by Duane Boehm
“Zack, wake up. We’ve got to get moving. How are you feeling?” Gideon said.
Zack rubbed his eyes and took a moment to speak. “Better than last night, I believe,” he said.
“Can you eat some jerky?” Gideon asked.
“I just want some water,” Zack said.
“What about me?” Tom hollered.
“You keep your mouth shut. You can eat in jail,” Gideon growled.
Gideon got some water down the boy. “Zack, I want to pour some more whiskey in that wound,” he said.
“You sure like wasting good whiskey on all my wounds. I guess I’m going to owe you a bottle,” Zack said.
“First off, it’s not all that good and if you get well, I’ll consider it an even trade,” Gideon said before pouring the whiskey into the wounds.
He doctored Zack the best that he could with his limited resources before starting the arduous task of getting the boy and outlaw saddled up without incident. They began riding as the sky lightened in the east.
∞
Joann, for the most part, had stayed in bed the two days since the stagecoach robbery. She would only get up for nature calls or to eat, and even then, she would barely touch the food on her plate. Sounds of crying would emit from the bedroom every couple of hours and cause Winnie and Abby to exchange glances. They had both done their best to make Joann feel better and babied her to the point that Abby thought things were getting out of hand. That afternoon before Winnie got home from school, Abby decided that she had had enough.
“Sit up, Joann. We need to talk,” Abby said as she sat down on the bed beside her.
The girl swung her feet over the side of the bed, sniffling and wiping her nose on her sleeve. What is it, Abs?” Joann asked.
Abby decided to start out easy on her and save the come to Jesus meeting only as a last resort. At they were sitting there, Abby was torn between the fact that she was the girl’s mother and that their relationship was much more like cousins or sisters. If she had been dealing with Winnie, she would have already put an end to the nonsense in no uncertain terms, but she had never before said a cross word to Joann.
“Joann, it’s time to pull yourself together and move on,” Abby said.
“But Abs, his breath smelled like a dead fish on the bank and his spittle flew in my face when he talked. I can still smell it. I just knew that my first time was going to be him tearing me apart,” Joann mumbled between sobs.
“Joann, you will forget that smell in time and he did not rape you. It could have been a lot worse and you are going to be fine,” Abby soothed.
“I’m never going to be the same again. I’ll never want a man,” Joann sobbed.
“Yes, you will. You just have to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back on the horse. It will be alright,” Abby said.
“I don’t think so. My life is ruined,” Joann cried.
That was the last straw for Abby. She jumped up from the bed, marching to the wall before spinning around and stopping right in front of Joann with her finger shaking in the girl’s face. “I have had enough of this pity party. What happened to you was unfortunate and scary, but it was not the end of the world. The people that raised you are certainly not quitters or let the world beat them down and the two people that brought you into this world are certainly not either. You are going to get on with your life and put this behind you starting now. Do I make myself understood?” Abby said with her finger gesturing crazily.
Leaning back from the wild finger in her face, Joann whined, “But Gideon hid away his whole adult life and still might run.”
“For Christ’s sake, Gideon killed a little boy. That is a lot worse thing to live with than some man grabbing you. And besides, Gideon wasted fourteen years of his life after the war ended running from it. Is that what you want for yourself? I realize that it was an outlaw that had just killed a man, but more than likely somewhere down the road another man is going to grab you. Some men are just like that. They think that they can bully you into the bed. I’ve had it happen to me and after Gideon handled it for me the first time, I took care of it myself after that. The next time that it happens, I want you to knee them in the balls as hard as you can. Do you understand me?” Abby said with the sternness of an old maid teacher.
“Yes, ma’am,” Joann sniffled.
“No one ever said that life is easy. Only the strong survive it. Now I want to hear you tell me that you will be fine,” Abby said.
“Yes, ma’am. I will be fine,” Joann repeated.
Abby took Joann by the arm, helping her to her feet. “There are potatoes that need peeling. You need to start helping out around here,” Abby said and gave her daughter a good smack on the rear just to make sure that she understood who was in charge and that she meant business.
As Joann scurried out of the room, Abby sat back down on the bed. She felt terrible about what she had just done and hoped that it had been the right thing to do. Joann might have come around on her own in a couple more days, but the fact that she hadn’t gotten any better made her doubt that it was so. Living in the west could be a hard life and Joann was going to have to toughen up to survive. The sooner that she learned how to do that the better off she would be. Abby also knew that she had forever changed the nature of their relationship. The bond of her and a younger cousin or sister had been replaced with that of a mother and daughter. Guilt for having stepped into Aunt Rita’s role replaced her anger, but she knew that at this moment in time that Joann needed a mother and that she was the only one available.
Abby left the house without telling Joann goodbye, headed to the green grocer. She wanted to give her daughter time to absorb what she had been told and then see where things stood. After buying some vegetables and doing a little window–shopping, she returned home to find Joann boiling the potatoes.
Joann grinned sheepishly at her when she entered the room. “What do I need to do to get back in your good graces?” she said.
“Honey, you won’t have to ask to know if you are not in my good graces. How do you feel?” Abby asked as she sat the vegetables down on the table.
Joann leaned over and gave Abby a kiss on the cheek. “I’m going to be okay. I guess I needed that. Momma has had to set me straight a couple of times before when I thought the world was ending,” she said.
“I don’t want you to think that I am trying to make light on what happened to you, but just that you have to move on,” Abby said as Winnie walked in from school.
They dropped the subject, turning the conversation to Winnie’s day at school. Winnie was surprised to see Joann up and helping with dinner. Joann’s behavior was a big change from that morning when Winnie had left for school. That evening at dinner, Winnie watched her mother and Joann with keen interest. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but there was something different between the two of them.
∞
Gideon, Zack, and McClean rode through the day, stopping once to take pisses and rest the horses. The ride went without incident and they made it back to Last Stand after suppertime. Zack had been slumped over for hours, his bindings the only thing holding him in the saddle. Gideon locked Tom up and began recruiting people off the street for help. He asked one man to take the horse with the body on it to the cabinetmaker that made the coffins and got a couple of more men to help him carry Zack into Doc Abram’s office.
“Doc, I got a boy here that got hit upside the head and then shot in the chest. I let him help me capture the outlaws against my better judgment and I got him shot for it. His name is Zack Barlow,” Gideon said as they placed Zack on the table.
“You look like hell yourself,” Doc said.
“I’m fine. My ass is numb and I’m tired is all that’s wrong with me. Please get this boy fixed up. I think he’s a good one,” Gideon said as he raked the young man’s hair out of his eyes.
“I always do my best. You go get yourself some rest and let me do my job. Now get,” Doc Abram said and made a wide sweep of his arm
towards the door.
Gideon’s mind could not think anymore. The relief of getting Zack to the doctor alive had drained the last of his stamina. He walked across the street to the jail and dropped into the cot, falling asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.
Chapter 4
Gideon awoke the next morning to the sound of Abby barging through the jailhouse door after she had learned that he was back and had captured the outlaws. He shot up off the cot, reaching for his revolver before seeing her standing in the doorway.
“Damn Abby, that’s a good way to get shot. Why did you fling the door open like that?” Gideon groused.
“I’m sorry, but I heard that you had captured the stagecoach robbers and I was anxious to see if it were true,” Abby said.
Noticing the morning light slanting through the window, Gideon said, “It’s morning. Christ, I’ve slept since I got back yesterday evening.”
“I’m sure you were exhausted. Did you get them?” Abby said.
“I killed one and caught one. The other got away. Supposedly, he was the one that went after Joann. I’ll track down one of the passengers other than Joann to have a look at this one and tell me if he is telling the truth or not,” he said.
“Figures that he would be the one to escape so that Joann can’t put this out of her mind,” she said.
“How is she doing?” Gideon asked as he started adding wood to the stove.
“She is much better. She and I had a come to Jesus meeting yesterday. She was staying in bed crying continuously and I put a stop to it, but she is still worried that he will come back looking for her as he promised,” Abby said.
“I hate this, I really do. I thought I had a plan to get all of them, but it didn’t work out that way,” he said.
“I’m sure you did your best. I know that I was worried about you. Three against one were bad odds to start with,” she said.
“That reminds me that I got to get over to see Doc. It’s a long story, but I met a young man named Zack and he helped me and ended up getting shot. I need to check on him,” Gideon said.
“Is he hurt bad and what are you going to do about the one that got away?” she asked.
“Zack wasn’t good. All that riding was too much. The one that got away is named Ted McClean and I’m not sure what I’m going to do. That one back there in the cell is his brother and he assures me that he will break him out of here. I think he might be right. They are brothers after all. If he doesn’t come back, he is going to be so far gone that I doubt I can find him now anyway,” Gideon said.
“Would you like to come over for dinner tonight and meet Joann proper? Maybe you can reassure her that she is safe,” Abby said.
“I would like that. It sure wasn’t a good first meeting. Let’s hope it goes better this time,” he said.
“I’ll see you at six then,” she said as she walked over to Gideon, giving him a kiss before leaving.
Gideon was about to walk over to the doctor’s office when he saw a letter addressed to Deputy Gideon Johann with a postmark from Pueblo, Colorado. Finding it odd that the letter was addressed to him as a deputy, a position that he had only been temporarily sworn into to help find Benjamin, he opened the letter.
Gideon,
I have been trying to track you down for a long time. You are a hard man to find. I saw in the newspaper that you are still trying to be the hero against the evil land barons and a defender of the weak. I have a score to settle with you so you best be looking over your shoulder because I am coming for you or maybe I will try to take a loved one like you did me so that you can know that pain. All in due time.
Gideon dropped into his chair and read the letter again, his mind racing to try to figure out the writer. Coming up with no answer, he placed it back in its envelope and stuck it in his drawer. The threat to a loved one made him uneasy and left him wondering what lie in store. It seemed to him as if people he cared about had already been through enough lately.
He walked over to Doc’s office, finding the doctor finishing up on changing Zack’s dressing. “Good morning,” Doc said as he looked up. “You look a heap better than yesterday.”
“I feel a heap better. How is he?” Gideon asked, banishing the letter from his mind.
“Everything is looking good. The bullet was bulging under the skin of his back. I had to make a little cut and it popped right out. The worst part was digging around trying to find the material from his shirt and vest in the wound. That will kill a man as quickly as anything will. I finally got them. He just needs lots of rest right now. If the wound doesn’t get infected, he will be up and around in a few day,” Doc said.
“That’s good. I was afraid the ride would kill him, but I didn’t see much choice in the matter,” Gideon said.
“You did the right thing. I’ll buy you breakfast if you keep me entertained,” Doc said.
“I’m so hungry that I doubt I do much talking,” Gideon said as they headed out the door.
After Gideon and Doc Abram had finished breakfast, Gideon bought a meal for the prisoner and headed to the jail. He walked into the cell room, finding his prisoner snoring loudly.
“Tom, wake up,” Gideon called out in a voice loud enough to wake the man.
“What is it? I’m worn out,” Tom said as he sat up on his cot.
“Do you know where Shaggy was from?” Gideon asked.
“Shaggy wasn’t much of a talker. Never said much about anything and I doubt his name was Brown anyway,” Tom said.
“Okay. Here is some food for you,” Gideon said before leaving.
Gideon sorted through the saddlebags of loot before grabbing the posters of the McClean brothers and walking a loop around Last Stand, stopping at the two saloons and the general and dry goods stores to show them the poster of Ted so that they could be on the lookout for him. He doubted that the outlaw would be brazen enough to show his face around town, but took the precaution just in case.
The town cobbler, Otis Daniel, had been on the stage with Joann, returning from a trip to Denver to visit his daughter. Gideon entered the shop and sat the two posters down on the bench in front of the cobbler.
“Otis, are these two of the men that robbed the stage?” Gideon asked.
“It kind of looks like them. They wore masks, but I think that it’s them,” Otis said.
“Which one of them grabbed the girl?” Gideon said.
“This one here. He was the younger of the two,” Otis said, pointing to the poster of Ted. “The other one stopped him from going any further.”
“What did they get from you?” Gideon asked.
“My pocket watch and a ten dollar gold piece,” Otis said.
“Come by the jail later on and see if your watch is there. I recovered a couple and some of the money. I’ll give you one of the gold pieces,” Gideon said.
“Thank you, Sheriff. I appreciate what you’ve done. I’ve never been through something like that before and it makes you appreciate some law and order,” Otis said.
The rest of the day was spent doing paperwork and seeing to the burial of Shaggy Brown. He had little concern that Ted McClean would show up yet. The outlaw would have to rest his horse and find another one for his brother before attempting a breakout. Late in the afternoon, he cleaned himself up at the jail and changed clothes before taking the cell key with him and riding the short distance to the house that Abby had rented after leaving Marcus.
Abby greeted him at the door and led him into the parlor where Winnie and Joann were sitting. He had been around Winnie numerous times, but the girl would barely speak to him and refused to make eye contact. She was an eight–year–old child that was confused and upset that her parents were divorcing and blamed him for the breakup. He could understand how in her eyes that he would appear to be the bad guy and was trying his best to be patient in attempting to win her over. Joann arose from her seat to meet him.
“Gideon, this is Joann,” Abby said as an introduction.
Gideon sp
oke first, no longer nervous about meeting her. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Joann. I’m sorry about your ordeal on the stagecoach,” he said a bit stiffly. He was trying to take in all her features at once without being obvious. People had always told him that he had the bluest eyes that they had ever seen and hers were the same. She favored Abby more than she did him, but there was no denying that she was his daughter and he felt an instant bond towards her. Sorrow for the opportunities lost washed over him so strongly that he had to fight off tears from welling up in his eyes. At no moment in his life had he so keenly felt the pain for the path his life had taken as he did now looking at his daughter. The what ifs ran through his mind. What if Abby had sent him a letter telling him that he was going to be a daddy instead of letting her parents buffalo her into silence? What if he had never killed the boy and spent all those years running from it? Most days he was learning to accept the hand that life had dealt him and move on, but it was hard to do with one of his biggest losses looking right at him. He marshaled his emotion, determined to make the most of the opportunity that he had been granted.
“It is nice to meet you too. I’ve heard a lot about you,” Joann said.
Winnie was watching the exchange with keen interest. She was oblivious to the fact that Joann was really her half–sister or that Joann was meeting her father for the first time. Her hope had been that Joann would give him the same cold greeting that she had maintained since he had begun visiting the family.
“Please tell me about yourself,” Gideon said.
“There’s not much to tell really. I grew up near Cheyenne on a ranch. I’m an only child and you already know that my mother is Abby’s aunt. I’m finished with school now and have been helping Poppa run the ranch. I think it is his way of keeping me away from the boys,” Joann said with a laugh.
“I would too if I were him. There’s not any of us that are worth a hoot,” Gideon said.
