Eight

It was quite a parade heading home. The night before they left, a choir from the local Methodist church went caroling about town, stopping in front of the hotel to sing carols to the entire Harkner brood. Jake’s very Christian, faithful daughter Evie joined in the singing, as did Tricia, Sadie Mae, Katie and Randy, who all joined the choir when they left to sing elsewhere.

Today the two supply wagons were stuffed with Christmas presents and winter supplies…and one Tommy Tyler, who sat with one wrist chained to the wagon bed, his lips tight with indignation. He glanced at Jake whenever he rode into sight, trying to figure out why in hell the man had decided his punishment should be to come and work at the J&L. The rules were stiff, and he wasn’t so sure he’d abide by them. Then again, the look in Jake Harkner’s eyes when he talked about taking him to the ranch was enough to make a man queasy. He had no doubt that if he disobeyed, either Harkner or his men would set him straight.

I’m doing this to give you a chance at a good life, Jake had told him. I was just like you at one time, and if I can stop one young man from going through the hell I’ve been through in my life, it’s worth the chance.

Tommy had never known a decent family life. His mother had run out on him and his father when he was only two, and his alcoholic father had beat him often, telling him he was the reason his mother left. You worthless little bastard, the man often called him. You probably ain’t even mine!

What did he need with family? What did he know about living straight and holding a job for longer than a couple of weeks? And why in God’s name should someone who hardly knew him and who didn’t even like him take him to his own home and take a chance on him? He hated to admit it, but deep down inside he was impressed by the Harkners, the way they all seemed so close, the fact that their patriarch was the infamous Jake Harkner himself, the very man he’d been stupid enough to draw on when he first rode onto the J&L.

Jake’s grandsons rode up alongside the wagon then, the younger one who was also called Jake handing out a canteen.

“My grandfather said you should take a drink,” the young man told Tommy.

A disgruntled Tommy reached for the uncorked canteen with his free hand.

“Grandpa says you better not say or do anything against my little sister and my cousins—or my mom or aunt Katie or my grandma. You better remember that.”

Tommy handed back the canteen after taking a swallow of water. “Those are big words for a little kid,” he sneered.

“I’m not a little kid,” young Jake declared. “You make a wrong move and it won’t be just me. My cousin Stephen will be on you, and my uncle Ben. He’s big and strong. And then my uncle Lloyd will probably join up and so will Grandpa and some of the men. You don’t know how mean they all can be.”

“I hear Ben isn’t your legal uncle at all.”

“He sure is. My grandpa legally adopted him.”

“Why?”

“’Cuz he was being beat on with a belt by his father. Grandpa beat up his father and he took Ben away from him and adopted him. Grandpa knows about bein’ beat on by your pa. It makes him real mad. That’s why he’s helpin’ you.”

“Why should he care?”

“He just does, that’s all. But he won’t put up with you bein’ disrespectful to the men or any of the women.”

Tommy grinned. “I hear one of the men married a high-class prostitute, and she lives on the ranch with him. You sure your grandpa doesn’t sneak over there and pay her visits? I hear he has a soft spot for wild women.”

“Gretta is a nice lady and our friend. My grandpa helped her daughter down in Mexico and he was almost killed. Gretta is Cole Decker’s wife now. Even if she wasn’t, my grandpa loves my grandma an awful lot. Him and Gretta are just friends ’cuz women like that were good to him when he was little. He just likes to help people is all.”

Tommy shook his head. “Boy, oh boy, that sure doesn’t sound like the Jake Harkner I’ve always heard about. I’ve always heard he likes wild women and is mean as a snake and sneaky as one. He’s killed a lot of men and never regretted any of it. Why would a man like that want to help people?”

“’Cuz a lot of people helped him over the years. He told us he just wants to do somethin’ to make up for it, but don’t take that for granted. He’ll turn on you in a minute, if you talk bad or do somethin’ to anybody in the family.”

“Jake!” Young Jake heard his grandfather yell out to him. “Get away from Tommy and mind your business.”

“I’m just makin’ sure he knows not to make trouble,” Jake told his grandfather, sitting a little taller in his saddle and adjusting his hat.

Big Jake grinned. “He knows it. Ride on ahead and watch for holes and such so we don’t lose a wheel and get stuck out here in the cold.”

“Sure, Grandpa.” Young Jake rode off, and Big Jake kicked his horse into a gentle lope and rode closer to Tommy.

“I’ll unchain you as soon as we get onto J&L land. If you choose to run off, you’ll be in a bad way. A storm is coming and we’re trying to hightail it home before it hits. You might as well make up your mind to stay at the bunkhouse and be glad you’re inside and warm.”

Stephen and Ben rode up to Jake then.

“Grandpa, when can we cut a Christmas tree?” Stephen asked, his voice croaking a little between a young boy’s voice and a much older boy’s voice.

“Let’s wait about a week,” Jake told him. “We’re taking Tricia and Sadie Mae with us this time. I promised them.”

Both boys rode off, and Tommy watched Big Jake, thinking what a man of contrasts he was. Today he was all grandpa, yet from all he’d heard, he could be as ruthless as the worst of them. He could tell just from his own run-in with the man. This was a strange situation he’d fallen into. He wanted to hate Jake Harkner…but part of him also liked the man, and that made him angry.