Page 72 of Wellspring
“Oh, and still no Webster.You really don’t know where he went or when he’ll be back, Heller?I don’t like the idea of doing the drive without him.He reads the land better than any cowboy I ever seen, which I need with the new route.I wanted to leave August 1st, and we’ve already missed that by more than a week.We can’t afford to leave any later than August 15th.We got to make it to Abilene before the weather turns up north.”
Erick suppressed a sigh and shook his head.Payne had made it clear it would take at least three months to drive the herd the six hundred miles to the railhead in Kansas, where the cattle would be shipped to the slaughterhouses and packing plants in St.Louis and Chicago.“He said he had business to attend to and would be back as soon as he could.”Three weeks didn’t feel like “soon” to Erick, but if Cade’s business was in Austin or, worse yet, back in Galveston, it could easily take him that long or more.Even without the wagon slowing him down, he and Nahnia could only cover so much distance in a day.Their one week together, with the rest of the hands doing their best to announce their presence before walking in on them in the barn or the shower or the bunkhouse as Cade had once laughingly told him they’d done for Kit and Mac, only made Erick’s loneliness worse, since now he had more than just his hopes and imagination to reinforce what he was missing.Michele did her best to keep him company when he wasn’t working with Grace, reassuring him that whatever Cade’s business was, it must be important if he was willing to leave Erick to deal with it.Still, Erick couldn’t help feeling as if he’d been abandoned.Zephyr was as strong and swift as any mustang.Surely Erick could have accompanied Cade, whatever his errand.
“He has another week,” Payne said.“Then we leave without him and he’ll have to hold down the fort here instead of leading the drive to Abilene.”
Erick wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do with that information.He had no way of contacting Cade or affecting his return in any other way.“He’ll be back when he can” was the only thing he had to offer.
Payne looked like he wanted to argue more, but Grace silenced him with a glance.Erick tried to convey his appreciation through his smile.He was worried enough for all of them.He didn’t need Payne’s harangues to remind him of how long Cade had been gone and all the things that could go wrong.
TWO DAYSlater, Erick had just sat down to lunch with Grace when he spotted a cloud of dust down the road leading to Wellspring.(He’d spent every moment he was outside watching the road, hoping to see Cade riding back.) As it drew nearer, it resolved into three riders, one of them Marshal Parnell, accompanied by two strangers, women from the looks of their apparel.
“Mrs.Roarke,” Parnell greeted when they came to a halt.“These women rode into town asking for directions to Wellspring, so I offered to show them the way.”
“We are looking for Jesse Beaufort,” the older of the two added.
“He’s out with the herd,” Grace answered.“I can send someone to fetch him.”She nodded to Luke Quinn, who took off for the stables.“We were just about to have lunch, if you’d like to join us.”
The three dismounted and hitched their mounts to the porch rail before sitting down at the table.“My name is Li Mei Zhou, and this is my… ward, Alice Smith.Beaufort wrote to us some time ago describing Wellspring in such glowing terms that we hoped you might be in need of hands.”
Grace looked as if one of her prayers had been answered.“You’ll have to pass muster with our foreman, but if he agrees, we can definitely find a place for you.”She gestured to Javier, who dished up three more bowls of chili and set them before the newcomers.“Can I ask how you know Beaufort?”
Alice giggled, and Li Mei shot her a stern glance.“We met in San Francisco.My husband and I emigrated from China to purchase land to start a ranch.Beaufort had wandered into an area of town that was… less than hospitable for strangers.”
“Anyone not Chinese, she means.”Beaufort strode to the table and pulled Li Mei into a quick hug.“I was looking for a drink and stumbled into the middle of some kind of gang tussle.She saved my ass.You wouldn’t think it to look at her, but she’s quite a fighter.”
“And Beaufort proved to be quite a good ranch hand, until his wanderlust grew to be too much for him.”
“What brings you to Wellspring?”Beaufort straddled the bench next to her.
“Sentiment against Chinese has been growing in California,” Le Mei said, her expression stern.“We were vandalized several times—cattle slaughtered, fires started—and the law turned a blind eye.When my husband was killed confronting a rustler, I decided to find somewhere more accepting to start anew.Beaufort’s description made Wellspring sound like such a place.”
“After you dealt with the rustler, I assume,” Beaufort said dryly.“I’m sorry to hear about Ang.He was a good man.”
“Beaufort,” Payne barked from across the yard as he strode toward their table, “what’s this I hear about you bringing home strays?That’s Webster’s job.”
Erick hid the wince at the mention of his missing lover.No, not missing, just absent.Cade would be back with an explanation and a tale of high adventure to rival any in Erick’s beloved books.He just had to be patient.
“Not strays, boss,” Beaufort replied easily.“Old friends, including the woman who saved my life years ago.Li Mei, this is Zeke Payne, foreman of Wellspring, Payne, this is Li Mei Zhou and her ward.She’s the best damn street fighter you’ll ever meet.”
Payne looked around the open ranch.“You see any streets around here?I need people who can handle cattle and a gun.”
Beaufort smirked at Li Mei and handed her his pistol.She examined the barrel for a moment before emptying all six rounds into the bole of the big live oak tree on the opposite side of the yard.Erick didn’t have Cade’s vision, but he suspected they’d find the bullets all in one spot.
“Is that good enough for you?”Li Mei asked calmly.
“Well, shit.Webster might have some competition when he gets back.”
“Li Mei ran the ranch with her husband,” Beaufort added.“What she doesn’t know about cattle isn’t worth knowing.”
“What about you?”Payne snapped at the younger woman.“You a sharpshooter too?”
“Not like Li Mei, but I can defend myself if I need to.”Alice met Payne’s gaze squarely, not cowed by his brusque manner.“I’d much rather work with horses than cattle, though.”
“Heller’s in charge of the horses around here.”Erick blinked at the sudden promotion.“Take her to the barn and see what she’s got.You, saddle up.”He pointed at Li Mei.“Let’s see if Beaufort’s just blowing smoke out his ass.”
“After they’ve finished eating,” Grace interjected.“They’ve just gotten here, and you will not make a poor hostess out of me, Ezekiel Payne, not even for two new hands.And you too.You haven’t had lunch either.Sit.”
Payne subsided with a glare that bore no real heat as Javier brought him a bowl.He grumbled under his breath but ate the whole thing like he was starving.No one went hungry at Wellspring, but Erick had wondered more than once about how Payne had ended up at Wellspring and what his life might have been like before he arrived.He often ate like someone who had known hardship, more than what life at Wellspring could explain away.
