth and looked at his two sons. “That is, unless you boys would rather not go?”
“No, no, Pa,” Thomas said. “We wanna go.”
“Yeah,” James said. “We definitely wanna go.”
Shaye put the food in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully.
“You boys have no desire to be ranchers, I know,” Shaye said, “but that other life…the law…it’s cost us too much.”
“We know, Pa,” Thomas said. “We know.”
“I’ve always said you could make your own decisions,” Shaye went on. “You don’t have to stay on this ranch with me.”
“We know that, Pa,” James said. “We’ve stayed because we want to.”
“And we’ll go with you to Pearl River Junction for the same reason,” Thomas added.
“Well,” Shaye said, pouring more coffee, “whether we do that or not remains to be seen. Maybe we’ll know by the time we finish breakfast.”
There didn’t seem much else to discuss, so the three men dug in and enjoyed their breakfasts, ignoring the fact that they were still the center of attention in the room.
5
Sheriff Adam Kennedy looked up as the door to his office opened and his deputy, Lyle Canton, entered. The look on Canton’s unlined young face gave his news away.
“Where are they?”
“How did you know?” Canton asked.
“I can tell by looking at you when any of the Shayes are in town. Who is it this time? Or is it more than one?”
“All three.”
“All three?”
Canton nodded with great satisfaction.
“What should we do?” the deputy asked.
“It’s been what…a year since they settled here? And nothing’s gone wrong, has it? No bodies, not even any shots.”
“Yeah, but the mayor—”
“The mayor is an old woman.”
“Sheriff—”
“Come on, Lyle,” Kennedy said. “He’s been mayor a year longer than I’ve been sheriff—and I’ve been sheriff for twelve years. After all that time I can say what I like.”
“Yeah, but he’s worried,” Canton said. “They’ve got a reputation for—”
“I know what the Shayes have a reputation for, Lyle,” Kennedy said. “Just relax. I’ll have a look.”
“I can go over to the café,” Canton said. “I saw them goin’ in there. First the two sons, then the father.”
“Like I said, Lyle,” Kennedy said, “relax. You stay here.” The sheriff stood up, hitched up his gun belt, and put his hat on. “I’ll be back in a little while.”
“Sheriff—”
“Just watch the office, Lyle,” Kennedy said. “I’ll be back.”
The sheriff left the unhappy deputy sitting behind the desk and walked toward the café. He remembered the day the Shayes rode into town. He recognized Dan Shaye from one dealing they’d had when both men wore badges. Shaye had tracked a man this far and together they’d arrested him. Since then Kennedy had heard about all Dan Shaye and his sons had been through, about the men they’d killed. Their presence in town made Mayor Ben Carter very nervous, and then when Shaye announced their intention to buy the old Tarver place, Carter went from nervous to scared.
“They’re gonna bring trouble, Adam,” the mayor said.