Only 06 - Winter Fire

know?”
    â€œThem boys favor big sorrel mules.”
    Both women watched as the red mules separated themselves from the equally red rock of the cliffs that lined the valley. At a quarter-mile away, the riders looked as dusty and faded as rabbit bush in high summer.
    â€œWonder which Culpeppers they are?” Sarah asked.
    â€œCan’t tell from here. Ute says there are five of the devils living in Spring Canyon.”
    Sarah’s breath came in sharply. She leaned forward, staring intently at the base of the cliffs.
    She still saw only two riders.
    â€œDo you see the third one anywheres?” Lola asked.
    â€œNo.”
    â€œWish you didn’t hate chewing tobacco so much. A good chaw would be right comforting now.”
    â€œThen chew. This is no time for parlor manners.”
    Lola dug a plug of tobacco out of her shirt pocket, ground off a chunk between her back molars, and stuffed the plug back in her pocket.
    â€œI’m obliged,” Lola said.
    â€œYou’re welcome. Just don’t spit on the laundry.”
    Lola laughed past the tobacco bulging in her cheek, but her eyes never left the approaching riders.
    Sarah just kept watching the two riders, praying that they had somehow missed seeing the third one.
    Maybe Ab is the one who stayed behind to cover their backs , she thought hopefully.
    She really didn’t want to be any closer to Ab Culpepper than she had been in the shallow cave overlooking the outlaw rendezvous. The promise of violence in his voice when he ordered Moody to stop raiding close to home could chill her even in memory.
    â€œGood thing the Culpeppers don’t trust Moody,” she said. “I’ll bet Ab stayed behind to keep an eye on him.”
    Lola chuckled. It wasn’t a warm sound.
    â€œNo critter with half a brain would trust Moody,” the old woman said. “He’d steal his toothless granny’s egg money and dance on his ma’s grave.”
    â€œYou sound like you know him.”
    â€œHe diddled me out of a night’s pay down to New Mexico. Course, I was a lot younger then. No more notion than a flea about the cheating ways of men.”
    Sarah smiled slightly. She couldn’t imagine anyone cheating Lola now—man or woman.
    The two sorrel mules were barely a hundred yards away. Their long-legged strides looked lazy but covered a lot of ground very fast.
    â€œYou do the talking,” Lola said. “If it comes to shooting, you dive for the cabin and leave ’em to me.”
    â€œI’m not going to—”
    â€œThe hell you ain’t!” she interrupted fiercely. “Ute and me know how it’s done. We won’t go to shooting each other by mistake.”
    There was no time for Sarah to argue. The Culpeppers were only thirty feet away. Dust from the mules’ hooves hung in the air for an instant before being chased away by the shifting wind.
    From the empty blue sky, the eagle’s call came again. The sound was high and free and beautiful.
    Sarah envied the eagle as she had envied few things in her life.
    â€œI be Ab Culpepper,” the first rider said. “That’s Kester, my kin. He don’t say much.”
    Neither Culpepper looked at the women right away. Instead, the men looked everywhere else, taking stock of the homestead.
    â€œGood morning to both of you,” Sarah said tightly. “I’m Mrs. Kennedy.”
    Kester shifted in the saddle but still didn’t turn toward the women. His faded blue eyes looked around ceaselessly, missing nothing.
    Lola is right , Sarah thought with a combination of relief and anger. They’re just checking out our defenses .
    Bastards .
    She straightened. Though neither her shotgun nor Lola’s was pointing at the riders, the guns weren’t far off the mark, either.
    â€œHowdy,” Kester said absently.
    Almost as an afterthought he touched the brim of his worn, chewed-looking hat.
    â€œCompany manners,” Lola said softly out of the side of her mouth. “Been so long since he used ’em they creak in the joints.”
    Sarah smiled rather grimly.
    Through the gap in her teeth, Lola spit a brown stream just to the side of the mule’s feet. The distance was over six feet.
    Kester looked at her with admiration.
    â€œCan you spare some hot java?” Ab asked bluntly.
    So you can look around inside, too? Sarah thought. No, Ab. I won’t make it that easy for you to count our guns