Storiesonline.net
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                              The Hillside
                             by Jay Cantrell

Copyright© 2010 by Jay Cantrell


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Description: In 1880, a man with a violent past crossed the Oklahoma border into Texas where he met a woman with a dire future. Together, they crafted a legacy that spanned generations.

Codes: MF cons rom poly
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Author's note

Standard disclaimers apply. This story is a work of fiction. The characters and specific places mentioned are fictitious. Resemblance to any person — living or dead — or place — current or historical — is purely coincidental and wholly unintentional.

I know it is never a good thing for an author to have a favorite story. But this ranks in the top two or three for me. I think a part of it is the company I was keeping as I wrote it.

My new family — my fiancée, her children and my son and former stepdaughter (who calls my home her permanent residence) — spent the summer travelling across the United States. It was a remarkably restful time for us. My fiancée is a university professor and the children are still in school. Since I am unofficially semi-retired, this was the first time any of us had taken an extended vacation.

It saddens me greatly that it is likely the last one we will be able to take. Unfortunately, I am going to have to return to work eventually. The children are growing quickly. My former stepdaughter is a sophomore in college. My fiancée's oldest child is starting high school. Her youngest is in fifth grade and my son is in kindergarten. Their lives are rapidly becoming their own.

But for one glorious eight-week period our lives were intertwined. I wrote this story and another, Finding Shelter, in the mornings while I waited for everyone to get ready. I am an early riser — all those years of newspaper work have conditioned me to sleep far less than most people, I suppose. So I would take my laptop to wherever I could find a cup of coffee and spend two or three hours in relative solitude before the day began in earnest.

My long-time editor, DesertPirate, agrees with my assessment of the story. He wrote to tell me that The Hillside is one of his favorite stories of mine, too. His opinion means a great deal to me and I can't fully explain how much effort the stalwart volunteer editors put forth. DesertPirate is one of the best, in my opinion, this site offers. I appreciate his contributions to all my stories.

I know there are historical inaccuracies in this story. Not surprisingly, I'm OK with them. I don't think they detract much from the story and I hope the reader will be able to remove himself from reality long enough to overlook the flaws.

In short, I hope you enjoy reading this story as much I enjoyed writing it.

Jay Cantrell

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Chapter 1


Jacob Dunleavy saw his destination as he crested the hilltop.

The farmhouse needed some work and he hoped it would be his salvation.

It had been a long year. He needed a place to take stock. He was only 20 but he felt like he was nearer to death than a 50-year-old. But he had cheated death before. He had, in fact, been running from death for 2 long years.

But not his death.

Jacob put his hat in his hand and walked onto the porch. He took a deep breath and knocked.

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Marnie Lambert had been sitting at the table in the parlor when she heard the knock. She hoped it wasn't the sheriff but there was nothing she could do if it was.

She owed money from hither to yon: Five dollars at the livery stable; two dollars at the commissary. And she couldn't forget the gambling debt that Wesley had left behind. His death had not absolved him of what he owed.

In fact, his death had put her into this bind.

"Cards," she groused. "That damned idiot. Not only did he get himself killed but he'll kill me, too."

With a loud sigh, Marnie walked to the door.

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Jacob was surprised by the youngish-looking woman who stood in front of him.

Marnie was surprised by the youngish-looking man standing on her porch.

"Mrs. Lambert," Jacob said. "I heard you might need a hand with some things here. A man at the saloon told me."

Marnie laughed aloud.

"I need more help that you can give me, boy," she said.

"Jacob," he corrected. "Jacob Dunleavy. And you might be surprised how much help I can be. I can fix up the roof and help you with the planting. I did some farming back in St. Louis and some carpentry in Independence."

Marnie shook her head dismissively.

"You're a long way from Missouri, boy," she said.

"Jacob, Mrs. Lambert," he said. "Please call me Jacob."

"All right, Jacob," Marnie said with a hint of disdain. "Even if you could help me out with chores, it wouldn't be enough to help me along."

"It would be a start," Jacob offered, "toward helping you get along."

"I couldn't afford to pay you, so you best run along," Marnie rejoined.

"I didn't ask about pay," Jacob said. "We can discuss that when it comes time. You need some help, Mrs. Lambert. Joe at the saloon said you're a good person in a bad way."

Joe Long's wife was Marnie's only friend. Well, at the very least she was the lone friend who hadn't deserted her when Wesley had been caught cheating at poker.

"And you're a missionary," Marnie scoffed.

Jacob shook his head sadly.

"I'm a man with no place to go who needs to make amends for some things I've done," he said.

"You're barely a boy," Marnie said. "You're certainly not someone who is old enough to need amending anything."

"I'm older than I look," Jacob offered. "And I've been on my own for 7 years."

Marnie's eyes narrowed.

"You've been on your own for 7 years?" she asked. "OK, say I believe you. What brings you out west?"

If only you knew, Jacob thought, you wouldn't let me within a hundred miles of you. But he settled on a partial truth.

"I needed to put some distance between me and a bad romance," he told the woman.

Marnie knew all about failed romances. Wesley had seemed like a good man when they met. He had been funny and friendly and she had liked him instantly.

But in the last two years — since they came to Stover — Wesley had become a different man. Marnie had come to realize that Wesley's good manners had been forced upon him by his mother. Once he was outside of her influence, his natural personality brewed to the top.

He became a drinker, a gambler — and a batterer. Marnie shuddered at the memory.

"So you're willing to help me out around here, without pay, until I figure out what I want to do?" she asked.

"I'll work for room and found," Jacob said. "Mrs. Lambert, we can get this place fixed up and get a crop down. I can help you hold off the creditors until you can sell the crop. You might not make much profit this year, but there are some people who will pay for it before it comes in. It'll be less than you can make afterward but it should let you pay down some of what you owe."

Marnie bristled noticeably.

"I owe nothing," she said harshly. "The debts were left to me."

Jacob nodded.

"That doesn't mean you don't have to pay them yourself," he countered. "If worse comes to worst, we'll have the place fixed up well enough to sell so you can have a bride's price for wherever you decide to go."

Marnie's eyes hardened.

"I will never be at the beck and call of another man," she hissed. "You remember that, Mr. Dunleavy. If I let you stay here, you work for me. I don't work for you."

Jacob held up his hands in submission.

"As you wish, Mrs. Lambert," he said. "I'll ask your permission before I do anything short of going to the privy. I reserve the right to decide that for myself."

Marnie wanted to chuckle at the bawdy joke. She enjoyed a good blue remark. Instead she squinted toward the man in front of her.

"The bunkhouse is a mess," she said. "You can clean it up and use it. After my husband's transgression, the hands refused to stay and work for a woman. But they made sure to tear up as much stuff as they could."

Jacob nodded sadly.

"Get it cleaned up and you can stay there for a while," she continued. "You'll start in the morning. You can start on the main house."

Jacob looked around.

"Do you have any stock left?" he asked. "Joe said you've been selling it off piece by piece to pay down some things."

"All of it," Marnie said sadly. "I sold the last horse and heifer last month."

"Do you mind if ask how much you still owe?" Jacob asked.

"I mind greatly," Marnie said with ice in her voice. "You can stay in the bunkhouse and help out or you can go on your way. What you can't do is ask me questions about my life."

Again Jacob held up his hands. But the door had already slammed in his face.

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Marnie had to admit that Jacob was a hard worker. He had the house in decent shape in less than a week and he had selected a nice section of land for planting.

He had left for a few days and come back with a note offering to purchase the sight-unseen crop for less than it was worth but more than it would be worth if the sheriff foreclosed before it was reaped.

It would be enough to put a dent in the gambling debt and to have enough to see them through a few months. But it wasn't enough to get her out of the woods.

"It was the best I could do," Jacob told her. "I don't know if it is enough but it's all that's coming."

After two months, Marnie had still been closemouthed about her debts. But, Jacob had done some digging of his own and come up with an approximate number. He knew the number on the paper would only buy time but there was more if he needed it. Mostly he just wanted Marnie to keep faith in herself.

"When does he want to know?" she asked.

"Soon," Jacob answered. "If he doesn't buy yours he'll want to go somewhere else."

It wasn't exactly true. The answer needed to be soon but the buyer would not be doing any other purchases.

Marnie looked toward the ground.

"It won't be enough," she said with tears in her eyes. "It will only stave off the inevitable."

"Then we'll find another way, Mrs. Lambert," Jacob said as he patted her arm. "I made arrangements with the general store. We can get provisions on credit again. I've got the same deal with almost every merchant in town."

Marnie's eyes came upward quickly.

"How in God's name did you manage that?" she asked. "The townfolk have been less than friendly."

Jacob shrugged.

"I can be charming when I try," he answered. "I convinced them it was their Christian duty to help someone whose troubles are no fault of her own."

Marnie laughed aloud. Jacob shrugged again.

"I'll be their indentured servant until the debts are paid if things go belly up here," he added.

Marnie gasped.

"Jacob, that is ridiculous," she said loudly.

Jacob smiled.

"Hey, don't go charging a new wardrobe and I'll be OK," he said jovially. "If you stick to necessities, I'll have the decks clear in a year or two."

"You didn't have to do that," Marnie said quietly.

"I know," he said. "But I thought it would make things easier here — for you, I mean."

Jacob couldn't help it. He had come to greatly admire Marnie Lambert. She was a feisty one. As soon as Jacob had started working on the house, she had been right beside him. She wasn't the most skilled carpenter but she was learning quickly.

When the planting started she had toiled from daylight to dark, mucking through the loam and taking gentle care of Jacob's horse, which had been forced into beast of burden duty — to its chagrin.

She had joined Jacob on the rainy days and the sunny days. She had gotten sunburned and developed calluses on her hands. Jacob found himself respecting Marnie Lambert more each day.

"Besides, if this place goes to Hell, I got to have someone to feed me," he joked.

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As the fall neared, Jacob worked himself tirelessly to try to get Marnie out of debt. He could have done it other ways — and in some ways he had — but he knew that Marnie would never accept that.

The house and land were now worth much more than when he arrived only seven months earlier. But Marnie was still as frosty as ever. It was a shame but he understood the reason.

Then the situation changed markedly.

A lone horseman came racing up the lane toward the farmhouse. Jacob left off the tilling and, grabbing his gun belt raced to intercept the rider. He arrived at the farmhouse just moments before the rider came into view. He had been expecting the gambler to make a play now the property held more value.

He had been waiting for weeks for a raiding party to roust the house. The amount owed was trivial to most gamblers. But Jacob knew it was a matter of pride with some of them. He had been unable to determine exactly who the gambler was. But the farmhouse and land was worth far more than the debt.

It was worth collecting by any means necessary.

"Mrs. Lambert," Jacob said urgently. "Stay in the house. We might have trouble brewing."

Marnie peeked out the window and came onto the porch.

"You don't give the orders, Jacob," she said. She meant it as a joke but it came out as harshly as many of her comments.

"Yes, Ma'am," Jacob said. "But you might oughta heeded that piece of advice."

Jacob had his gun in his hand.

"I'm pretty good with this but if he stops at rifle range, we're in dire straits," he said.

His life was back where it was a year or so before. He was standing with his gun in his hand and preparing to take another life.

Marnie laid a hand on his arm. It was an unusually intimate gesture.

"It's my nephew," she said. She hadn't removed her hand. Jacob took a second to hazard a glance toward Marnie and away from the rider.

She was watching him intently.

"Put the gun away, Jacob," Marnie said quietly. "It's my nephew on the horse."

Marnie had been unnerved by how quickly the gun had appeared in Jacob's hand. It was obvious that he was used to it. His pleasant features had hardened and suddenly he looked much older than he had only a moment before.

Jacob's gaze was set on the rider but Marnie could tell that he was aware of everything around him. When she put her hand on his arm, he had glanced her way but his eyes were still harsh.

The lively blueness that she had come to expect had turned to ice. She watched as he lowered his pistol but didn't holster it. He had proven that he could have it at the ready in an instant.

The horseman slowed to a stop by the hitching post. He was barely more than a boy. But Jacob knew that boys could kill as easily as men — easier sometimes because they hadn't developed a conscience yet. Jacob was living proof of that.

He remained alert as the boy bound forward.

"Auntie," the boy said. "Pa wants you to come. Ma is in a bad way."

Marnie glanced at Jacob.

He nodded and started to walk away. This was obviously personal business.

But Marnie's hand tightened on his forearm.

"Do you think I can be away for a few days?" she asked.

"You give the orders, Ma'am," Jacob said harshly. He was still smarting from Marnie's tone and her refusal to abide by his urgent warning. The adrenalin was still racing in his veins.

"Jacob," Marnie said softly. "I recognized Robert riding up the lane. I knew I wasn't in danger. I'm sorry, Jacob."

Jacob nodded but still started to walk away.

"I'd like your input in this," Marnie said. "Are we in a spot where I can go with Robert for a few days?"

Jacob took a deep breath and glanced out at the fields.

"Yes," he answered succinctly.

"I mean it, Jacob," Marnie said urgently. "You are certain you can handle things here?"

"Yes," he replied again.

She nodded.

"Robert, why don't you go in and wash up," she said to the boy. "Jacob and I need to get things set up before I can go. You can sleep in the spare room upstairs."

The boy didn't speak but moved toward the house.

"There is a stew on the stove," his aunt said sweetly. "Help yourself but make sure you leave enough for us."

When Robert was gone, Marnie gently took Jacob's arm again and guided him to a seat beside her on the swing.

"I didn't mean to be nasty when I came out," she said. "I was trying to joke with you. I know I'm not known for my humor but I've been try to work on it."

She noticed his eyes were still icy blue.

"You're pretty quick with a gun," she said to change the subject. "Anything you want to tell me about that?"

Jacob shook his head.

"You got some things off limits," he said. "I do too."

Marnie sighed and nodded.

"When I get back I would like to talk to you about some of the things I've kept off limits," she said. "You don't have to share anything but you've earned my trust."

Jacob did a double take. Marnie did not say things like this.

"As you wish," he answered.

"I think you should move your things to the downstairs bedroom while I'm gone," Marnie continued. "I was the in bunkhouse yesterday. I should have had you work on getting it livable. I didn't realize the roof was in such bad shape."

"It was on my list to fix," Jacob said. "I just haven't gotten to it yet. It was lower priority."

"Well, your comfort is a higher priority for me," she said. "You fixed up the house wonderfully. There is no reason that I should have a roof and heat when you don't. Besides, no one comes out here anymore to even think it is inappropriate."

Jacob realized Marnie's hand had not left his arm.

"I'm fine out there, Mrs. Lambert," Jacob said.

"I think it's time you call me Marnie," she said with a smile. "And I would prefer you move to the main house at least while I'm away. Once you get the bunkhouse fixed up, we'll decide what's best."

Jacob knew Marnie meant that she would decide.

"I should be back in two or three weeks," she continued. "That should be in time to get the crop in."

"Plenty of time, Mrs. Lambert," he said. "I would expect it will be a month before it's time. If need be, I'll be able to do it by myself."

Marnie chuckled.

"And kill yourself?" she asked. "Wait until I get back."

Jacob nodded again.

"If you think it'll be more than a month, let me know as soon as you can," he said. "I'll need time if I have to do it alone."

Two weeks after Marnie left, a letter arrived by post. The poor rider was almost shot for his trouble. But he waited for a reply.

It was from Marnie, telling Jacob that her sister-in-law was near death and it would be several weeks before she could return.

"Please handle the situation as you see fit," she wrote.

She concluded the note with, "Warmest regards, Marnie."

In many ways, it made life easier for Jacob.



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Chapter 2


It was almost four months later when Jacob saw a buckboard come rattling up the dirt lane that led to the house. Even from a distance, he recognized Marnie's red hair.

"Damn it," he said. He could have used a little notice. Nothing he could do about it now.

He turned to the men working in the field and told them to carry on and he headed up to meet the homeowner. About halfway there, Jacob noticed a second person on the buckboard.

Still, he rode to the main house and stood on the porch as the horses approached. He noticed Marnie looking around urgently. The downtrodden farm she left was now bustling with activity. She saw several horses and cows in the pasture and several men spread out working across two fields.

Her mouth dropped when she came to a stop. Jacob noticed a girl sitting beside Marnie. The girl had a sullen look. Jacob guessed that Marnie's sister-in-law had died.

Marnie alighted from the carriage with a bound but the girl crawled off slowly.

"Jacob," Marnie said while looking around. Still, she sounded pleased to see him.

"Mrs. Lambert," he answered.

"There seems to be some changes here," she answered.

"There have been," he replied. "Do you plan to introduce me to your visitor?"

Marnie seemed aware of the girl at her elbow.

"This is my niece, Susan," she answered.

"Miss Susan, it's my pleasure," Jacob said. "I'm Jacob Dunleavy, Mrs. Lambert's ranch hand."

Susan did not appear pleased to meet Jacob.

"Jacob, since it appears that we have plenty of hands, would you ask some to help bring Susan's things inside?" she asked.

Jacob nodded.

"Then we'll discuss what has transpired here," she added.

Jacob nodded again.

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Once the hands had been given instructions, Marnie pulled Jacob out to the back porch.

"How am I affording this?" she asked quickly. "I do still own this place, don't I?"

Jacob nodded.

"Free and clear, Ma'am," he said.

Marnie sat down hard on a chair.

"Will you please call me Marnie?" she asked. "I thought we had resolved that."

Jacob stifled a smile.

"Yes, Ma'am," he said. He dreaded what would come next.

"Marnie, I guess you want to know how you can afford ranch hands and two planting fields," he said.

"You might say that," she answered. She appeared to be half-dazed, half-angry.

"Well, a week or so after you left, I was digging a post hole for the fence on the north edge," he said.

Marnie seemed to be getting angrier.

"Mrs. Lambert, this is going to take a while to explain," Jacob said. "If you want to yell at me, then go ahead and get it over with. But if you hold it in, you'll explode and maybe miss the story."

Marnie's mouth twitched and then she smiled.

"I wasn't planning to yell," she said.

"Liar," he said.

"No, really," she said. "I'm surprised. But I'm happy. I was trying to keep myself from hugging you. Luckily that feeling has past."

Jacob chuckled softly.

"So, continue your story," she said. "You were digging holes. And..."

Jacob shook his head and continued his tale.

"Well, I was digging and I hit something hard," he said. "I dug it up and found it was a bag — full of nuggets."

Marnie couldn't help herself.

"No shit?" she asked.

"No, not shit," Jacob joked. "It was gold. I used some of it to get the crops in. Then I took the rest of it over to Pueblo to get it assayed."

Marnie was enthralled.

"It came to over $8,000," Jacob said quietly.

"Eight-thousand dollars?" Marnie exclaimed.

"Yeah," Jacob said.

"That explains a lot," she said.

"But that's not all of it," Jacob said. There was a sadness in his voice. He had practiced it from time to time.

"I," he faltered. "Marnie, there is no easy way to say it. I stole some of the money. I took $100 while I was in Pueblo."

Marnie laughed out loud.

"Well, that's a salary of $2 a week," she said. "I think you earned it."

Jacob shook his head.

"Part of it is taking it," Jacob said. "I figured you would forgive that. It's what I did with it."

Marnie's eyes went from laughing to angry. She knew what happened in New Mexico Territory.

"I gambled it, Marnie," Jacob confessed. "I've always been a risk-taker. I took the $100 and I went to the poker table. When I left 12 hours later, I had $5,000. I was hooked again. I went again the next night and the next. By the time I was done, I had almost $30,000."

Marnie gasped. Even though her husband's gambling had almost cost her everything, she was realistic enough to know that her aversion to gambling was mostly to the losing part.

"So you came back from there with $38,000," she said.

"Not quite," Jacob said. "The last night I was there, I won a huge pot at the end of the night. The man, well, he bet more than he could afford. You know how that goes. He lost his ranch, Marnie."

Marnie's face was a mask. Jacob could not tell whether she was angry, happy or relieved.

"I rode out," Jacob said. "I was firmly planning to take control of it. But the man, he had a wife and a couple of kids. I let him off with six heifers and a stud bull. I picked three pregnant cows. So you really got 9 cows."

"You got 9 cows," Marnie corrected.

"It was your money I was using," Jacob stated. "I never asked for salary and you never offered one. We said we would discuss it once things were settled. We didn't discuss it so the money is yours."

The tone of Jacob's voice let it be known that he would brook no opposition.

"I brought the $38,000 back," he said. "Along with the animals. I traded a couple of newborn calves for horses. I paid off the debts but I replaced it from sale of last year's crops. You've made a sizable profit in the past few months. All of it — every cent — is in a safe in the house."

"A safe," Marnie prodded.

"I had one put into the bedroom beside yours," Jacob said. "I hid it in an alcove near the back wall."

"I know how you feel about gambling," Jacob said. "Once you get settled and pick someone to replace me, I'll be moving along. I know you'll not trust me again."

Marnie held Jacob's gaze.

"You took $100 from money that you found," she said. "You used that $100 to play poker. You won a lot more money which you used to bail me out of my husband's debts. You have made this place into a profit farm. It was never profitable. We mostly eked out a living but we never had money. Now there is $38,000 in a safe in the house."

"About $45,000," Jacob interrupted. "I've been studding out the bull and the stallion. And you own the McMahon homestead off the south edge."

"I do?" Marnie asked incredulously.

"Her husband died over the winter," Jacob said. "She wanted to go back East. She only wanted enough money to get her back there and to have a little nest egg. I've rented it out to another family. You get 10 percent of their crops."

Marnie shook her head.

"My point remains the same," she said. "You believe that I won't trust you again. And I confess that I'm disappointed that you chose to gamble. But you only took a hundred dollars. You could have taken it all. In fact, you could have taken it all and left me high and dry. I could have come back to squatters sitting in the only place I have to go. Instead, you brought the money back here. You have given us a stake in something worthwhile and we have more money than what you brought back."

Marnie stopped suddenly. She had been doing math in her head and things didn't add up.

"Jacob, why are you lying to me?" she asked quietly.

Jacob glanced up sharply. He had never expected Marnie not to take his story at face value.

Jacob glanced over the woods in the back.

"Well, parts of it are true," he said. "I did find the gold and I did turn $100 into everything I told you about. But I didn't take money from you. I used my own."

"And how much more do you have?" she asked.

"Some," Jacob answered. "Not as much as you," he added with a smile.

"Did you rob a stagecoach?" she asked.

"No."

"Did you steal it from a bank?"

"No."

"Did you kill a man for it?"

Jacob was silent.

"You killed a man for money?"

Jacob shook his head.

"I killed a lot of men for money," he answered silently. "I killed a hell of lot of men for a hell of a lot of money."

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Jacob busied himself around the ranch for the next few hours while Marnie and Susan rested from their return trip.

He hadn't quite figured out why Susan was here and how long she would be staying. It didn't matter to Jacob. He had done what he set out to do.

Marnie Lambert's life was back on an even keel. She had her farm back and she should never want for anything again.

Jacob had never moved into the main house and it took him only an hour to pack up his belongings and sit them on the bed in the ranch foreman's room.

It was in the late afternoon when Marnie arose from her nap. Susan still had not stirred.

Marnie immediately tracked down Jacob in the bunk house.

"You disobeyed me," she said. "I looked in the downstairs room and it was empty."

She was smiling, though.

"It works out better that way," he said. "I found the gold before I moved my things in. After that, it made more sense to fix up the bunkhouse since you would have hands. Then I just stayed here."

Marnie glanced around the room.

"You keep things neat," she said. "I'll say that. Come up to the porch with me, please. I don't want the rumor mill to start — especially with Susan here."

As Jacob and Marnie walked from the bunkhouse, she filled him in on her niece.

"My brother is an ass," she told him. "He is just like my father was. He already had a new wife lined up before his old one was dead. They got married a week after the funeral. Said he needed a woman to take care of the kids."

Jacob scoffed and shook his head.

"Well, the new wife didn't take a liking to Susan," Marnie continued. "She and my brother deserve each other. They both fawn over Robert and they completely ignore Susan. When I was getting ready to leave, my brother asked me to take Susan with me."

"She doesn't seem pleased by the decision," Jacob said.

"She has a beau over in Brockton," she said. "I met him. He is just like Wes. He could be charming as can be when he was near you. But if he wasn't, he was a snake. I overheard him talking about his conquests to his buddies and how he planned to propose to Susan, deflower her and then move on."

Jacob's face was neutral but there was no mistaking the tone in his question.

"Want me to pay a visit to him when I go?" he asked.

Marnie stopped suddenly. She grabbed Jacob's arm and he turned to her.

"I don't want you to go," she said. "And I don't want you to pay a visit to anyone if you do."

Jacob glanced at the ground.

"I think it's best if I go," he said. "You know only what I've told you. I'm no better than your husband or Miss Susan's beau. Miss Marnie, I killed five men before I was 15 years old. I killed a dozen more in the next three years. I was a gambler. I was a hired gun. I spent three years running ranchers off land so it could be resold. Those I couldn't force out, I killed."

"How many have you killed since you came here?" Marnie asked hotly.

"None," Jacob answered. "Haven't had a call to. But if I had to, I woulda."

"No doubt," she said. "I saw that the day Robert showed up. But you would only have killed him to protect me. Have you ever told me the truth, Jacob?"

Jacob looked thoughtful.

"Almost everything I told you was the truth," he said.

Marnie closed her eyes for a moment.

"So, you're not a gun hand on the run from the law?" she asked. She already knew the answer, she thought.

"No," Jacob said quickly. "I'm a gun hand, or I was, but no one is looking for me."

"What about the girl you romanced?" Marnie asked. "Was that a lie?"

"No," he replied quietly. "That was true. A year before I got here I settled down up North a ways. I met a girl. She was sweet and lovely. Her dad was a merchant."

"So what happened?"

"She agreed to marry me then got an offer from a guy with a lot more money," Jacob said.

"And you killed them?"

"No!" Jacob exploded. "I left so I wouldn't kill them. I left so I wouldn't kill them both. I wanted to. I thought about it. But I didn't."

Marnie's look softened.

"So you came here, rescued a down-trodden widow and now you ride away," she said. "Is that your plan?"

"It wasn't a plan," Jacob told her. "I stopped here for a couple of days. I was visiting the saloon and a couple of galoots were hassling your friend Joe. I helped him out and we started to talk. He told me about your problems out here. I knew I had enough money to take care of it but I also knew that you would be offended. It only took me one meeting to figure that out."

Marnie laughed and blushed.

"So I stuck around to help out," Jacob continued. "I mean, I paid off your debts in town to make sure we wouldn't starve but that was it. It wasn't much money, by the way, $7 or so. Mostly, they were pissed at your husband for cheating at cards."

Marnie had figured that much out.

"They didn't like him much when he was alive," Marnie confessed. "But, then again, I came to dislike him myself. But I didn't think they would take it out on me."

Jacob nodded.

"It's resolved now," he said. "You won't have any problems again."

Marnie nodded but she was doing math in her head again. Again, the numbers didn't add up.

"So you killed almost 20 men before you were 18?" she asked.

Jacob nodded. There was no evasiveness in his movement.

"Then you moved to a new town, wooed a girl and lost her," she said. "That took a year. And you've been here for a year. So you're 20 years old? I don't believe it."

"I'm not 20," Jacob said.

Marnie nodded triumphantly.

"I'm 21," he said. "Last month."

Marnie's eyes narrowed.

"You're not 21," she said firmly. "I doubt you're 18."

"I doubt I'm much younger than you are," Jacob rejoined. "I'm 21. That I promise. And I don't promise much."

She shook her head. It was not in a dismissive manner but more in self-denial.

Then she laughed.

"I thought Susan might be taken by you," she confessed. "I agreed to bring her here because I thought it would be good for her and it would keep you here longer."

"That's another issue," Jacob said. He figured it was time for the whole truth.

"Marnie, I think you're about the greatest thing going," he said. "I gotta go because I can see that you don't think of me that way. And if you did, you don't after I told you about my past."

Marnie turned her brown eyes upward toward Jacob's face.

"Before you showed up, do you know what my prospects were?" Marnie asked.

It was a rhetorical question so Jacob simply nodded.

"I could either marry another drunken dumbass like Wesley or I could wind up in a brothel," she said. "Either way, I would have been a whore. This place wasn't worth a lot. And everyone in town knew of my problems so they weren't even offering what it was worth. Then you showed up."

"I'm glad I could help," Jacob said earnestly.

"You more than helped, Jake," she said. "You saved me. Not only did you do things around here that needed done, you showed me respect. No man has ever shown me respect before. And that was before you brought in all that money. I opened the safe. I almost filled the tub with double eagles and rolled around. I have never seen that much money in my life."

Jacob tried to fight the image of Marnie rolling around naked in a tub filled with gold coins. It was an intriguing image but Marnie continued unabated.

"I told you some about my father a little while ago," she said. "I was the only girl. I have a brother — Susan's father — in Brockton and another who disappeared 10 or so years ago. He headed out west and never came back. No one knows what happened. He couldn't abide my family either. I know he hated to leave me behind but he had to. In a way, he was like you. If he didn't leave, he would have killed my father and brother."

"Probably my mother, too," Marnie added as an afterthought. "She was just as bad. My father drank and gambled and whored around. My mother made extra money by screwing any cowboy with legs while my father was on the trail. My father would beat the hell out her when he got back but she always kept the money hidden. My husband was what he was. He wasn't always that way. Or at least he didn't seem that way. But my brother learned at my father's heel. He is a drunk, a gambler and he whores around. His wife was a decent woman but frail. Robert started to treat me as maid as soon as we were an hour from here. I put a stop to that pretty quickly but he sulked the rest of the way."

"Want me to pay him a visit?" Jacob asked.

Marnie couldn't tell if he was joking but she played it off as if he was.

"Not yet," she said. "I think the new wife will put a stop to his actions pretty quickly. She is a prickly sort."

"Probably better that way," Jacob said.

"So, until you came along I had met exactly one decent man in my entire life," Marnie said. "He was my oldest brother. So, I don't want you to go."

Jacob pursed his lips in thought.

"I think we have a nice future together," she concluded.



-------

Chapter 3


Jacob didn't think there was much future with Marnie Lambert. She had told him that he was a good man. But he knew it wasn't really true.

Mistakes had been the story of Jacob Dunleavy's life. His mother had mistakenly walked on ice she was certain was frozen. She was wrong and crashed into a lake and drowned. Jacob was 7 years old.

His father had mistakenly walked into a bank during a holdup. The robbers had been frightened and killed him in only moments. Jacob had just turned 13. Suddenly, he was alone.

There was no family close by. He mistakenly believed that the ones further away would welcome him.

He made the long trip from Cincinnati to Independence, Missouri, on the family's mule. Carrying only his few clothes, his Colt revolver and a Winchester rifle, the trip had taken almost a year. But Jacob learned a great deal on the way. He traveled with a group preparing to head west and quickly learned to draw and shoot from horseback from one of the young men on the trip.

But Jacob mistakenly thought the man was his friend. The misconception was cleared up when the man tried to sell Jacob as an indentured servant in a poker game. Jacob showed the man how good a student he was when he called the teacher out and killed him.

Leo Redman was the first man killed by a boy known as Jake Dunn.

After the long trip Jacob expected a welcome from his long-ago cousins. But because he came without any money they turned him away.

From Independence, he signed on as a railroad porter but was released when he mistakenly mentioned to an affluent rider that he remembered him from the week before. The man's wife was unimpressed because she had thought he was in Chicago.

Somewhere in Nebraska, Jake Dunn became a gunslinger. He mistakenly thought it would make him a man. It didn't. It made him a killer, though.

Over the next five years, Jake Dunn killed indiscriminately. He killed because he was angry. He killed because he was sad. He even killed because he was happy.

He had killed men who were armed. He had killed men who were unarmed. He had killed boys who thought they were quicker even though Jake knew they weren't.

He spent hours drinking whiskey he didn't like and fucking whores he felt nothing but disgust for. He gambled in saloons and cheated men who made a living cheating other men.

But they never said anything because they mistakenly believed the baby-faced boy would kill them without a second thought.

Jake would have killed them. That was a fact. But he was starting to have many second thoughts.

-------

It was during the summer of Jacob's 17th year when he finally started to feel remorse. His parents hadn't raised him to be a killer. They raised him to be respectful and respectable.

The next spring, Jake Dunn had left the employee of the man intent on owning all of a small Nebraska town. He had reverted to his real name and moved to Colorado. It was only 200 miles away but no one reconciled Jake Dunn, the young-looking gun hand, with Jacob Dunleavy, the handsome young man with such wonderful manners.

It was during the summer that Juliette Powers stole Jacob's heart. She was a merchant's daughter. He was a merchant's son. They had much more in common and they seemed destined to be lifelong companions.

Juliette agreed to his wife, a decision that was greeted with cheers from the girl's parents and her friends. Jacob was working as a ranch hand on a nearby farm and the family that employed him had come to think of him as a son in a few short months.

But then John Jones entered the picture. He was a smooth talker — a dandy. He flaunted his money and his Boston connections. And he set his sights on Juliette Powers.

It didn't take long before Juliette was under the man's spell. She disregarded her parents' warning. She disavowed her friends who protested. Then she stopped speaking to Jacob Dunleavy and disappeared. When she returned three weeks later, it was as Mrs. John Jones.

The town was aghast and her parents were mortified. But Jacob wavered between irate and despondent. During his darkest moments, Jacob thought about how easy it would be to kill Jones — and Juliette, too. He thought about calling the man out and murdering him in the street. And it would have been murder. Jacob could give Jones a 3-second head start and outdraw him.

Instead, he left Colorado one rainy afternoon and headed south, across the Oklahoma panhandle and into Texas.

-------

It was a week after Marnie's return when Jacob and some of the hands joined other ranchers from the area in driving cows to Topeka. It had been planned for a month and Marnie insisted Jacob not change plans because of her return.

But she wondered if he would return with others in five or six weeks. She hoped he would.

Life on a profitable ranch was different that Marnie had expected. She didn't have to work beside the hands. In fact, she was in the way when she tried.

Jacob had introduced her to accounting and making sure the accounts that were coming in came in and the ones going out went out. He also started to work on training her to recognize quality horse and cow flesh. She was the owner of the spread and she needed to be able to make purchases and trades.

Especially when the time came for Jacob to leave.

Outside of working, Jacob had done his best to avoid Marnie. Susan had done her best to avoid everyone. She was unhappy and she wanted everyone to know it.

Jacob hoped she wouldn't run off before he returned but there was nothing he could do about it. Susan was Marnie's responsibility.

The cattle drive was an effort in boredom. There was occasional relief — a near stampede caused by a rattlesnake; a couple of bushwhackers who sought payment and were paid in lead; and a two-day stretch of nothing but rain and wind.

But in Kansas, things took a turn.

-------

It was the second day after the group's arrival when Jacob felt a hand on his shoulder.

Most of the others had spent the night before in the saloons and brothels, making up for time lost on the trail. It had been four weeks since all the men had the opportunity to cut loose.

There were several small towns along the trail but the hardened hands knew the perils of trying to herd cows with a hangover. It was difficult enough when stone sober.

The Double-M ranch, Jacob had named it for Miss Marnie, had contributed only two dozen animals to the herd. Jacob had no interest in taking back any new ones but he wanted to look around.

It was during that process that a young man recognized him and approached him from behind.

The man knew Jacob from his days in Colorado, otherwise he would have known better than to sneak up on him. As it was, a second after his hand touched Jacob's shoulder, Jim Powers felt the cold metal of a Colt beneath his chin.

"Jesus, Jacob," the man said. It took a second for Jacob to recognize the man and he lowered his gun.

"Sorry, Jim," he said. "It was a tough time on the trail."

It was a lie but he didn't feel badly about it.

"Us too," the man said. "How are things going? You took off sort of fast. None of us knew where you went."

"It was time to go," Jacob said. He didn't need to say anything more.

"Ma and Pa were a little upset that you didn't say goodbye," the man told him. "I guess I was a little put out, too."

"I didn't want to risk running into anyone," Jacob said. Jim noticed Jacob's eyes hardened.

"Yeah, that's what I said," Jim replied. "Where did you wind up?"

"Texas," Jacob said. "It took a while but things are going OK. I guess it's almost time to move on again, though."

"You should come back north," Jim said. There was a slight smile on his face. "There are a bunch of folks who'd love to see you."

"I'll pass," Jacob said. "There are some folks I'd like to see but some I could do without."

Jim looked intently at Jacob.

"He left her," he said finally. There was a look of disgust on his face. "He left for Chicago, then back to Boston. He was supposed to send for her but he didn't."

Jacob's face was placid. He didn't feel the need to gloat or to show pity. Juliette's decision had been her own. The consequences of her actions were hers to bear, too.

Jim had obviously expected to see some reaction.

"You don't seem surprised," he said.

Jacob's eyebrows flicked upward slightly.

"And you were?" he asked Jim.

"Not really," he said. "She moved back in with Ma and Pa. I was a bit surprised that they took her back in. But she had no place to go."

"And it certainly is unlikely that someone will offer to marry her," Jacob said. This time there was a bit of anger in his voice. "Given the fact that she regards her betrothals so lightly."

"No," Jim said sadly. "Most suitors view her good for only one thing."

"Just like her husband did," Jacob said. "Well, tell your sister I'm doing well. And tell your folks I said hello."

Jim nodded and watched as Jacob turned and headed back to his campsite.

-------

Despite his misgivings about returning to town again, Jacob decided to head back the following morning. He wanted to bring some cloth back for Marnie and Susan. In his wanderings the day before, he had spotted some other things that might make life easier at the ranch.

The hands were eager for a couple more days of cutting loose — although one of them would be spending 30 more days in Topeka courtesy of a drunken bar fight that left several dollars worth of damage. Jacob wasn't going to pay for the man's stupidity, although he did offer to front the man his wages for the next 10 months to pay off the damage and the fine. The man declined.

Jacob had been wandering the merchant shops for only 15 minutes or so when he felt eyes upon him. In his previous line of work, he always felt the need to maintain a constant vigilance about danger behind him.

A couple of times he turned only to find a throng of people bustling back and forth from shop to shop. It wasn't until he decided to stop for a bite that he understood the reason for his trepidation.

The saloon wasn't very busy since it was an hour before noon and Jacob had sat down and ordered stew and a biscuit when two others entered. Jacob noticed them but paid them no heed until he noticed they spread out at differing corners of the room. Then his attention was on them and them alone.

"Gentlemen," he said amiably, his eyes shifting from one to the other. "Something I can do for you?"

He thought at first that the men were simply thieves who preyed on cattlemen with a little too much money in their pockets. His assumption was dissuaded quickly.

"We know who you are, Dunn," the one to Jacob's left announced loudly. "We'd never forget the man who murdered our Pa and turned our Ma into a whore."

Jacob closed his eyes slightly and let out a sigh. He had hoped that he could go unrecognized but here, in the space of two days, two memories had cropped up to haunt him.

"Boys," Jacob said. Because he could tell they were barely more than that. "This isn't going to turn out the way you hope."

"You back-shot him, you bastard," the one to the right said. Jacob thought he detected a trace of tears in his voice.

"Now you wait right the fuck there," Jacob said. "There is a good chance I killed your father. I don't know it for sure so I won't deny it. But I can tell you right now, it was face to face."

It was the only taboo that Jake Dunn refused to break. He killed men who were armed with only a knife but he never shot anyone in the back.

The one to the right seemed to back up a step.

"You're the one that killed him," the one to the left said. "And he was shot in the back."

"I told you once, Boy," Jacob spat, "if he was shot in the back, I didn't do it. Now if you say that again, you and me are going to have a real problem. I can promise, you won't like that way that ends for you."

As if to reinforce his statement, Jacob's hand pulled out his Colt from his cross-draw holster. Before the boy could blink, the Colt was leveled at his chest.

"Now whatever happened to your Pa and your Ma, it wasn't my doing," he said. "I did a fair amount of killing. Unless you and your brother head back out the way you came in, I'll do a fair amount more today."

Jacob truly hoped it wouldn't come to that. He could understand the anger.

The one to the right glanced at the other one.

"You boys need to make a choice," Jacob said. "If you're calling me out, I'll meet you. But I would hate for you two to die for something that just isn't true."

"You leave my sister out of this," the one on the left said. Involuntarily, Jacob glanced to his right. His Colt never wavered. "This is between you and me."

"You plan to do this in the street at high noon?" Jacob asked facetiously. "Seems like this area is a might bit busy for gunplay."

The boy's bravado faltered a little.

"Tell you what," Jacob said. "I'm at Double-M camp just outside of town. You think about whether or not you want your sister to try to make it on her own. If you decide you do, pay me a visit before supper. If you decide you don't, I won't look for you unless I hear you say I back-shot someone again."

The boy's hand started for his pistol but the girl's voice stopped it cold.

"Daniel," she said sharply. "He's already drawn. Are you stupid?"

Even in the dimly lit saloon, Jacob could see the boy's pistol had seen better days.

He reached across and pulled his second Colt from his holster. The girl's breath exited her lungs noisily.

"I'm just giving him a better gun," Jacob said as he laid the Colt on the table next to him. "That one in his holster needs some serious work. I would hate for him to outdraw me and lose his hand when he pulled the trigger."

Jacob slid the gun toward the girl. She gamely stepped forward and picked it up. She was obviously familiar with guns, too.

"You need to talk him out of this," Jacob said without glancing at the girl.

She didn't answer but backed away warily, careful not to raise the weapon in a manner that Jacob might find threatening. She was evidently the wiser of the two.

"This ain't over, Jake Dunn," the boy hissed as he backed out the saloon. "The next time I see you, I plan to kill ya."

After the pair left, Jacob became aware that one of the patrons of the saloon was Jim Powers. His past had come full circle.



-------

Chapter 4


It wasn't long before most of the hands at the camp were aware that they had ridden for four weeks with Jake Dunn. Dunn's reputation was that as a gun-hand, not a cold-blooded murderer. But the latter was as true as the former. Farmers and ranchers often were too busy to be proficient with a weapon.

Jim Powers had studiously avoided talking to Jacob after the dust-up. But Jacob was certain that Juliette and her family would know in three weeks just how close she came to marrying a killer.

Jacob hoped that the way he handled the pair in the saloon and the fact that Juliette and her wayward husband were still alive might speak for something. But he doubted it.

As the sun started heading down in the western sky, Jacob dreaded the thought of the two kids paying a visit to the camp. He could tell the girl was used to guns and he really didn't want to kill her. But if she drew on him, he knew he would.

He considered just letting the boy kill him — briefly. But then he thought of Marnie and he knew that if he needed to, he would kill the boy.

Riding away would only delay the confrontation. The boy's anger would lead him to chase Jacob as far as Texas if need be. The only way out for Jacob was if the boy didn't show.

Which of course, he did.

It was late afternoon when Jacob spotted two figures walking up the trail toward the camp. He hoped the boy had practiced some with the Colt, not that it would matter much.

The boy stayed on the outer edge of the camp while the girl came in to speak to Jacob. She looked a bit older than his early estimate, maybe early teens. Her short haircut and men's clothing would serve her for now, but in a few months her womanly assets would make it impossible to hide her gender.

"Miss," Jacob said warmly. "I had hoped that it wouldn't come to this."

The young woman sat across from Jacob.

"I would rather you not kill my brother," she said.

"I would rather not to kill your brother," Jacob answered. "But the fact he is standing 300 yards away practicing his draw seems to make that possibility unlikely."

The girl turned to glance at her brother. She turned back, red faced.

"How old is he?" Jacob asked. He wasn't sure why he was stalling. What was going to happen was going to happen.

"Fifteen," the girl answered.

"He ever kill a man?" Jacob inquired.

"No," she said simply.

"I can't let me be the first," Jacob said. "I thought about it. You know, just standing there and letting him shoot me. But I decided I can't do that."

The girl's eyes widened.

"Of course you can't," she said.

"What's his name?"

"Danny," she said. "Daniel."

"And yours?"

"Ann," she replied meekly.

"How old are you?"

The girl sat back against a log.

"Sixteen," she replied after a while.

Jacob nodded.

"Am I going to have to kill you, too?" he asked.

"Probably," she answered.

Jacob pursed his lips.

"Is there no way I can convince you that I wasn't the one who shot your Pa?"

"I'm already convinced," the girl answered. "I tried to tell Dan. If you were a back-shooter, you'd a kilt him in the saloon. You had him dead to rights."

"Didn't make much headway, huh?"

"None," the girl admitted.

"So he is willing to die for something we both know is a lie?" Jacob said. "And he's willing to get you killed for the same reason. That doesn't make much sense to me. He doesn't really think he can beat me, does he?"

Ann was silent.

"He's pretty fast," she said. "Not as fast as I saw today, though. But yeah, I think he believes he's got a chance."

"How about you?"

"Me?" Ann smiled. "I'm faster than he is. So I figure I got a better chance."

"Why don't you just stay out of it, Ann?" Jacob asked. "There is no reason for you to die. I'm at a ranch down in Texas. You could come with us — both of you could, you know — we'd get you set up there."

"Wouldn't matter," Ann replied. "Someday, either Dan's gonna kill you or you're gonna kill him."

"Doesn't have to be today though," Jacob said.

-------

In the end, it did have to be that day. Ann relayed Jacob's offer. A chance for Dan and Ann to have a decent place to stay and jobs. They wouldn't have to steal or roam the streets. Ann wouldn't have to be destined for a whorehouse in a couple of years and Dan wouldn't be destined for an early grave.

Dan's pride refused to let him back down. Jacob would always wonder if he had made the offer earlier, before the boy was standing in front of a camp full of faces, if the decision would have been different.

But he hadn't and Dan's loud voice rang through the camp site.

"You come on out here, you back-shooting son of a bitch," Dan yelled. "You and me got a score to settle, Jake Dunn."

Reluctantly, Jacob rose from his camp bench and strapped on his Colt. He usually wore two but since he'd offered one of them to Dan, he carried but one. If he needed the other, it would be because Ann shot at him from the side.

Jacob was in the middle of telling John it didn't have to be this way when the boy's hand went for his Colt. Jacob didn't waste time. The boy was quicker than he suspected. He deftly slid the pistol from the holster and shot the boy in the chest. The boy's borrowed Colt had never made it out of the leather.

Jacob swiveled and expected to see Ann's pistol trained on him. But instead she simply stood there and watched her brother die, tears leaking from the corner of her eyes.

Jacob went over and put his arm around the girl. He had kept a hand on his Colt during the walk over, half believing Ann would pivot and any moment and make her play.

"I'm sorry," Jacob said as he held the girl. "You got anyplace to go?"

She dried her tears and looked up at Jacob.

"Man in town offered to buy me," she said. Jacob knew what that meant.

"Job in Texas is still open," he told her. "If you want it. It'll be a hard ride down. But it'll be easier than getting broke in at a whorehouse."

-------

It was obvious from the first night that Ann had misunderstood Jacob. As the sunlight dwindled and Jacob prepared laid out his bedroll, Ann put her paltry blanket beside his with resignation.

There were no other women in the camp — at least no other women traveling with hands — so Jacob thought it was solely for protection. But when Ann started to shuck her clothes, he realized what was up.

"Whoa there," he said as she sat to pull off the trousers off her legs. She wasn't wearing any britches beneath them. That would have to be rectified. "You're gonna get mighty cold if you do that."

Ann's eyes widened. She couldn't believe he would make her go from man to man throughout the camp. Besides, how was she supposed to fuck with her pants on? Maybe he meant for her to keep them on one leg.

"Ann," Jacob said blushing. "The job in Texas, it isn't going to be that."

Ann's face turned scarlet.

"But you said it would be easier to get broke in on the trail," she answered.

Jacob stood and wrapped the blanket he planned to use for a pillow around the girl's shoulders.

"You are your own person, Ann," he said. "So I won't tell you what to do. If you want to go into that line of work, I can't stop you. Well, I guess I could stop you but I wouldn't."

"I don't want to," Ann said fiercely. "My Ma, that's what she does now."

Jacob looked at the ground.

"I'm sorry about that, Ann," he said. "Is she in Topeka? I could maybe see if she wants to go with you."

Ann laughed bitterly.

"She'd stay," she said. "At least now she gets paid for doing it. Before she did it for free."

Jacob thought it best to change the subject.

"Well, you don't have to do that," he said. "You're welcome to if you want to, with anyone you want to. But no one's gonna make you. I'll promise you that. When we get back to the Double-M, Mrs. Lambert will look after you. I'm sure of that. If she won't, we'll find a place where you will be looked after. And it won't be a brothel."

Ann's face fell.

"I thought maybe you might look after me, Jake," she said coyly.

"Please, call me Jacob," he said. "No one calls me Jake. My name is Jacob Dunleavy. And I think it's best to let Mrs. Lambert take you in. I think you've had enough time on the roads and I don't want nothing to happen to you."

Ann slid her pants back up and started to rise.

"You can stay close by," Jacob said. "If you want," he added.

Ann smiled and cuddled in close to Jacob. Within a few minutes, she was snoring.

-------

During the trip back to Texas, Ann was never far from Jacob. She rode a horse well and she handled the cattle as well as any of the hands. She would be a real asset at the Double-M.

The hands seemed to think she was Jacob's property, so they gave her wide berth. Most of the women who came to the camps were trail whores. They lived nearby and would offer their services when the drovers stopped to set up camp.

One evening, as Ann was preparing for bed, Jacob finally asked her what was on his mind.

"So, Annie," he asked. "How old are you really?"

She stared at him.

"You're not 16," Jacob said. "I seen enough of you to know that."

Ann blushed.

"It don't matter none to me," Jacob said. "I know you had a hard life the past few years but it would be nice to know."

"Thirteen," she said shyly.

"And how old was Dan?" Jacob asked.

"He was 15," Ann answered with a slight catch in her voice.

Ann was silent for a little while longer.

"You're not that much older than me," she said.

Jacob chuckled.

"I'm a good bit older," he answered.

"Is that why you won't fuck me?"

"Part of the reason," Jacob said after a moment's reflection. "But the other part is that I like you."

Ann looked at him quizzically.

"It's like this," Jacob said. "Someday, you'll meet a man you plan to marry. I'm not him. You could never forget that I killed your brother."

"He made you do it," she insisted.

"Doesn't change the fact that I done it," was his answer.

"I guess it don't," Ann replied after thinking about it for a few seconds.

"Anyway, you're gonna find a nice man — and I'll make damned sure he is a nice man — and you're gonna regret the fact you done that with me," Jacob said. "I regret a lot of things, Annie. I don't want you to regret anything."

Ann was still beneath the blanket.

"Danny used to have me use my mouth on him," she said. "I didn't like it but I'll do that for you if you want me to."

"Did he know you didn't like it?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said. "I used to puke afterward. I bit him once and he slapped me."

One regret slowly seeped from Jacob's mind.

"Well, no one's gonna make you do anything you don't like," Jacob assured her. "And I told you before that I am never going to make you do something like that."

As with most nights before, she fell asleep on his shoulder.



-------

Chapter 5


Marnie saw the dust from the hands coming back to the Double-M and rode out to meet them. They were a dirty, nasty looking lot. She smiled because Jacob had always seemed so clean.

"Mrs. Lambert," Jacob said as she reined in beside him. "I'd like for you to meet Ann Rhodes."

Marnie did a double take at the dust-covered girl who was riding to Jacob's right. The rest of the hands had gone past and to the ranch.

"Miss Rhodes," she said while shooting Jacob a glance. "It's nice to meet you."

Ann's face lit up in a smile.

"You, too, Mrs. Lambert," she said. "Jacob, uh, Mr. Dunleavy has told me so much about you."

Marnie couldn't help but smile.

"Did we get a good price?" she asked Jacob.

"Annie, why don't you ride on down to the ranch while Mrs. Lambert and I talk business," he said. The girl complied without a word.

"Who is she?" Marnie asked as soon as she was out of earshot. The girl seemed a little too young for Jacob but she obviously didn't know for sure.

"We got a fair price," Jacob said, answering the initial question first. "We weren't the first ones there but we were early enough to get a little more than what we expected."

Marnie nodded and gestured toward Ann riding down the slope.

"An orphan," Jacob said. "I guess I had the choice of sending her to a brothel or bringing her with us."

"And why was it your choice?" Marnie asked.

Jacob gazed across the Double-M laid out before him.

"I ran into a couple people who recognized me up there," Jacob said. "One I didn't mind but the other I did. Ann's brother was convinced I killed their father."

Marnie sat silently waiting for the rest of the story.

"The boy drew on me and I killed him," Jacob said.

Marnie's hand shot to her mouth. It was an involuntary action but one she regretted instantly.

"Is it safe to have her here?" Marnie asked. "I mean, she's not going to ambush you or anything is she?"

"If she was gonna, she already coulda," Jacob said. "I don't think she's been more than 20 feet from me in three weeks."

"Is she staying?" Marnie wondered.

"That's up to you," Jacob answered. "I didn't know what else to do with her. I mean, she told me she was 16 but I figured out that was a little on the high side."

Marnie's eyes narrowed.

"You figured out?" she asked. She didn't like the jealousy that had crept into her voice.

Jacob shook his head and laughed.

"Well, let's just say I wasn't real clear on what her duty on the trail would entail," he said. "I got a pretty clear indication of her age the first night before I cottoned to the fact that we had the misunderstanding."

"And how far did this misunderstanding go?"

"Too far but not that far," Jacob said. "She undressed and pulled her pants down. That's when I knew she wasn't 16."

Marnie blushed.

"Thirteen," Jacob answered the unasked question. "Or so she says. Maybe 12."

Marnie's face was expressionless.

"She's a good kid," Jacob said. "She's good on a horse and I think she'll do well with the cows. She helped me keep the few horses we brought back with us in line."

A smile graced Marnie's features.

"Let's see, I brought in a stray and now so have you," she said. "We're gonna have to build another bunk house if this keeps up."

She turned her horse and trotted down the slope before Jacob could answer.

-------

There seemed to be a Mexican showdown developing when Jacob caught up to Marnie at the house.

Susan and Ann were standing toe to toe and looked about ready to come to blows. The ranch hands and the men from the trail just stood around and watched. At least until Marnie rode up.

"What in the blazes is going on here?" Marnie yelled. She hopped off her mount and got between the two girls.

Susan stepped back but Ann seemed ready to pursue the confrontation. Jacob saw that her hand was on the butt of his Colt that she still wore.

"She saw me get off the horse and head toward the bunk house to clean up," Ann said. "She grabbed my arm and called me a whore."

"Susan," Marnie said. "Why in the world would you say something like that?"

"Look at her," Susan said with disdain. "It's obvious how she earned her keep on the way back. Believe me, after meeting your brother's new wife, I know a whore when I see one!"

Marnie's hand shot out and slapped her niece hard across the face.

"Ann is here to work," she said. "You'll treat her with respect. Jacob brought her back here to help with the animals and that is all."

Susan's eyes turned toward Jacob.

"I bet he did," she sneered. "What did it cost for her?"

"My brother's life," Ann answered before Jacob could speak. "My brother tied to kill Jacob but was too slow. He could have made me a whore, you know. He could have sold me that day or turned me into one on the trail. But instead he hired me on to work here. I earned my keep, you little bitch, on the back of a horse. How do you earn yours? Or are you just too good to work at all because you're the boss' stepdaughter."

"She's my niece," Marnie answered. "And starting right now she'll earn her keep by cooking and cleaning around this place. Unless you want to learn to work the horses, that is. Now, apologize to Ann."

"Like hell I will," Susan said.

"Her apology ain't worth nothing," Ann said. "It would be a lie so she might as well save it."

Ann turned to head toward the bunkhouse with the ring of hands that surrounded the battling females parting like the Red Sea.

"Just a minute, young lady," Marnie said. "That area is off limits to you. Just as it is to Susan. You'll have a bedroom in the main house. Now go in and get cleaned up while I finish here."

"The rest of you, too," Jacob said to the workers. "This ain't none of your business and it damned sure ain't your entertainment. So find something to do or I'll find you something to do."

As Ann trundled toward the house and the rest headed off to their jobs or the bunkhouse, Marnie put her hand on the reins of Jacob's horse to keep him in place.

"We need to deal with this right now," she said. "I've listened to her whine and gripe for the last 3 months and I'm done with it."

"She's your niece, Mrs. Lambert," Jacob said.

Marnie cocked her head toward Jacob.

"I said we need to deal with it, Jacob," she said. "I know she's my niece but I meant what I said. This is as much your place as it ever was mine. Hell, the only reason I had somewhere to bring her back to was because of you. It's our place, Jacob. Yours and mine."

Jacob guessed it was as close to Marnie as he was likely to get.

"How do you suppose we should handle it then?" he asked.

"You know how to handle it," Marnie asserted. "She needs her hide reddened. I can do it if I have to but I think it would be better coming from you."

"Are you sure?" Jacob asked. "I mean, she ain't my kin. I think maybe you should take care of it."

"If I start I won't stop," Marnie said angrily. "I've put up with her crap now since we left my brother. I've thought about taking a strop to her almost every day since we got back. I'll be there, don't you worry. But, well, I guess you're the man of the house."

Marnie's face turned a shade of pink as she spoke.

Jacob chuckled inwardly. A year ago she hadn't even believed him to be a man.

"Maybe we should just take her back to her beau," Jacob suggested. "It's what she wants. Hell, she ain't gonna stop til she gets what she wants. She's like her aunt that way."

Marnie's face softened a bit at Jacob's joke.

"You know, for once in my life, I plan to get what I want this time," she said as she laced her arm in Jacob's. "I'm sorry it took me so long to decide what that was."

-------

A few hundred miles to the north, Jim Powers was the celebrity of the hour.

"I tell ya, Jake Dunn, bold as brass," he was telling a few "friends" over a drink at the saloon. "He sat there and stared down two men right there in front of me. He had the drop on 'em, too."

The crowd around him was spellbound.

"Sure had us fooled," a man said. "Reckon it's a good thing your sister didn't hook up with him."

Unseen to the crowd of gossip-mongers but well within hearing distance was Brad Wheatley, the man who employed Jacob as a hand. He stepped forward.

"How do you figger, Riley?" Wheatley asked. "I ain't sayin' he wuddn't Jake Dunn. Mighta been. But he didn't kill no one around these parts — even those'n gave him reason to."

He was looking directly at Jim Powers when he spoke his last sentence.

"He didn't shoot those two in Omaha, either," Jim said quickly. "He talked them down — said to meet him at the Double-M camp outside of town if they still believed he killed their pa. Personally, I don't think he done it."

Riley Whitshaw would not be dissuaded.

"I reckon he killed them if they showed up at his camp," Riley insisted. "Jake Dunn wasn't the type for idle chit-chat."

"Jacob Dunleavy that was here wasn't Jake Dunn then," Wheatley said. "And if you go spouting that bullshit around my wife or even yours you're gonna get an earful. How'd your sister react, Jim?"

Jim Powers blushed scarlet.

"I didn't tell her," he said. "Not yet at least. I told pa though and he was about like you, Mr. Wheatley. He wouldn't brook no back talk about Jacob. Said even if he was Jake Dunn he put that behind him when he came out here. Ma was the same way — about tore my head off for spreading gossip about a decent man like Jacob."

"I'll bet she did," Wheatley said with a laugh. "You find any more about the Double-M spread? I'd like to get in touch with Jacob and see how he's doing."

Jim Powers took a gulp of his beer and swallowed. His hopes of getting another free round for the story — as he had the day before — were dwindling.

"Somewhere in Texas," Jim answered. "I talked to a couple of his hands. You must have done pretty good teaching because the guy said he was running the place down there. Sounds like he's doing pretty well. The guy said he didn't even see the owner until a few days before they left for the drive. Jacob was calling the shots and everything he touched turned to gold."

Brad Wheatley smiled.

"Any idea where in Texas?" he asked.

"Just across the Oklahoma border," Jim answered. "Just outside of a town called Stover. I guess it was about to be taken away from the woman who owns it until Jacob rode in. Least that's the story I heard."

"Probably stopped it with his gun," Riley said. "I tell you, a man like that don't change."

"A man like what?" Brad insisted. "You never know a kid to grow up? Hell, what sort of stupid shit did you pull when you were a boy? What sort of a man would you have growed up to be if your Ma and Pa had died when you were 10 or so? The boy grew up. I always wondered why Jacob was so sad. I think the man regretted what the boy did. Just like Jim's sister regrets what she did as a girl."

Jim nodded.

"I don't know what she'll think when I tell her that Jacob Dunleavy used to be called Jake Dunn," Jim said. "But she sure does regret it right now."

"We all regret what she did to him," Brad concluded after a moment. "But remember what he did. He coulda killed them both — Jones legal-like — but he didn't. He just left town before he added another regret to his list."

-------

Back at the Double-M an angry but sore-assed Susan was sent to her room. Jacob hadn't used anything but his hand and he was certain that her pride was hurt more than anything else.

Marnie wasn't pleased with the performance.

"You pull anything like that again, Missy," she said to Susan's retreating back, "and it'll be bare-assed with a paddle in front of all the men. You got it?"

Susan didn't answer and Marnie turned toward Jacob.

"You should have used your belt," she said. "She'll forget this in a week and we'll be right back here."

Jacob shook his head.

"Imagine you're 14 or 15 years old and a man you don't know just turned you over his knee and paddled your behind," Jacob said. "Is that something you're gonna forget quickly? She doesn't know me, Marnie. She only met me a few weeks ago and she barely spoke to me before we left on the drive. Now I come back and whip her? I don't think she'll forget it too soon. I don't think it'll change her tune much though. The girl wants to go back to her boy. We need to make sure that she don't run off with one of our horses. I don't much care if she goes but we can't afford to lose the good stock we got."

Marnie pursed her lips.

"Let's take her back to Brockton," she said. "It's only a couple of days from here. You and I can ride her over and she can stay if she wants. I keep telling her that her beau knows where she is. He could come over and claim her if he wants. I even let her offer him a job here at the ranch. She wrote him a letter right after you left."

"And she hasn't heard back yet, I'm sure," Jacob added unnecessarily. "Well, whatever you want to do, Marnie. You call the shots, remember. If you want me to take her to Brockton and drop her off, I will. If you want me to tie to the post and beat her with a whip, I guess I will. But I'll tell you this. I don't cotton to hitting women or girls — even on their behinds. I didn't like doing that to Miss Susan and I would rather not be put in the position to have to do it again."

A small voice from behind him startled Jacob.

"You won't, Jacob," Susan said. "I'm sorry I've been such a brat, Aunt Marnie. If you're serious about taking me back to Brockton, I think I'd like to go."

Jacob got up to leave the two to their discussions but Marnie put her hand on his arm to stop him.

"Jacob, would you mind telling Susan about your fiancée from Colorado?" she asked.

Jacob understood the relevance to the situation.

"I guess not," he said. "I met a sweet girl in Colorado and we were going to be married. She met a smooth-talker from back east and run off with him. I found out in Kansas that the man got what he wanted from her and left her to fend for herself. Ain't no man in town gonna marry her and she's left with her Ma and Pa."

He had condensed two years of his life into 15 seconds.

"Susan, I heard your boy say pretty much the same thing about you," Marnie said sadly. "He said you weren't marrying stock but he wouldn't mind trying to breed you a time or two."

Susan's face turned scarlet and Jacob wondered if he was about to see a cat-fight. He figured Susan would wind up on the short end against Ann and most certainly she would regret tangling with Marnie. Jacob wasn't certain he'd want to tangle with Marnie — gun or no gun.

"I don't believe you," Susan said. "If you don't want me to go back, just tell me so. Don't make up lies about the man I want to marry."

"They're probably not lies, Miss Susan," Jacob said. "I know guys like that and I've seen how they treat pretty girls. Hell, when I was your age I probably thought the same thing. Even if Marnie won't take you back to Brockton, I'll run you over there — but only once. If we get there and you don't like what you find, I won't come back to get you. If you decide to come back it will be with me or on your own."

Susan glanced at Marnie then back at Jacob.

"When can we go?" she asked.



-------

Chapter 6


Jacob saddled up his horse and put the buckboard halter on two others. There was no hurry to get to Brockton — although Susan might contest that assertion — so no extra mounts were needed.

Susan had been a bundle of energy for the past 10 days. She had started out pleasant enough, happy with the knowledge that she soon would be back with her beau.

That pleasantness turned to snippiness as the days past until Marnie finally pigeon-holed Jacob for a firm date. With nothing at the ranch that couldn't be handled by someone else on the agenda, Jacob figured there was no time like the present.

He could avoid Susan — particularly since he hadn't moved into the main house yet — and he often did. He spent hours on the range mending fences and checking the increasing herd of beef and horses. In the near future Marnie was going to have to decide which to raise. But for now there was room enough for both and the wheat and corn crops they'd sew soon.

Marnie was not as fortunate as Jacob. Propriety dictated that she couldn't take off with him for his overnight stays away from everyone. She was in the same house as Susan and performing many of the same duties.

Ann had taken to the ranch like a duck to water. She was amazed with the size — the farm her father owned was about half the size of the Double-M — and she had shown a deft touch with the animals. Jacob could envision Ann becoming a horse doctor in the future. There were never enough of those around and it job that a female could do.

He just couldn't see Ann settling down and raising children — although if she showed half the patience and affection to her offspring as she did to the animals a child couldn't ask for a better mother.

Marnie was a horsewoman and could ride almost as well as Jacob. Susan, alas, was not. The fact that they needed to take the buckboard would lengthen the trip by half a day or so but it couldn't be helped. Besides it would be better than listening to Susan belly-ache about riding.

Jacob couldn't understand her reluctance to learn to ride. It was a skill everyone in the West needed. She wasn't interested in learning to shoot either.

Ann had taught Marnie the basics of gun handling when Jacob had refused. His style with a gun was far different than what Marnie needed to know. He told her he would teach her the finer points of a rifle and a shotgun at some point but pistol learning would have to come from someone else. It was one skill that Jacob possessed that he hoped he would never have to pass along.

Marnie was unfazed by his revelation regarding his past name. In fact, she told him that she had figured it out shortly after he related his history to her.

"Jake Dunn, Jacob Dunleavy," she'd told him, "it wasn't a far stretch."

Susan was unimpressed as well. She viewed gunplay much as she viewed horsemanship — a waste of effort for a lady as refined as herself. Although where Susan thought she had gained that refinement Jacob couldn't guess. He had known ladies of refinement during his young life in Cincinnati. Susan wasn't in their league in anything except her expanded self-worth.

-------

The ride to Brockton was eventful in only one way. Marnie elected to take her own horse and leave Susan alone to handle the buckboard.

"My behind is just now recovering from the last time I rode that contraption," she said with a laugh.

Marnie was anything but refined. The fact that she was the lone daughter bespoke her rough-and-tumble ways. The fact that had refused to give up her ranch when her husband was killed spoke to it even further.

During the ride to Brockton Marnie was never far from Jacob's side. She spoke of the future of the Double-M — and it was a future that featured Jacob in a prominent role.

For his part Jacob was just getting used to the idea of settling down. A part of him was scared at the prospect but he knew he couldn't ask for a better future than one with Marnie by his side — or with him at Marnie's side, as it were.

His only worry was about what form that future would hold.

As they approached Brockton, Marnie reined in her horse.

"I'm going to ride up and tell my brother we're here," she said. "He might want to come down and see his daughter — or Robert might want to see his sister. You take Susan into town and get settled."

Jacob nodded and rode back to the buckboard to let Susan know the plan. She didn't care in the least. The only thing she wanted to do was to get to Brockton, find Jonathan and tell him she was back.

Jacob insisted on settling in at the only rooms to let in town before letting Susan out of his sight. He didn't plan to tote all her belongings to a room for her — although he did plan to carry the bigger items. He also wanted Marnie on hand before they went out. After all, Susan was her niece and her responsibility.

Susan, of course, was champing at the bit — and annoying the hell out of Jacob — to the point he decided to go across the street to the saloon before he had to paddle her ass for her again.

He was sitting at a table nursing a beer and watching for Marnie when a face he would never forget walked in.

-------

The man's eyes were still adjusting to the dim light of the barroom so he walked right past Jacob without noticing him.

"Jones," Jacob said loudly from his seat. "Ain't you even going to say hello to an old friend?"

The man turned quickly toward the voice.

"I'm sorry, you must be mistaken," he said. "My name is Jonathan Cassner."

Uh-huh, Jacob thought.

Jones thought the man looked familiar but he couldn't place the face.

"How's your wife in Colorado?" Jacob asked coldly. "I hear she's been waiting for word from you from Boston."

The entire saloon had now quieted and had turned to watch the byplay between the men.

"I've never been to Colorado," Jones answered but there was a hesitation in his voice. "I moved down here from Ohio about two years ago. I've never been that far west."

Jacob nodded his head slowly.

"Must be someone else I was thinking of," Jacob said. "Lucky for you. I plan to kill the man who stole my fiancée and then left her on her own."

Jones eyes widened.

"You mighta heard of me, Jones," Jacob continued. "I used to be known as Jake Dunn."

The room filled with whispers and stares.

"I told you, my name is Cassner," Jones said pleadingly. "And I've never been to Lovelace, Colorado."

Jacob smiled a feral smile.

"Who said it was Lovelace?" he asked. All whispering in the room stopped and all eyes turned from Jacob to Jones. "All I said was Colorado."

Jones started moving toward the swinging doors but he barely got through them before he was thrust rudely back inside.

"Jonathan," Susan squealed. "I've come back. Now we can be married."

-------

Marnie sat stone faced as Jacob told her what he knew of John Jones/Jonathan Cassner.

Susan had to be forcibly removed from the saloon by Marnie while Jacob and the other men in town stood watch over Jones.

"He's got a girl over in Weston, too," a man said. "I was over that way last month and saw him all lovey dovey with her."

"I saw him in Karns a few weeks back," another added. "Young one too, like Susan Carter."

"I didn't think he was fool enough to mess around with Jake Dunn's girl," a third one mentioned before realizing Jacob was still in the room.

"Still, unless he married another one — which he ain't in this county — ain't nothing illegal about it," the sheriff opined. "He's a dirty fucker but he ain't guilty of any crime I can think of."

Jacob nodded.

"Wonder how many he's done this too?" the first man said hotly. "It ain't right I tell and he'll get his whether he's legal or not. I saw him talking to my Katie a few days ago and I set her straight right away."

Jones sat silently in the corner of the saloon but he occasionally glanced to see if it was clear for him to make a break for it. It might be dicey but it might be worth a shot. He had been in tight spots before and had managed to get away. There was no reason it should be different with these buffoons.

"See here," Jones said finally. "The sheriff said I wasn't charged with a crime. I insist you allow me to leave. Or, sheriff, I insist you arrest these men for hindering my safe passage."

Jacob stepped forward and the rest of the men fell in behind him.

"I don't see anyone hindering your safe passage," Jacob said. "I would wager that you can leave any time you want. So long as you don't want to leave now and you have plans for dealing with me beforehand. You know you're a dead man, don't you? You might leave this room but damned sure ain't leaving this town. If you manage to get past me, I'm betting there are a dozen other men you'll have to try."

"And a woman," Jacob heard from behind him. He knew it was Marnie.

"Ma'am," the sheriff said politely. "This ain't no place for a respectable woman."

Marnie scoffed.

"It's a good thing I ain't a respectable woman," she said. "Besides, I'm Jake's wife and if he's going to have to kill someone I want to watch."

Jacob took a glance at Marnie.

"What, you got 20 on your belt and I ain't even got me one yet," she said. "Wait, you got you 21 now don't you. I forgot about the one in Topeka. Besides this one would be like shooting fish in a barrel. Hell, why don't you just gut shoot him and get it over with. He's no more a threat with a gun than he is without. Look at him, for God's sake. You always told me I should start small. I'm guessing this one's about as small as they come. That's probably why he likes little girls. They don't know no better."

The barroom erupted in laughter and John Jones' face turned red.

A part of Jacob was still reeling from Marnie's announcement that she was his wife. Another part of him was trying to figure out if Jones was going to rise to Marnie's baiting.

But Jones just sat there and stewed.

"Well, what's it going to be?" Marnie asked. "Are you going to marry my niece like you promised or is my husband going to have to shoot you for breaking your vow?"

"I never promised to marry her!" Jones said loudly.

"I heard you myself," a red-faced man said quickly. "I heard you at the dance not six months ago. You were trying to get her to go somewhere with you alone."

Jones turned to face his new accuser.

"How 'bout this?" Marnie said. "How about we tie you to the post out there and give you 50 lashes. That might help you keep your vows. Wait, you can't marry my niece. You're already married to that Powers girl up in Colorado. Ain't that right, Jacob?"

Jacob didn't answer but nodded slightly.

"Don't matter what he agrees to," he said finally. "I'm going to kill him before we leave here. You get Susan straightened up?"

Marnie sighed.

"For now she's locked in the room," she said softly. "She doesn't believe me — or you."

Jacob shrugged.

"Let her marry him then," he said. "She marries him tomorrow. I make her a widow the next day. At least then she'll have whatever money Jones has to live off of."

"Be easier to marry her off again, too," Marnie said thoughtfully. "Won't have to worry about her husband showing back up. Nobody needs to know why he died. They only need to know he pissed off Jake Dunn. That should be enough."

Jacob looked at the sheriff who was studiously ignoring them.

"You want to officiate a wedding tomorrow?" Jacob asked.

The sheriff shrugged.

"We got a Justice of the Peace," he answered. "That's more of his duty. A Methodist minister comes into town every couple of weeks but he likes to talk to the couple beforehand. I don't think that is going to work in this case."

"Wait a damned minute," Jones exclaimed. "You are going to make me marry Susan Carter then let this man kill me? Jesus Christ."

The sheriff shrugged again.

"Sounds to me like you brought it on yourself, Cassner or Jones or whatever the hell your name is," the sheriff said. "I sure as hell ain't gonna tangle with these two on your behalf. I think I'd better lock you in the jail overnight for your own protection. I wouldn't want nothing bad happening to you on the night before your wedding."

-------

Susan, true to Marnie's word, was locked in her room. That meant her anger could only be taken out on things inside — which she did with vengeance. Jacob could understand her frustration but he couldn't condone the destruction.

Marnie was irate — never a good thing, in Jacob's estimation.

"That's it," she screamed. "Jacob, go downstairs and get the buggy whip. I've had enough of this. I want you to take every inch of skin off her ass."

Jacob pursed his lips but stood his ground.

"Not this time," he said. "Susan's got a right to be angry. She can clean up this room and her new husband can pay for the damages. But I'm not sending her to her wedding day that way."

"She is not marrying that man," Marnie stated. "I thought you were playing along for Jones' benefit. I'll not allow it."

Jacob hadn't been playing along for anyone's benefit.

"What's your plan?" he asked. "I beat her bloody then what?"

"I spoke to my brother," Marnie said. "He's set the bride's price pretty high. Seems to think that since she is a maiden and all, the man will pay him. I guess Susan will just see how much she is worth to her future husband."

There was a look of triumph on Marnie's face. On its face it wasn't a bad plan.

"I'm still gonna kill him," Jacob said softly. "It won't matter if he meets the bride price or not. Jones is dead. I'm sorry, Miss Susan."

Susan had stopped pouting to listen to the conversation.

"He's really the same man from Colorado?" she asked. "The one who stole your betrothed. You're not making it up?"

Jacob could only nod.

"If there were time I'd contact them and have Juliette brought down here," he said. "Maybe she could convince you."

Tears sprang to Susan's eyes.

"You're going to kill him?" she asked.

Jacob nodded.

"Why didn't you kill him then?" she screeched. "Why did you wait until I fell in love with him?"

Jacob glanced at Marnie who had tears in her eyes, too.

"Jacob didn't kill him because he wants to put that behind him," she said. "If Jacob thought he wouldn't leave you like he did that girl in Colorado I think he'd let him live. But he will leave you so Jacob has to do it."

Susan was still staring at her aunt. She had never seen the woman cry.

Marnie turned and left the room hurriedly.

Jacob turned to follow only to be stopped by Susan's voice.

"He won't leave me!" she said. "He loves me."



-------

Chapter 7


The rider raced up the lane to the Bar-T Ranch outside of a small town in Colorado and jumped from the horse.

The telegraph operator had flagged him down 10 minutes before and told him to deliver it to Brad Wheatley quickly.

Wheatley seemed surprise to see the rider but he was even more surprised at what he read.



 URGENT 

Mr. W. Stop.

Found man Powers knows. Stop.

Await word. Stop.

Jacob.

 END 



Brad stood there and looked at the man for a moment. He wondered if old Mortimer knew who the message was from or what it contained.

"Davis said I should wait for your answer," Mortimer said.

"I'll ride in and give it myself," Wheatley answered. "I got to make a stop there anyway."

Mortimer nodded. "Hope it ain't nothin' bad, Mr. Wheatley," he added.

"Nah, nothing bad," he replied. "Just something I need to attend to quickly."

-------

Jacob left the room and found Marnie sitting in his. She was still crying.

"I'm sorry, Jacob," she said quietly when he walked in.

"Nothin' to be sorry about," he answered as he sat beside her and put his arm around his shoulder. "Well, maybe announcin' to the world that you were my wife without announcin' it to me first. Other than that, I can't think of a thing for you to apologize for."

She glanced up sheepishly.

"I guess there are two reasons for apologizing then," she said. "I'm sorry that I've put you in this position. I know you want to put that sort of life behind you."

Jacob pondered for a moment before he spoke.

"You didn't put me in this position," he answered. "I did. Jones did. Juliette did. Susan had a small hand in it but she did so innocently. You had no part in it and I won't have you feeling bad about something that isn't your fault."

"I brought you over here," Marnie insisted. "I brought Susan home with me. I set the whole thing in motion."

Jacob noticed that Marnie hadn't moved away and had instead rested her head on his shoulder.

"Well, you can't be faulted for taking in your kin," he said. "Like I said, Jones and Juliette decided to do what they were going to do. But I'm not sure they understood the consequences. Susan wants what she wants. I know she doesn't understand the consequences. I am the only one in this thing that knows for sure what my actions will bring. Marnie, I ain't opposed to killing a man. That hasn't changed. What I hate is killing men who don't need to be killed.

"That boy in Kansas, Ann's brother, killing him bothers me because I still wonder what decision he would have made if I offered to bring him back with me like I did Annie. If I made that offer to him in a private place instead of in front of the camp he might still be alive and he might be getting his life together at the Double-M."

"Or he might have snuck up behind you one night and killed you," Marnie replied.

"Or he might done that," Jacob agreed. "Least then I would have had a reason to kill him. As it was, the only reason I had was because I didn't want him to kill me. Well, that and the fact that I didn't want him to turn into me."

Marnie pulled away and turned to Jacob.

"I'm going to say this one time and one time only, Jacob Dunleavy," she said angrily. "Any mother would be happy to have a son turn out like you have. I know I hope your children turn out just like you. Jones put himself in danger by marrying the woman who promised herself to you. But he put himself in a casket by using her and dumping her by the highway. I have no doubt that what I told Susan is true. If you thought for a minute that he had changed you'd let him live. Not just because of who you have become but because of Susan.

"You try not to care about anyone but I can tell you care about her. Part of that might be because you care about me but not all of it. You can deny it if you want. But you don't want to see Susan hurt any more than you want to see Ann hurt."

Jacob nodded.

"I don't really want to see anyone hurt," he said. "I stopped to help you out for selfish reasons. I just needed someplace to be that was quiet and safe. If you hadn't been who you are — if you hadn't insisted on jumping in and helping out on everything that needed done — I would have fixed things up the best I knew how and rode off.

"I couldn't do that, Marnie. You told me that I treated you with respect. Hell, Marnie, you earned that respect. I suspect your nature hasn't changed much since you were a girl, so you probably always deserved respect. I couldn't deny you what you deserve."

Marnie blushed slightly then put Jacob's arm back around her shoulder.

"Now, about the saloon," she said. "I guess there is two reasons for what I said there, too. First, I didn't want Jones to think he'd won anything. I wanted him to know that you found someone who loves you — and someone he couldn't take away. Of course, I also wanted you to know that. But that is still part of the first reason."

Marnie stopped for a moment. Then a determined look settled on her face.

"Come with me for a minute," she said and she stood up and took Jacob's hand. She led him down next door to Susan's room. Jacob was a bit surprised that the girl was still in there — and that she was cleaning up the mess she had made.

"Susan," Marnie said quietly. The girl stopped what she was doing and turned to face her aunt. Susan still had tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Aunt Marnie," she said. "I've acted stupid and spoiled. I hope that you'll forgive me someday."

Marnie smiled.

"Oh, I already forgive you," she said. "I wasn't much different when I was your age."

"Do you forgive me, Mr. Dunleavy?" Susan asked.

"I was never upset with you other than how you acted toward your aunt and toward Annie," Jacob answered. "You've apologized to Marnie. When you apologize to Ann, I'll have no reason to be upset with you."

"I'll apologize to her when we get back," Susan said. "I'd like to leave here as soon as we can. But Mr. Dunleavy, I want to apologize for making things harder for you. First you had to whup me. I know you didn't like to have to do that but I made you. Then you're here and you're going to have to kill Jonathan. I know a part of you wants to do that but the fact I dragged you here made it necessary."

Jacob started to answer but Marnie spoke first.

"Susan, I think Mr. Dunleavy is a bit formal," she said sweetly. "I think you can call him Uncle Jacob. He's my husband."

Susan glanced from one to the other.

Jacob turned to look at Marnie.

Marnie just smiled.

"Jacob, were you going to answer Susan, dear?" she asked.

"Uh, well," he stammered. "I reckon so. Susan, uh, well."

Marnie patted his arm.

"Let me get this out of the way, Susan," she said with a hint of a smile. "I announced in the saloon — in public — that I was Jacob's wife. He didn't correct me. Now I have told the only person I still consider family. He didn't correct me."

For the first time in hours Susan smiled.

"Guess that does it then," she said. "Welcome to the family, Uncle Jacob."

Then in an wholly uncharacteristic move Susan strode across the floor and gave Jacob a hug and a small kiss on the lips.

Jacob stood like a statue waiting for one or the other to speak. He would have spoken but there were no words that came to his mind.

"Jacob, we're in Oklahoma. In Oklahoma, they have common law," Marnie said after a pause. "If we announce in public that we're married and we inform our families that we're married, then we're married. It doesn't matter where or when or even if we wait 15 years between the announcements. Usually the couple announces things together. But since you didn't correct me either time when you had the chance it still works the same."

Jacob stared at Marnie who blushed.

"That was the second reason I announced it at the saloon," she said as she pulled him down to sit beside her on the settee. "But I'll give you a chance to correct me if you want."

Jacob was still staring at Marnie. He knew he loved her. He knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life near her. What he wasn't sure of was what all of it meant.

"Are you sure about this, Marnie?" he asked. "I mean you know about my past. What happened in Kansas and what happened today might happen again. I didn't make many friends in those places and the enemies I made might pop up from time to time. Are you going to be OK with that?"

Marnie smiled and leaned in to place a kiss on Jacob's lips.

"Yes," she said. "So long as you handle things the same way you did in Kansas and come home to me, I'll be fine."

She turned to Susan who was fighting back tears again.

"Susan, your Uncle Jacob told me a couple of minutes ago that he was sure you didn't mean for any of this to happen," she said. "That means he considers what is going on here an accident and you don't need to apologize. Is that right, Jacob?"

Jacob nodded.

Susan quickly sat down on Jacob's lap — which further confused him.

"That's Uncle Jacob," she said. Jacob suddenly had Marnie's head on one shoulder and Susan's head on the other.

He found he didn't really mind having his new family so close.

The three of them sat that way for a few minutes before a knock came at the door.

-------

The sheriff decided to deliver this message in person. It was unusual to receive an urgent telegram in this little portion of Oklahoma and since it was to be delivered to the town's most notorious visitor he thought it best to make sure Jake Dunn got it.

He was surprised to find a smile on Dunn's face when the door opened. The sheriff had seen only the hard look in the man's eyes during the time at the saloon. With the smile Dunn looked like he could pass for 12 years old if he wasn't so tall.

The sheriff shook his head slightly. He was disconcerted by the change.

"Uh, Mr. Dunn — Mr. Dunleavy," he corrected as he held out a slip of paper. "I have a message for you."

Jacob looked surprised.

"That was pretty quick," he said.

Marnie and Susan each crowded around to see what the message said.



URGENT

Jacob. Stop.

Be there 1 week for package. Stop.

Don't mind dead. Stop.

Don't mind alive. Stop.

You decide. Stop.

Glad to hear from you. Stop.

A.P.

END



It was costly to send an urgent telegram and the last line Amos Powers had included had pushed the price upward further. But Jacob was glad that he added it.

"Is Jones still in jail?" Jacob asked.

The sheriff nodded.

"Don't want him to hit any trouble spots the day before his wedding," the sheriff replied while taking a glance at Susan Carter. He had known the girl all her life and he didn't believe she could be so stupid.

"There isn't going to be a wedding," Susan said in a friendly tone. "I'm certain Jonathan can't meet my bride's price that my uncle has set and my aunt and uncle are already married."

The sheriff turned to Jacob who gestured to Marnie.

"Susan has decided she doesn't want to marry the man," she said. "My husband has asked that Mr. Cassner deliver 11 cows and 8 horses as the payment since she is pure and he sure as hell isn't. I'm certain he doesn't have that to offer — and I'm certain that Susan's uncle would insist on payment up front."

"So you want me to let Jones go?" he asked. "You plan to meet him?"

The sheriff didn't want to do that for many reasons. The foremost was that John Jones/Jonathan Cassner deserved to die. But he wasn't sure he wanted to see Jacob Dunleavy's face turn back into Jake Dunn's anytime soon.

"The message was from Jones' father-in-law in Colorado," Jacob answered. "Is desertion a crime here?"

"Yep," the sheriff said. "Desertion, adultery. I got a lot of things I can hit him with. The circuit judge won't be around for another three weeks to set bail. Guess the man'll just have to stay in jail until then."

The room was quiet for a few minutes until Susan spoke.

"Does Ann know about this?" she asked.

Jacob thought Susan was worried that Ann would make fun of her when she got back to the Double-M.

"Nah, we'll just tell her that it ain't none of her business," Jacob answered.

"Ain't none of her business?" Susan wondered. "Uncle Jake, I don't think she'll take you moving into the house and into Aunt Marnie's bedroom too well with that sort of answer."

"Oh," Jacob stammered. "Uh, I guess not. I thought we was talking about something else."

Marnie smiled.

"I told Ann before we left," she said. "She wasn't happy about it because I still think she planned on having Jacob for her own. But she understood. She told me Jacob had explained things to her on the way down. But that's the main reason she stayed at the ranch. She's moving those half-dozen things the Jacob owns into the house."

-------

Edward Stanton sat in his jail cell wondering what all the commotion was about. An accused cattle rustler, Stanton was waiting for one of two things to happen: either the judge made the circuit and sentenced him to hang or his gang got wind of his capture and made a play to get him out.

Stanton knew if the judge got there first he was as good as dead. The bounty hunter who nabbed him caught him when he was scouting potential targets. His gang leader had a general idea where he was headed and when he should be back but it was going to be dicey. There was no way Stanton could break out of the cell in which he was housed on his own — courtesy of a broken arm given to him by the bounty hunter.

He was napping on his cot when Jonathan Cassner was escorted into the cell next to his by what seemed the like the entire population of this shithole town. There must have been 20 men herding Cassner, whose hands were bound with rope, into the sheriff's office — which also doubled as the holding pen.

"Count yourself lucky, Jones," a man shouted. "You'll be facing Jake Dunn when you get out of here."

"Jake Dunn?" Stanton thought to himself. Then another thought occurred to him: Maybe he wasn't going to take a long drop with a short rope after all. Jake Dunn was a gunslinger and an old acquaintance. Stanton had crossed paths with Dunn on at least two occasions — although he doubted the boy would remember either of them.

But if he couldn't remember the second one, Ed Stanton would make sure to remind him.

-------

John Jones seethed silently in his cell. It wasn't his first time behind bars but it was his first time in almost 5 years.

"That fuckin' cowpoke," he said almost to himself. "Who in the hell does he think he is?"

Stanton heard Jones mumbling and asked him what he'd done to land in jail.

"Not a damned thing," Jones said angrily. "Some fucking ranch hand recognized me from Colorado. The next thing I know he's convinced half the town he is some legendary gunslinger and they put me in here for my own protection."

Stanton was puzzled.

"Jake Dunn?" he asked.

"Yeah," Jones huffed. "Like he is a real person. These yokels are so gullible."

Stanton eased forward on his cot.

"What did you do to piss him off?" Stanton asked. The Dunn he remembered rarely lost his cool.

"I stole his girl," Jones answered. "It's not a crime and it's the boy's tough luck. I barely remembered him when I saw him. Hell, I barely remember the girl."

Jones punctuated his statement with a laugh.

"You stole his girl?" Stanton repeated aloud. "I bet there is more to it than that."

Jones was silent.

"Well, I stole the girl he planned to marry," Jones said. "I married her myself, fucked her good then left her."

Now something like that would piss Jake Dunn off.

"Reckon that'd do it," Stanton said. "So what do you figure'll happen?"

"The boy will slink away like he did in Colorado," Jones said. "Hell, he didn't even challenge me to a fight. He just disappeared. Once he rides off again the town folk will turn me loose. I may track him down though. He cost me a prime piece by turning up. Hell, I might take his girl from him again."

The lack of remorse in Jones' voice angered Stanton. He was a rustler and an outlaw but he never put up with those who abused women or children.

"You say he was a boy?" Stanton asked. "Or did he just have a boyish face?"

"Same thing," Jones answered. "He looks like he's about 12. Shit, that was 2 years ago and he still looks like he's about 12."

"Tall guy, blond hair cut real short?" Stanton asked.

"Yeah," Jones said.

"Scar on his right cheek?"

"Yeah," Jones said warily.

Stanton laughed uproariously.

"Mister, I'm going to disabuse you of certain ideas you got running through your head," Stanton said with mirth.

"Jake Dunn is real as rain," he continued. "I've known the boy since he was 13 or 14 years old. I rode with him on his way from Ohio to Missouri then for a while in Nebraska. I know for a fact he's killed a dozen men. I would guess there is a dozen more he's killed I don't know about. Now out of dozen or so I recall, I would say only 2 or 3 had done something to deserve the killing. The rest he either killed because someone paid him to do or just because he wanted to."

Jones was silent in his cell.

"Of the 2 or 3 that deserved to be killed, none of them done something as stupid as fucking his girl," Stanton added. "So if I had to bet a nickel, I'd bet that the day they let you out of here is the last day of your life. Hell, he might just come in and gut shoot while you lay in your bunk. Then he and I will laugh our asses off while you bleed out."

Stanton laid back on his cot.

"Oh, one more thing," he said. "When Dunn decided he wanted to leave Nebraska I sent him out to a ranch in Colorado where I grew up. A little place called Lovelace. So if you ran into there, it's a good bet that you done fucked with the man they call the 'Baby-Faced Killer.'"

Stanton's deep laughed resonated in the tiny office.

Jones sat staring at the locked cell door and wondered to himself how in the hell he was going to get out this mess.



-------

Chapter 8


Jacob Dunleavy was nervous as hell. He'd done a lot of things in his life but never this. He had never been in bed with a woman he loved.

He'd cared a little about some of the whores who had serviced him and one of them had become his regular partner during his last five months in Nebraska.

Stella had shown him how to make her feel good but he worried that Marnie would find those actions disgusting. The portions of love-making that Jacob liked most were the ones that whores disdained — the kissing, the touching, the closeness. Most whores wanted you in, then off, then out in as little time as possible.

He wasn't sure how to approach Marnie. But then again, he figured that she was so bossy that she would probably tell him what to do, when to do it and where it should be done.

At the very least she would let him know if he crossed a boundary that she didn't want crossed.

That thought eased his mind as he leaned forward and blew out the candle in the tub room.

Marnie Dunleavy was resigned to the fact that Jacob would want to lay with her. It was the only part of the marriage to Jacob that she dreaded. The thought of him plowing into her dry tunnel or turning her over and plowing into an even drier tunnel made her almost queasy.

Her limited knowledge of sex was exclusively with Wes Lambert. He was no gentler in bed than he was out of bed. Even their wedding night had been hurried, bloody and uncomfortable. When she complained that it hurt too much, Wes had forced her onto her stomach buttered up her back hole and forced his way in there.

It was almost a week before Marnie could stand to ride a horse again. She had seen her mother and father act the same way. She had seen her mother with a couple of range riders and it was the same. She was certain that Jacob would want to have sex but she hoped that she could dissuade him at least until they returned to the Double-M.

Jacob failed to suppress his smile when he walked into the room. Marnie was already in bed — with the covers pulled up to her chin. It was the first time he had seen the strong woman nervous.

Or maybe she's scared, Jacob thought. She told me her husband — her first husband, his mind added — was an ass. He used to berate her and hit her. He probably wasn't very gentle in bed either.

Jacob was glad he kept his lower half covered with his britches.

He sat gently on the end of the bed and turned to face — his wife.

"I'm a little nervous about this," he admitted. "Well, the truth is, Marnie, I've never been with a real woman before."

Marnie's eyes narrowed slightly.

"I mean a woman I hadn't paid ahead of time at least once or twice," he added with a small chuckle.

Marnie's lips turned slightly upward in a hint of a smile. It didn't change the look in her eyes, though.

"I guess what I mean is that the things I like to do, you might not like," he continued. "And I don't want you to think bad of me."

Marnie's face relaxed a bit but her shoulders remained tense. She was wondering exactly what Jacob liked to do. She thought all men liked things the same way — brutal. Just like a stallion dominated a mare.

"Some of the things you might notta done before," he said shyly. "So I want you to speak up if I touch you some place you don't like or you are unhappy with what I do. Okay? But we don't have to do none of anything you don't want to do."

He twisted his body and lay beside Marnie. She was under the coverlet and he was on top. He smiled at the incongruity. His bony, white chest was out in the open and her bosoms were covered. It was like a trip to a whore in reverse. Usually the whore would strip off and the guy would just lower his trousers.

Jacob rolled over toward Marnie and started to gently stroke her hair. She purred like a contented kitten. His soft touch felt wonderful.

There was no roughness — no smell of whiskey or tobacco on his breath — when he leaned forward and put his lips on hers. She returned the kiss with only a slight hesitation. He didn't force his tongue into her mouth and he didn't grab her by the hair and crush his lips on hers. Instead the kiss was slow and easy.

When Jacob's tongue gently started to lick on Marnie's bottom lip she opened her mouth willing to allow it in. Jacob didn't try to force his tongue down her throat. Instead he teased her tongue with his and he waited until she became an active participant before going any farther.

The pair lay side by side kissing for several minutes. Jacob's hand continued to brush Marnie's hair, the side of her face and her neck. Marnie started to feel things inside she hadn't felt since she was a girl — back when she didn't understand the actual process of sex.

It only seemed natural to her when Jacob's hand slid beneath the covers and started to trace circles around her breast. His touch was so light that Marnie found herself pushing forward to increase the pressure. Before she realized she had done it she had pushed the sheet down and slid her shift off her shoulder allowing Jacob access to her bare flesh.

Jacob slipped his mouth off hers and rained kisses on her neck and shoulder. Marnie's nipple had extended and Jacob would gently tease the bud occasionally before moving off to circle around it again. When his mouth replaced his finger and continued the same pattern, Marnie wrapped her hands in Jacob's hair and pulled his mouth to her warm breast. The feeling of his tongue there was indescribable. It only got better when his hand tickled down her flat stomach and her began to run his fingers through her downy nether hair.

Again, Marnie's reaction was involuntary. Her hips rose off the bed to meet Jacob's touch. When he first found his way between her legs he was so gentle that she didn't even know he was there until he spread moisture on her special spot at the top.

Marnie gasped in pleasure. She wasn't sure what Jacob was doing but felt wonderful. His kisses traced down her belly and into the red hair beneath. Then she felt something warm at the top of her slit and realized his mouth was where his fingers had been. In only a few seconds her orgasm washed over her. One hand held Jacob's head in place but her other one found her own breast. The light pressure she put on her nipple — a sensation only introduced to her a few minutes before — sent shivers down her spine. She could feel the copious wetness between her legs — another new sensation, at least when sex was involved.

She urgently pulled Jacob back up the bed toward her. It was only after she tasted what was on his lips that she realized it wasn't just Jacob's saliva proving the moisture down below.

"Please, now, love," she whispered. "I want you so badly."

Jacob stood up to lower his britches — and Marnie's eyes went wide.

Jacob was tall and lean — but the thing that stuck out in front of him was long, wide and angry looking. She was sure that Jacob was at half-again as long as Wes and probably twice as wide. She fought the memories of pain and humiliation that washed over her.

Jacob recognized the look. More than one whore had told him that he owned "a nice-sized pecker." But Stella had taught him ways to deal with that, too.

"It might be easier if you got on top," Jacob said. "That way you'll know if it's too much or too quick."

Marnie looked at him with bewilderment but Jacob just laid down beside her and gathered her in his arms. He gently rubbed her back with his right hand and the side of her breast with the other.

"Just like you're straddling a horse," Jacob said shyly. "You stop if it hurts, okay?"

His kisses were soft and undemanding and Marnie slid a leg over his hip. She felt his member prodding at her opening and she was surprised when she felt the tip enter her. The coolness of her damp center was in stark contrast of the heat the rest of her body felt. Jacob's hands were on her hips but he wasn't pushing her backward. He was holding her forward.

"You are one beautiful lady," he whispered. "Now you just take your time. If something feels good to you don't be afraid to keep doing it."

Marnie leaned forward to kiss her husband and felt more of his prick enter her hole. She gasped and slid her hips backward. She pulled forward and did it again. She was shocked to find that her special spot was bumping against the base of that monster — and that the monster was completely inside of her.

Between the gently kisses, the sweet words and the gentle caresses, Marnie was on fire. Every time she would pull forward it felt as though something integral to her person was removed.

When she would push backward stars would fill her eyes. In only a minute or two she had worked up a rhythm that had her panting. Her head felt loose on her shoulders. Jacob tweaked both of her nipples at one time and she went off again.

Any hesitation Marnie felt was gone. She abandoned any pretext and started rolling her hips in every way possible to prolong the sensation — and make sure that Jacob felt the same thing.

But Jacob was too concerned with Marnie's pleasure to worry about his own. So his release wasn't going to be soon. Finally Marnie's system overloaded and she collapsed roughly on Jacob's chest.

In the distance she felt her husband — her man — caressing her bottom and kissing her forehead. She felt his warm breath on her hair and his warm chest beneath hers. She felt his warm prick still nestled inside her warm, wet cavern.

She had never felt so content in her life.

-------

It might have been minutes or it might have been hours, Marnie wasn't sure. But she awoke in the same spot she had fallen asleep. On top of Jacob and with his dick still inside of her. She realized that she was rotating her hips — and she wasn't even aware of it. She rose up expecting to see Jacob's face placid with sleep, instead she found him looking at her.

"Morning," he whispered.

With a start, Marnie realized the sun was trickling in through the windows. She had slept on top of Jacob all night.

She tried to move off of him but he held her firm.

"I like having you close to me," he said.

"I have never slept so good in my life," Marnie answered with a smile. "But I'm sure you didn't sleep a wink and I must have crushed you. I ain't a petite girl."

"You're petite in some ways," he rejoined. "But you ain't no girl. You're all woman."

He raised his hands and cupped her full breasts as if to punctuate his statement. Marnie shuddered at his touch.

"But I guess a trip to the privy wouldn't hurt me none," Jacob added. "I didn't really notice until you sat up."

Marnie giggled — which surprised Jacob because it wasn't a sound he had heard before. When he stood, Marnie couldn't believe that she had taken his whole prick inside of her — and that it had felt wonderful.

As Jacob wandered off Marnie couldn't help but think of how well her plans had worked out. From the moment she left to attend to her sister-in-law, she has missed Jacob.

Their relationship was a bit awkward but she felt that he was a true friend to her — at a time when she had few friends at all. The work he had done on the farm was where her feelings toward the man she considered a boy started to change. She began to see him as someone who was willing to let her set the pace and wasn't the least bit disturbed by taking direction from her.

She knew there were times he disregarded her instructions — mostly because he knew a better way to do something — and she had finally realized that he was unwilling to jeopardize a project just to let her feel in charge but that he didn't feel the need the belittle her with snide comments. He always explained his actions in much the same manner: the job he was doing turned out to be a little different than he had explained to her so he had go a different route.

She smiled at the memory. Even if he hadn't turned the farm around in her absence she had decided that she wanted to form a partnership with him. She didn't want to be his wife — because she still believed him to be at least 4 years younger than he'd told her. And like it or not, a 16-year-old boy was too young for a 22-year-old widow.

As she had told him upon her return, she had hoped that Susan would be taken by Jacob — who could be charming and refined when he put his mind to it — and the pair would stay with her to run the ranch. But when Jacob had related his life story to her the pieces had come together in her head.

Jake Dunn was a legendary gunfighter — dubbed "The Baby-Faced Assassin" by newspapers — whose exploits had made the rounds in bars and saloons from Missouri to Montana. Jacob's telling of the story was a bit different from the ones she had heard but she had no doubt he was telling the truth. In fact, Jacob Dunleavy was about the worst liar in the world, she thought. Which was probably good because with his youthful looks and his crooked smile, he could probably get away with anything if he wasn't.

The man she had grown to know — and, as much as she hated to admit it, to love — was nothing like the ruthless gunslinger that everyone talked about. Jacob was reluctant to verify or deny any tale she had recounted of his past. He would shake his head and change the subject. He wasn't proud of his past and he wasn't going to relive it. But there was a part of him — like in confronting John Jones — that could still be a cold as winter when he needed to be.

She had seen that part only a couple of times and it was as foreign to her as the way she felt this morning.

The man who had loved her the night before definitely was not the ferocious Jake Dunn. It was the sweet, gentle Jacob Dunleavy.

Jacob returned to the room with a warm rag and gently began to wash Marnie face and neck. He smiled and kissed her in each place he would clean. He maintained the pattern as he delved lower on her body until she finally tugged him gently up beside her.

"Don't start that or we won't get out of town this morning," Marnie said. But she couldn't contain the smile that spread across her face.



-------

Chapter 9


The Dunleavy family started back to the Double-M that morning. The trip in reverse was as uneventful as the way down. This section of road was lightly traveled and didn't seem to sprout highwaymen the way the stagecoach lines did. The biggest threat was from Indians but the Calvary had pretty much pushed the hostile ones farther west.

The family made it only 25 miles before stopping for the night. Marnie and Susan slept beneath the buckboard while Jacob sat and napped nearby. He had picked a spot that was well hidden and he had made sure to erase their back trail in case anyone was following at a distance.

Marnie would have preferred to cuddle up with Jacob but she knew Susan needed her close by. Marnie had expected her niece to be sullen — as she had acted for most of her time at the Double-M — but instead Susan seemed happy. It made it much easier for Marnie to revel in her own happiness.

The next morning brought an even bigger surprise for Marnie.

"Uncle Jacob?" Susan asked as they prepared to head out. "I think if I'm going to help with the ranch work I need to learn to ride better. Do you think you could teach me today?"

Jacob looked at Marnie who simply smiled.

"I think we can," he said. He was preparing to saddle his horse, Red, but figured it would be easier to go bareback so he tossed the saddle on the buckboard.

"Marnie, that means you gotta drive the team," he said. "Is that all right?"

She nodded and kissed him. Somehow she knew if she said no the riding lesson would wait.

"That's fine," she answered. Jacob set a blanket across Red's back then climbed up on the wagon and set up a makeshift seat for Marnie.

"I should have thought of this yesterday," he said to Susan. "I'm sure your behind would have appreciated the padding."

When Marnie sat down on the rolls of blankets it put her a little higher than she was used to but the added cushion would be appreciated.

She had expected Jacob to ride her horse but instead he hooked a trail rope around its neck and hooked it to the wagon.

"It'll be easier to teach you if we ride double," he said. "Ol' Red has done it a few times but I'm not sure if Paco has."

Paco was the roan that Marnie had selected as her primary steed.

He gave Susan a boost up and handed her the reins.

"Keep him steady until I get on," he told her then led the horse and its novice rider to a nearby rock where he climbed aboard behind Susan.

Susan tried to hand him the reins back but Jacob told her to keep them.

"You're the rider," he said. "I'm just the cargo. Now listen, there are a couple things about Red you need to know before we get going. He likes to run so we got to keep him from getting too far ahead. I used him for cutting steers so you can guide him pretty well with your knees. Just put a little pressure on the side you want him to turn but hold on. If you press too hard he's gonna turn hard. Be careful with the reins. I don't ever hit him with them. He don't like it and he gets feisty if he gets angry — like your Aunt Marnie."

Both Susan and Marnie chuckled.

"And like you," he added. "Must run in the family. When you want to go, just give him a cluck with your tongue."

He waited until Susan gave the cluck and Red started to move. Susan directed him pretty well with her knees back to the buckboard.

"Now when it's time to stop just give a gentle tug on the reins," Jacob said. "If you pull too hard he's gonna stop sudden whether you're ready to stop that fast or not. And if you're not ready you're gonna land on your head or on your backside. Just pull up easy and Red will slow down easy. If you tried to get him to turn with your knees and he won't just give a slight tug on the reins in the direction you want to go. Remember, the harder you tug the faster he's gonna turn."

Susan pulled slightly on the reins and Red slowed to a stop beside Marnie.

"That's real good, Susan," Jacob said. "Do you know how the bit inside the horse's mouth works?"

Susan shook her head.

"Well, it's like a pole at the back of his mouth," Jacob continued. "When you pull the reins it puts pressure on it and it bites into his cheeks. The harder you pull the more it hurts. The more it hurts the quicker he does what he thinks you want him to do so it won't hurt no more."

"Like when you paddled my behind," Susan said with a smile.

"I reckon," Jacob mumbled. He was blushing and embarrassed. "Just remember that the harder you tug the more it hurts the horse. Now Red and me have been together for a long time. I try not to hurt him and he tries not to hurt me. You just be careful of his feelings and you and he will get along just fine."

Susan and Jacob rode ahead of the buckboard to look for any trouble that might be lurking. Every 20 minutes or so they would drop back behind Marnie to make sure bandits or Indians weren't following.

Jacob was almost positive that there was no one waiting for them or trailing them or he wouldn't have allowed Susan to come with him. But she didn't know it and she kept a constant watch for anything out the ordinary.

While she was doing it she got a refresher course on riding. She was smiling and pleased with herself when Jacob and Marnie each praised how well she was doing.

After a break for a quick lunch Jacob told her she was going to ride solo for the rest of the trip back to the Double-M.

"Really?" she asked excitedly. "You think I can?"

Jacob nodded.

"You done real good, Susan," he answered. "Real good. You and Red are like good friends now."

Susan had spent much of the time after lunch fussing over the horse — making sure the bridle wasn't too tight, checking the bit in his mouth, making sure he had water and grass to graze.

"Yep," Jacob said. "I'm going to ride in the wagon and take a nap."

He rode in the wagon but Marnie made sure he didn't sleep. He also kept a close eye on Susan. Red was a gentle horse but anything was possible and he wanted to be ready if something should happen.

"She picked that up pretty quick," Marnie said when Susan was out of earshot. "You must be a pretty good teacher."

"I think she's done some riding," Jacob answered. "The reason we rode Red instead of Paco is because he's smaller. I got the impression that your brother had her ride some animals that weren't all that gentle and it scared her."

He paused for a moment.

"I also got the impression that your brother wasn't the most patient of men," he added.

Marnie slid closer to him.

"He is an ass," she said. "I got to his house and told him what was going on. He was interested in getting something for her. It was like she was nothing but a piece of livestock. He's going to be mighty upset when he gets to town tomorrow and finds out there is no wedding — and no money or stock."

"Just hope he don't spend what he ain't gonna get," Jacob answered. "And just hope he doesn't show up at the Double-M expecting to take Susan back."

"Oh, Jacob," Marnie exclaimed. "Do you think he might?"

Jacob shrugged his shoulders.

"You know him better than I do," he answered. "I don't even know if he could find the Double-M. But if he comes, we'll deal with it. There is no use in borrowing trouble."

Marnie slid even closer to Jacob. She had to use both hands to keep the long reins under control or she would have taken his hand.

"That's the way you think of a lot of things, isn't it?" she answered. "You're not going to let something that might not ever happen lay claim to your life. That's why you built the farm up even though some card sharp might show up for it someday."

"Oh, I worry a might about a whole passel of things," Jacob answered. "I just make sure I know how I plan to deal with them then make sure I can deal with them that way. Then I worry about something else until I need to worry about what I was worrying about before."

Marnie's laughter filled the air as the three of them started down the hillside toward their home.

-------

Ann rode out to meet the trio and she was surprised to find Susan with Jacob and Marnie. Marnie had filled her in on her plans for Jacob while in Oklahoma. It hadn't caught the girl off guard but it hadn't made her real happy either.

She'd seen the looks Marnie passed to Jacob — even if he didn't recognize them for what they were. And she's seen Jacob with a far-away look from time to time. She was pretty sure she knew what he was thinking about.

She only wished he thought of her that way.

But he didn't. He treated her like a sister — and not like her own brother had treated her. He constantly smiled at her and encouraged her. He gave her wide berth with the stock. Marnie was the same way. The woman had accepted Ann into her home and made her feel more welcome than she had felt since her Pa died.

Susan was another matter. She treated Ann like a mixture between a livery girl and a house maid. When Ann would tell her off, Susan would pout. Susan was three or four years older than Ann but she acted like she was three or four years younger.

Ann had been looking forward to getting rid of the little bitch and now she came riding down the hill with a big smile — on Jacob's horse, to boot.

Ann was shocked when Susan gently pulled to a stop beside her and smiled — an actual smile, not the smirk or the sneer that Susan usually reserved for her.

"Susan," Ann said in way of greeting. There was very little warmth in her voice. Susan recognized it.

"Annie," she said sadly. "When we get back to the ranch, I want to apologize to you for how I treated you."

"Jacob paddle your ass for you again?" Ann said with a snicker.

"No," Susan said. She understood Ann's disdain for her but she wished the girl could be as forgiving as Marnie and Jacob were. "I'll tell you about it when we get to the stable."

"Why are you riding Jacob's horse?" Ann asked. She was perturbed because although Jacob had allowed her to pick out any horse she wanted to call her own, he had only let her ride Red a time or two.

Of course, she had only asked to ride Red a time or two, she thought.

"He taught me to ride today," Susan answered. "Well, I've ridden before. But he taught me the right way to ride — the way to do it so the horse didn't get hurt or angry."

Susan gently patted Red's neck as she spoke. It was probably that action more than any that gave Ann pause.

"That's important," Ann admitted. "Real important."

Susan nodded her agreement.

"I didn't realize until today what the bit was for," she said sadly. "My dad would just yank and tug at it. He taught me to ride the same way. It's why I didn't like to do it, I guess. Well, that and if I didn't ride I didn't have to go places with him or Robert."

"Well, I'm glad you're taking good care of Red," Ann said.

"When we get to the stable can you watch me while I rub him down?" Susan asked. "I've seen you do it but that's not something we did very often at my place."

"Sure," Ann said. "Let's head back. Did Miss Marnie go through with her plan?"

Susan smiled and nodded.

"I wish you could have been there," Susan said. "It was sort of funny. The man I planned to marry is an ass. Given my father, you would think that I could recognize that."

She shook her head sadly.

"I'll tell you about it while I take care of Red," she concluded.

When Jacob and Marnie stored the buckboard they found Susan giving Red's coat a nice brushing. Ann was giving instructions here and there but most of the time she was just nodding her approval at the way Susan was gently taking the lather off the horse.

"Do you know about what happened to Jacob in Colorado?" they heard Susan ask.

They saw Ann nod but her answer was mumbled.

Susan cast a glance toward Ann who had lowered her head then put her arm around the younger girl.

As Ann stood there with Susan, Jacob and Marnie could tell that Susan was relating what happened in Brockton. They saw Ann's mouth drop and tears come to her eyes. Then she wrapped her arms around Susan.

After a minute or so, Susan went back to brushing Red and Jacob decided he should go on in.

"Did I ever tell you the story about Ol' Red?" he asked the girls.

Both shook their heads.

"Well, I guess it was 3 or 4 years ago," Jacob continued as he sat on a bale of feed. "I needed a horse and I was in this little bitty town. I looked all over the place and the only horse worth having was Red. He was too small for me then — and eating the cooking that you three have put together means I'm not going to be getting any smaller anytime soon.

"So I've been thinking about looking for one a little bigger. My stirrups are already out as far as they go and I worry if I put on many more pounds it's going to be easier for me to carry Red than for Red to carry me."

Jacob was exaggerating, of course. Red was smaller than most of the other mounts on the ranch but he was still able to carry Jacob and another man his size with no trouble.

"So, I guess if you want a horse to call your own, Susan, you might think about Red," he continued. "I declare that I've never seen that horse look happier than he does now."

As if by pre-arrangement, Red nuzzled against Susan's neck.

Susan turned to look at the horse — and Jacob gave Ann a wink to let her know that he didn't want her to be mad at him. She smiled and winked back.

Before Jacob could turn his attention back to Susan the girl landed on his lap again.

"You mean it?" she asked. "You're going to give me Red?"

"A person don't own a horse so much as horse owns a person, Susan," Ann said. "It looks like Red isn't going to give Jacob much of a chance."

Jacob was relieved that Ann understood what he was doing and that she didn't feel slighted.

Susan leaned forward and gave him a very un-childlike kiss — that lasted a few seconds longer than propriety dictated.

"Thank you, Jacob," she said. "With what you did for me in Brockton and now I have my own horse. Thank you."

She blushed, got up and ran toward the house.

Ann stood by the stall and smirked for a moment before jumping onto the spot Susan had just vacated.

"I guess I owe you a thanks, too," she giggled. "You let me pick out my horse, too."

She, too, gave him a very un-sisterly kiss. Unlike Susan, Ann didn't blush and she did her best to look very distinguished as she left the barn.

Marnie had been watching from the shadows and stepped forward when the girl exited. Jacob was still sitting on the bale with a confused look on his face.

"Let's see," she said with a smile as she sat on his lap. "I guess I've got a couple dozen horses and 50 or so head of cattle. If they gave you a kiss for one horse, I got my work cut out for me to pay you back for all I got."



-------

Chapter 10


The Dunleavy clan started to settle into a routine. Jacob was used to heading out to handle the farm chores at daybreak. Marnie put her foot down on that note.

"We have people hired to do that," she insisted. "If we need to bring in someone to take over those tasks then we'll bring in someone. But you're the owner of this place — and the place next door, too. You're not a hand — you were never a hand, I hope you know that even if I treated you that way for a while."

Jacob chuckled but Marnie turned serious.

"We can bring in people to do the work," she said. "But we've got other chores that need to be done around here — especially the type that might make you a bit tired in the morning."

Still, Jacob and Marnie would spend the days figuring out ways to grow the ranch. There was land around them that could be purchased for expansion and they discussed whether it would be worthwhile to make an offer.

Susan and Ann were spending more time together. Susan was learning horsemanship and Ann was a willing tutor. During the afternoons when the heat was almost unbearable the girls would work in the barn or around the house.

In return Susan was teaching Ann to read and to write. She was helping the younger girl to soften some of her harder mannerism. Ann had grown up on the street. There times when she was vulgar and uncouth. Susan wasn't as refined as she believed herself to be — but she was far more feminine that Ann.

Dinner was Marnie's department — at her insistence. Jacob suggested that with money that they had and what they had coming in that she should look for a cook. She politely but firmly declined.

It was the four of them around the table — blond haired Jacob, red-haired Marnie, brown-haired Susan and black-haired Ann. Four people as different in looks as could be imagined — Jacob was thin as a rail; Marnie was buxom with a full figure; Susan was tall and small busted; Ann was short and just starting to fill out — but so alike in temperament.

Jacob had admit that they made a good team.

The routine changed about three weeks after their return.

-------

Jacob and Ann were in the barn when Susan came racing in. She had seen the dust clouds rising from the trail. The men were out on the south pasture and the dust came from several horses.

There were only a handful of men around to protect the house. Jacob cursed his stupidity.

"Ann, get the rifle and get up to the top floor of the house," Jacob instructed. "Susan, get Red and head to the south pasture. Tell the men there might be a problem and tell Sam to bring five or six back with him."

Susan nodded and headed toward Red.

"Susan," Jacob said. "Don't you come back with them. You wait until we're sure everything is safe. OK?"

"I'll be back with them, Jacob," she insisted. "It's my home, too."

She was off toward the pasture at a gallop before he could say anything further.

Marnie already had the rifle out when Jacob and the three hands came inside.

"Ann is upstairs," she said.

"You got the downstairs," Jacob instructed. "Stay low and change windows. Do not fire until one of us outside does. We're spreading out around the barn and the house. I hope we can bluff them about how many we got here until Susan gets back with Sam."

Marnie nodded.

She had not been happy about Jacob's insistence that a number of the hands had to be gun hands. The men worked as hard as any others but she couldn't find it in her heart to trust them.

Jacob knew almost all of the gun hands he hired — about 10 so far — but there were a couple she could barely stand the sight of — especially given the way they looked at Ann and Susan.

But now she was glad to have people around who would kill if need be. She and Jacob had built this farm up and there no way a gambler was going to take it from her.

Jacob picked a spot where he could be seen. There really was no choice. He couldn't let the raiding party get to the house. So he stood in the open and waited. He knew it would be his last choice if it came to gunfire but he could think of no other way to protect Marnie and Ann.

He didn't bother to holster his pistol and he had been further surprised when Ann had put his second gun in his empty slot. She hadn't said a word, just kissed his cheek and went inside. Ann had carried the gun since the day her brother had died. Jacob didn't have the heart to ask for it back.

As the group came into sight, Jacob was given pause. There were four horses but the dust was coming from a coach that accompanied the four. From a distance, Jacob couldn't make out particulars but as they come closer he spotted a couple of faces he recognized.

One he didn't mind seeing again. The other he could do without.

The lead riders of the group were Amos Powers — and his daughter, Juliette Jones.

They reined in to a stop and Amos alit with a bound. He was over 40 but he still ran his store with fervor.

"Jacob, my boy!" he said. "Thanks for the telegram. It was good to hear from you. That boy of mine was saying he saw you in Topeka."

Jacob extended his hand toward the older gentleman but Amos clasped him in a tight hug.

The hand that accompanied Jacob stepped forward, gun at the ready.

"Everything OK boss?" he asked.

"Fine, Joe," Jacob answered. "Old friends paying a visit. Head back and let them know at the house."

Jacob thought for a moment.

"Joe, they're going to be jumpy up there," he said. "Go in obvious and loud but stop outside of rifle range and hail the house. Wait until Marnie gives you the OK before you get too close."

"Damn right boss," he said with a laugh. "Ann is a hell of a shot. And Miss Susan can knock a fly off a bull's ass from 200 paces."

That was information Jacob hadn't known. He knew Susan and Marnie had been practicing but apparently Susan wasn't as helpless as he believed.

"Problems, Jacob?" Amos asked when Joe had departed.

Jacob shrugged.

"Usual," he said. "We're a little isolated out here. It's nice but it also means that we have to be ready for the unexpected."

Amos nodded but Jacob spoke again.

"Plus I'm sure Jim told you another reason," he said. "If he didn't I'm sure you got chapter and verse in Oklahoma."

Amos laughed.

"Well, I heard a mite bit about it," he said. "Both places. By the way, I got a note for you."

He pulled a piece of parchment out of his pocket.

"That's 2 ya own me, Dunn, " it read.

It was signed Ed Stanton.

Jacob looked askance at his guests.

"You can explain this after we get up to the house," he said. "You take care of things up there?"

"Didn't need to," Amos said. "That's what the note's about. Let me get Juliette and Carmen out of the sun. Then I'll fill you in."

Jacob led the procession back to the house. Sam and the gunslingers were there and Susan, Ann and Marnie were on the porch, rifles at the ready.

Jacob smiled at his army.

"Who are our guests, Jacob," Marnie asked as she met him at the post.

"Some friends of mine," Jacob answered. "And not the type friends of mine that Sam and Earl are."

Marnie had to smile.

"I guess the girl on the horse is Juliette," she said.

"Yep," he answered.

"She's got nerve," Marnie bristled. "We better keep Ann and Susan away from her."

"What about you?" Jacob joked.

"What about me?" she wondered. "I got you."

Marnie playfully pinched Jacob's butt — in full view of Juliette and her mother and father.

Jacob did the introductions on the porch.

"This is my niece, Susan," Jacob said. "And my adopted sister, Ann. This is my wife, Marnie."

Juliette's face went red and she looked at the floor.

"Marnie, Ann, Susan," he continued. "This is Amos and Carmen Powers, friends of mine from up north, and their daughter, Juliette."

Jacob tried to keep his voice even but he wasn't sure he managed. He heard Ann whisper to Susan, "stupid bitch." Then he saw Susan nod.

Jacob instead turned to his guests.

"So, what brings you folks to the Double-M?" he asked.

Carmen didn't hesitate a moment. She came forward and grasped Jacob by the neck and dragged him down for a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"You do, Jacob," she said. "You bring us to the Double-M. I missed you."

Amos nodded.

"Yep," he said. "I was real glad when Jim told me he saw you in Topeka. I was worried about you but I knew you'd be alright. But, well, it weren't the best of circumstances."

He cast a withering glance at Juliette — one that also came from Susan and Ann.

Marnie was diplomatic.

"Well it's done and past," she said. "I don't know if Jacob would change things even if he could so maybe we should just say that things have worked out."

A storm gathered over Juliette's face but she didn't speak — she didn't dare to, Jacob thought.

He smiled at his family — and the family that could have been his. He was glad he didn't have to choose because he loved Amos and Carmen like the parents he had lost so many years before.

"Brad and Wilma say hello," Carmen chimed in. "They couldn't get away or they would have been with us. Your telegram got the whole town in an uproar."

Marnie hazarded a glance at Juliette whose face was still set in mixture of anger and sadness.

"Well, come on in," Marnie insisted. "You must be tired from the ride so why don't you get cleaned up and then we'll sit and catch up."

Marnie's actions were not what Jacob expected. Then she shocked him further. She put her arm around Juliette and led her inside.

"Jacob tells me many good things about you," he heard her say.

Ann and Susan's jaw dropped too but luckily Amos and Carmen had their backs to the trio.

"What nice things did you say about that bitch?" Ann whispered.

Jacob smacked her on the ass — probably a little harder than he meant.

"The Powers are our guests," he reminded her.

Ann was rubbing her behind.

"Not as much fun as you dreamed, is it?" Susan snickered then raced into the house.

-------

The 7 around the table was a little tight but Marnie managed. Once they were settled the story began.

"Do you know Ed Stanton?" Amos asked.

"I don't think so," Jacob answered. "Maybe. I didn't always get names and some folks change names pretty often."

That wasn't meant as a jab at Juliette or Susan but both looked uncomfortable.

"Sheriff said he was rustler," Amos continued. He didn't care that Juliette was uncomfortable. "Older fella, about my age. He told the sheriff he knew you and that you owed him a favor. He seemed to think you owed him enough to bust him out of there. Sheriff said the old boy was mighty unhappy when he told Stanton that you had left town before he could talk to you about visiting."

Amos cast a hard glare toward Juliette.

"Jones seemed think that you were bluffing — about what you used to do," he said. "I guess Stanton had told him a little bit. Anyway, Jones started giving Stanton a ration of shit about you turning tail."

Jacob wasn't too worried but Marnie and Ann were instantly up in arms.

"Turing tail?" Ann said loudly. "I've never seen him run."

"He left so he could live this life," Marnie said hotly. "He doesn't want any part of the life he left behind."

"I know, I know," Amos said in a placating tone. "And I think Stanton knew that too. He had told the sheriff that he was the one who sent you to us. I mean, out to Colorado."

Jacob nodded sharply.

"Ya, that seems right," he said. "I rode with a gang for a while oh, 6 or 7 years ago. I ran into one of them a few days after I left Nebraska. I don't recall his name but he said if I was looking for a fresh start I should try this place in Colorado. He said he worked for Mr. Wheatley for a while and it felt like home to him. But he had a price on his head so he left instead of putting the Wheatley's in a tough spot. He weren't a bad guy."

"I think he is a perfectly marvelous man," Carmen said. "He sent you out to us. Then he took care of that man."

There was no mistaking her tone when she spoke about Jones.

Jacob raised his eyes.

"His gang must have been watching the town for a while," Amos continued. "They busted him out while the sheriff was out of town. Stanton gut shot Jones and left him on the cot to bleed out. The sheriff was gone for four or five hours, he said. Jones was still alive and moaning to beat the band."

Jacob glanced at Susan beside him and covered her hand with his. He saw that Ann had done the same thing on the other side.

Susan glanced at each of them and smiled.

"Jacob saved me from the same mistake that you made, Juliette," she said sadly. "I was sure that Jonathan wanted to marry me and he would live with me forever. That's why we were over there. I insisted that my aunt and uncle take me back to Brockton to marry him."

Juliette hadn't spoken much during her stay but she smiled shyly at Susan.

"At least you were smart enough to listen to him," she said. "I wasn't. I turned away from my Ma and Pa and by brother. And I turned away from the man who loved me to go with a man who promised me more than I thought Jacob could give to me."

"Turns out you were wrong about that one too, girl," Amos said angrily. "Just look at this place."

His wife put her hand on his arm.

"This place was Marnie's," Jacob said. "I just helped out."

"Helped out by making into what you see," Marnie said. "When Jacob rode up that morning I had a run-down house and broke-down bunkhouse and the only animal on the property was his horse. So yeah, I guess he can say he helped out."

Jacob blushed at the praise but Amos and Carmen both beamed.

"So you didn't have to deal with Jones?" Jacob asked to move the conversation back.

"No," Amos answered. "He'd been dead for 2 or 3 days by the time we'd got there."

"I reckon that's good," Jacob said. "Saved you that job."

"I wasn't gonna kill him," Amos said.

"We were going to make him do right by Juliette," Carmen put in. "We were bringing her to stay with him. That way if he ran off again at least she would have something and at least she would be out from under our roof."



-------

Chapter 11


Marnie cornered Jacob as they prepared for bed.

Ann and Susan were sharing a room to give the Powers and Juliette some privacy.

"What are we going to do about them?" she asked.

Jacob couldn't figure out who the "them" was. It was obvious on his face.

"Amos and Carmen seem like lovely people," she said. "But they are stuck living with what Juliette did. They can't even look at her without getting angry. And Juliette has no life out there. Everyone within 20 miles knows about her and the newcomers learn pretty quickly. I guess your friend Jim has been in a dozen fights over the past couple of months over things."

Jacob sat on the bed and stared at his wife.

"And what do you propose we do?" he asked. There was anger in his voice that Marnie wasn't used to.

She hoped her smile would ease things.

"Well, I thought about it," she said. "You've opened a rest home for reformed gunslingers. I think you got 9 or 10 of them here. You brought them in for protection but I know the other reason behind it. You want to give them a chance to get away from that — to find a way to live that might not end in their early death. That's the only reason I didn't fight it harder — but a couple of those boys have to go. I don't care what you say. Either they are gone by the end of the month or I'll use them for rifle practice."

Jacob smiled but his eyes were still a bit cold.

"So," Marnie continued. "I thought I could bring in another wayward woman who has made a mistake or two in her life. Juliette said she can cook and you've been riding me to hire one. So I want to hire her. She has some money. Jones' hands pretty much took his stock for what he owed them but there was some gold in his safe. But, it won't be enough for her to start somewhere else. We can let her stay here until she finds a way to get over what she has done."

"And Susan and Ann use her for rifle practice," Jacob said. "I guarantee you that those two are plotting how to get rid of her body right now."

Marnie giggled.

"Oh, I doubt that," she said. "I'm well aware of their plots. Don't you worry about them. I figured out how to keep them in line."

"Well fill me in on it, will you?" Jacob asked. "Hell, I had to learn from Joe that Susan has become a crack rifle shot. And she and Ann seem thick as thieves now that Susan is riding."

Marnie smiled warmly and patted Jacob's arm.

"Oh, I'll fill you in on what you need to know," she said. "For right now let them have their secrets. They both want you to be proud of them. I think Susan is planning on demonstrating her rifle skills in a couple of days — and I'll make sure it isn't on Juliette's backside. Ann is trying to show you how grown up she is by being nice to Susan."

"Well, that part is working," Jacob answered. "I'm pleased as hell about how she's been acting."

"You should make sure you tell her that," Marnie prompted. "I saw what you did when you gave Susan her horse. I saw that you made sure Ann knew you weren't playing favorites and that there was a reason behind what you were doing."

Jacob shrugged.

"Or maybe you just wanted a couple of kisses," Marnie teased. "I can never tell with you."

She put her head on his shoulder.

"The Powers want to be on the road day after tomorrow," she said. "I believe all of Juliette's belongings are in the coach. Just think about it tomorrow."

She paused for a moment.

"Jacob, just like you, she really has no other place to go," she added. "She was a stupid girl who did a stupid thing and she hurt you. But I think you're happy. Doesn't she deserve that?"

-------

It was after supper the next day that Jacob and Marnie pulled the Powerses aside.

"Juliette, we'd like you to stay here for a while," Marnie said without preamble.

Juliette looked shocked — as did Amos and Carmen.

"Jacob, that ain't why we stopped," Amos said. "She ain't your problem. She's our problem."

"Down here she won't be anyone's problem," Jacob replied. "Down here she is just another widow whose wayward husband met a bad fate."

Carmen had tears in her eyes when she turned to her daughter.

"You gave this up," she said angrily. "You left him and still he cares enough about your family to help us out."

Marnie gently put her arm around Juliette.

"You'll have to work here," she said — ignoring Carmen's outburst. "You'll be the cook here and you'll have to help the rest of us around the house. Does that sound OK to you?"

Juliette nodded and mumbled her thanks. Then she collapsed in tears in Marnie's arms.

Jacob, Amos and Carmen stood by uncomfortably.

"It seems like the best solution for everyone," Jacob said. "Amos, I know your family won't help her out. Carmen, your family might but it's a long way there. She's already here. You got all of her stuff with you. Hell, tell everyone that Jones took her back. That he just got delayed in getting back there."

"Tell them to go to hell," Marnie said over Juliette's shoulder. "You can certainly tell them that from me."

"From me, too," Juliette said. She lifted her head off Marnie's shoulder for a moment. "Jacob, Marnie, I can't tell you how much I appreciate this. I'll do whatever I can to help out here."

"You damned sure will, girl," Amos answered. "Because if they take you in then this is the only home you have. I let you come back because you didn't have no place else to go. Now that you do, I wash my hands of you."

Jacob held up his hand.

"Now, Amos," he said. "Don't say something you can't take back. Isn't that what you always used to say to me?"

Amos shifted his gaze to Jacob and he nodded his head slightly.

"Besides, Juliette will be quite the catch down here," Jacob said. "She'll land a new husband in no time if she wants one. And you know Marnie won't let it be someone that you wouldn't like."

"I don't know," Marnie said. "Look at my first husband."

"But look at your second one," Juliette said.

"True," Marnie answered. "It's a definite step up. I can't wait to see what my third one will be like."

Carmen looked scandalized.

"She's joking, Carmen," Amos said. "Remember what you told me last night."

Carmen smiled.

"She told me that Jacob sure found someone to treat him good," Amos said.

"Will Susan and Ann be a problem?" Carmen asked.

"If they're a problem they'll be problems with sore asses," Jacob answered. "Marnie runs a pretty tight ship."

"They'll be fine," Marnie assured everyone. "Susan and Ann both know a thing or two about making mistakes. They're both lucky that Jacob gave each of them a second chance. He didn't have to do it for them just like we don't have to do it for Juliette. But we will and we'll all make the best of it."

-------

The Powers family rode off the next morning. Their carriage was emptier than it was when they came in. At least Amos had allowed Juliette to keep her horse. But horse, clothing and a few gold coins that Jones had stashed away was all she brought.

Ann and Susan were not pleased at the new house member. If Jacob was honest with himself he would admit that he was no happier than those two about it.

But Marnie had her mind made up. Jacob had concluded there wasn't any way for him to change it. He might have succeeded in keeping Juliette from living there but Marnie would still believe she should.

Inevitably he would give in to her — because that was how it was. If Marnie — or Susan or Ann — really wanted something, Jacob made sure they got it. Marnie wanted to make sure Juliette got a second chance at happiness. So it was going to happen in one way or another. At least Jacob didn't have to ride to Colorado to collect her.

But it didn't mean he had to be happy about.

Still, Jacob knew he had very little to be unhappy about. A couple of times a day he would turn around to find Marnie staring at him with such of look of adoration that it made him wonder.

Of course, Marnie caught him looking at her the same way.

Juliette was a pretty good cook. Marnie was helping her out but not much.

Susan and Ann mostly ignored Juliette. Marnie insisted that Juliette dine with them. She refused to treat her in any fashion other than a full member of the family.

The girls had no trouble treating her as something else. They were polite enough, Jacob and Marnie insisted they mind their manners, but they were distant.

Their attitude improved a little as a year passed. Juliette still acted like the same girl who had stolen Jacob's heart years before. But there was sadness in her eyes that the women recognized even if Jacob didn't.

Juliette had created quite a stir the first time she rode into Stover with Marnie and the girls. Pretty soon she was collecting visitors from all over the place.

It was good for her but she didn't entertain them very often. She would be polite but she would keep the visits to the porch or the front room — and she always asked Ann or Susan to sit with her and her guest.

Jacob had encouraged Susan and Ann to entertain as well but each of those two refused. Susan could have her pick of suitors. Ann was still a little young but there were several younger boys who tried to get her attention.

Of course there were a couple of the hands who didn't seem to get the message that women from the house were to be treated with respect. Sam and Earl kept them under wraps for the most part but there is always a couple in every crowd. The crowd that ran the stock and took care of the crops was no exception.

Ann and Susan helped work with the animals so that put them in proximity to the men. Jacob was proud of the way most of his friends treated the girls. Susan and Ann didn't hand out instructions. But they joined in and helped out with any task that needed to be done.

Ann was as good on a horse as most of the men. She was a little better than some of them. Susan wasn't as proficient but she was getting better. Jacob was surprised to learn that Susan didn't have any problems getting her hands dirty. She would muck out the nastiest stall and had helped the horse doc deliver a foal without batting an eyelash.

-------

Jacob could see a storm approaching. He saw the hands driving the horses into the corral and he rode out to help them. By the time he arrived most of the horses were in the corral so he stayed to make sure none of the group got caught out in the rain. It looked as if a donnybrook was coming from the northwest and those sometimes were rough.

He found Susan helping to get the horses into the stall. He sent her back to the house because it was further away than where the men stayed. He looked around for Ann but didn't see her. He also didn't see the Nettles brothers and the hair on the back of his neck stood up.

He slipped out around the back of the stable and saw that Billy Nettles had Ann backed against the wall. What Billy was saying was lost in the wind but the fact that Tom Nettles was standing behind his brother meant it couldn't be good.

Jacob had given the Nettles their notice a few days before. He didn't want them on the spread anymore. They were troublemakers and more than once had almost precipitated a gun fight before Sam or Earl intervened.

Jacob started around the corner to help out Ann, who he could see was scared. His gun was already in his hand. With the wind he figured he would have to get closer. As he neared from the opposite side he watched as Ann slowly drew her Colt from her cross-draw holster. Billy Nettles was unaware of her action but it was soon that he felt the pressure of Ann's gun pointing right at his prick.

He stepped back and he looked like he might draw on Ann. He had no doubt that Ann would kill the bastard — and good riddance. But that still left the brother. Jacob would make sure that Tom never got the chance to join in — if it came to that.

"I'll get you, though" Jacob heard Ann say, "and I would rather be dead that have you sweating on top of me. So your brother might kill me but that ain't going to help you a bit. You'll be in hell before that happens."

Jacob was close enough to be seen by this point.

"And your brother will join you pretty fuckin' quickly," Jacob stated. "Ann, I got these two covered. You come on over here, Darlin'"

Ann kept her gun leveled at Billy as she slid beside Jacob. He could feel her shake with nerves.

"You boys, collect your shit and git," Jacob said. "Today. You forfeited your pay. If you decide you got a right to it, come see me. But boys, if I ever see either of you again — on the Double-M, in Stover or somewhere else — I'll kill you. I'm giving you a chance to get away from here alive. That's your pay."

Sam and Earl had cottoned to the fact something wasn't right and had come around to see what was happening. They found Jacob and Ann holding the Nettles boys at bay.

"These two are done here," Jacob told Earl. "I don't care if they gotta ride into the teeth of a twister. They got 30 minutes to get off this spread. In 30 minutes, boys, I'll be there to kill you both. I'll gut shoot you and leave you for the coyotes. Don't for a minute think I won't. You both together ain't as fast as I am. You know it. Earl, if they give you any lip, shoot them."

Earl and Sam herded the Nettles brothers away and Ann turned to hugged Jacob tightly.

It was too late for them to get to the main house without getting drenched so they rode out the storm in the stable.

"They herded me away from the others," Ann said. "It took me a minute to figure out what they was doing. Everyone was trying to get the stock where it would be safe if it flooded. Before I could figure it out, I was caught out with just those two bastards."

"You handled it good, Ann," Jacob told her as she laid beside him on the loft. "You done real good."

"I'm glad you gave your gun back to me," she said.

"Hell, that's your gun," Jacob said. "You hang on to it and call it yours. You showed today that you know what you're doing with it. That was pretty slick."

"It was all I could think of," she said as she cuddled next to him. "I thought I was going to die, Jacob. But I was going to die before I let him do that to me. Ain't no man gonna take me that way. I may give it but ain't no man gonna take it."

Jacob let Ann's emotions play out and soon she was asleep on his shoulder.

He awakened her when the rain let up and the pair headed back toward the main house. They were wet and muddy when they got in.

"Ain't you two a sight," Marnie said when they tromped up on the porch. "I was starting to get a might worried."

"We got caught out and hunkered down in stable," Jacob said. He still had his arm around Ann protectively.

"Everything all right?" Marnie asked.

Ann nodded but Jacob shook his head.

"If you see the Nettles boys, shoot on sight," he said. "Here, town, if we run into them in Pittsburgh. You hear me?"

Marnie nodded then glanced down at Ann.

"They got me cornered," Ann said. "I barely got away. I would probably be dead if Jacob hadn't come around looking for me."

"She was holding her own," Jacob said. "I think she coulda got 'em both. Billy was dead for sure. Tom would have been a good shot but she coulda done it."

Ann glanced up at Jacob and he leaned down and kissed her on her muddy cheek.

"Go get cleaned up, Darlin'," he said. "I'm sure they saved us something to eat."

Ann nodded and went inside.

Marnie shook her head and help Jacob scrape off some of the mud he accumulated.

"I told you them boys was trouble," Marnie insisted.

"And I gave them notice," Jacob bristled. He was cold and wet and he wasn't really in the mood to listen to Marnie crow about how she was right.

"I know you did," Marnie admitted. "Did you give them their wages?"

"I let them live," Jacob said tightly. "After what they tried it was the best they could hope for."

Marnie nodded and smiled at her husband.

"How did things go in the stable?" she asked.

Jacob shrugged.

"She talked for a while and slept for a while," Jacob said. "Susan get back OK? That was a downpour."

"She got in a minute or two before it started," Marnie said. "She said that you and Ann were still back at the stable. That's why I wasn't worried. Well, I wasn't worried much."

"I'm smart enough to come in outta the rain," Jacob said with a laugh. "That might be the limit but I come in outta the rain."

Marnie hugged him tight.

"That wasn't what I worried about," she said.



-------

Chapter 12


"What are going to do about Susan and Ann?" Marnie asked Jacob a day later. The storm was slowing down but it was still raining pretty hard.

"What do you mean?" Jacob wondered.

"Well, they're getting to that age," Marnie said. "Hell, Susan is already past that age. She's going to be 19 next month. Ann is gonna be 15."

Jacob sat down heavily.

"Ann says she is going to be 15," Jacob asserted. "I somehow doubt that."

"Hon, she's had her monthlies for two years now," Marnie said. "Hell, once we got her back here and started feeding her good she started her womanlies. Look at her, Jacob. She ain't no little girl anymore. And Susan hasn't been a little girl in a long time."

"Hell, I know she ain't," Jacob said with a firm head shake. "What do you want me to do? I done introduced them to every decent man in 50 miles. Every decent fella from age 13 to 40 has been out to see either Ann, Susan or Juliette. And none of the three of them is any closer to finding a husband than the minute they rode into this place."

Marnie patted her husband's arm gently.

"Honey, Ann and Susan don't want a decent man," she said. "They want you. They keep waiting for you to notice them. You still call them girls — and it's starting to piss them off."

"That's ridiculous," Jacob insisted. "Susan is our niece and Ann is like my little sister."

"You look at Susan as our niece but she really isn't," Marnie said. "And you look at Ann as your sister. But she isn't."

The second made sense to Jacob but the first statement didn't.

"What do you mean Susan isn't your niece?" he asked.

"She's not my niece," Marnie stated. "Susan was about 2 or 3 when my brother married her mom. Her dad was thrown from a horse a few weeks after she was born. Susan's mom needed a husband. My brother needed a wife. It was a match made in hell. But my brother isn't Susan's father. Did you notice how we don't look anything alike. That's why. It's another reason I brought her over here."

Jacob shook his head in confusion.

"Well, either way," he said. "It don't make no difference. I know some folks down this way have two or three women with them but I ain't gonna be one of them. Besides, I can't keep up with you."

Marnie put her head on his shoulder.

"It's gonna be easier to keep up with me," she said. "You're gonna be a Papa, Jacob. About 5 months I'd guess."

The news stunned Jacob more than anything else he had heard that day — and that news was disturbing enough.

"You're gonna have a baby?" he asked stupidly.

"No, I thought we'd just adopt a heifer and raise it," Marnie answered with a grin. "Yes, Jacob. I am going to have a baby. That is how a husband becomes a father."

"I don't know nothing about babies," Jacob said. He had no trouble facing down a man with a gun but a baby was an entirely different matter. He was scared.

"I don't know nothing about them either," Marnie said. "But you didn't know nothing about being a husband and you do pretty good. Leastwise, I ain't complaining much. We'll figure this out too. It's a ways away. A lot can happen between now and then."

Jacob knew that birthing a baby was tough. He had heard stories about babies and mamas dying within minutes of each other — a lot of stories.

He was more frightened than at any time in his life.

"So, we're gonna have to slow down a little bit," Marnie said. "Jacob, for a year now I've watched them two like a hawk. I realized that those two have loved you as long as I have. I thought they would move on after a while but that isn't happening. We're either going to have two old maids to look after or you're going to have to marry them and look after them yourself."

Jacob and Marnie sat silently for a few minutes.

"In the barn, that's what I worried about," Marnie said. "Ann would probably be willing to just be your mistress. I guess Susan probably would too, now that I think of it. Now I know you're just a man so I don't expect you to notice some of these things. But Ann has taken every opportunity to give you a kiss. I bet she did yesterday, too."

"No," Jacob said. "Yesterday Ann faced death. She wasn't asking for anything more than to be held."

"And you held her," Marnie said softly. "You held her after you stood up for her. The same way that you taught Susan to ride after you stood up for her. The same way that you gave me exactly what I needed when I needed it. Jacob, I've used this argument before. They deserve to be happy. Would you have Susan and Ann settle for less than we have? Because the only man in the world that those two love is you. If they didn't love me as much they probably would have plotted for me to have an accident."

Jacob stiffened.

"They love me too much for that," Marnie said simply. "They love you too much for that. I was trying to be funny. Don't get mad."

"Don't get mad?" he asked. "I do want Susan to be happy. I do want Ann to be happy. But I don't want to be with them."

Marnie didn't answer for a moment.

"But you do, Jacob," she said softly. "I see you. I know you love them, Jacob."

"Yeah I do," he said. "But not like I love you."

"Are you sure?" she asked. "Think back to when you realized that you loved me. I see the same thing when you look at Susan or Ann as when you look at me. I can't make you do this, Jacob. Well, I probably could if I wanted to. But you need to think about it and to think about how you really feel about them."

-------

Jacob hedged on Marnie's advice. He wasn't comfortable with the local tradition of a man having more than one wife. He knew it was practical in the years following the Civil War — because a lot of men from Texas didn't get the chance to come home from the battlefield.

But he wasn't raised that way. His father had one wife and his mother had one husband. Even after his mother's death his father had not taken up with another woman. Jacob was old enough that he would have noticed something like that.

But Marnie's point began to make more sense as he started to pay more attention to Susan and Ann. Their actions toward him weren't those of a niece or a sister. The casual touches when they were in proximity. The number of times one or the other — or sometimes both — found a reason to sit on his lap or give him a kiss.

Those were the actions of a woman and her suitor. The casual flirtation that let a man know a woman was open to his advances. He watched the way Susan and Ann interacted with the other men on the ranch. At first, he figured their flirtation was just a part of their personalities — probably learned from watching him and Marnie because they still flirted with each other after almost 18 months of marriage.

But the girls — women, he corrected himself — didn't act that way around the hands. They were polite and friendly but not overly polite or overly friendly. There was a clear line drawn, at least on that front.

As Marnie's pregnancy advanced the young women took on more responsibility around the house. Juliette was a big help, too. But she avoided Jacob if at all possible.

Jacob had never said or done anything to hurt her feelings — or at least he never had done so purposefully. She would smile and chatter with the woman at the dinner table but she would speak to Jacob only if he spoke to her first — something he rarely did because he saw it made her uncomfortable.

At least Marnie wasn't pressing him to bed Juliette, too.

-------

Marnie's pregnancy was showing noticeably when the next large group of riders approached the house. This time everyone's fears were realized. The man who held Wes Lambert's note had come to make his play. He seemed to have a dozen riders with him or more.

Jacob had six gun hands at the ranch and six more in the field who would arrive once they heard the bells. The bells were the warning system Jacob put in place. There was a dinner bell spaced every half mile. Each bell had someone responsible for listening for the one before it and passing it along. It cost only four hands per day and it was sort of a reward doled out for a job well done or a way to keep those who got hurt working on the payroll.

None of the gun hands were bell ringers unless they were ill or injured.

The bells started peeling as soon as the dust cloud was spotted. Susan and Ann grabbed their rifles and headed to their outposts. Juliette took her shotgun and stood guard over Marnie who was too far along to do much of anything.

Jacob leaned over his wife and kissed her softly.

"You come back to me, you hear," Marnie said. "You mean more to me than this place."

Jacob smiled and nodded.

"Miss Juliette, thank you for taking care of Marnie," Jacob said. "I'm glad it's someone I trust to look after her."

Juliette felt tears welling in her eyes but she just nodded.

He patted her gently on the back.

"We'll knock twice then twice more if it's us," Jacob said. "Anybody else don't get no warning from you. You just blast away."

Outside Jacob stood on the porch and awaited the arrival of whoever was coming to see him.

A man he didn't recognize hailed the house from what he thought was a safe distance. He was wrong but Jacob didn't see the need to correct him.

"I can hear ya from there," Jacob said. "Whatta ya want?"

"I'm the owner of the spread," the man yelled. "I want you off of my land."

"That ain't gonna happen," Jacob yelled back. "And I think you know it ain't gonna happen."

"Listen here, young man," Jacob heard. "I have a note from Wes Lambert deeding this property to me."

"No you don't," Jacob said loudly. "You might have part of a note but you don't have the whole thing. Besides, Lambert's been dead 5 years. You got no claim to this place. Now get along before you get yourself into more than you can handle."

Jacob nodded toward Ann and Susan and their rifles barked.

They didn't aim at the party but at a tree just past them. Each hit pretty near to dead center.

"If you want the judge to hear this, I'll meet you town tomorrow morning," Jacob yelled when the sound of frightened men and horses had abated. "But if you want to try to take this land from me you've pretty much made it as far as you're going to without dying."

"Fine," the man yelled. "I'll see you in town in the morning. I'm at the Oak Tree with my men."

"Then you can ask where the judge's office is," Jacob announced. "That's where I'll see you in the morning. Now get the hell out of here."

The man and his gun hands saw the other men coming in from the field at a gallop so they beat a hasty retreat.

Jacob was in town shortly after dawn the next morning. Marnie had insisted on coming along — as had Ann and Susan — Jacob had asked half a dozen of his workers to come with him, led by Earl and Sam.

There was quite a party waiting for the judge when he arrived.

He greeted the Dunleavy clan warmly.

"Jacob, Mrs. Dunleavy, what brings you to my office?" he asked when they were inside. The rest of the group was left on his porch.

"My idiot first husband," Marnie said.

"I heard there was a dust up out that way yesterday but no one knew who was involved," the judge answered. "So Wes' marker is back."

"I doubt it," Jacob replied. "We'll see when he gets here. But you know old Joe Long?"

The judge nodded.

"Joe says he's the one who wrote out Wes' marker," Jacob stated. "He told me it says the farm or $35. I'm betting the note the man has doesn't say that at all."

"Will Joe testify to this?" the judge asked.

Jacob nodded.

"We'll see what the man has," the judge told them. "I appreciate you doing this legal-like, Jacob. Time was I wondered about you and that group out there. But I don't wonder no more."

Marnie smiled.

"Marriage done him good, judge," she said sweetly. "Being a papa going make him even better."

The judge was laughing when a man they didn't recognized entered the room.

He was accompanied by a man Jacob did recognize.

The second man stopped in his tracks when he saw Jacob in front of him.

He pulled the man aside and whispered something to him but the man brushed him off.

"Judge," the man said quickly. "I'm here to take possession of my ranch. I have a quit deed from the owner."

"I'm the owner," Jacob said. "And you do not have a quit deed from me. Nor do you have one from the previous owner because my wife is standing right here."

The judge examined the piece of paper and handed it to Jacob. As he thought it was incomplete.

"Is this in the former owner's own hand?" the judge asked.

The man bristled.

"I assume so," he stated. "I don't remember."

Marnie was looking at the paper.

"If it is it's a damned miracle," she said. "Wes couldn't sign his name. Hell, he didn't even know his letters."

The man stepped forward to snatch the paper from Marnie's hand but Jacob intercepted him.

"That would be a fatal mistake," he hissed. "In fact, if you come any closer to my wife that where you are right this moment, I'll drop you when you stand."

The man smirked.

"Your honor," the man said as he turned to the judge. "Are you going to allow this man to threaten me?"

"Yep," the judge said. "If you tried to take something from my wife, I would have shot you without the warning."

The gambler's face turned scarlet but the man behind him was laughing.

"Jake," he said. "I'm a bit surprised that you're a rancher. Last I heard you was in Colorado."

"I was for a bit, Jim," Jacob said. "But I decided to try this area. I'm glad I did."

"I can see that," Jim told him.

"You know how this is going to go, Jim," Jacob said, completely ignoring the man in front of him. "He's got no valid claim to it. The man who wrote out the note is still alive and he's willing to state what he wrote on it. Even though you tried to deceive me, I'm willing to pay off Wes Lambert's bill."

He pulled a pair double eagles out of his pouch.

"He owed $35," Jacob said. "It said that right at the bottom of the note. He quit claim on his property or could pay you the $35 he owed to the pot. At the time it was the same thing because the ranch wasn't worth $35."

"And neither was Wes Lambert," Marnie put in.

"And neither was Wes Lambert," Jacob echoed. "Now you want all the work my wife and I have put into the place for nothing. You can take the $40 and go on your way. But if you threaten my family, I'm gonna kill you."

Jacob turned to the man's gun hand.

"And Jim, that goes for you, too," he said. "You know me and you know I can do it and I will do it. I know you recognized Sam and Earl outside. I got me a dozen more just as good at the ranch. So you make sure you tell whatever boys you got with you that if they tangle with me they're dead. They ain't gonna see no profit from this job, Jim. I hate to say it, Jim, cause I like you. You might be the closest thing I ever had to a friend before I came to Texas. But you ain't gonna see no profit from this job either. I'll kill you before I let you threaten my loved ones."

Jim nodded.

"I told this fool that when I saw you standing here," Jim said. "That was before I know'd you were the owner and this was your Missus. I'm gonna collect what pay he owes me for helping get him down here then I'm on my way. I'll let the other ones know that they're playing with fire. Most of them are good boys. Some of them probably think they can take you, Jake. They can't take me and I can't take you so I know it's a fool's errand but you know that won't stop some of them. But I won't be with them."

"You can work for us," Marnie said. "That's why we have so many hands out there. Jacob gives anyone who needs a new start someplace to go. Are you looking for a new start, Mr..."

"Harcourt," the gun hand said. "James Harcourt, ma'am. And that might be something I'd like. Some of the others might like it too. Things are changing in the world. About the only jobs I can get anymore are with men like this."

His look spoke volumes about the enmity he felt toward his employer.

"Well, you make the offer to them," Marnie said. "Jacob, is our business concluded here? I'm getting tired and I want to get home."

"We need to wait for the judge's ruling," Jacob said. "We might not have a home to go to."

"Now, you know better than that, Mr. Dunleavy," the judge answered. "This paper is ripped and the person who signed the note wasn't Wes Lambert. I know for a fact your wife is right. He couldn't have signed his name if he wanted to. I had to show him how to make an 'X' when I put him in jail five or six years ago. So, sir, your claim is dismissed."

Marnie turned to leave but the gambler was irate.

"That is my ranch and I'll have it," he said loudly.

Jacob stepped up into the man's face.

"You can take the $40 and leave here alive," he said. "That's the best offer you're gonna get. But I told you what's going to happen if you show up at our place. Maybe you and me should just settle this out front right now. You tried to touch my wife. You yelled at my wife and you called my wife a liar. That's reason enough for me to call you out. You ain't gonna find no hand who is gonna tangle with me face to face, Mister. Jim here is the best you got, I'll wager, and I think he's already given his notice. Now you got 30 seconds to take the money and walk away or you're gonna find yourself in a casket."

The man scooped up the money and headed out the door without a word. But Jacob knew he would wind up killing the man before things were settled. One look at Marnie told him she knew it too.



-------

Chapter 13


Just before noon the next morning the bells started tolling at the Double-M. Jacob hadn't sent more than a half a dozen workers out to the fields that day and the stock was corralled or in a grazing pasture.

Every person who could use a gun was nearby — about four dozen Jacob guessed.

He rode out with Sam and Earl to a clearing. He knew Susan and Ann had him covered with the rifles if the men pulled up close enough. But he also knew he was in danger if the men stopped at rifle range.

The column stopped half a mile down the lane — well outside where Jacob would be at risk and a lone ride came forward with a red bandana tied to a stick.

Jacob chuckled when Jim Harcourt hailed him.

"Jacob, we're just here to visit with you," he said. "The others are going to stay behind or they are willing to give up their guns if you let them come up with me."

Jacob motioned Jim forward.

"My guns are in my saddlebag," Jim said with a smile. "I didn't want no misunderstandings."

Jacob gave the word and the whole group headed back to the house. They were approaching the main house when he heard Susan yell, "That's far enough, Jacob."

Jacob glanced up and smiled at the two women who he was certain had the group in their sights.

"It's OK, ladies," Jacob announced. "They've surrendered peacefully."

That brought a round of laughter from the group but no one took a move forward. They had seen the accuracy the day before and it had given them cause to think.

"OK, Jacob," Susan said.

The group started forward slowly and dismounted at the house.

"There ain't room for all of you inside," Jacob said. "But the bunkhouse is just a ways down that way. Go help yourselves to something to eat and get cleaned up if you wanna."

The rest of the hands went off leaving Jim and Jacob alone.

"Let me get my wife — if I can do it without getting shot, that is," Jacob said. He gave the double knock and Juliette opened the door.

"I heard that, Jacob," she said in mock anger. "Marnie is doing fine."

"She is in good hands," Jacob said. "Hon, do you feel like coming out? Jim Harcourt is here and I think he wants to talk business."

"Business?" Marnie asked. "As in he wants to negotiate for that thief or he wants to talk about our offer?"

"Your offer," Jacob said sweetly. "I remember distinctly being told that we had enough gunslingers running around this ranch and not to bring no more out."

Marnie waddled out — but only after slapping Jacob on his arm.

"It's nice to see you again, Mr. Harcourt," Marnie said.

"Jim, please, ma'am," he said. But he was looking past Marnie — at Juliette Jones.

"I'm Marnie then," Jacob's wife answered. "And that is Juliette. She is my friend and she's been a God send the past few months."

Jim blushed as he extended his hand in greeting.

Juliette was blushing just as furiously as she shook.

"My pleasure, Miss Juliette," Jim said. "My pleasure indeed."

Marnie took charge of the meeting from the get-go.

"Now, I understand you want to discuss what I offered yesterday," she said.

"No, ma'am," he said. "Uh, no Marnie. I don't want to discuss it. I want to accept it. You can name the terms but I think I do want a new start. The other boys do, too."

"Oh, well, then it's settled," Marnie said with a glance toward Jacob. "You get room and found and $5 a week. You're responsible for working with the stock. We have other hands who help in the fields so you won't need to worry about that."

"Ma'am, that's an awful lot of money for a horse roper," Jim said.

"It is," Marnie answered. "Jacob might have other duties for you from time to time but those are rare. But, well, we lucked out and we have money. So we pay a little more to bring in people that we trust. If we find we can't trust you, you go."

Jim nodded.

"Well, sounds like a little spot of heaven to me," he said, but he couldn't help but glance at Juliette. "I'm in and I think I can speak for the boys."

Jacob had sat quietly but now he spoke firmly.

"Jim, like you I don't want any misunderstandings," he said. His gaze was level and icy — a fact not lost on either Marnie or Jim Harcourt. "Those boys, for the time being, are going to be your responsibility. If there is someone there you don't know or you don't trust you need to send them on their way. Because, as God as my witness, this is the absolute truth. If any of those boys is coming in here while working for that gambler and they so much as cause my family a second's grief, here's what's going to happen."

Jacob leaned forward and his gaze hardened.

"I'm going to kill each and every one of them, Jim. You included. Then I'm going to spend the rest of my life going from place to place and killing everyone you and those boys ever knew. I'll find your mothers and your sisters and your children, Jim, and I'll put every last one of them in the ground. So you better make damned sure that those boys you brought in are on the up and up."

Jim Harcourt was not a man who was afraid of much but he gulped noticeably when Jacob sat back in his chair.

Then he nodded. He knew Jacob had spoken the truth. And he also knew that there were a couple of boys he wasn't willing to take a chance on.

-------

A few weeks later, Jim joined Jacob on the porch one Saturday morning. Jim had taken to the life on the Double-M and he enjoyed waking up in the morning without worrying if it was going to be his last.

He had been invited to eat at the main table many times but he always declined. Sam and Earl had been there the longest and he didn't want it to look like Jacob was playing favorites. But the truth was that Jacob had worked with Jim several times and he trusted the man.

And the other fact was that outside of his family, Jacob Dunleavy trusted few people.

Jim would from time to time join Jacob on the porch or in riding the range but he mostly tried to spend his time with the other hands — and on keeping an eye on the ones who came with him.

They were all good boys, he thought, but money can turn a man's head pretty easily. Jim had sent two of the gun hands packing before they even unpacked.

He told each man the same thing: Jacob had decided that anyone Jim was unfamiliar with had to go but they would be welcome to return after the gambler was dealt with.

The first man took it well. He said that he understood and he wouldn't put his family at risk by bringing in someone hired by an enemy if the situations were reversed. He stopped by the main house to let Jacob know that he planned to take him up on the offer to return — but only if he could bring his wife and daughter with him.

Marnie promised that she would wire him as soon as things were straightened out.

The second man turned away did not take the news well. He almost got himself shot for his trouble but Sam, Earl and Jim escorted him to town and told him not to come back to the Double-M.

Jim wouldn't have been the least bit surprised if the man hadn't headed straight to the gambler to tell him that his plan hadn't worked.

Most times when Jim and Jacob sat together they talked about people they knew and places they had been. But Jim had a different agenda this time.

"Jake, I was wondering," he said in his Alabama drawl. "Just how'd you come to run a home for wore out gunslingers."

"Really didn't start out that way," Jacob said. "First year I was here, Marnie and me put in the crop together, just the two of us. Planned to take it out that way, too. Her husband got himself shot over a card game and left her with a passel of debts. I had enough money to pay them off for her but, well, you seen how she is."

Jim laughed and nodded.

"So you married her?" he asked.

"No, that was a ways away," Jacob replied. "She had to go up to Oklahoma and tend to her sister-in-law. She was gone for four or five months. So I paid things off and hired in some people to get the crops in. We got lucky a couple of times. First I found a couple of bags with nuggets in them. I don't how long they were buried there but it must have been a while. I took them to NMT and came back with more money that I ever saw in my life. But I also brought back some stock that I won in a card game — and a couple of old friends who needed someplace to be. You know how that is."

Jim nodded. He did, indeed, know how it was.

"We had enough money to last our whole lives but I needed someone to work the herds," Jacob continued. "I wasn't sure if Marnie would want to run horses or cattle so I got some of both. I knew a couple of hands who were good with stock so I brought them down. The rest just sort of came in from time to time."

"Those women all Marnie's kin?" he asked.

"Ain't none of them her kin," Jacob said with a chuckle. "While I was collecting gunslingers she was collecting those three."

"Fallen women?" Jim asked. He couldn't see Ann or Susan working as whores. And he certainly didn't believe that of Miss Juliette.

"No and if they ever hear you say that you might wind up with buckshot in your hide," Jacob warned. Jim got the impression there was no attempt at humor in his statement. "Miss Susan's ma was married to Marnie's brother. When her ma died Susan wasn't welcome any more. So Marnie brought her here."

Jim nodded. It made sense. She wasn't kin but she was raised in Marnie's family.

"Marnie's brother is a prick," Jacob said. "I ain't never met him but from what I know of him, I can say that. He treated that woman like she his livestock and he tried to do things with her that no man should do with a kid — kin or not."

"You kill him?" Jim asked.

"Not yet," Jacob answered.

"Let me know when it's time," Jim said. "I'll save you the trouble. I don't cotton to that sort of thing."

"Me either," Jacob agreed. "Miss Ann came back with me from Kansas. She had a tough go of it for a few years. He pa was killed and her ma decided to make a living on her back. Ann and her brother lived on the streets for a while. Their pa was shot in the back and the boy got in his mind that I done it."

Jim scoffed.

"You mighta shot him in the front," he answered. "But I never heard tell of you shootin' a man in the back."

Jacob shrugged.

"I ain't never done it," he said. "But I might as well have with some of them. It weren't no challenge from the front neither."

Jim Harcourt knew that feeling, too.

"Her brother made a play at me and I killed him," Jacob continued his story. "He was the last one I done, Jim. I didn't like it none but the more I found out about things the less it bothered me."

Jim leaned forward on his chair to hear the rest of the story. Jacob wasn't blind so he kept him waiting.

"So I asked Ann if she wanted to come down here," Jacob said. "She's real good with the horses and she's an ace with a rifle. Hell, you saw what she and Miss Susan can do."

"And Miss Juliette?" he asked. "How'd she come to be here?"

"Same as the others," Jacob answered. "Hell, the same as the rest of us. She didn't have no place else to go."

Jim wanted more information but Jacob was keeping him in suspense.

"Why not?" Jim asked. "I mean, as purty as she is she could go just about anywhere. Miss Ann and Miss Susan could, too. But I know why they stay here."

Jacob glanced up at his friend. It seemed that two could play the game Jacob was playing.

"She married a bad seed," Jacob said with some reluctance. He'd seen the looks Jim had given Juliette when he thought no one else could see. Jacob had also seen the looks Juliette had passed to Jim. But it wasn't his place to tell the story so he kept it to the bare facts. "He got himself killed up in Oklahoma and he left her with little money and fewer friends. Her folks are good people but they couldn't do much for her. So, she came here."

Jacob was silent for a moment while Jim took it all in.

"And we're glad to have her here, Jim," he added. "We hired her on as the cook but she is as much a part of the family as any one of us."

Jim nodded. He understood what Jacob was saying. If Jim was playing for keeps there would be no problem. But if he was looking for a quick fuck he better look elsewhere.

"I see that, Jacob," Jim told him. "And I appreciate that. It's just, well hell, the first day I was out here, she came out of the back there with your missus and she was toting that shotgun. She looked like a Mama Bear protecting her cub. I thought to myself that right there is a woman I would want beside me. What I seen the last few weeks ain't change my opinion one bit."

Jim looked at the porch then up at Jacob. He was nervous.

"I know she's just like family to you, Jake," he said. "That's why I wanted to ask your permission to call on her — once Marnie has the baby and we get things together here."

Jacob started to laugh and for a moment Jim started to get angry. Jacob saw his friend's face start to go red so he held up his hand while he caught his breath.

"Jim, I ain't got nothin' against you calling on Juliette," Jacob said. "But how long you been here now?"

"I dunno," Jim replied. "About four or five weeks."

"And in that time have you ever seen me get the chance to make a decision?" Jacob said with a chuckle. "Juliette is a grown woman. She's been married and made a widow. Even if I could make this decision for her, I wouldn't. But I will tell you this: there isn't a single man in 20 miles who ain't been out here to try to call on Juliette, Susan or Ann. And all three of them are still under my roof."

Jim laughed along with his friend.

"From the sound of things you should probably change the name of this place," Jim said after a few moments. "The Double-M is nice but I think you ought to call it the Second Chance Ranch."

"Don't you let Marnie hear that," Jacob said. "I'd be out whittling a new sign the next minute."

"My hearing is just fine, Jacob Dunleavy," Marnie said from the doorway. As her pregnancy had progressed she had been permitted to do less and less. That meant she had become more and more irritable. "You named this ranch without even asking me. So if I decide I want to call it something else you damned sure will be cutting a new sign."

Jacob looked over at Jim with a small smile.

"Who's the Mama Bear now, Jim?" he teased. "And this Mama Bear woke up a might bit testy."

He hazarded a glance over his shoulder to make sure Marnie wasn't toting a shotgun — or a rolling pin. Instead he saw Juliette and Ann standing beside her holding her arms.

"Jacob," Ann said. "Marnie was supposed to come out here to tell you it's time to get the midwife. Her water broke a little while ago."

Jacob and Jim were on the feet in a flash.

"Good Lord, woman," Jacob said. "Let me get you back to bed. Jim, give me a hand."

"You just get the midwife," Marnie said. "I got time before the baby comes but not enough time to fool with you two. Now git."

Jim took one look at Jacob and started out to saddle the horses.

"Susan is bringing them around," Ann said.

Jacob stood stock still on the porch, almost frozen with fear. He had thought about this a hundred times — the fastest way to the midwife's farm; making sure Marnie was comfortable; making sure Ann, Susan and Juliette were with her.

Now he just stood there.

"Jacob," Marnie said. "I'm sorry I'm so cranky. But you need to get moving. You're going to be a papa soon."

Jacob nodded and started off the porch. He pivoted and flung open the door, grabbed Marnie and kissed her gently.

"I love you, Mama Bear," he said. "We'll be back shortly. You take care of her."

Ann and Juliette nodded and shooed him out the door.

"I love you too, Jacob," Marnie said through her tears. "Don't you worry none."

Jacob and Jim started off toward the midwife's farm at a gallop.



-------

Chapter 14


"Diamond" Bob Penney wasn't used to losing. He was a gambler who made his living by fleecing men who didn't have the money or the skill to stay at the table with him.

The way he'd fleeced Wes Lambert a few years back. When he rode by the Lambert farm the next day he knew it wasn't worth what he was owed. But he'd been in that situation before. He would wait a few years — until a new family moved in — then produce his claim.

The family would either have to move out or pay him off. Either way worked for Diamond Bob. If they moved out he would sell the ranch to the highest bidder and move on. If they paid him off, he would just move on.

But now some lowlife gunslinger was blocking his play. He had watched the Double-M spring to life a couple of years before. But he knew the ranch would be worth even more down the road. So he waited and watched.

But he needed the money now — and $40 wasn't going to cut it. It further angered the man that the gunslinger had convinced his hired hands to come work for him. Then he sent back the plant he wanted in their camp.

He and his four remaining men had watched and waited for five weeks. But the Double-M camp was cautious. Any group that went out had at least 3 or 4 gunslingers with it. That damned warning bell system wouldn't let him get close enough to the house to cause any real concern to them.

But finally his time had come. We watched the 2 riders come out of the valley. And lo and behold his luck had changed. It was the no good gunslinger and the turncoat, Jim Harcourt.

He didn't want to ambush the men. Anyone else he might have. But he wanted these two to know for sure who had bested them.

Jim and Jacob saw the five men move into the clearing about 200 yards in front of them but they didn't slow down.

"I don't have time for this shit," Jacob muttered. He didn't want to use his horse to brace his pistol because he couldn't risk spooking it. He would need the horse to collect the midwife. So he did the only thing he could think of.

Jacob slowed the horse a bit and then dropped off. He hit the ground hard but he rolled and used an old log for a brace. He took a second to aim and fired at the man behind the four gunmen.

Bob Penney saw the gunslinger fall from his horse but he was sure his men hadn't fired. He was right behind them and would have heard the report from the gun.

He watched as the man hit the ground and then rolled to his left. He saw the puff of smoke from the pistol. Then all he knew was pain. He looked down and saw the blood dripping from his chest. Then he felt nothing.

Penney's men expected a pitched battled. They didn't expect Jim Harcourt to race forward on his horse toward them. His pistol was blazing and all four men fell before Jacob could collect his horse and get back on.

The entire thing had lasted less than 20 seconds.

-------

Jim and Jacob left the gunmen where they fell. They had more important things to do.

They reached the midwife's farm in just a few more minutes and Jim bounded from the saddle. He noticed Jacob was moving a bit slowly but figured it was from the fall he'd taken. That had been a fool stunt and he was lucky he hadn't killed himself.

It wasn't until the midwife answered the door did Jim notice the odd angle that Jacob's left arm hung. Then he noticed the blood seeping through his shirt.

He knew the gunman hadn't gotten off a shot so it had to have been the fall from the horse.

"I'm fine," Jacob insisted when the midwife wanted to look at it. "We just need you to get ready to come out to the Double-M. The baby is on the way."

The old woman smiled her toothless smile.

"I knew it would be today or tomorrow," she said. "I got all my stuff. Now you two get into town to see the doctor about that arm."

"Jim, would you ride in and see if the doctor can come out?" Jacob asked when it was obvious the old woman was going to have her way.

"Young man, you go with him," she said. "You'll be in my way out there. It's bad enough I'm going to have to prattle around those other three. But I can't be tripping over you every two steps. It ain't no place for a man to be anyhow."

Jacob cursed under his breath. He and Jim hadn't taken the time to see if there were any more of the gambler's men lurking about.

"Damn it," he swore aloud. "Jim, escort her out there and put the word on Ann, Susan and Juliette to stay out of the way. I guess I'm going into town. Tell Marnie I'll be out as soon as I can but don't worry her none. And for God's sake don't mention what happened on the way here."

Jim nodded and tied a bandana around Jacob's arm to stop the bleeding. He hoped the break wasn't too bad and that it wasn't at the elbow. Jacob might lose his arm if it were.

"Well, Jake," Jim said. "I can escort her out there and I won't say anything about the road. But it's gonna take a bigger man than me to put the word on those three. I'll get her out there and I'll come into town with you. I don't want to be anywhere near that place when those 3 get tossed out. They're gonna be looking for someone to skin and it damned sure ain't gonna be me."

-------

Susanna Elizabeth Dunleavy was born about an hour before Jim and Jacob made it back from Stover. The doctor said the break was clean but all Jacob knew was that it hurt like the dickens when it was straightened and put into a splint.

The jarring of the horse on the ride back hurt even more.

Jacob and Jim had stopped to move the dead men to the side of the road. The varmints would find a feast tonight. Bob Penney had been joined in death by his son, one of the men who had tried to get hired on an the Double-M and the Nettles brothers. Jacob didn't foresee shedding a tear over any of the losses. Jacob was pleased to see the $40 he had given to the gambler was in a pouch on the man's belt — along with about $100 more.

Jim collected a couple of hands and went back into town to collect any of the men's belongings from the rooms they had let. By custom, Bob Penney's things belonged to Jacob; Jim could claim the possessions of the other four. All in all, Jacob got the better deal, although not by a lot.

There were questions and accusations aplenty when Jacob rode up the lane with his arm in a sling. But when he saw the midwife's horse was gone the only thing on his mind was making sure Marnie was doing OK.

The new mother was sleeping with her daughter at her breast when Jacob entered the bedroom. Marnie awoke a little and smiled sleepily at her husband. She didn't even appear to notice the sling — for which Jacob thanked his lucky stars. He pulled up a chair beside mother and daughter and watched them sleep.

Before long the excitement of the day caught up to him and he dozed off.

He was awakened by the sound of a baby crying. How in God's name could something so small make so much noise, he wondered. The movement of coming awake caused him to jar his arm and he cursed out loud.

"Son of a bitch," he said as he gingerly cradled his arm. It was only then he realized where he was.

He glanced over at Marnie who was feeding little Susanna and he smiled.

She didn't smile back.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I guess she sort of startled me."

"I guess it's a good thing you don't wear your guns to sleep," Marnie said.

"Guess so," he mumbled. "How are you feeling?"

"Like a foot and a half baby came out of a two-inch hole," she said.

"Uh, well, I guess I'll let you get some rest," Jacob said. He really didn't to listen to Marnie's bitching.

"Not until you tell me why your arm is in a sling," Marnie said.

"Broke it," Jacob answered.

Marnie's face was getting red. He didn't want her to lose her temper, especially as mean as she'd been the past couple of days. But he also didn't want to go into chapter and verse about the trip to the midwife.

"I can tell you broke it, Jacob," Marnie said in measured tones. "I would like to know how it came to be broken."

Jacob pursed his lips and sighed.

"Marnie, you're a mama now but you ain't my mama," Jacob answered. "Now I fell off my horse on the way to get the midwife. The doc says it's a clean break and it'll be fine an few weeks."

Marnie sat silently and looked at the baby on her breast.

"She's pretty one, hon," Jacob said in a conciliatory tone. "You sure done good."

There were tears in Marnie's eyes when she looked up. She smiled tiredly at her husband.

"It'll be better soon, love," she said softly. "I know I've been nasty lately. I ain't the first woman to do this but it felt that way sometimes."

"I know," Jacob answered as he sat beside her. He used his good hand to rub her hair. She always loved to have it stroked. He wasn't surprised when she leaned her head into his touch. "Can I kiss her?"

Marnie nodded and Jacob leaned forward and planted a light kiss on his daughter's sucking cheek. The little girl didn't miss a beat.

"Are you mad she ain't a son?" Marnie asked.

Jacob tilted his head.

"Why would I be mad about that?" he asked. "Maybe she'll turn out just like her Mama. I couldn't ask for anything better."

"I guess I just worried," she said. "I should have known better. But, well, I guess it's been drilled into my head that a father wants a son."

"Well, this father wants the baby Mama produced," Jacob assured her. "If I wasn't so clumsy I'd ask you if I could hold her. But, well, I'm scared of dropping her."

Marnie smiled sweetly. It was the first sweet smile Jacob had seen from her in days.

"I'll be up and around in a couple of days," she said. "I'll put her in your arm and be right there."

"You take as much time as you need," Jacob said quickly. "We got enough people running around this house that you don't need to do nothing before you're ready."

"I'm ready now," she stated. "I feel like a piece of china the way those girls have been fussing over me. And you, too, mister."

"Well, you ain't never gonna be confused with a shrinking violet, that's for damned sure," he said.

"Watch your language, Jacob," Marnie warned. "I want her first word to be Papa not something like that."

Marnie's face broke out into a huge grin.

"What?" Jacob asked, already dreading what might have popped into her mind.

"Well, now that you are hurt I can send my nursemaids over to take care of you," she said. "I'm certain that you'll need their help to get around the house and to the privy."

"Oh, no I won't," Jacob said quickly.

"Well, I didn't either but it didn't stop them," Marnie joked. "So now it's your turn. I'll bet Ann and Susan will have a wrestling match to figure out who gets to spend the first night with you to make sure you're OK."

"I'm going in my room and locking the door," he said. "How soon can I move back in there with you? It ain't safe out there alone for me."

"Oh, I'm guessing another 10 or 11 months," Marnie said.

"What?" Jacob said. His eyes had almost popped out his head at her answer.

"In a week or so," Marnie answered. "I gotta have a few days to rest up and couple of weeks to heal up before you can try to put another one in me."

"Well, we'll decide about that later," Jacob said. He wasn't sure if he could put up with another month like the one he'd just put up with.

"The first one is always the hardest," Marnie said. "The rest of our babies will be easier, I'm sure. But it can wait a few months as far as I'm concerned."

Jacob kissed Marnie on the cheek and tried to sneak into his room without anyone noticing.

-------

There was no wrestling match, but Ann and Susan — and even Juliette, who had warmed up considerably to Jacob after he praised her for the protection she afforded Marnie and the baby — acted as though Jacob had jumped in front of a speeding horse to save a wagon load of schoolchildren.

When Jacob got around to telling exactly how his arm was broken — with Jim provided color details where warranted — their attitudes become even more solicitous.

"He looked at me said 'we don't have time for this, '" Jim told everyone — including Marnie. "Next thing I know he's rolled off his horse. Then I saw the gambler fall over. I goosed my horse and away we went."

Marnie was shaking her head.

"I should have known it was something like that," she said. Jacob wasn't sure if she was joking or not.

"Well, we didn't have time for that," he said. "It was going to come to that sooner or later. You know it was. He just picked a time when we had better things to do than listen to him bleat."

"You're lucky he didn't hide in the brush and just shoot you as you rode past," Ann said. There was a touch of sadness in her voice.

"Is that what happened to your Pa?" Susan asked. Ann nodded and Marnie patted her hand.

"He was too full of himself to do that," Juliette put in. "I know men like that. Or, actually, I knew a man like that. He would want a man to know who topped him. John wasn't secretive when he wooed me. He knew I promised myself to Jacob and he wanted everyone to know he stole me from him. He wanted to make sure Jacob was humiliated."

She looked at the table for a few minutes.

"Of course, if he knew then what we found out later, he might have thought twice," she added.

Jim Harcourt looked at Jacob questioningly. Marnie noticed the stare immediately.

"You didn't know?" she asked.

"I figured you would have told him, Jacob," Juliette said.

"Wasn't my place to say something like that," Jacob replied. "It's nobody's business but those whose business you make it. I ain't never gonna say anything about you that you might not like."

Juliette shook her head in wonder.

"Jim, would you like to take a walk with me for a few minutes?" Juliette asked.

"Sure, Miss Juliette," he answered — which was his standard reply whenever she asked him to do anything, with her or for her.

Ann and Susan wanted to hear more of Jacob's story but they knew Juliette would ask one of them to accompany her. They each knew that whichever she asked this time would want the other to go, too. So all three gathered themselves up and went inside to get shawls.

Marnie laughed but Jacob and Jim looked bewildered.

"Those three," Marnie said as if it explained everything. To Jacob and Jim it didn't explain anything but they didn't ask for details. They decided they probably didn't really want to know.

"Jim, why don't you see if Susan can pull out something for a picnic," Marnie suggested. "You can tell them what really happened out there and then they can tell me. I know Jacob well enough that I've gotten all I'm going to get out him. I also need to get my husband's opinion on a few things around here."

Marnie was laughing but she was telling the truth. Jacob wasn't known for self-aggrandizement and it took only 7 or 8 seconds for him to relate the gambler's death.

"They came out from the trees and we shot them," he had said.

Jim walked in the house and Jacob turned to Marnie.

"What do you need me to do?" he asked.

"Sit with me for a while," she answered. "Then we'll talk. I miss sitting here and holding your hand. The last few weeks I have felt like someone strapped a cannonball around my waist. I was tired and hot and ready for Susanna to make it into the world."

Jacob patted her hand softly.

"I know I was a bitch to you," Marnie admitted. "I'm sorry about that. Those three women treated me like I would break if I walked by myself. I didn't want to yell at them so I yelled at you. I didn't realize how bad it was until you told me off when I rode you about your arm. Then Ann told me yesterday about how I was lucky I didn't treat her like I treated you or she'd be cutting a switch for my behind when it healed."

"I knew it was hard for you," Jacob replied. "I knew the Mother Hens were getting on your nerves and I knew you wouldn't want to hurt their feelings. So it was OK."

Marnie chuckled slightly and leaned on Jacob's arm.

"Well, I could see I was pretty well on your nerves, too," she said. "And you're about a tolerant man as I know. Susanna's gonna wake up soon. Come on inside with me. There's something else I want to talk to you about when the others are out."

Jacob followed Marnie into the bedroom where he watched his daughter in slumber. He couldn't believe how much joy he felt just by watching her sleep. He probably would burst when she rode her first horse or learned her ABCs.

"She sure is pretty," Jacob said. "Like her Mama."

Marnie cradled Jacob's arm gently.

"The men did a great job on the bassinet," she said as she touched the wooden structure.

Sam and Earl had told Jacob early on that one of the hands liked to make things like that. But almost all the hands took part in making where Jacob's daughter would sleep. Jacob was touched by their generosity but Marnie was almost in tears when they brought it to her. For many of the men, Marnie was like a mythical figure. She had made it a point to go to each man who worked on the ranch and tell them how much their thoughtfulness had meant to her.

If anything, it only added to her lore. She was becoming more legendary on the Double-M that Jake Dunn ever was.

When they heard the carriage rattle down the drive, Marnie and Jacob sat side by side next to their sleeping daughter.

"So, I know we own the old McMahon place," she started without introduction. "How do you have that set up?"

Jacob related the facts and figures of what the rent had brought in but Marnie stopped him.

"I mean how do you parcel it out?" she said.

"Oh," he answered. "We got about 170 acres. About 30 acres is wooded. I left 70 acres with the lease and took the others into what we have here. I use them for grazing the cattle. The last family that lived there only had two or three cows so I just let them toss theirs in with ours. Didn't hurt nothing and it didn't cost us much."

"How much money do we have?" Marnie asked in what seemed to be a completely unrelated question. "Juliette took over the books because I was too frail to lift a pencil."

Jacob stifled a laugh.

"More than enough for anything you might want to do," he answered.

"Jacob," Marnie said seriously. "I know you probably know down to the penny what we have. You probably can tell me without even thinking which heifers are in season and if you plan to breed then. I'll bet you know the stallion's stud schedule for the next year off the top of your head. So, how much money do we have?"

"A little less than $200,000," he answered reluctantly. "Some of it is here in the house but some is in the Cattleman's Bank. Some of it is hidden. Jim knows where it is if something happens to me. It was too much to keep around here but, well, I don't trust bankers much. The man who set that up seemed a little too slick for me."

Marnie was nodding her head.

"I think we should buy the land to the west of us," she said. "The midwife's uncle owned it and he's getting up there. His kids are all gone. A couple of them died and the daughter married and moved to Austin. I think we can get it for a good price."

"I'm sure we can," Jacob replied. "Emmitt talked to me about it a month or so ago. But why do we need it? We only grow what we use for feed and we have plenty of room to graze. Though I admit it would be easier to take them west than to the north. I guess we could close off the north pasture."

"We could," Marnie said. "But I would rather we close off the south pasture. I think the old McMahon place would make a nice house for Jim and Juliette. I think we should offer to let them buy it from us and carry the paper if we have to. And I think we should give the hundred acres to them for a wedding present."

Jacob's eyes narrowed. He didn't mind giving away the land and he didn't mind buying more land — especially since he didn't want some sheep farmer winding up next to him.

"Do you think we should wait until they decide they're going to get married before we start buying them wedding presents?" Jacob asked. "I mean, it generally is the way it works. Right? A man asks a woman to marry him. The woman tells her friends. Then the friends get her presents."

Marnie playfully slapped Jacob on the arm.

"Jacob, for the life of me I will never understand you," she said. "I wasn't kidding about the things you notice around here. I've seen you in town, too. If the same face shows up two or three times around any of us, you see him and you watch him. If a horse has a sore spot on his hoof, you notice it. But I swear, sometimes you miss what is right in front of your face."

Jacob pursed his lips and tried to think of response. Marnie saved him the trouble.

"Jim wasn't put off by what Juliette did in Colorado," she said. "I was surprised that you hadn't told him until you said what you did. Then I realized I shouldn't have been surprised at all. But in the next week or so, Jim is going to come to you to ask your permission for him to marry Juliette."

"Why in the hell would he do that," Jacob said gruffly. "First off, I ain't been allowed to make a decision in almost 4 years. Second off, I ain't that girl's Pa and I ain't her brother. He don't need my permission to marry anyone but you."

Marnie patted her husband's hand gently to try to calm him. She could tell from the look on his face that Jacob wasn't angry but he was frustrated and confused.

"He doesn't need your permission," Marnie amended. "You're right about that. But he wants your blessing. Juliette wants your blessing, too. Jacob, honey, she knows she did wrong — to you and to herself. She wants your blessing for this because she trusts your opinion and she wants you to be proud of her."

"Well, damn it all," Jacob huffed. "I am proud of her. I've done like you told me to. I tell Ann, Susan and even Juliette when they do something that I'm proud of. I told Juliette that I trust her. If I didn't trust Jim Harcourt he wouldn't be here. He sure as hell wouldn't be around my family if I didn't trust him."

Marnie smiled triumphantly.

"That's the word, Jacob," she said. "Family. You might not be her brother or her father but Juliette considers you the head of her family — this family. I know I sometimes plow ahead without asking for your help on things and I'm sorry if I made you feel like your opinion doesn't matter. I guess I always know what you'll think about things so I go ahead and to them."

"It's not that," Jacob admitted. "It just gives me something to grouse about. I was mostly joking. But a lot of times you do tend to make up your mind on things and then work your way around to telling me about it."

"Well, I hope nothing I've done has disappointed you," Marnie said earnestly.

Jacob had to admit that the things Marnie had decided to do were almost always exactly what he would have done.

"Which brings me to a decision that I've been content to allow you to make on your own," she stated. Jacob knew immediately where the conversation was heading and he tensed.

"Jacob," Marnie continued, "Juliette and Jim's nuptials are gonna put a strain on this household. You have ignored things so far but you're not going to be able to ignore them much longer."

"I can try though, can't I?" Jacob joked to try to ease the ill-feeling that swept over him.

"Perhaps if you move permanently to whatever property we buy next," Marnie said. "And we don't tell anyone where you are."

Susan and Ann had been increasingly obvious with their affection in the preceding weeks. Susan had gone as far as introducing her tongue during the frequent kisses she offered him each day. Ann would hold his hand whenever he was nearby and she had started to stand behind him and rub his shoulders and neck in the most loving manner as he sat on the porch of the evenings.

"When Juliette starts chattering about landing Jim, the ladies are going to be upset, Jacob," Marnie said. "They both came to me a few months ago to get my opinion on what should happen in this household in the future."

"And of course you gave it to them," Jacob said. Frustration had crept back into his voice.

"Yes, I did," Marnie said evenly. "Just as I gave it to you six months ago. I could see things happening this way even if you can't. Jacob, do you remember what I asked you to do when we talked about this before?"

Jacob nodded.

"Well, did you?" she continued. "Have you thought about how you feel about them."

Jacob looked at his one good hand.

"Yeah," he said. "I love them. OK, Marnie. But it don't seem right to me. I don't think it's right for me to treat you this way."

"Ann said this was more about me than about you or them," Marnie said. "I guess I didn't believe her. Jacob, I have thought about this. I love those two as much as you do. I told you before that I can't force you into this. But what's been going on the last few weeks is going to get worse.

"I think it's gotten to the point where your decision is even going to be harder. If you don't marry those two, I think it's only fair to them that we send them off somewhere that they can find a life of their own — a life where they don't see the man they love dearly every day and know that he doesn't want them."



-------

Chapter 15


To Jacob, the thought of the Double-M without Ann and Susan was unthinkable. They were as much a part of this place as he was. Getting used to Juliette's absence was going to be tough enough. But he knew she and Jim would be coming to him in a few weeks, if not in a few days.

He doubted they would wait very long before they actually wed, either.

He stared at Marnie for a long time. In his heart, he knew she was right — as she usually is, Jacob cursed. Ann and Susan deserved as much happiness as this life could offer them.

She was also right about his feelings toward them. The three women — Marnie, Ann and Susan — were almost a part of the other. He certainly couldn't seem to think of one of them without thinking of the other two. He'd also noticed how delightful Susan's lips felt on his — and how certain body parts of his stiffened when she kissed him. The fact the she was constantly running her tongue over her full mouth to moisten her lips didn't help matters. Susan's hair was only slightly lighter than Marnie's flaming red tresses. She was tall and stately but there was such sexiness in her walk that Jacob had found himself stopping whatever he was doing to stare at her walking past.

Ann had filled out into a beautiful young woman — much prettier than he thought she would be when he first met her, not that it mattered much. Her black hair flowing behind her as she rode her horse was a sight to stop the heart. She had big blue eyes that melted him whenever she turned them on him and she was developing a body that would lead to fistfights on the street. She had begun to blossom shortly after arriving at the Double-M. Her face had filled out and she had begun to sprout once her body started to get decent food on a regular basis. But the biggest change was in her demeanor. Ann was the happiest person Jacob had ever met in his life.

He had to admit to himself that he loved and wanted both of them. But even that knowledge didn't make his decision any easier for him. Yet he knew that anything would be easier on him than never seeing their lovely faces again.

Later in the month, like clockwork, Jim Harcourt approached Jacob with his hat in his hands. He sat opposite Jacob on the porch and looked out at the hillside in the distance.

"Jacob, when I came up the lane to this place I didn't know what to expect," Jim said. "Our lives were the same but they were different, too. I guess I always saw you as someone who would want to get away from what we used to do. I think right when we first met was when you started having doubts about your future. I don't mean that you ever doubted that you were faster than any man you'd face. But you started to doubt if it was worth what it was costing you on the inside. We were introduced when I hired on with that outfit in Nebraska. But I'd seen you a time or two before.

"I bet you don't even remember the first time I saw you," Jim continued. "Well, I bet you remember the day but I doubt you remember me. It had to have been six or seven years ago up in South Dakota. I walked into a saloon and saw you drinking there. Hell, you didn't even look old enough to shave. I started to give you a rough time but some other hombre beat me to it. I'm lucky he did.

"You put up with it for a bit and even ignored him for as long as you could. Honestly, you lasted longer than I would have. He thought you were scared of him. Well, I probably did, too. You sat your beer down on the bar, turned and looked him dead in the eye. You told him there was no reason to keep yammering like a woman. If he wanted to face you to meet you outside.

"I had been in town for a few days and I knew the asshole who was messing with you. He was a rough customer and he had some friends that rode with him. So I figured I'd go out to make sure if by some miracle you outdrew him that nobody back-shoot you. Or to make sure he didn't shoot you in the knee and let you suffer for a while before he killed you. I had heard he done that to a couple of men. But that ain't what happened. Instead I saw two things that day, Jacob, that I had never seen before.

"First off, I saw the fastest gun hand I've ever seen. I saw him go for his pistol and then he was dead. Just like that — one right between the eyes. I figured a body shot or something. But no, you put one right dead center above his nose. I know, because I looked. I had never seen someone faster than you with a gun. I had never seen a gunfighter shot between the eyes from that distance during a play.

"The other thing I saw that day scared the hell out of me. I seen the deadest eyes I've ever seen on another living human. You stood there in the street and asked if any of the others wanted to give you a try. Told them to step on out if they wanted to join their buddy in hell. Nobody even flinched for fear you'd kill them where they stood. You wanted to kill more that day. I could see you shifting your eyes around, daring someone, anyone, to take you on so you could kill them.

"You walked right past me when you went back in the bar. That's when I saw your eyes. There was nothing in them. They were just hollow. The only thing I could see for sure was that you were disappointed that none of the man's friends had offered to stand up for him. The only anger you felt was for the fact that you had hoped to kill 5 or 6 that day instead of one.

"About a month or so before I came here I saw almost the same look in mine. I had become almost immune to killing. Just like you were back then. Then I walked into the judge's office in Stover. You didn't have that look anymore. Your eyes were lively and bright, Jacob. They held life in them, not death. Then I saw the reason why — Marnie. She gave you life back. This place gave you life back.

"Just like it's given me life back. And I want to share that life with Juliette. I know you loved her once and I know she done you dirty. But I done a lot of bad things in this world and I told her every one of them I could remember. Jacob, I know she is a part of your family and I would like for you to consider me part of it, too."

Juliette had arranged for the woman to join Jim and Jacob on the porch as Jim spoke.

Jacob looked up and saw the hopefulness in her eyes. Marnie, Susan and Ann were standing behind her watching Jacob intently.

With a sigh, Jacob sat up in his chair.

"Jim, I think we've all known this day was coming," Jacob said. "You're right, Juliette is a member of this family. This place has given us all our lives back — not just me and not just you. We're all part of his land and this land is part of us all. It's what makes this so difficult for me."

Marnie's mouth dropped a little but she held her tongue.

"It's not that I don't like you, Jim. I do. But I think Juliette deserves more than just a good fellow," Jacob said. "I think she deserves someone who can add to her life like she has added to the life of this place. Juliette deserves to marry a man who would always treat her well and keep her safe. I just think she deserves a man who's better than good."

Jim's face started to turn red and Marnie, Ann and Susan exchanged astonished glances. Tears were forming in Juliette's eyes.

"Luckily for all of us, you're a great fellow," Jacob said with a large smile. "I can't think of a person in the world I'd rather see Juliette married to than you — and I couldn't pick a more welcome addition to the family."

Jacob stood and extended his hand to Jim, who shook his head and shook it warmly.

"You almost had me," Jim said with a grin of his own.

Juliette was exchanging hugs with Marnie, Ann and Susan before she gave Jim a chaste embrace and a kiss on the cheek.

"I thought I was going to have to shoot you," Juliette said when she turned to Jacob. "I was so mad and so hurt."

Jacob's face fell.

"I was joking with both of you," he said. "I know you know that now but I hope you know that I would have put a stop to whatever has been going on if I didn't think the man was good enough for you — long before he got to the point of asking for my unnecessary permission to marry you."

Juliette nodded and gave Jacob a warm hug.

"I know you would have," she said. "I just sort of lost my head for a minute. I even joked with Jim about what he'd do if you said no. I told him I wouldn't run out on this family with someone you didn't sanction."

"You're not running out anywhere," Jacob amended. He glanced at Marnie, who nodded.

"Well, that's what's taken us so long to get here," Jim said sadly. "I have some money saved up — enough for us to rent a place in town for a while. There are no married people here but we'd like to still be hired on here."

"I'm sorry, Jim," Jacob said. "That's not going to be possible."

Jim didn't rise to the bait this time. In fact, he had considered that he might not be able to keep the job he had.

"Do you three want to tell them?" Jacob asked.

Three heads bobbed up and down.

"You won't have much time to work here anymore," Susan said with a smirk. "Well, with the babies you'll have running around and all."

Marnie slipped back into the house and returned a moment later.

"Plus you'll be chasing each other a bunch too," Ann added.

"Then there is the herd of horses," Jacob said. He was a pretty quick study and got where this was headed.

"The four of us have discussed it," Marnie said. "Really, we had a hard time figuring out what to give you for your wedding. Finally we decided on a something that we hope you use for the rest of your lives."

She handed Jim the deed to the property on the south side of the ranch.

"There is a decent house on there that you can use for a while," Jacob said. "But we're hoping you'll build one a little closer to our land."

Jim and Juliette looked at the deed.

"We can't accept this," Juliette said with tears in her eyes. Jim nodded his agreement with his future wife. Jacob thought it was good that Jim was getting a head start on that part.

"Well, it ain't like we're going to be taking it over," Susan said with a pointed glance toward Jacob. The look was not lost on anyone present.

"Looks like this house is going to hold a couple of old maids with the way that we're going," Ann put in.

"Besides, it is what we do for our family," Marnie reminded them. "It's a start on building the Harcourt family as well as we have the Dunleavy family."

"And we want to make sure our new neighbors are the friendly sort," Jacob said with a laugh. It was a forced laugh after what Susan and Ann had mentioned.

"Just think about it," was the advice Marnie offered. "There is no reason for you not to accept it. You're like the sister I always wanted and Jim, you remind me more of my brother — the one I truly love — than anyone I met."

Juliette hugged Marnie again — and then Susan and Ann. Pretty soon all four of them were hugging.

Jim and Jacob sat back down.

"Why don't you ride over and take a look at the place," Jacob suggested. "It's empty right now but it seems like it's in pretty good shape. A few acres are wooded so you have wood for the sawmill to cut if you want to build."

Jim was thoughtful.

"It don't seem right," he said. "Jacob, ain't nobody ever just give me something like this before."

"Ain't nobody giving it to you now," Jacob insisted. "That place is part and parcel to making Juliette happy and safe. We don't need it. We let the land go fallow this year and we didn't even notice the loss of feed. I know you like the horses better than the steers — and I know you don't know a whole lot about raising corn or wheat. That land is good enough for raising a garden like we do here and has enough room for a nice-sized corral — especially if you move the house closer to here — to raise horses.

"When Susan and Ann sat down with us a couple of weeks ago to talk about this, Ann suggested that the six of us join up," Jacob said. "Jim, did I ever tell you how we came to own that place?"

Jim shook his head.

"Back before I was even married, Marnie went off to tend to Susan's Ma," Jacob continued. "I told you about the gold I found and the money I won in NMT so I'll skip that part. I was back here for maybe a week or so when the mother of all storms hit. It rained here Jim for almost 3 weeks straight — hard rain. I had started to bring the crops in early. I didn't have a bunch of money before I found those nuggets — and Marnie didn't have a bit. So I could only afford a little bit of help. Jim, this place was the only farm in two or three hundred miles that didn't lose everything. The heavy rain brought standing water to almost every flat piece of land in Texas and Oklahoma. We were the only place that had anything to sell that year. I could practically name my price."

Jim was nodding thoughtfully.

"But I bet you didn't go above the price of the year before," Jim said.

"Depended on who was buying it," Jacob said honestly. "The folks around here were a bit uncharitable toward Marnie when her husband died. That's why she was in trouble. The folks that treated Marnie unkindly got treated unkindly in return. They thought they was just going to amble in and I'd sell it to them on credit — even after they had refused Marnie that same courtesy. Those folks paid well above what the crop was worth but I don't feel no sadness about it."

Jim smiled.

"No, I can't say that my heart is aching for them either," Jim said. "Sounds like they got what they deserved."

"Well most of them did," Jacob corrected. "The McMahon's were among the worst of them. They owned the place to the south and they wanted this land something fierce. They treated Marnie like a washerwoman and the old man was a real bastard. That storm was a second bit of luck. Roger McMahon washed away. He went outside to see something and his wife said he was just swept away. She didn't think it was any more of a loss to the world than I did.

"So the widow McMahan offered to sell me her place for the cost of a train ticket back to Georgia," Jacob said. "She hated it out here and just wanted to go back to her family. I told her I would pay her what the place was worth so she would have a little nest egg but she told me she wouldn't take it. We finally settled on 8 cents an acre. I got that whole place for a little bit less than $150 — stock included."

Jim's face was set in shock. He'd ridden past the homestead a time or two and he knew it would fetch $600 or $700 at auction.

"The stock the woman had left behind was probably worth more than I paid for everything," Jacob added. "Those horses that Marnie and Ann ride came from there. Well, I rode up to the rail station with the woman and I stuck another $500 in her bags. I got a letter a week or so before Marnie came back thanking me for it and she told me if I ever got over to Statesboro to make sure I stopped to visit. She said she had married a man she had known for years and they used the money to get started.

"My point is that this house here has more money than we will ever need," Jacob said. "We got more land than we could use if we had another thousand head of cattle. We got enough land that we can put 10 or 20 acres of buffer between us and the next property if we want to. Now, Marnie and I talked about this, too. If you want to pay for the property, I'll charge you what I paid for it, less the stock."

"I think that would make us feel better about this," Juliette said.

Marnie sighed with resignation.

"Well, Jacob already told you that the stock was worth more than the land," Marnie said but Jacob shot her a warning glance. Of all the people in the world he thought she would understand the need for a person to feel like they he's standing on his own.

For once Marnie complied.

"I think Ann has some horses she was planning to ask you to take," Marnie added. "That place is better for horses that steers. That's why that old bastard raised them and why he wanted this place, too. Jacob, do you think an even $100 will do it?"

"I think so," Jacob answered. "But that's only without the 100 acres we got penned off for the steers. It'll cut the size of the spread down but I think you might be able to buy the land even further south of here. They offered it to me a few weeks back but I didn't want to buy anything else down that way if you two were planning to move to Santa Fe or something."

Jacob could sense that Marnie wasn't happy about something — maybe about anything — but he plowed forward undeterred.

"Now we're willing to tote the paper on the land," he added. "Or you can buy the place outright and we'll tote the paper on any land you want to add to it. Does that sound like a square deal, Jim?"

Jim glanced at Juliette who nodded. She was better with numbers than he was.

"I think Juliette and I need to talk about it," he said. "I just don't think I'm cut out for running something like that. I done some wrangling in my day but I don't know nothing about taking care of a place that size."

Susan sat down beside Jim.

"Jim, that's what Juliette has been learning here the past few months," she said. "She didn't know why she was learning it but she was learning it. Ann and I suspected that you two were headed to marrying. We also suspected that Jacob would have a way to keep you all close. So we convinced her that Marnie needed time away from the actual running of this place. She runs a tight household, I can tell you that."

Marnie shot a withering glance at Susan and Ann.

"I think I should have been told," Marnie said with a trace of anger in her voice.

Neither Ann nor Susan shied away.

"Of course you do," Ann said. "But we didn't think you needed to be told so you weren't."

For once Marnie took a step backward.

"You would have either fought it or took it over," Susan put in. "Neither way would have worked. Besides you needed to spend time resting. The midwife told you that two or three months ago but you were too stubborn to listen to her. You wouldn't have listened to us any better. So we didn't bother telling you. We just did it. That seems to be the way around here."

Jacob could see the first serious argument in the household's history getting ready to start. He was reluctant to step in because he thought Marnie needed the lesson but he also didn't want to spoil Jim and Juliette's day.

"Well, it happens more than it oughta," Jacob said. "And it worked out. Isn't that the way it goes? If it works out it is a good plan? Juliette is ready to run a good sized spread, Jim, and she's ready to help you learn to do it. Of course, we're right here if you need something. But I wasn't thinking of you going it alone. I was thinking that all six of us become partners in this thing."

Marnie's stewing ceased almost instantly. Partners — that was a thought that she liked. It was a perfect way for the family to stay close together.

"You two talk about it and let us know," Jacob finished. "If you want to try the town way for a while you know you still got jobs out here. If you just want to build a house somewhere on this land we can probably figure out a spot to do it. You two decide which direction you want to go and we'll do what we can to get you there. But I'll tell you upfront, I would prefer to be your partner than your landlord. I would prefer that the six of us were equal on all things that relate to this family. I think that is the way it should be and I don't want you two to think differently."

Jim and Juliette nodded thoughtfully.

"If I would have known this was what was holding you two from getting hitched I would have offered earlier," Jacob said. "But I'm pretty much always the last to figure out important things around here."

"Well, maybe not the last," Jim said. "But you and me sure do seem to lag behind in the figuring department."



-------

Chapter 16


Marnie was still riled up about Susan and Ann's deception and she made no bones about letting everyone know it.

Jacob took about all he could stand in the first 15 minutes the four of them were inside.

"OK," he said finally. "We understand that you think you should have been filled in on something that affected you. You probably should have been. But now you know how it feels to have someone else plan your life for you."

Marnie turned to Jacob with an incredulous look.

"That's what we tried to do with Jim and Juliette," he said. "I know you didn't like the idea of letting him buy the land. But he wasn't going to go for it any other way. Juliette would have put her foot down on it. I heard what she told you about the bride's price. That's what the hundred acres is for. But those two have got to decide this is what they want. We can't just tell them it's best for them. They ain't our kids."

Marnie sat thoughtfully for a few minutes.

"Well, I guess I got put in my place," she said with a rueful smile.

"Marnie, your place is just where it always was," Susan said. "But you can't do everything. You say we're a family and we're all equal in things. Well, it might seem that way to you but it don't always seem that way to others. Jim and Juliette would have fought it. I saw that. Ann saw it. Jacob saw it. I planned to ask Jacob later if he thought it might be better to let them buy it from us. He set a reasonable price for the property. More than reasonable, really. But those two need to know they can stand on their own. They already know we'll always be there for them but they need to know they don't need us to be in order for this to sit right."

"Yeah, OK," Marnie said with a shake of her head. "I sometimes get my head around something and I can't let it go. They're getting a house and 75 acres. Ann, do you still plan to let them raise your horses over there if they want?"

"Our horses," Ann correctly sweetly. "I wanted to talk to you about that. Now, Juliette says Jim don't want a bride's price. That don't sit well with me. It's tradition. I think a dozen horses is a right price for Jim taking Juliette off our hands. Lord knows she was a handful to keep around here."

Susan laughed.

"Marnie's brother thought Jonathan should have to pay for me — because I'm unbroken," she said with a chuckle. "Who would have known that almost three years later I'm still unbroken."

"I always figured I would get broken in at a whorehouse by the time I turned 13," Ann said. "Turns out I'm almost 17 and it looks like I might never get broke in."

Three pairs of eyes settled on Jacob.

"I think we should wait until Jim and Juliette get things straightened out for themselves," Jacob said. "But, well, I've done some thinking on things."

Susan and Ann leaned forward to listen.

"Well, you know that law Texas passed a few months ago?" Jacob said with resignation. "It means I can't marry you legal like."

Marnie laughed which caused the women's heads to jerk toward her.

"You can marry them legal like if you want to," she said. "At least one of us. You and I ain't no more legal than you and they are."

Jacob supposed that was true. Although there was times he felt like it, he wasn't ready to trade Marnie in just yet. But given her recent moods he thought it probably unhealthy for him to joke about it.

"I guess that's the case," Jacob amended. "We ain't got no piece of paper here and we ain't never been before a judge or a preacher. But, well, I think we'd be OK anyway. Marnie, what was that word you told me about?"

Marnie thought for a moment before she recalled what Jacob was talking about.

"Grandfathered," she said brightly.

"Yeah, grandfathered," he repeated. "That means that if we was already married then we still are. They aren't going to make a man choose between his wives. But it means the wife can move on if she decides to. It was real tricky the way they did it.

"Anyhow, well, I know you two have been calling yourself Dunleavy for two or three years," Jacob added. "And I know that most folks in town already think we're married. So I guess it means we are."

Jacob was trying to find the right words but they just didn't come to him. He had been trying for the past few weeks to find the perfect way to ask Susan and Ann to be his wives.

"What I'm trying to say," he stammered. "Is that, well, I love you both as much as I love anyone in this world. I can't imagine how the parts of my life that you are would have been filled without you. Any man in a hundred miles would cut off an arm to be your husband. I hope you two know that. Hell, all three of you should know that."

Three smiles greeted Jacob when he glanced up. He wasn't sure if he was saying the right words or they just enjoyed seeing him embarrassed and flustered.

Ann put her hand on his.

"Jacob, you have probably trotted every man within a hundred miles over here to see one of us," she said. "I'm pretty sure that Juliette saw every man in 20 miles during the first six months she lived here. But well, we're pretty partial to the man we already live with. Leastways, I am."

Susan nodded her agreement.

"I think I realized in Brockton that the only reason I wanted to marry Jonathan was to get away from Marnie's brother," Susan said.

She had stopped calling the man her father on the day she left Brockton for the last time.

"I just wanted gone from them and I convinced myself that Jonathan was the answer," Susan continued. "Course he wasn't and I would have found myself here probably in the future. I put on airs here the first few months because I was trying to act like Jonathan. I wanted him to think I was worldly enough for him to take me to Boston or New York. But I found the man of my dreams while I was over in Brockton. It just wasn't Jonathan.

"When you sat behind me on Red that morning and I felt your arms around my waist I felt something I had never felt before," she admitted. "Course, when I heard you and Marnie going at it a couple of nights before I felt almost the same thing but I didn't really know what it was. Sad thing is, I felt the same thing when you paddled my behind for me. Jacob, I was already in love with you before we even got back here. I know it makes me sound like a whore being able to love one man one day and another man the next."

"Don't you say that," Ann said hotly. "You didn't love that man in Brockton. You told me that yourself. You didn't love him any more than he loved you."

Susan smiled at her friend.

"I guess you're right," Susan said. "But I'm sure that's how it looked to Jacob."

"That's not how it looked to me at all," Jacob answered. "I thought I brought back a different girl from Brockton. You were always pretty to me, Susan. But you were downright beautiful when we got back."

Susan blushed.

"Well, then what have you been waiting for?" she asked. "I thought either it was that or you were waiting until Ann was old enough so you can take us both. But that came and went too."

"I don't know what I was waiting for," Jacob replied. "I'm just glad none of my schemes to get you two hitched worked out."

Ann smacked his arm lightly.

"I think Jacob knows that I was in love with him from the very first night," she said as her face turned beet red. "Well, I probably didn't love him until the second or third night. But that first night, after he had me put my clothes back on, as I laid down on his shoulder I thought to myself that I'm going to marry this man someday. Jacob put his arm around my shoulder and let me cuddle up right on his chest. I slept that way for almost the whole time we were on the trail — and I've only gotten to sleep that way once more since we got off the trail.

"That first night I was prepared to fuck Jacob if he wanted. By the second or third night I was really wanting him to want to. Then we got back here and the moment I saw the way Marnie looked at him that she would have her hooks into him before I was even old enough for him to look twice at me. And she got them in good, too."

She smiled sweetly at Marnie to lessen any sting her words held. Marnie didn't seem offended.

"But Jacob, what's changed?" Ann wondered. "I had begun to think you just didn't think of me — us — that way."

"I've been thinking about a lot of things lately," Jacob answered. "With Juliette and Jim getting together and moving on. I started to realize how much I would hate it if you either of you two left. I'll miss not having Juliette around. But I don't think I could handle if you two left as easily."

"He realized how much he loves you," Marnie added. "We've talked about this before. I'm not opposed to it. I don't want either of you to leave here — ever. If I could find a way to get Juliette and Jim to live here with us, I just might. But you three are right. They can't be stuck feeling like they owe us."

"So how long do we have to wait?" Susan asked.

"Let's get Jim and Juliette married off," Jacob said. "Then we'll get you two married off."

Susan glanced at Ann.

"Didn't you just say we're already married?" Susan asked. "If we're already married I'm feeling a bit shorted on the loving part. Well not the loving part. I know you love me. I'm feeling a bit shorted on the bedroom part."

Susan tried to imitate Marnie but it came out much sultrier than Marnie's voice.

"'Oh, Jacob, that is the most marvelous thing I've ever felt, '" Susan said. "That's what I heard through the wall of that house in Brockton. I've wondered since that day what the most marvelous thing was. I think I've waited long enough. Don't you think so, Ann?"

Ann nodded and Jacob glanced at Marnie, who stood impassively.

"Well, I think we can consider ourselves married, if you want," Jacob said. Marnie smiled at him and Susan smiled at Ann.

Ann didn't smile. She just looked at the floor.

"Why couldn't you have asked us yesterday?" she said. "I started my monthlies today."

"That means I get him first," Susan said. Jacob worried that she was going to drag him to the bedroom that very instant.

-------

Ann and Susan took an entirely different approach the physical portion of marriage — and adding the sexual aspects was all that changed in the relationships.

Anyone looking at Ann would see a rough and tumble cowgirl. But in private Ann tender and undemanding. She loved contact with Jacob and she asked him to remain unclothed with her as they slept on the nights he spent with her. She enjoyed slow and gentle loving-making filled with soft caresses and warm kisses. When she slept there was never an inch between her and Jacob. Some nights she actually tried to sleep atop him.

During the day, Ann was always smiling at him and touching his hand or arm in an intimate way that conveyed how she felt about him. Jacob would respond by doing the same to her. Whenever he could he had his arm around her or would touch her shoulder as they talked.

Susan was calm and refined to those around her. She rarely used any sort of uncouth language and carried herself with quiet dignity. But when she closed the bedroom door she was something else entirely. Susan was uninhibited and almost insatiable. She loved to wake Jacob up by laying astride him in the middle of the night. But where Ann just wanted Jacob's arms around her, Susan wanted Jacob's member inside of her.

Susan liked nothing more than to find Jacob alone — or even relatively alone — and plant a steamy kiss on him. If she found herself alone with him for any amount of extended time there was a sure bet that one or both of them would be losing clothes in a hurry. She had even asked Jacob to smack her behind while he was inside of her a couple of times. When Jacob would comply Susan's scream would echo through the house — but it wasn't pain in her voice, it was ecstasy.

Marnie straddled the pair in temperament. There were times she was demanding and there was times when she wanted slow and gentle. But the three of them managed to keep Jacob happy at all given times — and not just in ways of the bedroom. They were simply the best people to be around that Jacob could imagine.

-------

It was no surprise that Susan found herself with child only a few months after she and Jacob got together. A month later, Marnie announced that she, too, was with child.

Jim and Juliette had welcomed a son, Jacob James Harcourt, into the world only 10 months after their marriage.

Ann seemed determined to add another to the mix but without success. Her first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage two months after she announced she was expecting.

Her vulnerable nature showed through the tough exterior and Ann cried for three solid days.

Susanna was almost 2 years old when Susan added another sister to the group. Marnie Elizabeth Dunleavy arrived into the world with blonde hair and green eyes like her parents.

The pregnancy was difficult for Susan and the delivery was even worse. Jacob waited on pins and needles for almost 30 hours before the midwife said the baby was fine.

Susan was not fine, however. She had lost a lot of blood during the delivery and Jacob worried that his lovely wife would not live. But Susan fought through it — thanks to the loving care of her friends. But she was never able to bring a baby to term again.

Marnie's pregnancy mirrored Susan's almost down to the delivery date. The summer heat was awful that year and Marnie was uncomfortable and irritable — which Jacob had come to expect during her pregnancy. Her mood would change from happy to angry in a heartbeat. Poor Ann took the brunt of the anger but Jacob saw his fair share too.

"You just wait," Ann said. "When I'm pregnant I'm gonna bitch and whine about every little thing, too. I'm gonna make sure those two get back what they give. I hope I'm as big as a house and have twins."

Jacob would agree with Ann and give her a warm hug to help her tension ease. It usually seemed to work.

Marnie's delivered a boy three weeks after her namesake was born. Jacob James was a perfectly healthy and happy young man who seemed to take after Mama Ann more than Mama Marnie. The midwife cautioned Marnie about having more children because of the mood swings that pregnancy brought.

Jacob agreed wholeheartedly.

Ann finally brought a baby to term three years later. Juliette and Jim's second child, a girl they named Marnie Susanna Harcourt, came six months earlier.

Ann's son, James Jacob, had the same dark hair and dark eyes of his mother. Despite the constant attention Jacob paid to each of his wives, James Jacob was the only child Ann would birth and the last child born into the family.

Juliette delivered Elizabeth Susanna two years after James Jacob was born, rounding out the extended family.



-------

Chapter 17


As the 1890s gave way to the 20th century life began to change at the Double-M and 2-C ranches. Oil had been discovered in nearby Oklahoma and the world was moving faster than the Jacob-Harcourt family could keep up. Transportation become easier as the railway system expanded in the 1890s which eased costs a great deal. A five-year drought forced many families from their farms and into different lines of work. Many families decided to depart the area altogether.

Jacob Dunleavy or Jim Harcourt usually bought up the neighboring lands — as much to help out the troubled families as because they needed more space.

It was in early 1898 that trouble brewed next for family.

At the outset it appeared to be more a matter of lack of communication than anything serious. But it soon boiled over.

A family to the west of Jim and Juliette had decided to move farther north to try to find a suitable area to farm. Jim and Jacob decided to buy the area as a place to graze since it wasn't much use for anything else.

They fenced off the area and thought little about it. At least they though little about it until 13-year-old J.J. Harcourt and 14-year-old Susanna Dunleavy came raising up to Jim's house.

"Pa," J.J. said. "There is a bunch of cattle in the west pasture and a bunch of men camped out there."

Jacob's first thought was to wonder what his daughter was doing in the west pasture with Jim's son. He had caught the two of them casting glances back and forth for almost 6 months. Jacob wasn't troubled that it was J.J. Harcourt. He would have been troubled if it was any boy.

Susanna was her father's daughter through and through. From the time she could walk she would latch on to Jacob at every opportunity. But the time she was 6 she was with him on the range every chance she got.

Lilibeth — as Little Marnie was called — was more like her mother, Susan. She didn't mind getting her hands dirty but she would prefer spending days reading or drawing. Jacob still couldn't have been prouder of her.

The boys were typical Western boys. The rode and shot and played. The Harcourt girls — because they were so close in age — were their most ready companion and Jacob wondered what Jim would think of that situation in the coming years.

Probably the same thing Jacob thought of Susanna spending so much time with J.J., Jacob mused.

"We'll lets go check it out," Jim said. He sent the teenagers to gather some other of the hands — which now numbered almost 50 between the two ranches and Jacob and Jim headed toward the pasture.

The pair was only a few hundred yards away when Jacob heard barking and snarling. The dogs he'd purchased to help with the herds had cost a pretty penny but they had been worth it.

Plus, the kids loved them — as did his wives. It might have been the best investment in tranquility that Jacob every made.

But the dogs were territorial and they took time to warm up to strangers. If the dogs had found the men, Jacob was sure the situation was well in hand.

At least those were his thoughts until he heard a rifle crack and a dog whine. He and Jim broke into a gallop and came to the attention of the interlopes just as a man raised his rifle for a shot at a second dog.

Jacob's pistol roared before he even thought about it. Luckily for the rifleman — or maybe for Jim and Jacob — the shot was in the air.

"What the hell is going on here?" Jim roared at the top of his lungs. "Mister, you better put that rifle away before you die with it in your hands."

The man sneered a Jim but a second man reached up to the barrel and lowered it toward the ground.

"Now, I asked you what was going on here," Jim asked after he and Jacob had closed the distance.

"Had some trouble with those dogs," the second man said.

"That's because those dogs are here to keep people like you off our land," Jim answered. "That fence was put up for the same reason. Now you take these steers back the way you came. This is our land and your cattle is eating the pasture we own for our steers."

The second man didn't move.

"Can't do that, Mister," he answered. "My Pa told us to take them through here and we mean to do it. The railway's up that way and this is the best way from our place to the stockyard."

"And that's a damned shame," Jacob said. "But it don't change the fact that you ain't taking them across our land. Now I suspect you'll want to head back the way you came."

Jacob had heard his hands coming from behind him and he knew the numbers were in his favor now.

"Except for this one," Jacob added, pointing the man with the rifle in his hand. "He stays here."

"Like hell he's staying here," the second man said. He too had seen the numbers changing.

"Then ain't none of you leaving here alive," Jacob answered. His pistol appeared in his hand almost by magic — a couple of the riders with the trespassers took a step back.

Jim Harcourt had his pistol in his hand, too, and was aiming at the man with the rifle.

"Now, you either change your mind or we bury you here with my dog," Jacob said.

The second man was flustered.

"You don't know who you're dealing with," he said in a voice that came out suspiciously like a whine. "My father will kill you. Ralph Bellamy owns this state."

"A lot have tried that and a lot of men died thinking that," Jim answered. "Men with a lot more balls than either you or your dad, I'll bet. Yet here we are. Now either you do as Jacob said, take your stock back through the fence and get on home or we'll send your body back to your old man."

Jacob cast a sideways glance toward Jim.

"This man and the stock stays here," Jacob announced. "This man is going to bury my dog then I'm going to give him 50 lashes for trespassing and killing it. Your Pa can have his beef back when he pays for the damages to our fence, our land and my dog. I guess about $500 should cover it. You tell him to come see me at the Double-M with the money and I'll turn his stock back to him."

"But you tell if we've got to come get our money from him, you'll get the same 50 lashes for trespassing on our land, boy," Jim added. "You got 30 seconds to get moving or we start killing — and boy, you're first."

The boy's face was red with anger and frustration. The man had his gun leveled at him so there was no way for him to even make a play. It would have been suicide. And Ralph Bellamy Jr. was not suicidal. He also saw his side was outnumbered by almost a dozen. So he made a motion toward his men to start back toward the fence they had cut.

"What are you doing leaving me here?" the man with the rifle screamed at his friend's departing back. "Wait until I tell your Pa how big a coward you are."

Jacob chuckled.

"Then maybe we'll bring the Bellamys up here to see how you cry like a little girl when the second or third lash hits you," Jacob said sarcastically.

Jim shifted his pistol toward the man.

"Maybe you want to see how tough you really are," Jim said scornfully. "If you do, just lift that rifle barrel and inch. I promise I'll just shoot you in the leg. Then your friends will see you start to cry a little earlier than the whipping. Otherwise, you best lay that rifle down nice and easy."

The man seemed to be considering make a try for Jim or Jacob. But a rifle takes a long time to bring to bear and it takes time to get a bead on what you want to shoot. He reconsidered and put the rifle on the ground.

"Tell your dad he can pick up this piece of shit, too," Jacob said. "But why he'd want him I can't imagine."

-------

Later, after the man buried the dead dog — all the while he was cursing Jim and Jacob until a fly wouldn't land on them and after Jacob had beaten the man's back bloody — Jacob put the man's unconscious body on his horse and sent it back toward Ralph Bellamy's spread.

"I heard of Bellamy," Jim said. "He won't take this lightly. I guess he pretty much runs Dixon County."

"Good thing we're not in Dixon County then," Jacob said.

Jim shook his head.

"Jacob, this ain't the old days," he said. "These boys today got no honor. They'll back-shoot you in a minute. It isn't like when you and I were hands. Those new rifles are deadly accurate at 500 yards. Hell, Bellamy might have a Gatling gun he rolls out."

"I sent a message to the sheriff and the judge," Jacob said. "They know what's going on they'll be out here tonight. Even if Bellamy owns Dixon County he doesn't own me and he won't run over top of me."

"Me, either," Jim said. "I just wanted you to know for sure what we up against. One of my hands is from down that way. He said Bellamy has less hands that we do — maybe 30 or so. He said a couple of them are real hard cases — stone killers out of Mexico. He said Bellamy's boy is a real hot head too. He was surprised he didn't try something."

"We'll be careful and keep a close eye on things," Jacob said. "Sam and Earl are watching the west edge with about 25 men. No one is coming through there."

The women and children put up a fight when the men insisted they head up to the north pasture and wait for him. Jacob and Jim both had to put their foot down and both knew there would probably be hard feelings around their ranches for a week or more.

It turned out that Jacob and Jim didn't have to keep close watch. The Bellamy gang came riding up the lane that night carrying torches and could be seen for a mile away. Jacob counted a half dozen so he figured on a dozen or maybe 18 riders.

His hands were fanned out around the property and they made their way to meet the men as far away from the house as possible.

The man leading the parade stopped when he saw Jacob and Jim in the clearing. Jacob didn't want to take chance with a rifle shot so he let out a shrill whistle and his men stepped out from their hiding spots.

"Far enough," Jim said. "You're outgunned and unwelcome. Now this is private land and you're trespassing. Turn around and leave peacefully and nothing will happen. One more step forward and there isn't a one of you leaving here tonight."

"I'm the sheriff of this county," a fat man near the rear of the procession said. "I'm here to arrest you boys for rustling."

"You're the sheriff of this county?" Jacob asked.

"I'm the sheriff of these parts," the portly man said.

"I think you mean you're the bought and paid for sheriff of Dixon County," a man said from Jacob's side. "Because I'm the sheriff of this county and I have been for more than 2 years. Now Jacob and Jim have asked you politely to leave. Now I'm telling you. Leave here and don't stop until you hit Dixon County. We don't buy our lawmen up this way."

"And I'm telling I'll put your ass in jail for as long as I can keep you," the man beside Jim intoned. "I'm the district judge in this county. If you know anything about me you know I'll do it. I've been on the bench here since 1878. And if any of you boys even think of discharging your weapon, I'll hang every last one of you — trial or no trial."

"Fuck you old man," the leader said. "Mr. Bellamy decided he wants to run this town too. So you're going to have to get used to a new boss."

The fat sheriff pulled out a pocket watch and looked at it.

"Let's get going boys," he said. "I'd say our work here is done."

"Hope your women like getting fucked," the Dixon sheriff said. "Cause I'll bet the rest of our boys are going to taking turns on them all night. Young Ralph said you got a couple of nice looking girls here, too. I bet they are screaming right about now."

The last word was drowned out by the sound of Jacob's pistol. The sheriff flew off his horse and was dead before he hit the ground.

Ernie West, Sheriff of Dixon County, became the last man killed by the gunslinger once known as Jacob Dunn.

A second after Jacob shot West, gunfire sounded from the rest of the group and every rider who came up the lane was dead or dying where they landed.

"Sorry, Sheriff," Jacob said. "I know you don't agree with this sort of thing. I couldn't let him say that about my girls. I'll turn myself in tomorrow but right now, I got more killing to do."

The sheriff's mouth had dropped at the violence he had just witnessed. In a minute, 15 men had been killed.

He nodded tightly but the judge put his hand on the man's arm.

"You better have a different judge in mind," the old man said as Jacob and Jim rode toward the west pasture as quickly as they could. "Because I'll swear on a stack of Bibles those men drew first."

The scene on the western edge of the property was exactly as it was a few hundred yards from the Double-M.

Ralph Bellamy's men had rode into a buzz saw.

Sam and Earl had heard Bellamy's men laughing and joking about what they planned to do to the Dunleavy and Harcourt women and girls and had told Jacob and Jim's charges to kill them all. The men had complied with joy. Marnie, Susan, Ann, Juliette, Susanna, Lilibeth, Little Marnie and Betty, Jim's youngest daughter, were treasures to be protected at all costs.

At least the men at the Double-M and Two-C ranches believed that.

Jim and Jacob didn't stop to survey the damage. By unspoken agreement they turned their horses toward the south and toward Ralph Bellamy's ranch.



-------

Chapter 18


"Arrogant son of a bitch," Jim muttered as they covered the last hundred yards to the Bellamy house.

Jim and Jacob had ridden tense since they hit Dixon County. The closer they came to the Flying-BR ranch the more they expected to find a sentry or an outrider. But they encountered none.

They could have strolled up the front door and walked right in. Instead Jacob took a few seconds to bar the bunkhouse door in case there were stragglers.

Ralph Bellamy and his wife were sleeping the sleep of the just. Ralph because he wanted his energy for what he hoped would be waiting for him in the morning. Emma Bellamy slept well because she was living a life of luxury. Every need — including two glasses of sherry before bed each night — was provided without question.

Jacob stopped in the doorway of the bedroom and just stared. The man weighed maybe 150 pounds and the woman easily doubled that.

"There is no accounting for taste," Jacob thought. He waited as Jim checked out the room across the hall but after a moment's pause went in to rouse the sleeping couple.

Ralph hated to be awakened until at least 9 a.m. and his workers knew well to leave him be unless it was an emergency. So he was angry as hell when water splashed on his face in the middle of a dream about what he planned to do the next morning.

His rage turned to something else entirely when he saw the pistol pointed at his face. Ralph Bellamy had never met Jacob Dunleavy so he didn't recognize him but he recognized the barrel of a pistol pointed at his head.

Mrs. Bellamy got the same treatment after her husband was bound hand and foot and tossed on the floor.

She sputtered and threatened until she realized her situation.

"We have money," were the first civil words the woman spoke. "Take what you want and we won't look for you."

The man was nodding and silently seething.

"Oh, we'll take what we want," Jim said. "Don't you worry none about that and I don't think you'll be in any shape to look for anyone."

He escorted in a pair of girls, maybe in their early teens. Both girls were defiant but not scared. Jacob guess that Ralph Bellamy's kids were too spoiled to be frightened.

"Let me introduce myself," Jacob said. "Many years ago, about 20 now I'd reckon, I was known as Jake Dunn. I think the newspapers called me 'The Baby-Faced Assassin.'"

"And I am Jim Harcourt," Jim added. "I didn't get a fancy nickname but I was a gunslinger just the same. Now he's called Jacob Dunleavy. We own the ranch you wanted to raid tonight."

"Our wives and children were the ones you planned to hurt," Jacob said. There was anger in his voice that Jim hadn't heard in two decades. It was like he was standing on the street in South Dakota again and Jacob was looking for someone, anyone, to kill.

"Well, that didn't go as you planned," Jim said. "Jake here took an immediate dislike to the sheriff from down here. So he killed him. The rest of your men died the same way."

Ralph Bellamy smirked.

"The rest of my men you know about," he said. "My men will be back as soon as they finish up with your women. If you're nice, I'll let you watch me fuck your daughters before I kill you."

The explosion that Jim's gun produced was deafening in the room. Ralph Bellamy had a neat little hole in his forehead and his brain had splattered all over his fat wife, who was almost catatonic.

Jacob recovered his senses quickly and turned to find Jim's gun leveled on the girls who looked on in stony silence. Neither of them seemed angered or hurt by their father's death.

"You, you killed him," the wife said. "You just shot him like he was a dog."

"I don't shoot dogs," Jim said. "I shot him like he was piece of vermin. Which is exactly what he is."

The older of the girls spoke now for the first time.

"She's no better than he is," she said. "What about the rest of the men? Are they coming back?"

"Unless they can find a way to return from hell they can't," Jacob answered. The menace hadn't left his voice.

"You sure?" the younger one asked.

Jacob and Jim both nodded.

The girls looked at each other and laughed.

"Hey, Emma," the older one said with tone of voice that would make Marnie proud. "Ralphie was leading the second group. Guess he's as dead as Papa."

The fat woman broke out into sobs.

"That means your entertainment is over," the older girl said. "You won't be able to watch Ralphie fuck us anymore. And he won't be able to do you anymore either."

Jacob's eyes lit on the first girl who looked at him defiantly.

"That's right," she said. "My stepmom started bringing in my older brother every night to fuck me. He started fucking Amelia last year. Soon as she was big enough. Mom just sits there and watches. Papa used to fuck us all the time, too. He started on me when I was barely this tall."

She held her hands about 3 feet off the floor. There were tears in the girl's eyes.

In that instant, Emma Bellamy became the only woman that Jacob ever felt the need to kill. His pistol barked and the woman toppled over on top of what remained of her husband.

Jacob and Jim took the girls by the hand and led them to the front room.

"Are there any other hands about?" Jim asked.

"Maybe a couple," the girl, who introduced herself as Amanda, said. "But you can bet they're dead drunk."

He sighed heavily and sat down on a chair in the front room. Amelia appeared beside him.

"Don't be upset," she said. "I was going to do it as soon as I could get Ralphie's gun."

Jacob smiled slightly as he looked up at the girls.

"What are you going to do with us?" Amanda asked. For the first time there was fear in her voice.

"Well, depends on what you want to do with this place," Jim answered.

"Don't you own it now?" Amanda asked.

"Probably if we want it," Jacob answered. "But we don't. Do we, Jim?"

"No," Jim stated. "We do not want it. But we will make sure you girls have enough hands to run it and we'll make sure that nobody gives you any trouble. I would guess you're the new owners, ladies. So you can do whatever you want to with it."

The girls exchanged glances.

"We don't want to live here anymore," Amelia said.

"Then you won't," Jacob stated. "We got girls your age at the house."

Amanda started to cry.

"Ralphie told me what he was going to do to them after Papa was done," Amanda said. "He made me suck his thing tonight."

"Mama made me lick her thingy," Amelia said.

Both girls were in tears by this point. Jacob put his arm around Amelia but she recoiled from his touch. He felt sorry for the girls but not for their parents or brother.

"Well, you can stay at the house with us," Jacob said. "For as long as you want. You can keep this place or sell it. If you want, you can burn it to the ground. It's yours to do with as you want. We'll help you out anyway we can but you call the shots."

The girls hugged each other tightly as they went to pack a few items for the ride back to the Double-M.

-------

The sun was just topping the Eastern ridge of the hillside as the four riders came upon the western pasture. It was still too dark to see very well but there had been enough of a moon to make it if they were careful.

The scene that greeted Jim and Jacob wasn't what they expected. Torches lit almost the entire meadow and they feared the worst: there were more men than they counted on and they had left the women and their friends unprotected.

Jacob sent the Bellamy girls to hide in the tree line and he and Jim raced up the last few hundred yards as fast as they could.

They bounded off the horses as quickly as possible and tried to find a target for the pistols they carried in their hands. But everywhere they looked they saw white armbands on the men.

These were the hands from the Double-M and 2-C ranches.

Jacob was trying to figure out what had transpired when Marnie walked up to him — and slapped him squarely across the face. Jim got the same treatment from Juliette.

Suddenly Ann and Susan were next to him.

"You bastard," Ann said before she broke down in tears.

Susan just stood there and glared at him.

Jacob was getting angrier by the minute and he could tell that Jim was in about the same boat.

"What in hell is going on here?" Jacob said hotly.

Susan stepped forward. She looked ready to kill him where he stood.

"We're here looking for your body," she said angrily. "We've been out here for two hours. You and Jim didn't show back up. Earl and Sam said they didn't see you but the judge said you two raced over this way. We thought you were dead. Earl and Sam are convinced that they killed you and Jim. We've been turning over every body to see if it was you."

Jim looked at Jacob. They were facing four women. They would rather have faced four guns.

"Now wait a minute," Jacob said. "We're fine."

"If you ever worry me like that again I'll kill you, Jim Harcourt," Juliette seethed. "Every time they would roll one over I would be sure it was you. I stood over 30 bodies convinced it was my husband I was looking at. Where in the hell did you run off to?"

Jacob turned to see Amanda and Amelia coming toward them. They were walking and leading their horses.

"Who in the hell is that?" Marnie asked.

"Amanda and Amelia Bellamy," Jim said. "They own the Flying-BR ranch down in Dixon County."

Ann had calmed down enough to join the fray.

"And why in the hell would you bring them here?" she asked. "They started this whole God damned mess. And why in hell do they own it?"

"They didn't start it," Jacob corrected. "And they own it because they are the last members of the family alive."

For the first time since he arrived Marnie took a second to look at Jacob's face. The placid, contented look it usually held was replaced by the stone, icy look she remembered from years before.

For just a moment she knew she was looking at Jake Dunn, not Jacob Dunleavy.

Susan nodded.

"So you killed the bastard?" she asked.

"Jim killed the bastard," Jacob said. "I killed the bitch."

Amanda and Amelia arrived at about that time.

"Mr. Dunleavy, Mr. Harcourt," Amanda said. "Is this your family?"

"For now," Ann said. She was still angry and it wasn't just at Jacob. The Bellamy girls would be in for a ration of shit unless Jacob put a stop to it.

"Enough," he said loudly. "Ladies, like it not our primary role in this family is to protect you and to make sure you are safe. That is what we did and I'm not sorry we did it. Now you can be pissed at me for as long as you want. But these girls have never done a thing to you so you better treat them the way we treat guests here. Now if you don't like it, that's too damned bad. Am I understood?"

Juliette had never heard Jacob raise his voice and Ann, Susan and Marnie had heard it so rarely that it had the desired effect — shock.

"Now it's been a long night," Jim said. "I think we should all go home and sleep for a little while. The girls here were sound asleep when I barged in on them. Let's get up to the houses."

-------

It was a silent trip to the main houses.

Jacob and Jim rode beside Amelia and Amanda and left the women to ride by themselves. The woman who did the cooking saw Jacob enter the house and rushed to give him a hug.

"Mister Jacob," she said. "You need to find your women. They think you got killed tonight."

The woman noticed the girls standing in the entryway of the house.

"Well, we have guests, I see," she said.

"Put them anywhere there is a bed, Amy," Jacob said. "Do you girls need to wash up or anything?"

Both Bellamy children shook their heads and followed Amy down the hall. Jacob washed his face and hands went to his bedroom. He was glad that he had insisted on one to call his own when they built the house a few years back.

It didn't matter. Within minutes of laying his head down, his three wives entered the room. Susan and Marnie lay beside Jacob and diminutive Ann laid right on top of him — as she sometimes did when they shared a bed.

Susan appeared to be the spokeswoman for the group.

"We're sorry," she said. "We lost our head a little bit. But Jacob none of us would want to live without you. You've told us before you didn't know you could live if we weren't a part of your life. But you would live, Jacob. We wouldn't want to live any longer. You mean that much to us."

Jacob wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. It had been a long day punctuated by him killing two people — the first time in almost 15 years he'd fired a shot in anger.

"I'm sorry I worried you," he said. "But that don't excuse how you acted when I showed up. The next time one of you decides you want to slap me or call me a hateful name you better cut yourself a switch first. Because I am absolutely going to wear out your ass if I have to cut one myself. And Susan, you better save that look you gave me for the kids. It don't scare me none and all it does is piss me off. Do we understand each other?"

Jacob received a trio of, "Yes, Jacob," from his wives and each one cuddled to him a little tighter as they all drifted off to sleep.



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Chapter 19


"What are we going to do about those two?"

"Those two" could apply to so many people that Jacob was lost as to whom exactly Marnie was speaking.

"Susanna and J.J.," she added when she saw Jacob's confusion.

"What can we do?" Jacob said with resignation. "She's her mother's daughter through and through. She's going to do what it is she wants to do."

"She is her father's daughter," Marnie said.

In truth, Susanna was both. She looked like her mother. She had soft red hair and a figure that started to turn grown men's heads by her 12th birthday. But her temperament was more like Jacob.

She had been sneaking away with J.J. Harcourt every chance she got for the past two years.

"Does she love him?" Jacob asked.

"Yes," Marnie answered. "And he loves her."

That was one worry off Jacob's mind. He had worried that the kids — hell, they weren't kids any longer. Susanna was 17 and J.J. would be 17 in a couple of months.

"Well, then it's out of my hands," Jacob stated. "But if something gets out of hand, he'll marry her whether he wants to or not."

"He wants to," Marnie said.

"Then what in the hell is stopping him," Jacob hissed.

"You are, dear," she said. "He's afraid of what you'll do if he comes to ask you."

"So he sneaks off with her?" Jacob asked. "What the hell does he think I'm planning to do if I ever catch them doing that stuff."

"Jacob," Marnie said sweetly. "Susanna says they are not doing 'that stuff.' It is also her idea that they sneak off. They have kissed but that is all. I think they're both too frightened to do any more than that."

"Am I that scary?" Jacob asked.

"No," Marnie said. "I don't think so. Even Amanda and Amelia think you're a softy. But Susanna is your oldest daughter. You've doted on her and Lilibeth since they were born. I think J.J. is scared that you'll shoot him for asking you. I think Susanna is scared that you'll never let her get married — even to J.J."

"Ah, hell," Jacob said as he got to his feet. "Damn it to hell, Marnie. I ain't ready for her to get married. But it ain't my choice. I ain't happier about the prospect of Junior or Jimmy getting married. Lilibeth is still convinced she's never getting married so I'll deal with that as it happens."

He sat down heavily.

"They were just kids the other day, Marnie," Jacob said. "I swear, just yesterday we were the kids and now our kids are going to be having kids. Where did time go?"

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At 42, Marnie's looks had not departed. She was a little fuller around the hips but she was still as beautiful as the first day — more than 2 decades before — that Jacob Dunleavy had ridden down the hillside to her house.

Jacob had turned 40 a month earlier and he was starting to feel his age. His blond hair had gray streaks at the temples and his waist was starting to expand just a bit.

Susan was 37 and still as ornery as ever. She rode herd over the kids and kept them under control — except it seemed for Susanna and J.J. Susan hadn't seemed to get the message that she was getting older and she still lived life as if she was 20.

Ann was much the same as Susan. Now 33, she was still on the range every day and still ran the herd with the best of them. From behind, Ann could still pass as a teenager. She had the cutest behind that Jacob had ever seen. Only a few lines on her face let you know she was older when she turned around.

Little Marnie and Little Jacob — or Lilibeth and Junior, as they preferred to be called — were 15 years old and as dissimilar as two children raised in the same household could be. Lilibeth was a terror — into everything — and was constantly playing pranks on her studious, serious brother. Junior would rather read than ride and was constantly designing buildings on paper and looking at ways to increase water flow and drainage or stabilize the yield on crops.

Jimmy was the baby, but Lord help you if you said that in earshot of him, at 12. He was just like his mother. He had a tough exterior but he was sweet and gentle inside. Jimmy was probably the most influential at getting the Bellamy sisters to come out of their shells.

The girls turned out to be a little older than Jacob thought. Amanda was 15 and Amelia was 14 when they arrived three years earlier. Both were extremely quiet and they tended to avoid interacting with anyone else in the household.

Both girls had years worth of scars on their backs when they arrived at the Double-M and they were content to simply avoid everyone rather than invite more trouble.

But Jimmy would have none of it. At 10 he developed a serious crush on Amelia. He would spend time doing things to help her around the ranch and he always asked her to help him with learning the lessons Susan insisted he be taught.

Amelia was afraid to offend the owner's son so she put up with his presence. She was waiting for either Jacob or Junior or J.J. or Jim to try to force themselves on her so she figured having Jimmy around might delay that situation.

As time passed and Amelia realized that none of the men — or the woman — were going to attack her she relaxed. But Jimmy was still at her side whenever he could be. Jacob found the situation amusing but he never laughed in front of the kids. He would ask Amelia if Jimmy was bothering her but she would always say that it was nice to have company. She seemed to relish the fact that he would come to her with questions about his schooling.

It was that thought that brought Amanda into Jacob's study in 1901 — almost 3 years after they came to live with him.

"Mister Jacob," she said. She always called him that regardless of the times he had told her to just call him Jacob. "We've decided we want to sell the Flying-BR."

Jacob put down the ledger he was looking at and raised his eyes toward Amanda, who was now past her 18th birthday and still refused to entertain a man or even to dance at the weekly socials.

"OK," he said simply. "Do you want me to get it appraised?"

She handed him a slip of paper.

"I had it done," she said. "I didn't want to bother you with it."

"You've never been a bother, Amanda," Jacob insisted. "It's a pleasure having you and Amelia here."

He paused for a moment because he wasn't sure if he should say what he wanted to. But he decided she needed to hear it.

"In fact, I love both of you just like you're my own daughters," he said. "Jim feels the same way and so do our wives. Angel, you're a part of this family and we all love you."

Tears sprang to Amanda's eyes, not just because of what Jacob said. She always got a little misty when he called her Angel. She was Angel and Amelia was Sweetie to Jacob. Just like Marnie was Sweetheart; Susan was Honey; and Ann was Darling. Susanna was Cutie and Lilibeth was Baby Girl. Even the boys had nicknames — Hoss and Pardner.

"I know that, Jacob," Amanda said when she composed herself. "We both do. It was hard for us to get used to living here. It was, well, it was a lot different than before. It took us some time to understand that you folks weren't like our folks. But we love you all, too. Even Amelia does. She's just, I'm not sure what she is."

"She's scared and she's still hurting from what happened to her — and to you," Jacob said. He still wasn't one to beat around the bush.

"I think you're right," Amanda said. "That's part of why we want to get rid of that awful place. I guess we should have done it sooner but we were afraid to talk to you about it and we were afraid you might take our money from us."

Jacob wasn't offended. He knew firsthand how hard it was to learn to trust people.

"I understand," he said. "I hope you now know that there is nothing we can't talk about and there is no way I would do anything to hurt you."

"We do," Amanda said. She graced Jacob with a rare smile. She was a very pretty girl when she smiled, Jacob decided. "We want to go east for a year."

Jacob nodded his agreement.

"We want to learn to be teachers and come back here and open a school on the Double-M," she continued.

Jacob's eyes widened in surprise. It was something he had thought about doing as the place expanded but he couldn't quite figure out how.

"Really?" he asked in surprise.

"I hope you're not upset about that," Amanda said.

"Oh, no," Jacob replied. "Not in the least. We've talked about doing that but we don't know anyone who could teach. You really want to do that?"

Amanda smiled and nodded again.

"I've helped some of the children with their lessons," she stated. "And you know how much Amelia enjoys it from seeing her with Jimmy."

"Pardner is going to have a fit," Jacob said with a laugh. "I'm convinced he's going to ask your sister to get married as soon as he's old enough."

Amanda turned serious.

"I hope he doesn't," she said. "Jimmy is about the only boy Amelia lets anywhere near her. I don't think she'll even allow that when he gets older."

"I know it," Jacob said. "Besides, she's 5 years older than he is. But a boy never forgets his first crush. I'm just glad she treats him so well. It would be rough for him if she didn't."

"So you don't mind if we go east?" Amanda asked.

"I'll miss you both," Jacob said. "But if that's what you want to do, I'll help you anyway I can."

"Well, it'll take us some time to sell the place so we won't be leaving soon," Amanda told him. "I would guess about 6 months or a year."

She had a wistful tone in her voice.

Jacob knew he probably should discuss this with the rest of the family but he decided even if they balked he would do it on his own.

"Well, if school is ready to start and you want to go, we'll pay for it," he said. "I told you I love you two like you were my own kids. If you want to sell the place to get rid of it, I think that is a good idea. It will give you your own money to do with what you want. But if you want to go to school — or to New York or to anywhere else — we'll send you there. You won't have to pay for it."

"We'll still have to sell the ranch," Amanda said. She couldn't believe Jacob was willing to pay for them to go to school. Then she realized she should have expected it. "And that's not why I came in here — to get you to offer that."

Jacob smiled up at the girl — young woman, he corrected.

"I know that, Angel," he said. "You've never asked me for anything that you weren't willing to work to get. I wish you could teach Lilibeth that before you go. But I can do that and I can take care of selling the ranch, if you want me to."

Amanda gave Jacob a short kiss on the cheek when she left to talk things over with her sister. Jacob went to fill the others in on the decision that he made. He hoped they wouldn't be too upset but he had enough in dividends to pay for the girls to go to school for 30 years if they wanted. It was the least he could do for them after what they had gone through.



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Chapter 20


Jacob found Jim first. Jim rarely disagreed with Jacob about anything and never about anything that involved the Bellamy sisters. Both felt guilty, not about killing the girls' parents but for not killing them sooner.

"I'll pay half if the women don't like it," Jim stated firmly. "That number seems a little low for the ranch, though. I think we'll get more for them than they're asking."

"You want to tell Juliette or do we want to face this together?" Jacob asked. For the first few months after their arrival the Bellamy sisters were source of aggravation for the wives — and even the older children.

The wives were twofold. First, they weren't involved in the decision to bring them to the Double-M and Two-C ranches. That was the biggest problem. Second was the fact that the girls' parents had plotted the kidnapping and rape or murder of the Dunleavy and Harcourt children. It took a month or two for everyone to get over it.

The children were put off by the girls' reluctance to do things. Jacob had initially insisted that the sisters be included in whatever the others had planned. The children would ask the Bellamys and the Bellamys almost always declined. Rather than explain that to Jacob and face his ire the Dunleavy and Harcourt children would change their plans.

It led to hard feelings that took some time to soothe. But time did ease things around the houses and Jacob was almost certain that no one would take issue with what he had offered — or at least not to his face.

He and Jim found the four women chatting with Susanna in the parlor. They all looked guilty when Jim and Jacob walked in and hurriedly rolled up a piece of paper they had been staring at.

Jacob glanced at Jim and Jim's look told him the same thing he already thought: ignore them.

"Do you folks have time for a quick family meeting?" Jacob asked.

All five women nodded.

"Cutie, why don't you track down J.J.," Jacob said. "I'm sure you know where he is. But you don't have time for anything other than getting back here."

Susanna blushed brightly. With her red hair and fair skin the blush went from her toes to her forehead. But she set off to locate J.J. Harcourt and they both arrived a few minutes later. Jacob noticed immediately that they were holding hands.

"I've agreed to pay for Amanda and Amelia to go east to college," Jacob said but he held up his hand to stall the storm of protests he thought might be coming. "They plan to study at a teacher's college and come back out here and open a school for the ranch children."

Susanna smiled and glanced at her mothers. Susan and Ann nodded but Marnie shrugged.

Finally Susanna unrolled the paper she had secreted away when the men entered.

"Pa, we've been looking to the future," she said with some reluctance. Jacob was known as a man to fight change tooth and nail. "And there are some things we need you to think about."

"Well, before we think about that, what about Amelia and Amanda?" Jacob asked.

"We think that is a good idea," Marnie said. "Not that they leave. I hope they know that they are part of our family now. But Susanna and J.J. brought this to us a few weeks ago and we've been going over things before we put it up to you and Jim. We're going to need a schoolhouse here and I think them two will be fine with the kids."

Jacob and Jim exchanged glances. They might be able to hold their own against the four wives but not against Susanna, too. J.J. had turned on them, too, it seemed.

"Well, let's hear it," Jacob said with resignation.

"Well, Susanna and I have been looking into some things," J.J. said. Jacob's glare caused him to blush and Marnie slapped Jacob's arm lightly. Jim just laughed but Juliette seemed irked.

"Poor choice of words, boy," Jim said. "Wanna try again?"

"We've spent some time at the courthouse in the last few months," J.J. started again. "And we've spoken to an attorney. It would probably be better financially if we formally consolidated things here into a corporation. That way we can get some of the same benefits that the railroads and the oil fields get. There is nothing wrong with the way things are done now. I'm not saying that but if we want to keep growing the ranches — growing them enough to sustain six or seven families — we need to look ahead."

Jacob hated to admit that he boy made sense.

"I suppose you're right about that," he admitted. "What things do we need to do?"

Susanna looked up in surprise. She had expected her father to put up a battle, insisting his way was the best way.

"Well, if you look at the land plat, we've already got the makings of what we need to do," she said. "You and Uncle Jim started that years ago without even knowing it was what would work out best in the future."

Jacob and Jim looked at the paper. Each section of the ranch was marked off into sectors and each sector was labeled with its primary usage. Jacob wondered why he had never commissioned one of those before.

"I like this," he said to Susanna.

"Junior did it," she said. "Before I go too far, I think we should bring the rest of the family in here. Outside of Jimmy and Betty, they've all helped with things. Well, Amelia and Amanda didn't help much but they're helping now with what they've decided."

Jacob shrugged and Susan went outside to collect the rest of the children.

-------

"Dad, Uncle Jim, we need to incorporate not only the ranches but the town," Susanna said. Jacob noticed J.J. and Junior bobbing their heads and Lilibeth and Betty looking up at him nervously.

"What town?" Jacob asked. "Stover incorporated 10 years ago."

"Our town, Uncle Jacob," J.J. said. "Look at how the land is parceled out. We've got a small town right in the center of things. We've got everything there but a post office and a school. The school is coming soon and we can get a post office here in no time."

Jacob and Jim exchanged glances again but they could see J.J. was right.

As the families had outgrown their houses they had built a new one. Jacob built his on the far south side of his property and Jim had built his on the far north side of his. Essentially there was about 200 feet between them.

On the site of the original homestead that Marnie and Jacob had established the wives had insisted on houses for married workers with families. What had started off as five houses in a neat row now consisted of more than three dozen spread out over five blocks.

The area had a livery stable, a seamstress and a cobbler. There was a place for iron work and a small grocery and mercantile. Jim had put a saw mill on his property along with setting aside portions for crops.

Jacob chuckled. He literally had missed the forest for the trees.

"Well, I'll be," he said.

"Dad, we have more people here than in Stover," Junior put in. "If we wanted to we could be the county seat and have the courthouse moved here. But I don't think that is what we need to do. I've also found a way to irrigate the area and provide fresh water to the town. It might be a bit costly but if we incorporate the state will pay for most of it."

Jacob studied the map again. He pointed to the outer edges of the plat.

"What are these?" he asked. There were no markings on them.

Susanna glanced at Marnie who shrugged again. Jacob's first wife was enjoying this and she was happy to let Susanna show she wasn't a little girl.

"Those are the plots of land for us," Susanna answered. "For when we move out."

Jacob counted them and glanced at Susanna.

"Well, a couple of things," he said. "Unless I'm missing something, you're a few short. I want it made clear that even if one of the kids don't want to live here they still own the land."

Susanna nodded.

"And I want it made clear that Amelia and Amanda are to be considered my kids from this day forth," he said.

"Mine, too," Jim chimed in. "So that means that you need to refigure this a little bit."

"That's simple," Junior said. "I've got it down to the acre and it's an even number so dividing two more won't be a problem. I already have done the figuring because I knew it would be this way even if no one else did."

He shot a pointed glance at his sister.

"Well, that still leaves you one short," Jim said. He counted off the kids on his fingers. Jim saw J.J. go pale as Jacob put his finger next to each section as Jim reeled off a name.

"Yep, one short," Jacob said.

He looked at J.J.

"Guess two of you are going to have to share," he said. "Come see me after we're through here. You too, Susanna."

The fact that her father didn't call her Cutie troubled Susanna. But she understood that Cutie was a childhood nickname and she was about to talk to her father about becoming an adult.

"Well, what's your decision?" Ann asked. "Should we do this?"

"It's not our decision to make," Jacob said. "I've heard nothing today that puts me against it. Besides, we've only got a few years before we're going to be outvoted by the kids anyway. I think we should get all the numbers together and make sure we haven't missed anything. Then if the kids did as good a job as I'm sure they have, I think we go ahead with it if it suits the rest of you."

All eyes turned to Jim.

"I agree with Jacob," he said. "And with the rest of you. You five have done real well getting this together in a way even two old cowpokes can understand. I'm real proud of you."

Jacob made sure he patted J.J. and Junior on the back as they left.

"You're going to do fine running this place, Cutie," Jacob told his oldest daughter as she left. "You, Lilibeth, Little Marnie and Betty are going to pick right up where your Mamas have left off."

Susanna kissed her father on the cheek and left with her head held high.

Citizens of Dunn, Texas, probably find it hard to believe their city was planned out by five teenagers in the early 1900s.



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Chapter 21


Jacob Dunleavy stood and looked at the five crosses that dotted the hilltop.

The last grave, the one for his dear, sweet Ann, was still too new for the grass to have returned. But the others were covered.

He stopped and placed flowers where Juliette Harcourt was laid to rest. She was the first to die, almost 20 years ago, Jacob thought to himself. The birth of her and Jim's third child had been rough and Juliette really had never been herself again. She was sick often and she succumb to the flu that raced through the area in 1912. She was 49 years old.

The old gunslinger Jim Harcourt followed eight years later. He took Juliette's death hard but had gradually rebounded. He had turned the running of the farm over to his son and daughter-in-law, Jacob and Susanna (Dunleavy) Harcourt, shortly after his wife's death. Jim Harcourt always said he had never known an old gun hand. But he made it 64 years before death came for him in 1920.

The light of Jacob's life left him eight months after his best friend had passed. Marnie caught a winter cold that turned into pneumonia. She died before the spring arrived. Her last days were spent drifting in and out of consciousness and her family got to watch her relive her life and loves, despair and regrets. Her youngest child, Jacob Jr., had died in France during the Great War and his loss pained Marnie until her final day. But she spent her last few hours in conversation with her departed son and finally seemed at peace. Jacob was holding her hand when fell asleep for the last time only days before her 61st birthday would have been celebrated.

Life continued on the Double-M and Two-C ranches after Marnie's death but it wasn't the life it had been before. Jacob found comfort in his children and with his remaining wives until Susan passed away without warning. She hadn't been ill, nor had she complained of any new aches or pains. She simply didn't come down for breakfast one morning in 1928. She was cold to the touch when Jacob and Ann went to get her. She was only one year older than Marnie when she died.

A large portion of Ann died with Susan. Ann was tough on the outside but tender inside and the deaths of her family had hurt her deeply. Only her love for Jacob and the children and grandchildren allowed her to live for almost four years after Susan passed from the earth. But even her love for her family — and their love for her — couldn't stop time. On a warm day in 1932, six months after her 63rd birthday, Ann breathed her last breath and joined the rest of her family in eternity.

Jacob's kids were all grown and now some of his grandkids were, too.

J.J. and Susanna Harcourt had married just weeks after they spoke with Jacob. His first grandchild — a son named Jacob Harcourt Jr. — was born a year later. Susanna had two more children, a son named Robert who died within a few months of his birth, and a daughter christened Emily Elizabeth seven years later. J.J. died on New Year's Eve 1939 and Susanna followed the next day, New Year's Day 1940, after a car accident.

Lilibeth did, indeed, get married. She met a ranch hand named Claude Wells and was instantly taken by him. They married shortly after Lilibeth's 16th birthday. She had two sons, Claude James and Joseph Michael, two years apart. Claude became a state representative from the town and Marnie lived at the state capital until her death in 1947.

Junior went to Texas A&M to learn more about farming and engineering and brought a wealth of knowledge back to the ranches. He married a girl he met at A&M, Elsie Atkins — but not until he had finished what he started at the Double-M and Two-C. They had one child, Juliette Elizabeth. Junior joined the Army during what later became World War I and died somewhere in France in 1917. Elsie lived on the ranch and became one of the driving forces behind modernization in the 1920s and 1930s as she continued the work her husband started.

Jimmy waited patiently for Amelia Bellamy to fall in love with him but she never did. He married a local girl, Emily Dell, and the pair had two children, a daughter named Ann Elizabeth and a son named Jacob James. Jimmy helped J.J. with the day-to-day operations and was elected Mayor of Dunn in the 1920s. He always held a special spot in his heart for the school and he was the only man Amelia Bellamy ever felt comfortable with until her dying day.

Amanda and Amelia Bellamy returned to Dunn 18 months after they left. They opened a two-room school house and worked as teachers, custodians and administrators there for almost 40 years. They died a few months apart in 1951. Neither of the women married and the Bellamy line died out with them.

Marnie Harcourt, Jim's oldest daughter, became a leading voice in Texas for the women's suffrage movement. She lived up to the feistiness of her namesake and aunt, Marnie Dunleavy, and in 1950 — at the age of 61 — was elected to the Texas Senate. She served there for four years before deciding she liked life in Dunn better than life in Austin. She married a ranch hand when she was in her 20s but he was thrown from a horse and killed before they could celebrate their first anniversary. Marnie didn't remarry and she had no children.

Betty Harcourt married Elsie Atkins' younger brother, Edward. She and Edward also attended Texas A&M. She was best friends with Elsie and she worked tirelessly on keeping the Double-M and Two-C ranches moving into the future. She and Edward had three children, all daughters, Mary Ann, Juliette Susanna and Elsie Elizabeth. She died at age 52 in 1945.

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"Grandpa?" Jacob heard a voice behind him say. A few weeks shy of 70, his hearing wasn't what it used to be.

He turned to see his grandsons, Jacob and C.J., holding the hands of his great-granddaughters, Susan, Ann and Marnie. They were celebrating a joint birthday party for the girls that afternoon.

"Mom says it's almost time," Jacob said.

The older Jacob nodded. It was almost time. It was almost time for him to stop running from death.

Epilogue

The man closed the book and glanced at the bright eyes of his grandchildren.

"Wow," his 5-year-old grandson exclaimed. "My Grandpa Jacob was a real cowboy!"

"Yes he was," the boy's grandmother, who sat beside her husband, said. "He was a real cowboy and your grandmothers were real cowgirls. Your cousin Susanna, Jacob and Marnie's daughter, wrote most of this book."

The little girl in front them was obviously thinking. Her brow was knitted and she was chewing on the inside of her lip. Her grandparents had seen the expression many times in the last 7 years.

"Grandpa?" she asked after a pause. "Susanna's son, Jacob, is that you?"

The old man laughed.

"Darlin'," he chuckled. "Just how old do you think I am? It's 2010, Marnie. Susanna was born in 1884. That is 130 years ago. Her son was born in 1903. That was 107 years ago. Do you think I'm 107 years old?"

The girl resumed her deep thinking.

"I guess not," she said. She really wasn't sure how old 107 years would be. She was sure that some of her teachers were almost that old. And her grandparents were older than them.

"My great-grandmother is Ann Dunleavy," the man continued. "Her son was named James."

"After James Harcourt," the boy cut in.

"Yes, after James Harcourt," his grandmother answered. "And James Harcourt and Juliette Powers are my great-great-grandparents."

The eyes shifted to the grandmother.

"Really?" the little girl asked.

The grandmother nodded.

"You know the farm that is next to where you live?" the grandfather asked. "Where I think the Elkins family lives?"

Both children nodded. They knew the Elkins family well and had spent many Sunday afternoons with them.

"That is the ranch where James and Juliette Harcourt lived," the grandmother supplied. "Susan Elkins was Susan Harcourt before she got married. Her father was my father's brother."

The children were getting more confused so the grandparents stopped the family tree lesson.

"We just wanted you children to know why you'll meet so many people tomorrow with the same names as you," Grandpa Jacob said. "You're going to run into a lot of people named Jacob and Marnie."

"And a lot of people named Juliette and James and Susan and Ann and Susanna, too," Grandma Juliette answered. "The whole family gets together every 10 years at your ranch for the Dunleavy-Harcourt reunion. You're going to meet a bunch of people in the next week or so. Most of them you've met before but I bet you didn't know you were related to them."

The little boy nodded but the girl's forehead wrinkled again.

"Grandpa?" she asked. "Do you think Grandpa Jacob and Grandma Marnie, Grandma Susan and Grandma Ann will be watching?"

The old man smiled broadly.

"Oh honey, I suspect that Jacob and Marnie and Susan and Ann and Jim and Juliette and all their children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren who have passed on will be doing the same thing we're doing tomorrow," he said sweetly. "I'll bet they've got a ranch on a cloud in Heaven and they'll be having their own family reunion tomorrow while they look down on us."

The girl's face lit in a smile.

"And, hon," the grandmother said. "I think they are going to be mighty proud about how all of us turned out. Jacob Dunleavy was a cowboy and a gunslinger. But more than that, he was a man who loved his family and wanted them to be happy."

"And if there is one thing that we are," the grandfather finished, "it's a big, happy family."


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The End
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Posted:  2010-01-11
Last Modified: 2010-01-31 / 09:02:27 pm
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