Chapter 9 #2
But I do.
Running Bear turned away from the open window in the back of Hawk’s shop. He’d been hunkered down listening for the past half hour or so. Miley had joined him there for a few minutes before returning inside to resume her carving.
She was adorable and as smart as a whip, too. He couldn’t possibly be prouder of the kid. She was another reason he had to do what he was about to do. She didn’t deserve to spend the rest of her life looking over her shoulder.
After what he’d overheard today, it was time to pay a long overdue visit to his brother. Ace’s witch of a wife would never allow it, because she was too afraid of someone convincing her dying husband to reconsider the terms of his last will and testament. Any hope Running Bear had of seeing his brother before he passed was going to require a detour to Dakota Farm.
He made his way to the shed on the far side of Hawk’s property, where he kept the few belongings that weren’t part of his usual nomadic lifestyle. Unlocking the door, he reached for the helmet he kept on a hook inside the door and pulled it on. Then he stepped inside to yank the protective blanket off his black Harley Road King.
Mounting it, he revved the motor to warm it up. Then he rolled it from the shed. Kicking the door shut behind him, he revved the motor again and took off.
It felt good being on the road again. He took a back lane that skirted the more populated parts of the rez. When he reached the front gate, he gave the attendant a lazy salute and increased his speed. He had the proverbial “miles to go before he slept,” so there was no time to waste.
It took more than an hour to reach the hospital, where his brother was still hanging on by a thread. I hope. Instead of pulling into the parking lot where Rosamund had rammed her fool car into Hawk’s pickup truck, he kept riding. He rode until he reached the enormous log entrance of Dakota Ranch. By some twist of fortune, the security gate was propped open.
He rumbled past it on his Harley and waved at the security cameras. The fella he was coming to see was welcome to consider it his calling card.
The Dakotas’ white farmhouse rose in front of him as massive as a medieval fortress. It was probably complete with a dungeon, though he wouldn’t be staying long enough to find out.
He braked in front of the double entrance doors. Almost immediately, the one on the right opened. Out rolled a man in a wheelchair.
He looked good for a fella who’d been chained to a chair for over thirty years. He was taller than Running Bear had been expecting. More muscular, too, like he spent a decent amount of time at the gym.
Good for you, kiddo.
Running Bear liked the fact that Edward Dakota had kept living. From what he understood, Ace’s stepson now managed the entire operation at Dakota Farm.
Running Bear killed the motor on his bike and removed his helmet, dangling it from his handlebars. “Hello, Edward. My name is Uri Dakota.”
Edward Dakota gave him a cautious smile. “I know who you are, sir. It’s good to finally meet you.”
Running Bear was pleased by his response. “May I join you on the porch?”
“It depends on why you’re here, sir.”
“Only to talk.” Running Bear lifted his tunic a few inches to prove he wasn’t armed. Then he lifted the legs of his trousers one at a time for the same reason.
Edward finally beckoned him forward. “Would you like any refreshments?”
“Nah, I won’t be staying long.” Running Bear didn’t even plan to take a seat. All he wanted was to stretch his legs a little and get close enough to look his nephew by marriage in the eye. Some things in life were best handled man to man.
He walked halfway up the porch steps and paused, not wanting to crowd his host. “You have a kind heart. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be helping Mirabelle Gilbert.”
A layer of ice appeared over Edward’s dark gaze. To his credit, he didn’t deny it. “Why are you here?” His voice grew clipped.
“Because I need your help, as well.”
Edward’s jaw grew hard, but he gestured for him to continue.
“I’d like to see my brother before he dies.” Running Bear didn’t have to fake the crackle of emotion in his voice. “But the only way that’ll ever happen is if?—”
“I call off the guard dog,” Edward finished for him. He produced a cell phone and started to tap out a message on his screen. When he was finished typing, he laid his phone face down on his knee. “Is there anything else I can do for you, sir?”
“Would you let me take you out for lunch when this is all over?” Running Bear had no idea how someone as evil as Rosamund had raised such a respectable young man. Edward was the antithesis of his mother.
A faint smile twisted Edward’s mouth. “I’d like that, sir.”
Running Bear inclined his head at him as he backed down the steps. “It’s a date. I’ll be in touch about the details.” Hopping back on his Harley, he revved the motor and took off again.
He didn’t have a clue what was in the message Edward sent his mother. All he knew was that she was absent when he arrived at his brother’s hospital room.
Ace’s feet moved restlessly at the foot of his bed. “Is that you, Ros?” He wheezed out the words around the oxygen tube whooshing air up his nose.
“It’s your brother, Uri.” It had been so long since the two of them had last seen each other that Running Bear hadn’t known what to expect. He knew his brother was dying, but it was still hard to see the skeletal version of him sprawled on the hospital bed. Ace’s skin looked as thin as paper. It was stretched over his face, leaving gaunt hollows beneath his cheek bones. Blue and purplish smudges outlined his eyes.
Ace turned his face to the wall. “What do you want?”
“I want you to listen. That’s it.” Running Bear quietly shared the highlights of Rosamund’s long list of crimes, unsure if his brother would believe him. “She’s going to jail, Ace. It’s only a matter of time. Your stepson is working with Mirabelle Gilbert as we speak to help put her behind bars. I don’t know how Edward found out about Mirabelle, but he did, and he’s chosen a side. It’s the beginning of the end for Rosamund. You know it, and I know it.”
Ace was silent for so long that Running Bear feared he’d fallen asleep or worse. However, he finally swiveled his head back toward Running Bear.
His face was slick with tears. “Did she kill Chayton?”
“I don’t know.” It was the truth. His nephew’s death remained an unsolved mystery. “What I do know is that she performed a hit-and-run on Annalee twice and tried to burn down Gilbert Farm with Miley locked in her bedroom. Fortunately, Miley had the sense to break a window and skedaddle out of there before it was too late.”
An ugly sob escaped Ace. “Even if she didn’t kill him, it sounds like she’s capable of it.”
“I believe that to be the case, and I’m as sorry as I can be about it. I’ll pray for her.” There was one other promise Running Bear could give, and he gave it willingly. “I’ll also protect Edward with my life. You have my word.”
“Please do.” Ace’s breathing became labored. “He’s going to need an ally after I’m gone.” He fell into a coughing fit. It was several minutes before he could speak again. “She doesn’t yet know what I’ve done, and she’ll want someone to pay. I don’t want that someone to be Edward.”
Running Bear’s insides twisted with foreboding. “What have you done, Ace?”
Ace fell into another fit of coughing that left him breathless and wheezing. “I changed…my will…again. Everything I own…will go to…Annalee.”
Running Bear gaped at him in alarm, knowing that the most likely person who’d pay would be his own daughter-in-law. As if she didn’t already have a big enough target on her head!
A rattling sound made him break off the rest of the sentence.
“Ace,” he gasped, leaning over his brother’s bed.
Ace’s eyes were closed, and he was no longer breathing.
“Ace,” Running Bear said again, inwardly pleading with his brother to stay with him a little longer.
Ace’s eyes popped open, and the look he gave him was full of love and longing. Then he closed his eyes again, and his chest fell for the last time.
The only sound remaining in the room was the whoosh of oxygen that was no longer needed.
“Oh, my brother, my brother!” Running Bear knelt beside his bed, weeping out his final goodbye. “You’re in the Lord’s hands now, and there’s no better place you could be.” Ace Dakota’s fight was over.
Uri Dakota’s fight, however, was still in full swing.
A nurse found him there and gently placed her hands on his shoulders. “Take all the time you need,” she said softly. “I’ll be right around the corner.”