“What about Nick and that woman? They keep asking questions. What if they start to put two and two together?” One of the others said.
“If you would have just given the man more time, this wouldn’t be an issue. Was it really worth it?” The second man sounded resentful, even angry.
“Yes, it was worth it. He knew what would happen if he didn’t pay.”
“There were children and his wife with him.”
Jake shrugged, “He should have thought about that before gambling away money he didn’t have. And I still don’t have my money. But his family is still there.”
“You mean you expect them to-”
“That’s enough!” Jake interrupted whatever the man was going to say. “We are here to talk about the bank. Tell everyone to be ready next Saturday at sunset. The banker always goes to the saloon at that time. He’ll be out of the way. No chance of him coming back and checking on the bank before he goes home. If everything goes well, no one will even notice what’s happened till morning and we will be long gone then.”
Anger enveloped Nick. It was all he could do not to jump out and take care of Jake right then and there. He was responsible for Daniel’s death. But he also knew that by the sound of things, there were more men out there. And it sounded like they were aware of Ginger and of him and Lana.
If he killed Jake, those men would likely retaliate. Even worse, they would rob the bank, leaving anyone who had money there in despair. He couldn’t allow that to happen.
There was another reason that he couldn’t kill Jake. It wouldn’t be right. Even though he knew that, it didn’t make him want to do it any less.
“Come on, we should get out of here before they see us,” Nick leaned over and whispered to Derek. He didn’t want to have this all go wrong after it had gone so well so far.
“It’s about time,” Derek muttered.
They stepped back, deeper into the shadows. They didn’t stick to the route that they had taken here. Jake didn’t want to chance Jake running into them on the way back.
Now that they were taking a more direct route, it didn’t take long for them to get back to where they had left their horses.
Once they were sure that no one could overhear them, Nick could breathe a little easier. “This is sure a mess,”
“I can’t believe this. How… I mean, they killed Daniel.” Derek’s voice was slightly shaken. “And now they are going to rob the whole town. Everyone has their money in that bank.”
“I know. And right now, we need to focus on stopping that bank robbery.”
“Tell me how I can help,” Derek pulled his flask from his coat pocket and tipped it back. It seemed that the contents were almost gone.
“I’m going to think of something and then I’ll let you know. Thank you for helping me with this. Just lay low and watch your mouth. You’d better not drink too much and talk or you’ll blow everything and they will be looking for you,” Daniel advised.
Derek nodded, “Right. I have to turn in. I’m wiped out after all of that.”
Nick nodded absent-mindedly. He mounted his horse and turned towards home. He had promised Lana he would tell her what he found out. He didn’t want her poking around alone because she didn’t, now more than ever.
Now that he knew exactly what Jake Gold was capable of and exactly what he was planning, he needed to make sure that it didn’t happen.
First thing in the morning, he would talk with Lana. Maybe they could come up with some kind of plan together.
Nick smiled to himself. It was strange wanting to talk to Lana about this. Maybe it was because she was as passionate about finding answers as he was. He shook his head and urged his horse forward. Derek had been right about one thing; some rest was long overdue.
It was dark and Nick couldn’t see much, but he didn’t need to. He was fairly certain that he could make it home blindfolded.
As he rode up to the ranch, Storm and Buddy tackled him. He gave them both a rub, then put the horse up in the barn for the night.
He needed some time to digest the information they had learned about.
Chapter 23
Lana tossed and turned all night. She kept imagining terrible things happening to Nick if Jake found him following. A big part of her hoped that they had the wrong Jake and they would follow him to his home or the saloon.
She realized how much she really cared if Nick was hurt or not. The next morning, Lana woke up with a headache and burning eyes. Lack of sleep had plagued her, but she washed her face with some cool water and urged herself not to let it get her down.
Hopefully, Nick would be by soon and she would at least know that he was all right.
The sound of a horse coming up the driveway had Lana rushing to the door. It was Nick. His familiar form, swaying as he rode upon his horse, sent a wave of relief through her.
Lana wanted to run to him like a little child, demanding to know exactly what had happened and making sure that everything was okay. Instead, she held back, waiting until he pulled his horse to a stop and got off it.
He clomped up the porch steps and peeked in the window. He looked a bit surprised to find her face there at the window looking out at him. His mustache twitched comically, making her smile.
“Ginger is still sleeping.” Lana wasn’t sure if that was his question, but she had to say something.
“Oh, I actually wanted to talk to you about what happened last night,” he said. “Did you stand and watch for me all night at the window?” he asked with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.
“No, of course not,” she replied with a giggle.
Lana breathed a sigh of relief and came out and sat down on one of the stumps that served as seats on the front porch. Nick sat down across from her on another stump, leaning against the porch railing while folding his arms together.
“Was it the right Jake?” Lana asked, trying not to seem desperate.
“Yes, it was.”
Lana listened with wide eyes as Nick retold his story from the night before. When he was done, Lana leaned back and pushed out a puff of air. “Wow, I’m glad you were able to follow him. What are we going to do now?”
Nick shrugged, “I don’t know but we have to figure something out. After breakfast, I have some ideas we can talk about. We have to keep all of this from Ginger till it’s over, you know. I don’t want her to worry.”
Lana nodded. She was sure that he had his reasons for keeping her in the dark on this. It was a terrible thing to know that someone had purposely caused the death of someone that you loved and he wanted to spare her that for as long as possible.
Nick moved as if he were going to get up and leave.
“Nick, thank you for telling me about this. You didn’t have to.”
“I told you I would,” he said scrutinizing her.
Lana knew that he had, but that hadn’t meant that much. She had been lied to before and so hadn’t really expected him to be so forthcoming. “I know, but thank you anyway for following through with what you said.”
“You didn’t believe me, did you?” Nick was staring at her with a strange mix of emotions in his eyes.
“No, I guess I didn’t. I haven’t always had the best of luck with people telling me the truth.”
“Does this have to do with that guy by the name of Henry?”
Lana gave a little gasp of surprise. She had only mentioned Henry once by accident, but it seemed that Nick remembered. “I suppose so. I mean, once someone lies to you that badly, it’s hard to get over.”
“Is he why you left the city?”
“Not just because of him, but he had a lot to do with it,”
“Do you mind me asking what happened?” Nick looked genuine and kind and Lana felt herself lowering her guard.
“We were going to be married. I thought that we would have a family and a life together. Then one day, I caught him with another woman.” Lana shook her head, still astounded at how blind she had been before. “Of course, he denie
d it even though I saw it with my own eyes. He made excuses and made me feel like I was exaggerating. He said it was just his way of having a little fun but it was like a slap in the face to me.”
Nick just listened, his face full of understanding and sympathy. Lana had never told the story like this to anyone. She had briefly mentioned some of it to Ginger, but that was it. It felt good to talk about it at last.
“I started asking around, and it turned out that the woman I saw wasn’t the only one. There were others who he was, let’s say, loose with. I felt so humiliated.” Tears stung Lana’s eyes as old feelings washed over her.
“Hey,” Nick reached out and took her hand. “It wasn’t your fault. He was a poor excuse for a gentleman.”
Lana met his gaze for a moment. She had expected to find judgment, maybe even mirth at her naivety. But instead, she only found kindness and understanding.
“Anyway, I told him that we were through and that I wanted nothing more to do with him,” she continued. “He wouldn’t hear of it at first and wouldn’t stop bothering me. I guess as the weeks went on and I continued to ignore him, he finally got the message. Eventually, he stopped pursuing me but I often saw him around town and it was like a wound that never could heal every time I saw him.”
“You shouldn’t feel bad, Lana. Henry was the one who was a total fool in this situation. Any man would be the luckiest man on earth to have a woman like you by his side. He obviously wasn't worthy of you and got what he deserved.”
Lana couldn’t help but smile a little at the conviction in Nick’s words. For a moment, she wondered if he was included in his statement about the luckiest man, but she decided not to ask.
“Anyway, when Ginger asked me to come, I knew that it was time for a real new start. It was time to leave the past in the city and move on. And it’s good to be needed. I suppose that it’s one of the main reasons I am so determined to make it work out here.” Lana squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again to clear away the tears gathering in her eyes. “If I had to go back, I know I would be the laughing stock of the town. I would be a failure in every sense.”
Nick narrowed his eyes, “That is certainly not true. Whether you choose to stay here or go back to the city, don’t ever let anyone make you think you are a failure. You are strong and beautiful and deserve to be happy wherever you decide to be.”
Nick reached out and gave her hand a squeeze. Lana smiled at him and for a moment, everything seemed perfect.
And then she remembered Jake, his plan for the bank, and the fact he had killed Nick’s brother-in-law.
“I’m sorry again about Daniel. I was really hoping it was just an accident,” she said.
Nick nodded, “Me too… come on, I think I heard something in the house. Ginger is probably waking up and wondering what we are doing out here. We should move her bed back to her room today.”
Lana stood, then watched Nick knock on the cabin door. “Come in!” Ginger called from the other side.
Lana smiled and shook her head as she watched him go inside. Nick was a difficult person to figure out. He had started out by making her time on the farm one disaster after another, and now, he was what she would consider a friend. She felt a strange, warm glow whenever she thought about him.
Lana hurried into the cabin and began to prepare something for breakfast. She wasn’t sure how they were going to stop Jake, but they would need a full stomach to do so. That much was for certain.
Chapter 24
“Are you sure that you want to include her?” Derek whispered softly. Despite his friend’s efforts to keep his voice down, Nick was sure that Lana could tell what they were talking about. She really wasn’t that far away.
“I’m sure, we need her help anyway. If we are going to stop this guy, we need everyone we can get. Besides I kind of told her everything last night.”
Derek’s eyes went wide, “You told her everything? I thought I was your only confidant.”
Nick laughed and gave his friend a playful slap on the back. If it wasn’t Derek, he might have thought he’d hurt his feelings.
Nick turned and the two of them took the few steps that separated them from Lana who was sitting in his parlor.
They had gathered here to discuss the plan against Jake. Nick was feeling worried about their chances. Jake had grown a reputation for himself in town. People trusted him. It was going to be tricky to change that.
“So, what are we going to do?” Lana looked between them. If she was bothered about them avoiding her earlier, she didn’t show it.
“We should start by telling the sheriff, shouldn’t we? I mean, he’s the law. He’d probably know how to stop Jake the best way.”
“I don’t know,” Nick stroked his chin, “We can try, but I have a feeling that convincing this town that Jake is dangerous is going to be harder than all of us think.”
“What if we wait and expose him to everyone when he tries to rob the bank? Nobody would be able to defend him if the sheriff and everyone else caught him in the act,” Lana said.
“That’s a good idea, but it could be risky. If something goes wrong, we could lose him for good.” Nick didn’t want to risk losing Jake. That man needed to rot in jail for the rest of his life.
“Which brings us back to the sheriff. I mean, none of us are deputies. I don’t really aim to die this year.” Derek was leaning back in his chair, a look of worry on his face.
“You’re right too, Derek. We need to come up with two plans. I will go and see the sheriff this afternoon, but if he should refuse to listen to me, we need to have a backup plan.”
“How are we going to have everyone see them robbing the bank? I just think it is risky. Those men are ruthless. They won’t think twice about hurting someone.”
Nick knew that Derek had a valid concern. But he was willing to take a little risk to see justice done.
“Let me go and see the sheriff. Then we will know a little more about what we are dealing with. Derek, would you mind accompanying Lana back to Ginger’s?”
Derek nodded and the three of them stood. They would have met at Ginger’s home, but Nick didn’t want her to suspect anything.
Nick mounted his horse and after Derek and Lana disappeared from the clearing he started toward town.
He could only hope that the sheriff would listen to him. If he didn’t, it would make bringing Jake to justice a whole lot harder.
---*---
When Nick got to the sheriff’s office, only David was there. He was one of the sheriff’s deputies. Of the three of them, he was the one that Nick didn’t exactly like.
Whether he liked him or not though, he didn’t think it was a good idea to discuss the information he’d found with everyone. If he’d learned anything so far, it was that people could be completely different than who they seemed to be, although he couldn’t imagine that a deputy could be in on anything.
No one suspected Jake of being a criminal because he was a simple general store worker and here, he was planning to rob the town blind.
“When will the sheriff be back?” Nick asked for a second time. He wasn’t sure if the deputy hadn’t heard him the first time or was just pretending not to have.
“Oh, any minute now. I’m in charge while he is gone. I can take care of anything you need.”
An Encounter of Courageous Hearts: A Historical Western Romance Book Page 18