by C. J. Petit
Before she even started planning just how she would welcome him home, Jake and Sheriff Zendt were less than thirty miles away.
_____
Jake wished he’d waited until they reached the Elk before giving the sorrel to the sheriff. The gray was a strong horse, but its gait wasn’t nearly as smooth. It hadn’t been that noticeable on the ride from Woman’s Breast, but it must have been because of the softer ground. Now that they were riding at a brisk pace on the already dry road, the horse’s jarring ride was almost enough to make him want to reduce their speed. But despite the uncomfortable ride, Jake wanted to get back as soon as possible. Besides, he’d be able to be free of the gray bouncer sooner.
He glanced over at a pleased Sheriff Zendt and said, “If Kay shows up and asks for a horse, I’m going to give her this one.”
Arv snickered then replied, “Is it some kind of payback for that story she made up that sent you into the army?”
“Nope. I’m actually grateful to her for turning me down and saving me for Sara. I want to punish the horse by having to put up with her.”
The sheriff laughed and was more than happy to be riding the sorrel. Since they left the Elk yesterday morning, he and Jake had swapped a lot of stories, which was when he’d learned of Kay’s deception. He’d been amazed when he saw the exploded rifle and was even more convinced that it hadn’t been just coincidence or a freak of nature that had done the damage. But he hadn’t mentioned it again after they left the diner.
Jake hadn’t talked about the lightning strike again either. But he had spent the quiet time on the return ride thinking about it. It was such an extraordinary fluke of timing that it was only natural to look for an explanation. While he was still frustrated that he hadn’t had a chance to hear Dave’s confession, he knew that he now had no choice but to let it go.
When he returned to the Elk and told Sara and the men what had happened, he’d just tell them the facts and let them make their own judgements. If his father had been a religious man, he might have placed more credence in the sheriff’s heavenly theory. But his mother had been a regular churchgoer, so maybe she had been the one to throw that bolt from the clouds.
Jake shook his head and snickered. Now he was getting silly. He couldn’t imagine his sweet mother grabbing a shaft of flaming lightning and hurling it down at Woman’s Breast. His father, on the other hand, seemed to have his own lightning bolts every time he glared at his son.
They were within twenty miles of the Elk when Jake asked, “Arv, did you ever hear anything about that highwayman I shot when I first began the search for my father?”
“Oh, that feller. Yeah, I heard about him. Doc Summers told me about him after he fixed him up. I reckon he wasn’t about to stick around and wait for you to come back, so he was gone the next day. He musta headed south, but I don’t think he had much in the way of supplies when he left. He’s probably already in Meagher County by now.”
“I imagine he’s looking for somebody else to rob, so maybe you’ll hear more about him when he fails again.”
“With that arm, if he tries to take advantage of anyone, it’ll be the last time.”
Jake didn’t reply as he was focused on the road ahead. In another couple of hours, he should see the ranch house and maybe Sara would be waiting on the porch. It wasn’t likely as he knew he’d only been gone for two full days, but it was a pleasant notion.
_____
Sara had returned to her rocking chair without her book because she didn’t want to just turn the pages. She watched the western horizon most of the time but would occasionally look east and south in case Kay or one of her brothers decided to visit. She briefly thought about riding into town today to see her family, but she decided she’d wait until Jake returned. Of course, then she would be occupied with other, more pleasant undertakings.
She was about to head back into the house to start cooking her supper when the low summer sun almost prevented her from seeing the small dots on the edge of her vision. If she hadn’t been concentrating on the distant end of the roadway, she would have missed it. Sara put the edge of her hand to her forehead to block out the sun as she stared to the west.
She continued to watch the specks hoping that her mind wasn’t creating an illusion simply because she wanted to see Jake so badly.
For almost two minutes, Sara watched and hoped. Then she identified two riders trailing another horse. Jake and the sheriff hadn’t taken a packhorse with them, but maybe they were bringing back Dave Forrest’s body. But then she remembered that Dave had two horses, so it still wasn’t right. It could be just two men riding from Fort Shaw, so Sara tried to restrain her excitement. If Jake had taken Mars, she’d at least be able to identify the tall gelding. But in the glare, she couldn’t see the tan color of the sorrel that Bill Jackson had selected for him.
“Damned sun!” she exclaimed under her breath.
As the two riders drew closer, Sara was engaged in an internal skirmish between her logical mind and her hopeful heart. Her mind told her that it was too soon for Jake and the sheriff to return and that the riders had the wrong number of horses. But her heart was screaming that it was Jake.
She was about to curse that bright ball of light again when she saw one of the men take off his hat and wave it high over his head. She laughed and waved back. While she couldn’t see him clearly with the sun at his back, that same bright light made her white blouse practically incandescent.
_____
Jake and the sheriff had been riding alongside the southern border of the Elk for thirty minutes when he spotted the roofs of the two barns and a minute later, he picked up the tops of the lower buildings. He’d spotted Sara soon after but knew that it would be almost impossible for her to see them with the sun at their backs. So, he had waited until he was sure she could see him before waving his hat over his head.
Jake pulled his light gray Stetson back on then turned to the sheriff and said, “I think my wife is waiting on the porch.”
Arv laughed then replied, “Either that or you need to have a serious talk with one of your ranch hands.”
Jake snickered as he focused on the ranch house but as anxious as he was to reach Sara, he didn’t ask the gray gelding to gallop to the ranch house. While he wasn’t happy with the horse’s uncomfortable gait, he wasn’t about to drive him to exhaustion after the long, hard ride. He’d asked the horse to carry him more than eighty miles in about fourteen hours. He deserved some measure of respect.
Arv then said, “I’m just going to keep riding, Jake. My old bones need a rest.”
“No offense, Arv, but I wasn’t about to ask you to come the house. I don’t think Sara would be pleased with me if I brought a guest.”
The sheriff chuckled as they approached the long access road then waved as Jake turned left toward the ranch house.
Jake felt his heart pounding in concert with the gelding’s hoofbeats as he rode the last eight hundred yards.
Sara thought about rushing from the porch to meet Jake on the ground but decided to let him at least dismount. When she saw him riding the gray horse rather than the sorrel, she knew that he’d found Dave Forrest. She wasn’t able to see if there was a body draped over the horse that the sheriff was leading into Fort Benton, but it didn’t matter. Jake was home and safe.
Before Jake was halfway down the access road, Bill Jackson had spotted him on the gray gelding. He started walking to the front of the ranch house to take care of the horse but wouldn’t bother asking any of his many questions. He knew that the boss would want some private time with his bride, so he’d just do his job and patiently wait with the others when Jake decided to tell them what had happened.
Jake picked up Bill Jackson heading for the house in his peripheral vision, but he never shifted his eyes from Sara.
When he was a hundred yards away, he unfastened his ties holding down his saddlebags then lifted them onto his right shoulder. He soon stopped before the long hitchrail, dismounted, then let his reins drop just before
Bill Jackson arrived.
Bill said, “I’ll take care of the horse, Jake.”
Jake never turned his eyes away from Sara as he replied, “Thank you, Bill.”
Sara thought she might explode as Jake stepped onto the porch but just took his hand. After entering the house, Jake closed the door, dropped the saddlebags on the floor and scooped Sara into his arms.
"Are you okay?” Sara asked quietly as she held onto him as if she never would let him go.
“I’m fine. It’s all over, Sara.”
When she looked up at him to ask what happened, she wasn’t able to utter a syllable.
Jake kissed her as if he’d been away for two years and not two days.
Sara thought she might faint as her knees buckled and her toes curled. Just seconds ago, she desperately wanted to know what had happened, but now she no longer cared.
Jake had planned to guide her to the couch and explain everything, but once he had her in his arms, that notion disappeared as if it had never existed.
As soon as the kiss ended, the newlyweds wordlessly strolled across the main room then entered the hallway before quickly turning into their large bedroom.
_____
After their long reunion, Jake smiled at Sara and said, “I suppose I should tell you what happened now.”
Sara kissed him on his nose then replied, “I already know what just happened, sir.”
Jake grinned as he said, “You know what I mean, ma’am.”
“I do, and as much as I want to know, I’m sure that the men in the chow house are just as anxious to hear about it as I am. Why don’t we go there and have our supper with them, so I don’t have to cook?”
Jake replied, “That’s a good idea,” then slapped her damp behind and quickly rolled off the bed before she could retaliate.
_____
While Sara and Jake dressed, the men were all standing around one of the long benches in the chow house staring at the spectacularly damaged Martini-Henry.
Charlie was almost finished cooking their big dinner when Bill Jackson carried the mangled rifle into the chow house. They forgot about eating when he laid it on the bench.
Tex Emerson exclaimed, “Where did you get that thing, Bill?”
“I saw it wrapped up in his bedroll and figured he took it back from Dave. He was even ridin’ that gray gelding that Dave took. I didn’t bother takin’ it out of there until I’d taken care of the horse and put away Jake’s tack. I left his Sharps and Winchester in their scabbards and was gonna just leave it wrapped up like that. But when I picked it up to put it on the shelf, I was felt a sharp stab in my hand and dropped the bedroll. I looked at my palm and saw some blood and couldn’t figure it how it got cut.
“Then I looked at the bedroll and what looked like the tip of a knife stickin’ out. That seemed mighty queer, so I unwrapped it and was saw this thing. I gotta tell ya, boys, I was damned lucky I didn’t lose my hand. Look at it! I ain’t never seen anything like it before. Have any of you seen a rifle explode like that?”
The crowd of men shook their heads as they mumbled their assorted negative replies.
Colt Hipper said, “I’ve had a few jams and misfires, but I never saw one blow up like that. I hope Jake shows up soon to tell us what happened.”
Mike Tucker snapped, “I just hope it blew up in Dave’s face and he lived long enough to suffer for what he did.”
The other men all agreed with Mike, but the strong and welcomed smell of Charlie’s grilled steaks soon overpowered their interest in the shattered Martini-Henry. They began lining up to pick up their plates and cutlery when Jake and Sara appeared at the door behind them.
Charlie was the only one facing the door, so he loudly asked, “Are you and the missus joining us for chow, Jake?”
Ten faces whipped around as Jake replied, “If you don’t mind, Charlie. I see that you found what was left of the Martini-Henry. After everyone is sitting down behind a loaded plate, I’ll explain how it got that way and what happened after I left.”
The line to fill their plates moved much faster than usual, and after each of them had taken a seat, Jake let Charlie take his supper before he added a steak and baked potato to Sara’s plate and then one to his. Charlie always prepared extra helpings in case the boss showed up. If he didn’t, then the first men to finish could have seconds.
After he and Sara sat at the end of the benches closest to the door, he noticed that they were all just watching him, so he told them to start eating or he wouldn’t say a word.
Once they began chowing down, Jake smiled at Sara who started cutting her steak before he suggested that she should eat.
Jake was famished but delayed his own supper as he began his narrative. He didn’t diminish his almost fatal mistake by continuing to ride to Woman’s Breast even though he couldn’t see more than fifty yards in front of his horse’s nose. But it was his description of what he’d found when he entered the saddlery that stopped each of the men from taking another bite.
“That gun was hit by lightnin’?” exclaimed Lone Bill Riker.
“When that bolt hit, it scared the daylights out of the sorrel and when he reared, I thought I’d been shot because I was tossed out of the saddle to my right. I didn’t hear the gun or the ammunition in Dave’s pockets explode because my ears were still ringing from the thunder. If I had only found the damaged rifle, I would have put it down to just a flaw in the gun. But when I saw Dave’s middle and then spotted the empty brass all over the place, I knew what had happened."
Al Pope said, "That musta been kinda spooky when you figgered it out.”
“I didn’t think of how eerie it was until Sheriff Zendt mentioned the coincidence that the man who had murdered my parents was about to use my father’s rifle to shoot me when he was struck by a bolt of lightning.”
John Hatcher asked, “Do you reckon your pa hurled that bolt down from heaven to stop him?”
Jake smiled as he replied, “I guess that assumes that my father is in heaven in the first place. I’ll answer any more questions tomorrow, but right now, I’m going to finally devour my steak.”
_____
An hour later, Sara and Jake returned to their bed to get some much-needed sleep. He’d left the Martini-Henry with the boys so they could admire it for a while, but tomorrow, he’d hang it in the office where his father had left it.
He was holding Sara close when she softly said, “Jake, about that coincidence with the lightning...”
Jake smiled then kissed her on her forehead before saying, “I know. It sounds like more than a coincidence, and I’ll admit that when Arv mentioned it, it spooked me a bit.”
“Then I’m probably going to make it worse. Yesterday afternoon, when I saw the storm clouds on the horizon, I began closing all the windows. When I was in the office, I looked at your father’s desk and chair and asked him to use all of his power to protect you.”
After a short pause, Jake replied, “I guess he was listening after all.”
“When we have our first son, do you want to name him after your father?”
Jake chuckled then said, “No. One of the few things I understood about my father was that he hated his name, whether it was Chester or Chet. All of the men called him boss or Mister Elliott and even my mother addressed him as dear or my husband. I was about seven years old when I asked him why no one used his first name and he told me he just didn’t like it.
“I knew his middle name was James, so I asked him why he didn’t just use his initials like some men did. He told me that he didn’t want to be called C.J. because it sounded pretentious. I had to ask my mother what pretentious meant. She explained the meaning and then told me that my father was the one who suggested my name. It’s not short for Jacob either. He named my younger brothers Sam and Mack as well because they were manly names. The only other name he suggested to my mother before Mack died was Matt. He didn’t want it to be Matthew, just Matt.”
“Then we’ll name him Matt. Is that
alright?”
“I think it’s a good name.”
She snuggled closer and whispered, “When I asked your father to protect you, I also told him that I wanted to fill the house with his grandchildren.”
Jake smiled as he said, “I’ll do all I can to make that happen, Mrs. Elliott.”
_____
The next day, Jake moved the stolen money into the safe after he let Sara count it and add it to the ledger.
Then it was a long question and answer period with the men before Jack convinced them to get to work.
When they returned to the house, Jake carried the Martini-Henry and the Sharps while Sara brought his father’s Winchester. After restoring the guns to their previous spaces in the office, they walked to the barn. They saddled Mars and Vulcan then rode down the access road to head into Fort Benton. Jake was trailing the gray gelding and was enormously grateful for Mars’ relatively smooth gait. He’d confessed his reason for giving the horse to Kay during breakfast and hoped that she wouldn’t be offended. While she hadn’t laughed, her giggling eyes announced her approval.
Their first stop after entering the town was #12 Missouri Avenue. After they dismounted, Jake detached the gray gelding’s trail rope from Mars and tied it to the hitching post.
He then took Sara’s hand and stepped down the walkway. Jake was about to knock on the door when Sara laughed before she turned the knob and swung it open.
They passed through the foyer but stopped in the parlor as Sara shouted, “Kay, Jake and I brought you a present!”
They heard rapid footsteps coming down the hall and for a moment, Jake thought that Kay had not only lost twenty pounds but added an extra inch or two of height.
Sara smiled and asked, “Is my sister in, Hanna?”
Hanna Marsden returned her smile as she brushed a wisp of her hair out of her eyes and said, “No. She’s visiting your mother.”
Jake had his gray Stetson in his hands when Hanna looked at him and said, “I’ve never met you before. I hope you’re Jake Elliott.”
“Yes, ma’am. I haven’t annoyed Sara enough to make her look elsewhere yet.”