Chapter Thirty-One
Jackson carried Hope upstairs and laid her on her bed. Ethan was occupying the downstairs settee after too many whiskeys for the journey home. Jackson sent Daniel to fetch some smelling salts and sweet tea, but mostly it was to get rid of his anxious fussing.
“Hope. Hope.” Jackson called her name gently once they were alone, the palm of his hand cradling her cheek. “You’re safe, I promise.”
Nothing terrified him more than the sight of her unconscious face. She’d felt so light and limp in his arms that he worried she might never wake.
Hope’s eyebrows twitched and she frowned, squeezing her eyes shut tightly before they fluttered open.
“Hope,” Jackson said, relief washing over him. “Are you alright, darling?”
Hope took a few seconds to come back to her senses, but she immediately seemed to relax when her eyes found Jackson’s.
“What happened?” she croaked at him.
Jackson tried to shift so that his face was a little farther away from hers, but she held his hand tightly, as if afraid to let him go.
“You fainted outside,” Jackson explained, “after you overheard Daniel and I talking.”
As the memory returned to her, Jackson could see the stress flood back into her hazel eyes, and her forehead creased with worry. She let go of his hand and pushed herself upright.
“I need to talk to Daniel,” Hope said, her fear replaced with determination as she glared at him.
“Hope, woah, slow down there,” Jackson urged, fighting to keep her on the bed.
Daniel entered, spilling tea all over the floor when he saw she was awake. “Hope! You’re alright!”
He hurried over to the foot of her bed, taking a seat by her feet.
Jackson knew he needed to take charge before Hope and Daniel’s emotions took over.
He’d also learned that he couldn’t deal with Daniel on his own, and needed Hope’s insight into her brother’s behavior.
Without her, he worried he might murder Daniel with his bare hands.
“Hope, have some tea,” Daniel urged.
“I don’t want any tea,” she grumbled at him. “I want the truth, Daniel. If you’re helping Victor Langford, I swear I’ll shoot you myself.”
Jackson raised an eyebrow. Perhaps Hope was ready to murder him, too.
“Hope, I think we should give Daniel the chance to explain,” Jackson suggested.
Hope clenched her jaw and folded her arms across her chest, but she didn’t interrupt.
“I was in Virginia City a few weeks ago running an errand when one of Victor’s men approached me,” Daniel explained. “He offered to buy me a drink at the saloon since we were both new in town.”
Hope rolled her eyes and silently shook her head.
“I didn’t drink a drop!” Daniel assured her. “Though I was mighty tempted to, I swear I didn’t.”
Jackson found himself a little more sympathetic to Daniel than Hope was, considering he too had been a victim of Victor’s cunning in the past. He knew how easy it was to get sucked in, and he had even been sheriff at the time.
“Anyway, I talked about the ranch, about Jackson,” Daniel admitted. “I didn’t know who I was talking to until it was too late.”
“To be fair, Hope, Daniel didn’t even know Victor existed at that point,” Jackson reasoned. “None of us realized he was back in town in full force until recently.”
Hope nodded stiffly, though her eyes were still blazing at her brother.
“It began with a few small favors, just information,” Daniel said. “He wanted to know how many cattle and horses Jackson had, and where his pens were. He asked who Jackson’s friends were.”
“And at no point did you think to mention this to us?” Hope snapped.
Jackson had to admit, he did feel betrayed by Daniel. He’d tried to give him the benefit of the doubt several times now, but Daniel had proved himself untrustworthy over and over. He tried not to make a snap judgement, to hear him out to the end…but it was difficult.
“When they started asking me to cut fencing and chase out some of your cattle, I refused, Jackson,” Daniel promised, his eyes wide as he spoke.
Daniel looked sincerely upset, but he was so good at playing a part Jackson couldn’t be sure he was truly being genuine. They had to be careful.
“That’s when Victor introduced himself to me at the Spring Festival. He was so nice to me, and he explained he simply wanted access to the creek,” Daniel said. “He said he was helping the ranchers by buying small portions of their land at very good prices, but that Jackson kept refusing.”
“He lied to you,” Jackson said.
“Obviously it was a lie!” Hope added.
“Well, I didn’t think anything of it,” Daniel grumbled. “I’m not smart like you, Hope. I always make the wrong kind of friends.”
“Stop making excuses!” Hope begged her brother, clearly at her wit’s end.
Jackson took one of her hands and held it in his, wanting to help Hope through the conversation. He could see what a strain it was creating on her.
“When I held out against cutting the fences for Victor’s men,” Daniel continued, focusing his attention on Jackson instead, “that’s when Victor said he’d met my sister, Hope, and that he liked her very much.”
Jackson felt Hope’s hand ball up into a fist inside his own, and he felt a similar repulsion himself.
“Victor said that if I didn’t help him, he’d take Hope from us,” Daniel continued.
“I didn’t believe him at first, but then you found all those sick cows and I knew it was Victor.
I realized how much power he had, and the men I’d been talking to worked for him.
I panicked… I didn’t want Hope to fall into his hands. ”
“Why not come to us?” Hope pleaded, angry tears in her eyes. She swiped them away roughly.
“Because I’m always making mistakes!” Daniel replied, turning away from them. “Don’t you remember the night you had to hide in the cupboard back in Kansas?” Daniel asked, his words catching in his throat. “You were so afraid, Hope, and those men were there because I owed them money!”
This silenced Hope, and Jackson saw fear creep into her eyes at the sudden memory.
“I couldn’t protect you then,” Daniel stammered, a crack in his voice. He wiped his eyes. “And it was my fault to begin with. I’ve never been able to do right by you.”
“Daniel,” Hope said, her voice breaking. “That’s not true.”
“I just wanted to keep you safe,” Daniel said, “but then David’s barn burned down…” He shook his head. “I was afraid, so afraid. Like you said, I always choose fear over doing what’s right.”
Jackson looked at Daniel and saw a man that was utterly defeated. Daniel was his own worst enemy, and only by strengthening him at the core would they ever have any hope of helping him become the man he had the potential to be.
“Daniel,” Jackson said calmly, “that doesn’t always have to be true. You made a mistake, but you can change that.”
“How?” he pleaded, gnawing on a fingernail anxiously.
Jackson swallowed. Opening himself up to Hope had been one thing, but to do it again for Daniel…that was a new challenge entirely. He looked over at Hope, and realized that helping Daniel was another way to help his wife. He could do it, if it was for her.
“I let a mistake I made control me for years,” Jackson began.
Daniel looked away and scoffed. “You’ve never done anything as bad as I have.”
“Two people died on my watch,” Jackson said, meeting his gaze evenly. “They were innocent, Daniel. And yes, Victor Langford misled me into making that call, but I still bore the guilt for their murders. I was the one who had to tell their pa that his two boys were dead.”
Daniel’s jaw dropped, and the look in his eyes began to change from self-pity to wary understanding. He glanced at Hope, as if wanting to see if she was as surprised as he was.
“I stepped down from being a lawman after that,” Jackson explained.
“Why?” Daniel asked. The question shocked Jackson.
“Because my decision led to others being hurt, even losing their lives unjustly,” Jackson said, pointing out the obvious.
“But you were misled,” Daniel replied.
Jackson nodded slowly. It was odd that he was trying to use his own example to comfort Daniel, and yet he’d been so harsh on himself.
“Our mistakes don’t define us,” Hope concluded, giving voice to what they were all thinking. “Not unless we let them.”
Jackson breathed in deeply, and so did Daniel. Jackson had always thought that by cutting himself off from others he could better protect them, but sitting in this room with Hope and Daniel, he realized the opposite was true. They were all made stronger by learning from each other.
“We need a plan,” he said.
“I have one,” Hope said quickly, letting go of Jackson’s hand and standing up. “Daniel and I will leave. We’ll go back to Dodge City, and then Victor won’t easily be able to target your ranch, Jackson.”
Jackson couldn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth. Hope seemed so determined that not a single word had faltered coming out of her mouth, as if this was the only way.
“Hope.” Daniel shook his head. “That’s no solution.”
“You said it yourself, Daniel. Victor is using me as your weak point, both of you,” Hope said. “If I’m out the picture-”
“He’ll find something else,” Jackson said. “You leaving is not an option.”
“Why not?” she demanded, her eyebrows arched fiercely.
“Because then Victor has caused me to lose far more than land,” Jackson pointed out.
“He’s right, Hope,” Daniel said. “It’s a terrible idea. If you stay and I go, then Victor won’t have anyone to manipulate.”
“That’s even worse,” Hope said dismissively. “You’ve proven beyond a doubt you can’t live on your own.”
Daniel looked wounded, but Jackson felt she had a point. He also felt he needed to take charge of the conversation.
“Fighting about who is going to leave isn’t helping,” Jackson stated, giving each of them a look. “Especially because neither of you are going to do that. When a flock of sheep is under attack by hungry wolves, they do one of two things.”
“Bunch together, or scatter and run,” Daniel piped up.
“Which approach makes them weakest?” Jackson asked.
“If they scatter,” Hope mumbled.
“Exactly.” He smiled at each of them. “We need to group together to face Victor, not scatter.”
“I know that if you round up the ranchers, they’ll fight with you,” Daniel said, vigor returning to his voice. “You might not be a lawman anymore, but you’re a real leader, Jackson.”
He noticed Hope smile at her brother’s words. “I agree with Daniel, for once.”
“I tried that,” Jackson said with a frown. “It didn’t work. We couldn’t get near Victor because of the sheriff.”
“No, you were following Ethan’s lead,” Hope told him. “You rushed things because you listened to him instead of trusting your own instinct.”
Jackson thought about this. He’d wanted to take more time accumulating testimonies and evidence, but Ethan had insisted they act quickly. Jackson second-guessing his own plan had led to another defeat.
“Is there anyone else we can appeal to?” Daniel asked. “You know, go around the sheriff?”
Jackson nodded. “I’ve considered that already. There is the district judge, Silas Harlow. He’s a good man, and he trusted me years ago when I was a lawman.”
“What does a district judge do?” Daniel asked.
“He holds court in different towns,” Hope explained. “Don’t you remember how you’d always skip town on the dates you were due in court, Daniel?”
Daniel blushed under Hope’s gaze and he nodded. “Yes, I suppose I do. Go on.”
“Silas Harlow is due in Virginia City next week. If we can gather sworn statements from everyone that’s been attacked by Victor and get up a petition about Sheriff Grady, we can present it to the judge and take this to trial,” Jackson explained.
“That means we have to hold out ‘til next week,” Hope said, her face lined with worry. “Wouldn’t Victor also know the judge is due?”
Jackson nodded, a sinking feeling in his stomach as Hope voiced his own fears. “And at the rate Victor’s crimes have been escalating, he’s trying to get it all done before anyone arrives in town to stop him.”
“I could leave for just a week,” Hope suggested.
“Being on the road would make you even more vulnerable,” Jackson stated. “At least here we can protect you.”
“I have an idea,” Daniel said in a low voice. “I can pretend to still work for Victor. That way, we’d know what he’s planning.”
“It’s too dangerous,” Hope refused.
“I’ve been fine up ‘til now,” Daniel argued.
“But if Victor knows you’ve turned on him,” she added, fear in her eyes, “you’ll be slaughtered like one of David’s cows!”
Jackson could feel things escalating again. The hoot of an owl outside told him the night had worn on, and they were getting nowhere.
“We need to work together, Hope,” he said. “And that means trusting Daniel.”
Hope opened her mouth to argue, but Daniel spoke first.
“Please, Hope,” he implored. “I need to do this. I need to redeem myself somehow. You said ‘mistakes don’t define us.’ Well, I need to start doing something other than making mistakes!”
Hope’s lips twitched into a small smile, and Jackson breathed out a sigh of relief. Finally, they were getting somewhere. Jackson chuckled, and even Daniel relaxed.
“Well?” Jackson asked after a few seconds. “What do we say? Are we in this together, or not?”
“Together,” Daniel nodded, grinning at them.
They both turned to Hope and she nodded slowly after a moment. “Together.”