Jake

by Cynthia Woolf

Billy still hadn’t come back by day’s end. She was going to have to go pick him up…again. He didn’t think he’d be able to prevent her from doing it. As much as he wanted to protect her, he knew she’d balk at his attempts. He was a stranger and trying to control her, she’d say. And she was right. But if that’s what it took to keep her safe, then that’s what he’d do. Maybe she’d let him go with her.

  She’d put the pans away and stashed the gold they’d mined. Now she was bridling the mule. Buster, she called him.

  “Becky, let me go with you to collect Billy.”

  “No.”

  “Why not? He won’t know. You could introduce me around.”

  “No.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you’d want to help with Billy. I don’t need any help with him. I keep telling you, we do just fine without your interference. Thank you for helping me today, but I don’t need your help and I don’t want it.” She handed him a small pouch. “That’s the gold you panned for today.”

  He handed it back to her. “It’s your gold. I was just helping you. I want you to be able to get away from Billy as soon as possible.”

  She took it back. “Look, Jake. You don’t know me or what I want. Thanks for the gold but stay out of my life. Today was nice, but that’s all. I don’t want to repeat it. Work your own claim and leave me be.”

  She swung up on the mule’s back.

  “Becky,” he tried again, “let me help you.”

  “How many times do I need to say it? I don’t need or want your help.”

  He looked up at her atop the mule. “I’m not going to change your mind right now, but I’m not giving up either.”

  She clucked her tongue and the mule started walking.

  “You can do whatever you want at long as you do it from your claim.” She kicked the mule in the sides and it started trotting, she did it again and it cantered quickly away from him, Becky moving gracefully on top. Her movements as one with the animal.

  He thought today had gone so well, too. Disappointed that she rejected him and his intentions, he walked back to his camp.

  “So? What’s going on with you and Miss Finnegan?” asked Liam when he got back.

  “Nothing.”

  “You spent all day and it’s nothing?”

  “That’s right. Nothing. She won’t let me help her. Said she doesn’t need my help. That I’m interfering.”

  Liam cocked an eyebrow. “Well, aren’t you?”

  Jake took off his hat and raked his fingers through his dark blond hair. “I suppose I am, but you didn’t see her this morning. Damn, Liam. Her cheek was swollen and black and blue. Her lip was split and I wouldn’t be surprised if she had loose teeth.”

  “Jake,” said Liam. “You can’t save the world.”

  “Maybe not, but I can save her. I’m moving my stuff to the end of our claim next to theirs. I can keep watch that way and make Billy think twice. Until we start working the cliff, it doesn’t matter where I pan for gold. Here or there, it’s still the same.”

  “Well, it sounds like you’re determined. You’ll have to go to town and get another tent. I don’t want you out there without some kind of shelter.” Liam handed Jake forty dollars. “This should get you what you need to set up camp. Go to Bullock and Starr hardware. They’ll have everything you want.”

  “Thanks, Liam,” said Jake. He put the money in his pocket and his hat back on before he started walking toward the settlement of Deadwood.

  You couldn’t really call Deadwood a town, except for lack of a better word. It was an encampment, a settlement on Indian land. Totally illegal per the Treaty of Fort Laramie which gave all of the Black Hills to the Sioux people.

  He’d heard Wild Bill Hickok had come to Deadwood just a few months before. The man was legendary for bringing law and order to Abilene, Texas and Jake wondered if he’d do the same for Deadwood. He was sure there were lots of folks in town that were wondering the same thing. Law and order was good for the lawful and bad for the lawless or so he would have said before Elizabeth’s murder. Offhand, he wondered if he’d get to meet Hickok. Probably not. He’d heard that he liked to play cards at the No. 10 and since Jake didn’t drink or play cards, it was unlikely they’d meet.

  He reached the edge of town and forced himself to walk past The Gem and on to Bullock & Starr hardware. There he picked up a tent, with stakes, rope, a camp stool, skillet, coffee pot and a pack to put it all in. Then he went up to the mercantile where he bought coffee and an extra blanket.

  When he was done at the store, he headed back to the claim, past The Gem. He was relieved to see that Buster was no longer tied up out front. Maybe if he hurried he could catch her.

  Becky heard the man panting behind her before she saw him. She had plenty of time; she stopped and let Buster walk on. He wouldn’t walk far, just to the nearest bit of grass next to the path. She pulled her Colt revolver and pointed it down the path waiting for whomever it was to round the corner.

  “Whoa, Becky, it’s just me,” said Jake as he put up his hands.

  She holstered her gun. “I keep telling you not to sneak up on me. You could get shot.”

  Jake put his hands down and wrapped them around the straps of the pack he carried and walked toward her. “I’m not sneaking. Good Lord, you can hear me a mile away with all this stuff I’m carrying.”

  “What are going to do with all that stuff anyway? Looks like you’re moving. Did you get your own claim?”

  “I didn’t get my own claim. But I am moving. Going to work a different part of our claim.” He was close enough now to see her narrow her eyes and purse her lips.

  “What different part?” she asked suspiciously.

  “The part next to yours,” said Jake.

  She put her hands on her hips. “It’s not going to stop nothin’. If anything, he’ll want you to try to stop him and I’ll be the bait. Don’t do this, Jake. Please.”

  He reached out and gently touched her bruised cheek. “I’m not going to let him hurt you anymore. If he does, I’ll kill him and no one would blame me. There’s no law here. No one to step in for you. Except me.”

  She leaned into his hand and closed her eyes, needing the comfort.

  “I don’t know what to say,” she said quietly, as she straightened. “I can holler at you all day and it’s not going to change your mind. Down deep, I’m hoping you’re right and I’m wrong. I’m hoping that Billy won’t want witnesses to his weakness,” she shook her head. “But I don’t think he considers it a weakness. He’s proud he can keep me in line. And I let him. That’s the worst of it. I let him, because I need him to get what I want. A way to never have to see him again. I’m going to get away from him but it’s going to take more time. I can put up with anything for a little while.”

  She walked up to where Buster grazed, took the reins that had fallen to the ground and threw them up over his neck. Then she took hold of his bridle and started walking.

  Jake walked along side her where the trail would allow and behind Buster when it got too narrow. They walked in silence, both lost in their thoughts.

  “I guess if you’re really going to do this, we might as well find you a good spot to set up.”

  He grinned. “That’s my girl.”

  She shook her head, “I’m not your girl.”

  He had the good sense to look chagrined. She didn’t know it yet, but she was his girl or would be before all was said and done. His attraction to her was too great to ignore. He’d never felt like this, never felt the lightning charge through his body like when he touched Becky. Not even with Elizabeth. May she rest in peace.

  She took him close to her campsite. “This is as far as you go. It’s flat, high enough up the hillside in case the stream floods and has a good view of our camp. Even when you’re working the creek you can still see my place.”

  Jake took off his pack and let it fall noisily to the ground. He found the tent and started to put it up.

  “Aren’t you goin
g to ask to help me with Billy?’

  He didn’t look up. “Nope.”

  “Why not?” she said suspiciously.

  “Because I’m hoping you’ll drop him on his head and he’ll break his neck. It would save me a lot of trouble,” he pounded the stakes into the ground, picturing Billy’s head with each one.

  She laughed. “I don’t suppose I should laugh at that but I can’t help it. I’ve dropped him so many times, I think he’s unbreakable.”

  Finally, he looked up at her from where he knelt on the ground, pounding stakes. “Trust me, we’ll find out if he’s unbreakable if he hurts you again. Because I’ll break every bone in his face.”

  “Jake, I know you mean well, but please don’t say those things to me. As much as I hate Billy, he’s still my father.” The sadness in her voice reached out to him. All he wanted was to keep her safe. He didn’t want to hurt her. He hadn’t been able to protect Elizabeth but he damned sure would Becky.

  He put down the tent stakes and walked to where she stood, holding Buster’s bridle and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. “I want you to understand. I’m not saying this to be mean, I’m letting you know and I’m going to let him know, if he ever gets sober enough to understand, exactly what I’m going to do. He can’t treat you like that.”

  She pulled out of his light grasp and turned away from him. “You do what you have to.” She clucked her tongue and Buster started walking. Jake noticed her shoulders were a little slumped. He’d have to take care of Billy out of her sight. She wasn’t ready to let go of the little girl who needed her father’s approval and he wasn’t ready to become the villain in her eyes.

  Billy awoke several hours after Becky brought him back to the camp. Jake saw him come out of the tent, stretch then go to the campfire and check the pot there for something to eat.

  Just looking at the man and knowing how he treated Becky made Jake angry. As if knowing that he was being watched, Billy looked over where Jake stood in the stream with his pan, working not a hundred feet from where Becky was doing the same thing. He didn’t care if he found any gold or not as long as his presence kept Billy from abusing her.

  In the pool, where he stood, the stream ran slow and clear. It was only about knee deep and he could easily see to the creek bed. He scooped some of the soil from the bottom into his pan and started spinning it slowly in a circle, beginning the process of separating the dirt from the gold. All the while he kept his eye on Billy.

  Becky, too, noticed Billy was awake. She looked up at him and then went back to panning. He didn’t seem to mind that she ignored him. Jake guessed he knew if he stopped her from working there was that much less gold he could spend when he went to town tonight.

  Jake walked upstream to where Becky stood.

  “He’s awake,” he said.

  She nodded but didn’t look toward her camp. “I know. He’ll be down in a little while to find out how I’ve been doing and to take what I’ve gotten so far.”

  “Have you gotten much? Do you want me to hold it for you so he can’t take it?”

  “I haven’t gotten much, but yeah, I’d be grateful if you’d hold it until after he leaves.” Jake stood between Becky and the campsite, preventing Billy from seeing her. She reached into her pocket, took out two nuggets and handed them to Jake. “I’ve still got some flake to give him. It’s enough for him to get drunk. That’s all that matters.”

  Not even half an hour later, Billy walked down to the creek where Becky worked. He hollered at her and she walked out of the creek to stand in front of her father. He was not a big man, about the same height she was and wiry. It had been Jake’s observation that most drunks were thin, preferring to drink rather than eat. Billy was lucky, Becky made sure there was always food. Jake could see them talking and then saw Becky reach into her pocket and take a pouch. She and Billy exchanged pouches and he walked back up the hill to the tent. When he came out he was dressed in his coat and hat. He looked Jake’s way and gave him a salute before starting down the path that would take him to Deadwood and the bottom of a whisky bottle.

  CHAPTER 4

  Panning for gold was hard, back breaking work. Jake was amazed any of them managed to do it day in and day out. Of course, none of them had any choice about it. They worked to survive. To put bread on the table and in Becky’s case a bottle in Billy’s hands.

  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.