Love Child
Love Child
A Midnight Marauder Adventure
Roy Clinton
Copyright ©2019 by Roy Clinton
All rights reserved. This book may not be duplicated in any way without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the form of brief excerpts or quotations for the purposes of review. The information contained herein is for the personal use of the reader and may not be incorporated in any commercial programs or other books, databases, or any kind of software without written consent of the publisher or author. Making copies of this book or any portion of it, for any purpose is a violation of United States copyright laws. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Published by Top Westerns Publishing (www.TopWesterns.com), 3730 Kirby Dr., Suite 1130, Houston, TX 77098. Contact info@TopWesterns.com for more information.
Book Design by Teresa Lauer: Info@TeresaLauer.com.
Cover by Laurie Barboza DesignStashBooks@gmail.com
Copy Editor: Sharon Smith
Substantive Editor: Maxwell Morelli
Other Books by Roy Clinton
Lost
Midnight Marauder
Return of Midnight Marauder
Revenge of Midnight Marauder
Midnight Marauder and the President of the United States
These books and others can be found on
www.TopWesterns.com and www.Amazon.com.
Audio versions of the books can be found on
www.Audible.com as well as on iTunes.
Dedicated to
Dave Ardoin
A good man taken from us too soon
“the Ragin’ Cajun”
Table of Contents
Love Child
Preface
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Bad to the Bone
Preface
Preface
February of 1874
BANDERA, TEXAS
Mayor, I don’t care if you don’t think it’s your business. We elected you mayor and we expect you to do something about it!” The part of Slim Hanson’s responsibility as mayor he liked the least, was listening to complaints from citizens who felt he was obligated to look into every concern or problem anyone in the town faced.
“Mrs. Mercer, I can understand you and Mrs. Grimes not getting along. But she must live about a mile from your place.”
“Actually, it’s closer to two miles. But when she comes to town, she takes the wagon road that is right in front of my house. Every time she passes, she sticks her nose in the air and says “Humpf.”
“She says what?”
“Humpf. And I want you to do something about it.”
“But Mrs. Mercer, there is not anything against the law about that.” How did I get myself roped into this? Trying to reason with her is like trying to reason with that old heifer on the H&F that keeps getting stuck when she sticks her head between the rails of the fence.
Slim continued trying to reason with the disgruntled woman. It did no good to tell her that was not his job or that her neighbor wasn’t breaking the law. He figured there was something deeper going on, and as much as he wanted to help, he knew he just didn’t have the patience needed to find a solution.
“Mrs. Mercer, you and Mrs. Grimes used to be the best of friends. At least that’s how it looked. Any time one of you was in town, I knew I would see the other. You never went anywhere without each other. What happened to that friendship?”
“I’ll tell you what happened. Last month at the church social, she baked a pie using my recipe. And she took credit for it!”
“Let me get this straight,” said Slim. “Mrs. Grimes baked a pie and took credit for baking the pie?”
“No. She took credit for the recipe.”
“Just how did she do that?” Slim could feel his patience coming to an end.
“It was my apple pie recipe she used. Her pies never did come out right. But she used my recipe and when people complimented her on how good the pie was, she just said ‘thank you’ and let them go on believing it was her recipe.”
“Did she actually tell anyone it was her recipe?”
Just then, a teenage boy came walking in the office behind Mrs. Mercer.
“I’ll be with you in a minute, son,” said Slim as he tried to direct his attention back to the crisis of the moment.
“What did you call me?” asked the boy.
“I didn’t call you anything, son. I just said I’d be with you in a minute.”
“There, you did it again. Why do you keep calling me son?”
“I’m sorry. I meant no harm. I should’ve said, ‘Young man, I’ll be with you in a few minutes.’”
Slim thought, every time I come to town and go to the mayor’s office, I face the same thing. People bring their problems to me. And as I try to help, it seems I always offend someone.
“Now what were you saying, Mayor?”
Slim tried to remember what the conversation with Mrs. Mercer was even about. “Did Mrs. Grimes actually tell anyone it was her recipe?”
Mrs. Mercer thought about it for a moment. “No, Mayor, I don’t remember her doing that. But she just let people think it was her recipe.”
“Mrs. Mercer, maybe Mrs. Grimes just didn’t know how to take the compliments she received.”
Slim got up from his desk and lowered his voice as he moved closer to Mrs. Mercer.
“Besides everyone in town knows Mrs. Grimes is not that great of a cook and they also know you make the best pie in town. With you bein’ neighbors and all, I doubt anyone seriously thought her pie makin’ suddenly got that much better. I’ll bet everyone at the social was secretly remarkin’ at how nice it was for you to lend Mrs. Grimes your recipe.”
Mrs. Mercer’s face brightened. “Do you really think so?”
“I know so. It’s no secret you are might near the best cook in all of Bandera. And you certainly make the best pies anyone’s ever tasted. I’d imagine, people all over town are still talkin’ about how nice it was for you to help your neighbor so she wouldn’t be embarrassed at another social.”
“I never thought about it like that, Mayor. You know, I think you’re right. Now that I think of it, I saw several of the women smiling at me when Mrs. Grimes was being complimented. Thank you, Mayor. I knew you would have a solution. I’m glad we elected you. Well, I have to go now. Please give my best to Charlotte.”
“I will Mrs. Mercer. Thanks for comin’ by.”
As she was walking out, Marshal Williams walked into the office and went immediately to the stove and poured him a cup of coffee.
“Mornin’ Slim,” said the marshal.
“Howdy, Marshal.
“What’s Mrs. Me
rcer got a bee in her bonnet about?”
“It seems there was some confusion over who gets the credit for the recipe Mrs. Grimes used last week when she made a pie for the church social,” said Slim.
“Thought she was all tuckered out on that by now” said the marshal. “She’s been to my office twice this week talkin’ about the same thing. I’m just glad you were in town today so she would come talk to you and give me a rest.”
“I hope we’ve heard the end of it. By the way, Clem, did you see that boy that was in my office? He must have left just before you walked in.”
“Yup. But don’t know his name. He’s been hangin’ ‘round here for the last couple of weeks. I’ve seen him sweepin’ up over at the Cheer Up a couple of times. Last week, he was over muckin’ out stalls at the livery. Seems like he’s always workin’.”
“Any idea where he came from?” Slim asked. “There’s somethin’ familiar about him but I just can’t place it.”
“No. He just showed up here one day. Next thing I knew he was workin’ for different merchants. He don’t seem to be causin’ no trouble. Did he cause any trouble here?”
“Oh, it’s nothin’ like that Clem. He just seemed a might touchy. I was just wonderin’ who he was.”
Slim and the marshal finished their coffee and walked out of the office when Slim spotted the boy across the street at the Cheer Up. He had a broom in his hand as he walked into the saloon. Slim was sure he must have met the boy before but he couldn’t place his name. The boy was about fifteen or sixteen and had very dark brown hair but his eyes were between blue and brown. He had a dark complexion and was already nearly six feet tall. Slim thought he was going to be a big man when he was full grown.
Slim’s curiosity got the best of him so he walked over to the Cheer Up and looked over the swinging doors. There were a few cowboys standing at the bar and a few others were sitting down playing cards. Slim spotted the boy in the back of the saloon. He walked over to the boy and called out to him.
“Pardon me, son. You came by my office earlier but didn’t wait around. What was it you needed?”
“Why do you keep calling me that? Why do you call me ‘son’?”
“I meant no harm. If you tell me your name, I can address you more properly.”
“My name is Richie.”
Slim stuck out his hand and said, “Pleased to meet you, Richie. You can call me Slim.”
Richie shook Slim’s hand. “I can’t do that. It wouldn’t be respectful. I’ll just call you mayor.”
“That’s fine Richie. I like a boy with good manners. Have we met before? I could swear I’ve seen you before but I don’t remember where.”
“No. I’m sure we haven’t met before.”
“Why don’t we sit down a talk a bit, son—I mean Richie.” The boy propped his broom against the wall and took a seat across the table from Slim.
“Do you live ‘round here Richie?”
“I guess I do now. I’m really from Laredo. But I’ve been here about a month.”
“What are you doin’ in Bandera? You’re a long way from Laredo.”
“My mother always told me if something ever happened to her, I was to go to Bandera.”
“Did she tell you why she wanted you to do that?” asked Slim.
“No, she just said things would be better for me here if something happened to her. She even said I had some family around here.”
“So what happened to your mother, Richie?”
The boy bowed his head and tears fell from his eyes. He placed his head down on the table and continued to weep silently. Slim put his hand on the boy’s back and waited. He didn’t want to force the boy to talk about something that was painful to him. If the boy wanted to tell him, Slim would be willing to listen. Slowly, the boy raised his head for a moment.
“She died.” Richie put his head back on the table and wept so hard that his shoulders were heaving as he cried. Slim pressed his hand a bit harder on the boy’s back and rubbed it back and forth. As the boy cried, Slim could feel his grief as he thought of the people he had lost to death, including both of his parents. But his thoughts especially went to Charlotte’s mother and how devastated he was when she died.
After several minutes, Richie raised his head. “I’m sorry, mister. I didn’t mean to cry like that. It’s just that I miss her so much.”
“I’m sure you do, Richie. When I’ve lost someone to death that I love, I always cried.”
“But you’re a grown man. Men aren’t supposed to cry.”
“I don’t know who told you that, Richie. But grown men do cry. There’s nothin’ wrong with men cryin’. In fact, cryin’ is the most natural thing in the world to do when we get really sad. By the way, why did you come by my office earlier.”
“Well, the office has been closed since I got to town. Today was the first time I’ve seen anyone around it.”
“I don’t get to town that much,” said Slim. “I usually stay out on my ranch. But I come to town every now and then just to check on things and see if I’m needed for any mayor-like duties. So why did you come by to see me?”
“I figured the mayor might help me find a place where I could live.”
“Where do you stay now?” asked Slim.
“Mr. Harris over at the livery stable lets me bed down in one of the stalls. All I have to do is to help out by cleaning up after the horses. And Miss Benson pays me two bits a day for sweeping up the saloon. She also feeds me supper. But I think I need to start figuring something out that’s more permanent.”
“Well, Richie, you can come out to the ranch with me. I can always use a good hand. And it looks like you’re not afraid of work. I’ll pay you a dollar a day and you can live in the bunkhouse with the other hands. We serve three meals every day. And you can eat all you want.”
Richie’s face brightened and he wiped his tears on his sleeve. “Thanks, mister. That would be great. I’d like that. But I have to tell you, I don’t know anything about working on a ranch. But I'm a quick learner.”
“I’m sure you are, Richie. We’ll get started to the ranch as soon as you’re ready.”
“I’m ready now. Can we go now?”
“I don’t see why not. We should get there just in time to eat. Do you have a horse?
“Yes, sir. He’s over at the livery. First, I need to let Miss Benson know I won’t be working here anymore.”
“Looks like you can do that now. Here she comes. Hello Nellie. Richie here tells me he’s been workin’ for you.”
“Hello, Slim. I was just coming over to see why you’re holding up my employee,” she said with a twinkle in her eye. “How’s he supposed to get any work done with you talking his ear off?”
“Sorry about that, Nellie. Richie and I were just talking about his future. Isn’t that right, Richie?”
“Yes sir. Miss Benson, I’m not going to be working here anymore. I’m going to work on the mayor’s ranch.”
“You are? Well good for you. That sounds like it will be a lot better job for you. I guess I need to pay you what I owe you.”
“No ma’am. You don’t owe me anything more. You paid me for my work yesterday and I haven’t even worked a half of a day today so you don’t owe me anything. I do want to thank you for giving me a job and for being so nice to me.”
“You’re welcome, Richie. You’re a good employee. If ever you decide you want to come back to work here, there’ll always be a job waiting for you. You have proven to be a very fine worker.”
“Thank you ma’am. Mr. Mayor, I’ll go get my horse and be ready to go when you are.”
“That’s fine, Richie.” The boy ran through the saloon and out the doors as he headed to the livery to collect his horse. “Nellie, thanks for bein’ so good to Richie. It sounds like he’s had a tough go of it since his mother died.”
“I was glad to do it, Slim. He’s a good boy and he sure works hard. But he’ll be better off on the ranch. And I know you will be able to offer him more
work and more pay that I can here. There’s just not much for him to do other than sweep the floor. And he can only do that so many times a day.”
“You’re a good woman, Nellie. I appreciate you lookin’ out for him.”
Slim walked out of the saloon and over to close up his office and get his horse. Richie was already saddled up and waiting in front of Slim’s office.
“My but you are a speedy one, Richie. It didn’t take you any time to get your horse saddled.”
Richie smiled at the compliment. Slim reined his horse around and headed toward the H&F. Once they cleared the last buildings in town, Slim let his horse lope and Richie stayed right by his side. Once they arrived at the ranch, Slim tied his horse to the hitching rail in front of the dining hall and went inside.
“Daddy!” said Charlotte. “We’re over here.” Charlotte, John, and the twins were seated in the corner and were already eating. “Who’s this fine looking young man you have with you?” asked Charlotte.
“Richie, I would like for you to meet my daughter, Charlotte. And this is my son-in-law, John.” John Crudder stood to shake hands with the boy. He looked up at the tall youngster and smiled to himself as he thought what a big man he was going to grow into. “And these are my granddaughters, Cora and Claire. Girls, say hello to Richie.”
“Hello,” came their reply in unison.
“Richie’s mother just died in Laredo. She told him if ever anything happened to her that he was to come to Bandera. Anyway, I just met him and hired him on at the H&F so you’re gonna be seein’ a lot of him. Richie, go get you something to eat and come on back and share our table.”
“Yes sir,” Richie said as he bounded toward the chow line.
“Daddy, he seems like a nice young man. And he sure is cute.”
“Hey, hey,” said John with a bit of a laugh. “You better be watchin’ what you say. Your husband might get jealous.”
Charlotte playfully poked John in the ribs. “You know there’s no one I think is more handsome than you. And you don’t have anything to be jealous about. He’s just a boy.” John slipped his arm around Charlotte and thought how lucky he was to have her as his wife.