Ride For The Sun Ch. 01

"It was close to three weeks before Ma would let me get up and around much," Rafe continued explaining to Bowie. "Once she'd let me ride I headed for town. It was a Saturday morning and Ma raised hell but I wouldn't stay home. She said I was gonna get shot again if I forced Ruiz's hand. My Pa told her I had to go to town or else I'd been shot for nothing."

Rafe shook his head. "You know the first person I saw when I went into the saloon was Ernesto. He sure looked drug out. He'd lost a lot of weight and was as skinny as a rail. A few streaks of gray had grown in his dark hair and he looked to be ten years older than when we'd tangled."

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Ernesto looked up as Rafe entered the saloon. He tensed and then relaxed showing a small smile. Ernesto motioned to the bartender and had two glasses of whiskey poured and put on the bar. He nodded at Rafe and offered a toast with one of the whiskeys.

Rafe had seen Ernesto when he cleared the swinging doors to the saloon. He hesitated and almost stopped but then saw that his old enemy was unarmed and was offering a drink to him. Rafe walked over to Ernesto, took the offered whiskey and nodded. Both men finished the whiskey with one long drink.

As Rafe turned to face Ernesto, Roberto stood by the table he'd be sitting at. "You may sit down Roberto," Ernesto ordered. "Senor Rafe is not here for trouble."

"Si Jefe," Roberto replied and sat back down.

"I am forced to have a companion to protect me while I heal," Ernesto explained. Touching his mid section he said, "Your bullet did a lot of damage Senor. It will be a time before I am myself again."

"Wasn't my choice Ernesto. I told you that fight wasn't necessary."

"Yes you did and I agree with you but I was under orders from my employer."

"Why did you fight if you agreed that I hadn't done anything wrong or dishonorable?"

"As I said I was following the orders of my employer." Ernesto could see that Rafe didn't really understand. "I gave my word and accepted payment to do what Senor Ruiz required of me. My word is my life Senor Rafe."

"So do I have to worry about facing you again when you're healed up? Will Ruiz send you after me again?" Rafe asked almost dreading the answer. He didn't want to have to kill this man.

"No, I don't work for Senor Ruiz anymore," Ernesto replied. "He wasn't happy with what I told the Sheriff when Ruiz wanted to have you arrested." Rafe gave him a questioning look. "I told the Sheriff that you were defending yourself and that it was a private matter."

Ernesto chuckled. "I'm going back to my village of Reynosa. I think maybe my days as a pistolero are over." He paused and continued with a warning. "But Senor Ruiz is not done with you yet amigo. He has hired two gringo gun fighters. I'm sure he will send them to meet you and these men have no honor. They will not face you but attack from the rear or out of the night. Prepare yourself."

Rafe nodded and motioned for two more whiskeys. He toasted Ernesto and drank his down.

"What will you do Senor Rafe?"

Shaking his head Rafe answered, "I don't rightly know just yet. Gracias. Vaya con Dios amigo."

Rafe turned and left the saloon. He mounted his horse and rode back to the ranch; his shopping trip for supplies forgotten. He was very quiet when he entered the ranch house.

"Where's the supplies you went for?" Barrett asked. He could see something was bothering his son.

"Reckon I forgot them. Somethin came up," Rafe answered.

"What's put a burr under you saddle son?"

Rafe told his father about the meeting with Ernesto and his warning.

"Maybe I ought to have a talk with Senor Ruiz," Barrett offered.

"No Pa, you'll just end up shootin him. I've got to figure this out on my own."

That evening at the supper table Rafe surprised his family. "I'm gonna ask Juanita to head to California with me."

His mother, Sarah, was the one who responded first. "You can't do that to her Rafe." At her son's puzzled look she continued, "You can't dishonor her like that son." Rafe started to object but Sarah held up her hand to stop him.

"She may not like her life but she gave her word; to her father, to her husband, and before God." Sarah took Rafe's hand and said, "Even if she agreed to go with you she would come to resent you over time. It would eat at her until she couldn't stand to be with you."

Putting her hand on his cheek Sarah added, "You have to let her go Rafe. You have to get her out of your heart."

Rafe nodded and left the table. He told his folks he was going to check on the horses and went to the barn. The real reason was to think about what to do. Rafe loved Juanita but in his heart he knew they couldn't be together.

Looking up at the stars he said aloud, "Reckon it's time for me to leave home." The tension and worry seemed to lift and he felt at peace for the first time since the gun fight with Ernesto. "I'll tell the folks in the morning."

At breakfast Rafe told his family of his plans to leave. "It'd be simpler to shoot Ruiz but he never carries a gun and I can't shoot him in cold blood. And if I stay here Ruiz will keep sending men at me and I'll have to kill somebody or they'll kill me."

"When you leavin boy?" Grandfather William asked.

Rafe shook his head and gave a small smile. "Think I'll leave by the end of the week. Should give me enough time to put together supplies and such."

Sarah tried to hide the tears that came to her eyes. She knew Rafe leaving was probably the best thing but even at 22 he was still her baby. Wiping her eyes she left the kitchen.

"She'll be alright," Barrett said to Rafe. "It'll just take her a little time getting used to the idea that you're grown." Barrett cleared his throat and asked, "Where you headed?"

"Don't rightly know. Reckon I'll head west and see where I end up. Maybe California."

A few days before he was due to leave, William called Rafe down to the barn. "What horses are you planning to take son?"

"Thought I'd take Buddy and one of the stock horses as a pack animal," Rafe answered.

"Buddy's a good mount," William offered. "But I don't think he's got the bottom to get you to California. Hold on a second."

William went into the barn and returned leading a big horse. The animal was almost 17 hands tall, with a deep chest and strong legs. But the most striking thing about the horse was his color. He was a Palomino with a creamy gold color coat and an almost white mane and tail.

"This'in got plenty of bottom," William said as he handed Rafe the lead rope. "Take care of him and he'll take you to hell and back. He's my gift to you boy."

Rafe was speechless. He stepped closer to the horse and stroked his forehead. "Thank you Grandpa." The youngster didn't know what else to say and stepped to his grandfather and hugged him.

William hugged him back for a few seconds and then coughed and stepped away. "You'll need to have a firm hand with him for a bit until he gets used to you. But he'll do you proud."

At first light, two days later Rafe mounted "Bowie" and with Buddy as his pack animal left his home. Barrett, Sarah and William waved good bye to him. They were all thinking the same thing. "This may be the last time we see each other."

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"And that's how you got drug into this Bowie," Rafe said to the big horse. He laughed at himself, "Never thought of it before but if people could hear the way I talk to you and Buddy they'd think I was loco."

Rafe watered the horses again. Lot of makin up to do for all those hard days without, he thought. I'll do a little scouting at daybreak and if I don't see any signs of that posse maybe I'll spend another night at this spring. As he led the horses back to the trees he continued to talk to them.

"Headed for Fort Stockton. Course you both know that. Figured I could catch on with one of the ranches there. Thought it would be a good place to start a new life. The mild winters make for good cattle ranching. Maybe after a couple of years I could get my own little place.

But it didn't work out that way."

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It took Rafe near twenty days to ride the 300 plus miles to Fort Stockton. He didn't push his horses and rode easy; resting for a day or two here and there along the way. When he finally rode into the town he was surprised. Fort Stockton wasn't the sleepy little town he'd heard about a year or so ago.

The town was growing up. It had a railhead and a lot of cattle were shipped back east. Rafe could see by the number of saloons in one part of the town that the cowboys liked to let off a little steam at the end of the cattle drives. Be a good place to get into trouble, he thought.

Rafe picked a small boarding house near the livery stable for his temporary home. He planned to spend a couple of days resting up from the long ride and then see about getting a job on one of the nearby ranches. His father had told Rafe to look up Alex Springer; an old friend of Barrett's. Alex owned a small ranch about ten miles west of Fort Stockton on the edge of the Llano Estacado. Even if Alex didn't need a hired hand he'd know who did.

Alex didn't need another ranch hand. "I'm full up until roundup next fall," he said. "Why don't you stay at the boarding house for a day or two and I'll talk to a few other ranchers for you?"

Rafe took the next two days looking around Fort Stockton. He talked to the owner of the general store, the barber, and a bartender at one of the saloons. Maybe one of them will hear about a ranch needing a cowboy, he thought. Men talked to each other at the store or the barber's and in the saloon.

On his third evening in town he visited one of the saloons after supper. I deserve a drink after my ride, he told himself. Rafe had one drink and a short beer and left the saloon. No need to go crazy, he thought. As he came out of the saloon he saw a young cowboy standing by Bowie.

The man ran his hand over Bowie's chest and down his front legs. He put his foot in the stirrup and started to mount up. Bowie kept sidling away from the man making it hard for him to climb into the saddle. The big horse didn't like strangers.

"Something I can do for you Mister?" Rafe asked. He didn't like the cowboy handling Bowie without at least asking.

The cowboy stepped back as Rafe walked in between him and the horse. "Appreciate it if you didn't get on my horse," Rafe said with a cold voice.

"Nice animal. Just wanted to see how he sat before I bought him," the young man said.

"He's not for sale," Rafe answered as he calmed Bowie.

"Sure he is. Everything's for sale for the right price. You don't understand. I'm Jason Sheldon," the man said. My Pa owns the Lazy S ranch; it's the biggest place in these parts. So I can afford to pay top dollar. How much you want for the animal?"

"You're the one that doesn't understand. My horse isn't for sale at any price," Rafe replied. He turned his back on Sheldon and untied Bowie.

"I want that horse Mister and I always get what I want. Now quit being stubborn and name a price," Sheldon ordered.

Two other cowhands that had been waiting for Sheldon stepped forward. They could see that Rafe was upset.

"C'mon Jason," the older of the two said. "Man don't want to sell his horse. Let's get back to the ranch."

"Stay out of this Bill," Sheldon ordered. "I'm gonna buy this fellar's horse."

"You got more horses than you can ride at the ranch," the other man said. "The man don't want to sell his horse."

"I'll tell you again, my horse ain't for sale. Now let me be," Rafe warned. Before he could mount Sheldon grabbed his shoulder and turned him around.

Rafe knocked Sheldon's hand off his shoulder and pushed him away. Turning to the two cowboys he said, "You better get control of your friend."

Sheldon tried to take Bowie's reins and said, "I'm buying this horse whether you like it or not."

Rafe tried hard to keep his temper. He didn't like the man's attitude or his actions. When Sheldon reached for the reins Rafe hit him with a short right hand, knocking him to the ground. Sheldon looked up from where he was laying on the ground with a red face. He quickly stood and faced Rafe.

"Nobody lays hands on me and gets away with it," Sheldon said and reach for the pistol on his hip.

Rafe was surprised that Sheldon would take things to this level but it didn't slow him down. He quickly drew and fired. The young cowboy yelled in pain and dropped to the street. Rafe turned toward Sheldon's companions. They both held up their hands indicating they weren't involved.

Stepping over to Sheldon, Rafe kicked his pistol away. He knelt down and looked at Sheldon's wound. "I hit him in the shoulder. Best get the doctor and sheriff," he ordered the two men.

They picked Sheldon up and walked him toward the doctor's office. As they left the Sheriff hurried over to them and then walked over to Rafe.

"He drew on me," Rafe told the lawman before he could say anything. "I was just defending myself Sheriff."

Three men that had come out of the saloon spoke up. "That's right Sheriff. Jason tried to buy this fellar's horse," one of them said pointing to Rafe. "Man didn't want to sell and Jason forced the point. Jason drew first." The other two men nodded their agreement.

"What are you doing in Fort Stockton, Mr....?" The Sheriff asked.

"Rafe Cassidy Sheriff. I was hoping to find work on a ranch."

"Well Mr. Cassidy I suggest you find work someplace else," the Sheriff said.

"But all I did was defend myself Sheriff," Rafe protested. "Don't seem right to run me out of town for defending myself."

"I'm not running you out. I'm just giving you some good advice son. Reece Sheldon won't like his boy being shot.

"Maybe Mr. Sheldon will understand when he finds out what happened," Rafe said.

The Sheriff shook his head. "Don't matter that Jason was wrong and had it coming; Reece will want to even the score. I can probably stop any gun play here in town but I got no jurisdiction outside the town limits. You'd be on your own."

"Reckon I can take care of myself Sheriff."

"Maybe so, if Reece came at you one on one. But he'll bring help with him," the Sheriff explained. "He's got a couple of gun hands working for him and he'll most likely send them after you the first time you ride out of town. He might have them brace you in town and they'll claim self defense."

Rafe shook his head. Hell all I wanted to do was get a fresh start, he thought.

"Son, you ought to ride out before Reece hears about this." Pointing to the west the Sheriff suggested, "Ride for the sun boy; while you still can."

Rafe nodded, mounted Bowie and went back to his boarding house. I'm not afraid but if I stay I'll probably have to kill someone, he thought. Reece Sheldon doesn't sound like the forgiving type. Don't mind fighting but not over something as stupid as a spoiled brat. Think I'll move on.

Back at the boarding house he collected his gear, went to the livery and got Buddy ready to travel. He rode west out of Fort Stockton toward Alex Springer's ranch. It was full dark when he rode into the clearing in front of Alex's house.

"Hello the house," Rafe called still sitting on his horse. "It's Rafe Cassidy, Mr. Springer."

Alex Springer opened his door and stepped out onto the porch. "Little late for calling ain't it Rafe?" he asked with a grin. "Get down and come on in."

Rafe stepped down and joined Alex on the porch. "Mr. Springer I've got a problem." He quickly explained about the run in with Jason Sheldon. "He drew on me Mr. Springer but the Sheriff said it wouldn't matter to his father. He said Reece would send men after me."

He stopped for a few seconds and then continued, "I'm not afraid Mr. Springer. I can take care of myself. But I don't want to kill someone over something like this. That's why I'm movin on."

"Okay Rafe, I understand. Reece Sheldon has run rough shod over this whole town for a long time. What can I do for you?"

"Would you send a telegram to my folks and explain what happened? Tell em I'm okay but on the run for a spell. I'll let em know when I get settled somewheres."

Alex nodded. "I'll ride in tomorrow and send the wire for you. Where you headed Rafe? You could stay for the night and get a start early?"

"No sir but thanks. I think I better hit the trail. Sides I wouldn't want the Sheldon's to come down on you if I was here. Reckon I'll head west for Arizona or California."

"You'll have to cross the Llano Estacado if you head due west. Be careful that's a nasty piece of land," Alex warned.

Rafe mounted Bowie, tipped his hat at Alex and left at a slow lope.

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"Reckon spendin all that time huntin when I was younger wasn't wasted," Rafe said to Bowie at daylight. He held up a rabbit. "Caught this fellar in the snares I set last night."

He skinned and cleaned the rabbit and put it on a spit over the low fire. Rafe added a few small branches to the fire and turned the spit. Bowie snorted and pawed the ground. "Don't look at me like that. I can't eat grass like you two."

After eating the rabbit, Rafe watered the horses again. Looks like they're about recovered from the hard riding during the last two days, he thought. Bowie was feeling better and danced a little as Rafe led him back to a different tree. The big horse pushed his head against his human wanting his ears scratched.

He made a warm mash out of the oats and fed the horses. "Sorry about having to run y'all for as long as I did but we were outnumbered too bad to stay and fight."

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Rafe rode Bowie at a fast walk after he left Alex Springer's place. When the full moon came up it gave enough light for him to ride a bit faster. He would ride at a slow lope for 20 minutes or so and then slow back to the fast walk for half an hour.

His plan was to ride due west from Fort Stockton through Van Horn and on to the Rio Grande. Then he wanted to follow it north to El Paso. From there he would ride north by northwest to Arizona. It was a little longer this way but he could stay along the edges of the Llano Estacado.

Rafe made his first stop at daybreak. He was going to rest his horses for an hour and then ride until midday. It was going to start getting hot and he would stop until dusk before starting west again. Rafe had just finished watering the horses when he saw about six riders in the distance coming hard.

He was on one of the high hills on the border of the desert like land and could see for many miles. Damn, didn't think they'd get after me this quick, he thought. They're sure not worried about tiring out their horses. The men had their mounts a full gallop. They stopped and walked the horse for a short time as they checked for Rafe's trail. A couple of times they had to look around to find the trail in the hard ground. Then they would continue riding hard.

Rafe had no doubt that the men were following him. "Course they don't have to worry about their horses," he said to Bowie. "They can take all the time they need to get back after they catch me. Well boys looks like we won't get that rest after all."

He tightened the saddle cinch on Bowie and the pack cinch on Buddy. The men across the plains were at least two hours behind him so he felt there was no need to panic and start running his horses. Rafe calmly mounted and put Bowie on the game trail down the hill.

As Rafe came down onto the plain he found a rock shelve that extended for miles. They'll figure I'm heading for Van Horn, he thought. But they'll have a hard time trackin me in this rock shale. I got to cross the Llano anyway might as well start today.

He pulled a copy of a map done by the Army back in '69 from his saddle bags. Reckon I can throw them off the trail if I turn northwest toward Pecos and then on into New Mexico, he thought. Rafe looked up at the rising sun and knew it was going to be a hot day; especially out on the Llano plain. "It'll be a four or five day ride in this heat, ifin I don't want to kill my horses," he said aloud. "Think I'll ride for a couple of hours and find a place to hole up until night. There'll be a Comanche Moon tonight and I can ride in the dark."