Chapter Seventeen
It was easy enough for Jed to keep his promise to Maeve. He couldn’t fall asleep even if he wanted to. His mind buzzed for the rest of the night as he hemmed and hawed over his options. He did his best not to toss and turn, fearful of waking either lady from their slumber.
‘Lord knows how much they both need their rest.’
Eventually, Jed sat upright in bed and carefully maneuvered his legs over the side. He stood, listening for any changes in Lila or Maeve’s breathing. The two only continued to breathe deeply, and Jed took that as a sign to continue toward the bedroom door.
Whether he liked it or not, his past was coming to collect on unfinished business. Edgar was coming to Bighorn Basin. There wasn’t anything he could do or say to stop that. All that mattered now was deciding if he would meet the man and hear what he had to say about Gedney Ranch.
Jed did his best to slip out soundlessly, though the hinges let out a pitiful squeak of protest. Frowning, Jed made a note to ask Joshua about the last time he’d oiled the darn thing, then made his way to the kitchen.
Only to bite back a surprised yelp at Sadie’s presence.
“Oh, sorry, Jed!” Sadie said. “Don’t let me chase you away. Come and sit. I’ll make you a cup.”
Jed obliged, quietly taking a seat while Sadie searched for another teacup. Her wheatfield of hair was neatly tied back, and it occurred to him how truly different she was to Maeve.
“Ah, here’s one!” Sadie chipperly returned to the table, cup in hand, before she poured tea into it. “Got some news, by the by. Joshua told me about it once Uncle Wit left. Apparently Samuel’s taken a group of ranchers on a hunt for the bandits who took shots at your cabin.”
As she passed the cup to Jed, he took it gingerly and watched as Sadie smoothed her nightgown of wrinkles before taking her seat.
“Sam’s a determined one. I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s already found and apprehended one of those awful men by now.”
She even sipped tea differently from Maeve, her fingers delicately grasping the handle.
“Oh! And I had a thought while you two were with Lila the last few hours. Uncle Wit made it pretty clear she should get some good rest, and I know I can’t sleep well while traveling.
” She offered Jed a wide grin. “I’d be happy to head to your cabin tomorrow to keep an eye on things!
Pa doesn’t need as much help with the store since Independence Day has come and gone, and I have a few ideas about things I’d like to stock your pantry with. ”
Jed couldn’t stop the question from bubbling up and out of his mouth. “Sadie, how’d you and Maeve get so close?”
Sadie paused, her mouth half-open as she gave Jed a curious look.
“I–I didn’t mean for that to sound rude,” Jed quickly continued. “I just…I’d never realized how different you two were until just now.”
Sadie took a thoughtful sip of tea, delicately setting the teacup back on its plate before turning to face Jed fully.
“Maeve was the first real friend I met, if that makes sense. Everyone in Bighorn knew about my father’s successful business, and they figured they had to be nice to me to work with him.
I knew children my age, but…they only treated me kindly because their parents told them to. They weren’t genuinely my friends.”
Jed’s heart suddenly ached as memories surfaced of Thomas in his youth.
A lack of real friendship… He couldn’t remember a time he wasn’t at Thomas’ side, didn’t associate with the people Thomas specifically chose to stand by them.
Were those folks genuine friends of theirs, or was everyone using each other in an endless game of greed?
“I think that’s why Maeve drew me in so quickly,” Sadie went on.
“She’s a very… Oh, it’s going to sound silly, but she just felt so…
authentic. I’m certain her personality was so brash because of all the boys we grew up around, but I feel like even without them, Maeve would still be as genuine as she is now. ”
Jed could attest to that. “She certainly ain’t one to hide her thoughts.”
Sadie covered her mouth as a snort escaped. “Oh goodness no! The things she called those boys when they bothered us are not ones I’d repeat for company.”
That got a laugh out of Jed. He briefly wondered how much Maeve had to censor herself around Lila.
“I was a stranger to everyone. Some out-of-towner with too much pocket change and no sense in her head.” Sadie’s expression softened, and a thoughtful look crossed her face.
“But Maeve never cared. She didn’t hold back her words, never blinked an eye at my expensive dresses and shoes.
‘Clothes’re meant to get muddy’, she’d tell me.
And she’d always look at me like I was the ridiculous one to think otherwise! ”
That certainly sounded like his wife.
“It does feel miraculous at times that we met at all,” Sadie agreed.
“But I’m glad God put us on the same path.
I like to think that He makes careful arrangements for us to meet the people we need.
And at that time, I desperately needed a friend.
Even if she was a bit wild,” Sadie added with a teasing wink.
“‘Was’?”
Sadie nearly spit out her tea from laughing. “D-Don’t let her catch you saying that! She’s very proud of how ladylike she’s become!”
Jed chuckled, staring down at his own cup. He’d never thought he’d meet someone like Sadie or the Wright brothers. “Sadie?”
“Mm?”
Jed exhaled, then lifted his head. “You mind waiting a bit before heading to our cabin tomorrow? There’s something important I gotta do in town first, and I don’t wanna leave Maeve alone with Lila.”
Sadie nodded eagerly. “Of course! You can count on me, Jed.”
There were no follow-up questions, no inquiry as to what he needed to accomplish in town. Sadie trusted him, just as the Wright brothers had. Just as Maeve had come to.
Jed polished off his cup of tea. Sadie had been right about one thing: God had put him and Edgar on the same path for a reason. And tomorrow, he was going to find out why for himself.
***
Jed waited until sunlight fully warmed the sky before making his way to the sheriff’s office.
It was a short walk over, and part of him was relieved for the office’s proximity.
If he’d been given too much time, he would’ve overthought things.
He might’ve talked himself out of going at all.
Joshua had all but confirmed Edgar’s presence before he left for patrol, as he’d been quick to answer Jed’s question about any out-of-towners hanging around the station.
Soon, Jed sat down in the lobby, doing his best to hold on to any ounce of patience he had left.
As if summoned by the chime of the hour, Edgar appeared.
His suitcase looked like it was bursting with papers, and he held a stack of folders under his free arm.
His usual wisps of hair looked quite bedraggled, as if he hadn’t the chance to properly attend to his grooming for the last few days, and the dark circles under his eyes were magnified by the lenses of his spectacles.
He caught Jed’s eye and nearly dropped everything on the floor. “Lord have mercy. Jed! It’s really you!”
Jed stood to greet Edgar, startled by how frantically the older man grasped and shook his head. “Y-You told me to meet you here.”
“Well yes, but I hadn’t thought– I wouldn’t have blamed you if you hadn’t–” Edgar shook his head, a great weight visibly lifting from his shoulders as he sighed with relief.
“I’m so glad you chose to meet with me, Jed.
Come. The local sheriff offered me one of his spare interview rooms. What I wish to speak of is particularly sensitive. ”
His eyes darted about, and Jed got a strange shudder down his back, as if he were suddenly made aware that something–or someone–was watching them.
Edgar quickly led Jed to the aforementioned room, supplied with a basic table, a set of chairs, and a kerosene lamp. Edgar moved to light the wick, gesturing for Jed to take a seat while he pulled himself together.
“Edgar, ye’re actin’ jumpier than a deer during hunting season,” Jed said.
“I know, I- …quite a bit has happened since your departure.” Edgar finally took a chair for himself, though he continued to fidget in discomfort. “Gracious, Jed. I am so terribly sorry.”
“You’ve said that a few times now.” Jed frowned, though he did his best not to look too upset. Edgar had clearly punished himself for…whatever mistake he insisted he had made. “Just take a deep breath.”
He did so. For a long, long moment.
“...you gotta let it out, too, Edgar.”
A sputtering cough escaped the older man as color returned to his cheeks.
“I’m sorry, I’m completely out of sorts.
Thomas came to my office soon after you left, and– Well, let’s say I still can’t believe he’s the same man I’ve worked alongside for years.
” Edgar swallowed, one leg bouncing underneath the desk.
“The things he said, and the way he threatened me-it was like something had possessed him, Jed.”
“What?” Jed could barely get the question out over his growing panic. “Why’d he threaten you, Edgar?”
“I didn’t rightly know. Not at first, anyway.
” Edgar stacked his folders on the desk, sifting through a number of documents as he spoke.
“I just assumed he was upset over you leaving. He wouldn’t have known about your unsuccessful attempt to sell off your shares, but after he left, I couldn’t shake the suspicion that he knew far more than he should about the situation. ”
Edgar slipped a paper free and turned it over for Jed to see. It looked like standard business documentation listing Gedney Ranch’s supply chain. It was dated nearly a decade ago, when the ranch had first started finding its footing.
As he skimmed over the words, Jed froze when he reached a section regarding ownership. Gedney and Mercer were written clear as day there, the ink aged alongside the slight yellowing of the paper. There was no denying it.
Thomas had never had sole ownership of their cattle business.
“Edgar…” Jed couldn’t find the words at first, completely fixated on his neatly written surname. “Where did you find this?”
“In an unlabeled filing cabinet within the lands office’s basement.
” Edgar produced more documents for Jed to look at, all clearly detailing his shares in Gedney Ranch.
“Someone put some effort into hiding these, though not enough to go so far as to burn them. I reckon the risk of being jailed for damaging government property outweighed whatever order the perpetrator was given.”
Jed’s jaw tightened reflexively.
“Truth be told,” Edgar admitted, “I wouldn’t have found this if Kathleen hadn’t insisted on investigating further. She was certain you’d been cheated, Jed, and refused to believe otherwise.”
A knot of guilt formed in Jed’s chest. He’d left her with barely a letter of explanation, yet she’d gone so far to get him justice? The question buzzed in his mind, but Jed couldn’t will himself to ask it. Not yet anyway; there was still too much to process. “What does this mean, Edgar?”
Edgar took the papers back, stacking them neatly before redistributing them into their folders once more.
“It means we have a leg to stand on, Jed. What Thomas tried to do… Kathleen and I have already begun to build an incredibly solid case against him. Beyond just forgery, Jed, we’ve discovered possible ties between his business and the increase in bandit raids. ”
The knot in Jed’s stomach froze solid. The man who always knew what to say, the one who could talk his way out of any problem, was finally losing the race to karma. It would only be a matter of time until everything came to light.
“I don’t want to make promises, Jed,” Edgar began softly, “but there’s a real chance we can make the court give you back your shares.
More than that, if you come back home to testify and it comes to light that Thomas has been engaged in illegal practices, you may earn sole ownership of Gedney Ranch in its entirety. ”
The entire ranch? Jed could only shake his head. It didn’t seem real to him. His old life, everything he’d built over the last decade…he could get it all back. And more.
But Thomas wouldn’t like that. He certainly wouldn’t let that happen sitting down. If Edgar could make the trip to Bighorn, there was nothing stopping Thomas doing so either.
‘And what if I go back to Cheyenne?’ Jed thought.
He’d have to leave Maeve and Lila behind.
He couldn’t force them to travel such a long distance.
But that left them exposed to Thomas, to whatever twisted machinations he appeared capable of plotting if he so chose.
And what if Jed didn’t win? Would Thomas leave him be, or would he stop at nothing to destroy the life Jed had begun to build here in Bighorn?
‘My life…’
What if Jed won? Would he have to move back to Cheyenne to run the business? How would he help Maeve with the herd?
“I know this is a lot to take in,” Edgar said, “so I’ve extended my stay here by another week. Come visit me if you can. We can talk over your options more. There’s no need to decide on everything at once.”
Jed could only offer a numb nod. His business…the life he’d barely started to build here in Bighorn… It was all too much to think of right now. For the time being, he had to let the matter sit. He had to give himself a chance to think things through.
He had to figure out how to keep Maeve and Lila away from this mess.