Jake (6 page)

Billy worried Jake. He’d started leaving every day with a little salute. Every time he left to go to Deadwood, he’d give Jake a salute as he walked past him. Lately, though, he’d been ignoring Jake when he left, but he’d sit and watch him when he was in camp. It was like he was trying to figure something out
and
he only went every other day to get drunk instead of daily. He didn’t used to get completely sober in between binges, now he was. Jake couldn’t figure out what he was up to or what had changed, but something had and he guessed it didn’t bode well for him or Becky or maybe Jake’s family. All he could do right now was try to keep an eye on him.

To that end, Jake followed Billy one day to Deadwood. Careful to stay back far enough that he was out of sight. He caught up to Billy when he was headed for
The Gem
. He expected him to go in and then Jake would go back home, but Billy surprised him by going to the Grand Hotel instead. Jake watched from across the street as Billy went inside, the busy thoroughfare keeping him hidden from Billy’s view.

He closed the distance and peered into the window. Billy sat at a table with one of the most unsavory characters Jake had ever seen. He wore a dirty black Stetson and equally dirty buffalo hide coat and brown pants. Jake didn’t need to be an educated man to see that the man was a bounty hunter.

There was only one reason Billy would be talking to a bounty hunter. Jake. He must have figured out that Jake was a wanted man. What about Zach? Had he figured that out, too? Probably. He had to talk to Zach and Liam. Now.

Jake high-tailed it back to his brother’s claim.

“Zach, Liam,” he called when he reached the camp. He didn’t know if they were working the creek or still in the tents. He couldn’t see the creek which was on the other side of the tents from the path he walked up.

“What’s got you so excited, little brother?” said Liam, walking out of the tent he slept in with his children.

“Where is Zach?” said Jake, panicked that he didn’t see his brother.

“He’s down in the creek. What’s wrong?” Liam finished putting his suspenders over his shoulders and walked over to Jake.

“There’s a bounty hunter in town. Billy’s talking to him now.”

“Damn,” exclaimed Liam. “Zach!” When there’d been no response from him, Liam said to his son, “David, go get your uncle Zach. Tell him to come up here right away.”

“Yes, sir,” said David and he scrambled down the bank to the river.

“Do you think Billy knows about you and Zach?” asked Liam.

Jake shook his head. “I don’t know but I can’t imagine any other reason for him to be talking to a bounty hunter. And he’s been different lately. Watching me and staying sober for a day between bouts of drunkenness.”

“What do you want?” said Zach, rolling down his sleeves as he walked, his boots sloshing water with every step.

“Sit down,” said Liam. “We think there’s a bounty hunter in Deadwood.”

Zach’s demeanor didn’t change. He sat easily on the felled tree next to the campfire. “That so?”

“What ya think we should do?” asked Jake. “Should we leave Liam and the kids? Take off before the bounty hunter finds us?”

“What good would that do? We’re safer here than anywhere in the country. If the hunter tries to take us here, he’s got to go Fort Kearney before he can turn us in to anyone. If we leave and he catches us, he can turn us in to any sheriff. There’s no law here. We’re better off staying right here where we’re safe.”

“Agreed,” said Liam.

“Okay. I agree, too. But we still need to be on guard. I’m staying where I’m at and watching out for Becky. You two need to watch out for these kids as well as yourselves,” warned Jake. “Billy is dangerous and I’ve made an enemy of him since I moved over there and he hasn’t been able to beat up Becky. He’s already told her he’ll take out his anger on me or mine, so watch yourselves.”

“We do, little brother. Ever since you told us about Billy the first time, we’ve been on guard,” said Zach.

“And I don’t ever let him anywhere near my children,” added Liam. “Not after Becky warned us off and when you told us how he treated her….”

“He hasn’t hit her since I moved over there three weeks ago, but he watches. It’s like he’s looking for an opportunity to get back at me and I’m sure he’ll use her to do it, I just don’t know what or when,” said Jake. He got up and paced between the fire and the tents. “He’s an evil piece of work. He has Becky worried because he hasn’t hit her. I think he enjoys keeping her on edge, playing cat and mouse.”

“Come over here and sit down before you scare the kids,” said Liam pointing at the campstool.

Jake sat down next to Liam. He didn’t like being told what to do, but when he looked at David and saw the fear in his eyes, he knew Liam was right. He didn’t want to worry the boy, who was old enough to know something was wrong.

“All right. Now what else should we do?” asked Jake. “Do we start keeping watch at night? I don’t worry so much about Becky at night when Billy’s at
The Gem
. Those nights that he stays in camp, I need to stay at my camp. The rest of time I could help with guard duty here.”

“That won’t be necessary. Zach and I can take care of it here, by ourselves. You take care of you and Becky.” Liam rubbed his jaw. “But it seems to me that when Billy is gone is when you should worry. He’s the kind to gut you in your sleep. He’s not going to try that when he stays in camp, it would be too obvious. And then there’s that bounty hunter to watch out for.”

“Shit,” swore Jake.

“Have you told Becky?” asked Liam.

Jake didn’t need to have Liam spell it out. He hadn’t told her about Elizabeth. Now he had to if he was going to keep them both safe. Billy would use Becky in whatever way he needed in order to get what he wanted and the bounty for Jake and Zach must be substantial. Even Billy wouldn’t put his life on the line for fifty bucks.

“I’ll tell her tonight.”

“You better. It’s her decision as to whether she wants to be involved.”

“You’re wrong, Liam,” said Zach. “It’s long past time for that decision to be made. She’s involved now whether she wants to be or not because her father believes she is and will use her against Jake no matter what.”

Jake jumped up and swore again, heedless of Liam’s children nearby.

“Please,” said Liam, blocking his path. “Calm down.”

Jake stopped and ran his hands through his hair. Frustration ate at him and had his stomach tied in knots. He took a deep breath. “I’m gonna to go talk to Becky now. Best get it over with.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself or Becky. She may surprise you,” said Liam, clapping Jake on the back. “Heck, you may surprise yourself.”

Jake walked back to his camp, easily stepping over the larger stones on the rough path, trying to think of what to say. She’d want to know everything.
Deserved
to know everything.

He found her working in front of her fire. It looked like she was whittling a piece of wood into a long spear. She’d laid out her pants and socks to dry and put on her set of dry clothes. She only had two changes of clothing and she rotated them so one pair was always dry. If something happened and both sets of clothes were wet, then her luck had run out. Today her luck was with her. He hoped his was with him.

Jake sat down on the camp stool next to her. “We need to talk.”

She looked up at him question in her eyes. “So what’s the bad news?”

“How do you know it’s bad news?”

“Whenever someone says ‘We need to talk’, it’s always bad news.”

He nodded, “I might as well come on out with it.” He took a deep breath, “I killed a man and there’s a bounty on my head.”

“Are you telling me this so I’ll turn you in?” she teased.

“It’s not funny. I think Billy knows and is planning on doing just that. I saw him in town today talking with a man who looks to be a bounty hunter.”

Her demeanor immediately changed, her back went stiff and she sat up straighter. She looked worried. “If Billy knows, you’re not safe. The way he feels about you he’ll turn you in for a bottle of whiskey.” She paused. “Are you gonna to tell me why you killed the man?”

Jake thought about it before he started talking. He wanted to be able to tell her everything but it was hard. He gazeded straight ahead. He couldn’t look at Becky and tell her the story.

“I was engaged to a woman named Elizabeth Green. Her father was the mayor of Blackwater, Missouri. He didn’t much like that Elizabeth wanted to marry me, a poor farmer. You see, she’d been engaged to a captain in the Army, who was headed for bigger and better things. She broke off her engagement to him when we fell in love.”

“Go on,” she said encouragingly.

Jake stood up, too anxious to remain seated. His hands formed fists and he stomped away from her to the other side of the fire. He kept his back to her and continued the story.

“Elizabeth had been doing a lot of planning for the wedding with her mother and her aunt, so I would go over every day to see her for just a few stolen moments.” He smiled at the memory.

“One day I went by as usual. Just as I was mounting the stairs to the porch, I heard a shot from inside the house. I ran in and saw Elizabeth on the floor, her ex fiancé standing over her buttoning his pants and the man with the gun running out of the room. I immediately shot and killed her ex-fiancé and then ran after the other man.

“I didn’t catch him. I wasn’t fast enough. When I went back in to check on Elizabeth, she was still alive but in bad shape. She told me she loved me,” he whispered, still seeing her lying battered and bleeding in his embrace. “She died in my arms.”

He didn’t hear Becky come up behind him and was startled when she put her arms around his waist and hugged him. He stiffened but she didn’t let go.

“You did what you had to do. Why do they want to arrest you for that?”

He relaxed, turned, and hugged her tighter to him, leaning into her and accepting the comfort she so willingly gave.

“Because even though the sheriff believed me, the man that actually shot her and got away, is a colonel in the Army. He says I’m the one that shot Elizabeth and the captain when I found them together. He’s trying to save his ass.”

She didn’t let him go, just held him while he talked.

“So it’s this colonel that’s after you?”

“Yes, and the Army. He came to arrest me but made the mistake of bringing Zach and his unit to do it. Zach didn’t know anything about it until he got to my house and saw me. Zach cold-cocked the colonel and Zach’s men looked the other way and let us escape. They gave us at least day’s head start and may have found themselves court-martialed as well for doing it, but they for sure saved my life. The Army would have hung me.”

“I’m glad you escaped.” She gave him a little squeeze. “What are we going to do now? Are you going to run again?”

He turned until he faced her and she was wrapped tightly in his arms. It felt wonderful to have her there. Comforting. “No. No more running. We’re on Indian land. There is no law here. No one can touch us, but that also means there’s no one to protect us if Billy does try to turn us over to that bounty hunter.”

“How do you think Billy found out?”

“I have no idea. Someone must have a poster or something that has our description and Billy saw it and put two and two together.”

He gazed down at her. “You’re letting me hold you. You must really feel sorry for me.”

She tried to pull away. “I was giving comfort, that’s all. You seemed to need it. Perhaps I was mistaken.”

“No, you weren’t mistaken.” He wanted to keep holding her but let her go. When she was ready to be held for another reason, to be held for a loving reason, he would be there. He would not restrain her against her will, but one of these days she would want him to hold her.

“So, if you’re not leaving, why are you telling me this?” She turned her drying clothes over so the other side would be exposed to the fire’s warmth and start to dry.

“Because I believe Billy will try to use you against me. He knows how I feel about you.”

She stopped fiddling with her clothes. “And how do you feel about me?”

He gazed at her directly in the eyes. “You must know that I care for you.”

“Why must I?”

“Well,” he took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair and then put his hat on again. “The way I treat you. I’m always here watching out for you, doesn’t that prove something?”

“Just that you like to protect women. You might do that for everyone as far as I know.”

“Well, I don’t let women get beat up when I’m around, but I’ve never moved next to one just to keep her father from taking his fists to her.”

“All right, you have me there. What do you want me to do?”

“I’d like you to move over to my camp…,”

She started to protest. He held up his hand to stop her.

“But I know that’s not proper, so I simply want you to be on your guard, especially when Billy is supposedly gone from camp.”

“You don’t think he’ll try something when he’s here?”

“No. My brothers pointed out that he’s much more dangerous if he thinks we’re not expecting it and if he’s here, it would be too obvious. Although, if anything happens to me, my brothers will be coming after Billy first.”