by Steven Bird
Taken aback by her statement, Jessie contemplated his reply while she took a seat next to him.
“Still no sign of Isaac and Billy?” she asked.
“No, not yet, but that’s not too concerning at this point. If they arrived near sunset, Isaac would have known to play it safe and wait until morning. Never trust someone who arrives before the sun comes up, or after it sets. If you’re on the up and up, you’ll show yourself in broad daylight. They’re probably just riding up on the place now.”
“I hope you’re right,” she sighed. “We can’t live without Billy around here. I don’t just say that because he’s my little brother and I love him, but because he’s made from the same stone as Daddy. This place won’t survive without him. Now, don’t get me wrong, Paul and Mark are great, but…”
“I understand,” Jessie replied with a smile. “What’s with Frank, anyway? He seems…”
“Different? Yes, he’s very different. Since we were little kids, he’s been in his own world. He’d never lie, cheat, or steal, but he didn’t seem to be connected to the rest of us the way we were to each other.”
“Was he ever diagnosed with anything?” Jessie asked.
“Of course not. Daddy didn’t want to face reality. He was a proud, old-fashioned man and just kept saying, ‘maybe he’ll grow out of it’, but he never did.”
“Well, he was your father’s firstborn son. I’d imagine he had high hopes for him to be his heir. Generations that came before us, especially the farming-type folks who put decades of blood, sweat, and tears into building a legacy for their children, are wired to want to pass things along the old-fashioned way.
“There toward the end, you could see a big shift in our country, all the way to its core. It wasn’t just in the daily partisan battles on TV, the push to erase our constitutional freedoms, or the random and not-so random acts of violence that seemed to increase with each day while the morals of our society continued to decay. You could see a big shift in more personal things, like family farms that were generations-old, but were being sliced up into five-acre-tracts for developments because the younger generation wanted no part of that rugged lifestyle.
“It had to be rough for those preceding generations to watch everything they had worked so hard for be sliced and diced as if it was just a commodity. To that generation, the land was a member of the family. It meant far more than the mere value per acre it could yield at an auction.”
“Yes, you’re right. You just described Daddy to a T.”
“I can’t wait to meet him,” Jessie said in a reassuring voice.
“Tina,” Shauna called out as she opened the screen door and walked out onto the covered porch. “Oh, there you are.”
“What is it?” Tina asked.
“I was gathering everyone for breakfast, and Frank wasn’t in his room,” Shauna explained. “I don’t think he came home last night.”
“Again?” Tina said with exasperation in her voice.
“What do you mean, again?” Jessie asked.
“He’s been doing that a lot lately. He won’t tell us where he’s been, either. It’s really starting to piss off Paul and Mike. They’re afraid he’s gonna lead someone back here to us.”
“I agree with their concern,” Jessie confirmed. “Especially with the imminent threat we’re facing.”
Interrupting their conversation, Jessie heard a CB radio transmission coming from the living room, where one of the portable radio setups was being kept. Getting up and rushing into the house, Jessie heard Mike saying, “Jessie. Are you there?”
“I’m here. What’s up?”
“An unknown is walking up the driveway toward the house.”
“You can’t tell who it is?”
“I can see them clearly, and they aren’t from around here. At least, not anyone I know.”
“Roger that. Don’t give away your position. I’ll head on out. Watch my back.”
“Will do,” replied Mike.
“Is it them?” Tina asked.
“I don’t know, but go ahead and lock up the house and get everyone to the upper floor. Get behind those rifles on the second floor, too. Don’t shoot unless you have to, though.”
In a trembling voice, Shauna asked, “How will we know?”
“It’ll be obvious. And make sure you’ve got someone covering the back of the house as well. This may be a ruse to draw our attention up front.”
Quickly tacking up his horse, Jessie put his boot in the stirrup and boosted himself up and onto Hank’s back. Laying his rifle on his lap with his Colt at his side, Jessie urged Hank forward and rode up the long, winding driveway toward the stranger.
As he approached, Jessie reined back slightly to slow Hank from a gallop to a trot. Raising the Marlin 30-30 with his right hand and aiming it at the stranger, while holding onto Hank’s reins with his left, Jessie shouted, “That’s far enough!”
Raising his hands, the man who appeared to be in his late twenties to early thirties and wearing black jeans and a lightweight Mossey Oak hunting jacket, said, “Hey, now! I’m not here for trouble. I’m just looking for work. I’ve not eaten…”
“Shut up!” Jessie commanded sharply. “Don’t move and don’t say another word until I tell you to speak. Do you understand?”
Nodding in the affirmative, the man looked around nervously.
Riding full circle around the man while he stood still in the middle of the driveway, Jessie held the barrel of his rifle on him and said, “Lift your jacket.”
Doing as he was told, the man revealed an older Smith & Wesson revolver in his belt in the small of his back.
“Slowly remove the gun from your belt with two fingers only. Two fingers on the grip. If you get anywhere near the trigger, I’ll end all this right now. Do you understand?”
Nodding, the man took his right hand and removed the pistol as instructed.
“Now, toss it off to the side and then place both your hands on your head.”
Tossing the revolver off to the side as Jessie had ordered, the man looked back and stammered, “Look, mister, I…”
Striking the man on the side of the head with the barrel of his rifle, Jessie said, “I thought I said shut up.”
“Damn it!” the man shouted as he recoiled in pain, rubbing the side of his head.
“Let it be, or I’ll whack you again!” Jessie warned.
Acquiescing with a huff, the man looked straight ahead toward the house with his hands on his head, while Jessie sat atop Hank just behind him.
“Turn around and face me,” Jessie demanded.
Reluctantly, the man turned around to face Jessie and Hank. Jessie sneered, “You just lost the right to stand with that attitude. Drop to your knees and keep your hands on your head.”
Jessie watched the man lower himself to his knees, glaring back at Jessie with a cold, icy stare.
“How many are with you?” Jessie demanded.
“I’m alone,” the man replied.
“Cut the crap. How many are there, and before you answer, I want you to know several of my friends are looking directly at your head through their scope reticles at this very moment. If you lie to me, I’ll know you mean us harm, and we will deal with you accordingly. How many are there?”
“I’m telling you, I’m by myself.”
“What would you be doing out here all by yourself?”
“I’m looking for work. I’m hungry, and I need something to eat and a place to stay.”
“You don’t look hungry,” Jessie said, looking the man in the eye. “You look pretty damn well fed to me. Where are you coming from?”
Pausing for a minute, the man answered, “Washita. I was working for a farmer there. I was working for room and board, and was hoping to find work up this way.”
“What kind of work were you doing?”
“Farm stuff,” the man replied. “You know, fixing fences and stuff.”
Looking at the man’s boots, which were shiny black leather boots
that appeared to be made more for style than function, Jessie scoffed, “You don’t look like much of a farmhand to me. Hell, though. We might could use some help around here. Did you do barbed wire fencing?”
“Yes. Yes, sir. A lot of it.”
“Did you use a Perkins style wire roller or a hydraulic roller?”
“Perkins,” the man quickly answered.
“Wrong answer,” Jessie mocked, looking the man dead in the eye. “There’s no such thing. You weren't working on a farm, so what the hell are you doing here and why are you lying to me?”
Seeing the man’s eyes dart to the side behind him, Jessie pulled hard on Hank’s left rein, spinning the horse around while he raised the rifle just in time to see a man expose himself from behind a tree, bringing an FAL-style rifle to bear.
Firing at the armed man with his .30-30, Jessie’s bullet struck the man in the chest just as the crack of a muzzle blast thundered out of the barrel of the FAL. Hank reared, throwing Jessie off his back and sending him crashing onto the gravel driveway below.
With the wind knocked out of him, Jessie looked over to see the man he’d been interrogating just a moment before scurrying for the .30-30 rifle that’d bounced out of Jesse’s hands upon impact.
Quickly reaching for his Colt, Jessie swung the pistol toward the man as he raised the rifle and pulled the trigger. Jessie could see the look of bewilderment and frustration on the man’s face when nothing happened. As the man frantically cycled the lever to chamber another round, Jessie fired a shot from his Colt, striking the man squarely in the chest and ending the conflict.
Rolling over and looking down the driveway for any sign of additional threats, Jessie struggled to his feet while fighting for breath. Still aching from the fall, he scurried into the woods for cover.
Looking back to the dead man in the driveway who still had his rifle, Jessie immediately regretted diving for cover before retrieving his long gun. “Damn it,” he muttered, as he worked his way closer to the dead man who’d sprung out from behind the tree. Traveling along the edge of the tree line, Jessie remained in the woods for concealment until reaching the now-deceased attacker.
Picking up the FAL, Jessie checked the condition of the rifle, verifying a round was in the chamber and it was ready to remain in the fight. He began working his way through the woods toward the bend in the driveway leading away from the house. When a bullet struck the tree next to him, Jessie leaped to the side to take cover behind a large oak tree.
Taking a quick peek around the tree, Jessie could see a man running down the driveway toward the road, as if he was falling back or retreating.
Mumbling to himself, Jessie said, “I hope those morons have this thing sighted in correctly.” Raising the weapon to his shoulder, he took careful aim and eased the trigger back slightly until the gun fired, sending a .308 round into the fleeing man, dropping him in his tracks.
“There’s no reason to let you brief the others,” Jessie grunted, before he moved to a different position to begin a waiting game.
~~~~
Running up the stairs to the second story of the house, Tina burst into her father’s room, startling Michelle who was taking her turn sitting with him. “Close the windows and get down on the floor!” Tina shouted.
“What? What is it? What’s wrong?” stammered Michelle.
“Strangers,” Tina said as she turned to Shauna and said, “You cover the rear out of Frank’s bedroom. I’ll cover the front out of mine.”
“Yes… of course,” replied Shauna, and she took the rifle leaning against the hall closet door before running to Frank’s room.
Opening her dormer window, Tina sat down on the floor to take cover behind the wall, viewing the outside from the lower left corner of the window. She watched as Jessie rode Hank out of the barn and urged him forward, galloping down the driveway toward the stranger.
“Damn it, Jessie,” she mumbled as the trees obscured her view of his location. “I can’t help you if I can’t see you.”
After a few moments, a gunshot rang out and Hank emerged from behind the trees, running at a full gallop back to the barn with an empty saddle on his back.
Another shot rang out, and she thought, what the hell is going on down there? She scanned the area with the scope of her rifle, but saw nothing.
Hearing the third crack of a gunshot, she thought, those weren’t the same gun. Those were definitely not the same gun.
Now hearing nothing but silence, dread and fear swept through her body. Not another one. God, please don’t let them take another one.
~~~~
With the adrenaline of the fight wearing off, Jessie began to feel a deep, aching pain from his previous wound that hadn’t quite healed. Feeling underneath his shirt with his right hand, he felt the wet, sticky warmth of blood through his bandages. Damn it. That fall off Hank must have done more than just knocking the wind out of me.
Having not seen movement in several minutes, Jessie turned back into the woods, handrailing the road until he got within viewing range of the farmhouse. Stepping out onto the driveway with the FAL held above his head, Jessie staggered toward the house with the pain in his side becoming worse with every step.
Seeing Mike rush out to meet him, Jessie said through gritted teeth, “I got three. That’s all I saw for now. If you want to double-check, stay behind cover as much as you can. Oh, and grab my .30-30 if it’s all clear. It’s with one of the bodies, so you won’t have to look hard.”
“Sure thing,” Mike replied, as he turned and ran toward the trees to begin working his way alongside the driveway to investigate further.
Upon reaching the house, Jessie was greeted by Tina when she ran down the stairs leading from the front porch.
“Oh, my God. Were you shot?”
“No. No, this is my old injury coming back to haunt me,” he replied, pretending it didn’t hurt quite as bad as it did.
“Let’s get you inside and take a look at it.”
Stepping into the house, Jessie walked straight to the portable radio and Tina shouted up the stairs, “He’s okay, but keep your eyes open in case there are more.”
Jessie took the hand mic and keyed up on channel five, saying, “Paul, how goes the rear?”
In an almost instantaneous reply, Paul transmitted, “All is clear. What the hell happened?”
“Intruders. Stay alert. Clear upfront for now,” Jessie responded in a very to-the-point manner.
“Wilco,” Paul replied.
Giving Jessie a stern look, Tina insisted, “That’s about enough of the tough-guy routine. Let’s take a look at your wound.”
“Yeah. I think that’d be a good idea,” he grunted.
“Go lay on the couch and I’ll take a look.”
“What about the blood? Do you want to put a towel or something down to keep it off the sofa?”
“That’s the least of my concerns, mister. Now, lay down and pull that shirt off.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Jessie responded sharply, like a soldier following orders.
“Isaac stitched you up, right?” Tina asked.
“Yeah, why? Did he do a half-assed job?”
“Not at all, but he’s gonna be pissed when he sees you’ve undone all his hard work,” Tina remarked as she stood and wiped her hands on a towel. “Just lay back and relax. I’m gonna go get the first aid kit, so I can take care of this properly.”
Returning after a few moments, Tina cleaned and began closing the wound.
“You seem to have some experience with this,” Jessie noted, trying to make small talk to take his mind off the pulling and tugging.
“We couldn’t afford to call a vet every time an animal was hurt, so Momma always made sure we knew the basics of just about everything. I’ve even gone so far as to stitch my brothers up from time to time. They’re pretty skilled at hurting themselves.”
“That skill is easy to master on a farm,” Jessie replied.
“Yes. Yes, it is,” Tina conceded, tugg
ing on the suture to tie it off.
Once she replaced the bandages, she warned, “Seriously. You need to take it easy. This will never heal if you don’t.”
“You’re right,” Jessie replied, “but it’ll also never heal if I’m killed in the meantime. I believe in the ‘closest alligator to the boat’ philosophy. This gator,” he said, pointing to his side, “is slipping into the water on the other side of the river, but if there is one about to sink its teeth into me, I can’t just let him bite me while I focus on the other guy.”
“You can justify things any way you want, Sheriff. It’s your life, but you’re not alone in this right now,” she stated, turning to walk out of the room.
~~~~
Later that day, while Jessie sat impatiently looking out the living room window, trying his best to take it easy like Tina insisted, he heard the radio spark up with Mike’s voice saying, “We’ve got company.”
Wincing in pain as he stood and hurried over to the radio, Jessie keyed up and asked, “What do we have?”
“There are five of them. They have a white flag affixed to one of their long guns.”
“Can you ID them?”
“No, but… actually, wait a sec. I think they’re Hofstadters,” Mike replied.
“Really?” Jessie responded. “Any sign of Isaac and Billy?”
Hearing footfalls as Tina and Shauna ran down the stairs, Jessie turned and said, “Please, go man…uh, I mean, staff your stations with the rifles upstairs.”
“Billy? Is Billy with them?” Tina asked frantically.
As the question left her lips, Mike’s response came through, saying, “No, not yet. I see six men total. All of them are on horseback. Most of them are fairly young. Probably in their twenties. All of them are armed, and it looks like they each have some sort of bag or pack with them.”
“A white flag, huh?” Jessie queried.
“Yep. What do you want me to do?” Mike asked.
“Just sit tight. Don’t expose yourself. I’ll meet them and see what’s going on. Paul, did you copy all that?”
“Affirmative,” answered Paul from the chicken coop out back.
