“Durn right. I keep my eye out for strangers.”
“You do?” Shaye couldn’t help himself and looked toward the broom in the corner.
Carmondy smiled, and suddenly his face wasn’t so sad anymore. It was an amazing transformation. It seemed whatever his mouth did, the rest of his face followed right along.
“I don’t look like much, Sheriff Shaye,” he said, “but I know that you rode into town with three deputies, not one.”
“Sons,” Shaye said. “Three sons, who also happen to be my deputies.”
“You must be real proud.”
“I am.”
Obviously, Sheriff Carmondy was not as dumb as he liked people to think he was.
“So you see, if Ethan Langer rode in with his men—three, four, more—I’d know it.”
“I guess you would.” Shaye stood up, followed by Matthew. “We won’t take up any more of your time, then.”
Carmondy stood up and extended his hand. Shaye shook it while Matthew remained behind his father.
“Stayin’ in town?” the local lawman asked. “I know where you and your boys can get a fine meal.”
“Thanks, but no,” Shaye said. “We’ve got to keep moving.”
“Well, I wish you luck,” Carmondy said. “If you track Ethan until he meets up with his brother, you’re gonna have a lot to handle, just the four of you.”
“We’ll make do,” Shaye said.
Carmondy looked past Shaye at Matthew and said, “Good luck to you.”
Matthew didn’t reply, but he touched his hand to the brim of his hat and nodded.
“Matthew,” Shaye said outside, “you could have said thank you to the man when he wished you luck.”
“But Pa,” Matthew said, “you tol’ me to let you do all the talkin’, didn’t you?”
“That I did, son,” Shaye said. “That I did.”
40
Thomas and James found a good-sized store not far from where they split from Shaye and Matthew, reined their horses in and tied them off out front.
“Coffee,” James said, “and some beans.”
“And jerky,” Thomas said. “Pa gave most of what we had to those Indians.”
“That was somethin’, wasn’t it?” James asked. “The way Pa bargained with them Indians?”
“I’m sure Pa has bargained with Indians before, James,” Thomas said. “Just somethin’ else we don’t know about the man.”
“We’ve found out a bunch of stuff already, Thomas,” James said as they stepped up onto the boardwalk. “How much more do you think there is?”
“Lots, James,” Thomas said. “I’m sure there’s lots.”
As they started to enter the store James put his hand on his older brother’s arm to stop him.
“Thomas?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you think there’s a lot of stuff we don’t know about Ma too?” he asked.
“I’ll bet there is, James.”
“I—I’m not sure I want to know.”
“Me neither.”
The brothers split up inside the store, which was even larger on the inside than it looked outside. There were several women shopping, and two separate counters with clerks standing at them. One of the clerks was a pretty young woman about James’s age, and Thomas allowed his brother to go off in that direction.
“Can I help you with something?” she asked. She smiled at James and completely captivated him.
“Uh, oh, sure, I was, uh, lookin’ for some coffee, and some beans….”
“Would you like me to direct you?” she asked. “Or I could show you.”
“Maybe you better show me,” he said. “This store is pretty big and I, uh, wouldn’t want to get lost.”
“Certainly.”
Thomas thought his brother had recovered nicely after a clumsy start. He decided to step outside and let James do all the shopping.
Out in front of the store, he found a straight-backed wooden chair and sat down with his back to the wall. He watched as the town went by, people going about their daily lives, doing things that he was probably doing weeks ago, before the Langer gang came riding into Epitaph to change his life and the lives of his father and brothers. He wondered if they’d ever get back to leading that kind of carefree life, or if that was all over now. Considering what they were planning on doing, how could they ever go back?
He was still thinking about it when his father and Matthew appeared on horseback before him. He hadn’t even noticed them riding up to him. If they’d been someone else entirely, he could have been dead by now. The thought made him shudder.
“Thought you were sleeping,” Shaye said, stepping up onto the boardwalk to join him.
“Just thinkin’, Pa.”
“Where’s your brother?”
“He’s inside gettin’ the supplies,” Thomas said. “Found himself a pretty gal to help him.”
“You left James alone with a pretty gal?” Matthew asked. “What’s he gonna do with his tongue all tied?”
“He was doin’ pretty well when I left him.”
“I’m gonna go in and have a look,” Matthew said.
“I’ll wait out here with your brother,” Shaye said, slapping Matthew on the back.
“What happened with the local law, Pa?” Thomas asked when his brother went inside.
Briefly, Shaye told him about his conversation with Sheriff Carmondy.
“Do you believe him?”
“I can’t start believing that every lawman I talk to is crooked, Thomas,” Shaye said. “Or taking money from the Langers.”
“But did you believe him?”
“He seems to know what’s going on in his own town,” Shaye said. “He knew there was four of us here.”
“You don’t believe him.”
“I don’t know what to believe,” Shaye said. “In order for this gang to operate successfully from Texas to the Dakotas, they’ve got to have a bunch of lawmen on their payroll.”
“How come they didn’t try to buy you, Pa?”
“I don’t know, Thomas.”
“Maybe they heard you were honest?”
“Maybe.”
“But wait,” Thomas said, “they knew you from the old days.”
“If they even knew I was the sheriff of Epitaph,” Shaye said. “Who knows? Maybe they came in cold and hit the bank.”
“That doesn’t sound very professional, does it?”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“So what are we gonna do?”
“Continue north to Salina, I guess,” Shaye said. “Or maybe they’ll go west to Hays.”
“Wherever they go, Pa,” Thomas said, “we’ll find them.”
Shaye looked down at his son and said, “Yes, we will, Thomas.”
Inside the store, James and Matthew had begun elbowing each other for the attention of Janie Summers.
“I’m older,” Matthew said.
“I’m smarter,” James said.
“I’m bigger.”
James thought a moment, then said, “I’m smarter.”
“I’m better looking,” Matthew said.
Janie laughed and said, “You’re both so cute. Will you be staying in town long?”
James and Matthew both pulled long faces, and James said, “We’re leavin’ as soon as we’re done here.”
“That’s a shame,” she said, tallying up their purchases. She’d managed to convince them to buy a few more items than they originally wanted, like a few bars of soap and an extra shirt each. “We could have spent some time…talking.”
She told them how much their purchases were, and they had to combine their fortunes to pay for it.
“This has been very exciting,” she said after they paid her, “meeting two Texas deputies at the same time. Maybe you’ll come back this way soon?”
“Maybe,” James said, but he doubted it.
“Well, it’s been very nice to meet you both,” she said, then shook their hands in turn, saying, “James…Matthew.”