Chapter Twenty-Five
That afternoon, Jackson sent Hope to his mother’s cottage and told Daniel to keep a watchful eye on both women.
He rode out to Ethan as fast as Horse would carry him.
Though he was shaken by Victor’s sudden appearance and his intense conversation with Hope about his past, he couldn’t allow emotion and fear to make him slow to respond.
“What are you suggesting?” Ethan asked when Jackson was later seated in his kitchen.
Ethan’s expression was grave, and so was Clara’s as she set water on the stove for coffee.
“We need to stand up to Victor,” Jackson stated firmly. “We outnumber him, so long as we can get everyone to unite against him.”
“He was here earlier this morning,” Clara said, her voice so faint he almost didn’t hear her.
Ethan scowled at his sister.
“What did he say?” Jackson asked, his tone a little harsher than he intended. “Ethan!”
“He made an offer on the land. Victor said my parents were too old and I was a useless rancher,” Ethan muttered.
“It’s not true, Ethan,” Clara insisted. “You have a gift with horses.”
“She’s right. Are you considering his offer?” Jackson asked, feeling a tense knot form between his shoulders.
Ethan was a loyal friend, but he had weak points, and Victor was all too experienced in targeting any person’s weaknesses. Jackson needed to bolster Ethan as much as he could.
Ethan suddenly grinned at him.
“Of course not,” Ethan said. “Victor has a way of making you listen to him, but luckily I had Clara at my side to pinch me back to my senses.”
“I did not,” Clara said with a lighthearted laugh. She handed them each a cup of coffee. “But we are nervous, Jackson. He wants your water.”
“What do you mean?”
“Simon and us,” Ethan explained. “That’s what stands between Victor’s closest land and your creek. Think about it. We all source water from you. Victor doesn’t have that.”
“And he certainly doesn’t have your friendship to ask,” Clara pointed out.
“Why ask when you can take?” Ethan sighed. “Even I picked up on the desperation in Victor’s voice. He wants this land.”
“If what you’re saying is true, Ethan,” Jackson said with a sigh, “then you or Simon will be attacked soon.”
“He’s already attacked Simon’s cows,” Clara reminded them, fear growing in her eyes.
Jackson realized what she was saying. Even though he felt stretched thin, he was determined to protect the valley from Langford.
“I’ll stand watch through the night,” Jackson offered.
Ethan laughed gently. “No, Jackson, you won’t. I might not be as good a marksman as you, but you can’t leave your own ranch unprotected to look after mine.”
“He’s right,” Clara said with a little frown. “We’ll look after our own. You can’t leave Hope and your ma.”
Jackson realized the folly of his offer. Even being away from the ranch now, having Hope out of sight was making him anxious. He could not shake the way Victor’s pale blue eyes had lingered on Hope as if she were piece of land to be taken, whether she agreed or not.
“You’re not a lawman anymore, Jackson,” Ethan reminded him. “So you don’t have to protect us all.”
“Fine. But if anything happens, burn a big fire and I’ll know,” Jackson said, ignoring the reference to his former career. “We may have our own land to fight for, but we can still help each other in times of need.”
“Well spoken, man!” Ethan boomed, raising his coffee in a toast.
Jackson smiled despite himself. He only hoped Ethan’s bravado prevailed when Victor paid him another visit in the dead of night.
“In truth, friend,” Ethan continued, his smile fading. “I worry for you. Victor seems obsessed with you. You’re the one who needs to be careful.”
Jackson felt Ethan’s warning cut through him to the core as he confirmed aloud what Jackson had already been thinking.
“I think I know why,” Jackson admitted quietly, feeling sick over it. “It’s not just my land. He’s finally found a weak point in my defenses.”
Ethan tilted his head, trying to understand.
“Well now, I don’t think Hope would appreciate being spoken of as a weak point,” Clara said sternly. “She’s tough as anything.”
Ethan nodded with understanding. “It’s not her that’s weak. It’s Jackson… He has something he’s terrified to lose.”
“I should get back,” Jackson said, feeling fear grip his heart as his inner thoughts were laid bare. He shook it off. “We cannot let fear intimidate us. We’ll weather this.”
***
Jackson slept fitfully that night, his dreams worse than his waking thoughts.
So much so that when the first gunshot went off, he thought it was in his dream.
But as several others followed, he launched out of bed and sprinted to Hope’s room, fear blinding him.
He knocked once on her bedroom door, then pushed through into the darkness.
“Hope!” he shouted, panic causing his heart to pound in his chest. He collided with her and drew her into his arms. “You’re okay,” he whispered into her hair.
He had never felt so much relief, and he didn’t think he’d be able to let her go for the rest of the night. His dreams of Victor snatching her from him had been so vivid.
Hope’s voice cut through his thoughts. “Your ma,” she gasped.
Hope broke free and lit a lantern while Jackson grabbed her hand and led her out of the bedroom. Daniel was standing in the lounge holding a lantern as well. He was already dressed, and had a gun slung over one shoulder.
“I heard gunshots,” Daniel said.
“Take Hope to Ma,” Jackson ordered. “Keep watch!”
“I can help,” Daniel insisted. “You’ll need me.”
Jackson felt torn between leaving Hope unguarded and also possibly needing assistance if Victor’s men outnumbered him. He nodded.
“Fine, meet me at the horses,” Jackson said. “Two minutes.”
He turned to exit the house, but felt a hand grab at his.
“Jackson!” a tearful Hope cried. “You can’t go!”
“Hope, darling,” he soothed her. “I have to. It could be Ethan or Simon. They’d come to our aid if it was us.”
“But I can’t bear the thought of losing you,” she cried, her voice barely a whisper.
Hope’s words stung, especially because he knew he felt the same way about her. Having finally found someone he could love, the fear of losing her felt impossible.
“Please, Hope,” he begged, feeling every second that ticked away. “I need you to be strong.”
His words had a visible effect on Hope, and she nodded, wiping her tears away.
“If you promise you’ll be careful,” she said firmly.
Jackson nodded before kissing her cheek briefly, then turned away from her. Leaving Hope again felt wrong in every part of his being, but he knew he had to trust her. Hope was determined and strong, and knowing she was waiting for him was what would bring him home.
Once Hope was safely at Margaret’s with one of the hands keeping watch, Jackson and Daniel rode out. They didn’t need to wonder where the gunshots had come from, because there was a large blaze in the distance.
Jackson’s stomach dropped when he first thought it might be Ethan calling for help, but he soon realized the fire was too large to be a beacon.
The fire was also in the direction of David’s ranch, another one of the men who had been trying to get Grady to assist with the attacks.
They galloped towards the fire, and Jackson forced his mind to stay calm.
It was true they had no idea what they’d find, but he needed to think clearly if he was going to be of any assistance.
“It’s the barn,” Daniel breathed, the horror evident in his voice.
Jackson didn’t slow down. He charged towards the fire, his gun ready in case any of the attackers were still there.
David and his ranch hands were greasy with sooty sweat as they tried in vain to beat back the fire.
“We need water!” Jackson shouted.
“The water pipes were cut,” David shouted back, pushing forward to beat at more flames with a singed blanket.
“There’s no saving the barn, man!” Jackson shouted at him. “Daniel, get the workers to move away anything that can burn. We need to stop that fire from spreading to the house!”
David nodded, and Daniel took charge of his workers. They worked tirelessly to move any bales, wagons, or wood that could fuel the blaze.
“What of your herd and horses?” Jackson demanded of David, seeing that the man was paralyzed by shock.
David shook his soot-stained face. He croaked at Jackson, “We got most of the animals out, but the fire was too big to save them all.”
“Are there any trapped in the corrals close by?” Jackson pressed. “We need to make sure the fire won’t reach them.”
David’s eyes glistened, and Jackson’s heart sank. That was the look of a man who had seen his animals suffer.
“Ten of them were slaughtered before my men ran out and fired shots,” David replied. “It’s madness, Jackson,” he added with a sad shake of his head. “This’ll ruin me.”
Jackson felt rage boil inside of him as he caught a glimpse of the unmoving bodies of cattle lying in the grass a short distance away. Other cows lowed desperately, the roar of the nearby blaze adding to their panic.
Jackson turned back to David and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Only if you stop fighting for what’s still left! You’re going to lose the rest of your cattle if they break free and bolt. Victor is counting on that.”
David’s eyes widened with fear that was quickly replaced with renewed determination.
“Harry!” he shouted, before turning to run towards the corrals.
Jackson’s chest heaved as he tried to breathe through the heavy cloud of smoke around them. He surveyed the scene, taking note of everything that had been attended to and trying to determine what still needed to be done.
“There’s nothing around the barn that can burn now. We’ve cleared it all,” Daniel said as he ran up. “What else, Jackson?”
Jackson turned around, taking stock of the area around him, his brain racing through all foreseeable problems.
“Take two men and see what can be done for those water pipes,” Jackson said. “If we don’t get water going, the survivors will die of thirst.”
“Good thinking,” Daniel said, flashing him a grin.
Jackson stepped back from the fire, realizing that the beams were groaning.
“Everyone away from the barn!” he yelled, turning and running himself as the barn started to collapse inwards.
The blaze roared with more intensity for a few minutes before the last of the wood burned up. With no more fuel lying around, the fire slowly started to subside. Dark grey and purple streaks appeared in the sky, and Jackson knew dawn would be on its way.
He worked tirelessly checking on the corrals, the water pipes, and David’s sobbing family who stood a safe distance away. The ache in his legs and the empty pangs in his stomach told him a good few hours had passed.
“We’ve got water moving through!” Daniel announced with a wild grin. His arms and pants were wet with mud, and dark circles had formed under his eyes, but Jackson thought he had proved himself invaluable.
“Good work, Daniel,” Jackson praised him. “Get the cattle and horses watered.”
Daniel ran off again. Jackson located one of the pipes and called a spare ranch worker to help him water down the last of the fire. If the wind picked up, the smoldering coals and stray sparks could light the grass for miles.
Jackson worked tirelessly, hurling water at the flames until his hands were blistered and his back ached.
“That’s enough of that, Jackson,” David said, touching his shoulder. “My men can take over.”
Jackson straightened, feeling as if lead was in all his muscles. David looked exhausted too, but there was a small smile on his dirty face.
“How many did you lose?” Jackson asked.
“Fifteen cattle and one horse,” David replied while wiping the sweat from his forehead slowly, as though he was too tired to lift his arms. “But many more than that were saved thanks to you and Daniel.”
“I didn’t do anything-” Jackson attempted to protest, feeling the loss of fifteen cows.
“You gave me strength when I’d all but lost hope, Jackson,” David said, his eyes wet. He sniffed loudly and wiped his nose on his sleeve. “Now, get home with you. I’ll bet that young wife of yours wants to see you safely seated at her breakfast table.”
Jackson nodded, his mind immediately on Hope and how desperately he wanted to hold her in his arms.
“If you ever need me,” David called after him. “I’ll stand with you, boy!”
Jackson flew onto Horse and galloped off as quickly as he could.
Though David and his family had been saved, he couldn’t shake the image of the visible terror that had wracked Hope when he’d said goodbye.
Her eyes had bored into him as though she thought she’d never see him again.
Ethan was right; he couldn’t protect the whole valley without risking what was his own.
He needed more help, and he knew where he had to go to ask for it.