her queen. This would be one of the shortest games they had played. "I answer without any details. Don't volunteer anything."
"Does he ever offer any information about himself?"
"Not much. I know he's plenty worried about his pa. I have an idea his pa expects a lot out of him. Maybe more than he can give. Maybe more than anyone could give."
Fox raised her head. "What's that mean?"
"I 'spect it means Mr. Tanner can't ever please his pa. Probably means he feels he's always disappointing his father."
Fox sat back and thought about that. Not having parents, she knew she cherished an idealized view of the parent/child relationship. In her vision, both parties gave and received unconditional love even though Fox suspected there was no such thing as unconditional love.
Turning her head, she watched Tanner talking to Hanratty and Brown. They stood near the bedrolls, smoking, occasionally laughing. All a person had to do was look at Matthew Tanner to know he was the kind of man who did the right thing, a man whose word was as good as a contract, a man with duty and loyalty at the core of his character. She could not visualize him failing at anything.
It occurred to Fox that if there was anything worse than having no father, it might be having a father you could never please, a father who looked at you with disappointment.
"Your butt is whipped."
When she jerked her attention back to the board, Peaches's men had captured her king. Fox swore as he picked up the pieces and stacked them back in the box. "Sorry," she apologized. "I didn't give you much of a game." A flash came into her eyes. "Why do you care if Tanner knows the name of the stars? It was you who showed me the Big Dipper and how to find the North Star. You already know the names of the stars."
"A few," Peaches agreed. "But not like Mr. Tanner does. He knows constellations."
"You do, too."
"Not as many as Mr. Tanner knows."
"Peaches Hernandez," her eyes came down in slits, "are you trying to make Tanner look good in my eyes?"
"I 'spect he already does, Missy."
Part of Tanner's job was to judge the mood of the miners and listen for complaints as he traveled among the JM&M holdings. Hobbs Jennings did not want to be the last to know about a problem brewing in his mines. He wanted to know quickly, while there was time to solve any difficulty.
Not everyone regarded Hobbs Jennings with the loyalty and affection Tanner did, but in fifteen years Tanner had never heard Jennings referred to as a thieving son of a bitch. It was troubling to think such an individual was out there, probably working for the company. A man holding such strong negative feelings would be trouble sooner or later, At the least, he would breed discontent around him, at worst an insurrection could develop.
The dust opened ahead and for an instant he glimpsed Fox's long red braid, saw her glance back at the string of mules she led. He could argue all day and she would never reveal the name of the man who believed Hobbs Jennings was a thieving son of a bitch. He bit down on his back teeth as the dust closed around her. Stubbornness was not an attractive trait in a woman. But then, Fox had a multitude of traits that most people would condemn.
While he waited for another sight of her straight back and long braid, he considered the qualities he liked about her. She was self-reliant, that was obvious. Fate could plunk her down anywhere and Fox would survive and thrive. Her self-reliance went hand in hand with her independence. Fox made her own decisions, went her own way, and she didn't appear to care what anyone else thought. That in itself made her vastly different from the women Tanner had known.
She had a temper, but she was undoubtedly the bravest woman he'd met. And the most foolhardy and reckless, he thought, recalling how she'd punched Jubal Brown and doubled him over. She was lucky that Brown hadn't retaliated in kind, although Tanner suspected Fox had been ready for that possibility.
"Does he ever offer any information about himself?"
"Not much. I know he's plenty worried about his pa. I have an idea his pa expects a lot out of him. Maybe more than he can give. Maybe more than anyone could give."
Fox raised her head. "What's that mean?"
"I 'spect it means Mr. Tanner can't ever please his pa. Probably means he feels he's always disappointing his father."
Fox sat back and thought about that. Not having parents, she knew she cherished an idealized view of the parent/child relationship. In her vision, both parties gave and received unconditional love even though Fox suspected there was no such thing as unconditional love.
Turning her head, she watched Tanner talking to Hanratty and Brown. They stood near the bedrolls, smoking, occasionally laughing. All a person had to do was look at Matthew Tanner to know he was the kind of man who did the right thing, a man whose word was as good as a contract, a man with duty and loyalty at the core of his character. She could not visualize him failing at anything.
It occurred to Fox that if there was anything worse than having no father, it might be having a father you could never please, a father who looked at you with disappointment.
"Your butt is whipped."
When she jerked her attention back to the board, Peaches's men had captured her king. Fox swore as he picked up the pieces and stacked them back in the box. "Sorry," she apologized. "I didn't give you much of a game." A flash came into her eyes. "Why do you care if Tanner knows the name of the stars? It was you who showed me the Big Dipper and how to find the North Star. You already know the names of the stars."
"A few," Peaches agreed. "But not like Mr. Tanner does. He knows constellations."
"You do, too."
"Not as many as Mr. Tanner knows."
"Peaches Hernandez," her eyes came down in slits, "are you trying to make Tanner look good in my eyes?"
"I 'spect he already does, Missy."
Part of Tanner's job was to judge the mood of the miners and listen for complaints as he traveled among the JM&M holdings. Hobbs Jennings did not want to be the last to know about a problem brewing in his mines. He wanted to know quickly, while there was time to solve any difficulty.
Not everyone regarded Hobbs Jennings with the loyalty and affection Tanner did, but in fifteen years Tanner had never heard Jennings referred to as a thieving son of a bitch. It was troubling to think such an individual was out there, probably working for the company. A man holding such strong negative feelings would be trouble sooner or later, At the least, he would breed discontent around him, at worst an insurrection could develop.
The dust opened ahead and for an instant he glimpsed Fox's long red braid, saw her glance back at the string of mules she led. He could argue all day and she would never reveal the name of the man who believed Hobbs Jennings was a thieving son of a bitch. He bit down on his back teeth as the dust closed around her. Stubbornness was not an attractive trait in a woman. But then, Fox had a multitude of traits that most people would condemn.
While he waited for another sight of her straight back and long braid, he considered the qualities he liked about her. She was self-reliant, that was obvious. Fate could plunk her down anywhere and Fox would survive and thrive. Her self-reliance went hand in hand with her independence. Fox made her own decisions, went her own way, and she didn't appear to care what anyone else thought. That in itself made her vastly different from the women Tanner had known.
She had a temper, but she was undoubtedly the bravest woman he'd met. And the most foolhardy and reckless, he thought, recalling how she'd punched Jubal Brown and doubled him over. She was lucky that Brown hadn't retaliated in kind, although Tanner suspected Fox had been ready for that possibility.
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