He and John look at each other momentarily and smile. Joey fires another round from her rifle, only to have a second voice join in on the screaming.
Just as quickly as it started, the gunfire ends.
Joey rises from her crouch, repeater held at the ready. She advances to where John and Jake are rising from their crouches. Without turning to look at them, she demands, “You two okay?”
John grins tightly. “Yeah. When I saw you take aim, I could only drop. Think I twisted something. You alright?”
She nods, her eyes never leaving the area the shots were coming from. “You boys think you might be ready to check and see if we bagged ourselves some jailbirds?”
Jake uses the butt of his shotgun to prop himself up and sees John doing the same with his repeater. What a fine lot we are, a couple of broken-down old men that can’t even manage a firefight very well.
The three make their way over to the treeline, guns at the ready. They head directly to where one of the attackers are laying on the ground, clutching at his shoulder, screaming in pain. The other has stopped screaming and just lays there groaning, clutching at his gut.
Just inside the treeline, the three lawmen split up, covering different areas. Jake can see where the two men have their horses tethered. He shakes his head. This was a great spot to hide and plot an ambush.
Jake approaches the man with the gut-shot. He looks the young man in the face and knew him to be one of the escapees from Denver. “Well, Weaver, I guess this didn’t turn out at all like you expected, did it?”
A groan is his only response. Jake looks at where the wound is and shakes his head. A widow-maker. Jake partially turns at the sound of someone approaching behind him. He sees Joey coming up to him, holding her rifle at the ready.
She takes one look at the injured militiaman on the ground, sighs and shakes her head. She knows what this wound means, too.
Jake turns back to the young man and with his voice thick with compassion says, “Weaver, I can almost guarantee you, your wound is mortal. We can take you back to Denver with us where a doctor may be able to save you, if you survive the trip, that is. Last time I saw someone with a gut-shot like yours, though, he screamed for the last three days of his life. That’s not a way I would want to go, but it’s your choice. We’ll come back in a few minutes, no matter what.” He motions Joey to follow him.
They walk over to where John has the other attacker on his feet and cuffed.
Jake knew him immediately. They got their men. “Well, Wheeler. It looks like you’ve managed to get yourself into some serious trouble and your friend killed. What do you have to say for yourself?” Josh’s friendly tone doesn’t match his words.
Through teeth gritted in pain, Wheeler’s voice harshly demands, “What does it matter? That stupid half-breed animal got what he deserved!”
Jake sees the butt of Joey’s rifle strike out and hit the prisoner on the head, knocking him clean out. Jake turns and looks incredulously at the young marshal. “Was that necess—”
A gunshot coming from where Wheeler lay cut him short. Jake sighs as he looks at their dead prisoner. That’s just one more body they’re going to have to deal with, now.
John limps over to where the horses are tethered and searches their packs for any weapons he can find. Finally, after several minutes of searching, he finally mounts one of their horses and rides over to his friends. “I’m going to pick up our horses. I’ll be right back.”
As John rides off, Jake looks at Joey. “So, was all this,” he points angrily toward their unconscious prisoner, “necessary?”
Joey looks at him. “I wanted him to be quiet. You’re a half-blood, do YOU enjoy being called a mongrel?”
“Nope. Just think we might have just gagged him is all.”
She shakes her head. “World’s best gag is to keep him unconscious.”
MOUNTED ON THE PRISONER’S horse, John rides at a leisurely pace over to where his party’s horses are tethered. He’s glad for the chance to be away from Josh and Joey. When he saw Joey strike out like that, John was almost bowled over with surprise. He’s not prepared to see his beautiful adopted niece be more than willing to commit such brazen acts of violence.
Thankfully, they were only a few hundred yards away from where their horses were tethered. He’s able to reach the horses quickly enough. He dismounts, grabs the horses’ reins and ties them to his saddle.
As he rides back to the site of the ambush, he sees Josh and Joey lugging the dead body back to his horse. He rides up to the pair and points to their unconscious prisoner. “If we tie that idiot to his saddle, we might be able to make it back to Denver tonight.”
Joey’s expression as she looks at him is at best, amused annoyance, at worst, aggravation. “What do you think we’re doing? Playing the game of graces?”
John dismounts gingerly, grabs all the reins and limps over to where their unconscious prisoner lay. He looks down at the man and says quietly, “Why couldn’t you just come along without a fight? Oh well. At least we’ll get the satisfaction of knowing you won’t do this to another half-blood.”
He moves the prisoner’s horse into position so they can, as a group, hoist the man onto his saddle. He stands there waiting for only a minute before the other two members of his party arrive. It only takes them two minutes to sling the unconscious man over his own saddle then tie him hand and foot.
Less than ten minutes later, they are remounted and cantering back to Denver, prisoner in tow.
JAKE’S FEET ARE NUMB by the time they make it back into Denver, just before midnight. He can’t believe it took them almost eight hours to get back into town.
To say that the day has been frustrating is putting it mildly. First, the trail, then the road was wet and their horses slipped and slid all over. Then, their prisoner finally woke and wouldn’t shut up, until Joey went over and rapped him on the head, knocking him back out.
The group rides over to David’s office and dismount. Joey knocks on the young doctor’s door and is greeted by a surly, half-asleep doctor, demanding who would wake him at this hour.
Several minutes later, with the dead body and the marshal dropped off at the doctor’s office, John and Jake take the living prisoner and all the horses over to the marshal’s office. They drop the prisoner off in the jail cell, then the horses off at the Johnston’s livery and stable.
Less than half an hour after dropping off the marshal at David’s office, the two men return to check in on how their friends are doing.
Chapter 16
Jake knocks lightly on the door to Cherokee’s room, entering when the door is opened by Joey.
The older marshal is deeply asleep, snoring lightly and his daughter returns to sit in a chair next to him.
“How’s he doin’?”
“David says his recovery will be long and hard. Thank God he’s able to sleep right now, though.”
John steps in behind Jake and says quietly, “He’s an incredibly strong man. He’ll pull through.”
Joey nods. “David says the same thing, just that it’s going to be a long hard road ahead of him.”
Jake steps over to the sleeping marshal, holds out a hand over the man and says a quiet prayer for his friend’s recovery. He looks to Joey and says, “I’ve done all I can do here. I need sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”
The look Joey gives him is one of gratitude. The look John gives him is one of amusement.
Jake’s look in return is one big question.
“Go ahead and get those tired bones to bed, old man.” John’s smile is malicious.
Jake sighs. “These bones get more tired as time goes on.” He nods and waves bye to the other two.
He’s met at the door by David, who asks, “Did you have to kill that boy you brought in?”
Jake shakes his head. “I didn’t do that. He did.”
“I don’t mean the shot that ended his misery. I mean the gut-shot. It came from your .45.”
J
ake cocks his head to the side. “How would you know that?”
David smiles thinly. “You’re the only one using a .45. Everyone else has a different caliber.”
Jake sighs and nods. “I honestly didn’t know. The area was misty, the lighting poor, things were confused, it was just a lucky shot I guess.”
David sighs and shakes his head. “Talk about a lucky shot. You got lucky, that boy back there, got dead.” He ushers Jake out the door and says, “Have a blessed night, deputy.” He shuts the door, casting Jake in the gloom.
Jake goes back to his hotel room and lays down. His last thoughts before the blackness consumes him are of a short-haired, little girl, most likely asleep in Norman at this very moment.
DAVID KNOCKS ON THE door lightly and enters quickly. “Now that he’s gone, we can talk.”
John looks at his young friend. “What are you talking about?”
“I expect Joey will be able to stay quiet about this, but I didn’t want to say anything while Jake is here. What do you think his intentions are with that little girl, Andy?”
John takes a deep breath and leans back in his chair. He thinks quickly while he strokes his beard. “I don’t get the feeling he has anything other than honorable intention. I disagree with him not telling us, his family that he was still alive, but I don’t think his desire for Andy is sexual.”
David looks at Joey. “Do you agree?”
She nods. “He and Pa accepted the Gift of Grace around the same time. I’ve known him several years now and, honestly, I think he’s telling the truth about feeling called to adopt her. I’ve seen the way he looks at her.” She looks down at her father a moment, then back at David. “It’s just like pa looks at me.”
David nods, apparently not entirely convinced. “Alright. You can understand my concern, though.”
“He’s a good man. I trust him with my life and the lives of my family,” whispers Cherokee.
“Well, old friend, how are you feeling?” John asks the injured man.
“Like I got beat up. How am I supposed to feel?” his faint, sarcastic smile belies his words.
John’s smile is ironic. “Well, at least you don’t feel like you had a train run you over, right?”
“There is that. David, why are you so worried about Jake and his daughter?”
“I can’t really tell you. Just hearing about her adoption makes me think something bad is about to happen.”
John nods. “I feel the same way. I haven’t really said anything about it, but I’ve had the exact same feeling. Like something bad is just around the corner, but I can’t quite see it. Brigit had a premonition the night we got to Norman, too.”
Joey sighs and looks at her father. “She said something to me about it, but it didn’t make sense. I almost forgot about the whole ordeal.”
Cherokee nods weakly. “There’s nothing we can do, except pray.”
Everyone nods and bows their heads as Cherokee leads them in a prayer asking for wisdom and strength.
Once everyone mutters an “Amen”, John looks at Joey. “Something else has come up, too. I was told by Lyttle that I’m not gonna be able to keep Red-Feather on as a deputy anymore. He says the county doesn’t have enough money for me to keep anyone on.”
David sighs and mutters what sounds to be a curse in Cherokee. “His family depends on that money. Now that their ranch is gone, what are they supposed to do?”
“I know.” John’s voice is disconsolate. “I’ve thought about everything I can. I think I need to turn over being marshal to him, and join the US Marshals, if they’ll have me.”
Cherokee opens his eyes and gives him a long look. “I would love to have you as a deputy. You would be a wonderful addition to our service. Do you think he’ll agree? That’s a lot of responsibility.”
“He’s been covering for me while I’ve been gone. He’s the best choice in town. Think I should go ask him about it?”
Weakly, the older marshal nods. “If you’re going to volunteer him to serve, don’t you think he deserves to know?”
John sighs and nods. “He and Heart-of-Falcon should be in the restaurant. I’ll go talk with him.”
As he and David leave, he hears Joey’s voice say, “Pa, there’s something I have to tell you about what Red-Feather told me.”
John winces and turns to David. “I don’t envy her that discussion. I hope you don’t mind us using your home like this.”
David shakes his head. “All of you are family. I can’t move Cherokee for awhile, so this the most natural place to be doing this.”
Surprised, John looks at David a little more closely. “Did you just mean that?”
The look the young doctor gives him is exhausted. “I wouldn’t have said it, if I didn’t mean it. Did I mean what?”
“When you called us all family.”
“Oh. That. Of course. Without everyone around here, I honestly don’t think Bekah and I would be in the territory at all.”
John nods. “Thank you for putting your faith in me, in us.”
David’s smile is thin as he turns to go up the stairs. “I need to tell Bekah about this. You’ll excuse me?”
John nods and leaves, closing the door.
Only a few moments later, John sees Heart-of-Falcon in the restaurant, helping Ben clean up, but no sign of Red-Feather. He turns and heads over to the marshal’s office.
As he enters the office, Red-Feather is sitting at the desk, reading from a well-worn Bible.
John seats himself in a chair by the desk. “Look, we gotta talk.”
Red-Feather looks up from his reading, his expression an unspoken question.
“The county is cutting the funding for the marshal. I can’t afford a deputy anymore. If I keep you on as deputy, it will have to be without pay.”
The look in Red-Feather’s eyes is heartbreaking.
John holds up his hand. “I’m not looking to fire you. Quite the opposite. What do you think about becoming the town marshal for Denver?”
Red-Feather sighs and leans back into his chair. “Why you think I wanna be marshal?”
“You said earlier you may as well BE marshal with as much as I’ve been gone. Here’s your chance.”
“Have you said anything about this to anyone else?”
“Just the marshals. They know well enough to keep quiet about it if you say no.”
“Have to talk about it with wife. Be back in a bit.” Red-Feather rises and quickly exits, leaving John uncertain about his plan.
Not sure what else to do, John pulls his Bible out of the desk and starts reading Proverbs, to calm down more than anything else.
He loses track of the time with his reading. It’s more than an hour before Red-Feather and Heart-of-Falcon enter, hand in hand.
John looks up at the clock and sees that it’s well past one o’clock in the morning. He looks at the expression on his old friends’ faces, noting they seem to be as exhausted as he feels.
Heart-of-Falcon cocks her head at John curiously. “Red-Feather tells me you want him to be marshal around these parts?”
John nods slowly. He quickly explains the change in financial policy for the county, about how it’s either John quits being marshal, or fires Red-Feather as deputy.
She nods, then asks, “What will you do for money if we agree to do this?”
“I have been told I can become a federal deputy very quickly. If I am released from service here, I will join up with them.”
The two Apache look at each other for several moments, silent communication passing between them. Finally, Red-Feather nods curtly. “I’ll do it. As long as no one else has a problem with it.”
John nods. “I doubt anyone will notice the change. I’ve spent more time out of town, than in it. You know that.”
Red-Feather nods. “Still need to make sure. We can talk about it in the morning. I’m tired.”
John nods and waves the couple out the door, locks it and lays down on the cot, promptly passing out.
>
JOHN WAKES SEVERAL hours later, just before dawn, in fact. He looks around, confused as to why he’s asleep in the office and why he’s waking up.
His bladder informs him it is time to get up, or suffer the consequences. Once he takes care of business, he checks in on Wheeler. The prisoner is snoring away on the cot.
He runs over to the Jade Dragon and quietly speaks with Quan and We Ling about his plans. The only reason their acceptance to the change is reluctant, is because they know this means John will be leaving Denver.
John runs over to the North Star Saloon and gets confirmation from Josiah as well. Finally, he talks to Junior and Sara Johnston, getting their approval.
As he heads over to the hotel, John is fighting off tears. The unanimous response to his questions, his ensuring the town will back him, is a reluctant acceptance. No one wants him gone. So far, everyone has said they are going to miss him.
When he goes into the hotel, he sees Red-Feather seated at a table, his back to the wall, watching the door. John walks up and nods. “So far, it’s unanimous. Everyone I spoke to will support you as Town Marshal.” He reaches inside his vest and unpins his badge. He looks at it for a long moment, suddenly unsure this really is right thing to do. This badge is HIS. It was made special order for HIM. If he turns it over to Red-Feather, he gives up his position among this community. He considers half the town as family and much of the other half as friends.
He takes a deep breath and hands the badge over. Now on to other adventures, other roles, other jobs. He steps over to the bar, asks Ben for a cup of coffee, then heads over to David’s office.
He knocks on the door and is greeted by Rebekah.
She looks at John’s troubled expression. “Are you okay?”
Not trusting his voice, John nods and opens his vest to show her his badge is missing.
“Oh. Want to talk about it?” She opens the door wider allowing him to enter.
He shakes his head and enters, heading back to the room Cherokee is in. He knocks quietly and Joey opens the door, ushering him in.
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