at the same moment that Shorty started the team.
The horses leaped forward.
The coach lurched.
Later, the injured men would swear it was the look Sister Leticia gave them that kept them pinned in their seats. But at any rate, the journey resumed and four hours later, they arrived at Fort Mays.
It was then Letty and Eulis learned the bad news. The stage didn’t go any farther. It was the end of the line.
Now if they intended to stay on the Amen Trail and play Preacher and Sister, they were going to have to do it on horseback. And, as if that wasn’t enough grief, the past caught up with Eulis.
Eulis’s eye was swollen shut, his lower lip was twice its normal size, and an upper tooth was loose where he’d hit the ground. His clothes were filthy, dust was matted in his hair, and there was a large purple bruise on his chin. When they rolled through the stockade gates and Big Will jumped down and opened the door for the passengers, Eulis found his muscles had seized up so badly he couldn’t move.
“You firss,” he mumbled, and pointed to Letty.
She eyed Boston and Morris, who were making pointed efforts to get their feet out of her way so that she could pass. Nodding politely at their thoughtfulness, she grabbed her purse and made her way to the door. Big Will offered her a hand down, which she gratefully took, and missed seeing the sighs of relief from the three men left inside.
Boston was nearest the door and got out next, wincing visibly as he stepped down. He picked up his bag from the luggage Shorty had unloaded and started across the parade grounds to the Sutler’s store.
Both of Morris’s eyes had turned black, his nose was swollen to twice its size, and he was now forced to breathe through his mouth. Once out of the coach, he picked up his bag and moved to the commander’s office to see if there was a military physician at the fort.
That left Eulis still inside the coach. Big Will leaned forward and looked in.
“You all right, Preacher?”
“No,” Eulis mumbled.
“Can you get up?”
“I don’ know,” Eulis said, and then proceeded to scoot across the seat toward the door, but when he went to lean forward, every muscle in his back protested. “Don’t think I can,” he said.
“I’ll help,” Big Will said, grabbed Eulis’s hand and yanked.
Eulis came up before he had braced himself and went headfirst out the door in the same manner that he’d fallen out earlier. Certain that he was going to hit the dirt, he cried out in anticipation of the pain he would feel.
“Easy there, Preacher,” Big Will said, as he steadied Eulis on his feet and then gave him a sturdy whack on the back. “Nice meetin’ you, Reverend. You have a safe trip west and watch out for Injuns.”
Eulis blanched. He’d been so set on getting out of Lizard Flats without being found out that he hadn’t given that possibility any thought. Only now he and Letty were at the last outpost of civilization. Beyond the western edge of the fort lay a lot of unsettled territory, the occasional wagon train trekking across the Rocky Mountains for California, and a whole lot of unruly Indians in between. This set up a whole new set of problems, which meant he and Sister Leticia needed to have a talk before bedtime tonight. They could always backtrack and head for the southern states, although he thought he remembered hearing some rumblings from travelers regarding the state of their politics. There were rumors of secession and going to war, and if this was so, the last place he wanted to be was in the middle of a fight. He’d had all of that he ever wanted to see in this lifetime.
He looked around, wondering where Sister Leticia had gotten to, then snorted, figuring that wherever the privy was, she’d found her way there. In all his years, he’d never seen a woman have so much trouble over taking a piss.
“Brother Howe!”
He flinched. Letty’s strident tone covered the distance between them as surely as if she’d just whispered in his ear.
He turned and then squinted his good eye against the evening sun. She was waving at him from across the way. Eulis waved back, then picked up his suitcase and limped to her.
“They have an empty barracks. It is dormitory in style, but we will each have a bed.”
Eulis nodded.
Letty frowned. “You don’t