Sixteen

“Hello, Jeff.” Peter Brown greeted his good friend at the Journal in downtown Chicago.

Jeff, wearing his typical round spectacles and a tweed suit, rose to shake hands with Peter, grinning broadly. “Peter! What the heck brings a wealthy Chicago lawyer into my humble little office?”

“Humble? You’re a prize-winning columnist. There’s nothing humble about that.”

Jeff laughed, offering Peter a seat. Peter Brown always made him feel like a peasant. The always-dapper Peter still sported thick, dark-brown hair and a handsome smile. Today he wore a dark-blue twill, waist-cut suit jacket with a V-cut in the front that fell into a tail at the back. His pants matched the jacket, and his white shirt sported gold cuffs and buttons, worn with a deep-blue silk tie and set off with a lighter blue silk paisley waistcoat to which a gold watch and chain were attached. The color seemed to make Peter’s eyes look even bluer. Dapper indeed! In spite of his money, Peter was never anything but friendly, and comfortable in any setting, including a visit to the J&L last summer after the hearing in Denver that made Peter almost as famous as Jeff. It seemed that anyone who had connections to Jake Harkner ended up famous.

Peter sat down in a wooden swivel chair, and Jeff took a seat behind his very messy desk stacked with news clippings. “You must be here about Jake’s latest hair-raising adventure,” Jeff teased. “My connections say he’s doing well and has gone home, but Boulder is still talking about what happened. Some of them still want Jake to be their sheriff.” He leaned back in his chair. “Of course, we know Jake would never take them up on it. Randy would have a fit.”

Peter nodded. “That she would. But then, Jake Harkner has a way of landing himself in situations that upset her greatly without even trying.”

“You aren’t here because he’s in trouble again, are you?”

Peter removed his silk top hat and set it on Jeff’s desk. “No. He’s obviously not in trouble, certainly nothing like that fiasco in Denver last summer.”

“Randy’s last letter said he’s not going to Denver this year. Just Lloyd is going, although that city holds some pretty bad memories for him, too. I could kick myself for publishing that book when I did—the way Jake lives, I could have added some very exciting stories to it.”

Peter smiled. “Well, the name Jeff Truebridge is well known now, thanks to the Harkners, and that column of yours has had several new installments to the Jake Harkner ongoing saga. I bet you’ll never forget our adventures back in Oklahoma.”

“Hell no. How does a man forget something like that? Greatest adventure of my life. I’ll bet you haven’t found anything that exciting since you came back to Chicago, in spite of being in the big city.”

Peter leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “No, I haven’t, but then I represent tax matters and things like embezzlement, business ventures, things that would bore a man like Jake Harkner to death. You remember Randy used to do paperwork for me back in Guthrie, when Jake was off on one of his excursions, chasing the slime of the earth into No Man’s Land. The things that woman has put up with…”

Jeff frowned. Peter was talking in circles, and he damn well knew it. Something was up. “How’s Mrs. Brown these days, Peter?” he asked, deciding to remind the man he even had a wife.

Peter brightened. “Treena left on an ocean voyage for Paris. She has family there and decided to spend the summer with them.”

“Aha! You’re a bachelor for the summer and bored to death,” Jeff joked. “That’s what brought you here. Are you looking for some excitement?”

Peter smiled almost sadly. “Something like that. And speaking of wives, how is yours? You said you wouldn’t go out to Colorado this year because she’s carrying.”

“She was pretty sick the first few weeks, but she’s better. I don’t want to leave her, though, especially since the little one’s still only nine months old.”

“You work pretty fast, Jeff Truebridge. You joked once about Jake and Lloyd taking you to a brothel back in Oklahoma to teach you about women.”

Jeff laughed. “My God, I was such a shavetail kid. I’ll always remember the first time I met Jake. I watched him ride into Guthrie with four men in tow, one of them dead and the others looking like they wished they were. And Jake—good God, he looked mean, like a man who’d explode if anyone crossed him. And I’ve never seen a man wearing so many guns in my life. I was so scared to approach him about writing the book that I almost wet my pants.”

Peter laughed. “He can do that to you. He wasn’t exactly fond of me, knowing how I felt about Randy.”

“But you ended up helping him get his prison sentence reduced, and you saved his ass from a noose last summer.” Jeff sobered. “Peter, that first day he came riding into Guthrie…he was all meanness and darkness, until Randy came running up the street to greet him. He set eyes on her and completely changed. I’ve never seen anything like it. It was so obvious how much he loved her it was almost startling, the way he changed. Except for when Brad Buckley tried to give him a hard time. My God, Buckley was a big kid, but Jake threw him off that boardwalk like he weighed ten pounds. Beat the hell out of him. That man can turn on a dime. Don’t forget that.”

Peter nodded and just sat there quietly for a moment.

Jeff got up and closed his office door. “What’s going on with you, Peter? I visited you at that mansion of a home last year, and we met you and Treena for dinner that once, but you’ve never visited me here.”

Peter sighed, looking sheepishly at Jeff. “You said something to me on the phone when we talked about the robbery in Boulder that has bothered me ever since,” he told Jeff. “It’s none of my damn business, but I just wanted to ask. You said something in Randy’s last letter to you sounded strange, like maybe she was upset about something. You said you sensed something had changed and haven’t received a letter since—or have you?”

Jeff removed his jacket and loosened his tie, his office growing warm from a very hot day in the smoggy city. “No, I haven’t.” He frowned. “And you’re right. But it shouldn’t concern you, Peter. You may be wealthy and successful, able to buy and sell me, but I’m not afraid to tell you that Randy is no longer your business. You’re a married man, in case you’ve forgotten.”

Peter shook his head. “You’ll always be one of my better friends, Jeff, because you’re down to earth and you’re a good, honest young man. And you’re right. I have a wife, and I love her dearly. And yes, I have no business being concerned about Randy, but I can’t help being bothered by what you said.” He rubbed at his eyes. “I’ll always worry about her, Jeff. And I’ll never stop loving her. Treena knows that, and she understands.”

“What are you after, Peter?”

Peter shook his head. “I don’t even know. I’m wondering if I should pay another visit to the J&L. I have a big tax case going right now, but after that, I can take some time off. I thought I’d go out to Colorado and kind of feel things out.”

Jeff got up and went to the door, asking an assistant to bring a pitcher of cold water and a couple of glasses. He returned to his desk. “Peter, Jake wouldn’t be too thrilled about you going out there alone. I’m sure he didn’t mind when you went out there with Treena, and he and Randy were grateful for your help at that hearing. It isn’t often a man blows another man’s head off and gets away with it. But you’d better be damned careful that he doesn’t blow your head off.”

Peter smiled sadly. “Jake’s family got him off at that hearing. By the time they were through defending him as the best father and grandfather on the face of the earth, that judge couldn’t help but let him off, for their sakes.”

“Maybe so, but you did a good job defending him. He needed you there and was damn glad to see both of us show up, but don’t take his friendship and gratitude for granted when it comes to his wife.”

Peter nodded, then leaned back and waited while the assistant came in with a pitcher and two glasses. He set them down and left, and Jeff poured water for them. Peter reached for his glass and drank, appearing grateful. He stared at the glass in his hand as he spoke to Jeff. “I just need to know, Jeff, what you saw in that letter that bothered you.” He met Jeff’s gaze pleadingly.

Jeff took another swallow of water and set the glass on his desk. “I don’t have the letter here, Peter. It’s at home. But I can tell you what seemed strange about it. She wrote something to the effect that there had been some kind of family trouble. It was something along the lines of ‘Jake and I have had our problems, but everything is better now. We had a barn fire, and someone from Jake’s past tried to destroy us, but we love each other too much for that.’”

Peter frowned in wonder. “She didn’t say who it was?”

“No.”

“Did you hear any news stories about it? Anything about the fire?”

“Not a word. And she never explained in any more detail.”

“Who the hell could it have been? Everybody from Jake’s past is pretty much dead and buried, most of them by Jake’s own hands. The only one I can think of left over from those days was Brad Buckley. He showed up at that hearing, but the judge ran him out of Denver. No one’s—” He hesitated, meeting Jeff’s gaze. “My God! Have you heard anything about him since? When he left that courtroom, he was damn clear about still getting revenge on Jake.”

Jeff thought about it and nodded. “That’s right.”

The two men looked at each other, thinking the same thing.

“I think something happened that Jake isn’t telling anyone about. I hope to hell it doesn’t involve Randy. Anyone who would touch that woman wrong would suffer an ugly end to his life at Jake’s hands,” Peter commented. “Jake would never let something like that go—not in a million years. Even if it meant a hanging.”

“There’s been no word of any killings or trouble at the J&L, or anything involving Jake. If something happened and they want it buried, you have to leave it alone, Peter. Don’t go out there. Whatever might have happened—and we don’t even know that anything did happen—you have to stay out of it.”

Peter sighed. “I suppose I do.”

Jeff couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for the man. “Peter, if you want my opinion, I think that somewhere in the back of his mind Jake appreciates how you feel about Randy. He might even have given thought to knowing that if something happened to him you’d likely do everything in your power to make sure she’s okay. But as long as Jake Harkner is alive, you have to stay out of it.

“You know what he’s like. He owes you, and he respects you, but you’d see that other side of him damned quick if you tried for one minute to move in on Randy. Besides that, you have to face facts: not only are you a married man now, but Randy’s surrounded by her kids and grandkids, let alone a whole ranch full of damn good cowboys who would all stand in front of a cannon for that woman. She’ll never hurt for protection and love or for help in her old age, and they have that big, beautiful log home settled in one of the prettiest places on the face of the earth. Be comfortable knowing Randy will never want for anything, especially not for love. Let it go, Peter. Whatever might have happened, you know good and well that Jake Harkner can fix it. I’ve never seen two people who loved each other more.”

She could have loved me…if things had been different, Peter thought. At the least, they had been good friends. Then there had been that trip they had taken together when Randy needed surgery and Jake couldn’t go with her. Jake had actually trusted him to take care of his wife, but he’d seen the warning in Jake’s eyes. If he’d stepped out of line even once, he would have met the hard fist of Jake Harkner.

“You’re right,” he told Jeff. “And it wouldn’t have mattered if I had actually tried hard to win Randy over. She loves Jake beyond measure. She would never have left that man for anyone else.”

“You bet she wouldn’t.”

“I’m just worried.”

“She has Jake. That’s all that woman’s ever needed. Find something else to do this summer, Peter. You can start by coming into the city more often and meeting me for lunch.”

Peter smiled. “Sounds like a good idea. Actually, I took a hotel room here because of this big case I’m working on. With Treena gone, it’s lonely in that big house in the suburbs. I’m staying in the city for a while.” He rose and put out his hand. “You will let me know if you hear anything from Randy—anything at all, right? I’m staying at the Grand Pacific.”

Jeff grinned. “Must be nice to be able to afford that place.” He stood up and shook Peter’s hand. “And yes, I promise to let you know if I hear from Randy or Jake.”

“And as far as lunch, how about tomorrow? I’ll hire a cab and pick you up in front of the Journal.”

“You buying?”

Peter laughed. “This time. Next time it will be on you.”

“Fine with me, but it can’t be one of the fancy restaurants you’re used to.”

Peter laughed again. “I’ll manage.” He put on his hat and left, and Jeff watched him go. Their conversation about Brad Buckley had stirred his professional curiosity. He’d never given thought to the fact that no one had ever heard anything about the man since he was kicked out of Denver.

Jake, if anyone can kill and bury a man, never to be heard from again, it’s damn well you, he thought. He grinned and shook his head. And remembering what Buckley was like, I would like to have been there to see it happen.

Maybe nothing at all had happened, but he knew Jake Harkner all too well. If Brad Buckley had returned to hurt anyone in Jake’s family, especially Randy, Jake would have made sure the man never saw the light of another sunrise.