Chapter 10 - Maggie Reed Walked Away
The Red River had become a wall of brown water.
By noon the riders could hear it before they saw it.
The river tore at its banks, carrying limbs, brush, and entire sections of fence downstream.
Levi stopped on the ridge.
“We don't cross that.”
Silas's expression hardened.
“We wait.”
The scout shook his head.
“Could be three days.”
“Could be one.”
“Could be five.”
Behind them thousands of cattle shifted restlessly.
Maggie stood beside the wagon.
“How much grazing?”
Levi looked across the surrounding land.
“Two days good. Maybe three.”
Silas looked at her.
“Food?”
“For men?”
“Yes.”
“If portions stay normal, six days.”
“And reduced?”
“Eight.”
“Ten?”
Maggie shook her head.
“Not without making riders weak.”
Silas's mouth tightened.
Old habits returned quickly.
“What if—”
“No.”
He glared.
“I hadn't asked.”
“You were about to suggest smaller breakfast.”
Cole coughed to hide a laugh.
Silas ignored him.
Maggie unfolded a rough map.
“There was a trading post here.”
Levi crouched beside her.
“Closed two years ago.”
“Building still there?”
“Probably.”
“Cellar?”
Levi thought.
“Maybe.”
Maggie looked at Noah.
“You and Billy ride there.”
Silas interrupted.
“You give orders now?”
Maggie looked at him.
“You gave me control of provisions.”
“Provisions. Not riders.”
Levi said, “She's right.”
Silas looked at him.
Levi shrugged.
“You rehired her.”
Noah and Billy left.
The rain returned that evening.
Not heavy.
Enough to make everything miserable.
Maggie served thick bean stew and one biscuit per man.
Nobody complained.
Cole ate near the wagon.
“You're exhausted.”
“So are you.”
“I only have to ride.”
“I only have to feed two hundred people.”
He smiled.
“Exactly.”
Silence settled comfortably.
Then Cole said, “When this drive ends, what will you do?”
“Work.”
“You always say that.”
“It's usually accurate.”
“What if you didn't have to?”
Maggie looked at him.
“Everyone has to.”
“You know what I mean.”
She did.
And that frightened her.
Cole continued.
“You could open something.”
“A restaurant?”
“Maybe.”
“With four dollars?”
“You have more than four now.”
“Not restaurant money.”
“I could invest.”
Maggie's expression changed.
Cole immediately regretted the phrasing.
“I don't mean charity.”
“Good.”
“I mean business.”
She studied him.
“You trust my cooking that much?”
“I trust you.”
The rain tapped softly against canvas.
Maggie looked away.
“Careful, Mr. Whitaker.”
“About what?”
“Saying things you'll have to stand behind later.”
Cole's voice softened.
“I'm getting better at that.”
Before she could answer, hoofbeats approached.
Noah and Billy returned after midnight.
They were soaked.
But smiling.
Noah jumped down.
“You're going to kiss me.”
“I doubt it.”
“The trading post has food.”
Maggie stepped forward.
“What?”
“Not much, but there's a storage cellar. Beans. Cornmeal. Salt. Maybe oats.”
“How old?”
“Some sacks look fine.”
Levi joined them.
“Owner?”
“Place is abandoned.”
Silas said, “Then load it.”
Maggie shook her head.
“Not yet.”
Everyone looked.
“Why?”
“Because abandoned doesn't mean ownerless.”
Silas stared at her.
“We need supplies.”
“We need to know who they belong to.”
“By the time we find that out, we may be starving.”
Maggie looked at Noah.
“Any papers?”
“A sign inside. Property of Jacob Bell.”
Levi frowned.
“I know Bell. Rancher fifteen miles west.”
Silas sighed.
“Send someone.”
Cole volunteered.
Maggie said, “I'll go.”
Silas laughed once.
“No.”
Maggie folded her arms.
“I know what we need.”
“So does Cole.”
“I know what it's worth.”
Silas looked at her.
“You intend to negotiate.”
“Yes.”
“With my money?”
“With the kitchen budget you agreed I control.”
Cole smiled.
Silas looked from one to the other.
He appeared to regret every decision that had led to this moment.
“Fine.”
At dawn Maggie and Cole rode west.
It was the first time they had been alone away from camp.
For the first several miles, neither mentioned the conversation from the previous evening.
Then Cole said, “You never answered.”
“About what?”
“What happens after the drive?”
“I told you.”
“Work.”
“Yes.”
“You don't want anything else?”
Maggie stared ahead.
Wanting was dangerous.
She wanted a home.
A small kitchen that did not travel on wheels.
A porch.
A garden.
A room Noah could return to even after he built a life elsewhere.
She wanted to wake one morning and not calculate whether she could afford supper.
And lately, against her better judgment, she had begun wanting a certain dark-haired cattleman to appear near whatever coffee pot she happened to own.
But she said only, “Wanting and having aren't the same.”
Cole replied, “Sometimes having starts with saying what you want.”
She looked at him.
“And what do you want?”
He smiled slightly.
“I was hoping you'd ask.”
Before he could answer, they saw smoke ahead.
A farmhouse.
Jacob Bell's ranch.
And tied outside was a horse Maggie recognized.
Harlan Voss's horse.
Cole saw it too.
His hand tightened around the reins.
Maggie whispered, “Don't do anything foolish.”
Cole looked at her.
“I was about to say the same to you.”
They dismounted.
Inside that farmhouse waited not just stolen supplies.
There were contracts.
Letters.
Bank notes.
May you like
And proof that Harlan Voss had not been acting alone.
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