Pearl River Junction Read online

  “Mr. Shaye, do you take sugar?”

  26

  Thomas and James were wondering how the meeting with Belinda Davis and their father was going when the young deputy they’d met the day before came sauntering over.

  Well, they hadn’t actually met him, because they hadn’t exchanged names, but they were sure he knew who they were.

  “Heard you had some excitement last night,” the deputy said, stopping in front of them. They were both seated in straight-backed wooden chairs, just sort of lounging. Thomas had his chair leaning back against the building, the front two legs off the ground, but when the deputy stopped in front of them he let the chair come down and shifted his weight in it.

  “That so?” he asked. “Where’d you hear that?”

  “From the sheriff.”

  “Well, it wasn’t much,” James said. “Just some cowhands who got a little too drunk. One of them drew and my brother planted him.”

  Thomas looked at James and said, “‘Planted’?”

  James shrugged.

  “Uh-huh.” The deputy said again.

  “We ain’t been properly introduced,” Thomas said. “I’m Thomas Shaye. This here’s my brother James.”

  The introduction caught the young deputy off guard.

  “Oh, uh, my name’s Thad Hagen,” the young man said, “Deputy Thad Hagen.”

  “Glad to meet you, Deputy,” Thomas said.

  “Yeah, well…uh, yeah, glad to meet you fellas too. Where’s your pa?”

  “Dan Shaye’s our pa,” Thomas said. “He’s with the sheriff right about now.”

  “Oh…well, okay, then,” Hagen said. “I got to get on with my rounds.”

  “Thanks for askin’ after us,” Thomas said.

  “Uh, sure,” the man said. “I was just…uh, sure. Okay.”

  Slightly confused, the deputy walked away.

  “Guess he didn’t realize he was askin’ after us,” James said. “You sure took the starch outta him by introducin’ us.”

  “Just tryin’ to be neighborly, James,” Thomas said. “Ain’t that what Pa taught us?”

  “That’s it exactly,” James said. “Neighborly.”

  “Wonder what’s takin’ Pa so long,” Thomas said. “Sure do wanna get a look at this boy who’s supposed to be Matthew’s.”

  “Thomas,” James said, “I don’t think Matthew could’ve been with a girl without one of us knowin’, do you?”

  “No, sir, I sure don’t, James,” Thomas said. “He woulda been braggin’ to one of us.”

  “Pa woulda knowed too.”

  “Or Ma,” Thomas said.

  James’s eyes widened.

  “You think it mighta happened while Ma was…was alive?”

  “Could’ve, I reckon,” Thomas said. “But she woulda known, James. Ma always knew when one of us was keepin’ a secret from her.”

  “She was spooky that way.”

  James rocked in his chair for a few moments, then said, “I still miss her.”

  Thomas didn’t reply, but he felt the same way.

  Belinda’s attitude was unaltered while Sheriff Cotton was in the room, but eventually she got him to take the tray of empty cups back into the kitchen. At that moment she turned to Shaye, her demeanor totally changed.

  “What are you going to do, Mr. Shaye?” she asked. “Are you going to help me?”

  “I assume you don’t want me to discuss this with the sheriff.”

  “I prefer that you don’t.”

  Shaye hesitated, then said, “I have to see the boy, Belinda.”

  “That’s not a problem,” she said, “but will you decide then?”

  “Not today,” he said. “After I see the boy, I’ll have to talk to my sons. I’m sure they’re going to want to meet both of you as well.”

  She looked exasperated.

  “Jeb Collier and his men could come riding into town at any moment,” she argued.

  “That may be so,” Shaye said, “but I won’t be pushed into a decision before I’m ready. You won’t be able to ride me or my boys the way you do the sheriff, Belinda.”

  She sat back in her chair and stared at him. The sheriff came walking back in and looked at them both.

  “What did I miss?” he asked.

  “Nothing, Riley,” Belinda said with a false smile.

  “I’m ready to meet the boy,” Shaye said.

  “Belinda?” Cotton asked.

  “Yes,” she said, “I’ll go and bring him in. Please, Mr. Shaye, don’t say or do anything to frighten him.”

  “I’m not a monster, Belinda,” Shaye said. “I won’t scare him.”

  She nodded and left the room.

  27

  Shaye was surprised to find that he was nervous to meet the boy who might be his grandson. When Belinda returned to the room, she was followed by the sheriff’s wife, who was carrying the boy.

  The first thing Shaye noticed was that the boy was big for his age, much the way Matthew had been. He also had brown hair and brown eyes. On the other hand, the boy seemed fairly alert, which had not been the case with the young Matthew.

  “Mr. Shaye,” Belinda said, “this is Marion Cotton, Sheriff Cotton’s wife.”

  “Ma’am.”

  “Mr. Shaye.”

  “And this is Matthew,” Belinda said. “We call him Little Matt.”

  Shaye wondered briefly why it was the sheriff’s wife who was carrying the boy and not his mother.

  Marion Cotton brought the boy toward Shaye, who took a few steps closer to get a good look at him.

  “Hello, Little Matt,” he said, reaching a hand out to the boy, who immediately grabbed one of his fingers. The child’s grip on his finger was impressive.

  “He’s a strong boy,” Shaye said.

  “Yes, he is,” the sheriff’s wife agreed.

  Shaye studied the boy, trying to see if he could find any trace of Matthew in there somewhere. Certainly this child had the size, but other than that Shaye couldn’t see a resemblance between Little Matt and his own son. Neither did he see any of himself or his wife in the boy’s face or eyes.

  “Well?” Sheriff Cotton asked. “What do you think?”

  “It’s too soon to tell,” Shaye said. “He’s a fine-looking boy, but…”

  “Why won’t you accept him as your grandchild?” Marion asked.

  “Ma’am,” he said, “with all due respect, you didn’t know my son. A relationship of this type between him and Belinda—or him and any girl—is hard to believe.”

  “I’m sorry that your son is dead, Mr. Shaye,” Marion said, “but this boy needs his family.”

  “Marion!” Cotton said.

  “No, it’s okay,” Shaye said. “She’s right. The boy does need a family—I’m just not ready to say that my sons and I are that family.” He directed himself to Belinda. “When can my sons meet you and the boy?”

  “Any time, I suppose,” she said. “Today, tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow, I think, then,” Shaye said. “I want some time to talk with my sons.”

  “Fine,” Cotton said. “Should we do it here again?”

  “Outside,” Belinda said. “Maybe out back.”

  “Noon?” Shaye asked.

  “Yes.” He could tell Belinda was not satisfied with the outcome so far. “That’s fine.”

  “Well…” Shaye said, not sure how to end this. “It was nice to meet you, Belinda.”

  “Yes, you too,” she said, putting out her hand. Shaye doubted that the Cottons could see what he saw: the dissatisfied look on her face and in the set of her shoulders.

  “I’ll come out with you,” Cotton said. “I have to go back to work.”

  They walked to the door together and stepped outside.

  “Mind if I walk back to town with you?” the sheriff asked.

  “No, sir.”

  They walked back together, but didn’t talk very much, which suited Shaye. He wondered how the man would react if he told him how controlled he th
ought he was by Belinda Davis. He also wondered if Belinda was able to manipulate Mrs. Cotton in the same way?

  When they reached the center of town, the sheriff said, “Well, I better get back to my office. I’ll meet you there again tomorrow?”

  “I know where your house is,” Shaye said. “Why don’t we just meet you there?”

  “Fine,” Cotton said. “I’ll see you all then.”

  He broke away from Shaye, who continued on to the hotel, where his sons were waiting.

  Thomas spotted his father first, walking up the street toward them.

  “James.”

  James turned his head and saw his father. They both stood and waited for Shaye to reach them.

  “Pa?” Thomas said.

  “How did it go?” James asked, anxiously. “Is the boy Matthew’s?”

  “I can’t tell, boys,” Shaye said. “He’s a big boy, all right, but there’s no way to tell.”

  “Maybe we’ll be able to tell,” James suggested. “When can Thomas and me see him?”

  “Tomorrow afternoon,” Shaye said.

  “Why then?” James asked. “Why not today?”

  “Let’s get some lunch, boys,” Thomas said. “We can talk about it while we eat.”

  “But Pa—”

  “Come on, James,” Thomas said. “Pa’s obviously got somethin’ to talk to us about. Let’s let him tell us.”

  “Pa?” James asked.

  “Over lunch, James,” Shaye said. “Over lunch.”

  28

  “So she’s puttin’ on an act?” James asked.

  “For the sheriff and his wife, yes,” Shaye said. “Not for me.”

  “And the sheriff is buying it?”

  “He is,” Shaye said. “I don’t know about his wife. She might be able to see through Belinda.”

  “So she’s not the shy, helpless little thing she wants them to believe,” Thomas said.

  “I don’t know if they would have taken her in otherwise,” Shaye said.

  He’d told both boys the entire story: what he saw and what Belinda Davis had told him.

  “So she wants us to protect her from this Collier gang,” Thomas said. “Do you plan to do that?”

  “I don’t plan to do anything until you boys have met her and her son,” Shaye said. “We’re in this together. You’ll make your own decisions.”

  “Collier,” James said. “I don’t know that name, Pa. What was he in Yuma Prison for?”

  “She doesn’t know,” Shaye said. “Maybe I can send some telegrams and find out.”

  “What about the sheriff?” Thomas asked. “Don’t you think he should be warned that there’s a gang on its way?”

  “Yes,” Shaye said, “I do think he should be warned, even though Belinda doesn’t want to tell him.”

  “That won’t make him very happy with her,” James said. “And she’ll be mad at you for tellin’ him.”

  “I can’t worry about that,” Shaye said. “I’ve been sheriff in enough towns to know that he needs to be told. I just wanted to talk to you boys first.”

  “How do you think he’ll react?” Thomas asked. “Think he’ll put her out of his house?”

  “I think his wife will have something to say about that,” Shaye said. “The way she was holding that boy, I know she loves him.”

  “Why do you think Belinda wasn’t holdin’ him, Pa?”

  “I get the feeling Belinda’s maternal instinct doesn’t match the sheriff’s wife’s,” Shaye said.

  “They have any kids of their own?” James asked.

  “Apparently not,” Shaye said, “which would explain her attachment to…to Little Matt.”

  “If the boy is not Matthew’s, Pa,” Thomas asked, “why would she name him Little Matt?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe she was planning this that far back.”

  “Makes her kind of a schemer, don’t it?” Thomas asked.

  “Oh yeah,” Shaye said, “I think that’s a good word to describe her.”

  James pushed his plate away.

  “When are you gonna tell the sheriff about this?”

  “No time like the present, I thought,” Shaye said. “We can go and tell him now.”

  “Then let’s do it,” Thomas said. “Maybe he’ll know who Collier is.”

  “I just hope he believes you,” James said.

  “If he doesn’t,” Shaye said, “he just has to ask Belinda.”

  When Sheriff Cotton looked up from his desk and saw them entering his office, he looked surprised.

  “Didn’t expect to see you so soon,” he said. “What’s this about?”

  “We’ve got something to tell you,” Shaye said, “and I don’t think it’s going to make you real happy.”

  Cotton leaned back in his chair and stared at him. His gun was once again on a hook above his head. Shaye realized he was leaning back to get within reach of it.

  “You won’t need your gun,” he told the lawman. “At least not now.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Do you know the name Jeb Collier?” Shaye asked.

  “Collier?” Cotton thought a moment. “Collier. I don’t think so. Why?”

  “Maybe you’ve got some paper on him,” Shaye said. “He either just got out of Yuma or he’s getting out soon.”

  “How long was he in?”

  “Two years.”

  “Not wanted anymore, then, is he?”

  “Maybe not,” Shaye said, “but the word I get is that he might be on his way here with a gang.”

  “To do what?” Cotton asked. “What was he in for?”

  “I don’t know why he was in,” Shaye said, “but maybe you should ask Belinda why he’s coming here.”

  “Belinda? What’s she got to do with it?”

  “Sheriff,” Shaye said, “she’s the one who told me about Collier.”

  Cotton frowned.

  “What would her connection be to a man like that?” he asked.

  “Well,” Shaye said, “for one thing, he apparently thinks he’s Little Matt’s father.”

  “What? What the hell are you talking about?” Cotton demanded. “When do you claim she told you this?”

  “After she sent you into the kitchen to make coffee.”

  “She didn’t send me—”

  “She sent you, Sheriff,” Shaye said. “That little gal has you wrapped around her little finger.”

  Cotton bristled at that.

  “What are you saying?” he demanded angrily. “I never—”

  “I’m not suggesting anything,” Shaye said. “I’m just saying that Belinda hasn’t shown you and your wife her real self. She’s got you wrapped around her finger—maybe like a daughter might—and I’ll bet that baby has won your wife’s heart, hasn’t he?”

  Cotton calmed down a bit. “He has, yeah.”

  “Let me explain…”

  Briefly, Shaye told the lawman everything Belinda had told him during the man’s absence from the room.

  “I’m finding this hard to believe,” the lawman said when Shaye finished.

  “Look, Sheriff,” Shaye said. “All you have to do is ask her. If you do that, I think she’ll tell you the truth.”

  “If she’s afraid of this Collier and his gang, why wouldn’t she just tell me?” he demanded. “Why send for you?”

  “I guess you’d have to ask her that,” Shaye said. He decided to leave the man his pride as long as he could.

  “And why are you telling me this if she doesn’t want you to?”

  “Because I’m not wrapped around her finger,” Shaye said. “And because I’ve been a lawman and I think you need to know if a gang of outlaws is on its way to your town so you can prepare.”

  Cotton thought about it for a moment, then pushed his chair back.

  “I’m going to have to ask Belinda about this.”

  “I know you will,” Shaye said, “but I’m asking you to put it off for a day.”

  “Why’s that?”
<
br />   “Give me and my boys time to settle our business with her,” Shaye said. “After we meet with her tomorrow, you can confront her, but if you do it now she might not let my sons meet the boy.”

  “She wouldn’t do that.”

  “Think about it, Sheriff,” Shaye said. “Do you really know the girl?”

  Cotton hesitated, then said, “I thought I did.”

  29

  All four men left the sheriff’s office together, but the Shayes stopped just outside and watched the sheriff walk off toward his house.

  “Do you think he’ll confront her now?” James asked.

  “I hope not,” Shaye said. “I hope he’ll wait until tomorrow.”

  “And if he doesn’t?” Thomas asked. “How can we leave without bein’ dead sure if that kid is Matthew’s?”

  “I don’t know if we’ll ever be sure, Thomas,” Shaye said.

  “But Pa, if there’s even the smallest chance that he’s part of our family…” James said.

  “I know, James,” Shaye said, putting his hand on his youngest son’s shoulder, “I know. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

  Sheriff Cotton was halfway to his house before he made his decision. There was no harm in waiting one more day and giving Dan Shaye and his sons time to make up their minds about Little Matt.

  When he reached the house, he found Marion still holding the baby and Belinda nowhere in evidence.

  “What brings you back here so soon?” Marion asked.

  “Just wanted to check and see if everyone was all right,” Cotton said. “Where’s Belinda?”

  “She went out,” Marion said, “right after you left.”

  “Did she say anything to you?”

  “No,” Marion said, rubbing the baby’s back. “She just said she had to go out. I assumed she had some thinking to do.”

  “I think we all have some thinking to do,” Cotton said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I have something to tell you,” Cotton said, “but we can’t act on it right away.”

  “What are you talking about?” she asked.

  “Sit down,” he said, “and I’ll tell you…”