by Jenna Brandt
“You don’t have to do this,” Rebecca said through sobs. “You’re mistaken about what you think you saw between Mr. Bolton and me. He left town this morning; he doesn’t care about me or anyone here.”
She saw Jake’s eyes narrow as he masked any reaction with his mouth pressed shut.
“You’re not going to deny it. Interesting turn of events,” the older brother stated. “But I think I’ll hold onto ya anyhow. If nothing else, ya make a pretty shield.”
The robber’s remark about Jake’s lack of defense stung. Rebecca had made the statement out of distress, trying to convince the robber to let her go, yet as she said it, she hoped Jake would refute her statement. The fact he didn’t spoke volumes.
The older brother started to move towards the door, dragging Rebecca with him. The younger brother’s eyes darted around and he went to grab Judy. Mr. Breecher reached out and pushed the robber away. “Keep your hands off her,” he commanded with a withering look.
“Yer plumb weak north of the ears to be puttin’ yer hands on me,” the younger brother said threateningly. “I think I need to make an example of ya.”
As he pointed his pistol directly at the store owner, Mr. Breecher simultaneously reached under the counter and pulled out a shotgun. “You picked the wrong store to rob boys,” he said as he pulled the trigger, hitting the younger brother in the chest.
In reflex, the robber’s finger pulled the trigger as he fell backwards. A bullet hit Mr. Breecher in the shoulder, causing him to drop his shotgun.
Shock registered on the older brother’s face as he called out, “Virgil, are ya alright?” The shooting caused him to drop his gun and hold onto Rebecca momentarily long enough for Jake to exploit the lapse in awareness. Jake charged the robber, knocking him to the ground.
Mr. Breecher rushed from around the counter, with his hand on his wound, and yelled for Judy and Rebecca to get in the backroom of the shop. The girls did as they were told, but Rebecca had to see what was happening. She peeked from around the corner of the door.
Picking up the pistol, the younger brother dropped as he hit the ground, Mr. Breecher rushed to where Jake and the other robber were fighting on the floor.
Jake was on top and took a swing at the man’s face, who retaliated with his own punch. They exchanged blow for blow for a couple of seconds before the scar-faced man hit Jake hard enough to knock him sideways, giving him the chance to get on top of him.
Just as he was about to hit Jake again, Mr. Breecher stopped him by saying, “Stop right there. I’ve a gun pointed directly at you. Don’t make me pull the trigger.”
The robber dropped his arm and slowly stood to his feet with an angry look on his face.
“Get over there, against the wall,” Mr. Breecher said.
Jake also jumped to his feet and reached for his guns on the ground. He placed one in the holster and kept the other one in his hand, leveled at the robber.
“I’ve some money stashed not far from here,” the robber confessed. “If ya let me go, I’ll split it with both of ya.”
“Shut your mouth,” Mr. Breecher said. “There’s nothing you have that we want.”
“Neither of ya are tempted? Not even a little?” he coaxed.
Jake leveled his gun at the robber as he stated, “Mr. Grimes, you’re under arrest for the multiple robberies of general stores in Taylor County and the greater Texas area.”
The man snorted. “Yer not puttin’ me in jail.”
“I most certainly am,” Jake countered as he pulled a pair of iron handcuffs from a pouch on his belt.
Without warning, the robber dove for his gun on the floor and managed to get his hands on it. He flipped onto his back and raised it at the other two men. He fired the gun rapidly just as Mr. Breecher and Jake dove out of the way and shot back in return. Neither Jake nor Mr. Breecher were hit, but their bullets found the robber’s chest who instantly stopped moving.
Judy and Rebecca came running out of the backroom, careful to sidestep around the younger brother who was lying motionless on the floor.
“Are you alright, Mr. Breecher?” Judy asked as she came to the store owner’s side. “How’s your wound?”
“I’m alright, Miss Lambert,” he said with a slight grimace as she delicately touched his injury with her handkerchief. “How are you doing?”
“A bit shaken, but otherwise intact,” Judy stated. “Thank you for interceding on my behalf.”
“When I saw that man put his hands on you, I couldn’t stand for it.”
A blush crossed Judy’s face before she smiled and said, “I think under the circumstances of you saving my life, you may call me Judy.”
Rebecca pulled her attention away from her friend’s interaction with the store owner and looked at Jake. She’d never felt awkward with him before, but for the first time, she didn’t know what to say to Jake.
He broke the silence by saying, “Are you alright? Did he hurt you?”
“I’m fine,” she replied curtly. It was true physically, but her heart still hurt from his earlier denial of their connection. When she saw him enter the store, part of her hoped he had come back for her.
“You don’t sound fine,” Jake observed.
“I just need to get home.”
“I can help with that,” she heard her father say from the door.
Her head turned to him and a relieved smile formed on her face. She rushed to her father who pulled her into his arms.
“We heard the gunshots and came as quick as we could,” Mr. Caldwell explained.
Behind Rebecca’s father stood the three Lambert brothers. They came barging inside the store, checking on their sister, then on the bodies of the two robbers.
“Can’t believe you took down both of the Grimes brothers, Deputy,” Eli Lambert, Judy’s oldest brother, stated with admiration. The other two brothers, Caleb and Logan, came into the room and joined the growing group of people inside.
“I didn’t do it on my own,” Jake corrected. “Mr. Breecher helped, and I would’ve much rather taken them in alive to make them face justice for all of what they did.”
Eli nodded towards their bodies. “I say they faced justice just fine. They’d have met the end of a rope after a trial, guaranteed. You just sped up the process.”
Mr. Caldwell released Rebecca from his hug and entered the shop. “I want to thank both of you for saving my daughter.”
The three brothers glanced towards each other and nodded before Eli added, “And we want to thank you for saving our sister.”
“You’re welcome,” Mr. Breecher said.
“Just doing my job,” Jake stated.
Rebecca’s eyes flashed to his as she said with a hint of hurt, “Of course, that’s to be expected.”
“What do you mean by that?” Jake asked confused.
“You made it clear earlier that the reason you came back was nothing more than obligation to finish your assignment,” Rebecca clarified. “Isn’t that right, Deputy?”
The Lamberts must have noticed the tension in the room because they excused themselves, taking Mr. Breecher outside with them.
Mr. Caldwell’s eyebrows came together in confusion. “I think you’re mistaken, Rebecca, about Jake’s intentions. He came by the house today to check on all of us before he headed to the general store.”
Her eyes grew round with surprise as she asked, “Is that true?”
He nodded. “I had to make sure you were alright. If I had known you were here, I would have come straight away. Perhaps if I had, I would have kept you from being involved.”
“Then why did you act like you didn’t care about me earlier?”
“I was hoping if the Grimes brothers thought you didn’t matter to me, they would let you go. I was trying to protect you.”
Rebecca felt a wave of relief, followed by guilt, and finally hope flooded her. Her demeanor instantly changed and her voice softened with understanding. “Thank you, Jake, for saving my life.”
“Don’t you know by now, I would do anything for you, Rebecca?”
Her heart warmed at the words that revealed so much. Jake cared about her.
“Once everything is settled here, would you like to come over for dinner?” Rebecca offered.
With a nod, he said, “I would like that very much.”
Nineteen
Jake, along with the town undertaker, removed the bodies from the store before Jake helped Paul Breecher over to the doctor to have his wound tended. Luckily, it went straight through the shoulder and was an easy stitch job for the doctor. Judy Lambert stayed by the store owner’s side the whole time. Jake wondered if the incident caused a bond between the two of them that might lead to a courtship.
At the time of the incident, Jake hadn’t notice a bullet grazed his own side, but discomfort started to set in, causing Jake to ask the doctor to take a look at his wound. A couple of stitches later, and Jake was bandaged and ready to go.
After he was finished with the undertaker and doctor, Jake rode to Woody and sent a telegraph to Sheriff Greystone in Abilene regarding the details of what happened.
Although Jake wished the stand-off had ended differently, there was a sense of relief that the case was closed. The Grimes brothers would no longer be bothering anyone in Taylor County.
Three hours later, Jake arrived at the Caldwell home. As soon as he knocked on the door, it swung open to reveal Lydia standing on the other side with a giant smile on her face.
“I’m so glad to see you’re alright, Jake,” Lydia said with happiness written all over her face. “Come on in.”
He entered the house to find Mr. Caldwell sitting in a chair and Georgie on the living room sofa. Both of them looked up as he came into the room.
“Good evening, Jake,” Mr. Caldwell said as he set down his book on the nearby wooden table. “Glad to have you back with us.”
“Howdy, Jake,” Georgie said with a grin.
Jake came over and sat down in the other empty chair in the room. “Can we speak for a moment in private, Mr. Caldwell?”
He nodded. “Georgie, Lydia, why don’t you both go check and see if there is anything you can do to help your sister in the kitchen.”
The kids did as their father requested. Once they were alone, Mr. Caldwell turned to Jake and asked, “What do you want to speak with me about?”
“While I was on my way to Woody, I realized I had made the biggest mistake of my life leaving without telling your daughter how I feel.”
“And how do you feel, Jake?” Mr. Caldwell asked.
“I want to court your daughter,” Jake stated bluntly. “And I’m hoping to get your blessing.”
Mr. Caldwell thought about it for a few moments before responding. “I told you I would be watching you, Jake—”
“I remember, Mr. Caldwell, and I know I was foolish for—”
Cutting him off, Mr. Caldwell said, “You didn’t let me finish. I’ve been watching you, and although you hurt my daughter, I don’t think you did it on purpose. Like I said the first time we talked alone, you seem like a good man, Jake Bolton. I still believe that to be true. And my daughter has feelings for you, so, yes, you have my permission to court my daughter.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“I do have one question though,” Mr. Caldwell stated.
“Yes?”
“How do you plan to court my daughter from Abilene?”
With a chuckle, Jake smiled and said, “By moving to Rockwood Springs, of course.”
Before Mr. Caldwell could question him further, Rebecca appeared at the hallway. “Dinner is ready.”
The family made their way into the dining room and sat around the table that was already set for the evening meal. Already on the table was fresh cut corn, a pilaf dish, and rolls. Rebecca entered the room carrying the final component of the meal, a succulent beef roast.
“That looks amazing,” Jake stated as his mouth watered with anticipation.
Rebecca placed the roast in the center of the table and took a spot to the left of Jake.
“Let us all bow our heads to pray for the food,” Mr. Caldwell instructed.
Jake complied and felt a peace settle over him. Since restoring his relationship with God the day before, praying was becoming like second nature again.
“Lord, we thank you for your protection today and for bringing Jake back to us at just the right time,” Mr. Caldwell said. “We’re grateful that none of the people of Rockwood Springs were hurt badly during the attempted robbery this afternoon. Bless this food to our bodies. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.”
The family passed the bowls and platters of food around the table, heaping large spoonfuls of the piping hot food onto each of their plates.
With a giant grin on his face, Jake dug into the meal Rebecca prepared. Just as usual, the food was the best he had ever tasted. Each bite was better than the last, and by the time they all finished, no one had room for dessert.
“Why don’t we have the cake I made a little bit later?” Rebecca suggested.
Jake nodded. “That will give us time to go for a walk.”
Before they could get up from the table, a frail woman who looked like an older version of Rebecca, entered the room in her nightgown and robe.
Rebecca jumped to her feet and rushed to the woman’s side, stammering out, “Mother, what are you doing out of your room?”
Her eyes darted around the table and settled on Jake. “I heard all of you talking and there was one voice I didn’t recognize.”
Jake stood up and walked over to Mrs. Caldwell. He gave a slight nod of the head as he said, “How do you do, ma’am. I’m Deputy Sheriff Jake Bolton.”
With startled confusion, her voice started to raise as she asked, “What happened? Why is a deputy in our home?”
“It’s alright, Mother. Jake is a friend of the family,” Rebecca explained as she patted the older woman’s arm.
She jerked away from the touch and shrieked at Rebecca. “Don’t be throwing yourself at this man, Rebecca. No daughter of mine will behave in such a way.”
Rebecca gasped before letting her eyes fall to the floor.
Mr. Caldwell came up next to his wife and gently placed his arm around her shoulders. “It’s alright, Nellie. Jake is a friend of the family. There’s nothing wrong.” With an apologetic look to everyone before exiting the room, Mr. Caldwell said soothingly to his wife, “Let me get you back to your room.”
Swiftly, Rebecca turned around on her heels and marched into the kitchen. She started cleaning the dishes in the wash basin as Jake came to stand next to her.
“I’m glad I got to meet your mother,” Jake stated with a tender voice.
“Are you?” Rebecca asked sarcastically as she glanced up at him through skeptical eyes. “I’m sure she made the best impression.”
Jake didn’t like seeing Rebecca upset. Without thinking, he reached out and pulled her around to face him, with only inches between them.
With a decisive tone, Jake declared, “Nothing’s going to scare me away, Rebecca.”
A relieved look crossed her face and he felt her falling against him as his arms wrapped around her. The grateful hug warmed Jake’s heart, but it also put pressure on the wound at his side. In all the commotion of the robbery, a stray bullet had grazed Jake’s side, but he had pushed it out of his mind until now.
Rebecca must have noticed Jake flinch because she stepped back and looked at him with a questioning stare. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing,” he said as he held his hand to his side.
She pushed his hand away and pulled the edge of his jacket back to reveal a bandage covering a wound. Jake looked down and saw blood had seeped through and stained his vest red.
“Why didn’t you say something earlier?” Rebecca inquired.
Jake excused away the injury. “It’s nothing more than just a flesh wound. Doc Patterson patched me up, but it must have opened back up on my trip over to Woody. It’ll heal wel
l enough on its own after a couple of weeks.”
She gave him a disapproving look. “There is no way I’m letting you walk around with it seeping out like that. After all, you just came back into my life; I don’t plan to lose you to blood loss.”
From the stern look she was giving him, Jake knew there was no point in arguing. He sat down in the kitchen chair while Rebecca went about the house gathering up the supplies she needed.
A few minutes later, she was bent down on her knees next to him. “Can you take your coat off, please?”
“Yes, Nurse,” he said with a wink and chuckle, removing his coat and letting it fall back against the chair.
One of her eyebrows shot up in amusement. “You won’t think it’s so funny when I have to remove this bandage and reapply a new one.”
Jakes eyes grew wide as he clenched his teeth shut. It wasn’t the first time he had been shot, but he’d never get used to it or the aftermath.
Rebecca removed the final layer of clothing, exposing Jake’s abdomen. He felt Rebecca’s hand fumble as her fingers touched his bandage, then bare skin. Her eyes flickered up to meet his for a moment before she let them fall away.
She removed the old bandage, touched up the wound, and then placed a new bandage over it, wrapping it with strips of cloth to hold the covering in place.
“I think that should work, but we will need to check it every day to make sure it’s healing properly,” Rebecca instructed.
“Does that mean I get the chance to come over here every day then?” Jake asked with a pleased voice.
“If I didn’t know any better, I would think you got shot on purpose just so I would take care of you,” Rebecca accused.
Jake gave Rebecca a mischievous grin. “Can I help it that my new caretaker happens to be the most beautiful woman in all of Texas?”
With an appreciative twinkle in her eyes, she stood up and said, “Are you going to take me on that walk or what, Deputy?”
Twenty
Rebecca breathed in the last of a long day, basking in the final remnants of the setting sun. The scarlet sky was spread out across the horizon, sparkling like a freshly painted canvas. Her eyes watched the golden sun slowly sinking behind the prairie dotted with wildflowers. The fragrance of the blossoms was intoxicating and Rebecca couldn’t think of a more perfect moment than the one she was sharing with Jake.