The men hunkered down and plugged their ears as the dam exploded with an earth-shattering blast and a shower of dirt and pebbles. Water gushed downstream, slowing as it spread.
Blake’s hired hands mounted up again. Their boss didn’t speak as they turned around and headed toward the Dollarhide Ranch. Logan waited until he was sure they were out of sight. Then he walked slowly back along the creek to the house.
This time, at least, he’d averted an all-out act of war. But he’d learned three hard lessons this morning. First, even a minor misunderstanding could touch off an explosion of violence. Second, now that he’d lost Webb as an ally, he had no protection from either side. And third—something Kristin had warned him about—nobody who crossed Webb Calder could be allowed to go unpunished.
* * *
Joseph and his three friends had left their horses at the mouth of a narrow canyon and hiked up to a small, spring-fed waterfall at the top. There was no place to swim, but sitting on the rocks, with the spray misting the air around them, was just the thing on a hot summer day.
Although they didn’t speak of it, a sense of growing apart hung over them all. The secret of the illegal shipments and ill-gotten pay had sown a separate and different darkness in each of them.
“I keep looking for that damned black ribbon on the fence.” Buck finished the apple he’d been eating and tossed the core into the brush. “I’ve spent all the money I earned. I need to make more. When’s it going to happen?”
“What the hell did you spend it on?” Cully asked. “You’re too young for those whores that work at Jake’s.”
“I didn’t throw it away on a good time,” Buck said. “I bought a gun. A forty-four. The cowboy I bought it off even threw in a couple boxes of ammo.”
“So what do you plan to do with it, rob a bank?” Joseph asked.
Buck shrugged. “For now, I’ll just keep it—look at it, maybe practice a little. It feels good to know I’ll have it when I need it.”
“Just don’t let your mother find it,” Chase said, “or that gun will be gone before you can say ‘Jack Robinson.’”
“You won’t tell on me, will you, Chase?” Buck demanded. “You say one word, and I know enough other stuff to get you in trouble.”
“You think I’d squeal on a friend?” Chase tossed a pebble into the water. “You’ll never have to worry about me. None of you will.”
“We are friends, aren’t we?” Joseph had always admired Chase, despite the sense of entitlement that went with being the Calder heir. “So why do you think our fathers hate each other so much?”
“I don’t think they really hate each other,” Chase said. “They’re like two stallions fighting over a herd. They do it because it’s their nature, and because they both want to win. And sometimes, just like the stallions, they go too far and hurt each other.”
“Do you think we’ll be like that when we grow up?” Joseph had found himself thinking about that time, when he’d be the one in charge of the ranch, the mill, and maybe the Hollister Ranch as well. He didn’t like to think about his father being gone. But otherwise, he found the idea exciting.
“I hope we won’t be like them,” Chase said. “But things happen. Maybe we’ll change.”
“I could use some change right now—in my pocket,” Buck complained. “Do you think there’ll be any more shipments coming?”
“I don’t much care either way,” Cully said. “Now that my dad wants to work, he’ll be taking all the money we make.”
“Maybe the boss won’t take him on,” Buck said. By now the boys all knew that the man they called the boss was Mason Dollarhide, Blake’s half-brother. But they didn’t know he was Joseph’s father. That was a secret Joseph would never tell them.
“He’ll have to take my dad on,” Cully said. “Hiring him will be the only way to keep him quiet.”
“That or shooting him,” Buck said.
“Stop it, Buck.” Joseph stood. “I’ve been saving something to tell you all. I met the boss in town yesterday. There’s a new shipment coming soon. He didn’t know when, but he’s going to need us.”
Joseph had been bursting to tell his friends the news. He’d been caught off guard when Mason had come up behind him in the store and whispered a few words in his ear.
“Don’t turn around, son. I’ll need you sometime in the next few days. Tell your friends. I’ll let you know when.”
When Joseph had turned around, nobody was there. But the fact that his father had singled him out and even called him son made his heart swell—even though he knew that the word might not mean what he wanted it to.
“You don’t have to do this,” Chase said. “All it takes is one thing going wrong, and your life’s ruined. Think about it.”
“Your family’s got money, Chase,” Cully said. “We’re poor. Even if my dad keeps all we earn, we need every cent.”
“But is it worth going to jail?” Chase argued. “I’ve heard what happens in those places where they send boys. They come back changed. Some don’t come back at all.”
“That’s enough, Chase,” Buck said. “If you’re not with us, we don’t have to listen to what you say.”
The afternoon sky had turned cloudy. The spray from the waterfall suddenly felt too cold. “Let’s go. It’ll be suppertime soon.” Joseph started down the rocky canyon. One by one, the other boys followed. Truth be told, Chase’s words had struck home. For his own reasons, which had little to do with money, he’d gotten Cully and Buck involved with Mason’s illegal business. If something were to happen to them, he would be at least partly to blame.
Caution and common sense argued that it was time to put an end to this adventure. But the prospect of riding through the darkness with excitement coursing through his veins, completing the mission, and making his father proud was too powerful to resist. He would be watching every day for the black ribbon to appear on the fence.
* * *
Gerda had finished her work at the doctor’s office and had chosen to take the long way home, down Main Street and around the third block. The worst of the heat was gone for the day. The sun hung low, a ball of fiery red above the parched yellow pastures.
This was her favorite time of day, with people hurrying home and the stores shooing their last customers out the door. From some nearby, unseen place came the sound of a piano—a simple piece, like a child practicing.
She dawdled a bit, taking time to study her faint reflection in the window of the hardware store. Her pregnancy wasn’t really showing yet. She could still wear her pretty clothes, although the dress she’d chosen today was becoming tight over her swollen breasts. She’d done her best to hide her condition from her family, but her mother and Britta had already noticed the changes and guessed the reason. Even her father showed signs of being suspicious. She’d begun to dread going home in the evening when he was there. Once he discovered the truth, Gerda didn’t even want to think about what he might do.
Only marriage could save her.
As if the thought of marriage had summoned him, she heard an auto coming down Main Street, approaching from behind. Mason’s vehicle was a cut above the Model Ts that were a common sight in Blue Moon. The engine had a distinct sound, like a loud purr. Even without turning to look, Gerda recognized it.