So began our new routine. Every morning when Gaines woke, he leaned over, softly kissing the bare skin of my shoulder or neck. I would jerk away with a scowl. He would only smile and whisper “Sweet Molly”. Every time he entered the shack he would come over and take my chin in his hands, planting a firm but gentle kiss on my lips.
No matter how I struggled to turn my face away he never let me. I would immediately wipe my mouth, as if to rid it of his touch but he would only smile and murmur “Sweetest Molly”. Night after night, held in his arms, caressed by disgusting fingers, I would go rigid, doing my best to shove away. Day after endless day this routine was repeated with mind numbing steadiness.
Gaines had something up his sleeve with this new approach, and it worried me. Somehow, his kindness made me more afraid than ever before. What was he trying to do?
As this new attack continued, I lost track of the time, not knowing even the season beyond the small meadow Gaines had holed us up in. In chains, the housework was minimal, and he provided canned beans and hunks of steak to eat, along with bitterly dark coffee. In a fight for my life, I felt like I was slowly suffocating.
It was mentally exhausting to keep my guard up against his kindness. I found him repulsing, was disgusted by him, yet it became harder and harder to react, becoming forcibly accustomed to his touch. One morning I woke to find him watching me, deep set eyes locked on my face, a smile on his lips. Leaning down he kissed my neck, his hand stroking my hip.
“Sweet Molly. Mornin’.”
He got up, walking to the stove to make a pot of coffee before I realized what had just happened. I hadn’t jerked away! Instantly sick I scrambled to my knees and made for the water bucket, throwing up. Wiping my mouth, I looked over my shoulder to find him smiling, but it wasn’t a kind smile. It was smug and full of arrogance.
“Won’t be long before yer beggin’ me, ‘please’.”
Heart skipping rapidly, I realized this had been his plan all along, but I hadn’t credited him with enough wit. I had underestimated him, and men more powerful than I had been brought to their end by the very same mistake. In that moment I decided my future. I hated him, and from now on he would feel it! Shoving unsteadily to my feet, I glared back.
“I will die before I ask you for anything, Chess Gaines! I promise you, you will not break me, not with force, not with kindness, not with time!”
Regarding me with an amused grin, he scratched his jaw.
“We’ll see, sweet Molly, we’ll see.”
Beneath the hatred, I was afraid, and he knew it.
~~~
Tyler and Kajika broke camp, mounting up. The trail they followed grew colder by the hour. They had been at it for a long time now, trying to track a bird across the landscape. Even Kajika, with all his skill, repeatedly lost the trail. Chess Gaines was proving to be a man with surprising talents.
“I think he continues that way.” The Shoshone pointed northwest, directly toward the long string of mountains that rose from the earth.
“I thought you said his place was Nevada way.”
“This is where the trail leads, Brother. What can we do but follow?”
“Can you keep his trail?” Tyler was worn out, dirty, and bitter. “He’s like a ghost out here.”
“I do not believe in ghosts, only men.” Kajika was feeling much the same but was not driven by the raging fury that consumed Nolan. “I can find him.”
“Let’s go then. We’re burnin’ daylight just sittin’ here!”
Without waiting, Tyler moved out, his eyes following the faint trail of hoof prints in the dust. The wounds on his back were healing well, but the in the dry heat the scabs cracked, catching his shirt. As a result he often felt a smarting pain as one came off, blood trickling down his back. Along with everything else, it made him unreasonably irritable.
Pulling his hat low over his eyes, Tyler focused on the ground, his mind reaching ahead, trying to anticipate where Gaines was going. He had to catch them before it was too late for Molly. How blind he had been! He should have recognized there was more to Gaines’ obsession with Molly than her beauty; he was brewing for revenge.
For ten years Chess had plotted his payback, first against Thorne, then him. Molly was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, most likely chosen simply because Dell had been partial to her. Tyler’s lips twisted into a disgusted scowl. He’d seen darkness in Gaines from the beginning but had never imagined it would lead to this.
For long hours they rode, breaking only to rest the horses and refill their water canteens. At night they made a simple camp under the stars, sleeping on blankets, up as soon as dawn came. Their fare consisted of jerked venison, coffee, and dry biscuits. They had packed enough for many weeks, but as the days passed it became tasteless and unsatisfying. The sun was growing hotter, burning down on their backs as they doggedly hunted down their quarry. They grew quieter, hardly speaking a word, holding onto every possible energy reserve.
Tyler’s mind drifted to that last night with Molly. She’d been breathtaking, and innocent, her eyes wide as he’d spoken of all he’d seen in his years drifting through the wide western world. She had gotten him to talk as no one else could. That had been abruptly shattered when he had put the horses up at the stable, running smack into Gaines coming out of the saloon.
He’d reeked of whiskey, his eyes bloodshot and eager for trouble. Seeing Tyler, he’d paused, swiping a hand over his mouth.
“Well if it ain’t the coyote. You lookin’ fir somebody, Coyote?”
It had been sorely tempting to use the coil of rope to beat the drunk senseless. Molly’s urgent voice echoed in his mind, and he grit his jaw.
“I ain’t huntin’ you, Gaines. Pull in your horns!” When he attempted to step around, Chess had blocked him, a leering grin cut across his features.
“You runnin’?”
Hackles up, Tyler was ready to drop his bundles and whip Gaines within an inch of his life. At that moment the saloon doors swung open, a cowboy with his hat pushed far back on his head spotting Gaines.
“Hey! You left a full hand on the table! Get in here!”
Gaines had turned to shout a reply, and Tyler took the opportunity to leave. It was not in his nature to run from a fight, but he had promised Molly he would cause no trouble. Gaines called after him, taunting It had been hard to swallow. That fury was still simmering inside him they followed the trail.
They watered the horses at a small spring that lay between two mountain ranges. Gaines’ trail had gone southwest for twenty before swinging sharply north, almost to the Nevada border. That is where they were now, Idaho territory before them, Kelton to the southeast, and Nevada stretched out behind them. Tyler was washing his face and neck, trying to cool his body and his temper. Where was Gaines? How could he disappear so completely from the earth?
Kajika was studying the ground to the north of the spring, his face masked with frustration. A white man had never eluded him for so long, and anger began to eat away at the Shoshone brave. He liked Molly Tyler, and intensely disliked Chess Gaines. The he saw the second set of tracks.
“Tyler, see this.” The Indian’s voice brought Tyler to his feet, approaching the ground the brave pointed out.
“Do you see this here?” Kajika indicated hoof prints in the dust.
“Yeah, so.”
“They are from the dead man’s horse.”
“That makes no sense. Why would a loose horse stay with them? We passed the abandoned rig weeks ago.” Tyler was beginning to catch the same discomfiture that filled his partner.
“Perhaps Gaines is not the man we perceive him to be. I think he is clever and knows how to elude pursuit. Perhaps he used a long lead rope, or treats of some kind, so the horse stayed with them, but not too close.”
Tyler was beginning to curse as the Indian spoke.
“Let me guess,” he spat angrily. “Now that we think he’s slowed down by one horse and a worn-out prisoner, he puts Molly on the back of a horse we didn’t think he had and lit out like his tail was on fire!”
“Yes, in that direction.” The Indian stood and pointed at the vastness of the Nevada territory that lay behind them. “He was in a hurry, but the tracks are plain. Thinking you dead, he went to great trouble to hide his trail.”
“Well, he knows I supply horses for the US cavalry. I didn’t make the drive like they were expectin’, an’ they’d be bound to come lookin’ for me. They’d find my body strung up and half eaten and go lookin’ for a murderer, but their real interest lies in my mustangs. After a short offhand manhunt, they’d call it off and he’d be away scot free.”
“Yes.”
“Gutsy. Real gutsy.” Tyler thought he was going to blow smoke and fire, shaking with fury.
“He is miles away from us, undoubtedly in the safety of his home.”
“Then let’s go smoke ‘im out. I’m gonna kill him!”
They wasted no time following the now plain trail into the heart of the Nevada. Pushing the horses hard, they ran until foam flew from their mouths, lather slick across their flanks. When Buck stumbled, Tyler forced himself to slow down, getting down to walk next to the gelding. Right about then they spotted the creek running across their path. After cooling the horses letting them drink, they were back in the saddle, moving on.
That was the last water for several days, and Tyler shared his canteen with the faithful dun, pouring it sparingly into his hat so the animal could drink. When the sun dipped into the west one evening, twilight spreading overhead Kajika realized his companion wasn’t stopping. Something dark had taken hold of Tyler, and the Shoshone knew better than to intervene. Their pace was slow due to the limited light, despite the bright full moon that rose overhead.
Coyotes called in the night, contenting themselves with chasing after desert hares. Dawn found them still on the move, staying in the saddle more by will power than by strength. As the sun hit the high point in the sky, Kajika stopped, guiding his horse into the meager shade of a Joshua tree.
“Brother! We need to rest! We will be of no value if we do not!”
Tyler ignored the call. His mind was focused on one thing. He was going to kill Chess Gaines!
“Nolan Tyler! Stop!”
It sparked anger within his companion and Tyler turned the dun, his piercing eyes flaring. He was about to say something he would have later regretted. Just then the dun’s head snapped up, ears perked forward, nostrils flaring. Tyler recognized the signs, feeling a rush of tired relief as he gave the gelding his head.
“Come on! Buck smells water!”
The big horse raced eagerly toward water, hooves pounding. It came into view, and Tyler’s eyes followed the narrow waterway as it tracked back toward the Utah territory. Splashing into the creek the grateful dun lowered his head and began sucking down the water, grunting in pleasure. The area was dotted with Lodgepole pines, providing sparse shade from the blazing sun. Tyler swung off the as Kajika joined him.
Sliding off his pony, the brave let it join the gelding in the middle of the creek. The men dipped their heads into the water, splashing it gratefully over their necks, then gulping down large swallows. Tyler had not realized how much he had missed the smell of fresh water, the feel of it gliding down his throat. He felt himself relax and looked over at his companion, an apology ready on his lips.
“There is no need, Brother.” Kajika knew him well. “I have nothing to forgive.”
“Thanks.” Standing, he moved into a patch of shade to check the load in his revolver.
Nothing had changed since he loaded the gun upon starting this trek, but he felt better after doing so. Snapping the cylinder shut he spun it and dropped the revolver back into the worn holster. Many years ago, he had call to use the gun regularly. It had been a natural extension of his hand, a necessary tool. Since moving to the ranch, he’d pretty much hung it up.
Only upon his run-in with Gaines that day in the saloon had he strapped the familiar weapon back on. It was not something that he relished though.
Leaning against the tree trunk, he let Molly fill his thoughts. Pale cream-colored skin, large expressive eyes, that wild mass of tangled curls- she was intoxicating. For the hundredth time he remembered her touch on his face, the whispered words her tears. “I cannot live through losing another man that I love.” Clenching his fists, Tyler took a long deep breath, and then settled the gun belt around his hips, his mouth a grim, hard line.
Kajika was right. Gaines had found a place he felt safe enough to hole up in. ‘Let him get comfortable,’ Tyler thought ‘an’ just when he reckons it’s safe to poke his head out I’ll be there.’
Resting there a while, they let the horses graze and drink their fill. When the saddle came off the dun instantly dropped to the ground, rolling enthusiastically his long legs striking at the air. Shaking his mane, he blew air from his nostrils with noisy abandon, as if to say ‘Finally! I thought I’d never get to do that again!’ Tyler chuckled softly, patting the horses’ neck.
“You’re a fine animal, Buck my boy. Mighty fine.”
Shifting attention to the small area under the horses’ large jawbone, he scratched hard with his fingers. Buck grunted happily, eyes closed. After a few minutes Tyler joined Kajika at the small camp he’d made, getting a pot of coffee started. If they didn’t find Gaines soon, they’d run out of supplies. If that happened... Kajika must have read his thoughts.
“We will find him, Nolan Tyler. We will not turn back until we have.”