Pray for the Dead Page 14

She hooked his arm. “Come see our showers.” She led him over and from outside the slotted floor she pulled the rope, watching the water cascade from above. “We have several of them. And wait until you see the alfalfa and the orchards we’ve planted. These people have worked so hard.” She hugged him tight. “There’s a new one in my belly, too. I am so happy down here, I can hardly tell you. I dreaded coming down here at first, but we’ve had no time to feel sorry for ourselves. These people are so friendly. They’re my family now. The first baby walks, and now another one is on the way. I still remember thinking my life was over when they started to take me to Mexico City—you gave them your horses for me.” At that point she fell in his arms crying. “I hope I can repay you someday. I’m so lucky to be alive and here.”

  He nodded and patted her. If there was one member of the entire crew that ever concerned him—Bonnie had been the one.

  “Don’t cry, sweetie. We’re here with you. I am so pleased you and JD have such a great life here.”

  She almost swooned. “I am truly in heaven. Truly.”

  Liz came up beside them and took Bonnie’s hands. “I know what you feel. I have that same feeling. I know from your confession how much you appreciate him. But if he hadn’t given those horses to that man, I’d have never met him. I met him to buy some of them at the Morales Ranch on my way back to Mexico.”

  “I know. And you still ride with him, don’t you?”

  Liz smiled. “I do.”

  Bonnie wiped her eyes. “I’m making a fool out of myself. Chet, the men will put up your horses. All of you come to the casa—I mean house, and get rested.”

  The two women were lost in their conversation as Chet and the boys followed them inside. He smiled after them, and looked out across the acreage. Three windmills were whirling in the warm breezes out of Mexico, and they had plenty of water stored in tanks, as well. Obviously, they were watering the short orchard plants like citrus and grapes. The place was impressive.

  What would all those doubters about JD’s ability think if they saw this place and all that these people had done? It was a miracle in the desert.

  They were brought much food and many cool drinks. The baby was the center of attention and they passed him back and forth. Cole and Jesus excused themselves to walk the ranch, see all the developments themselves. While they did that, Chet looked over the ranch books. Development was not cheap, but he knew what they were spending now would come back to them in the near future.

  JD and Ortega arrived that afternoon, to many hugs and much talk. It was good to see both men. They looked slimmer than he recalled them the last time, but no doubt they had been working hard.

  “Chet, wait till you see those Mexican steers we bought six months ago.”

  Ortega added, “They sure are pretty. They’ve done real good on the ranch.”

  “Now where can we sell them?” Chet asked.

  JD looked over at his partner. “We can sell some in Tucson. We checked on some markets that want some good meat. Old man Clanton’s still been bringing them some sorry beef.”

  “How many can you sell a month?”

  “Fifty.”

  “That isn’t enough. Where else can we sell them?”

  “Clanton has the army and reservation contracts tied up.”

  Chet drew a deep breath. “I know that. But if we’re going to make money, we need markets.”

  “Well, we’ll try to find more places that need beef. You got any ideas?”

  “There’s lots of mining going on up at Globe and that area,” he suggested. “They may need beef.”

  “One of us will ride up there and see what we can learn.”

  “Fellas, I am not down on you. We just need something like the Navajo contract we’ve got for the Verde Ranch until the railroad rolls in.”

  JD hung his head. “We’re trying, boss.”

  “I know you are. There’s market out there. Finding it’ll be tough because you have lots of beef producers competing with you. Clanton buys local cattle at a great discount when he can’t steal them in Mexico.”

  Bonnie came and whispered in his ear. “Can we have a party?”

  “Hey, any time you want one.”

  “We started, but I decided since you were here, I’d better get your approval.”

  He turned back. “They want a party. I said hell, yes.”

  They laughed.

  “We’ll find a market,” JD promised. “The Tucson supply should take more than fifty when people learn we have fleshy cattle.”

  “That’s six hundred a year.”

  “Yeah, Chet, but my pencil says we need three times that to make a profit.”

  Chet nodded. “I like your pencil.”

  Ortega’s Maria came by with some soapayas and honey. “I have a treat.”

  “Wonderful,” Chet said. “How are things going over here?”

  “Oh, much better since I am home. Was it alright over at Tubac?”

  “Oh, yes, but we missed you.”

  She blushed. “I am where I belong. But I worried those girls would not do all of it right.”

  “No worry, they treated us like royalty.”

  “Your wife is still the prettiest woman I know.”

  “Thank you. She still recalls the day she came there and I washed her feet.”

  Maria laughed. “That was some day.”

  “Very good. This is great,” he said, his mouth full.

  Everyone toasted her as she left. She looked pleased to be with her husband at last and helping Bonnie. In his mind she was a special woman with all she did for the Force. He’d always appreciated her.

  He and JD spent a day by themselves checking on things from the saddle. They left out early and saw lots—range conditions, water development. The alfalfa field at the artesian well was spectacular, and fenced with stake and wire fencing.

  “Bonnie did the figuring, but it amounts to fifty-two acres.”

  Chet smiled. “Hampt tell you how?”

  “May did,” JD replied with a sly grin of his own. “In a letter. He told her what to write. Really worked, too.”

  “May’s about to have another baby.”

  “She’s real happy. She never hardly said anything back in Texas. Those stepsons had her treed. You had to scold them.”

  “I recall that well. I think Ty’s about to go off to college.”

  JD shook his head. “That would be something. An educated Byrnes, huh?”

  “Wouldn’t hurt none.”

  That bright green patch of alfalfa impressed Chet. It showed what they could do out here, and how much of an effort JD had made to make the place work. They rode on talking about things.

  “These people appreciate all we’ve done. No one’s raping their wives and they get paid regular. We expanded their houses. Bonnie and Marie teach school to the children three days a week. They treasure the orchards and gardens they keep now. Only one thing bothers me . . .”

  Chet reined up his horse. “What’s that?”

  “Well, Ortega and I caught three men and a boy herding a dozen cattle for Mexico. They were rustlers. We caught them close to the border, then rode ten miles, I bet, to find a tree big enough to hang them from. I remember when the three of us hung those horse thieves up near the Red River. They were the same stamp as them. That boy would have grown up to be one, too. But—” he shook his head. “I see him in my dreams, Chet.”

  Chet nodded. “Being judge, jury, and executioner is a tough job. When those guys killed Marge’s foreman and his right-hand man, then raped a nice lady, I ran them down over at Rye and hung ’em. Some onlooker wrote it down in a newspaper. Didn’t have my name on it but might as well. Everyone knew it was me.

  “Cole said he came looking for work with the man who done that. But lots of folks hated me for it. You simply have to believe it was necessary.”

  “You ever think if we hadn’t hung those boys, it would have prevented the feud at home in Texas?”

  “No. That fight w
as inevitable. We were progressing. Living beside us, they couldn’t stand that.”

  “You mean if we hadn’t done it, we’d still have had a war?”

  Chet nodded. “I believe that. I do. A conscience is a good thing, JD. But sometimes it’s also a burden we must bear.”

  “I’m learning that. Don’t get me wrong. Bonnie and I get on our knees before we go to bed every night and pray to God. We were both headed for a bad wreck, but our faith let us get beyond it . . .” JD held his arms out wide. “And made all this happen.”

  Chet thought he might cry. He rode a good distance before he dared talk again.

  “Chet, I didn’t mean to upset you. I wanted to tell you how far the two of us have come—thanks to you.”

  “It shows the power of God. I’m just so glad you told me all this. You and Bonnie have found a special power. Keep your faith and her, too. I can see you have used all your mental and physical ability to not only make your lives better, but this ranch stronger.”

  Thanks, Lord . . .

  CHAPTER 13

  JD and Bonnie insisted they take two ranchmen with them to Mexico. Paulo and Cisco Salinas were brothers, and JD considered them two of his best men.

  Chet learned Paulo, the older of the two, had a wife and family on the ranch. Cisco, on the other hand, was a bachelor in his early twenties. Both men were pleased to be chosen to ride along and help protect the patron.

  “They’re very polite,” Liz commented when they were alone.

  Chet agreed. “It won’t hurt to have them. They know the lay of the land.”

  Two days later, they left the Diablo Ranch for Mexico and Liz’s own hacienda. The visit left Chet with a good feeling in his heart. His nephew had grown up, and his life with Bonnie looked like a very mature situation—something that had bothered him in the past now appeared settled. Their project was growing, and they would find a beef market soon, he was certain. Orchards took a long time to flourish, but when they finally reached maturity, they produced for years. He’d sleep easier in the future about the desert place. They’d conquered a big part of it.

  The sky was a deep, clear blue as the six of them and their pack train rode out for Mexico. Chet knew his wife was excited to be going home. She gave up a lot to become his wife. While she never complained, he realized this trip had been long overdue. He’d spent more time chasing down outlaws and kidnappers below the border than he had in social events. But for his part, this trip was purely social. Elizabeth wanted to show him off.

  The first night out south of the border, they stayed with a ranch family Elizabeth knew from her time here. The Valdez family was very warm and friendly, and excited to at last meet the man she’d married. With playful grins, they accused her of hiding him to keep him all to herself. Liz blushed and took him by the arm into the dining room to eat. Over dinner, the eldest daughter, Crystal, asked about the blond-headed cowboy riding with them.

  Chet told her that was Cole, but he was married. She wrinkled her nose but thanked him for the information.

  “But, Crystal, there are two single men out there. Jesus and Cisco. I can introduce them to you, if you like.”

  She shook her head and everyone laughed at her expense.

  “No, thank you, señor. But he is a very nice-looking man.”

  Chet and Elizabeth traded a knowing glance. “He is that,” Liz agreed.

  “Have they been with you long, señor?” the mother, Elaina, asked. “Your men?”

  “Oh, yes. For several years now. Jesus Martinez came first. He’s a good tracker and a very dependable young man. Cole came a few years later. He has a quick mind and is a great bodyguard as well. Both men will be foremen for me someday. The other two work for my nephew on the big ranch we have south of Tucson. He wanted us to be safe while we’re in Mexico.”

  “It is a good idea these days. We are so glad you stopped. We had heard about you before, and knew that Elizabeth had married you.”

  “Elaina, that was the best thing I have ever done, too,” Liz said.

  “My dear, I could tell when I saw your face in the yard. You’re happier than I’ve ever seen you.”

  “If you knew all the places he’s taken me, you would be amazed. As a girl I read about the Spanish explorers like Cortez who explored the lower United States. In the past two years, I have seen those places he called a great sea of grass. They’re wondrous, too. We even have a ranch near the Grand Canyon. He’s made me a road tramp and I love it.”

  “You have no fears, then, of running off the edge of the earth?” the woman teased her.

  “That would be at the Grand Canyon. It’s so deep you cannot believe it.”

  “You always were adventurous. Did you know when you first met him you would go to such places together?”

  “That I would go to those places?” Liz shook her head. “No. But I saw right off he had patience for me. He has more patience than any man I ever met.”

  “Do you grow weary of the travel?”

  “Never. We live a very exciting life. You know in the United States he is a lawman. Only a few weeks ago we went and arrested a powerful man who killed someone, and no one would arrest him.”

  “Are there shootings?”

  “Sometimes. They make me stay back and hold the horses. But I don’t miss much of it.”

  Elaina acted like she could not believe that. “Most women want to live at home and be pampered.”

  “But, Mother, think of the excitement she has,” Crystal said. “I envy her.”

  “My dear, she told you what to look for—a man with patience for you.”

  “How long will you stay at your home in Mexico?” the father asked.

  “Better ask him. He plans these trips,” Liz said with a smile.

  Chet took the safe way out. “As long as she feels she needs to stay.”

  “There, Alejandro,” Elaina said. “See why they have so much fun?”

  “My dear, he must have good help. My help would ruin this place if I was gone very long.”

  “Alejandro, he has a good foreman,” Liz said. “A great Mexican man who runs his wife’s home place, the ranch where we live. The help there is all Hispanic. They have been since her father built the place. I can’t tell you how good they are at watching out for our safety, and the safety of the ranch. They consider it and the family their responsibility.”

  “Raphael is a very intelligent man,” Chet agreed. “He doesn’t have a great education, but he knows people and how to manage them. We can do the paperwork. Last year, he figured out how to irrigate maybe ten acres, and grew enough frijoles for all my ranches and the church’s efforts to feed the poor.”

  “Maybe you can help me,” Alejandro said. “I have to tell them every day what to do.”

  “You find a man, give him the authority to ramrod the place, tell him what you want done and when. Then give him the authority to have some fiestas, too. You have the right man and he will build your force. The wrong man, you lose.”

  Alejandro nodded. “I am going to try your system.”

  His family applauded.

  “Be sure you don’t let little things they do wrong become elephants in your garden, though.”

  Alejandro laughed. “I saw one of those in Mexico City. I think I know what you mean.”

  They turned in early so as to be ready to leave at dawn. In bed that night, Liz told him, “I think you put him onto a way for him to have more free time.”

  “Only if he uses it right.”

  In the luxury of the great feather bed, they made love. Before he shut his eyes, Chet promised himself they’d have a bed like this one at both the Preskitt and the Verde Ranch to sleep in from now on.

  Two more days they rode, with no more delay than waiting for a herd of sheep to pass or getting a firewood-laden pack train of burros aside enough to go by. Finally, in the afternoon of the second day, they reached the old hacienda.

  Elizabeth’s brother-in-law, Manuel Carmel, and his bride Rickola were
waiting for them, having received a letter she’d sent before they left the Verde house.

  Rickola was a sparkling, dark-eyed girl he’d met before, but had somehow forgotten how lovely she was. Maybe marriage had brought it out of her. Liz had looked better to him after they married than she had before. His mind went back to Bonnie, another woman who had blossomed in marriage. Marge had done the same thing—

  That brought him up short. He’d not thought about Marge in ages. Flying over those high jumps—such a shame—her death came so quick.

  But the good Lord had found him Liz, and she’d filled the vacancy in his heart very well.

  He thought now, too, of Adam. How was he doing at the lower ranch? He’d bet Rhea and Victor both were spoiling him rotten. By this time in their marriage, Marge had been pregnant with him. That weighed on poor Liz, and on him, too. More than he wanted to admit, actually.

  With these thoughts still flowing through his head, Chet followed their hosts into the house to eat. The hacienda crew put up the horses and later brought their luggage in.

  As they prepared to eat, Manuel filled Elizabeth in on the family wine business and how good it was going. They had the recent crop well on its way to becoming wine already. Liz listened intently, and thanked him for the business reports he mailed her.

  Rickola stood at the meal with a glass of wine to announce that in the summer, she and Manuel would have a child. Everyone cheered.

  Chet knew the news would be like a knife in the gut to his wife, especially if her thoughts were going anywhere like his just then. There was nothing he could do, though. Somehow he had to get her over it—but that would be difficult . . . unless he could convince her that not being able to have a baby meant nothing to their relationship or how much he loved her.

  Tough business in his life—their life. He’d work harder on her about dismissing it.

  After the meal, Manuel took him on a tour of the hacienda from horseback so they could talk, man-to-man.

  “Is there any way you can talk her into selling me this place?” he asked as they rode through the well-kept vineyards and orchards.

  Chet scratched his chin, thinking. “Have you asked her if she would?”