to the ranch house. Sunshine filtered through the leaves and dappled the grass around them. Dim in the distance the steady thunk, thunk of Hamp Sedleyâs ax was the only sound.
âAt least I can shave again,â Shawn said. âWell, barely. Iâve cut myself a dozen times.â
He idly watched Hamp Sedley chop wood near the barn, swinging the broad-bladed ax with more enthusiasm than skill.
âThereâs a sight you donât see every day, a riverboat gambler at honest labor,â Shawn said.
âFather convinced him that he would go to seed without exercise,â Judy said. Sunlight tangled in her hair and added turquoise to her eyes. âHamp seems to have taken him at his word.â
âHamp worries about his health,â Shawn said. âHe read a medical book one time and convinced himself that he was on a path to getting every ailment known to man, including his favorite, Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease.â
âWhatâs that?â Judy said.
âHamp has no idea, nor does anyone else, myself included. But he says a misery with a fancy name like that has to be lying in wait for him somewhere.â
The girl laughed, a charming sound that pleased Shawn greatly.
After a while she said, âTell me about her, Shawn.â
Shawn smiled. âNow, thatâs a womanâs question.â
âHamp told me you still grieve for her.â
âHamp talks too much.â
Shawn took his time to light up one of Duncan Campbellâs cigars. When it was drawing well, he said, âI had Judith for only a little while and then I lost her.â
âYou loved her?â
âWith all my heart and soul.â
âShe died young.â
âJudith was murdered. It happened in England, at a place called Dartmoor. She was kidnapped by escaped convicts and they killed her.â
Judy touched the back of Shawnâs hand with her slender fingers. âIâm so sorry,â she said.
âYou would have liked her,â Shawn said. âJudith was a wonderful woman. She loved life and the living of it.â Then, âHamp swings that ax like a maiden aunt. Heâs going to do himself an injury.â
Judy accepted Shawnâs cue and smiled. âItâs almost time for lunch, so we can save Hamp from himself.â
But the gambler had already decided that enough was enough. He drove the ax into the stump, picked up his coat, and strode toward them, his gunbelt slung over his shoulder.
âHow much wood is a cord?â he said.
âA lot,â Shawn said.
âWell, I must have chopped ten cords into kindling,â Hamp said. He held up his hands. âLook at the blisters. An ax handle does terrible things to a manâs hands, especially a gambling manâs.â
âHard work isnât easy,â Shawn said. âOr so they tell me.â
âYeah, well Iâm done with that. From now on Iâm saving my mitts for Antony, Cleopatra, and one-eyed Jack.â
âA wise decision, Hamp,â Shawn said. âAnd I couldnât agree with you more.â
Sedley was suspicious. âWhat do you mean by that?â he asked.
âOh, nothing,â Shawn said, his face empty. âI was just saying to Judy that you swing an ax like a professional.â
âDamn right,â the gambler said. âBut now Iâm done with it.â
âA great loss to the entire wood-cutting industry,â Shawn said.
For a second time suspicion clouded Sedleyâs face, but Judy, suppressing a grin, said, âI think itâs time for lunch.â
âThe offer is tempting, Duncan, but I have to be moving on,â Shawn OâBrien said.
âBut Shawn, if you take Paâs offer you can put down roots here,â Judy said. âMaybe even start your own ranch.â
âI already have roots, Judy,â Shawn said. âTheyâre back at Dromore in the New Mexico Territory.â
âI do