by Merri Hiatt
“That ain’t what I mean and you know it. Don’t get smart with me. Answer my question.”
“We don’t know what you mean,” Brad said. “What, specifically, are you talking about?”
“I thought city folk were s’posed to be smart. Ya’ll seem pretty stupid to me. I’m talkin’ ‘bout the healin’ well. Where is it?”
The group looked at each other as if they had no idea what the man was talking about.
“I’ve never heard of such a thing,” Bob said. It was true, no one had actually referred to the hot spring as a healin’ well.
The men took two steps forward as the group retreated two steps. “I ain’t gonna be so nice if I have to ask again. Where is the healin’ well?”
“We can’t tell you something we don’t know,” Alex said.
The man stared Alex in the eyes. Neither one wavered for over a minute.
Jeremy clung to Courtney. She put her arm around his shoulders. “It’s going to be okay. Just stay close.”
“Tie up the men.”
One man put down his gun in favor of rope tied around his belt. While the two other men held their positions, Bobby, Alex and Brad were hog tied.
“Who should we keep?”
“The kid. No one wants to see a kid hurt,” one man said.
“The pregnant gal. Everyone’s got a soft spot for a lady with a baby.”
“Take me,” Jacob said. “Jeremy’s too young. Purity’s already worried about the baby. I won’t fight you. And I know where the well is.”
“Jacob!” Meg could have strangled him. Not only was he putting himself in harm’s way, but he told the men he knew where the spring was. What if he couldn’t find it again?
“It’s okay, Mom. They ain’t gonna hurt me. They just want to know where the healin’ well is. I can show ‘em the well.”
“That’s what I like to see,” the man said, “a young lad who knows when he’s been beat and takes it like a man. C’mon, show us where the well is.”
Jacob followed the men.
“And don’t you be tellin’ nobody about this. I ain’t got no problem killing a kid, or a lady for that matter.”
The second the door closed, the women rushed over to untie the men.
“Jacob’s not taking them to the spring,” Bob said.
“He just said he was going to,” Meg said.
“No, he didn’t.” Jeremy said. “He said he was gonna take ‘em to the well.”
“Exactly right,” Bob said. “We’ve got to get there before they do.”
“How?”
“Jacob beat us to the gazebo by crossing through the sheep paddock and taking connecting trails. We’ll do the same thing.”
“But we don’t know where those trails are,” Meg said.
“Neither did Jacob. He kept his eyes open and paid attention. There are more of us than of him. And, if I know Jacob, he’ll find a way to stall ‘em. He knows we’ll pick up on his clue, that’s why he made such a point of saying well instead of spring.”
“Let’s get going. Do we have any weapons?” Brad asked.
“Knives in the kitchen,” Purity said as Meg and Courtney made a beeline for the room to gather anything they could use to fight the men.
When Courtney returned with a cast iron skillet, Purity couldn’t help but laugh. “You can barely lift that thing, let along hit someone with it.”
“You just watch me. Remember, I’m Wonder Woman,” Court said.
They peered out the doorway. The coast was clear, so they all followed Alex’s lead.
“Should we split up?” Bobby asked.
“Not yet. When we reach the chicken coop, then we should. I’m not sure which way Jacob will take the men. Everyone be on the lookout. If you get in trouble, either run like mad or holler like you’ve never done before.”
“They sure picked a damn good time to do this,” Court said. “There’s not another ranch hand in sight.”
“They’re all getting ready for the hoedown,” Pure said.
“That’s what I meant. Whoever these guys are, they knew the ranch hands would be absent and we’d be vulnerable.”
They reached the chicken coop without seeing another soul.
“This is really weird,” Jeremy said. “It’s like a ghost ranch or somethin’.”
“Here’s where we split. Brad and Court, head toward the orchard, then move toward the wheat field. The well will be on your right.”
They nodded and took off.
“Meg, Bobby and Jeremy, keep going down by the chicken coop. This is the same path Jacob took earlier. You’ll cross through the sheep paddock. The well should be straight ahead another hundred yards or so.”
“Got it,” Jeremy said and they headed out.
“Purity, I know you don’t want to hear this, but I really want you to stay here.”
“Alex—”
“Before you start, I have a good reason. I think Jacob is going to get away from those men. He’ll head back to the ranch hand quarters. Someone should be there when he gets there. The last thing we need is for him to walk into an empty room where he feels like no one is on his side again.”
“Then I’ll go to the well and you stay and wait for Jacob.”
“This is not up for debate. I’m stronger and faster. That’s not meant as some kind of dig against women, it’s just a fact. You’ve got our baby inside you. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Purity was about to argue when she saw the pained look in Alex’s eyes. She was concerned about the baby, too, and he was only looking out for them. “This time. But don’t get used to ordering me around. I don’t like it.”
“I know. And I don’t like doing it. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
They shared a gentle kiss.
“Now, go kick some bad guy ass!” Pure said.
“I plan on it.”
Alex headed toward the east side of the cow paddock while Purity walked back to the ranch hand quarters.
Chapter Twenty
“I wish there was something more I could do,” Purity said, pacing the floor. She prayed again. “Keep them safe, Lord.”
Twenty minutes later, she was standing in front of the fireplace when Jacob came running through the door, out of breath.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. They’re not here, right?”
“No.”
Jacob shoved a leather sofa in front of the door.
“I have a knife. I’ll get you one.” Purity entered the kitchen, coming back with two large bread knives. She handed both to Jacob. “It has a serrated edge. I’m thinking that could do some serious damage.”
“Thanks.”
“How’d you get away?”
“They were pretty stupid. I shoved ‘em in the well.”
“How? After the first one went in, didn’t they figure it out?”
“That’s what I said, they’re pretty stupid. I pretended that the first one fell in. I called for the other guys to help, then shoved them in, too.”
“What made you think to go to the well instead of the spring?”
“They kept callin’ it the healin’ well. I remembered where the well was from that day I cut through the sheep paddock. I was hopin’ somebody would figure out what I was doing.”
“Bobby did. He knows you pretty well.”
“I guess.”
“Jacob, I was really worried about you. Why did you put yourself in harm’s way like that?”
“You guys would have done the same thing. I couldn’t let him hurt you, or Mom or Jeremy. How could I live with myself if something happened to any of you guys?”
“Funny, that’s exactly how we feel about you.”
Jacob didn’t say anything.
“How can I help you? What can I do? I’ll do anything. All of us will. We love you, Jacob. We don’t know what to do to make you know that. Not just in your head, but in your heart.
I know there are things in your pa
st that make it hard for you to trust someone. I get that.”
“You don’t. You say you do and I think you mean it, but you don’t know what it’s like. None of you do. I’m glad you don’t. I wouldn’t want anyone to go through what I did, but you guys just can’t understand. You need to stop tryin’. Just leave me alone. That’s the best thing any of you can do for me.”
Purity wanted to wrap her arms around Jacob and never let go. She thought about the baby growing inside her. It could be her own child she was having this conversation with one day. How much harder it must be for Meg and Bobby.
“I can’t promise I’m going to quit trying. And I know I can’t leave you alone. I’m sorry if that’s going to be hard for you. There are people you can trust in this world. That doesn’t mean we won’t get upset with each other now and again, but we’re family. When push comes to shove, we’ll rally around you and push everyone else to the opposite side. That’s a guarantee.”
“Even if I don’t want you to?”
“Even if you don’t want us to. We love you no matter what happens. That’s what family does, and you’re part of our family.”
While Jacob and Purity talked, the rest of the group was easing their way quietly toward the well.
Meg, Bobby and Jeremy were the first to arrive.
“Jacob’s route really was the fastest,” Jeremy said. “We beat everybody else.”
“Or they’ve already been here and left,” Bob said as he surveyed the area.
“They did have a head start on us,” Meg said.
“Did you hear that?” Bob asked. “Listen.”
A faint echoing sound seemed to travel down the dirt path.
Meg squinted. “What is it?”
“There’s Brad and Court,” Jeremy whispered, pointing to the opposite side of the well.
“It wasn’t them, was it?” Meg asked.
“No. The sound was hollow. Almost like it was…”
“What?”
“Coming from the well.”
“You don’t think they threw Jacob in the well, do you?” Meg jumped up and ran toward the well.
“Meg!” Bobby yelled after her, then followed her, as did Jeremy.
Brad and Court saw the commotion and dashed forward.
Alex arrived to find everyone running toward the well, so he began running, too, looking around for signs of Jacob.
“Help!”
They all peered over the edge to find all three men who had held them at gunpoint treading water at the bottom of the well.
“We can’t climb up. The walls are too steep and they’re no handholds.”
“Sucks to be you right about now,” Courtney said.
“Please, help us. We’re cold.”
“We’ll help you all right. We’ll call the police and have them help you right out of this well and into a jail cell,” Bob said.
“That’s after we kick your ass!” Meg said. “How dare you threaten us and how dare you take my son and use him as some pawn in your twisted little game. We should let you rot down there.”
“Nah, it would ruin the water supply for the ranch,” Court said.
“What’s all the ruckus?” Frank asked, riding up on Britches, his favorite horse.
“These guys pulled a gun on us and asked us all kinds of questions about a healing well. They took Jacob and somehow or other ended up at the bottom of the well,” Alex said.
“Trespassers. You know our rule. Trespassers are shot on sight. Been that way for years,” Frank said.
“C’mon, Frank, we didn’t mean no harm. You know us. I’m George Wallace’s son and that’s Cooter Jones’ boy. This here’s Hank Dodson’s cousin. We was just lookin’ for information, that’s all. We was never gonna hurt nobody.”
“I’ll take care of this,” Frank said to the group.
“You’re going to call the police?” Meg asked.
“I said I’d take care of it.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“Meg,” Bobby put his hand on Meg’s shoulder. “Frank said he’d take care of it.”
“They took Jacob!”
“Jacob volunteered.”
“It’s the same thing.”
“Honey, it’s not.”
Meg jostled her shoulder until Bobby removed his hand. “I expect you to press full charges, Frank Peterman. These men should be in jail for what they did.”
“I understand your position,” Frank said. “They will be dealt with accordingly.”
“So, where is Jacob?” Jeremy asked.
“He’s the one who shoved us down in this damn well!” one of the men said.
Courtney doubled over with laughter. “Now that’s a story I need to hear. I can see the headline now: Teenager sends outlaws toppling into well. Not once, not twice, but three times!”
“If you’re goin’ to the hoedown tonight, you’d best be getting back to the ranch hand quarters,” Frank said.
“You need a hand getting them out of there?” Alex said.
“No, I’ve got plenty of help.” No sooner had he spoken the words than String, Bart, Red and Charlie came up behind him on horseback.
“That’s a nifty trick,” Courtney said.
Frank smiled. “Cell phones. Handy little things.”
Chapter Twenty-One
When the group returned to the ranch hand quarters, Meg smothered Jacob with hugs and kisses.
“I’m fine, Mom. You’re blowin’ this way out of proportion.”
“You were led away at gunpoint. I’m allowed to be glad you’re alive.” She kissed him three more times on the cheek.
“You did a good job of letting us know what your intentions were,” Bobby said, resisting the urge to pull him close as Meg had done.
“We’re still goin’ to the hoedown, right?” Jeremy asked.
Everyone looked at each other.
“I’d say we have even more reason to go and celebrate,” Purity said.
“What are we supposed to wear?” Jeremy asked.
“Jeans and flannel shirts, I imagine,” Brad said. “I can’t say for sure, since I’ve never been to one before, but it stands to reason.”
“Then let’s get going. I’m starving.”
“I second that,” Courtney said.
They all left the ranch hand quarters, heading toward the big, red barn. They could hear the music as soon as they stepped outside.
“Sounds like a party,” Alex said.
They followed the inviting sound of fiddles. Ranch hands and people they’d never seen before came out of the woodwork, walking beside them.
“Nice night,” one said.
“Perfect for a hoedown,” another said.
When they reached the barn, the doors were open wide. Light from colored lanterns hanging from the rafters spilled onto the dance floor and beyond.
“Look at all the food!” Jeremy’s eyes widened.
“Don’t eat everything at once,” Meg advised. “We’ve got all night. You’ll have time to try everything.”
Jeremy headed straight for the triangular sections of watermelon and took two, one for each hand.
“You can bet he’s going to have a stomach ache tonight,” Meg said.
“Reminds me of the Halloween candy incident,” Bob said.
“Man, we were sick that night,” Jacob said.
“Why don’t you give your Mom a whirl on the dance floor,” Bob said.
“I don’t really dance well.”
“I’ll teach you. Come on, it’ll be fun.” Meg put her hand in Jacob’s and led him toward the dance floor. “They’re doing a line dance. Just follow what they do.”
Jacob seemed to be a step or two behind, but after a few rounds he got the hang of it.
“You’re pretty good,” Meg said.
“How do you know what to do? You’re not even lookin’ at anyone else.”
“I’ve line danced before. Most of the moves are similar. Besides,” Meg shrugged her shoulders,
“if I don’t like what they’re doing, I just make up my own steps.”
Jeremy joined them, this time with an ear of corn in each hand.
“Bobby, hang on to those for him, he’s going to choke.”
“He’ll be fine.”
Meg glared at her husband, but kept on dancing.
“This is fun!” Jeremy hollered and grinned.
Purity and Alex were drinking glasses of lemonade while sitting next to Frank and Emma.
“Are you enjoying yourselves?” Emma asked.
“Yes, very much,” Pure said.
“I heard there was some excitement this afternoon.”
“Nothing we couldn’t handle,” Alex said.
“There’s a sayin’ about what happens in Vegas stayin’ in Vegas.”
“I know that saying.”
“It’s true of the Double Y, as well. We invite people to come here with the understanding that they’re here to learn about caring for the animals and what it’s like to live on a ranch. We don’t appreciate people snooping around on our property and drumming up attention.”
“Well, it’s a good thing we weren’t doing that then.”
Frank put his hand on Emma’s. “What she means is that we feel like our guests are family. We respect ‘em. And we hope that they’ll respect us, too.”
“Why don’t you quit dancing around and say what you mean,” Alex said.
“All right. I know you been to the hot springs. Ya’ll were tore up this mornin’ and now you’re dancin’ and gettin’ along without any pain, stiffness or soreness. There’s only one explanation for that.”
“What about all the salves and muscle relaxers you gave us? Those could have done the trick.” Purity said.
“We just hope you’ll keep its whereabouts to yourself. People been lookin’ for that spring for a long time. We tell ‘em it ain’t real. That it’s just a myth. Some back off. Some don’t.”
“Like the men this morning?” Purity said.
“And the men who poisoned the cows’ water?” Alex asked.
“Everybody has their reasons for doin’ things, but if someone were to find out where that spring was, well, we’d have a real mess on our hands.”
“Have you told anyone?” Emma asked.
Purity shook her head. Alex did the same.
“We don’t have any intention of saying anything to anyone,” Alex said. “Have you ever had the spring tested to find out what properties are in it?”
