When the Rain Comes (Love Journeys South, Book 2)

Chapter 8. Ultimatum.

It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are. ~ Roy Disney

Chapter 8.

Ultimatum.

"Carthwrite, you have visitors!"

Seth cracked opened his eyes at the sound of the jailer's voice.

"I've become real popular these days," he groaned as he sat up and eyed the two men who had come in. For a while the men simply evaluated each other. At last Seth broke the silence as he let out a smirk.

"Gabriel Goodwill, and yer eldest son, to what do I owe the pleasure."

Gabriel returned the smirk with one of his own "Was it worth stealin' from me, Carthwrite? All it got you was this?"

"An' mightly happy you must be. I'd thought you'd be up in yer great fancy house celebrating my five year sentence. What makes you come down here."

The landbaron didn't hurry in answering. He was almost ready to feel a measure of pity for the pathetic thief. "Kid can't be older than twenty," he mused. "Look at him, filled up with that youthful pride that is their downfall each and ev'ry time. Much like my Jackson, come to think of it. They always think they know better and don't want to listen to advice, and in the end the make of mess of it. If I'm not careful, Jackson will certainly meet the same fate."

For a moment Gabriel regretted not taking his youngest son with him. It would be good for Jackson to see what a mess he could become if he didn't watch his footsteps and listen to the wisdom of his elders. Then the moment passed and Gabriel returned to the matter at hand.

"Well, Carthwrite," he stated, sitting down on the cot. Seth and Washington remained standing. "I'm here on buisness."

"Right," Seth laughed. "An' what kind of buisness could ya want to have with me? I'm the thief that was caught stealing from you, if ya don't remember."

Washington narrowed his eyes in irritation at Seth's disrespectful behavior, but Gabriel seemed to be blind and deaf to it.

"I'm not that old yet, son, but desperate means call for desperate measures. I know you weren't the only one stealin' tobacco from me."

Seth raised an eyebrow. "An' how can you be so sure of that."

Here Gabriel had to laugh outright. "Seth Carthwrite, I am old enough to be yer father and I know more of the world than you'll ever be. Speakin' of father, has yers been down here to see his prodigal son rotting with the swine?"

The light in Seth's eyes darkened at the mention of his father. "We're not on speakin' terms at the moment," he mumbled. "Let's stick to the matter at hand."

"Tsk tsk," Gabriel stroked his chin. "Guess he's not much like that father is the parable. Pity. Seth, I don't know how stupid you think I am, but I know for a fact that a kid like you, who's barely grown his first beard, don't have the brains or the means to steal tobacco from me in the way it has been disappearing. It's obvious it ain't the work of one man. They just made you the face of it and had you deal with the entire punishment while they ran off and hid. Can you tell me that ain't the way it all happened?"

The deep brown eyes stared hard at Seth and the young man looked down, that was all the answer Gabriel needed.

"Look, I don't like the idea of you rottin' in this jail any more than you do. Yer just a kid who got in real bad company, that's as plain as day. The real villains are still out there and my tobacco is still at risk. So, I've got a proposition for you, Young Carthwrite."