by Kristen Iten
Abigail shivered at the sound of the snake-bitten man’s groans. The poison seemed to be taking affect already. Abigail’s heart went out to him when she heard his moans. Even though she knew he had been up to no good at the ranch, she had no desire to see him suffer.
“If you can’t get any more speed out of those nags,” the man said between gasping breaths, “you might as well skip the doc, and take me straight to the undertaker.”
“It won’t be long now. Just hold on,” said David. He slapped the horses’ backs with the reins.
“You can make it, Mister,” said Jake. “Try to stay calm.”
The man laid his head back and mumbled to himself.
The clattering sound of a wagon being pushed to its limit broke the quiet of night that had fallen over Sweet Creek. Abigail worried that the commotion would not only rouse the sleepy little town, but also attract the attention of Sheriff Lagrange. Her heart sunk when she saw a light appear in the jailhouse window. Micah would be there soon.
David pulled up in front of his home next to the church and leapt from the wagon as soon as the animals had stopped. “I’ll go get the doctor.” He sprinted across the street to the saloon where Dr. Price had rented a room on the second floor.
Moments later he reappeared at the door and came running toward the wagon with two men in tow. Abigail sighed when the second man came into view. As if having to endure being in the presence of Dr. Price wasn’t bad enough, James Penlapp had decided to tag along.
Micah arrived just as the other men reached the wagon. “What’s going on?” asked the sheriff.
“This man was bitten by a snake on my property.” Abigail turned her attention to Dr. Price. “We brought him to town as quickly as we could. Can you help him, William?”
Abigail saw something flash in the doctor’s eyes when he looked at the stricken man, but she wasn’t sure what it was.
“How long ago was he bitten?” asked Dr. Price.
“Less than an hour ago I’d say,” said Jake.
“Are ya’ll going to stand there gabbing ‘til morning?” The sick man’s voice was raspy and came with difficulty. “Am I going to make it, doc?”
“I’ll have to examine you more thoroughly before I can offer my prognosis,” said Dr. Price.
“No more of them highfalutin words.” The man winced in pain as he shuttered in response to the toxins raging throughout his body. “Am I going to die?”
The unanswered question hung heavy in the air. Abigail was relieved when Rebecca propped her front door open and stepped out onto the porch.
“The back room is ready for him now,” she said.
David and Jake supported the man on either side and helped him into the house. The whole group followed along and watched as they placed him on the cot Rebecca had prepared.
Penlapp wiped his brow with the back of his sleeve and shot a glance at Sheriff Lagrange. “We can handle everything from here, Sheriff. I would hate for this unfortunate event to keep you from more pressing duties.”
Micah chuckled. “Don’t worry about me, Jim. It’s a small town. There ain’t no pressing duties that I know of. Who is that hombre?”
“He won’t tell us,” said Abigail eager to keep Jake out of the conversation.
“He’s obviously a drifter.” Penlapp interrupted. “I’ve certainly never seen him before.”
Dr. Price furrowed his brow, fixing his gaze on Penlapp who returned the doctor’s stare with unflinching eyes. Price removed his outer jacket and unfastened his cuff links.
Abigail could see that something weighed heavily on his mind. She knew the doctor well enough to see that there was more to Price’s contemplative attitude than concern for the stranger’s well being.
“All right,” he said, “I will have to ask all of you to clear the room. This man needs peace, and I need room to work.” He looked up at James Penlapp once more through narrowed eyes before closing the door.
Sheriff Lagrange stood with his hand on the latch of the front door. “I still wish you would have told me that all of this was going on. Things could have ended very differently, Miss Abigail.”
Price rejoined the group as the sheriff finished speaking.
Micah opened the door and placed a sun-bleached hat on his head. “I’ll be back in the morning to see how the patient is doing.” He stepped out the door and disappeared into the night.
“What was that about?” Dr. Price sat in a straight backed chair, drying his hands on a towel.
“The sheriff isn’t happy that we didn’t tell him about the trouble we’ve had out at the ranch,” said Abigail.
“What kind of trouble?” he said.
Abigail hesitated, unsure how to answer.
“That man tried to kill her,” said Jake.
“Tried to what?” Dr. Price’s face turned ashen. His eyes met Penlapp’s and flashed with rage.
“And tonight he was about to burn her place down,” Jake continued.
“It sounds like your patient is babbling incoherently back there, Price,” interrupted Penlapp. “Shouldn’t you give him something to quiet him down?” He gave Price a conspiratorial look, but the doctor was having none of it.
“I shall follow my own treatment protocols. Thank you, Mr. Penlapp.” He stared hard at Penlapp for a moment before addressing the group. “It is going to be a long night. I don’t know if the patient will survive. I will do everything in my power to save him despite his overtly deviant character.”
“I’ll help you, doctor,” said David. “We can take shifts looking after him.”
“Thank you, Reverend Holtz. I suggest the rest of you go to your homes and get some rest. There is nothing more you can do here.”
Penlapp cleared his throat loudly. “I wouldn’t dream of leaving now,” he said. “Once I start a thing, I always see it through to the end.” He raised a single eyebrow and leaned slightly forward. He flashed a chilling smile at Dr. Price.
“I’m staying,” said Abigail. “I’m responsible for this whole mess. I don’t want to run off and leave it all in Rebecca’s lap.”
She reached out and lightly touched Jake’s arm. Her fingers trailed down the length of it until their hands met. Jake looked down into her eyes and gently caressed the back of her hand with his finger.
Abigail felt a familiar flutter in her stomach when Jake sat down next to her on the settee. She resisted the urge to reach out and place her hand in his. The ranch was almost complete. Jake would have to be on his way soon. She wanted him to leave, but she also wanted him to stay. Never in her life had she been so conflicted. Her insides were twisted into knots.
Abigail stole a glance in his direction. Her breath caught in her throat when their eyes met again. Saying goodbye to him is going to be the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.
Chapter 19
Somewhere in the distance, a rooster announced the coming of dawn. Abigail’s eyes fluttered. She sat for a few moments with her head resting on Jake’s shoulder, trying to gather her thoughts.
The events of the night before rushed back into her mind when her eyes fell on Pastor Holtz. He was sitting in a far corner of the room where the faint light of early morning had only just begun to replace the shadow of night. His body was slumped forward on a stool with an elbow resting on either knee. His chin sat on two clenched fists.
The dark circles under his eyes spoke volumes about the night that had just passed, while the faraway look on his face revealed something more than fatigue to Abigail.
“Are you all right, David?” she said.
“There is not a more terrible sight in all the world than to witness a man pass into eternity without first making peace with his creator.” Tears threatened to spill over onto David’s cheeks.
A part of Abigail felt relief at the fact that the stranger in the back room wouldn’t be able to hurt her. She gazed into her lap as a sharp pang of guilt pierced her heart at the thought. She was still trying to make sense of her conflicting emotions w
hen Penlapp spoke.
“Is he dead then?”
Abigail jumped at the sound of his voice. She hadn’t realized that anyone else was awake yet.
“He passed about an hour ago,” David said.
“Well, there’s an end to that then.” Penlapp stood tall and stretched his large frame. “It was an interesting night to say the least, but my stomach has informed me that it is time for breakfast. I shall take my leave of you all for now.”
Abigail’s mouth hung open at Penlapp’s cavalier attitude. How can a man be so callous?
Penlapp waltzed to the door with a spring in his step and flung it wide open. There stood Micah Lagrange with his hat in his hand. His rust-colored hair hung in loose, shaggy waves that were tucked neatly behind his ears.
“Your criminal has died, Sheriff.” Penlapp’s body filled the doorway.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Micah. “Are you going to let me in?”
Penlapp stepped to the side and waved his arm in a grand gesture of welcome. “I don’t know why you’d want to. You can’t ask questions of a dead man.” Penlapp’s boisterous laughter woke the rest of the house.
“The man spoke to me before he died,” said David.
Penlapp’s laughter died on his lips, and he closed the door. He reclaimed his seat from the night before as beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
“What did he say?” Penlapp’s voice was low and calculated.
“His name was Eli Garrett. He claimed to be a hired gun, working for our Mr. Penlapp here,” David said.
Jake rose to his feet and moved to a better vantage point as Abigail sat in stunned silence.
“That’s preposterous.” Penlapp’s voice thundered through the house. His Pinkerton hat felt the full force of his rage as he rolled and twisted it in a fury. The black satin band that decorated the short top hat came loose and fell to the floor.
“He says you hired him to clear the Dodd property.” David turned to Abigail with sorrowful eyes. “He claimed responsibility for your brother’s death.”
Abigail sucked in a breath and held it, a lump forming in her throat. It was true. Her brother had been murdered. She hugged herself as a deathly chill radiated from deep within the pit of her stomach. She made her way over do Jake in a daze. He put an arm around her shoulders. The warmth of his touch steadied her.
Penlapp sneered. “Who is going to believe the word of a low-life drifter above the word of a respected business man? I built this town. I own this town.” His voice roared with anger. “This is slanderous. If you breathe a word of this drivel beyond these four walls, I’ll—”
“The law gives a whole lot of weight to a dying man’s confession, Mr. Penlapp,” said Micah.
“I never hired that man. I had never seen him in my life before last night, I tell you.”
“That is quite enough, my good man.” Dr. Price stood to button his waist coat. “I have witnessed far too much and can no longer remain silent. Mr. Penlapp did, in fact, know that unsavory fellow. I recognized him last night as the man I observed loitering about the bank on the day I first arrived in town. That surly tobacco chewing man had a face and manner one does not easily forget. Mr. Penlapp had a brief conference with him before joining me inside to conduct a meeting of our own.”
“That was the same afternoon he had us pinned down at the ranch,” said Jake. “When we were up on that ridge last night, he admitted that he was the gunman who was shooting at us.”
Abigail felt lightheaded. Her breath came in short, quick bursts. She had been suspicious that Jonathan’s death might not have been an accident, but a conspiracy of this level had never entered her mind.
“I spent the night contemplating the meaning of Mr. Penlapp’s denial last evening,” said Dr. Price. “I came up with many reasons that he could wish to deny knowing such a character as my patient, and none of them were good. Well, now the truth, as they say, has come out.”
Penlapp’s chest heaved as crimson blood rushed into his face.
Sheriff Lagrange rested his hand on the ivory grip of his pistol. “What do you have to say for yourself?”
“I am innocent. That is what I say.” Both of his enormous hands were clenched into iron fists. “All right, maybe I had words with the man, but you can’t expect me to remember every conversation I’ve ever had.” He thrust his chest out, reaching for the door latch.
Micah held up one hand while the fingers of his other clamped down on the handle of the revolver hanging at his side. “I think you better stay right here until we get things all straightened out,” he said.
Abigail felt Jake stir beside her. She sucked in a breath when she saw his hand nearing his own pistol. Their eyes locked, Abigail’s pleading with Jake not to draw attention to himself.
Jake leaned down and spoke quietly into her ear. “You best go stand next to David. I aim to back the sheriff up if he needs it.”
Abigail reluctantly left Jake’s side. The sound of Penlapp’s teeth grinding gave her a shudder.
“I, unfortunately, have more to add to the story,” said Dr. Price. “On the day I arrived in Sweet Creek, Mr. Penlapp insisted that he could convince Miss Dodd to leave Texas and return to Pennsylvania with me. All he wanted were reassurances that I would sell the property to him before we left.”
Dr. Price lowered his eyes, turning toward Abigail. “I am ashamed to admit that I agreed to his proposal. Though, I didn’t know at the time that he intended to use violent, even deadly means to convince you to abandon your holdings. Can you ever forgive me, my dear girl?”
For the first time since she had known him, William Price was behaving like a truly sincere human being.
“Of course I forgive you, William,” she said.
“I don’t have to stay here and listen to my good name being dragged through the mud.” Penlapp reached for the door once again.
Micah stepped in his path. “You don’t have to stay here, but you do have to come with me.” He drew his weapon. “Mr. James Penlapp, you are under arrest.”
A single vein bulged in the middle of Penlapp’s forehead and pulsated with each wild beat of his heart.
“If you think I’m going to rot in that shabby little jail house of yours, you’ve got another think coming,” he bellowed.
Micah’s demeanor never changed despite the big man’s blustering.
“Don’t worry, Jim,” he said. “You won’t be in there very long.”
A satisfied smile spread across Penlapp’s face. “Now, you’re beginning to see reason,” he said.
“I wouldn’t be smiling so soon if I was you,” said Micah. “The circuit court judge is due in town any day now. Once he’s through with you, you’ll be heading to Huntsville with a federal marshal for an extended stay at the penitentiary.”
Abigail breathed a sigh of relief when Micah ushered Penlapp onto the front porch. Quiet settled on the little parsonage when the door closed it behind them.
Jake and Abigail stood outside in the cool of early morning while he saddled his animal. Although a huge weight had lifted when Penlapp was arrested, the specter of Jake’s past still haunted Abigail’s mind.
“It’s all over now, isn’t it?” said Abigail. A small smile was on her face but her voice was tinged with sadness.
“Yes.” Jake tightened the cinch on his saddle with a solid tug. “I told you I wouldn’t leave until you were safe.”
Abigail’s smile faded. She absently drew pictures in the dust at her feet with the toe of her shoe.
“You’ll be leaving soon.” All hope drained from her voice.
“I really should,” said Jake.
Abigail watched as his broad back expanded with a deep, slow breath. He removed his hat and raked his fingers through his hair before turning to face her.
“I just don’t know if I can,” he said. He stepped toward her, leaning in close enough that Abigail could feel his breath on her cheek. He took her gently in his arms and spoke softly in her ear. “Abigail, I
love you.”
The thrill that raced through her body at his touch took her breath away. Abigail wrapped her arms around Jake’s neck. She leaned into his embrace and gazed into his eyes. Time ceased to exist for them as they became lost in each other. She knew in her heart that she would never let him go.
“Ah-hem.” Jake and Abigail turned to see Sheriff Lagrange standing a few feet away.
“I didn’t expect to see you again so soon, Micah,” said Abigail, turning loose of Jake’s neck. “What’s wrong? You look so somber.” She couldn’t wipe the smile off her face despite the distress etched in Micah’s features.
Micah looked at Jake. “I honestly hoped that you wouldn’t be here when I got back.” He pulled an old yellowed paper out of his vest pocket and unfolded it. “I was going through some old wanted posters last night to try and figure out who our snake-bit mystery man was when I came across this.”
He turned the paper around and revealed an old wanted poster with Jake’s likeness on it.
“Are you Jake Morgan, the horse thief?”
Abigail’s face blanched. She reached out and squeezed Jake’s arm. Only a moment after the greatest event of her life, the world felt like it was crashing down around her. The same ache she had felt the day she thought Jake had left town tore at her heart, only this time it was much worse. If Jake was arrested, he was sure to go to the gallows soon afterward.
Jake squared his shoulders. “Yes, sir. That’s me,” he said. He unbuckled his gun belt and let it fall to the ground.
Abigail rushed to the sheriff. “You can’t do this. It’s not right. Jake isn’t a criminal. He didn’t steal any horse. He borrowed it to try to save his brother’s life. This is wrong!” The words flew out of her mouth.
“I’m sorry, Miss Abigail. I truly am,” said Micah.
Jake stepped up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at him, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“It was a risk I was willing to take, Abby. I would rather have had these last few weeks with you than live the rest of my life alone. Everything will be all right. You’re safe, and that’s all that matters,” said Jake.
