The Last Outlaw

by Rosanne Bittner

  “You’re right. This isn’t just a visit.”

  Jake buttoned the shirt and walked to his horse to fish out a cigarette and light it. “And?” he asked. “What’s the rest of the story?”

  “I’d rather wait, Jake,” Gretta answered, sobering. “I need your whole family to hear me out. And if we take too long getting to the homestead, it won’t set well with your wife, so I’d best not take the time to explain just yet.”

  Jake took a deep drag on the cigarette and grinned. “You’re probably right.” He looked her over. “How are things in Denver? Your clients treating you okay?”

  Gretta shook her head and smiled rather sadly. “Only you would ask that. And the answer is yes. And so far, the city hasn’t closed me down, but I see it coming. The pious women of high society think it’s time to rid Denver of its embarrassingly sinful citizens. Little do they know that I’ve slept with half their husbands.”

  Jake laughed, taking the cigarette from his lips. “You’re probably worth more as a good person than all of them put together.”

  Gretta smiled softly. “That’s a nice thing to say. That’s what I love about you, Jake Harkner. You just put it right out there and say it like it is. I’ve never met a man quite like you.”

  “And saying it like it is often gets me in trouble,” he joked.

  Gretta shook her head. “Speaking of trouble, did you ever run into that Brad Buckley again after Denver? He seemed to have a real big grudge against—” Gretta nearly gasped at the change in his entire countenance. He turned and walked a few feet away. “Jake?”

  “Shit.” He said the word under his breath, but Gretta heard it.

  “Jake, what’s wrong? I’ve obviously hit a raw nerve. I’m sorry.” She walked closer, and when he turned, the darkness in his eyes was almost as bad as the night of the cattlemen’s ball. He tossed the cigarette into the creek and took her arm, leading her to the shade of a lone pine tree several yards away. He towered over her as he spoke.

  “You need to know something, Gretta, and you need to know because I don’t want you saying Brad Buckley’s name in front of Randy or the rest of the family.” He kept hold of her arm. “I’m trusting you on this.”

  Gretta slowly nodded. “How well do you know women like me? We keep men’s secrets all the time. I could destroy half the marriages in Denver if I wanted to, so if I’m told not to say anything, then I don’t. It’s that simple.”

  He held her gaze for several long seconds, then let go of her and turned away. “The story is that Brad Buckley has disappeared from the face of the earth. None of us ever saw him again after the judge sent him off.” He nervously lit a second cigarette.

  “And the truth?”

  He didn’t answer right away.

  “Jake, I helped keep your neck out of a noose last summer, and that judge said if you took the law into your own hands one more time, you would hang. What did you do?”

  He sighed deeply before continuing. “We had a barn fire—a big one—last winter. It distracted me and Lloyd and all the help. We lost several prime horses and one of our best hands in the fire.”

  “Which one? I knew a lot of them.”

  “Pepper. Big belly. Old and kind of grizzly but a big heart. He liked to chew tobacco.”

  “I remember him! He had an index finger missing from a roping accident.”

  Jake turned to her, the remark making him smile a little. “You do remember your clients.”

  Gretta grinned, hoping she’d helped allay his dark mood. “I keep a ledger.”

  Jake grinned. “That could be pretty incriminating for some men.”

  “Oh, believe me, it helps me get my way in what you might call the political arena of prostitution.”

  Jake looked her over, his smile fading. “Brad Buckley and some other men set the fire to distract us”—he turned away—“while they dragged my wife off with them in the middle of the night.”

  Gretta gasped. “Oh no! Oh, Jake, I’m so sorry!”

  He said nothing for several long seconds. “We couldn’t go after them until morning because it was too dark to track them,” he finally continued. “They were men who’d worked for us, men we’d injured and kicked off the J&L, so they knew their way around the ranch. Long story short—we caught up to them at a line shack south of here. I won’t go into details, but we trapped them there and killed every last fucking one of them.”

  “You killed Buckley, after that judge said to stay away from him?”

  He didn’t answer right away. “Do you remember last year in Denver, when we left that jewelry store where I picked out my wife’s ring? On our way back, we talked a little more about Mike Holt and Brad Buckley. You said Brad was…a strange sort. That he only liked sex one way.”

  Gretta put a hand over her eyes and walked a few feet away. “Jesus in Heaven,” she said softly.

  “He forced oral sex on my wife. Him and one of the others. That’s something I never asked of Randy.” He growled the words through gritted teeth. “There are some things you just don’t ask of a woman like her. On top of that, they beat her pretty bad. It’s amazing she lived.”

  Gretta noticed tears in his eyes before he turned away.

  “I won’t even go into detail about what I did to him,” Jake continued, “except that I was ready to shove red-hot coals down his throat when Randy came out of that line shack with only a blanket over herself. She’d taken away one of the men’s guns, and she walked up and shot Brad Buckley herself. First in the chest, and then…in his face.”

  Gretta shook her head. “Dear God,” she said softly.

  “She looked at me and said that now no one could accuse me of killing Brad Buckley.” Jake’s voice wavered on the words. “Several of the men were there,” he continued, “and Lloyd, and the boys.” He threw his head back and drew a deep breath. “We have a pact. We burned that line shack and buried the bodies, and no one is ever to talk about it. As far as the outside world knows, Brad Buckley just up and vanished. And to be honest with you, I’m not even sure Randy remembers killing him. The whole thing affected her mind, and she wasn’t herself for quite a while. She never talks about shooting Brad, and I’m afraid to bring it up. She was so…horribly bruised and sick. And mentally…she was a mess for quite a few months. I lost her for a while there, but things are a lot better now. She’s gotten a lot stronger. Happier.”

  “Jake, I don’t know what to say.”

  “You don’t need to say anything. I just wanted you to understand why you can’t mention his name. They beat her so bad, but it was the other thing that just about destroyed her. We’ve finally…worked things out, so to speak. She’s eating better now and has gained a little weight, but she’s still too thin. Mentally, she’s pretty much back to her old self.”

  “I have a feeling that if any man can cure a woman of that kind of horror, you can. Me, I’m not offended by something like that, but being beaten and forced, that’s another matter—and having met that beautiful, gracious wife of yours, I can’t imagine how awful that had to be for her.” Gretta walked up and touched his arm. “I’m glad you told me.” What am I doing here? she thought. This family has been through so much. “Jake, maybe I’d better just go back to Denver. You and your family need some peace.”

  He turned and took her arm, leading her back to Outlaw. “No. You’re here now, and you’re welcome. We’re all grateful for your help after Lloyd was shot, and how you stood up for me. So you won’t be shunned by one person on the J&L. Randy understands.”

  Gretta let out a little scream when he suddenly lifted her onto Outlaw again.

  “But if we don’t get our asses to the house, all that understanding and forgiveness might not mean a thing. We’ve stayed here too long.”

  Gretta grinned as he mounted up behind her and moved an arm around her again.

  “My son will be coming a
long soon with the boys, and he’s going to wonder why this is all the ‘farther’ we’ve gotten.”

  Gretta patted his arm. “Well, I’m just sorry for the reason we took a little too long. You okay?”

  “No, but I’m used to being beat up and dragged around. I’ve grown a little numb to tragedy. I just hate it when it happens to others in my family, because it’s usually my fault. That’s something I live with day and night.”

  “You’re a good man, Jake. It’s not your fault. There are simply evil people in this world, and we can’t do much about it.”

  Jake urged Outlaw into motion. “Randy is a goddamn tough woman, Gretta, little and delicate, educated and sophisticated, kind and gracious—all the things I’m not. But she’s tough as nails. Inside, she’s a lot stronger than I am.”

  He headed through the huge valley, kicking Outlaw into a faster lope. Gretta could see how he and Lloyd fit this endless expanse called the J&L—big and tough and rugged. How was she going to tell this family why she’d come? They needed some peace. If her reason for being here was for her alone, she’d go right back to Denver. But she had to think of her daughter. She had to think about her Annie.

  Thirty-five

  Randy stood on the veranda, arms folded, as she watched Jake ride in with Gretta MacBain on his horse in front of him. She smiled and shook her head when she saw that just about every man who’d been working at the homestead was lined up to greet Gretta, all of them nodding and smiling, but respectfully, not whooping and whistling, which Randy knew they very much wanted to do. How often did a notorious, big-city prostitute come onto the J&L? She suspected Jake had told someone to forewarn them about making a fuss.

  “Honestly, Daddy can be the most brazen man,” Evie said, stepping up beside her. She put an arm around her mother.

  “Jake is just being Jake,” Randy answered. “And I have a feeling he ordered the men to mind their manners. As far as he’s concerned, he’s riding in with a lady.”

  “At least it’s Jake she’s with and not Lloyd,” Katie commented.

  “Oh, Katie, my brother would never do you wrong, and you know it.”

  Both Katie and Evie held their babies in their arms. Brian joined them on the veranda, shaking his head at the sight. “Randy, you have the patience of a saint,” he joked.

  “I just know my husband, that’s all.”

  Little Jake rode his spotted Appaloosa out from the new barn, charging up to Jake. “Hi, Grampa!”

  “You’re getting pretty good at riding that big horse,” Jake told him.

  “I’m good as any man,” the boy answered proudly.

  “You sure are,” Gretta told him. “Kid, you’ve really grown the past year. Remember me? From Denver?”

  “Sure I do! You’re that pretty lady that said nice things about Grampa when those men wanted to put him in jail.”

  “Well, you have quite a memory, young man.” Gretta winked at the boy.

  “Where’s Stephen and Ben, Grampa?”

  “They’ll be here soon.” Jake finally made it to the house.

  “Oh my, look at all the rose bushes!” Gretta exclaimed. “They’re beautiful!”

  “That’s all Randy’s doing. She loves roses,” Jake told her as he dismounted. He lifted Gretta down, then took her arm and led her up the steps of the veranda. He leaned down and kissed Randy. “Randy, you remember Gretta.”

  Randy gave him a look of mock scolding. “Oh, how could I forget the woman who said such nice things about you? I particularly remember how she described encountering you in a men’s dressing room.”

  Gretta put a hand to her chest, her eyes wide. “I was only warning him about—”

  “We know, and we appreciate the things you did, Gretta.” Randy smiled and reached out to embrace her. “And thank you for all your help.”

  Evie was next, walking up and hugging Gretta while holding little Esther on her right hip. “Welcome to the J&L, Gretta. This is my third child, Esther.”

  Esther pulled at the hat ribbon under Gretta’s chin and managed to untie it. Everyone laughed, and Gretta gently held the child’s arm and kissed the back of her hand.

  “I’m Katie, Lloyd’s wife,” Katie offered next. “And this very heavy baby in my arms is Lloyd’s newest son, Donavan.”

  “Well, who could doubt that, with that dark hair and those big, dark eyes,” Gretta answered with a grin. She turned to Evie’s husband. “Doctor Stewart! It’s good to see you again.”

  “And you.” Brian shook her hand. “I remember you often brought food to us in Lloyd’s room while he lay near death. We appreciate your help, Gretta. That was a really bad time for the whole family.”

  “Well, someone had to help. Heaven knows most of the town was scared to death to even go into that room, the mood Jake was in.” Gretta could hardly believe the welcome she was getting. She glanced at Jake, who still had an arm around Randy while two little girls clung to his legs. He let go of Randy and reached down to pick them up. They wrapped their legs around his middle from each side and hugged him around the neck. “Gretta, the redhead here is Tricia, Lloyd’s daughter. The other little troublemaker is Evie’s daughter, Sadie Mae, and we keep each other’s secrets, don’t we, Sadie Mae?”

  Sadie Mae giggled and kissed Jake’s cheek. “We got a secret about chickens!” she said, her dimples showing when she smiled.

  Gretta smiled, feeling sick inside. How could she ask Jake what she needed to ask him? She scrambled to make up an excuse for coming here, something different from why she’d really come. But then she had to think of Annie. Her little girl hadn’t been so different from these little girls at one time. Gretta had been so sure Annie would have had a better life than what was happening to her now.

  “Come in and have some lemonade, Gretta,” Randy told her. “How long will you stay? You most certainly need to stay at least one night. We have plenty of guest bedrooms. And how on earth did you get here if you had to take Jake’s horse to make it all the way in?”

  “Oh, I came by train and then a buggy. My companion, Sam, brought me. You remember Sam from the cattlemen’s ball, don’t you? He was with me that night.”

  “Oh my, after all that happened, I’m afraid I don’t remember Sam,” Randy answered, leading Gretta through the door. “Where is he now?”

  “He’s on his way in with Lloyd, Ben, and Stephen. They stayed behind to pick up their fencing tools.”

  “I didn’t want her sitting around in the hot sun,” Jake told Randy, “so I brought her on in.”

  Randy just grinned. “How nice of you. And didn’t the buggy have a canopy?” she teased.

  Jake winked. “Of course it did, but that’s not the same as being in a big, cool house like this and drinking cold lemonade.”

  “I accept your explanation, Mr. Harkner.”

  Jake leaned down and kissed her again, and Gretta couldn’t get over how beautiful Randy was, but just as Jake had warned, she was too thin. It made her sick to realize what had happened to the woman. She could only imagine how Jake had reacted when he’d realized Randy had been taken. The rage she’d seen on his face when Lloyd was shot was bad enough.

  There followed complete bedlam, as always when the entire Harkner family was together. Gretta just watched. Little Jake came inside and hurried over to hug his grandfather, asking to go along the next time to help dig postholes. Lloyd finally arrived with Ben and Stephen, and after taking time to wash off the sweat and put on clean shirts, they all came inside, along with Sam, who was also royally welcomed. Sam greeted everyone and then bowed out, insisting he would stay at the bunkhouse, and Evie sent him off with a glass of lemonade.

  Gretta was amazed at the family’s open friendliness. She felt nothing fake about any of it as they sat her down to the table and served lemonade and pie.

  “You must be tired and dying to cool down with a bath,”
Randy told Gretta. “The guest bedroom down the hall has a toilet and washroom attached. I know what a long ride it is from the train station clear across the J&L to reach the homestead.”

  “Oh, this ranch is so beautiful,” Gretta answered. “Jake pointed out a few places, but of course it would have taken days to show me all of it. But from what I saw, it’s just magnificent. I’m so happy for all of you. And Lloyd, I can’t get over how healthy you look.”

  “Yeah, well, my wife takes good care of me,” he answered, winking at Katie.

  “Apparently so, considering the fact that Katie is going to have another baby,” Gretta joked. “At least that’s what Jake said.”

  Katie blushed, and Lloyd took her hand. “A man has to have some reason to get well fast,” he answered. “I mean, look at her. Any man would heal fast for this.”

  Katie covered her face. “Please change the subject!” she begged.

  Esther sat in a high chair next to Jake, eating pieces of a biscuit. She suddenly got squirmy and made a face, wanting out of the chair. She reached for Jake, who pulled her out and hugged her close. She put her head on his shoulder and sucked her thumb, looking sleepy.

  “Well, I was just about to have a cigarette. I guess that’s not going to happen,” Jake said, patting the girl’s back.

  “I can take her and put her down, Daddy,” Evie offered.

  “No. Let her fall asleep this way first, or she might fuss.”

  Gretta didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the sight. She’d watched Jake Harkner put a gun to a man’s head last summer and pull the trigger. She’d seen a terrible darkness in his eyes, and even the Denver police had been afraid of him. He’d locked himself in Lloyd’s room and was determined to be the one to nurse his son back to health, and warned the authorities that anyone who tried to stop him would die.

  Yet there he sat, refusing a cigarette because he held a little granddaughter in his arms and insisted he would hold her until she fell asleep. She’d never known a man of such contrasts, or such a close-knit family.