Josh looks at him strangely. “Why do you say that?”
While John explains the attacks on local Indian children, Josh’s face looks more and more sick. “I know I’ve told you about all this before. Why are you flinching about it just now?”
“Before, they were just random people. Now, it’s someone close to me. We need to make sure he doesn’t get the chance to do it to anyone else, ever again.”
“We have things to take care of here. Plus, I don’t wanna step on Lyttle’s toes. He’s gonna have a fit, knowing I gave up being marshal in Denver for federal service.”
As David and Andy enter the restaurant, David says, “Yeah? Well maybe he shouldn’t have cut your pay and just ponied up the amount for you to have a deputy.”
John shakes his head. “I was gonna give it up soon enough anyway. I’ve not been in Denver more than a few days at a time since I took the badge. It’s not fair to have a lawman that’s not there most of the time.”
Andy climbs up into Josh’s lap, smiles at her adopted father and rests her head on his shoulder again.
David says, “Since Jeff left, we haven’t really needed any law around Denver.”
“Don’t say that to Lyttle, he may just decide to do away with it, so he can keep the money for himself,” John replies sardonically.
“Do you really think Lyttle is that greedy?” David’s face is a mix of shock and curiosity.
John nods and looks at Andy. “So, Andy. How were the guys when you checked on them?”
Her face is serious. “Mr. Paul and big brother were still sleepin’. Dr. David tells me that’s a good thing. That their bodies are busy fixin’ themselves, so they are real tired. Sister Brigit kept cryin’ every time I tried to talk to her, but Marshal Blackwolf said she’s just happy I’m okay.”
John nods. “I’m glad. Did Marshal Blackwolf say anything other than that?”
She nods. “He said he’s gonna make sure to get the monster that did this, even if it takes a long time.”
John nods. “I can hear the marshal saying that.” He looks at David. “What do you think we need to do for internment? I don’t like just leaving things the way they are.”
“I think that should be left up to Sean. For obvious reasons, of course.”
John frowns. He’s not sure what the young doctor actually means.
David shakes his head. “I don’t know what is traditional for his faith, or culture. I think it might be best, though, to move them over to Doc Lopez’s office. Once Sean wakes up, we can decide what needs to be done.” He stares off into the distance. “I don’t think Doc Lopez will mind going back to his office after all.”
David turns and steps toward the back of the hotel. He turns and looks pointedly at John and Rebekah. She nods as her husband rises, smoothing the front of her dress. John nods and rises from his chair, grunting in his exhaustion.
Andy looks at her father. “Papa?”
Josh looks down at his daughter, thinks a moment, then says, “Okay, sweetheart. I think we need to go on upstairs to bed.” He gently lifts his daughter and sets her on the ground, then rises himself. He looks at David and asks, “Would you mind waiting a few minutes until we can get upstairs? I think it best she not see this.”
David nods. “We need to go get a horse anyway. Be quick about it, though.”
John watches Josh and his daughter head upstairs, dreading what he’s about to have to do.
THE FOLLOWING MORNING, Jake is awakened just a bit before dawn by Andy screaming, “NO!!!” in her sleep.
He’s surprised she’s been able to sleep through most of the night. She cried herself to sleep after Jake explained what the other adults were going to have to do. He hated having to explain death to the poor girl, but she needed to know why the Mallorys weren’t going to be coming back. She already knew about death, but Jake took the time to explain why he knew the Mallorys were in a much better place.
He wasn’t sure her parents were Christians, but he still assured her they were indeed in heaven. Poor girl has to deal with so much already, uncertainty about the fate of the souls of her parents shouldn’t be one of them.
Jake soothes her and convinces her to lay back down. He lays there as she snuggles back up to him, crying softly for more than a half hour before she falls back to sleep.
While listening to Andy’s regular breathing, Jake looks out the window, wondering when would be a good time to get up without disturbing his daughter. Poor girl, she’s been through so much in her few years, he’s sure he’s not the right man to be a father to her. Quietly, he prays for guidance and strength in making the right choice for the little girl laying beside him. In the silence of dawn, Jake’s last thought before sleep takes him, is a quiet voice whispering, “Trust in Me and My plans for you both.”
Chapter 19
John looks across the table at Joey. Since last night, he hasn’t seen her more than in passing as she was on her way to the outhouse.
The beautiful young woman looks exhausted. She blankly stares off into space. Her glass of sarsaparilla sits virtually untouched in front of her on the table.
John stares at her glass-eyed expression for a moment longer, before saying, “Joey, why don’t you get some sleep?”
Her eyes move to look at him, still unfocused. After a moment, they come back into focus and she asks, “What?”
“Don’t you think you need some sleep? You’re obviously more than a little tired.”
She shakes her head. “Sorry. It’s been a long day. Really, I’m fine.”
John sighs and glances at the doorway as David comes in. “How are they, Doc?”
“Paul is still out. The laudanum this morning is still working. Sean just woke up.”
Joey jumps up, knocking her chair over and spilling her drink on the table. “I need to see him.”
David levels a look at her. “He’s had quite the shock, marshal. You can see him, but please, be gentle.”
John mops up the unnoticed mess with a cleaning rag that was handy. “If I may, I think I’ll go pay my respects as well.”
David nods, however, somewhat reluctantly. “Just remember, he may not be altogether here.”
John nods and says, “Joey, you go on up. I’ll be there in a couple of minutes. I’m gonna go ahead and put this stuff away before I head up to see him.”
She gives him a grateful look, nods, turns, then almost runs up the stairs.
John finishes putting things away and walks upstairs sedately, wanting to make sure he doesn’t inundate his injured young friend with a rush of attention.
He steps up to the door of Sean’s room and knocks quietly.
Brigit answers the door.
John takes one look at her haggard appearance and gives her a hug. She clings to him tightly for a few moments, before motioning him inside.
The room is dimly lit. There are two chairs next to the bed. Sean is laying on his side, no shirt, but a wide bandage is wrapped tightly around his midsection. His eyes are closed.
Joey is sitting in one of the chairs, speaking quietly to the young man.
As John approaches, he hears her mutter, “Amen.”
Sean opens his eyes to look John directly in the eyes.
There’s a darkness to the young man’s gaze. Uh oh. I know that look. He’s seen that kind of look so often enough before, it’s like gazing into a mirror. Granted that was before accepting the Gift of Grace and on the few occasions he’s ever been able to LOOK in the mirror, but he knows that look. It’s pure hunger. For revenge.
I’d hoped his faith would help shield him from this. John looks directly at his young friend. “Can I do anything to make you more comfortable? More pillows, more blankets?”
Sean’s eyes narrow, obviously looking for duplicity. Slowly, he shakes his head.
John nods. “I would ask how you’re feeling, but that seems to be a stupid question. Would you like something to drink? Water? Sarsaparilla? Tea?”
Sean slowly shakes
his head. Joey looks at John, expression of curiosity.
John shakes his head. “Okay. I’ll let you rest. We can talk more later.” He reaches out, grabs the young man’s hand gives it a reassuring squeeze. “I’m praying for you,” he says simply, before turning and leaving the room.
Brigit follows John out. She touches him on the shoulder, getting his attention. “I thought you would ask him about what happened?” The look on her face is confused.
John looks at the endearing young woman seriously. “I know you’ve been recently renewed to the faith. Trust me, right now, he’s fighting for his soul. He needs your help, now more than ever. The enemy is trying to eat him alive with hatred.”
She gasps, her hand going to her mouth. “What?”
John looks her in the eye and says in a quiet tone. “He’s consumed with the desire for revenge. He needs your love, understanding and compassion, in ways you may not be able to imagine.”
She looks away, unable to meet John’s penetrating gaze. “I DO love him, John. I show him as much as I can. What more do you expect from me?”
John shakes his head. “This is an attack on a scale like none you’ve ever seen. I’m not saying DO more, just don’t expect him to BE anything more than a hate-filled miserable person for awhile. All I know is, he needs the love of a good woman filled with the power of The Cross to see him through this.”
She looks back at him, hope filling her eyes. “Do you think he’ll recover?”
John shakes his head. “I don’t know. Only God knows what’s in store for him and He’s not really telling us much of anything at the moment. All I can really say is, keep praying, keep loving, and most importantly, keep forgiving him. For the love you share, more than anything, keep forgiving him his failures.”
The look she gives him is one of resolve. “I do all that anyway. How do you know so much, after just a single glance?”
“I’ve been him. Maybe not in this exact position, but very, very close. I know that look. I’ve seen it in my own eyes. He’s fighting for his soul right now and probably doesn’t even realize it.”
She nods, sighs, crosses her arms and gives John a direct look. “I don’t know I can thank you for telling me this, but thank you for trusting me enough to know what to do with it.”
John bows his head, motions like he’s tipping his non-existent hat to her, turns and heads back down the stairs to the restaurant.
Once downstairs, he sees David speaking quietly to his wife in front of the registration desk, motioning toward the stairwell.
John walks up to the young couple, “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
David shakes his head. “We were just talking about the funeral for Sean’s parents and Doc Lopez, who didn’t have any family.”
John sighs. “Speaking of Sean. I think we may have a bit of a problem.”
David’s face is a question, so John explains what he saw in the young man’s expression.
After listening for a little while, Rebekah begs their pardon and steps into the restaurant, then kitchen, where Josh and Andy are working on gathering together an evening meal.
After John finishes explaining, David strokes his jaw-line thoughtfully. “How are you so familiar with all of this?”
“I’ve spent most of my life with it.”
David nods his understanding. “I thought I recognized that look. What now?”
John shakes his head. “Other than pray? Honestly, I don’t know.”
David nods in acceptance, apparently unsure what else to say.
John sighs. “The only way I was able to deal with my demons was for the power of the Almighty to slay them for me. The only thing I can think of, is prayer. Pray for guidance, pray to receive all the power to help him as he needs.”
David looks impressed. “Considering your view on that just more than eight months ago, you even mentioning prayer as a viable option is miraculous.”
John smirks. “Well, what can I say? Someone can only ignore His voice for just so long.” He rakes his fingers through his hair. “I didn’t say anything about the funerals just yet. We might want to give him a little while longer to be more coherent.”
David nods, turns and starts walking toward the stairs. He stops, turns back to look at John and says, “Now that you’re not stuck staying close to Denver, I would like to see if you wouldn’t mind escorting me and Bekah out to see my family by Fort Supply. After all this is over, though.”
John dimly recalls the request from some time ago. “Yeah. We’ll talk about it, later, if we can.”
David nods, turns, then goes upstairs, slowly as if the weight of his thoughts are dragging him down.
John shakes his head and goes into the restaurant to check into how supper is coming along.
JAKE LEANS BACK IN his chair and sighs contentedly. He looks across the large table at Brigit and feels pity for the beautiful young woman. It took them almost dragging her down here by the hair to get her away from Sean for an hour or so.
The young man has been asleep for a couple of hours now. As far as Jake knows, the whole time he was awake, he didn’t say a single word.
Finally, Joey convinced Brigit to use the outhouse, instead of the chamber pot. John convinced her to come sit and eat with everyone for a little bit. Her haggard appearance is shocking to everyone.
Once Brigit sat down, Andy got out of his lap, got into Brigit’s, gave the young woman a hug, then promptly settled in place.
Brigit hardly noticed Andy, except to hug her back, then to move around her some to pick at her food.
After several minutes, Jake clears his throat. “So, Brigit. How’s your supper? Andy and I worked on it with each other.”
Brigit looks at Jake blankly for a moment, nods, then looks down at the young girl in her lap. “It’s very good. Thank you for doing all this, Andy, Jake.”
Andy looks Brigit in the face and, smiling, strokes her cheek. “It’s okay. You’re worried about brother is all. We understand,” she looks around the table, “don’t we?”
Everyone around the table nods.
Brigit’s eyes tear up as she grabs the little girl in her lap, hugs her tightly and cries in her hair.
Jake smiles. He remembers one of his lady-friends telling him that, for a woman, there’s nothing like a good cry to relieve mental stress. Hopefully, she’ll be able to start healing after yesterday’s attack.
He looks at John and, seeing the worried expression on his oldest friend’s face, cocks his head in an unasked question.
John notices the movement, considers for a second, then indicates later.
Jake sighs and looks around the table. Of course, there’s Brigit and Andy. There’s John, looking worriedly. Then there’s David and Rebekah. They are sitting close to each other, constantly touching, seeming to draw strength from the other’s presence.
Jake makes sure he only glances at the young couple. He has longed for something like they have, for decades. He’s never found a woman that was willing to be a partner in life like that. Oh, being a soldier, he was able to find his fair share of camp followers, but no one really, really seemed willing to fight with and for him. He sighs heavily. He wishes His plans included a partner in life for him. Now that he has a daughter, though, the chance that a woman would be willing to ever be with him went from highly improbable, to completely impossible. He looks at Brigit and Andy. He wouldn’t give up the young girl for the world, even if her coming into his life effectively ended any chance he would have to ever find a wife.
John clears his throat meaningfully. “I hope you folks don’t mind, but I think I need to go have a conversation with Marshal Blackwolf.” He rises, moves around the table and places a hand on Brigit’s shoulder. “You might not know it now, but things are getting much better. Believe that. Your faith and love will see you through.” Without waiting for a reply, John heads upstairs as if on a mission.
Jake looks on as Brigit raises her face and notes the shock that registers
across it. He doesn’t know how John does it, but he seems to have the innate capability to say the one thing at the exact time to have the most impact on people.
WHILE JOHN WALKS UP the stairs, he takes the time to gather his thoughts and figure out how he’s going to say what needs to be done, to Joey. He’s sure she’s not gonna be happy about what he’s going to say, but it needs to be said.
As he goes inside the apartment, he almost runs directly into the young marshal.
She cocks her head questioningly. “What is it, John?”
“Can we talk a minute, alone?” He motions toward the couch Paul is still asleep on.
She nods and opens the door to Brigit’s room, ushering him inside. “What’s going on?”
John sighs heavily, raking his fingers through his hair. “I don’t expect I’m gonna say this well, but what are you gonna do about the treaty?”
Her eyebrow lifts. “All this for such a minor thing? Really, John?” She hooks her thumbs in her front pockets, sighs and shakes her head. “I was planning on telegraphing home office about it tomorrow morning. That, and about hiring you as deputy.”
John looks out the window. “About that. What do you think the marshals are gonna do when they find out about that?”
She shakes her head. “I have no idea. In truth, the deputizing was legal. So, unless you deny your oath of service, there’s not a lot they can do about it in the first place. Well, that is other than refuse to pay you.” She shakes her head. “Eh, it’ll be okay. We’re supposed to have sixty-five deputies and have gotten only twenty-five. Us finding an experienced lawman is just icing on the cake of bringing in Weaver.”
John nods. “As long as you don’t think they’ll deny my appointment as deputy.”
She shakes her head. “Between me and pa, you’ll be fine. Just don’t expect too much in the way of pay.”
“I’m not worried about it. As long as they’re willing to pay my expenses, I don’t care.”
She nods. “That, at least, is something I can guarantee.”
Deputy at Large Page 15
