KC Murray

Eleven little piglets scampered away as their mama rolled to stand. KC spread her food in the trough and leaned against the pen as she waddled forward. He laced his fingers together and laid them on top of the railing to prop himself up. What was he doing with his future? He shook his head slowly back and forth. He seemed to be on a course that was writing itself as he went.

He hadn’t come to Creede on assignment—at least not the usual kind. Then he got here, and in a month, he’d turned his whole life upside down. He couldn’t think that was a bad thing though. If he hadn’t come, he wouldn’t have met Eliza. She made him want a different life. He’d never before felt the happiness he did when she was near him.

He’d gone to the Salida Land Office to gather any clues that might be there and ended up making a commitment to live in Colorado. He’d expected to be sadder about it since he was giving up being an agent with the Pinkertons, but he just couldn’t feel anything less than anticipation. The angel had been adamant that he choose that specific piece of land—that it was a key to solving the case. He was glad to see that it abutted Eliza’s. He immediately started thinking about how to make the two properties work together. His was more suitable for animals and hers for farming.

KC pushed away from the fence. He needed to get this land extortion mess behind them, so they could start their life together. He had enough now for motive. He needed to visit with Marshal Wheeler.

Ellis met him at the back door as they returned to the house for a midday meal. “I’d like to take a look around the new properties. I’m betting Eliza will want to as well. What do you say we get up early tomorrow, get our chores done, and ride out to them?”

KC smiled. Getting up early to do the chores was getting to be the normal routine around here. “Good idea. I’d like to see what I’ve gotten myself into.”

They entered the kitchen as Eliza was ladling stew into bowls. “We’re going to take a look at the new homesteads tomorrow,” KC said when he entered the kitchen. “Come with us?”

“I’d like that,” Eliza said. “Do you want to go with us, Kailin, or do you and Rayna want to stay here?

“We’ll go with you.” Then Kailin turned to Rayna. “Go for a ride tomorrow?”

“Horsey. Horsey,” the girl answered.

The next day when KC went to saddle Merlin, MayBelle nickered until he glanced her way. He was nearly finished saddling his horse. She looked him in the eye, then butted her head against the gate to her stall. When KC didn’t come to the gate, she did it again and gave a shrieking trumpet sound, startling KC. He began pulling the reins to lead Merlin out, and MayBelle repeated the sound. This time, Merlin answered it with one of his own.

KC turned toward MayBelle. “See what you’re teaching him? You’re being a bad example.”

MayBelle butted the gate again. “I suppose you can come along.” KC opened the latch, and MayBelle trotted through the opening to stand alongside of Merlin. He nuzzled her in greeting before they left the barn. KC and Ellis wore six-shooters on their hips, and all three of them had rifles in scabbards on their saddles. Kailin held Rayna in front of her on the saddle.

“Which way?” Ellis asked as they mounted their horses in the yard.

“Straight south,” Eliza answered. “We’ll see mine first, then KC’s and come back through yours.”

Eliza seemed a little on edge as they rode. She was in no hurry, and KC kept his horse back with her. The space between them and Ellis grew. It wasn’t the horse, as far as he could tell. She was either talking about anything and everything or she was silent for a long stretch. When Ellis was a ways in front of them, KC asked, “Is something on your mind? You seem . . . different today.”

He noticed a shadow of worry come over her expression. Her lips thinned. Her eyebrows creased with worry. “Yes. I just don’t know how to start. I’ve been thinking that you need to know something more about me.”

When she paused, KC added, “I’d like that very much.”

“Maybe not this.” She squared her shoulders and sat taller in the saddle. “It was a year ago. People are going to tell you the story if they haven’t already.”

KC shook his head.

“I went to Creede to meet the train. We were expecting a shipment of chicks, and I was picking them up. I stopped by Shawcrofts’ Dry Goods before I went over to the station. We also needed some feed for the chicks and a few other things. While the clerk was putting the order together, I decided to go over to Edwin’s Restaurant. I was just going to grab some of Millie’s cinnamon buns that she sold there.”

Eliza must have noticed KC’s puzzled look because she explained, “Edwin’s place was right beside The Nugget Saloon. Little Archie blew it up trying to keep the fire from spreading to Mr. Anders’ saloon. That didn’t work.” She blew out a big breath. “Anyway, I left our wagon to be loaded and walked toward the restaurant. I could see a fire down the street and lots of smoke blowing to the west of town.”

Her voice was soft and cracked on the words. KC’s heart leaped in his chest. He could see the struggle on her face. This was hard for her to tell.

“That’s when I was taken.”

KC turned in his saddle. “What? You mean abducted?” Rage burned in his chest.

Eliza stared straight ahead. “A man grabbed me from behind and pulled me into the Nugget. He held a wet rag to my face.”

Tears streamed down her cheeks. KC’s arms ached to hold her. He couldn’t stand the distance between them while her feelings were so raw.

“You would have found out.” She sobbed. “Someone would have told you that I was soiled goods. I’m not, but I’ve heard it said. I wanted you to hear it from me. I knew it would change what you think of me.” Her shoulders were slumped, and she cried softly. “ I don’t know how long I was asleep, but I was waking up when the man threw me into the root cellar where some other women were being held. It broke my leg, and now I limp. It reminds everyone that I’m that woman.” Her words gasped out with her breath.

“We need to stop for a moment.” KC and Eliza reined their horses back, and KC jumped from his saddle. In a second, he was beside Eliza, his hands raised to help her dismount. She slid into his arms, and they came around her firmly. He needed this. He needed her to know that she didn’t have to be alone when she remembered something so painful. She could lean on him.

Her cheek again laid against his shoulder as it had once before. He wanted to be that person who held her up or held her together when life was too heavy. He hadn’t just decided to move to Colorado—he’d decided to move into her heart. They would share the difficulties and the joys.

KC held her close. Even now, he didn’t think this strong, tall woman was weak, but at this moment, she was fragile. “When I first saw you, you were so strikingly beautiful, my tongue was tied. I think I forgot how to speak.”

Eliza gave a laugh. KC’s hand moved her face and brushed the hair away from it. He kissed her forehead.

“Then when you turned out to be the one who had invited me to Creede, I couldn’t believe my good fortune. I quit a job to take the one your pa offered just to be near you.”

Eliza’s arms squeezed him lightly, and he hugged her back. He buried one hand in the thick of her hair, lost in the softness.

“I didn’t think it possible for you to become more beautiful, but you have. You’re kind to your family.” He kissed her cheek. “You’re smart and capable of running the homestead while your parents are gone, and you have your own land now.” He kissed her nose. Eliza’s eyes shut momentarily. “You’ve cared for your friends and neighbors and taken in a stranger.”

Eliza’s hand touched KC’s cheek. That simple gesture nearly stole his rational thoughts, but he had to finish before the words vanished. “Your story only changes one thing, Miss Eliza.” He kissed the corner of her mouth. “Now I understand a new depth to your soul. You’re a virtuous woman. I can never doubt that.”

KC looked into Eliza’s face, and her lips found his. Her whole body pressed into him, and her lips parted. The feel of her, the taste of her—he couldn’t help the groan that rose from deep in his chest. There was only her. All of Colorado disappeared. This was the kiss of a woman giving herself to a man. It was a precious gift. One he would guard and treasure all his days.

The magic was broken when KC heard Ellis yell, “Eliza!” and his horse galloped to a stop near them. KC’s blood continued to pump through him with fury—Ellis would be upon him soon. He moved his lips to her ear. “I love you, Eliza.”

“That kiss nearly stole my breath, but only because you surprised me.”

“I’ll have to plan more surprises.”

KC was grabbed by the shoulder and turned to face Ellis whose eyes squinted with anger, and his fists were tight and ready to swing. “I’ll ask you one last time. What are your intentions?”

Kailin rode up at a slower pace, her eyes round as saucers. “Sparking. Sparking,” Rayna chanted before Kailin put her hand over the child’s lips.

KC’s hand reached for Eliza’s, and their fingers laced together. Eliza gave KC a broad smile which he knew reflected his. Then she turned the same one to Ellis. The man deflated.

“I won’t be talking with you about it here or now,” KC answered, his words slow and measured.

“No. We won’t,” Eliza said firmly.

When KC could see that Ellis wouldn’t accept that answer, he added, “But I’ll talk to your father.”

“As soon as he’s back,” Ellis said as he shoved KC in the chest.

KC nodded. The rest of the world came back onto focus then. Their horses stood a ways off. MayBelle had the reins from Eliza’s horse in her mouth, making sure the horse didn’t run off.

KC helped Eliza back into the saddle. He stood close with her booted foot in his hands. He whispered to her, “That, Miss Turley, was a real kiss.”

“Yes. It was.” Her voice was breathless. “But I kissed you.” She pushed her knee straight and settled into the seat. “I believe you still owe me.”

The trio trotted through meadows and over a ridge with MayBelle staying at Merlin’s side. They stopped, overlooking a small valley rimmed with stands of aspens and pines. The grass was already a dark green. Off in the distance, KC could see the white caps of the mountains, whose melt-off supplied the glistening stream that ran through the valley. It was beautiful country, but it all seemed to pale compared to the beauty who would be by his side throughout his life. KC could hardly wait for her father to return.

In the meantime, he owed her. She likely didn’t know that meeting her had changed his life. He rode for posses and sleuthed for Pinkertons to have purpose. Eliza eclipsed those with the promise of love and family. That would be his life’s work and his joy.

“Your property starts here,” Ellis said to KC. “What would you like to see?”

“Let’s ride along the foothills over there.” KC was surprised to find that the path was well-worn and had fresh horse tracks along it. He looked closely. The horses had been shod, so they weren’t mustangs. They might be a group of strays gotten loose from a nearby ranch. “Has someone else homesteaded out this way?” he asked. He looked closer at the tracks. It appeared that wagon wheels had come this way. Their tracks run under the horses’ hoofprints.

“Not that I know of,” Eliza answered.

“At least not on the official land records,” Ellis replied. “There might be squatters. That happens a lot around here.”

KC looked each direction to see if there were others near them. People who took up on someone else’s land tended to be jumpy with their trigger fingers. He didn’t see or hear evidence of people or horses.

Ellis continued to talk, pointing toward a stream that snaked back and forth through the valley. “You’ve got some ponds down that way. This will make good summer range for cattle.”

“Let’s head over and give our horses a drink.” Eliza veered off the path, and the other animals followed.

The native grass was already a foot high, and it was still early spring. This would be good grazing land. Did he want to raise cows or sheep? He’d had experience with both on his grandfather’s farm near Taos. He’d have to ask Eliza her opinion. His heart burned with joy. He liked having someone to make plans with. How quickly could he get a house up? He’d seen the boundary between their lands and thought he had an idea for making it work to keep both.

The horses drank, and the riders stretched their legs. KC turned in a full circle, admiring the land. His eyes stopped on a black hole in the side of the ravine. He hadn’t noticed any of the mountains in this whole area being prone to natural caves as the mountains in southwestern Colorado were. These mountains were solid rock, belched out by volcanoes eons ago.

“Have you got that spyglass on you, Eliza?” he asked.

She riffled through her saddle bag and handed it to him.

KC stepped under the shade of a small tree to keep the glare off the lens and held it to his eye directed at the cave. The entrance was in focus, and he saw a man with a gun raised in his direction. Immediately, he was knocked off balance as MayBelle rammed him just as a bullet plugged itself into the tree where his head had been a moment ago. In the fall, his head hit a rock, and the images before him divided, danced, and began to blur.

KC’s eyes struggled to open but without success. Even with his eyes closed, he saw the old prospector standing beside MayBelle. A shadowy man stood to his other side, his eyes flaming gold and his hands reaching for KC.

“Hold on there, Death. I won’t believe he’s dead until he’s all dead.” The old miner scrubbed his hand across his face in worry. “See there. His eyes are jiggling.”

Death’s hands paused.

KC’s lungs jerked with a full breath.

“Whew. I almost lost one,” the angel said to himself. He pulled his hat from his head and fanned it across his face. Panic crossed the man’s expression then, and he looked over his shoulder. Huge, shining golden wings flashed out behind him. “Whew. Still there.”

MayBelle brayed, and KC’s eyes opened.

When he came to, his head was in Eliza’s lap, and she was pressing her cool, wet hem to his face.

“You’re all right,” she cooed. “The bullet missed you, but your head took a spill on a rock. You bled something fierce, but head wounds are like that. It isn’t a deep cut, and the swelling went outward. It’s gonna hurt, though.”

Ellis was kneeling on his other side. “At first, we thought there were more shots and lay on the ground, but then we realized that the sound echoed around in this valley. I think whoever shot at you is gone.”

KC struggled to sit, then picked his hat up off the ground, tugging it over his head. Pain shot over his skull and down his neck. He immediately pulled it back off. He raised his hand to feel a large goose egg on the side of his head. It would be a few days before he wore a hat again.

His head still spun a bit, and it was a few minutes before he felt sure enough to stand. While he was sitting there, he thought about the man behind the rifle. He’d only seen him for a second. He thought it was one of the Holman boys, but he couldn’t be sure. It didn’t make sense that they’d be way out in these hills. This wasn’t anywhere near the properties he thought they were mixed up in taking. Still, it made sense to him to consider all options. If it had been a Holman, why was he here?

He stood and was able to remount his horse.

“We’ll go see my property another day,” Ellis said. “Let’s get you back.”

Although the Turley twins kept up friendly chatter, they often looked into the distance around them. KC could tell they were still worried about their safely. Their rifles were no longer in the scabbards but rested across their laps.

KC thought about one of the first lessons he’d received from a superior when he’d joined up with the Pinkerton National Detective Agency: people around him will get hurt because of what he did. No attachment was best.

When they went into the barn to take care of the horses, KC approached Eliza as Ellis walked his horse to his stall. “I think this homesteader business is getting more dangerous by the day. Please stay out of it. I don’t want you hurt.”

Eliza smiled and laid her hand on his cheek.

Ellis came back in. “I’ll take care of you horse for you, Eliza.”

KC saw tenderness and love between the Turleys every day in the simplest ways. These people were his family, or they soon would be. How was he going to protect them?

In bed that night, he took out his notebook and mapped out the homesteads along the road that led from Creede to Lake City. He marked the tracts as they were shown on the land office map, crossed out the ones that had been abandoned, and wrote in the names he’d learned from Eliza for as many as he could. According to the maps he’d seen at the Land Office, there were only four tracts of land that bordered the road to Lake City that Mr. Anders didn’t own yet. Two of them belonged to the Turleys, one to Louise and Grant Fillan, and one to Kirt Alpin.

The last owner was just a name to KC. He lived on the land just past Grant and Louise Fillan’s home on the way to Creede. Eliza didn’t know him. He’d settled long before the rest and proved up years before their family had arrived. She only remembered seeing him occasionally. She thought the rest of the time, he lived somewhere back east. KC decided to go out and pay a visit there the next evening to see what he could learn.

It had surprised him that a section also belonged to Archibald Grady. KC smelled a rat there. He’d never seen a homesteader wear silk pants and loiter all day in the saloon like Little Archie did. If he’d proved up on that homestead, KC bet it was through fraud. That man only had to get a couple of people to lie to the land officials, and he would have been given the deed to the land. He had more than enough money to pay for lies.

There were only a handful of people still on the list to be terrorized out of Creede, and he knew most of them.

He closed his notebook and tucked it away just as the light in the loft took on the glow of the sun, and the old prospector appeared.

“You all right?” the man asked KC. He cocked his head.

KC nodded. “I’m fine. I need to get word to the marshal about the shooting today. I guess I need to let him know who I am, too.”

“I can take care of that. Put it all in a letter, and I’ll deliver it tonight,” the old miner said. He walked clear around KC, looking him over and then leaned close to him. “You don’t think there’s anything . . . damaged?”

KC shook his head.

MayBelle brayed from down below in the barn.

“I’ll ask him,” the miner shouted back toward her. “She says, ‘Can he still walk?’ So, can ya?”

“Yeah. As far as I can tell, I’m good as new except for a sore head. Oh, and there’s a crazy angel shouting at me, giving me a headache.”

The donkey heehawed, and the miner laughed. “Well, I suppose there’s a first time for everything. You don’t seem to be busted up. Ain’t never seen that. I guess that went well, then.” He laughed again. “Don’t that beat all?”

MayBelle brayed, and Merlin whinnied.

The old prospector shouted below, “I’m coming down, and yeah, I have a peppermint for you.” Then to KC, he said, “Leave the letter here. I’ll come back for it.” The light winked out in the loft, and immediately KC could see its golden glow near the horse stalls and heard the miner’s voice. “Ya done good, MayBelle. All right. We’re a team.”

KC lay on his bedroll, but his eyes were wide open. He’d finished the letter. He knew if he received a letter like that, he’d want some assurance that it was true. KC had asked the marshal to wire the sheriff in Del Norte and ask about his recent arrests. He also said that he could check with Pinkerton, although he wasn’t on official business for them in Creede.

As soon as the Turleys were asleep, he planned to take a ride down the road, look over the homestead owned by Kirt Alpin, and be back by midnight. If everything checked out, he’d make a visit during the daylight.

He hadn’t heard a noise for over an hour now and made his move. He led Merlin out and released MayBelle, too, since he was sure she would have pitched a fit if he didn’t. They went out the back side of the barn and rode toward Creede. Shortly after he passed by the fence separating the Turley place and the land belonging to the Fillans, he heard two quick gunshots.

The Fillans’ barn was a few hundred feet in front of him, and their house was beyond that. He jumped from his horse, watching two men running from the barn toward Creede.

MayBelle sped off after the men. Instead of the screeching, trumpeting noise she usually made when she was excited, she was completely silent. He couldn’t call her back without giving himself away. Then he saw a small explosion of light from a rifle off to his right.

Moments later ,the back door to the cabin cracked open, a sliver of light cutting across the black wall. KC stayed put. If it were him, he’d watch out the window long after he shut the door again. A while later, he heard a horse walking through the trees behind him.

When the light from the full moon illuminated the person walking the horse, KC hissed, “Eliza.”

She yipped and sank to her knees, her hands over her chest. “You scared the death out of me.”

KC’s heart stopped beating, then he caught his breath. “I told you to stay out of this. What if they’d surprised you instead of the other way around? What if I were someone else?”

Eliza brushed past him. “I was just checking on my friend, Louise, and I’m glad I did.”

“Wait.” KC touched her arm, and she stopped. “I’m sorry.” He pulled her to him. His own pulse felt like gunfire through his veins. He took a deep breath to calm it and then another. “I just don’t want to lose you. These men are deadly.”

“I know. I wish I hadn’t come, but I’m glad I was here. I’m not sure I’m making any sense.”

“Let’s head back to the ranch. Why were you shooting?”

Eliza turned around and looked toward the woods just beyond the clearing. “Someone was there.” She pointed to the far side of the barn. “I saw two men walk out of the woods. They walked toward the house but turned around and walked back. That’s suspicious, don’t you think? So I led my horse into the forest and watched. When they stopped, it looked like they were going to start a fire. They pulled logs from the forest and pushed them against the barn. That’s when I decided to start firing.”

“Were you trying to hit them?” KC almost regretted the question because of the stern look he received from Eliza. But even that expression melted his heart.

One fist went to her hip. “If I’d have shot at one of them, he would have dropped.” Even in the moonlight, KC could see the seriousness on her face. “I shot to warn the Fillans that someone was sneaking around their place.”

They’d walked far enough from the Fillans’ to jump on their horses and ride hard for home. They dodged through the last field and came up to the barn from the back.

“I’ll put the horses away.” KC reached out to take the reins as Eliza walked away, and he watched. Her hips fit snugly inside the borrowed trousers and swung enticingly with each step. Although he appreciated how Eliza looked in pants, he’d be happy if she never felt she had to wear them again. She pulled the hat off her head, and her auburn hair tumbled out. As she ran her fingers through it, he could almost remember the feel of it on his hands and wished for it again. Or to feel it on his face.

He shook himself. He’d have to get a home built quickly and ask for her hand. He wanted her in his life. Eliza had shown him the difference between love and lust. KC had wanted women before, but not to be his family. He wanted to see her each morning and night. He wanted to share her sorrows and joys. He wanted to see her beauty renewed in their children and grandchildren over the decades to come.

KC looked behind him into the barn and scanned the stalls. MayBelle hadn’t come back. He’d thought she’d beat him back, but he supposed she’d return sooner or later. It surprised him that she’s gotten spooked like that. Or maybe she wasn’t spooked at all. There seemed to be a lot more to that little donkey than being a donkey. He never knew what she was up to, but he was coming to learn there was always something.

That night, KC lay in bed trying to put the pieces together. The biggest piece was missing. He had no proof that Anders threatened the settlers. A telegram he had sent seemed to refer to buying the land in the future. But KC couldn’t prove it wasn’t just a coincidence.