Do Not Forsake Me (18 page)

“And I'd like to
make
love to you again, but if we don't get up and wash and dress soon, we'll never be ready when Jeff gets here.”

She gasped. “Oh my gosh! What time is it?”

“I'm not sure, but I have a feeling we'd better get out of this bed.”

“I could stay here all day.”

“Do you think I wouldn't enjoy that? I don't know how many years I have left before I'm too old for this.”

“
You?
I have trouble picturing you too old for this. That gives me all the more reason to live long enough to see if that's possible.”

Their gazes held, each pulling strength from the other. “Thanks to your demanding sexual needs forcing me to ravish you half the night, I'm very hungry now,” Jake told her. “Let's go have breakfast, Mrs. Harkner.”

She frowned. “Please tell me you really did make all that up.”

He got up. “No, ma'am. I'll just let you always wonder.”

Randy put her hands over her face. “Oh my God.”

Jeff walked behind Jake and Randy, watching and listening as numerous townspeople stopped Jake and asked how he was doing. It was the pied piper all over again, people following him down the street, some close, some at a distance.

The morning was cool, and Jake wore his wide-brimmed hat and a duster over denim pants and a blue shirt with the leather vest, his badge hidden under the duster. He wore both of those famous guns and kept an arm around Randy as they walked.

“Jake! By God, other than needing to gain a little weight, you're looking well!” The greeting came from the same man who'd urged Jake to come into church that Sunday morning Jeff sat on the steps.

“He shouldn't be up walking around, Cletus,” Randy answered as Jake shook the man's hand.

“Well, I'm glad he's trying,” Cletus answered.

Jake thanked him as more people commented on his health.

Jake kept insisting he was fine, but he walked with a limp that suggested a good deal of pain. Jeff sensed something else—something amiss. Maybe it was just the fact that Marty Bryant was on the loose again…or maybe the fact that they were going to see Peter Brown…or maybe something Jeff didn't know about.

All the way to the restaurant, more people followed, both men and women, asking questions, greeting Jake and Randy both. For several days after the shoot-out, the Guthrie newspaper had been filled with different versions of the event, some making Jake out to be an emotionless murderer who killed men as easily as shooting a rabbit. Jeff decided that was probably true when it came to men threatening his family. Some stories showed Jake as the hero of the day, saving the entire town of Guthrie from peril and tragedy. When papers arrived from other towns, stories of the shoot-out were in those too, some grossly exaggerated.

Jeff had also read stories about Marty Bryant's escape and the murders that took place. Rumors abounded over where Bryant might be now and what his intentions were.

They went inside a restaurant called Sadie's and sat down at a table. A woman of perhaps twenty waited on them. “Glad to see you're all right, Jake,” she said, leaning a bit too far over to pour his coffee. One too many buttons were open on her blouse. After pouring his coffee, she turned to Randy, giving her a look that told Randy the girl thought she could seduce Jake anytime she wanted. “Coffee, Mrs. Harkner?”

Randy, who Jeff thought looked incredibly beautiful this morning in a soft green dress and a matching velvet hat that drew the green from her eyes, smiled kindly to her. “Why don't you just pour some coffee for Jeff here, Mary Ann. You can first pour it down your blouse, and then you can lean over even farther than you just did for my husband and let it spill out of your cleavage into his cup.”

Jeff could not control his laughter at the remark, and Mary Ann straightened and lost her smile. “I'll get you a cup,” she told Jeff, turning and walking away with a deliberate flounce.

Jeff glanced at Jake, who was obviously struggling not to laugh out loud. Finally Jake couldn't help a soft burst of laughter. “Randy, your jealousy is as green as that dress,” he told her.

Randy removed her gloves, eyeing her husband with a sly grin of her own. “The girl couldn't have been more obvious. She might as well have stripped right in front of you.”

“I'm sure Jeff wouldn't have objected.” Jeff and Jake both laughed again. “And you think
I'm
the mean one?” Jake added to Jeff. “Get this woman's dander up and watch the claws come out. She can handle a rifle and handle
me
. That says a lot.”

A different waitress came out then with an extra two cups, one for Randy and one for Jeff. She was slightly older and smiled with genuine friendliness. “Mary Ann says she doesn't want to wait on you anymore. What did you say to that girl, Jake?”

She poured the coffee.

“Right away you blame
me
?”

“Well, I know how you can be with words at times, Jake Harkner,” Sadie joked. “I also just happened to see her waiting on you.”

“Then you'd better ask what my
wife
said to her.” Jake was still grinning and Jeff nearly spit out his first sip of coffee in a need to laugh more.

Sadie gave Randy a sly grin. “I think I have a good idea. And I told Mary Ann to button up that blouse or go home. I don't need my waitresses flaunting themselves around like saloon girls.”

Jake removed his duster and let it fall over the back of his wooden chair. “Sadie, you tell Mary Ann that if she wants to flaunt something, have her come back out here and flaunt it in front of Jeff. He's the one who needs a woman. I already have one.”

Jeff laughed again as Jake introduced him.

“Sadie, this is Jeff Trubridge, and he's going to write a book about me. What do you think of that?”

Sadie studied Jeff a moment. “You want to write a book about that worthless, no-good outlaw?”

“Yes, ma'am.”

“Well, you'd do better writing about his beautiful wife.
She's
got some stories to tell, I'm sure of that. I'll bet she could tell you things that would curl your toes.”

Jeff nodded. “I'm sure she could, Sadie. I wouldn't think of writing about Jake without including the woman who has stood by him all these years.”

“Well, thank you, Jeff,” Randy told him.

“Stood by him?” Sadie frowned. “Have you really
looked
at the man? What woman wouldn't stand by
that
?
I
wouldn't have had any trouble doing it. And that son of his is even
better
looking.”

Jake picked up his coffee cup. “Sadie, you're worse than that waitress of yours.”

“Yeah? Well, if anything ever happened to this wife of yours, half the women in this town would be showing up at your door with food and anything else you need, and you know it.”

Jeff noticed Jake sobered a little too much at the remark. “Well, let's hope that doesn't happen anytime soon, because I'd just as soon keep the woman I've got.”

Then Jeff remembered Jake's remark about Randy having some unusual pain of late. Brian was supposed to come and see her yesterday. Had they learned something new?

Sadie laughed and touched Jeff's shoulder. “Mr. Trubridge, you look like a nice young man who just might do a fine job of writing that book. You just be fair about it. Jake isn't as bad as some folks say, and not as bad as
he
pretends to be. Otherwise this beautiful woman with him wouldn't have stuck it out so long, handsome or not.”

“I already figured that out,” Jeff told her.

“Jeff's breakfast is on me, Sadie,” Jake spoke up.

“Jake, you don't have to—”

“Sure I do. I'd be dead if you hadn't warned me those men were waiting for me inside that jail.”

“You mean you saved that no-good's life?” Sadie asked Jeff.

Jeff shrugged. “In a way, I guess.”

“Well then, your breakfast is on
me
,” Sadie told Jeff, patting his shoulder. “What will it be?”

They gave their orders. While they waited, more well-wishers came forward, including Juan, who came inside with a heavyset Mexican woman on his arm.

“Jake!” He walked over and shook Jake's hand, rattling off a conversation in Spanish. Juan's wife reached out to Randy and Randy grasped her hand.

“
Señora
, Jake will be all right now,
s
í
?”

“
Sí
, Rosa.”

“I am glad. Juan, he thinks Jake walks on water, you know?”

Randy squeezed her hand. “Oh, I can assure you, he
doesn't
.” Both women laughed. “Juan is a good friend,” Randy added.

“
Sí, señora.
”

Their food arrived. Juan and his wife sat down at the table next to them, and Jeff watched the interaction between Jake and a few more townspeople who greeted him as they arrived at the restaurant.

More
people
like
the
man
than
he'll admit
, he noted. As intimidating and vicious as he'd been that first day Jeff saw him, as well as the day of the shooting, Jake was now affable and relaxed. They were nearly finished and getting ready to pay when everything changed.

The door opened, and a big man with a beard and a shotgun walked inside. He wore a floppy hat and a wool coat, and he walked right up to Jake's table. Everyone in the restaurant quieted and Jeff lost his smile. The big man nodded to Randy.

“Mrs. Harkner.”

Randy looked up at him, and Jeff caught the disdain and dread in her countenance. “Good morning, Hash.” She looked at Jake, definite worry in her eyes.

Jeff swallowed. He had a pretty good idea this man was related to the Buckleys or the Bryants. The man turned his attention to Jake.

“Jake,” he said in a near growl. “Jessie Buckley sent me to fetch Brad for her.” He said the words slowly, deliberately. “I'm told he's got to go home in a wagon because he still can't stand up—on account of you practically killing him all them days ago when you brung in Marty and Jack and the others. You know by now that Marty Bryant escaped, and you can bet you'll pay now for what you've done to both families.”

Jake stayed right where he was, glancing at Randy with a look that told her to stay calm. “Those who died deserved what they got, Hash, especially in the shoot-out that took place later.” The handsome smile was gone and the darker Jake began to show himself.

“My son didn't deserve to be kicked out of the jail and thrown into that prison wagon the way I'm told he was. Lloyd had no right abusin' him like that.”

Jake leaned back, studying his coffee cup. “My son makes his own choices. I wasn't there.”

Hash backed up a little, still holding his shotgun but not pointed at anything. “You wasn't there because you was wounded. I hope it was one of
my
boys who did it—one of my poor,
dead
boys!”

Jake sighed. “Hash, why don't you just take Brad home to his family and lay low for a while…till you cool off a little?”

Hash just watched him a moment, as though contemplating what he'd do next. “I'm thinkin' that if you're wounded, this might be a good time to beat the shit out of you, Harkner.”

People whispered. One couple got up and left.

“Might be,” Jake answered. “I don't doubt you'd have an easy time of it, the condition I'm in right now. Then again, you might be surprised. You saw what happened to Brad, and he's heftier and a whole lot younger than I am. It all depends on how upset I am, Hash, and right now I'm real upset about a
lot
of things.” He rose. “Including the fact that your worthless third son helped kill innocent men escaping from that prison wagon and that you probably know where he is.”

“I don't know nothin' about it. And you're a low-down, murderin' bastard, Harkner! Everybody knows it. They smile to your face, but they know you've got no right wearin' a badge. Wasn't long ago you was on the
other
side of a badge, rottin' in prison for robbery, rape, and murder!”

Everyone froze. Jeff had no idea why, but he felt compelled to reach over and take Randy's hand. He was surprised at how hard she gripped it when he did so.

Jake remained casual and chewed on a toothpick as he spoke. “Hash, there are other people in this restaurant, including women and children, who don't need to hear your trash talk. Why don't you just go home?”

Hash Bryant raised the shotgun.

Jake rested his right hand on his gun. “Don't even think about it, Hash,” he warned. “Not in here. I don't intend to make a mess of Sadie's restaurant. She's a nice lady.”

The restaurant became so silent, Jeff could hear water boiling somewhere. He noticed Randy close her eyes. Her grip on his hand was beginning to hurt.

“I'm thinkin' that when I beat you within an inch of your life, Harkner, I want it to be when you're healed up. A man can't brag about beatin' on somebody who's wounded.”

Jake folded his arms. “Well, that's very gentlemanly of you, Hash. I didn't know the Bryants had a sense of honor, considering what your sons did to that fifteen-year-old girl they holed up with after robbing that bank. I've done pretty much everything people say I've done, but I've never abused a woman, Hash. And after what I saw out there when I arrested your boys, I have no problem with my son abusing
your
son, as you put it.”

Hash squinted his eyes, never moving from Jake's gaze. “I've lost
two
sons on account of you!
Two!
Ted and Gordy both, and both by your gun! I'd say that requires some payback.
Your
son is still
livin'
!”

Juan muttered something in Spanish. Jake just glared at Hash Bryant, keeping his arms folded. Jeff had a feeling that if it weren't for his leg, Jake would launch into Hash Bryant right now and drag him out into the street.

“I'd suggest that once you leave town with Brad, you
stay
out of town, Hash. It would be best if I didn't see your face again, understand? If I see you in town anytime soon, I'll throw you in jail just for
being
here
.
”

The water kept boiling, and Jeff could hear a clock ticking on the wall behind him.

“This ain't over, Harkner.”

“Maybe not. But your wife has lost two sons because they were thieves and rapists. I'm sure she mourns them anyway, but don't add losing her husband to the picture. Go home and
stay
there. Make any more trouble, and I'll come after every damn one of you. And if anyone in my family gets hurt, I'll kill every last Buckley and Bryant who are left.”