Remember, I love you very much and think about you every day. I also tell your grandchildren about what a kind and loving Gramma and Grampa they have.
Love always, Janelle
June 1, 1888
P.S. I would have done this sooner, but I didn’t get the idea until I was telling Aaron about my favorite movies. “Back to the Future” and the “Lake House” gave me the idea to write this letter. You wouldn’t believe how life is without TV, movies, cell phones and (gasp) McDonald’s. I did create a good imitation special sauce at home. Yes, Mom… I learned to cook.
After he finished they both sat in silence and in utter amazement that Janelle could communicate with her mother across time. After a while, Aaron carefully folded the letters and slipped them along with the photograph back in the envelope.
“You stretched the truth a little at the end there, didn’t you, sweet pea?
“What do you mean?”
“You know, when you said you’d learned to cook.”
Squealing with mock outrage, she jumped on top of him and started to tickle him. She had learned that his ribs and under arms were his hot spots. As usual, he won their match easily, flipping her over and pinning her to the bed. They laughed together until Aaron lowered his head and captured her smiling lips in a kiss.
“Me too, Janelle.”
“You too, what?”
“I’ve found the love of my life in you.”
That was the sweetest thing she had ever heard, and she showed her appreciation—physically.
Afterward, Aaron fell into an exhausted sleep. His business in town was following up on a lead on the Jessups and had kept him awake all night. She lay quietly listening to her husband’s deep, even breathing, smiling as her head moved with the rise and fall of his chest. She loved him so. Lifting her head, she propped her chin on her hand and watched him sleep. He was so handsome, and blessedly, he didn’t snore. She supposed she would have learned to live with it if he did, though. Her eyes slid over his beloved face; her hand reaching out to caress the sexy, short scruff of his beard. It made him look even more like werewolf Joe. She giggled as she continued her appraisal, admiring his muscular chest as her eyes fell to his wound. The stitches would need to come out tomorrow.
That reminded Janelle about the herbal encyclopedia she’d requested in her old letter to her mother. Wait, she thought… To Janelle in the future, it was an old letter, but right now, it hadn’t even been written yet and wouldn’t be for years. So, what was it… a future letter?
Shaking her head, she gave up trying to figure it out. It was all too confusing. Kissing Aaron’s lips softly, she quietly left their snug bed and emptied her purse on the table. Sticking her hand inside the slit in the linen where the letters and photograph were hidden, she felt around, searching for the book, but found nothing. Running her hand slowly over the entire lining, she still couldn’t find anything there. Finally, she turned her bag inside out, and there it was, the hard spine sticking out slightly, right in the thick bottom seam. It was stitched beautifully, and Janelle was duly impressed. She didn’t even know her mom could sew.
Janelle spent the next few minutes totally dismantling her leather bag, carefully removing stitches in hopes that Letty would be able to piece it back together for her. Her efforts were rewarded when she found a soft cloth packet with a cache of pills inside. Her creative mother had placed them in blister packs and laid them together so that they were flat. When wrapped in the cloth, it felt like a padded divider between the sections in her purse. Looking at her little pharmacy, she felt better. There were hundreds of pills, including antibiotics, aspirin, and Advil. One of the antibiotics was azithromycin—which was the medicine in a Z-pack—and a full course of treatment was only six pills. By her calculation, that alone would last through ten infections. She thanked God for her clever mother who had managed to pack as many in the small space as possible. Janelle knew she would have to choose wisely when doling them out. She dove into the herbal manual next, making a list of herbs and plants she would need Letty to help her find or grow.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Days turned into weeks, and there was still no sign of the Jessup brothers. Aaron, along with his deputies and Sheriff Bozeman, had followed plenty of leads, but none of them panned out. He hadn’t let up on security, and he knew Janelle was feeling the yoke of constant scrutiny. Several times she’d asked to return to town, saying she loved her new family, but living with them gave her and Aaron very little privacy. He was also tired of being separated on the frequent nights he needed to work late or his job demanded he stay in town. He always tried to get home to her as early as possible but often found himself crawling into bed long after she’d fallen asleep.
The frustration was wearing on them both, so when Janelle brought it up again, his impatience showed. “We’ve talked about this, Janelle. With the Jessups still on the loose, it’s just not safe for you to be at home alone while I’m working.”
“But I promise to stay put. We can bring Champ with us. He’d alert me if someone was coming. And you could teach me to shoot.”
“Heavenly day, just the thought of that makes my teeth itch and my hair hurt.”
“Aaron! Your ma knows how to shoot. I thought this was the Wild West where women were tough, like Annie Oakley, Belle Starr, and Ma Kettle.”
“First, I have no idea who Ma Kettle is. Second, Annie Oakley is an entertainer in a Wild West Show and runs with a fast crowd. Third, Belle Starr is a criminal who carouses with gunslingers, airs her lungs in public, and is a well-known base burner.”
“I don’t have a clue what that means, Aaron.”
He chuckled at the irony of that statement. “Well, darlin’, now you know how I feel. It means she runs with criminals, cusses, and drinks whiskey. I have a wanted poster of Belle Starr for bank robbery. Are those the kind of women you want to emulate?”
“Just the shooting part, honey. I’ll leave the whiskey drinking and cussin’ to the gals on 6th street.”
They were startled by a hoot of laughter from the doorway. Henry had obviously been eavesdropping. “Sorry, son, but I overheard talk about Belle Starr and couldn’t help but listen in. She is quite notorious. As far as Janelle learning to shoot, I think it’s a fine idea that she be able to protect herself.”
“This isn’t helping me, Pa.”
“Even here on the ranch, most of the men are gone during the day. If the Jessups took a notion to come and get Janelle, she’d only have her mother and the few ranch hands I leave on guard to defend her. At least in town you have nosey neighbors like the widow Whittamore. Champ would alert her to any comings and goings. Not that I’m trying to get rid of you. We both love having you here, but a woman needs her own home to fill up with geegaws and useless baubles, her own kitchen to cook in, and her own bed to sleep in.” Henry winked at his favored daughter. She’d captured his heart long ago.
Although some of his reasons were incredibly sexist, Janelle appreciated his support. “Your pa could teach me,” she said excitedly. “Pa, are you feeling okay?”
“Don’t fret, Janelle,” Letty said from behind him. “He’s just stopped breathing and turned that awful color gray because he’s remembering my shooting lessons. He does it every time the story comes up. I couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn, and we had a couple of close calls that scared him spitless.”
“Leticia Jackson, you shot a hole clear through a man’s Stetson. You could have killed him.”
Smacking her husband lightly on the arm, she challenged him. “Pshaw, you’re exaggerating, Henry.” Turning to Janelle, she explained. “I shot into the barn ceiling. He just happened to be standing below and got covered by hay and sawdust.”
“That’s not how I remember it.”
“You must be remembering some other woman you taught to shoot.”
After hearing about his mother’s antics, Aaron felt even more confident of his decision to keep her away from guns. If Janelle was anything like hi
s ma, shooting lessons would turn his hair gray. “It’s too dangerous. What does a city gal know about guns?”
“I have a brain and can learn. Besides, is it any less dangerous than being a defenseless, unarmed, sitting duck?”
“We better go, Henry.” Letty took Henry by the arm and pulled.
“Letty, you are always interrupting and dragging me away when things are just getting good between them. We need to have a discussion on manners.”
Uh-oh. Everyone in the room knew what discussion meant to a Jackson man. “But Henry,” she said in a much more respectful tone. “It’s none of our affair.”
“I know that, but it is awfully entertaining. Janelle comes up with some real humdingers sometimes.”
“Pa, please leave me alone to discuss this with my wife.”
Henry relented after that, and taking Letty’s arm, left without another word. Turning to levy a stern glare upon his wife, Aaron’s tormented mind was flooded with a barrage of horrifying images. But the foremost image, the one that worried him most, was of Janelle vulnerable and defenseless at the end of a Jessup gun.
“Even if you catch the Jessups, something else could come up, Aaron,” Janelle reasoned. “I’m not stupid, nor am I a china doll. You can’t be with me all the time, and I can’t hole up here at the ranch forever. I want to go home, to our house, and be with my husband.”
He walked over and stared down at her from his imposing height. She was right. He didn’t like it, but he knew he couldn’t be with her always, and she needed to be able to protect herself. “Fine. I know how you feel about rules, Janelle, so be prepared. Guns are serious business and there are plenty of safety rules. You’ll learn on a shotgun first, then a pistol. We’ll start tonight, and you will follow every rule to the letter. And if I hear any sass or backtalk, you’ll find yourself over my knee for a tanning. This is not a game.”
“I understand that, sir. Thank you, Aaron.”
“I’d reserve your thanks until after the first lesson. Be careful what you ask for, Janelle.”
* * *
The recoil of the shotgun was wicked, and Janelle was thrown once again onto her butt in the dirt. He could hear snickers from his brothers as they sat on the fence behind her, enjoying the show. Aaron shot them a silencing glare before he put his hand down for the fourth time in as many shots and pulled her to her feet.
“Had enough?”
“No. Don’t you have something that doesn’t kick like a mule when you shoot it?”
“You’ll get used to it with practice. Reload and try again.”
Aaron stood with his arms crossed as he watched his little wife reload. She was mumbling to herself, and he could feel her frustration. “You can do this, Janelle. Come on.”
Henry walked up behind them. He’d been watching the lesson as well. “Try the Schofield, Aaron. Your ma has a hard time with that Colt 12-gauge, too.”
“I want her to learn both. The Schofield pistol will require her to be within close range for accuracy. Although I don’t want her close in any dangerous situation, at least with the shotgun, accuracy won’t matter as much. And right now, she couldn’t hit a bull in the butt with a bass fiddle.”
“Aaron,” Janelle huffed in protest. “What a thing to say.”
“Sorry, but it’s true. You’ll get better with practice, sweet pea. Nonetheless, I agree. We need to find a way to keep you on your feet. Luke, do you still have that 10-gauge? I’ll try reducing the load to 1 ¼ ounces. It should help with the kick some.”
Before long, Janelle was staying on her feet and hitting some targets. With the lighter weight shotgun and decreased loads, she hit all of her targets on the fence 50 feet away. With a whoop, she turned to Aaron and beamed. “I got all three cans that time.”
“When you’re 100% accurate at 100 feet, I’ll be satisfied. At 120, I’ll be happy.” He took the shotgun from her hands and signaled the end of the lesson. After checking to make sure it was empty, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they all walked toward the house for supper. “Not bad for your first time, especially for a city girl.” Of course, he was teasing, so he exaggerated a grunt as she gave him a small jab in the ribs.
“Thanks for the show of confidence, Marshal.”
“So I don’t like my wife handling guns. I guess that makes me sap-headed.” Looking down at her, he waited. “You don’t need an interpreter for that one, do you?”
“Nope. I’ve heard that one before. That means cracked or crazy as a loon, don’t it?”
Her teasing was met by his hand landing a swat on her rear. Janelle yelped just as Henry hooted with laughter.
“What did I say, Aaron? Some real humdingers.”
Ignoring him, they walked on, arm in arm. Before they entered the house, Janelle turned to him and hugged him tightly around the waist. “I know you’re worried, Aaron, but I promise to be careful.”
Handing off the weapons to Heath as he neared, Aaron gathered her close and sank his hands into her hair, threading his fingers through the silky mass and tugging her head back firmly so she looked up at him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his pa and brothers watching, but he didn’t care. He loved this woman and wanted to make it perfectly clear how important she was to him. Staring into the pools of her deep blue eyes, he rasped, “I’m gonna hold you to that promise, Janelle, because for the life of me, I don’t know what I would do if I lost you. I simply couldn’t bear it.”
He then captured her lips in a passionate, heartfelt kiss. He felt the movement of his family as they sidled by, climbing the stairs and entering the house, leaving them a moment alone. After long passionate minutes of uninterrupted kissing, Aaron lifted his mouth just a fraction to speak against her lips.
“I love you, sweet pea.”
“I love you too, Aaron. More than I ever thought possible.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Three months had passed since her ordeal, and it had taken Janelle almost that long to convince Aaron that she could return to town. She wanted to start their life together, in their own home. She also wanted to meet some people her own age and talk to Doc about an idea she had.
A few days after they’d moved back home, while pouring Aaron his second cup of coffee, she reminded him of her date with Jenny for tea that afternoon.
“Don’t forget to pick me up at five o’clock.”
“I’ll remember, honey. I’m glad you two have hit it off.”
“Yes, she’s a very sweet girl. She looks up to me, ever since—” She stopped short, practically biting her tongue before she reminded him of the incident at the store. She knew she was too late when his eyes swung to her.
“You mean the day you got into a catfight with Louise Meyers?”
“It was hardly a catfight, Aaron.”
“Two women having a verbal and physical altercation in public is indeed a catfight, Janelle. I’m not sure it’s a good idea for young Jenny to admire your poor behavior, wife.”
“She doesn’t admire it, but word got around that I stuck up for her, and she sees me as some sort of hero.”
“Although I admire your defense of your friend, darlin’, as we’ve discussed, it’s the way you handled it that I found inappropriate. I certainly don’t want her to encourage a repeat performance. Does she know the trouble that incident incited?”
“I wouldn’t dare tell her that. She’s a nice girl. In fact, I thought she’d be perfect for one of your brothers.”
“Oh, no! No matchmaking, Janelle. My brothers have no problems finding their own women.”
“I’m talking about a nice girl, Aaron. Not the floozies they hang around with.”
“I can only imagine what a floozy is and won’t even ask what you know about floozies or how you know who my brothers keep company with. Just stay out of it. I agree, Jenny is a nice girl, and I’m glad you have a friend like her, but when it comes time for Heath or Luke to go courting, they won’t be needing any help from you, wife.”
�
��Aaron!”
“What is it with women and matchmaking?”
“I just want them to be as happy as we are, Aaron.” She said that so sweetly, she was surprised she couldn’t taste the sugar on her lips and tongue.
“Nice try, honey. No matchmaking. End of subject.” His verdict rendered, he pulled out his pocket watch to check the time. “Jenny’s Pa is still bringing you home, correct?”
“Yes, Aaron. I wouldn’t even consider going without an escort.”
“Good girl. Let’s plan on having supper in town afterward, so you don’t have to rush home and cook.”
“That sounds wonderful. Could you also find some time to take me by Doc’s one day this week?”
His furrowed brow broadcasted his concern as he asked, “Are you sick?”
“No, nothing like that. I wanted to talk to him about some of my herbal remedies. I was thinking he could help a lot of people with some of the herbs, instead of bleeding folks like a butcher all the time.”
Pulling her down onto his lap, he cautioned her. “That’ll be a tough row to hoe. I’ve known the old coot for years, and he’s set in his ways. Plus, he’s been a doctor forever, and you know what they say…”
“Yeah, you can’t teach an old Doc new tricks.” She giggled while he groaned and rolled his eyes at her corny little joke. But Aaron’s mien quickly turned serious. She could tell he was worried about a potential clash with Doc. “I know he might reject my offer, Aaron, but I feel like I need to try.”
“I don’t want him to hurt your feelings, honey. He can be quite brusque at time.”
“I’m not that thin-skinned, Aaron. Besides, I’ve dealt with grumpy doctors many times before. I’ll be okay.”
“If you’re certain, I can take you this afternoon and drop you off at Jenny’s in time for your tea.” Taking a last sip of coffee, he lifted her off his lap and stood, putting his hat on as he moved to the door. “That’s about the best cup of Arbuckle’s I’ve ever had. So much better than the sludge you first served me.”
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