Chapter 16

“Okay! This isn’t funny anymore!” Damian yelled from his perch on top of the skittish mare.

“Susie here can smell fear from a mile away. Don’t fidget so much or she’ll start to bucking and we’ll never get you off of her,” Colt cautioned.

“So I’m supposed to sit stock-still on this horse? For how long?” Damian clutched the pommel of the saddle so hard his knuckles began to turn white.

“Eh, a couple hours’ll do ya,” Colt said with a wave of his hand.

Bliss stood beside Clint and watched as Damian shifted nervously in the saddle. Susie stood in the middle of the corral, munching lazily on the hay they had placed on the ground in front of her. The horse was nearly twenty-three years old and was about to die any day now. The last thing on her mind was throwing a fit. If Damian wasn’t such a horrible judge of horses and their age, he would know that. The man couldn’t tell a stallion from a gelding, let alone the age and capabilities of a mare.

Clint leaned over and whispered in her ear. “You think this is a good idea?”

“Susie won’t move. She was Momma’s horse and was trained to stay where her rider dismounted and not budge. That’s how we found Momma out there under that mesa,” Bliss answered him.

Clint nodded. They watched Damian fidget for a moment, and then Clint turned back to her.

“Wait. Are you saying that this horse stood under that mesa right where your momma dismounted?” he asked.

Bliss nodded and realization hit her. “If I can locate where we found her horse, we can see how she got to the top of that mesa.”

Clint nodded.

*****

Clint saw a spark light behind Miss Cooper’s eyes as she came to the realization that she could get to the top of the mesa she thought held the answers to her questions.

For a split second, Clint inwardly smiled at her enthusiasm before he caught himself.

Don’t you dare attach yourself, Clint Slade. That’s the last thing you need on this pathetic, desperate job

.

The light in her eyes dimmed.

“I can’t remember where we found Susie, though.”

Clint shrugged. “Ask your father.”

Miss Cooper shook her head. “He won’t talk about it. He hasn’t spoken a word about Momma’s death to me or the circumstances surrounding it in eleven years.”
|Clint sighed. Sherman Cooper loved keeping things from his daughter, didn’t he?

“Grace might know something,” Miss Cooper offered.

“You work on her then, I’m going to find out a few things from this father of yours,” Clint decided aloud.

Miss Cooper shook her head. “He won’t tell you anything. He doesn’t tell me, he won’t tell you.”
Clint sighed. “If there’s one thing I’ve found, it’s that people tend to answer a gunman when he asks them something.”

*****

Colt grinned as Damian finally found the courage to jump off Susie and run to the corral fence. Susie simply stood and watched as he clambered over the fence like a man half his age. Flustered, Damian dusted his clothes off and glanced back at the horse, chewing on few blades of hay lazily.

“There’s nothing dangerous about that horse,” he proclaimed.

Colt furrowed his brows. “Oh, I must have got Susie here confused with another horse.”

Damian rolled his eyes and Colt smiled.

“We’re even now,” Colt said as he turned to glance at Clint, only to find the man preoccupied with Bliss.

The stood close together, whispering to each other about a matter that seemed serious according to their facial expressions.

He was too close to her. Another half an inch and they would touch. Bliss snapped her fingers and looked up at Clint with a smile spread across her face. Colt felt his heart hitch.

No, no, no.

He clenched his fists at his sides.

“Ooo,” Damian grinned. “You’re jealous of that man, aren’t you? You think he’ll take your lady love away?”

Colt turned to him and glowered. “Stay out of this, Jeremiah. She‘s not mine.”

Damian put up his hands. “Hey, if you want to stand by silently and watch him slowly take her from you, and then go right on ahead. Men like Clint usually get what they want anyway.”

Colt rolled his eyes. “What are you talking about?”

“Haven’t you read up on Clint Slade? He’s got experience and all the women he wants. I’ve heard that he sweeps them off their feet without them even knowing it,” Damian told him.

“That’s ridiculous.”

“It came straight from his mouth. I read it in a dime novel,” Damian defended.

“Those things are made up, Jeremiah,” Colt narrowed his eyes and couldn’t resist a smile. “You read those things, do you?”

Damian huffed and waved him off with his hand. “The point is, those writer try to interviews Mr. Slade before they write their stories. They have to have something new about him so their novel stand out from the others. Most of these things come from Mr. Slade’s own mouth.”

Colt eyed Clint. “He doesn’t seem like the type to brag about his skills with women.”

“I’m a journalist. I know these things. Have I ever steered you wrong?” Damian asked.

Colt directed his gaze back at Damian. Yes, the man had steered him wrong on several occasions. “Have you already forgotten that you nearly flattened me against the barn wall less than an hour ago?”

Damian nodded his head. “Fine. You don’t have to listen to me, but don’t say I didn’t warn you when you end up old and lonely… without Bliss.”

Colt crossed his arms across his chest, Damian’s words nagging at him inside.

He couldn’t afford to lose Bliss… not after she had stolen his whole heart away from him.

*****

Bliss relaxed against her pillows that night, reading one of the dime novels she had found on Clint Slade. Grace would have her hide if she knew she had a pulp fiction book in the house, but she couldn’t deny her curiosity.

Clint Slade had one man to kill. A man unlike any other. A man that no other gunfighter, try as they might, could defeat. A man who would sooner shoot a man than listen to what he had to say. A man that went by the name of Hickory Hayes. Two thousand dollars convinced the heroic Clint Slade that he could take the man down easily. All he needed was a well thought out plan, which wasn’t as easy to come by as one would think, especially when Clint had more on his mind than his job at this point.

The book went on to speak of Vivian Lockhart, a beautiful damsel that had occupied every thought of Clint’s mind. He was thoroughly enraptured by her charming beauty and mysterious ways.

A knock sounded at the door and Bliss jumped. She slammed the book closed and shoved it under her pillow.

“Come in,” she said.

Grace poked her head through the door. “Did I wake you?”

Bliss shook her head and Grace entered the room and closed the door.

“Something wrong?” Bliss asked.

Grace shook her head. “No, not really. I was just wondering what Minnie said about Jim Clancy’s new bride. Was she indeed as horrific as she sounded?”

Bliss smirked. “I didn’t see her, but I’ve never know Minnie to describe a person wrongly. She’s more than likely after his money.”

“What a shame. Jim was such a lonely man. He couldn’t have seen through her in his current state,” Grace shook her head.

“Maybe someone will catch her before she runs away with his money,” Bliss sighed.

Grace nodded and stood. “Maybe so. Well, I’ll let you get to sleep. You’ve had a long day. Can I get you anything?”

“No, thanks. I would like to talk to you about something, if you don’t mind,” Bliss said.

Grace sat back down and looked at her. “I don’t mind at all.”

Bliss took a deep breath. “Do you remember where you found Susie when you found mother dead?”

Grace stared at her strangely. “That’s an odd question.”

“I know. Please humor me?”

Grace took a deep breath and thought a moment. “Seems like it was on that east side. She had thrown the lead rope around that tall Saguaro cactus.”

Bliss nodded. “Thank you.”

“Why were you wanting to know?” Grace asked.

Bliss shrugged. “You know that Daddy doesn’t tell me much.”

Grace patted her hand. “I know. Someday he’ll tell you all you need to know. I think we’re just waiting on the time when he’s ready.”

“It’s a shame that he has had to hurt for so long. I know that he misses Momma, but he needs to talk about her to… keep her alive,” Bliss stated.

Grace sighed. “I know, I know. Some day he’ll be ready. You just have to be patient.”

Bliss nodded.

Grace stood and walked out of the room, shutting her door with the least amount of sound as possible.

Bliss lay back on her pillow and hugged her quilt up close to her, breathing a heavy sigh.

Her thoughts were turned away from the dime novel under her pillow as they steered in the direction of self-pity. Bliss blew out the lamp and sent her room into utter darkness.

*****

Clint woke up bright and early that next morning, He would get some information from Sherman then he and Miss Cooper would head out to Almighty in pursuit of answers.

In all truthfulness, this was the first day he hadn’t dreaded in a long time. He gave the credit for that to the people of the Dottie Belle Ranch. Not because he was attached to them, but because they weren’t tiresome to be around.

He got up, rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and indulged in a stretch. He pulled on his pants, buckled his belt, buttoned his shirt and tucked it in, threw on his gun belt, and grabbed his hat before running a comb through his unruly hair to keep it out of his face and exiting the room. Clint was just about to shut the door when he noticed his bare feet. Rolling his eyes at his forgetfulness, he went back into his room and pulled on his socks and boots. He didn’t bother to shave this morning, but he knew that no one would mind.

The Coopers and Damian were all gathered around the breakfast table, waiting for Grace to finish cooking what smelled like pancakes and bacon. Clint noticed that Damian was moving mighty stiff this morning, and the sight nearly pleased him. Miss Cooper caught sight of him and she beamed. He didn’t know what made her so happy this morning, but that smile didn’t look so bad on her pretty little face.

“Good morning, Mr. Slade,” She greeted.

Clint nodded as the others turned to look at him. Sherman nodded and Damian hardly made a sound, more than likely still upset with him about yesterday’s debacle. If anyone had the right to be holding a grudge, it was Clint and Colt.

As if on cue, Colt entered the house through the back door.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said. “I got caught up in the barn. You’ll never guess what new additions we have in the barn.”

“Did that fat old cat have kittens?” Sherman asked.

Colt pursed his lips. “You guessed it. Four of them to be exact.”

“Awe!” Miss Cooper shrieked. “We’ll have to send a couple home with Mason once they get old enough. His mother has been wanting a couple of cats to get the mice in their barn.”

Sherman nodded. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

“Sit down, ya’ll. I’ve got these pancakes nice and hot for ya,” Grace placed a tall mountain of pancakes on the table. “I’ll be right back with the bacon and the maple syrup.”

Everyone took their places at the table and Grace returned with the items she promised. A steaming heap of bacon filled the air with their aroma and the maple syrup sat right beside it in all its amber-colored glory.

Everyone waited until Grace was seated and demanded a prayer to be spoken over the food.

“Colt, will you do the honors?” she asked.

Colt nodded.

After a quick prayer, the table lit up with conversation as plates were filled with the delicious items.

“So tell me more details about town. How did you like it, Mr. Slade?” Sherman asked, changing the subject.

Clint gulped and looked at Miss Cooper, who did nothing but raise one eyebrow teasingly and shove a triangle of pancake into her mouth to hide a smile.

“I liked it fine, I reckon,” Clint answered.

“He had the pleasure of meeting up with Sam and Clark, Daddy,” Miss Cooper stated.

Sherman let out a bellowing laugh. “It was bound to happen? What did they do to you, son?”

Clint took a long drink of the steaming coffee in his cup before answering. “I’m sorry to say that this wasn’t my first time meeting up with those two coots. If I’d followed their directions when I first came out here, I’d be on the shores of the Pacific by now.”

Damian laughed. “I kind of like these fellows.”

Clint scowled at him.

“Clark couldn’t hear thunder, bless his heart. The doctors have given up on him, so I guess that Sam will have to accompany him wherever he goes for the rest of his life,” Sherman said, pity in his voice.

“That poor man,” Grace said.

“I don’t think he minds. Seems to me they enjoy each other’s company,” Miss Cooper said with a smile.

Colt, who was sitting beside Miss Cooper, leaned closer to Clint where he was sitting directly across from him. “In my opinion, we should chop off a little piece of California and let them float away on it.”

“Colt! What a horrid thing to say,” Grace chided.

“They’d hardly notice anyway. Those two live for one checker game right after another,” Colt defended.

Miss Cooper looked at Clint and shook her head at the nonsense going on around them. Clint shrugged his shoulders and took another drink of his coffee.

“Well, did these young whippersnappers keep you in line, Damian?” Sherman asked.

Damian looked beside him to Clint. “I think it was the other way around.”

Clint snorted sarcastically, and Miss Cooper held her teacup up just enough to cover her mouth, which was more than likely indulging in yet another grin. That woman was smiling an awful lot this morning.

“Well, you and Bliss argued most of the time, Clint. Maybe not verbally, but it was indeed implied through your mannerisms,” Damian defended himself.

Clint looked across at Colt and Miss Cooper. “That’s a fib and you know it.”

“Sure it is. Because no one’s gonna believe the old coot, huh?” Damian stabbed his fork into his stack of pancakes.

Clint didn’t reply to that, and neither did Bliss or Colt. They all knew that this would soon lead to a discussion about the events of the night in the saloon, and they were all planning on keeping that a secret. Clint didn’t know how Sherman would react if he found out that his best friend and his daughter’s bodyguard had got themselves drunk instead of tending to the business they were sent to do.

Once breakfast was finished, the ladies began to clear the table and Clint stood, facing Sherman.

“I’d like to have a talk with you, Sherman, if you have a minute,” he said.

Sherman nodded. “Sure thing.”

They turned to walk out of the kitchen and down the hall, and Clint sent a glance to Miss Cooper over his shoulder. She held up her crossed fingers quickly before returning them to their place by her side.

Clint followed Sherman out onto the front porch and the chilly morning air. The ranch was buzzing with cowboys going about their morning duties, taking advantage of the cooler weather.

“What’s on your mind, Clint?” Sherman asked.

Clint took a deep breath. “I’m going to need some more information if I’m to go ahead with trying to find the men who keep sending these notes.”

“Speaking of which, there’s something that I need to tell you,” Sherman said, reaching in his pocket. “Another note came while you were gone.”

He pulled out a piece of paper and held it out to Clint. Clint read its contents and found yet another threat of Miss Cooper’s life.

“Who is ‘S.R.’?” Clint asked.

“That’s what I need to tell you. I believe that Seth Ryder is the one who is sending these notes.”

Clint’s senses grew alert. This was what he had feared. The man he was after was one that he couldn’t get much information on.

“Seth Ryder? The man that no one will tell me about,” Clint shook his head.

“I’m not sure how much I am going to let you know about this situation yet, but in the meantime I want you to keep this a secret. My daughter must not know about his signature or this note. Is that understood?” Sherman asked.

Clint nodded. “Did it ever occur to you that she might be of some help? If she knew this man well, she could tell us if he had any tendencies, any weaknesses, any flaws, maybe even a place where we could find him.”

“No,” Sherman shook his head. “We can’t let her know about this.”

Clint sighed. “What do you want me to do?”

“Keep your eyes peeled for a suspicious character. Be ever watchful of my baby girl, okay?” Sherman took on an authoritative tone.

Clint nodded.

“If anything happens to her, you won’t see a penny of what I owe you. You better be watching her.”

Clint had never seen the man’s eyes turn so serious before.

Good. This was what he needed from them. He needed them to be on their guard at all times.

Now he had to find a way to make Miss Cooper be extra careful without letting on about the note and the different kind of danger she was in.

One thing was for certain.

He had to find out more about this Seth Ryder.

Soon.

So I wrote for a while yesterday and wrote this whole chapter! I'm quite proud of myself! :D

What do you guys think of Colt Kidd?

Interesting tidbit: This story is actually a redo of one of my previous stories I have written on loose-leaf paper in a drawer in my desk entitled "Ties that Bind my Heart". The hero's name had been Cody Kidd, the bodyguard of our heroine's father's arch enemy, and is in fact nothing like our hero Clint. The heroine's name was Eva Mitchell, the sweet, innocent daughter of a drunken ranch owner who was nothing but trouble. In a cliché turn of events, Cody and Eva are thrown together and must work on the same side to put the feud to rest. Looking back I see just how much I changed the storyline in this book, and probably shouldn't even call it a rewrite! This is funny because my other story here on Wattpad called "Still My Heart" is a rewrite of the prequel to "Ties that Bind my Heart" that was called "The Battle of my Heart". The sequel to "Still My Heart" is a rewrite of another book in this series! (These two books turned into a seven-part series and yes, they are all in the bottom drawer of my desk along with three other books.) One of these days I'll come up with an idea I haven't already thought of!!