Winterborn Ch. 04

He turned toward the other two but they were riding like hell and were quickly out of range. Dillon mounted Buck and went to examine the downed man. The bullet had hit the man in the head; there was no doubt that he was dead. As he stood up, Elizabeth rode up and dismounted.

Dillon was still keyed up from the short gun battle and grabbed Elizabeth by both shoulders. "I told you to stay mounted and out of sight," he said shaking her. "You could have been killed."

When he stopped shaking her Elizabeth slowly raised one hand and touched his cheek. "Would it have mattered to you so much if I had been Dillon?" She looked up at him as she asked the question.

Hell, Dillon said to himself. He pulled her into his arms, leaned down, and kissed her. Elizabeth put her arms around his neck and kissed him back. They kissed for what seemed forever to them but was actually only a couple of minutes.

They stepped away from each other, but not very far and Dillon slid his hands back to Elizabeth's shoulders. "I wasn't sure that you did," she said.

"Did what?"

"Love me. You haven't given any indication that you did until just now."

Dillon looked at her for a few seconds, shook his head, and smiled. "Ya I do. In spite of trying not to, I do love you."

This time it was Elizabeth that pulled Dillon to her. After another long kiss Dillon stepped back and said, "C'mon we need to get the cattle back." When she frowned Dillon kissed her on the nose. "I'll put him," he said pointing to the dead man, "on his horse. You can take him to the ranch, I'm going to trail the other two and make sure they don't double back."

Elizabeth held the horse as Dillon tied the man across his saddle. "What about the cattle?" She asked.

"You head them back to the ranch; once you get them started they'll wander toward the rest of the herd. We're not that far away. When I get back, we'll all make a trip into town and turn that one over to the Sheriff." Dillon kissed Elizabeth again just before she mounted. "Get going now," he ordered smiling at her.

"Yes sir, Mr. Gallagher, sir," she replied with a smile of her own.

Dillon watched her until a turn in the trail took her out of sight. Mounting Buck he headed north following the trail of the two remaining rustlers. After thirty minutes he lost the trail in some rocky shale. I can't be sure but I think their headed for Cassidy's spread, he thought.

It took a little over an hour for Dillon to get back to the ranch house. When he rode in he saw the horse with the dead man draped across the saddle tied to the corral fence. Everyone came out to meet him; when he dismounted Elizabeth ran over and put her arms around his waist. Well that pretty well lets the cat out of the bag Dillon thought and then smiled at her.

After a later breakfast the riders of the Triple E rode into town, leading the horse with a dead man across the saddle. They found Sheriff Jackson as he came out of his office. Dillon turned the man over to Jackson and explained what happened.

"Isn't that one of Cassidy's men?" Dillon asked with a cold tone.

"Believe he is or was I should say. Think I'll ride out and have a talk with Mr. Cassidy," Jackson replied. "I'll take him to the undertakers and ride out to the Circle C tomorrow morning."

Eleanor suggested that they pick up their supplies that day. She also said they should stay the night at the hotel because they'd got such a late start for town. Smiling she added, "We can have supper at the café. It'll be nice to let someone else do the cooking for a change."

The next morning at 9 they met in the lobby of the hotel. Everyone was there except Elizabeth. "Where's Elizabeth?" Dillon asked. "Is she still getting dressed?"

The desk clerk spoke up saying, "Miss Edwards said to tell you she was over to the general store if you came down before she got back. She said she forgot something yesterday?"

"I'll go meet her," Dillon said to Eleanor. "Y'all get the horses and meet us at the mercantile." He quickly walked out of the hotel and toward the store. Dillon wasn't running but was walking much faster than normal. He had a bad feeling about Elizabeth being alone.

Just before he got to the mercantile he passed a gangway between two buildings and heard an angry shout and a woman's muffled outcry. He hurried down the gangway until it ended in a small space bordered by two buildings and a fence.

Elizabeth was being held from behind by a man who was struggling to keep her under control. Facing her was another man that Dillon recognized as one of Cassidy's riders; a man named Riley. The men hadn't noticed Dillon yet.

"We gonna rough you up a bit girl," Riley said. "And you can tell Gallagher he's next."

"Tell me yourself Riley. I'm right here," Dillon said with steel in his voice.

Riley spotted Dillon for the first time and the man holding Elizabeth turned his head toward Dillon. As he turned, Elizabeth stomped down on his right foot with her boot heel. He released the girl and bent over to grab his foot. When he bent over, Elizabeth kneed the man in the face. He went down with blood spurting from his nose.

She reached down and pulled a knife from her boot and turned to face Riley. As she turned, he backhanded her across her face knocking her to the ground. Before Riley could get set, Dillon was on him. With a roar, he picked the man up and threw him into a wall and as Riley bounced off Dillon met him with a left uppercut and then a short right hand. Riley fell to the ground.

Dillon turned as the first man got to his knees and began to stand up. Two quick steps brought Dillon close enough to kick him in the head. The man went down again and stayed there. Dillon turned back to Riley as he stood and knocked him back into the wall again. When Riley hit the wall he drew his pistol but before he could get it up Dillon pulled his own pistol and brought the barrel down across the man's forearm.

The blow broke Riley's arm and he dropped his gun. Dillon holstered his weapon and hit Riley with another right hand. As the man fell back against the wall Dillon followed him in and began to hit him with both hands. Every time Riley started fall or sag Dillon would pull him upright, prop him against the wall, and hit him again and again.

Oso came running down the gangway and shouted at Dillon. "You're going to kill him Dillon."

Dillon was in a battle rage and didn't hear his friend. He had been cold and collected when he saw the two men holding Elizabeth. But when Riley hit her, Dillon's only thought was to make the man pay dearly for hurting her.

Oso was afraid that Dillon was going to beat the man to death so he stepped over and grabbed Dillon in his big arms and held him. He didn't care about Riley but he didn't want Dillon to go to jail for murder. Oso picked Dillon up off his feet and started walking backwards away from Riley. As soon as Oso stopped Dillon, Riley fell to the ground; his face was a bloody mess.

Dillon was so far into his rage that he didn't realize it was Oso holding him. He slipped his hand down and started to draw his pistol. Elizabeth had regained her feet and stepped in front of Dillon.

"I'm okay Dillon, I'm okay," she said as she put her hand on his to stop him from drawing his gun. "That's Oso holding you. It's okay you can stop fighting now. I'm okay Dillon."

Elizabeth's voice and her hand on his got through to Dillon and he stopped struggling. His eyes came back into focus and he saw Elizabeth in front of him. Dillon shook his head to clear it and as he relaxed Oso let him go. Dillon slumped and almost fell before catching himself.

He put his hand on the side of Elizabeth's face, frowning at the cut on her cheek. Dillon looked at the two men on the ground and sighed. "Better send for the Sheriff," he said to Oso.

The big man examined both the downed men. "They're not a pretty sight but they're still breathing." He patted Dillon on the back and left to fetch Jackson.

"Are you alright?" Elizabeth asked as she stepped into Dillon looking him in his eyes as she put her arms around his waist.

Dillon nodded his head slowly and looked at the two men. "I've never felt like that before." He took a deep breath and looked down at Elizabeth. "I was ready for trouble when I came back here. But when Riley hit you I lost all control. All I wanted to do was kill them with my bare hands."

Elizabeth leaned up and kissed him. "Thank you Sir Knight for saving me," she said with a smile.

Before Dillon could respond, Eleanor and Ethan came to join them. Both were carrying a shotgun held at the ready. Eleanor took in the situation asked, "Are you two okay? Where's Oso?"

"I'm right here Senora," Oso answered as he walked down the gangway. Sheriff Jackson was with him.

Jackson saw the two men on the ground and examined them to see if they were alive. He came back to Dillon and Elizabeth and asked if they were okay. Before they could answer he yelled at one of the people standing at the entrance to the gangway to fetch Doc Reynolds. Turning back he handed Dillon a hip flask.

"Medicinal whiskey," Jackson said. "Looks like you both could use a dose." At the surprised looks from them, he smiled saying, "I always carry a little taste; you never know when you'll need it."

Dillon returned the smile and handed the flask to Elizabeth. She took a healthy dose of the medicine and Dillon did the same. Jackson motioned to Oso and the big man decided he needed the medicine too and took a drink. Oso handed the flask back to the Sheriff.

Jackson said, "Sometimes I feel the need for a dose too." He took a drink from the flask and put it away. "Now, y'all care to tell me what happened here?"

"These two grabbed me as I was coming out of the mercantile and pulled back here," Elizabeth said. "They said they were going to rough me up to persuade us to leave. That's when Dillon showed up." As she talked she took several steps back toward the man that had been holding her and squatted down near him.

Dillon thought she was going to be sick or was hurt more than they thought and took two steps toward her. Eleanor came toward her also. Elizabeth held up her hand stopping them and stood up. She held up her knife to Dillon and smiled. Wiping the knife on her riding skirt she put in back into her boot.

"Didn't want to forget that," she said. Continuing her story she explained that Dillon distracting the men allowed her to get away from the one holding her. "The other one tried to draw his gun and Dillon was forced to stop him. That's about it Mr. Jackson."

"That right Dillon? Riley drew on you."

Before Dillon could answer Doctor Reynolds came hurrying down the gangway with the coat tails of his frock coat streaming out behind him. Doctor Reynolds was 5' 6, squat, and grizzled. He was close to 60 years old with a flowing grey mustache and sideburns. He looks more like a banker or store keeper, Dillon thought. He had to smile at the picture. Doc Reynolds' assistant trailed behind him.

He motioned to his assistant and they each looked at one of the men on the ground. After a short examination the doctor came back to Elizabeth and looked at her.

"Hello Elizabeth my dear. Been playing a little rough have we?" He smiled and looked up at her; she was almost three inches taller than the doctor. His smile faded when he saw her face. Elizabeth had a cut on her cheek, a split lip, and the whole side of her face was red and beginning to swell where Riley hit her.

"Don't worry little one, you'll be fine," Reynolds said reassuring her, Eleanor, and mostly Dillon. "You'll have a hell of a bruise, excuse my language, on the side of your face. We need to get a cool wet rag on that cheek. The cuts will heal up just fine without leaving a scar." He turned to Eleanor. "Make sure you treat those cuts with coal oil Eleanor," he ordered. "Now Mr. Gallagher let's have a look at you."

"I'm okay Doc," Dillon objected.

"Do you normally walk around with blood on your hands young man?" Reynolds said pointing.

Dillon held his hands up and saw several cuts oozing blood. His hands were also beginning to swell. "I never noticed them," he said to the doctor.

Reynolds turned to Jackson and said, "Give me that flask you always carry Charley." He shook the flask to see how much was in it, took a big drink, and poured the rest of it on Dillon's hands. Dillon gasped and winced at the sting of the whiskey.

"Same for his hands Eleanor. Treat them with coal oil a couple of times a day. It'll stop infection and help them heal," he ordered. "Jacob get someone to help you get these two over to my office," he ordered his assistant. "Good bye all," he said and walked away.

Sheriff Jackson shook his empty flask and watched the doctor scurry away. Turning to Dillon he said, "As you know the Edwards and I are good friends, have been for years. Thank you for helping them; that makes you a friend also. My given name is Charley."

"Yes sir, I know. And I'd be happy to consider you as a friend."

"Good. I have a question for you, not as the Sheriff but as your friend." Dillon nodded and Charley asked, "Did you have to beat them so bad?"

"Between friends Charley?" This time Charley nodded and Dillon added, "When I saw Riley hit Elizabeth, I got crazy mad. I lost control and if Oso hadn't pulled me off, I would have killed him."

Charley looked at Elizabeth and Dillon and saw that they were never separated by more than arms length. When they looked at each other, their eyes told the whole story. He said with a grin, "Remind me not to get you that riled up."

Dillon returned the grin and said, "Now I've got a question for you. Riley and probably this other one works for Cassidy. So did the rustler I shot. Have you talked to Cassidy?"

Charley bristled for a second and then realized that Dillon wasn't criticizing him, he just wanted information. "I did talk to him. Cassidy said that he'd fired that rustler and two others a couple of weeks before. And I bet when I talk to him about Riley and Marsh, he'll either say he fired them or that they acted on their own. Our Mr. Cassidy is very slippery."

Dillon's eyes blazed for a second and Charley added "Don't go off half cocked Dillon. If you do something outside the law I'd have to come after you. I wouldn't want to have to do that. Besides you've got a reason not to hit the outlaw trail now." Charley pointed at Elizabeth.

"Y'all get out of here now I've got things to do. As soon as Doc tends to them I've got two prisoners to jail. The circuit judge will be here in two weeks. I think those boys will be guests at the Territorial Prison for quite a spell. "

Oso mumbled something to himself about letting the men go so he could deal with them. "I'll give you the same advice I gave Dillon, Oso. Don't do anything outside the law," Jackson said.

Ethan brought up the horses and they started back to the ranch. On the ride home the only way Elizabeth and Dillon couldn't have been any closer is if they'd been on the same horse. They rode side by side and talked quietly for most of the ten miles back to the Triple E.

That evening after supper they had their almost daily meeting to discuss their plans and the situation. Dillon had thought of something on the way back from town.

"Cassidy must be getting impatient, he's pushing harder to get you to sell out, Eleanor." Dillon paused and then asked, "There's five bedrooms in the house, right Eleanor?" She nodded and Dillon said, "I think Oso should bunk in the house. If a raid comes both he and I could get cornered in the bunkhouse which leaves you all alone. Oso and I can take turns standing four hour watches at night."

Oso went to the bunkhouse to get some of his things. Dillon said good night to Eleanor and Ethan. Elizabeth walked with him to the end of the breezeway and kissed him good night. Dillon passed Oso on his way to the bunkhouse and said, "Hang a shirt or something out of the window so I'll know which bedroom is yours. I can knock on the window when it's your watch."

"Want me to take the first watch, amigo?"

"No, I'm still worked up over what went on in town. I don't think I could sleep anyway so I'll take the first watch and wake you when I get tired. Okay?" Oso nodded and continued on to the ranch house.

Dillon had a lot to think about as he walked around the bunkhouse, barn, and main house during his watch. He was concerned about his loss of control in town. I almost killed Riley and didn't realize it, he thought. His thoughts went from the fight to Elizabeth. I love her he told himself with a little smile. Emma and I had something special but I never felt this way about her. I knew that someday we'd go our own way but I can't picture not being with Elizabeth.

For four hours Dillon prowled around the area. He was still keyed up so he let Oso sleep and continued on watch. Dillon finally put his mind at ease and calmed down around 3 AM; he been on watch for seven hours. He knocked on Oso's window and joined the big man as he came out of the house.

"Why didn't you wake me sooner?" Oso asked.

"I couldn't sleep. No need for both of us to miss our beauty sleep," Dillon replied. "And in your case you need as much beauty sleep as you can get."

Oso pretended to be hurt, laughed and asked, "What time do you want me to wake you?"

"Let me sleep until 7 or so. I don't want to miss out on one of Eleanor's breakfast. Tonight you can have the first watch."

That evening after supper, Dillon was stuffed with Eleanor's good cooking and he had trouble staying awake. He laughed at himself thinking, I can't run all night every night anymore. Must be getting old. Dillon said good night around 8 and went to the bunkhouse leaving Oso to stand the first watch. He could see the path to the bunkhouse very easily because of the full moon.

Comanche Moon is what the folks in Texas call it Dillon remembered. The Comanche like to attack by the light. If Cassidy raids the ranch I hope he does it under a full moon; it makes it easier to see them. He undressed and climbed into his bed. Won't have any trouble sleeping tonight, he thought just before he closed his eyes.

A couple of hours later Dillon heard the door to the bunkhouse open; it had one squeaky hinge. He reached down slowly and picked up the pistol that he had laid on the floor next to his bed. Dillon could see a figure in the doorway backlit by the light from the full moon.

"Stand where you are. I've got the drop on you," he said cocking his pistol. He reached over to the lamp and turned up the wick. The light from the lamp allowed him to see the intruder. It was Elizabeth that stood in the doorway.

"Damn girl, I almost shot you," he greeted her.

"I didn't get to spend much time with you tonight so I thought I'd come down here," she said with a nervous smile.

"Elizabeth," Dillon replied in sort of a scolding way. "You don't need to be here. It wouldn't look right."

"I don't care what it looks like. We're going to be married so what difference does it make?"

"We are?" Dillon asked in surprise.

"Of course we are. You don't think I let just any old cowboy that rides through take liberties with me, do you?" She said teasing him; then in a more serious tone said, "Please can I stay?"

Elizabeth was wearing a thick robe which she untied and dropped to the floor. She had on a night gown that came down below her knees; it did nothing to hide her charms. She also wore her boots. Dillon had to smile at the boots.

"Does Eleanor know you're here?" He asked.

"Momma's the one that told me to put on my boots. She said the ground would be cold," Elizabeth answered with a chuckle.

Maybe some gentleman could resist her, but that ain't me, Dillon thought. He pulled back the covers inviting her into the bed. She quickly took off her boots and joined him.