Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Horse!” Jackson called, walking out of the barn with a scowl on his face.
After Sheriff Grady had refused to listen to them the day before, Jackson had felt a burning ball of anxiety growing in the pit of his stomach.
He couldn’t believe that the law was failing them.
What made it even worse was that he could see how it was affecting Hope.
He’d heard it in her angry tone when she spoke to Daniel in the kitchen the night before.
He’d never expected her to feel so strongly about fighting against Victor and protecting the ranch, and he felt strangely comforted having a force like her at his side.
But it was his job to protect her, not the other way around.
He had spent the night tossing and turning, jerking awake every time he’d heard a horse snort or the squeak of a hinge.
He’d thought he heard footsteps at one point, then realized that it was Hope moving about in the room next door.
She’d been awake all night, too. It pained him to know she also felt his stress.
“Horse! Where are you?” he barked, walking around the back of the barn to investigate.
“What’s the problem?” Daniel asked, setting down the buckets of water he was carrying to the troughs.
“The riding horses that stay in the barn overnight aren’t in their pen,” Jackson replied. “Did you move them?”
Daniel’s face dropped and he shook his head. “And I haven’t seen the foreman up this way either.”
Jackson picked up his pace as he walked the perimeter of the barn.
Something was not right; he could feel it.
As he rounded the third side of the building, he saw it.
Some of the wooden planks had been pulled out from a section of the barn.
He dropped to his haunches and examined the ground for clues.
“Horse prints,” Jackson muttered to Daniel.
“But who would’ve…” Daniel trailed off when he saw Jackson’s dark expression.
“Not bandits, that’s for sure,” Jackson said, standing upright.
Daniel walked towards the barn to examine the extent of the damage.
Jackson shook his head. “There’s boot prints here, and they’re sure as anything not mine.”
“Jackson,” Daniel called suddenly. “The fence on this side of the barn has been cut.”
“Darn it!” Jackson said, stifling the more colorful words that first fired into his mind. He rubbed his beard with his hand. “Wake up a couple of the hands and send them up north to look for the horses. We don’t know how far they’ve been driven.”
Daniel nodded and sprinted off, while Jackson climbed through the gap in the barn wall and into the horse pen. He could tell by their prints that the horses had been panicked and bolted. Most likely they had been agitated on purpose, given the clues.
“I swear, if I get my hands on that man…” Jackson growled under his breath, worrying for the safety of his horses.
It was then that he noticed the full extent of the damage.
All the feed bags had been slashed open, spilling oats and corn everywhere.
Again, the boot prints showed that the grain had been deliberately trampled into the ground until it was useless.
Jackson’s jaw dropped and he pulled off his hat.
Many of the harnesses had been cut, and the tools carefully arranged along the walls had been broken.
He threw his hat on the ground and kicked at the dirt. Victor Langford had sent a clear and calculated message this time. He could easily reach into the heart of the Hale ranch and hurt them while they slept.
“What in the…heck happened here?” Daniel asked, curbing his language when Jackson gave him a wild look.
“Victor sent a warning,” Jackson said with a shake of his head. “This is what happens when you refuse to give him what he wants.”
“How much will all…this…cost you?” Daniel asked softly, his brown eyes wide with shock.
“The damage is far more than money,” Jackson muttered while picking up his hat and dusting it off. “Last night it was my horses and feed…but what’ll tomorrow night bring?” He choked up at the thought. “Hope or Ma?” Jackson broke off and walked away from Daniel.
It wasn’t right, and it shouldn’t be allowed. It grated on him that he couldn’t go to the sheriff and get the help the law was supposed to provide.
“Jackson,” Daniel said, picking up a shovel. “We can get this cleared up. We can fix the barn.”
There was something that reminded Jackson of Hope in Daniel’s expression, and he wished Hope was there to see the resilient look on her brother’s face after their argument last night.
“You’re right,” Jackson said, picking up a shovel and joining Daniel in the frantic clean up. “Thank you.”
“I’ve got to redeem myself somehow. You heard Hope last night…”
Jackson had heard Hope. It had pained him to not know how to reach out to her and comfort her. Words had failed him, though, and he’d been relieved his ma had stepped in to talk to her instead.
“Ethan’s the closest thing I’ve got to a sibling, and we fight plenty,” Jackson said, unsure whether this would comfort Daniel in any way.
Daniel nodded. “Has Ethan ever disappointed you?”
Jackson chuckled lightly as he scooped up another shovel of mushed up feed and soil.
“Many times. And I him,” Jackson said. “But you just do what you need to for family, no matter what.”
“What do you mean?” Daniel asked, a frown on his face.
Jackson could see Daniel was already tiring from the work, but he pushed on.
“You forgive each other,” Jackson expanded. “I know Hope only wants what’s best for you.”
“She’s different with you,” Daniel said next, a smile creeping across his lips. “A good kind of different.”
Jackson’s mind took a turn. He’d noticed the difference in Hope from when she’d first arrived.
She’d gone from shouldering everything alone to slowly opening up to him, leaning on him and letting him help her.
She’d turned to him when Daniel had arrived, and that had given Jackson the opportunity to step in.
Jackson froze, a strange feeling rushing through him.
While it felt good to have Hope closer to him, depending on him…
what if he failed to protect her? He felt a cold sweat break out on the back of his neck, and the hair on his arms stood on end.
Victor had proved he could chase away Jackson’s horses with ease, so what could he do to Hope?
“What’s wrong?” Daniel asked, wiping sweat from his brow.
“Daniel,” Jackson said, slowly looking up at him. “How do we keep Hope safe?”
“What do you mean?”
“Victor…”
Daniel slowly grasped Jackson’s meaning, and he dug his shovel into the ground with force.
“We’ll protect her, Jackson,” Daniel said, his eyes burning.
“Like we did these horses?” Jackson shook his head. “I’ll never forgive myself if something happens to her. I made an oath before God, Daniel.”
“Victor wouldn’t hurt her,” Daniel said, then hesitated. “Surely? There’s a big difference between livestock and a young woman, after all.”
Jackson thought of the two boys in his past, shot down right before his eyes, the look on their faces seared into his memories sending a shiver down his spine.
He knew that Victor was not the kind of man to stop at terrorizing animals.
When he wanted something, there was no limit to the malice and deceit he might stoop to in order to get it.
“What’s worth more?” Daniel suddenly asked with a shrug. “The Hale ranch, or Hope and your ma?”
Jackson’s jaw dropped slightly as he felt the full impact of Daniel’s question. He hadn’t failed to spring into action, knowing exactly what to do when he felt his horses threatened, so why did he falter when Hope and his ma were in danger?
In his mind, protecting the land and the homestead was his way of protecting them.
Where would they live and how would he provide for them if he simply let Victor win?
Jackson scratched at his beard while he thought.
What was more important? Hope and his Ma having a comfortable life, or having their lives in the first place?
“You’re right,” Jackson said, seeing things with sudden clarity.
He dropped his shovel and walked straight out of the barn, his eyes sweeping over the washing line and the vegetable garden in search of Hope. He found her in the chicken coop, thanking the chickens for how many eggs they’d laid.
“Hope,” he called, hearing the edge in his own voice.
“What is it?” she asked, appearing at the door of the coop with a chicken in her arms and feathers in her hair.
He couldn’t help but smile. Despite the stress of the morning, a few seconds with Hope immediately made him feel lighter. He reached over and brushed the feathers from her hair, smiling wider as she blushed.
“Can we talk?” he asked, his tone gentler.
Hope set the chicken down and stepped out of the coop. He led her to the porch and waited for her to take a seat.
“I think Daniel is right,” he began, not looking at her. He needed to concentrate on getting his words out, rather than getting distracted by the way the morning sun shone in her eyes and lit up the blonde in her hair. “We should consider selling to Victor.”
Hope shot up off the bench, and she moved to stand in front of him, forcing him to look at her.
A deep scowl formed on her brow, and her hands flew to her hips.
Seeing her like that reminded him of the woman he’d seen thrown from a horse who still tried to stand up on her own.
Another memory of her working tirelessly to nurse the sick cows flitted through his mind.
This is not going to be easy.
“Hope,” he began, taking her hands in his. “I don’t want you to be alarmed, but there was an attack on our ranch last night.”
Her eyebrows arched with surprise, and her eyes bulged, but she listened in silence as he described the way the horses had been scared and then scattered to the wind, as well as the extent of the damage to the barn and their supplies.
“Victor has been edging closer and closer, and now he’s here. What’s next?” he pleaded with her.
“We can fight him,” Hope declared, the glint in her eyes fierce.
“But at what cost?” Jackson asked. “What if something happens to you, or to Ma? He’s singled you out on two occasions already. He knows-” Jackson broke off, not wanting to complete his sentence.
“He knows what? That I’m an easy target?” Hope demanded, her mouth tight.
“That targeting you would break me,” Jackson said in a low voice.
He could see Hope’s tough exterior begin to crumble at his words, and her hands went limp in his.
“Jackson, I couldn’t forgive myself if you and Margaret lost this land because of me.
And it would only make Victor stronger,” she continued, her eyes filling with sadness.
“If you buckle, what chance do the other ranchers stand? He wouldn’t stop at us, you know that.
Victor would destroy everything if it meant he can get what he wants. ”
‘Was it worth it so long as it meant keeping Hope safe?’ Jackson asked himself. Could he really sacrifice so many other people with a clear conscience?
“It’s not in you to run, Jackson,” Hope continued, the strength returning to her grip as she met his eyes. “You’re a leader, and the people here need you to be strong.”
“I have no authority, Hope. I’m not a lawman anymore,” Jackson reminded her.
“The community doesn’t see it that way. They want you to lead the fight against Victor!” Hope insisted.
Jackson could barely meet her eyes. Her words cut through him in a way he hadn’t expected.
Not only did Hope still believe he could protect her and their ranch, but she apparently believed that he was the only one who could stop Victor.
He wished he had her confidence, but doubt crept in.
Jackson had been outplayed by Victor before, so what was to stop that happening again?
“Jackson,” Hope continued, her hazel eyes wide as she looked up at him. “One of the things I admire about you is your ability to make decisions under pressure. There has to be another way.”
Jackson’s mind started racing to consider what other options they had.
“Ma will move into the main house with you,” he said, a plan beginning to form. “And I’ll move some of the hands closer to the house. We can take watch shifts at night.”
Hope’s shoulders relaxed a little, and she smiled at him. There was something about the way she looked at him that made him want to step up and prove her belief in him right.
“I’ll talk to Ethan and the other ranchers in the area,” Jackson continued. “It’s time we come up with a plan together. If Sheriff Grady won’t listen to us, there has to be someone out there who will.”
Hope’s smile widened and she stepped closer. “That’s the Jackson I know,” she whispered. “They’ll follow you. I know they will.”
Jackson had questioned himself for so long that having Hope at his side still felt unfamiliar.
Little by little, she was chasing away the misgivings he had about himself that he’d held onto for so long.
Jackson pulled her towards him by her hands, folding her into an embrace.
He wondered how he had ever lived without moments like this to nourish him.
Hope nestled her cheek against his chest, and he bent to kiss the top of her head.
“I can hear your heartbeat,” she whispered.
A surge of warmth spread through him. He held her tighter, until it seemed impossible to tell where he ended and she began.