Lana slipped into the cabin and glanced around. Ginger didn’t even seem to have noticed her disappearance and was reading Gulliver’s Travels to the children. She would normally be hurt by the fact since it was something she liked doing with the children, but she had told Ginger to go ahead and read with them so she could sneak out to the barn and talk with Nick and Derek about the robbery.
As she watched the three of them, she hoped more than ever that their plan would work. If it didn’t, Jake might try to retaliate against them, and she couldn’t bear to see Ginger go through any more pain.
Chapter 26
Nick brought his hand down to make the final strum on his guitar to the song he was playing. He was leaning back against the porch railing as he played guitar. Lana was sitting across from him with Freddie and Lydia leaning up against her and Ginger was propped up in a chair next to them.
“Let’s sing another, Uncle Nick,” Fred said enthusiastically.
“Oh, I don’t know. Your mother is looking exhausted.”
Ginger’s head seemed to be nodding with tiredness. “Nick is right, I do believe it is time to bed. Why don’t the two of you go in now and get ready for bed?”
Freddie and Lydia reluctantly stood, gave everyone a goodnight kiss and then disappeared inside.
They chatted for a few more minutes but Nick’s mind was distracted by Lana. She looked worried and her face was pinched in what he would describe as anxiety.
“I think I’m going to turn in as well. I do believe if I stay out here any longer, I will fall asleep here and you will have to carry me to bed,” Ginger announced as she stretched and stood up.
“Goodnight, Ginger.” Lana reached over and gave Ginger’s hand a squeeze. “I’ll be inside in just a moment.”
Nick watched as Ginger went inside and closed the door behind her, then turned to Lana. “What’s wrong? You’ve looked bothered all evening.”
Lana shrugged and looked out into the night. The pale moon cast intricate shadows on her face. “I’m just thinking. About the robbery. It’s only two days from now.”
Nick nodded. “I know, but it’s all going to work out fine.”
Lana shrugged and tucked her hands underneath her chin, “What if it’s not? What if something happens to Ginger, the children, Derek or… you?” As she looked up at him, she had real concern in her eyes.
“Nothing is going to happen to me. And nothing is going to happen to anyone else. We have a good plan. Once everything is set in motion the sheriff will have no choice but to believe what is going on.”
“But what if they don’t do it when they said they would? What if I can’t get the sheriff to come and you get shot or something? I would never forgive myself.” Nick peered at Lana in the dim light. He could see that there were tears welling up in her eyes.
Nick set his guitar down carefully beside him then gently took Lana’s two hands into his own. “Hey, don’t cry. It’s going to work out fine and you are going to do fine. We can’t what-if it to death. We have a plan and we will be careful.”
Nick hadn’t realized how emotional Lana was about this whole thing. Of course it was difficult, and it seemed daunting and scary, but they were going to be able to do it. He was sure of it.
“I just- you know, I feel like I finally found a family here with Ginger and the children and even well… you. I don’t want to lose that to Jake, and I feel like I’m going to mess it all up. Or maybe he will come after us here.”
Nick shook his head, “Even if everything were to go terribly wrong, it wouldn’t be your fault. None of it would be your fault.”
Lana wiped the back of her hand across her cheek, “You don’t know that. I might mess this whole thing up and then you won’t even get justice for Daniel.”
Nick wanted to pull Lana close and give her a hug, but instead, he squeezed her hands tightly. “You are going to do great. The sheriff will listen to us this time and it is all going to work out.”
“I hope you’re right.” Lana’s tear-filled eyes met his gaze.
He looked down and realized how close they were to each other. Their knees were almost touching, and they were holding hands. Their faces were only a few inches apart. The moonlight made her face look soft and pale. He suddenly had the desire to kiss her.
Nick scolded himself internally. What was wrong with him to be thinking these thoughts about Lana?
“I should go inside,” Lana said abruptly, interrupting his train of thought.
“Okay, goodnight,” he sighed.
As Lana stood and walked towards the door, Nick almost called her back. But instead, he picked his guitar up again and strummed it softly trying to quiet his thoughts.
He listened to the crickets and watched the stars. He wondered if Daniel was keeping an eye on his family from somewhere up above.
“Don’t worry, Daniel, we are going to get you justice and I am going to take care of Ginger for you,” Nick whispered into the dark night.
He could almost hear Daniel’s laugh as he cracked a joke or see his sparkling eyes as he told about his day. There were times when he still expected to see him coming out of the barn or riding up the driveway to help him.
Even now as Nick contemplated the ride home, he thought of the many times that Daniel had accompanied him to his house just so that they could talk about plans for buying cattle or putting in a new pasture.
Nick sighed and stood, then set his guitar right inside the door before mounting his horse and riding toward home.
There were different kinds of good times now, but they certainly weren’t the same as before when Daniel was alive.
There were some things that would never be the same. Nick could only hope that once justice was served and Ginger had real closure on Daniel’s death, they would all be able to move on and start enjoying their new life without these lingering fears.
He was certain that none of them would ever forget Daniel. They would remember him forever, fondly and sadly. There wouldn’t ever be a time that Nick didn’t miss Daniel or the role he had played in his sister and his sister’s children’s lives.
Nick got home and started brushing the horse down. “It’s been a long day,” he said as he ran the brush through the horse’s tangled mane. Sometimes he almost imagined that his horse could understand him.
The horse neighed and bobbed his head.
“You know, I had a talk with Lana again tonight. I don’t know what it is about that girl. At first I wanted her to leave but now I hope she stays forever.”
The horse just blew air through his lips, making a funny noise. Nick chuckled. “If only you could speak, I have a feeling you’d have plenty to say.”
Nick gave the horse some water and grain before retreating to his cabin, shaking his head. A pang of intense loneliness coursed through him for a moment. Sometimes living alone on the ranch was tiring.
He was glad that he had his dogs and his horses to keep him company, but it wasn’t really the same as a real person.
---*---
Nick hoped that the next morning’s weather wasn’t an indicator of what was to come. The sky was overcast with clouds and the rain was sprinkling softly. There was a flash of lightning off in the distance illuminating the roll of darker clouds building there.
Nick made his way into the kitchen, washed himself a mug and made some coffee. There were some days that coffee was the only thing that kept him going the entire day.
Once he’d finished his coffee and had some breakfast, he headed into town. He wanted to keep as much of an eye on things as he could before the big event.
If anything changed, he was going to be the first one to know.
He wasn’t sure what change that might be. Maybe Jake would change his plan and decide to get out of town early.
Nick had heard stories from other towns about how the gang members sometimes stalked the bank from a nearby store while working there.
Usually, the gang members would only stay undercover for a couple
of months. It seemed that Jake had really dedicated himself to this job. Maybe it wouldn’t be as easy as he thought to put Jake behind bars.
Nick shook his head. He had been reassuring Lana and Derek all this time; he couldn’t let doubt get him down now.
As he rode up to the feed store, he spotted Derek talking with Gerald. The older man looked a little frailer than he had before, which worried Nick just as it had the last time he had noticed.
“What’s going on? You here for grain?” Nick thought that Derek had just been in town for grain a few days ago.
“No, no. Actually, I was just talking with a few people around town about some… things having to do with our project.”
“Project?” Nick found himself confused about what Derek was talking about.
“You know, the thing Lana and you and I are doing in about two days.” Derek was giving him a bit of a narrow-eyed stare.
“Oh, oh. Yes, what does Gerald here have to do with anything?”
Gerald’s eyes were bouncing between the two of them, full of confusion.
“Nothing, nothing much. Just, Gerald here was telling me how he was gambling at the saloon the other day…”
This time, Gerald interrupted, “I don’t do it often; in fact, it is a rare occurrence.”
“I know,” Nick kept his gaze fixed on Derek, he was fairly certain he knew what he was about to say, and he didn’t like it.
“He owes Jake money as well.” Derek’s tone was serious and somber.
“Not much, thankfully.”
“I don’t know what you two fellows are so worried about, it’s not that much. Besides, the men who work for him said I had some time to pay.”
“I hope so, you know how some people can be about debts,” Nick didn’t want to say anything more to worry the older man. He only hoped that Jake really had given him more time. He would hate for something similar to what had happened to Daniel to happen to him.
“Come on, Derek, we actually have to pick some things up at the general store.”
Derek nodded and the two of them said goodbye to Gerald and headed over to the general store.
Nick wanted to make sure that Jake was still there as well as pick up some rope and some ammunition if the store had any.
He wanted to make sure they were prepared for what was coming.
“Derek, you need to be careful about asking questions,” Nick admonished. “If you ask too many questions it might get back to Jake and spook him or worse yet, give him a reason for shutting you up,” he added, giving Derek a stern look.
Derek paled slightly. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I guess I hadn’t thought of that.” He looked around as if he were suddenly afraid that he was being followed.
Chapter 27
Lana pinned the last white shirt that belonged to Freddy up on the line. Tonight was the night of the robbery. Soon, Nick would be here to get her, and they would meet up with Derek near the bank.
“Do you need help? I’m going crazy not being able to do anything around here,” Ginger’s voice startled her from behind and she jumped.
Lana turned around and tucked the now empty clothes basket under her arm. “I just finished. Don’t worry, you should be resting. You know, the more time you give yourself to heal, the faster you will be doing things around here again.” Lana reached out and gave her friend’s arm a squeeze.
“You know, when Daniel was alive, I was so busy. I took care of nearly half of everything around here. Then he died and I couldn’t do anything. It was so much change all at once. It still feels… wrong.”
A lump formed in her throat. Ginger’s pain was visible on her face. What if tomorrow something went wrong, and she lost another member of her family? The thought was almost unbearable.
“Ginger, I…”
Ginger gave her a confused look, “What is it?”
Lana knew that she shouldn’t say anything. If Nick was here, he would tell her she was about to put Ginger in harm's way. That was the last thing she wanted to do. But she couldn’t have the possibility of her disappearing and not having said something to Ginger.
“I just want you to know how much you mean to me and that in these past few weeks, it’s like you all have become the family I lost.”
“Lana, what is wrong? You have been acting nervous and… strange.”
“Nothing,” Lana shook her head, “Nothing. It’s just… If I were to die today, I just wanted you to know how much this all meant to me.”
Ginger shook her head and gave a soft laugh, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “Why would you even say such a thing? I will not lose another member of my family. I will not. And you are now a member of my family.”
Lana gave a forced smile and nodded. “I’m sorry. It’s silly but I just wanted to say it.”
Ginger surprised Lana by reaching out and pulling her into a hug. “Don’t speak nonsense like that. I couldn’t live on if I lost another loved one. I just know that I couldn’t.”
Lana nodded against her friend’s shoulder. She fought tears. She was about to put her life in danger along with Nick’s and Derek’s lives.
Ginger could lose any one of them tonight, and yet she had no idea that it was even going to happen.
Lana’s palms felt cold and sweaty at the same time. The danger that they would face was beginning to loom in front of her. Before, it had seemed so far away. It had almost seemed like a dream that would never come to pass.
She glanced toward the driveway of the ranch. Nick was riding up the trail on his horse. Lana’s heart beat faster. “Nick is going to take me into town to see the doctor. I’ve had a strange ache in my back, and I do believe I might be getting sick.”
“Are you sure? I could make you some tea and we could go tomorrow. I’d love to come. Besides, it’s rather late now. It’ll be more than three hours until you get back.”
Lana wanted more than anything to accept her offer, but she couldn’t. She needed to go with Nick, and she needed Ginger to stay behind, not knowing what it was that they were going to do.
“No, I’d love to, I really would but I am feeling rather poorly. Will you be all right here on your own?” If they weren’t so certain that the robbery was going to take place today, Lana would have been very nervous leaving Ginger alone.
She had been worried sick every time she had been away from Ginger. When they had found the house trashed, she had known just how far Jake was willing to go.
For a moment, she thought about how convenient it must be for Jake not having to do his own work. He probably didn’t kill people or trash their cabins or any other nasty thing. He just told one of his men to do it for him while the town had pity for him and trusted him.
It didn’t make him any better by any stretch of the imagination. He still held all the responsibility. He just hadn’t pulled the trigger, so to speak.
Nick walked up to them with his lazy gait that Lana had come to recognize in her time there.
As he joined them, she felt safe and warm inside. For some reason, Nick made it feel as if everything were all right, even though it wasn’t.
An Encounter of Courageous Hearts: A Historical Western Romance Book Page 20
