Love's Sweet Revenge (29 page)

“You have about ten seconds to let go of that boy,” Jake warned, “or I'll forget every rule set in this courtroom! My grandson went through enough back at Dune Hollow! Nobody lays a hand on any child related to me! Let go of him!”

Randy reached over and grasped Jeff's arm, squeezing it almost painfully. “Don't do it, Jake,” Jeff heard her whisper.

“Prescott, I have a feeling you'd better let go of that boy,” the judge advised.

Right now you could hear a piece of dust drop in this room
, Jeff scribbled with his left hand while Randy continued to grip his right arm.

Prescott let go of Little Jake and straightened. The boy ran to his grandfather and threw his arms around Jake's hips because he wasn't tall enough to reach his waist. His eyes still on Prescott, Jake picked up his grandson. The boy burst into tears and hugged him around the neck.

Brian and Evie breathed a sigh of relief. “Come on,” Brian told his wife softly. “Let's hail a cab and get you back to the hotel.”

“I should stay,” Evie protested again.

“No. Little Jake is fine with his grandpa. I want you out of here.” He gently but forcefully led Evie out of the courtroom.

Jake finally carried Little Jake back to his chair beside Randy. “Little Jake, you can't do this,” Jake said quietly. “What did I tell you?”

“I don't care!” the boy cried. “I'm not gonna let them take you away.” He clung so tightly to Jake that Jake didn't have the heart to make him let go. He sat down, and Randy reached over to stroke Little Jake's dark hair.

The judge pounded his gavel again. “Mr. Harkner, I believe I'd like you to take the stand. I have a few questions, and then we'll get this over with, but you need to pry that little boy from around your neck first. I promise no one else in this room will touch him.”

Jake patted Little Jake's back. “Little Jake, you have to let go, understand?”

“No!”

“Do you love Grandpa?”

“Yes.” His slender body jerked in a sob.

“Then let go, Little Jake. Sit on Grandma's lap and be good. If you want to help me, you have to let go.”

The boy pulled away, wiping at tears on his cheeks. “Are they gonna shoot you?” he sobbed.

Jake smiled through tears. “No, they won't shoot me. I promise.”

“They should give you your guns.
Nobody
can hurt you when you wear your guns, Grampa.”

The room rippled with a mixture of soft laughter and women sniffling.

“Well, sometimes they can, but we'll talk about that later. Come on now. Mind what I tell you.” Jake moved the boy over to Randy, who took him onto her lap and wrapped her arms around him, kissing his hair.

“It's okay, Little Jake,” she told him, looking at Jake with tear-filled eyes. People whispered when Jake leaned over and kissed her, then kissed Little Jake's cheek. He turned to glance down at a note Peter had written. “Our best witness,” it read.

Jake grinned and nodded.

“I'm sorry I blurted that out about Evie,” Peter told him aside.

“Couldn't be helped.” Jake walked around Peter and up to the stand, where the bailiff swore him in. “I
always
speak nothing but the truth,” Jake answered. “Anyone who knows me knows I don't waste words or try to hide anything.”

A ripple of whispers moved through the crowd, and the judge pounded his gavel again. “Let it be known that I want no further questions from either the prosecutor or from Attorney Brown,” he told everyone. “I actually just have a couple of questions, and we'll be finished here. I'm sure Jake's wife is getting tired, and his son is obviously not completely healed yet and needs to rest, so I do not intend to drag this out.”

He pounded the gavel again. “Jake, take a seat.”

Jake sat down and breathed deeply for self-control, noting the warning look in Peter's eyes. Little Jake's shivers from the aftermath of crying tore at his heart.

“Mr. Harkner, you do admit that the night of the Cattlemen's Ball, you held Mike Holt down on the floor, put your own gun to his head, and pulled the trigger. Is that right?”

Jake kept his eyes on Randy. “That's right.”

“Can you tell us in your own words why you did that?”

Jake scanned the crowded room then. “Because the man deliberately upset my precious daughter, who he'd viciously violated four years ago. Then he turned on my son, who was unarmed, and shot him point-blank in the chest. He even said to Lloyd, ‘How does it feel to be shot when you're unarmed?' He'd hurt both my daughter and my son in the worst ways. A man can take only so much, and I'm a man who protects his own. It's my nature to go after anyone who dares to harm those I love. My family is my lifeline, my sanity, and my strength. And when I thought Lloyd was dead, all I could think about was that Mike Holt had even taken away my chance to tell my son I love him before he…died. And I truly did think he was dead.”

Jake zeroed in on Prescott then. “Holt pointed that gun at Lloyd again, aiming to shoot him in the head and make sure he was dead, but I got there before he could pull the trigger. For a moment I considered holding him there like everyone thinks I should have done, but he pulled back the hammer of his gun to shoot Lloyd again. I grabbed his wrist and pushed up so he couldn't shoot him. His gun went off and went through my left shoulder. I've been in a lot of gunfights, and you have to think lightning fast. I knew that if I fired while Holt was standing, my bullet could go through him and into a bystander, so I shoved him to the floor first. And yes, again I considered not pulling that trigger, but all I could think about was the hideous things he'd done to my daughter—and that he'd just shot my son and deserved to die…so I shot him because he'd taken my son from me.”

Randy watched Jake pause to take a deep breath. He swallowed and shifted restlessly, a sure sign he was trying to get through his testimony without going into a rage. She tried to tell him with her eyes to stay calm.

“In that moment it didn't matter if I hung for shooting Holt. I pulled the trigger because I thought I didn't have anything left to live for. Once I realized what I'd done, I knew I might be wanted at least for questioning, but my son-in-law had told me Lloyd was still alive. I couldn't risk being carted off to jail because I knew Lloyd would need me in the worst way, which is why I threatened to shoot anyone who tried to take me away from him. All those years we rode together back in Oklahoma, I always had his back. This time I'd failed him, and I can hardly live with that.” He quickly wiped at his eyes and leaned back in the chair. “He went through so much pain we had to hold him down several times, and all I could think of was…it should have been
me
lying there.
Me!
I'm the old one. I'm the father. Sons aren't supposed to…die…before the father.
I'm
the one who deserves to die like that…not my son.”

He cleared his throat and shifted in the chair yet again. He glanced at the judge.

“You know the rest. My family is my only reason for existing. I've protected them with my life for years. It's who I am, and there is no changing it. And now all any of us wants is to get the hell out of Denver and back to the J&L and back to normal living…” He stared absently at his hands. “If anything can be called normal when you live with Jake Harkner.” He glanced at Lloyd. “It's not an easy name to carry, but my son has brought a lot of pride and respect to the name.”

“You've done that yourself, Pa,” Lloyd told him.

The judge pounded his gavel again.

“Judge Carter, can I point out just two things before you make your decision?” Peter spoke up.

Carter took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair. For a moment there was nothing but silence in the room. “Make it quick,” he finally told Peter.

Peter rose. “Judge, in Guthrie, I managed to get over three hundred signatures on a petition asking a judge in St. Louis to shorten Jake's original sentence to serve as a marshal in the most god-awful and dangerous country you can imagine. All three hundred of those people agreed Jake had done an excellent job of keeping the peace in the Guthrie area, and believe me, in a lawless place like Oklahoma was then, that wasn't easy. He risked his life over and over, and it cost him and Lloyd a lot of time away from their families. They ended up making enemies that continue to hunt them and try to make trouble for them, which is just what Mike Holt was doing. The point is, three hundred people admired and respected Jake enough to help me petition the judge in St. Louis to shorten his sentence and let the man live in peace. That's all Jake and his wife want—to live in peace now.” Peter stood there hesitantly, then finally sat down. “Thank you, Your Honor.”

The judge leaned forward then, pausing to weigh his words before finally speaking up. “Ladies and gentlemen, this has been the most unusual hearing I have ever held, unprecedented in some of the things that happened and were said here today, completely disorderly, at times humorous, and at times far from humorous. Through it all I've sat here and watched the love this man's family has for him, and in return, I've sensed the devoted, passionate side of a man whose reputation defies all of that. I believe he is just a man who loves his family beyond measure, but he is also a man who needs to remember we live in a new era of law and order, and that we deal with justice in a different way from the kind Jake Harkner and his son dealt as marshals in Oklahoma. I am giving him the benefit of the doubt only because he grew up in different times…totally lawless times. He was raised knowing only brutality and the outlaw way. For a man to overcome a past like that says a lot about what really lies inside. He has shown himself to be a good family man, a devoted husband, a loving father and grandfather, and a friend to those who earn his respect and those who respect him in return.”

He turned to Jake.

“But you have to understand, Jake, that in this day and age, a man can no longer live just by the gun. There are laws and men who are appointed to carry out those laws, and regular citizens have to
abide
by those laws. Is that understood?”

Jake glanced at Randy and Little Jake. “The safety of my family is a different matter.”

“I understand that, and I don't believe that you are any kind of danger to the general public. You even considered that when you held Mike Holt down so your bullet wouldn't injure a bystander. That sounds strangely contradictory, I know, but it's a fact. And overall you are well liked by most people and can be quite affable and productive most of the time. The fact remains that you
should
be punished.”

The judge hesitated, while everyone waited with baited breath to hear his decision.

Randy thought she might faint from terror over what the judge would say next. She held Little Jake tightly, her gaze locked on Jake, who in turn watched her lovingly, telling her with his eyes how much he loved her, how much he would miss her if he was going to jail…or worse.

Judge Carter shuffled a few papers before finally continuing. “Jake, were you aware that you were not supposed to be carrying a gun at that Cattlemen's Ball?”

Jake sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Sir, if you were me, would you go anywhere without protection?”

The judge just shook his head. “Probably not, but that's not what I asked you. Did you carry a hidden weapon at that ball when you knew no one was supposed to be armed?”

Jake looked at Peter, who nodded that he should reply truthfully.

“Yes,” Jake answered.

“And for that I fine you ten dollars.”

Jake looked at him in surprise as mumbles and whispers moved through the crowd. Randy sat up straighter, still clinging to a quivering Little Jake. No one could figure out if the very affordable fine was a good sign or not. Jake glanced at Peter, who just smiled.

The judge reached down and took something out from under his desk, setting a gun belt and ivory-handled guns on top of the desk. The holsters were decorated with white stitching with the letters
JH
. He reached underneath the desk again and took out yet another gun belt and guns. Jake recognized the mahogany handles of Lloyd's guns, and the fancy scrolled
L
on the holsters.

“Now, Mr. Harkner, these, as you can see, are your guns and Lloyd's. Right now they are
not
loaded.”

“Well, sir, I hope whoever unloaded them was very careful. Those guns have hair triggers. You could practically fire them with a baby's breath.”

More whispers and a few chuckles.

The judge closed his eyes and sighed. “Yes, believe me, they were very careful.” He shoved both holsters toward the end of the desk where Jake was sitting. “I said you needed to be sentenced, Jake, so my sentence is another one hundred dollars for threats against the public and against our fine police department the night of the shooting. And for what I consider manslaughter, a year in jail.”

“No!” Randy whispered, hugging Little Jake closer when he started crying harder. Peter reached over and grasped her shoulder, pressing reassuringly. Lloyd started to rise, but Katie pulled at his arm. “No, Lloyd!”

The judge pounded his gavel again. “Quiet, everyone!” He sighed deeply. He turned back to Jake. “Mr. Harkner, since you've spent the last few days a virtual prisoner at the Brown Palace, I will consider that time served. As for the rest, since you are obviously needed by your son to help run your ranch while he heals, I order that the rest of your sentence be spent on the J&L.”

The crowd broke into whoops and applause, and Jake looked at Lloyd, who had a big grin on his face and tears in his eyes.

The judge again pounded his gavel, and everyone quieted. “Your sentence to stay on the J&L means I don't want to find out that either you or your son have been seen in Denver until the sentence is completed,” he continued. “I don't want you back here until it's time to sign you off and release you, which will be July 31, 1897. I will allow you to go to nearby cities like Boulder and Longmont for supplies, but no loitering in saloons or”—he rolled his eyes in frustration—“brothels. The law in those cities will be notified to keep an eye on you if you go there. They will also be notified of the end date of your sentence.” He rubbed at his eyes. “And one more thing.”

Jake watched Randy, wanting to run over and grab her into his arms. He turned to the judge. “Yes, sir?”

“Mr. Harkner, I want your promise that if you do see one Brad Buckley, even if he comes up to taunt you in any way, you won't shoot the man. Can you refrain from doing that?”

Jake glanced at Lloyd, sharing an equal hatred for Buckley. Lloyd just closed his eyes and shook his head.

“Mr. Harkner?”

Jake glanced at Peter, who gave him a warning nod. “Yes, Your Honor,” Jake finally answered. “I agree not to shoot Brad Buckley.”

The room hung quiet for a moment as the judge studied Jake. “Why do I get the feeling you are leaving something out?” he asked Jake.

Jake took a moment to answer, scanning the crowd and then his family first. Finally, he turned to the judge. “Well, sir, if Brad Buckley threatens one member of my family, I can't promise I won't beat the hell out of him.”

The crowd broke into a round of laughter, and even the judge couldn't help smiling, although he tried forcing it back as he again pounded the gavel. The room quieted again. “Mr. Harkner, you will refrain from bringing harm to Brad Buckley if at all possible. I've ordered him out of Denver, but if he makes trouble, I want you to do your best to hold him so the
law
can take care of him, not you. If he turns up badly beaten or dead, you
will
spend time in prison or possibly even face a noose. Is that understood?”

Jake nodded. He faced the judge. “Am I allowed to discipline men on the J&L who might turn out to be troublemakers? And what about rustlers?”

“Normal discipline is fine. And you will do your best to hold rustlers for the law. You have every right to use your guns in self-defense, but not for taking the law into your own hands. Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Now”—the judge shoved Jake's and Lloyd's guns even closer to Jake—“take your guns and go home, Mr. Harkner.”

The crowd broke into cheers and whistles. Randy couldn't help breaking down with relief. She hugged Little Jake closer.

“Just a moment!” the judge yelled, pounding his gavel again for attention. He turned to Jake. “Mr. Harkner, your best defense today was that beautiful family sitting over there. No man who is responsible for a family like that can be all bad, and today they might just have saved your life.”

Jake fought a desire to run off the stand and go grab up every last one of them. “I am well aware of that, Judge.”

“And I have one last question.”

Jake faced him. “Yes?”

“I want to know how a man like you—who was wanted for any number of crimes, a man who had his face on wanted posters all over the South, who'd robbed and killed and ran with loose women and God knows what all you did—how did you end up with a beautiful, sophisticated, obviously well-educated and fashionable woman like that tiny, lovely lady over there holding your grandson?”

Randy smiled through her tears, looking at Jake lovingly. Their gazes held for several quiet seconds.

“Well, Your Honor, I met her thirty years ago in a dry goods store back in Kansas City, where I had a shoot-out with a bounty hunter that scared her so bad she pulled a gun out of her purse…and shot me. Damned if I didn't fall in love with her then and there.”

It took a moment for the crowd to realize he was telling the truth.

“You shot Grampa?” Little Jake blurted out to Randy.

The crowd burst into an uproar of laughter. The judge looked at Jake. “Give me one hundred and ten dollars, and take these guns and go home, Jake.”

Jake rose and shook the judge's hand while the rest of the family hugged each other. Jake took the money out of his pants pocket and paid the judge, glancing over to see Little Jake had climbed off Randy's lap, and Randy was embracing Peter. That little stab of sorrow that she could have married better hit him again, along with the lingering jealousy that Peter Brown did all this for her because he was still in love with her.

Flash powder exploded as Jake strapped on his guns. Little Jake ran up to him, jumping up and down. As soon as Jake buckled his gun belt, he picked up his grandson, who practically choked Jake when he hugged him tightly around the neck.

Lloyd stood up and managed to walk on his own to greet his father as Jake came off the stand still holding Little Jake. With the boy in his arms, Jake reached out and embraced Lloyd, both men hugging for a long minute.

More flash powder exploded, and a reporter scrambled to reload powder for more pictures, which he managed to do several more times throughout the courthouse bedlam.

“Let's go home, Pa, soon as we can,” Lloyd told Jake, keeping an arm around his father.

“I've got no argument there,” Jake told him. Katie came up, and Lloyd embraced her. By then Randy was close enough that Jake set Little Jake down and pulled her into his arms. She buried her face against his chest.

“Oh, Jake, I can't believe it!”

“
You
did it,
mi amor
. You and the big, beautiful family you've given me.” He kissed her hair, her cheek, her eyes, her lips. “I love you, Randy Harkner. Do you know how much?”

“Not as much as I love you.” In seconds, they were joined by Stephen and Ben, both boys also crying. Jake reluctantly let go of Randy and took a moment to hug both boys and tell them everything would be all right now. Little Jake reached up, insisting that Jake pick him up again. He locked his arms around Jake's neck as Jake shook hands with Pepper and Cole.

“We're ready to head for the J&L as soon as you are, Jake,” Pepper told him. “It's gonna feel real good to be back home, ain't it?”

“It sure is!” Jake answered.

Once the group hugs were over, Peter and Jeff joined in the moment. Randy turned to embrace Peter again. “Thank you so much, Peter. It was so good of you to come all the way here from Chicago.” Jake kept hold of Little Jake, watching with mixed emotions.

Peter let go of Randy and kissed her cheek, looking at her lovingly. Jake caught the look before Peter managed to wipe it off his face. “I'm just happy for both of you and greatly relieved,” Peter told Randy. He looked up at Jake. “I hope you know I mean that. I wanted this for you, too, Jake. I wasn't sure how this would turn out, but I had a feeling all along that Judge Carter was on your side. You and that beautiful family of yours won him over.”

Jake set Little Jake on his feet and shook Peter's hand vigorously. “I don't know how to thank you, Peter. I'll pay you whatever you say I owe you, and you have to come visit us at the J&L—you and Jeff both, along with your wives. Our men will give them a royal escort to the ranch in complete safety. We'll have the biggest barbecue you've ever attended, and you'll taste the best beef in Colorado and see the prettiest piece of land in this whole state.”

“I'll remember the invitation,” Peter told him.

“You can come back with us now if you want,” Jake told him.

Peter glanced at Randy, who was hugging Lloyd. He turned back to Jake. “For reasons you probably understand, I'd better get back to Chicago for now. I have a wife there waiting for me.”

“Then I want your promise you'll come back with Treena,” Jake told him.

“I'll do that. Right now I have some paperwork to file. Come back here to the courthouse in the morning before you head for the J&L, and I'll have a few things for you to sign.”

Jake nodded, shaking his hand again. “You're a good man, Peter. One of the best, and you know why I hate saying that.”

“Well, Jake, I hate having to say the same about you, but you have a way of growing on people. I respect your ability to survive and rise above some bad situations. I've come to know the man down under all the bravado.” He squeezed Jake's hand harder. “I know I don't need to tell you to take good care of Randy, but I'm telling you anyway.”

Little Jake was running in circles, shouting about going home. Jake kept his eyes on Peter. “I'd die for her, and you know it.”

Sadness wafted across Peter's gaze. “I damn well do know it.” He turned away, and Jake turned to Jeff, who'd just finished scribbling more notes and waited anxiously to shake Jake's hand and congratulate him.

“I'll come to the J&L again sometime after my wife has our baby,” he told Jake.

Jake wouldn't settle for just a handshake. He gave Jeff a full hug and slapped him on the back again. “Jeff, my loyal Jewish friend, what can I say? I appreciate what you told that judge. And as far as the verdict, it's just what Evie prayed for all night. Has she converted you to Christianity yet?”

Jeff laughed. “I stay away from her as much as I can because I'm worried she'll manage to do just that, which would greatly shock my family.”

Jake laughed and moved an arm around Randy, pulling her close.

“That daughter of yours has some powerful faith,” Jeff added, sobering a little.

Jake felt a keen stab of pain to his heart. “That she does. It
takes
a lot of faith to pray for the likes of me.” He ached at what Evie went through earlier, loving her even more for the proud way she told the judge her name and the way she honored the grandmother she never knew. He pulled Randy even closer. “Speaking of Evie, we'd better get to the hotel and tell her what's happened.”

Bedlam followed as Lloyd grabbed his guns from the judge's bench and joined the rest of the family as they headed out of the courthouse. Jake spotted Gretta and called her over. With one arm still around Randy, he bent down and planted a long kiss on Gretta's lips. Men hooted, and women just shook their heads.

“Jake Harkner, you told me you only kiss your wife that way,” Gretta teased, patting him on the cheek.

Jake never let up on his grip around Randy. “This is a special occasion,” he told Gretta, “and you spoke up for me. I won't forget that.”

“Hell, if I'd known it would lead to a kiss like that, I'd have said a lot more and made it worth
two
kisses!” Men around them roared in laughter.

“Come see me the next time you're in Denver, handsome,” Gretta told Jake, jokingly swaying her hips as she walked away and invited men to come with her to the Range Club to celebrate Jake Harkner's release.