Saved By An Angel

by Elliee Atkinson

  “Nah, you don’t sound like a sap, Mark.”

  “I have talked to her on several occasions, when she needed me to do work for her on that house she got from her daddy when he passed on.”

  “What kind of work?”

  The two men pulled themselves up into the saddles of their horses and kicked their sides lightly to get them moving.

  “General stuff the single ones ask me to do. Roof problems, stair problems, porch problems, that kind of stuff.”

  “Sounds like a good deal.”

  “It keeps me going. I worked for Marie for several years. I still help her out every now and then, if she asks.”

  “Good of ya.”

  “Yeah. So tell me, Adam, what do you think we should expect from this cousin of yours?”

  Adam looked over at him. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean you know him better than we do. Should we be concerned by this man? Is he going to cause you or any of us trouble?”

  “No, I don’t believe he will.”

  “How can you be certain?”

  “I will know more after having spoken with him, Mark. Trust me, please, I would not allow anyone, relative or not, to wreak havoc on our friendly little town.”

  “A real relief to hear you say that, Adam. Because the man was looking rough. He said he was robbed last night but I’d give real dollars to say he didn’t. Looked more like he’d gotten drunk and was kicked around a bit. Probably running his mouth. And he smelled like he’d just gotten out of a beer barrel.” Mark lifted his hand and waved it in front of his nose. Adam was peering at him.

  “It sure doesn’t sound like you like this guy much.”

  “I don’t know him well enough to like or dislike him.”

  “It still don’t sound like you think much of him.”

  Mark shook his head. “I’ll let you decide what you think of him, Adam. He’s your cousin, after all.”

  “I gotta give him a chance. I never heard good things about him, so that’s what I’ll be looking for. Something that will give the man value.”

  “Clearly he does not value himself or he wouldn’t be seen in public like he was. I can understand taking a trip to see a relative but you have to know there was something seriously wrong for him to travel all the way here, even if he was in Louisville. Maybe they ran him out of town.”

  “You are letting your imagination run wild today, aren’t ya?” Adam laughed. “I’m sure he will be fine. I’ll vouch for him. You worry too much, friend.”

  “I do, don’t I?” Mark laughed. “I guess I was stunned because Sam gave him a room and a couple beers and put it on the tab.”

  Adam looked directly at him. “What time did he come in from his journey?”

  “I think his first stop was the Horse N Saddle. Probably wanting to borrow some money.”

  “Could be. And you say Sam gave him a room and a couple beers on tab?”

  “Yeah.”

  Adam was quiet for a moment. Mark looked at him curiously.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “If he arrived very early this morning and drank two beers in the first few hours, well, I think the drink might have a hold on him.” He gave Mark a furtive look. “I will ensure the safety of my friends and family against him if I need to. But I will not turn my back on a person in need either.”

  “I hope he proves to be an upstanding citizen.”

  Adam nodded. “Me, too, Mark. Me, too.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  ADAM AND JAKE REUNITE

  ADAM AND JAKE REUNITE

  Sam greeted them with a “Hello!” yelled from behind the bar when they walked into the Horse N Saddle. By the time they reached the bar, he had already set out two tall mugs of beer for them. “Here ya go. Take a load off, my friends.”

  “It’s good to see you today, Sam. You look like you’re happy as a pig in slop.”

  Sam grinned wide at Mark. “I’m supposin’ you already told our friend here about the guest upstairs.”

  “He ain’t been down yet?” Mark asked.

  Sam nodded. “Yeah, he’s been down once or twice for a beer. He just takes it up to his room with him.”

  “I hope he got cleaned up. Took a bath. He stank.”

  “He was pretty aware of that. He had Barb draw him a bath.”

  “I’ll go up and see him,” Adam said, picking up the mug in front of him. “Thanks for the beer, I’ll get you back when we come down.”

  “No worries, Adam.”

  Adam took the steps and then called over the railing. “I forgot to ask which room he took.”

  Sam laughed and yelled up “Three”.

  Adam knocked on the door with the brass 3 nailed to it.

  “Come in,” he heard from the other side.

  He opened the door and took a step in, staring at his youngest cousin, who was sitting on the bed drinking a beer. He didn’t appear to be doing anything else. The room was clean and he looked refreshed. Adam wondered how much his appearance had changed from that morning. The man that sat on the edge of that hotel bed did not look like he’d been robbed or beaten. He just looked forlorn and downcast. His shoulders were slumped and he appeared to be staring out into space. He moved his eyes to see Adam and they quickly became alert. He stood up.

  “Cousin Adam! I… I wasn’t expecting you.”

  “Sam sent for me. He said you were here and needed some help.” Adam went to the desk and dragged the chair from it. He turned it around and sat on it backward so he could lean on the back. He clasped his hands together in front of him. “So tell me, Jake. What kind of trouble are you in now?”

  Jake sighed, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, Adam. I don’t want to humiliate you in your hometown. I don’t want to do anything. I really don’t do anything. I gambled away my last money, got robbed last night for everything I had and beaten up by this man in the saloon I was staying in. I had to get out of that town, Adam, you understand.”

  Adam shook his head. “Not in the slightest. I have never been able to understand how or why you live like you do, Jake. But I’ll help you out however I can. I have to tell you, I have a wife and children now.”

  “Congratulations on that, Adam. It’s nice to hear.”

  Adam nodded his acknowledgement of the praise and continued. “I don’t want any shenanigans around my kids or my wife. Can I count on you for that?”

  “Of course,” Jake chuckled, lightheartedly. “I am a gentleman, Adam. Always have been.”

  “You’ll have to come to town if you want to drink. It’s not like living in a hotel and saloon. You can’t just come downstairs when you want a beer. And I hear you are running a tab with Sam?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’ll pay your tab this week for beer and for however long you stay in this room.”

  “I don’t really want to stay here, Adam. I am always tempted to go down and get something to drink. I have nothing else to do. I’m lonely. I’d like to get a job and be out doing something.”

  “How long has it been since you’ve worked?”

  Jake was quiet for a moment. Adam could tell he was thinking. It looked like it made his head hurt. He wondered if Jake would be honest with him. He might be too humiliated to answer him. “I… I guess it’s been nigh on a year now, maybe two.”

  Adam bit his bottom lip. Jake had been down and out for a long time.

  “I’m gonna help you out, Jake. You just gotta keep good control of yourself. You can’t be stumbling around drunk in front of my family. Do I make that clear?”

  Jake nodded, looking like a small child being scolded. “I’m sure gonna try, Cousin.”

  “I hope you will do more than try, son. You’re walkin’ on thin ice. It’s comin’ up on time to be a man. I hope you will succeed. That’s what I want to see out of you.”

  “Yes, I know, Adam.”

  Adam hoped he wasn’t being too hard on the boy. He thought of Jake as a boy only because the man had a baby face and looked muc
h younger than his 33 years. The two men were a mere seven years apart. In addition to the way he lived his life, without taking responsibility for himself, medicating himself with beer. It wasn’t a good way to live. Not in Adam’s opinion.

  “Can I ask you something?” Jake lifted his eyes only to look at Adam, leaving his head tilted slightly down.

  “Of course you can. Fire away.”

  “Do you think any woman would be attracted to me? I mean, if I was to sober up and go out of the saloon more often.”

  Adam laughed, clapping one hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “I don’t think you need to be thinking about a relationship right now, Jake. You gotta take care of yourself, my man. You need to realize what it is that your purpose it here. You know we all got a purpose. You just gotta find yours. You will, I’m sure of it. But right now, it’s not being in any kind of relationship with a woman.”

  “You’re saying I should wait on that.”

  “Yes, wait until you are together. You gotta be working, you gotta be drinking less, you gotta be a man first before you can be with a woman.”

  “I lost myself, Adam. I think that’s why Anne left. She couldn’t take watching me drown.”

  “That was the time she should have been there for you, Jake. It might have kept you from going in the direction you did. But that’s in the past now and you have to let it go. Can’t change the past, you know. Can’t never change the past.”

  “No… I know it…”

  Adam stared at the younger man, amazed that he was about to watch a grown man burst out in tears. Jake lowered his head and covered it with one hand. The other one was clutching the beer bottle so tight, his knuckles had turned white. “My life is in shambles, cousin Adam. I don’t know what to do.”

  Adam slapped him on the shoulder again. “You’re gonna be all right, Jake. I promise. You just gotta lot to do before you get there, that’s all. Once you do reach your goals, you’ll feel like a success and you’ll be proud of the steps you took to get there. But you will. It’s gonna be all right.”

  Jake’s shoulders shook as he tried to hold in his tears. When he finally let it all out, he only cried for a few minutes. Then he wiped his face with a handkerchief from his back pocket and sucked in a deep breath.

  “I ain’t goin’ down like this, Adam. I gotta get better, I gotta be better.”

  “We’re gonna see if we can help you with that, Jake, I promise.”

  Jake’s sigh was deep and long. “I sure hope you can. You don’t… don’t know how much I depend on getting that beer or drinking some vodka.” Josh shook his head. “Mentioning it just now made me kind of wish I had some vodka instead of this beer.” His voice trailed off as he thought about it. He wanted to go down and have a couple shots. The temptation to do so was so strong, he stood up instinctively.

  Adam looked up at him and stood up, as well, taking Jake by the arm. “Jake!” Adam frowned gently. “I would like for you to come and meet my family. I would rather you not be drinking in front of them or smell of it when you go in. If you don’t mind, of course.”

  Jake shook his head. “No, I won’t get any liquor right now. I’m ready to meet your family.”

  “Have you had a lot of beer today? Am I looking at a five-dollar tab or something?”

  “I don’t think it would be that high, would it?” Jake looked confused until her realized Adam was teasing him. He grinned. “No, it won’t be five dollars. More like thirty cents. And for the room, if you want to pay it, cousin. I didn’t ask him how much he charged. As soon as he heard your name, he was suddenly very generous. I suppose you have a good reputation here, don’t you?”

  Adam nodded. “I do and I enjoy it. This little town is filled with my friends and neighbors. I want them respected as such.”

  “But of course, cousin, I will truly do what I can to see that my behavior is at its best.”

  As Adam led him out of the room, Jake couldn’t help feeling nervous. He turned up the bottle of beer and finished it off quickly so they could leave. The thought of getting the liquor was still heavy on his mind. He thought if he could manage to get in a few shots, it would be all right. But Adam was in front of him and hadn’t stopped. He wouldn’t stop. He didn’t want Jake to drink in front of or before meeting his family.

  He wanted to respect that decision and would do what he could. But in all honesty, he didn’t know if he could succeed. It sounded like a good plan, him staying with Adam’s family. But there would be rules. There would be a wife. There would be children. Was that really wanted for his life? It would give him some of the motivation he needed to get back on his feet because he’d be prepared to leave on a moment’s notice. He always managed to screw everything in his life up. Why would it change now?

  He tried not to think anxious thoughts as they rode out toward Adam’s farmhouse. He didn’t say a lot, just listened to Adam talk about his family and the things that had happened since the last time they spoke. He was amazed that it was going on ten years since they spoke last. Adam had been privy to family information, even if what was said was negative. Positive reports were less frequent every year. And the alcohol had taken quite a toll on Jake.

  Jake, however, was hearing the tales for the first time. He wasn’t part of the family chain and didn’t know what was going on with the other people he called relatives.

  “You are lucky, coming to Wickenburg,” Adam said. “I am impressed that you’ve taken this step.”

  Jake wanted to tell him that coming was simply a way to run from the men he owed money. He was determined to start over in Wickenburg. He didn’t want that lifestyle anymore. It was more stressful than working, making money, and making sure he had food to eat every night.

  “It’s a big step for me, Adam. Thanks for being with me through it.”

  Adam slapped a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it for good measure. “You’re gonna be all right, Jake. I’m sure of it. You’re a Collins boy!”

  Both of them laughed. “Thanks, Adam.”

  The vote of confidence made Jake feel somewhat better but the nagging doubt was still there. Adam wasn’t going to have liquor at his house and with his record, Jake was sure Adam wouldn’t give it to him even if he did have some. That meant he would have to sneak out and run up a huge tab at Sam’s until he started working.

  He smiled when Adam looked at him but his heart was not in the smile and it did not reach his eyes. He wanted to be cheerful and excited to meet extended members of his family. Instead, he was feeling dread, fatigue and sorrow. He set the bottle on the counter as he passed and nodded at Sam.

  “I’ll be back, unless I stay with them. Keep that tab open, I’ll pay you as soon as I get to working.”

  Sam nodded. “I know ya will, Jake. And Adam will help till ya can, too. You are welcome to use the room upstairs all you like.”

  “Thanks, Sam. I appreciate that.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  JAKE VISITS THE COLLINS HOME

  JAKE VISITS THE COLLINS HOME

  The two rode alongside each other in near silence. Jake wondered what his cousin was thinking. He was already worried that he would not get along with Adam’s family. He had given up taking responsibility for his life years ago and Adam seemed to have it all together. He worked a good job, kept food on the table for his family and seemed very happy with his life. Jake could tell all these things just by looking at him.

  “Before we get to the house,” Adam started. “Why don’t you tell me what happened to bring you to Wickenburg. I have to be honest with you; I have not heard good things in the letters I’ve received from our family members.” He slowed his horse to a walk and looked directly at Jake. “I need you to be honest with me now. Lying for your own sake will only get you in more trouble later.”

  Jake felt like a child being scolded by a parent. He struggled with the anger he felt and tried to remember that he was in this situation because of his own bad decisions. Adam had a right to know more about him. He und
erstood that. However, the truth wouldn’t get him very far.

  His hesitation made Adam bring his horse to a halt. Jake stopped his own horse and looked sheepishly at Adam. “I haven’t made good decisions with my life, Adam, no one can dispute that. I am here because I got in trouble where I was and I had to seek refuge.”

  “You have problems I can’t relate to, Jake. I have never been in a situation where I was left to drift from place to place, getting in trouble and having to run away.”

  Jake resented the reference to running away. He was not a little boy running away from home. He was a man running away from home. Jake tried not to laugh at his own joke, but he didn’t feel much like a man, he had to admit.

  “I have to tell you, Adam, I’m not in a good place in my life. I’ll admit that. But I want to change. I want things to go better from now on. I just don’t know how to make that happen.”

  “Sounds like you’ve been needing help for quite some time, Jake. Have you thought to ask anyone for assistance in getting your life straightened out?”

  “I haven’t. I am… I’m embarrassed by what’s going on. I don’t know where I am. I feel lost.”

  Adam nodded. “I can tell. You do need someone to care for you, don’t you?”

  “I can handle things on my own. I’m a man. I know what I need to do.”

  “But yet you don’t do it. You just said you are lost. If you are lost, you need direction.”

  “I don’t want to burden anyone.”

  “A burden you are and a burden you will remain until you get some sense in your head, cousin. You have to take responsibility. You admitted that you haven’t been. It’s time to start. Especially if you plan to stay in Wickenburg. Alice will not object, I believe, to you staying with us for a short time until you get on your feet again. But no longer than that. You gotta do whatever you can to pull yourself out of this.”

  Jake appreciated the pep talk, but was still perturbed that he was having it with a distant cousin whom he hadn’t spoken to for many years. He wondered how much he had been talked about and exactly what had been said. “Have you talked to my father recently?” Jake asked.