Chapter Twenty-Three
“Jackson,” Margaret said as soon as she saw him, “what’s going on?”
A bewildered Daniel also followed them into Margaret’s cottage kitchen, which smelled of freshly baked bread and coffee being brewed.
“Old Simon’s ranch has been targeted,” Jackson explained as he accepted a cloth from her to wipe the dirt from his face. “Their water source was badly contaminated, further down where it branches off our creek, and some of the cows drank from it. They’re sick, Ma. I’ve never seen cows so ill.”
“Three died despite Jackson working on them,” Hope said with tears in her eyes. “Those poor animals.”
Margaret raised a hand to her mouth, and he could see she was visibly shaken by the news. Out in Madison Valley, all the ranchers looked out for each other. If one of their animals was injured, they all felt it. Their lack of action had allowed a menace like Victor to quickly gain power.
“The men were in bad shape, too,” Hope continued. “They’d been working tirelessly keeping the cows away from the water until we arrived to help.”
Jackson watched Hope’s pale face as she spoke. She had been upset by the trouble, but not paralyzed by it. Her mud-stained skirts and disheveled hair spoke of her determination to leap in and help.
Margaret pulled her apron off and took a deep breath. “Right. Jackson, what’s to be done?”
That was what he loved about his mother too. Even though she was clearly shocked, she wasted no time, always ready to help.
“We’ve separated them from the river,” Hope explained, “but they have no water to drink in the pens.”
Hope had been amazing at rounding up the herd and moving them away from the river.
If he hadn’t been dealing with the sick cows, Jackson would’ve enjoyed watching her work.
Sadly, their time together had been interrupted.
Jackson had planned to talk to Hope about the kiss and how he’d loved every second of their evening together, but it would have to wait.
“Can you move them?” Margaret asked.
“Jackson’s got a clever plan for that,” Hope said, directing a weak smile at him. “We want to prepare some makeshift pens for them higher up the river, closer to Jackson’s side of the creek.”
“That ought to do it,” Daniel agreed. “But they’ll need fences.”
“I’m heading out now to put up temporary fencing closer to the creek,” Jackson explained. “Simon’s cows need access to the water, but we still need to keep them apart from our own.”
Jackson knew it was a heavy load of work, and he’d likely finish after dark, but it was the least he could do to help an old family friend. Nobody deserved to have their animals hurt the way Simon’s had been.
“Just in case anything spreads,” Margaret realized with a nod. “What can I do? I’m sure those men need a hot meal.”
Jackson nodded. “Yes, and we need help trying to get fresh water into the sick cows before they dehydrate.”
“I can do that,” Hope said determinedly.
It warmed Jackson’s heart to see her immediately jump into action, even after everything she’d already done. He felt relieved to have her at his side in this emergency, and this gave him some comfort despite the impending troubles he was sure they were soon to face.
“I can help with the fencing,” Daniel said quickly, despite having been rather quiet during the conversation.
Jackson nodded at him. He turned to leave, but a look from his mother stopped him.
“Jackson, what contaminated the water?” his mother asked.
Jackson and Hope shared a grim look.
“Dead dogs in the water,” Jackson answered.
“More than one?” his ma gasped.
Jackson nodded. It made him sick to his stomach to repeat.
“It was no accident,” Hope said with meaning. “Jackson inspected them and found they’d been shot.”
“We pulled them out and buried them far away,” Jackson said. “They were Simon’s dogs.”
Margaret paled, and she steadied herself by holding onto the back of a chair.
“There can be no doubt now,” Jackson said to his mother. “He’s coming for us all.”
The dread he’d been feeling ever since the first few cut fences and missing steers told him his gut feeling had been right. Victor Langford had slowly been building up his presence with the aim to terrify them all.
“We have to stay positive, Jackson,” his mother insisted. “This is the strongest ranch in Madison Valley.”
“Not anymore, Ma,” Jackson cut her off. He paused, hearing the clip of his own tone. It wasn’t her fault that he hadn’t done a better job protecting them from Victor. “Sorry, Ma.”
“Matthew and Mark, Simon’s hands, told us how Victor has quietly been buying up property for cheap. He ruins ranchers and then buys off their land piece by piece when they can’t afford to carry on,” Hope explained.
“Oh, I wish you’d put a bullet in him when you had the chance,” Margaret said with a click of her tongue.
“Ma!” Jackson said in shock.
“Oh, you know I’m only joking,” Margaret said sheepishly, retying her apron.
Hope chuckled, and Daniel laughed nervously too.
“We’d better ride out,” Jackson said, giving his mother a nod before marching out of the cottage. Daniel and Hope followed him.
“I’ll head over to the sick cows,” Hope said, putting on her own bonnet. “While there’s life in them, they at least have a chance.”
“Hope.” Jackson caught her arm before she could mount Sweetpea. “Simon can look after them. He’s got other hands to help.”
“Please let me help,” Hope pleaded, her expression earnest. “I’ll go mad sitting at home knowing those cows are dying. Let me do something.”
“I’d rather you were safe at home,” Jackson cautioned, giving Hope a longing look.
“As I would you,” Hope countered. “Be safe out there, husband.”
He helped her onto Sweetpea and watched her ride away before turning to Daniel.
“We need all the wire and posts we can spare,” Jackson ordered.
***
“That’s the last of it,” Daniel called, flinging his hammer to the ground and grinning tiredly at Jackson.
“Good work, Daniel,” Jackson said, slapping him on the back. “Let’s get to Simon so they can start bringing in the herd.”
Jackson meant what he’d said. Daniel had worked solidly that afternoon, not taking even a minute’s break while there was still work to be done. He was quite a changed man from the one who had tired easily and often slept in late just a short time ago. Jackson hoped that the change would last.
“I’m sorry your afternoon with Hope was cut short,” Daniel said with a sly smile as they walked back to the horses.
“We were just out looking for mushrooms,” Jackson explained. “Hope wanted to bake Ma a mushroom pie.”
“Sure she did,” Daniel chuckled. “Hope hates mushrooms.”
Jackson turned to Daniel with a frown. “Then why would she…”
“The pair of you are hopeless,” Daniel teased with a laugh. “I guess Hope just wanted to spend some time with you.”
Jackson couldn’t stop himself from grinning at this. He had found himself thinking up endless excuses to be in the same vicinity as Hope. He was ashamed to admit he’d almost asked Hope to help him with the fences, so it made him happy to know she was doing the same thing.
“I’m glad to see my sister so happy,” Daniel said with a smile, giving Jackson a grateful look.
Jackson nodded. “Thank you for that.”
“But I feel I should warn you,” Daniel continued, packing his tools into his saddle bag. “Hope is no easy woman to protect.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“She’s so darn independent,” Daniel said with a shrug. “I could never manage, but I think Hope respects you.”
“Hope respects you, too,” Jackson found himself saying.
Daniel laughed. “No, she doesn’t. Hope pities me. But I can see she feels safe here with you, and for that I’m grateful. My Ma and Pa would’ve been pleased, Jackson. They would’ve been greatly pleased.”
It slowly dawned on Jackson that Daniel was trying to give them his blessing on behalf of the Caldwell family.
“I appreciate that, Daniel,” Jackson said, giving Daniel a hand to shake. “Now let’s get that herd moved in for the night.”
It took Jackson, Daniel, and all the other available hands another hour and a half to move the herd into the new pen they’d built. It lifted Jackson’s heart greatly to see the cows shuffling towards the banks of his creek, lowing as they went.
“How will we ever thank you?” Simon said, grabbing Jackson’s hand and squeezing it. “You’ve saved us.”
“You’d do the same for me, Simon,” Jackson assured him.
“I know it was Victor,” Simon growled, his old face forming a deep scowl. “He’s been on me to sell that section of land that connects to your river.”
“Don’t give in,” Jackson urged him. “If we stand together, we stand stronger.”
“Spoken like your pa’s boy,” Simon said with a gravelly chuckle. “I’ll continue to stand with you, boy, mark my words. Victor will have to carry me out in a coffin before he gets another piece of my land.”
Jackson grinned at him. As long as they all worked together, they stood a chance at stopping Victor from gaining too much ground.
He only wished the other ranchers had come to him before selling up.
Even so, Jackson himself hadn’t been willing to take charge earlier.
He’d been quietly hoping someone else would, but that had only made things worse.
“Get home to that beautiful wife of yours,” Simon said, slapping Jackson on the back. “My boys said she was mighty impressive on that horse of hers today. They reckon she helped save those cows in a big way.”
Jackson’s heart swelled with pride at the mention of Hope, and he grinned boyishly at Simon.
“You found yourself a good woman there, Jackson,” Simon said. “Keep hold of her tight. I didn’t like the way Victor eyed her at the festival.”
Jackson’s smile faded, and he realized the old man was right. He had far more to lose than land and some cows. Hope was his to protect, and suddenly he’d received two potent reminders of that.
“I’ll be getting home then,” Jackson said, spurring Horse on.
He wondered what Hope was doing. He imagined her gently humming as she stirred a bowl of cake batter, or laying the table in expectation of his arrival.
He longed to be back with her. As his feelings for her had grown, so had his fear that she could be ripped from him.
And what if he wasn’t there to protect her when that happened?
Jackson charged on, pushing so hard that both he and Horse were coated in sweat by the time they got back.
It was after dark, and Jackson could not relax until he caught a glimpse of Hope through the kitchen window.
She was washing dishes, and he saw her wave excitedly as they rode up to the barn.
He wiped down Horse, then watered and fed him before hurrying to the outside washroom.
He didn’t dare present himself to Hope in his current state.
“There you are,” Hope said warmly as he entered the kitchen. “I thought you’d gotten lost.”
“I just needed to clean up for dinner,” Jackson said, feeling the stresses of the day melt off his shoulders at the sight of her smiling face. “How are the cows?”
“They’ll pull through,” Hope said, and he could see the tiredness in her eyes. “Old Simon came and chased me away. He said I needed to get home to my husband. He also said some other things I won’t repeat,” she added with a blush.
Jackson laughed, the good news about the cows a relief after such a long day. “He told me to hurry home too, and I’m glad I did.”
“Are you really?” Hope asked, giving him a wistful look.
“You have no idea how good it feels to come home to a warm kitchen smelling of a hearty beef stew.”
“Is that all you care about?” she asked with a shy smile.
Jackson stepped closer. “And seeing you, of course.”
Hope blushed deeply at his words. “It’s the least I could do after your hard work today. You saved those animals and that family. You always do the right thing, no matter how hard it is. I’m proud of you for it. And I’m…proud to be your wife, Jackson,” Hope said, her eyes finding his.
Jackson had not been expecting such high praise from Hope, and he’d never thought her opinion would mean so much to him at the beginning of their marriage. Finding he could not think of the words to express how he felt in that moment, Jackson leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead.
Hope smiled up at him, a little giggle escaping her lips. “Shall we eat?”
“Yes, please,” Jackson agreed.
Hope chatted away to him while dishing up a bowl of stew, and Jackson felt the stresses and worries of the day ebb away.
He thought of the years he’d spent convinced he was better off without a wife, and marveled at how wrong he’d been.
More than anything, he was grateful he’d waited, because as he watched Hope move about the kitchen, he knew there could never have been another woman for him.