Emerald Valley

CHAPTER 13

While nursing a beer in the Nugget Saloon, Kyle thought about the gentle lovemaking he and Dix had engaged in before he'd left for town. Dix had wanted him to check on the status of his uncle's will. At first, he'd pleaded to go with Kyle, but Kyle wouldn't hear of it.

"If you split open that wound, I won't patch you up," Kyle had told him. "I may be gone for a couple days. Can you feed yourself?"

Dix had shrugged and said, "I can walk, can't I."

Kyle looked at himself in the back bar mirror of the Nugget and grinned. He loved looking at Dix naked, and feeling...

A hand grasped his shoulder from behind.

"Kyle?" a deep, musical voice asked.

Kyle spun around and looked into soft blue eyes that sparkled with wit. The handsome, sun-leathered man, with his light brown hair pulled back into a long pony tail, grinned at Kyle.

"Lake! Lake Bolton! What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you. You can disappear faster than Apaches."

They melted into each other's arms and gave hard pats on the back for the bar patrons.

As they parted, Lake slid his lips across Kyle's cheek. "I've missed you, Kyle. You know you're the only partner I've ever wanted."

"Lake, you know what happened."

The striking man looked at the floor for an instant, then shrugged. "Yeah, I know. My drinking." Lake held up his glass. "This is sarsaparilla. After you left, I quit drinking booze. I figured it had ruined the..." He grabbed Kyle's shoulder and jerked his head. "Let's grab that table in the corner."

After seating themselves next to each other, both facing the door, Lake leaned over to Kyle and his eyes misted. "Drinking ruined the best partnership I've ever had. I finally wised up and realized my killing that gent in the bar was an accident. I've been looking for you ever since. Please say we still have a chance together."

Kyle hit the table with his fist. "Dammit, Lake. After two years of missing you, I finally found someone else, and now you show up."

Lake winked at Kyle. "Will I like him? You know we've always picked men we both enjoy."

Kyle threw his head back and laughed. "God, it's good to see you." He grabbed Lake's arm. "You'd like Dix, but he's a city boy and sometimes whines like a woman."

Lake raised an eyebrow. "Dix? Does he have more than one?"

"More than one what?"

"Dick."

Kyle laughed. "Only you would think'a that."

Seeing Rose smiling at them, Kyle motioned her over. When she arrived at the table, Kyle asked, "Which room upstairs is available? We have private talkin' to do."

She gave the pair a knowing glance. "Take number 5." She held out her hand. "That'll be two bits an hour."

Lake handed her a gold dollar. "We have two years of catching up to do."

"You gents need a bottle?"

"No!" Kyle snapped. He motioned to the bar. "But we'll take that pitcher'a water an' two glasses."

Up in room 5, the two men were in each other's arms the moment Kyle set the pitcher and glasses on a small table. They crushed together in a mouth-searching kiss. By the time they released each other, they had raging hard-ons and stripped off their boots and clothes in record time. Naked, they pulled each other onto the bed. Having been apart for so long, they shot almost instantly.

For an hour, the only movement during their hair-gripping clinch was an occasional deep kiss, many hard dick-dick massages and faltering whispers of, "God, I've missed you."

Later, still naked and sitting on the edge of the bed with legs touching, Kyle yanked on Lake's two-foot long pony tail. "What's this about?"

Lake chuckled. "That's how long it got since I last saw you. Figured it would be touching the floor before I found you." He nudged Kyle. "I hate it. I hope there's a barber in town."

"There'd better be," Kyle muttered.

After draining a glass of water, Lake grabbed Kyle's thigh. "Who's your new flame?"

Kyle shrugged. "A city boy. Sexy as hell. I'm his foreman."

"How many men does he have?"

"Just me."

"Just you? Does he have any cattle?"

Kyle fell back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. "He's got cattle, but somethin' funny's goin' on there. Can't get a handle on it. Books are in shambles, but they weren't before. Sales of something, many times, was wiped out by a wet finger." Kyle sat up beside Lake. "And Mason Coby has an impossible job tryin' to divert the river." He shook his head. "I can't get a handle on it."

Lake nudged him. "If Mason Coby's in town, I want to be a part of it. Hire me. I'll find out what's going on. I'll keep our love under covers and sleep in the barn. As a dumb hired hand, I can go anywhere without asking."

As Kyle and Lake descended the stairs, the loud bar talk was about Woody's immanent death since he'd drawn his Greener on Rory.

Kyle grabbed Lake's arm. "We have to give Woody a call to see what happened."

"Who's Woody?" Lake asked.

"Woody's the town blacksmith. He's huge, rides a buffalo and both of us could climb all over him at the same time. Woody's way of washin' up for supper is the best ever."

Lake's face brightened. "You've been busy here."

Kyle and Lake entered the blacksmith shop and found it empty. They heard Tonka snorting out back and went through the shop and out the rear door. They saw Tonka standing over Woody who was lying face down at the fence. They rushed to him.

A gash bled across the top of Woody's head.

"He's one hunk of a man!" Lake shouted. "Is he dead?"

Kneeling beside Woody, Kyle said, "Just knocked out. We have to get the doc." He looked up at Lake. "Go get Doc Watson. His office is the pale blue building on the right two blocks into town from here."

Lake suddenly realized Tonka was looking straight at him. The buffalo lowered his huge wooly head and snorted into Lake's face.

"I'm gone!" Lake shouted as he raced to the lodge pole-rung fence. He cleared it with a foot to spare.

Kyle looked up into Tonka's eyes. "Who did this?"

Tonka's eyes seemed to sadden. He lowered his head and nudged Kyle's shoulder as if to tell him to help Woody. He nuzzled Woody's back.

Kyle patted the thick mane on Tonka's head. "Lake went to get the doc. You have to behave." He grabbed Tonka's right horn and shook it. "You have to let Lake and Doc Watson in here. We'll all help Woody."

Tonka watched intently as Kyle pulled out his kerchief and wiped off the blood dripping down Woody's face. Kyle wished he had his packet of leaves, but it was in his saddle bags on Killer, still tied outside the Nugget. He cursed his decision that they walk the three blocks to Woody's.

"Can I get a shooin'?"

Kyle looked toward the gate and saw a muscular blond man leaning on the top rail.

"I'm not the blacksmith," Kyle shouted. "Woody's been knocked out and he's not workin' right now. Come back later or do it yourself. There's shoes inside. Take one. Woody won't mind."

Just as Kyle dismissed the blond, a black haired muscular man came up to the fence. "What happened?" he asked. "Can Jake and I help?"

"No. Tonka, here won't let you in the yard."

"Hell, Wiley, that's a buffalo!" Jake shouted. "I ain't never seen a real buffalo b'fore." He started climbing over the fence.

Wiley pulled him off the fence. "Jake, don't tangle with that animal. That gent knows what he's talking about." Wiley turned to Kyle. "My name is William Deluce. This is Jake Brady. We're Pinkertons. We'd like to help if we can, but we're only in town for one night. We're tracking two killers into Utah."

Kyle looked up from daubing the blood off Woody. "You men are the famous Pinkertons? Here?" He gently laid Woody down and walked over to the fence. "I'm Kyle Chase." He pointed at Woody. "Woody's been hit over the head, and I'd like to know who did it. He pointed his shotgun at Rory, Mason Coby's foreman, then Rory threatened Woody's life."

"It sounds like you already know who did it," Wiley said. "So Mason Coby is here in Grand Junction. We've been wondering where he disappeared to."

At the same time, Kyle and Wiley realized that Tonka was nuzzling Jake over the fence. When Jake nestled his face in Tonka's mane, between his horns, Kyle said, "I've never seen the like. Tonka hates everybody unless Woody tells him he's a friend." "Who's that?" Woody shouted from the other side of the yard. "What happened?" He rubbed his wounded head and struggled to get to his feet.

Tonka rushed to Woody, snorted and nudged Woody's back when he finally stood. Woody held onto the fence and wavered.

Kyle followed the bison. "You were hit on the head. I'm glad you're awake. The doc is comin' soon."

With eyes closed, Woody rubbed his forehead and the back of his neck. "I sure got clobbered." He squinted at Kyle. "Probably Rory or one of his hands."

"Why did you draw on Rory?" Kyle asked. He grabbed Woody's arm as the big man began staggering toward the shop.

"I was helping Miss Francine."

"Francine!" Kyle shouted. "What were you helpin' her for?"

"What's your buffalo's name?" Jake asked Woody.

Woody gasped. "What are you doing in this yard? Tonka doesn't know you!"

Jake grinned. He turned to the bison and said, "Tonka!"

Tonka nuzzled Jake's chest and chortled.

"Well, I'll be damned!" Woody exclaimed. "Who are you?"

Jake spun around and held out his hand. "I'm Jake Brady. Wiley'n me're trackin' killers to Utah."

Woody grabbed Jake's hand and shook it hard. "Pleased to meet you Jake Brady. I've read a lot about you and your partner." He turned to the gate where Wiley stood waiting.

"Jake charmed Tonka," Woody shouted. "Come in." He grimaced and rubbed his head, then laughed as he watched Jake tousle Tonka's mane.

Wiley no sooner closed the gate when he opened it again to admit Lake and Doc Watson. The doctor rushed over to Woody.

"Woody, let me see your head," Doc Watson said, totally unmindful of Tonka or anyone else. He set his black bag gently in the dirt.

Woody grinned at the doctor, then sat on a crate and leaned his head forward.

Doc Watson carefully inspected it, then bent down and opened his bag. He rummaged through it and pulled out a bottle of brown liquid and a white rag. After uncorking the bottle, he doused the rag with the smelly potion. "This is tincture of iodine. It will help." The doctor daubed Woody's head.

"Doc, that smell is going to kill my love life!" Woody yelled.

Doctor Watson looked at Kyle with a wry smirk. "What do you think? Will it?"

Kyle raised an eyebrow. "I doubt it."

The doc grinned. "I thought not."

After bandaging Woody's head, Doctor Watson fiddled in his bag, closed it, then straightened up and looked around. "Gents, I don't know who all of you are." He gestured toward the gate as two more men came into the corral. "But, I'm putting all of you in charge of looking after Woody. Think you can do that?"

Woody got to his feet and looked at the two men just entering the yard. "Nigroes! Real live Nigroes!" He forgot the pain in his head and headed toward the two black men. "I'm Woody." He held out his hand long before he reached them. "I haven't seen real live Nigroes in a long time!"

"I'm Eli Macon and this is my partner Adam Perry. We're with Jake and Wiley."

Woody bear-hugged both of them at the same time. "You'll have supper with me tonight." He put one arm across each man's shoulder and ushered them toward the street. Looking over his shoulder, Woody shouted to the others, "Tonka has food and water. You gents close up the shop. We're going to my house."