They both agreed.
“Alright, you two, off to bed,” Sara instructed with a forced smile. She followed them to their room and helped Carter change into his nightclothes. Charley insisted that he was old enough to do it on his own.
“Will you tell us a story, Aunt Sara?” Charley asked, bounding into his bed and diving beneath the covers.
“Yes, I suppose,” she said, tucking both boys under the blankets and taking a seat on the edge of the bed. Happy to be able to pull their minds further from the present, she spun up a story of two little boys having adventures on the wild frontier. She ran her fingers through Carter’s hair and placed a comforting hand on Charley’s back. She waited with them until their little eyes had fluttered their last, drifting off to sleep.
She quietly left the room, closing the door behind her. To her surprise, she found Janie sitting in the living room. “Were you able to get any sleep?” she asked, scooping out a bowl of soup.
“Yes, though not enough to make up for last night.” Janie sighed and thanked Sara for taking care of the boys. “Though I had hoped for the best, I knew it would be a one-sided trial. I still do not know who to believe, but there is little that can be done now. Eventually, tears run dry and you’re left facing the prospect of what to do next.”
“I have been giving that some thought,” Sara nodded, taking a seat across from Janie. “Would it be of any help if I stayed until we can figure out what to do? You will need the extra help around here, and I can tend to the boys.”
“Would you?” A look of relief flooded over Janie's tired face. “These last few weeks have left me utterly exhausted. I don’t have the strength to think of handling this place on my own.”
“That is exactly why you shouldn't have to,” Sara urged. “It is settled, then. I will write to Mother and let her know I will be staying.”
“I do not know how I can ever thank you.”
Sara held up a hand and shook her head. “No thanks are needed. We are family, and we look out for one another. Does Hodges see to everything concerning the herd?”
“Yes, he and our other cowhand, Peterson, take care of everything there. I am responsible for the chickens and the barnyard chores, along with seeing to the financial aspects of things.”
“Alright. I can help with that. I may not have experience with livestock, but I will do what I can.”
The women sat together for a long while, facing the prospect of spending five years running a ranch without Tom. There was far too much invested in the land for them to let it fail in his absence. Once they had worked out a general idea of what the next several days may hold, they turned in for the night.
The following morning, Janie asked Hodges to hitch the wagon. She needed supplies from town, but the strain of the day prior had been too much to think about running errands. Though Oakmede had always been a quiet place, Hodges slipped a rifle behind the women’s feet.
“Just in case, ma’am,” he said, glancing up at her. “I wish I could accompany you, but it will take both Peterson and myself to see to the herd this morning. There is a new calf expected any day, and I have a feeling the time has come.”
“Thank you, Hodges,” Janie nodded. “I will feel safer knowing that we have some protection.”
Hodges tipped the brim of his Stetson before turning back into the barn. A click of the reins urged the horses out of the yard. Despite the general gloom that lingered, Sara enjoyed the feeling of the ride. The breeze on her face was refreshing. Though her mother did have a wagon, Sara rarely had a chance to use it. In a city like Baltimore, one rarely ventured further than walking distance. She took a deep breath of the wheat-laced air. Its sweet aroma danced across her senses. Charley and Carter rode along in the back, playing with a stuffed bear their mother had sewn for them. Altogether, the day looked a bit brighter.
Arriving in Oakmede, Janie stopped the wagon in front of one of the shops. “I need to pick up a few things. Do you want to come with me and have a look around?” Janie asked, helping the boys to the ground.
Sara said she would like that, and followed them into the shop. While Janie tended to her shopping list, Sara glanced through a display of fabric. She knew the ranch was in financial need and secretly wondered if she could help somehow. After purchasing the necessities, they walked down to the hotel to grab lunch at the little restaurant inside.
Taking a table near the window, they ordered their meal. Chili and cornbread were listed as the special for the day, and the aroma was tantalizing. Sara gazed dreamily down the little street. Some of her dreaminess was a result of the heat from the ride, no doubt, but much of it was in delight over the sleepy place. Despite her cause for being there, she had to admit that Oakmede was a nice-looking town. The blacksmith’s shop sat adjacent to the hotel, sending a pillar of smoke from its furnace soaring into the air. The leather shop beside it had coats and shoes on display in the window.
A schoolhouse was positioned in the middle of town with children playing in the yard. The bank was down the road a distance, and a small, white church stood at the edge of the town. Generally speaking, folks were friendly, and the arrival of the railroad put supplies in their hands more readily than in days past.
Once their food was on the table Charley and Carter made quick work of their meal, cornbread being a favorite of theirs. Janie and Sara took a bit more time, lingering over their coffees. Janie took out her notepad with her financial scribbles. “If one cannot sleep at night, they can at least work to quiet their mind.” She explained.
“So, with the cattle that the winter spared, and the calves that were born this spring, we might be able to keep our heads above water with a drive early next year,” Janie explained. “It is making it until then that will pose the problem.”
“The ranch seems relatively self-sufficient. How many expenses do you have?”
“Thankfully we never have a genuine shortage of food, not with the livestock around. But there are expenses involved with tending to them. And of course, Hodges and Peterson must be paid. They have no other incomes, and living on our land gives them little opportunity to find any. There is the general upkeep of the place to be considered, and Hodges has been waiting for two months to be given the funds to repair the fenceline on the southern side of the property. Unfortunately, I do not have as thorough a knowledge of the situation as Tom does.”
Sara listened attentively, allowing her mind to search through the possibilities of supplementing the finances. “Perhaps there is some way that I can help. If I could sell a couple of dresses, we could buy a few more chickens. That would give us enough eggs to sell some of them. Though I am not sure how cost-effective that would be.”
“It took every cent we had to secure the land in the first place. I cannot fathom losing it now,” Janie explained but stopped short as she caught sight of a man entering the restaurant. Janie immediately lowered her gaze.
Sara turned to see who she was avoiding. The well-dressed man from the trial was there, along with the two men who had testified against Tom. Levi Moran motioned for his men to let him address the women alone. They went off to find a table on the other side of the room, leaving him to approach the ladies.
Janie quickly motioned to Sara. “You must not let your temper fly with him. He is a dangerous man,” she whispered.
Sara eyed his slick, dark hair and narrowed eyes. She took an immediate disliking to Moran and his arrogant poise. Even if he had not been involved in Tom’s sentencing, she knew he was a cheat of a man.
“Good afternoon,” he said in a smooth, deep voice.
Janie forced herself to hold her tongue from the lashing she wished to give him. “Good afternoon, Mr. Moran.”
“And who is your friend, Mrs. Bailey?” he asked, turning to face Sara.
“This is my sister-in-law, Sara Bailey. She arrived in town for Tom’s trial.”
“I see. It is a pleasure, Miss Bailey,” he purred. “Allow me to offer my deepest condolences over the outcome
of the trial. I spoke to my men and did everything in my power to convince them to drop the charges against Tom. But they would hear nothing of it.”
Sara shifted in her seat. She disliked the way he eyed Janie, and he leaned in closer than was welcomed. Janie nodded but could not manage an answer without letting her anger show.
“Whatever will you do now?” he asked, still studying Janie carefully.
“That is still being decided,” she retorted, wishing he would leave them alone.
“Yes, of course. I am sure that it will take some time. And I will speak to the judge to see what I can do about Tom’s sentence. Five years in prison seems a bit harsh to me, considering what the crime involved.” Moran glanced over at Sara, noticing her impatience. “And how long will you be staying, Miss Bailey?”
Sara met the man’s gaze with a cold stare. “As long as Janie needs me.”
Moran took a step back, taken off guard by her coolness. “Right. Have a nice day.” He gave one last glance at Janie and the boys before joining his men.
“Let’s get out of here,” Janie urged. She took Carter by the hand, and Charley quickly grabbed Sara’s. Together they made their way back to the wagon.
The ride home was uneventful, though Janie was glad Hodges had insisted on their taking the rifle. It kept her from feeling so anxious after running into Moran. He was not a threat to just anyone in general, but once you crossed him, you would be forever on his wrong side.
Chapter 4
Logan and Eli sat together on the railing of Eli’s corral, watching as their horses grazed. The task at hand would not have seemed so monumental had it involved anyone other than Philip Tucker. The thought of trying to pluck him from a town where he was so well protected was nearly impossible.
“So, let me see if I have got this straight, the only reason you are after Tucker is to collect the money for someone else?” Eli asked with a raised brow. “Why would you put yourself at that kind of risk?”
Logan sighed, eyeing Eli. “It is not for just anyone else; it is for my brother-in-law. Tom is not a bad man, he just made a poor decision. His heart was right. He was trying to save his family’s livelihood. If he had only come to me with his financial needs sooner, we could have raised the necessary funds together without any of this trouble ever coming up. And to be more honest, this is as much for Janie as it is for him. I cannot stand the thought of a man like Moran tearing their family apart, however much Tom’s choices might be to blame.”
“But why go after Tucker? Why not nab a few less experienced outlaws? You know, such as ones who you’re likely to take without getting yourself shot!”
“I am running out of time, Eli. I could only manage to get Moran to postpone collection for six months. It could take me another six months and then some to catch up with two or three different men. Tucker is blatant in his crimes; there was never any doubt as to where I could find him.”
“Alright,” Eli sighed. “I will help where I can, but you will need a definite plan in place. I am not about to walk into the saloon and demand he comes with me! He has far too many men there for that to work.”
“I understand,” Logan agreed. “At least now I know what the situation holds. Give me the morning to think about it, and I will come up with something. In the meantime, I suppose you have work that needs to be done around here. Shall we start on it?”
“Taking time to think it over…eager to put your hand to work on a ranch…these last four years have changed you. You were always the one charging into a situation with guns blazing.” Eli studied Logan before handing him a shovel.
“I suppose I have a little more in my life to take into consideration now. I miss Janie and Tom and the boys. And I know what rushing into a situation is risking,” Logan admitted as he began mucking out the stalls.
Eli stepped into the barn with him, grooming the horses for the day. “Tucker has a safe house about a twenty-minute ride from here. That is where you are likely to find him most of the time. There is the possibility of catching him off guard out in public, but we would be running the risk of getting bystanders injured.”
“Would I be right in assuming that his property is guarded even in his absence?” Logan asked, pushing into the back corner of the stall.
“Most definitely! He has no shortage of men to keep an eye out for him. If he did not recognize us, we might stand a chance at getting past his men, but it is still not likely,” Eli said, pausing his work for a moment.
“I do not need to slip past Tucker, just his men. They might recognize you, but most of them believe I have retired. Besides, the majority of them have never actually seen me.”
“That might have worked before he saw you in the saloon last night, but they are sure to be on high alert now,” Eli shook his head.
Logan leaned against the handle of his shovel, deep in thought. “The only other option I can see, then, is to try to lure Tucker out to us. He won’t want me snooping around his property, and will likely come out after me.”
“Surely you don’t intend on using yourself as bait!” Eli exclaimed. “Have you forgotten who we are dealing with? He does not fight fair! You would be dead before I ever got near him.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Logan groaned. “It would be helpful if the local law enforcement would provide a little backup!”
“Yes, but they’re not going to. We might as well not even consider that. Do you think that the sheriff from Harris Bend would send assistance? I knew him years ago, but I doubt that I would still have much pull with him.”
“No, as much as Sheriff Henderson would like to put Tucker behind bars, he hasn’t got the men to spare,” Logan replied.
“Then I am at a loss. As I mentioned, I have been working on this plan for six months already and have come up empty-handed. I just don’t see it working out.”
“I understand, but I don’t have much choice in the matter. There has to be some way.”
By the time Logan and Eli were finished in the barn, Logan had begun to form a plan. He was all too aware that there were holes in it, and more details that he could not predict, but they would have to proceed one way or another. Logan saddled his horse while Eli loaded his rifle and slid it into his own saddle slot. Logan carried a second revolver in his saddlebag as well. For any man other than Tucker this would all have seemed ridiculous, but the men knew who they were up against.
The men rode out of the yard together, down the path toward Mather’s Creek. They kept a wary eye on the shadows cast along the treelines in the distance. Philip Tucker was not a man who scared easily, but Logan was not a typical bounty hunter. Tucker was sure to have men on the lookout.
As expected, Logan spotted riders tucked in amongst the trees, lurking in the shadows. They watched the pair of lawmen closely, occasionally shifting their positions. They knew they had been seen but blatantly continued in their scouting. Logan and Eli continued, unphased by their presence.
“You know, I am actually beginning to think that you have him scared,” Eli said, amused at the number of riders moving in the distance.
“If I know Tucker, he’s not scared…he is on the move,” Logan replied, noting that the men remained to their west.
“You think he is leaving?”
“I think he is aware that he is no match for both of us. There is no point in continuing on to his safehouse. He will not be there,” Logan sighed.
“Should we just turn around then?”
“No, let’s go on into town. I don’t want Tucker’s men knowing that we are onto their plan. Besides, I want to speak with the sheriff. If we are not going to have any backup at all, it would be helpful to know that ahead of time. And I want to hear it directly from him.”
Eli nodded, and the pair continued on their way. Arriving at the sheriff's office, they stopped and swung their reins around the rail at the water trough. Logan entered the small building that Mather’s Creek claimed was a jail. It was disappointing to be sure. He found the local sher
iff sitting at his desk with his feet propped on top of it.
Partners in Justice and Love: A Historical Western Romance Book Page 4