A sudden urgent tug on his pant leg caught his attention.
“Uncle Cutter! Uncle Cutter!” Katie shrieked in panic. “I think... I think you hurt Shifless’ feelins!”
As absorbed as he was in the kiss, it took Cutter a long moment to regain his senses, another to digest what Katie had said. He looked down at her with an expression of stunned surprise on his face, having actually forgotten she was even there.
Elizabeth didn’t suffer the same disorientation. Startled by Katie’s voice, she pulled away from Cutter at once. Bending to take Katie by the hand, she looked up at him guiltily, then back to Katie. “Shiftless?”
“Yes!” Katie wailed, pointing. “See! He’s running away! An he won’t come back!”
Cutter looked over his shoulder in time to see the dog’s wagging tail end disappear into the crowd. “Aww hell!” he exclaimed, sweeping his hat back to his head, adjusting it quickly. “Go on, get aboard!” he told her as he started away. And then he came back suddenly, snatching Elizabeth into his arms to kiss her soundly. Releasing her abruptly, he seized up the reins and sprinted after the dog, both horses at a slow trot behind him.
Elizabeth watched only a moment longer as Cutter dodged his way through the cram of people, away from the train, noticing his limp for the first time. They’d spent so little time together in the last days, because he and Elias had been busy repairing fences. She’d seen him only briefly during dinner, and then at night, but as far as she could recall, he hadn’t complained of any leg pain. Her brow furrowing with concern, she ushered Katie aboard the Gulf Mobile Ohio. “Come on, now, sweetheart,” she said. “We’ll go find a seat by the window. All right?”
“All right—but what about Shifless?” she wanted to know.
“Don’t worry. Cutter will get him,” Elizabeth assured her. “Now, up—and watch that next step—careful now.”
“I never fall!” Katie exclaimed, her little hand gripping Elizabeth’s fingers tighter.
Elizabeth chuckled softly. “Of course you don’t,” she agreed with a smile. “But you should never say never. Once I said I’d never eat a rattler, you know... but guess what?”
“What?” Katie replied automatically, and Elizabeth proceeded to tell her, as they made their way down the aisle, all about the rattler she’d been forced to eat.
* * *
Alternating between whistling and cursing,Cutter weaved his way through the depot, away from the train. No matter how loud he called, Shiftless seemed not to hear him—or not to want to. Confounded dog raced like a bullet out of blazes, and kept running, his tail wagging wildly.
Just when he came close enough to catch the dog, Shiftless darted beneath a dozing horse. The animal startled, its ears perking and its nostrils flaring. Knowing it was alarmed and sensing danger, Cutter gave it a wide berth, taking his own two mares through a thick crowd of people in order to dodge it.
When finally he worked his way out of the mob, he spotted at once what it was that Shiftless was after.
Elias Bass. He was coming down one of the side streets, his rifle under his arm, and was still whistling through his fingers as the dog leapt up, thrashing its tail in welcome. Elias ignored the mutt. For some reason, seeing that Shiftless had come alone seemed to make him all the more agitated.
“Elias!” Cutter shouted in greeting.
Hearing his name, Elias turned, but the moment he saw Cutter, his face screwed with anger. He said nothing, just commenced marching in Cutter’s direction. When he was within five feet, he picked up his pace. When he was only two feet away, he hurled his gun to the ground. Heaving himself at Cutter, he tossed a punch at Cutter’s middle.
Surprised by the attack, Cutter released the reins he held in his hand, falling backward holding his gut. His back slammed the ground, knocking the breath from his lungs. Clutching his chest, he managed to roll free of the horses.
“You son of a bitch!” Elias snarled, diving at him again. “You deceiving son of a bitch!” His face scarlet with anger, Elias threw another unexpected jab that landed just beneath Cutter’s eye.
“What the hell’s wrong with you, Bass? You got a complaint with me, spit it out!” Having spent enough time with Elias to know that there had to be a good reason for the man to be behaving so irrationally, Cutter restrained himself.
Elias threw another right that landed at Cutter’s jaw, the force of it snapping his mouth shut. He shook it off, telling himself that there was no way he was going to allow himself to be goaded into thrashing an old man—especially one who likely felt he had good reason to be doing what he was doing. “Damn y’, you old codger!”
“Not so old I can’t clean your plow!” Elias returned, wheezing as he hurled another. “That’s for lying to me, you son of a bitch!” Cutter ducked it.
Swearing, Elias hurled himself at Cutter, grabbing him by the shirt. “Where’s my granddaughter?” He released Cutter’s shirt to take another furious jab at his jaw.
Cutter caught it this time, struggling with it in midair. “She’s fine!” he shot back, beginning to lose his resolve not to fight back. Damn the old man if he didn’t have a powerful right for such a feeble-looking fellow. “All right, Bass, you’ve had your sport. Now, why don’t ya tell me what’s got y’ so riled?”
Elias didn’t answer; instead he hurled his left fist. Cutter blocked it, hurling one back, knocking Elias off with one clean blow. Surging to his knees, Cutter rubbed at his jaw, immediately throwing his hands up into the air when Elias came after him again. “You made me do it once, but I’m not gonna trade punches with you, old man, so you can just calm down and tell me what’s wrong.”
Elias gave him an accusatory glare but held himself in check, his chest puffing with fury.
“Katie’s fine!” Cutter repeated. “Now, what the hell’s the matter with you that you feel you hafta come at me throwin’ punches without explanations?”
His eyes bloodshot with anger, and his lip bleeding from Cutter’s blow, Elias rubbed at his own jaw. “You’re the one that has explaining to do, McKenzie—damned four-flushin’ deserter!” He began to cough violently.
