William Johnstone: Battle of the Mountain Man

“I won’t lie to her,” Smoke replied. “She’d know right off I wasn’t telling the truth anyway.”

“You can tell her part of the truth. Say we ran into a bit of trouble but it didn’t amount to nothin’.”

“She’d know,” Smoke told him.

Now Pearlie laughed out loud. “Miz Jensen is the only two-legged thing on earth Mr. Smoke Jensen is afraid of.”

“That’s about the size of it, Pearlie. I wouldn’t do anything that might cause me to lose her.”

He kicked the Palouse colt toward the house while the others pushed the cattle toward the corrals. When he got to the front porch, he swung down and took her in his arms.

“I’ve missed you,” he said, kissing her lips. “Have things gone smoothly here?”

“No problems,” she told him, smiling. Then her face changed to a serious look, “But I can tell you had a few problems. I can see it in your eyes, and the fact that Johnny’s wearing that bandage around his leg.”

“There was some shooting,” he told her. “I had to discourage some hard cases who didn’t want us to get these cows to Sugarloaf.”

“You can tell me about it later,” she said. “Right now I want to see those Herefords up close.”

“I’d rather see you up close for a while,” he replied.

She gave him a taunting turn of her head. “That will come later, Smoke, if you behave yourself until the sun goes down.”

“I may not be able to wait that long.”

“Then find yourself another woman. I’m not that easy, to just take my clothes off when a man comes riding up to ask.”

“Even if he’s your husband?”

“I’d forgotten I had a husband, you’ve been away so long.”

“I got back as quick as I could.”

He held her in a powerful embrace, something he’d been thinking about for several long days on the trail. “You always win arguments, don’t you?” he asked.

“We are not arguing. I won’t let you take me to bed until I see those Herefords. End of discussion.”

“I suppose I should have looked for another woman on the trail.”

“Suit yourself, Mr. Jensen. But you won’t find another woman who loves you the way I do, and you’ll never find a woman who’s any better in bed.”

He looked down at her in mock surprise. “You’ve got a very high opinion of yourself, young lady.”

“I’ve earned it, for putting up with you. Now, show me the new bulls or you may wind up sleeping in the barn tonight.”

He let go of her and took her by the arm. “They’re just what you said they were. Beefy, and I’ve seen Chisum’s crosses on longhorns. They’ll be perfect for the markets.”

She squeezed his hand as they walked side by side down to the corrals, where Pearlie and Johnny and Cal were driving the Herefords into a separate pen.

She looked at the bulls a moment before she said anything.

“Those bulls are the future of this ranch,” she said. “I’ve never seen so much meat on one animal before.”

“Some of them have already bred some of the heifers on the drive up here.”

She looked up at him with a twinkle in her eyes. “I’m sure there’s much more to tell me about the drive,” she said.

“A few minor details,” he admitted.

“Like the gun battles you got into, and how many men you had to kill to get them here?” she asked.

“I did have to shoot a couple, maybe more than one or two, but I didn’t have a choice.”

She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. “It seems you never have a choice when there’s a fight,” she told him. “I do wish you’d learn to turn your back on them.”

“Somebody might have shot me in the back if I’d done that,” he argued feebly, knowing he would have to tell her everything. It was because he loved her so deeply that he couldn’t hide the truth from her.

“You can tell me all about it after supper, Smoke. I’ll do my best to understand. There’s something inside you that won’t let you avoid taking a side in things, and I suppose that’s also one of the reasons why I love you. Some men would ride right past a one-sided fight. I’ve come to know you well enough to know you never would.” She examined the young bulls again, then she said, “Just remember, one fight you’ll never win is a fight with me.”