Chapter Nineteen
"One night just isn't going to be long enough to camp here," Jessie stated, taking in the sparkling pool of water and rock cliff faces around them as she lay stretched out on the long grass.
Langley nodded in agreement as he sat down his saddlebags and joined her. "This place is beautiful. And it's hidden with the cliffs on all sides... I say we just stay here a good solid week."
"A week!" Jessie exclaimed. She rolled onto her side and curled up against him, resting her head in one hand while laying her other hand on his broad chest. "And just what would we do here for an entire week?"
Langley flashed her a wicked grin and pulled her body on top of his as he guided her lips to his mouth. The kiss was hungry and possessive and Jessie was laughing breathlessly as she pulled away from him and leapt to her feet.
"First things first," she warned. "I have to find a place to relieve myself."
Langley chuckled as he folded his hands behind his head and stared up at her. She was illuminated by the setting sun and she seemed to glow. The golden streaks in her hair shone like fire and her violet eyes were sparkling.
"That's my woman. She's such a lady," Langley teased.
"Would you rather I simply relieve myself on you?" Jessie asked.
"No ma'am. By all means, go find a place to do your business."
Jessie rolled her eyes and waved her hand dismissively before running off. Langley got to his feet and walked to the water. It was crystal clear and he could see the sandy bottom. Langley stared into the water and smiled.
The last two weeks had been like a dream to him. He and Jessie had been roaming the land, making love and falling asleep in each other's arms every night. They laughed together, argued together and Langley enjoyed every single second of it.
But despite all that happiness, Langley also felt an undercurrent of dread about the future. Jessie quickly changed the subject whenever Langley voiced any interest in what was going to happen after they finished their business with Benjamin.
Langley wished the woman would simply stay a safe distance away and let him take care of Benjamin but he knew that would never happen. He'd been thinking long and hard about dealing with the man and he knew the best course of action. He just needed to convince Jessie it was the best thing to do.
Langley and Jessie needed to go to the Dakotas. Langley would tell his pa about Benjamin and once his pa realized what Jessie meant to him, then he and Uncle Duke would help take care of the man. Langley would feel better knowing that he and Jessie had them on their side.
Langley walked back up the small incline and began hunting for wood to start a fire. He moved a large stick and saw a flash of movement. When he realized that movement had been a snake, he let out a cry of fear.
Jessie came barreling back into sight with her gun drawn. She frowned when she found Langley standing, rooted in place and staring at the ground. "What the hell is the matter with you?" she demanded.
"There's a damn snake," he replied, his voice shaking nearly as badly as his legs.
Jessie frowned. "Okay, well you have a knife. Kill the thing."
"I can't."
"Please tell me you aren't afraid of snakes."
Langley's face flushed red and his ears seemed to glow. "I uh.. I'm not afraid of snakes." His eyes turned to her pleadingly. "Now please kill it for me..."
Jessie was laughing with amusement as she stepped closer and saw the rattler coiled up a few feet from Langley. "That's a nice one," she said, placing her hands on her hips.
Langley licked his lip. "That's one way of looking at it. You know another good way of looking at it. Dead. I want to look at it dead."
"Okay, okay, tough guy. Don't mess yourself."
Langley's blue eyes narrowed and Jessie knew she had hurt his feelings. She sighed, pulled her gun and shot the rattler quickly.
"About that..." Langley began, kicking at the grass.
Jessie laid her hand on his arm. "Don't worry about it. If it had been a spider, I would have been there pissing my pants."
"I didn't piss my pants."
Jessie laughed. "You never cease to amaze me. An outlaw that's afraid of snakes."
"I'm not an outlaw, I'm a gunsmith," Langley insisted. "And snakes aren't right. Scales and tongues and slithery bodies...." He shivered. "God was just messing around when he created them things."
"Well get a fire going, brave one, and I'll cut our friend here up for dinner."
Langley stuck out his tongue. "You're mean."
Jessie smiled, her violet eyes sparkling with mischief. She stood on her toes and wrapped her arm around his neck, twirling the ends of his red hair around her finger. "You know you love me," she replied, kissing the corner of his mouth.
"More than you know," he assured her.
Jessie quickly pulled away and looked around the ground. "You better gather up wood if we're going to have snake for supper."
Later that night as the two sat around the fire with full stomachs, Langley decided to bring up his idea for dealing with Benjamin. "We're getting close to Benjamin," he said as he went about cleaning his gun.
Jessie nodded, looking up from the knife she was sharpening. "Yeah, just another day or two of traveling and we should be there."
"You know, I've been thinking..."
"Uh-oh." Jessie winked. "That's always dangerous."
Langley nodded. "I think we should go to Windfall up in the Dakotas and get some help to ride with us. That way we can have some more guns when we go after Benjamin. There's no way of knowing how many men he'll have working for him."
"How long would it take to reach Windfall and exactly who would we get to ride with us?" Jessie asked.
Langley was taken aback first. He'd expected an argument at the mere mention of getting help. "Uh... three weeks, maybe two depending on how hard we ride. And my brother-in-law Pete would probably help. Then of course there's my pa and Duke."
"Your pa?" Jessie asked without any trace of surprise in her voice. "So Marston is alive."
"You already knew that," Langley assured her, finishing with his gun and sliding it back in the holster.
"I suspected," she agreed, holding up her knife and letting the firelight dance off the blade.
"I just think it would be better to have more people with us when we go after Benjamin," Langley voiced. "And since we already know where his second house is, we won't have to worry about hunting it down again."
Jessie stared into the firelight and thought over Langley's idea. Going to Windfall would mean another month or two before her father would be avenged. Could Jessie wait that long when she was so close right now? But then again, Langley was right. Benjamin might have quite a few men with him and Langley and Jessie alone didn't make up much of a fighting force.
She knew of Marston and Duke's reputations and having them with them could greatly increase the chance of success. He pa had taught her to accept help when it greatly improved her odds. And going after Langley's family, would also give her that much more time to enjoy him before she had to start making decisions about a future.
"Okay. We'll go get Marston, Duke and that Pete man and then we'll all right together after Benjamin. But there might not be anything in it for everyone. Will they ride for free?"
Langley nodded, grabbed her around the waist and pulled Jessie into his lap. She sat her knife to the side and looped her arms around his neck. "They'll help," he promised, pressing a feather light kiss to her temple that had her trembling to the core. What was it about the man that got to her so? "But we still have to stay right here for at least a few days," he insisted.
"And what are we going to do here for days?" she asked, tossing his hat aside and burying her hand in his red hair.
His blue eyes shone with wickedness as he grinned. "You want me to show you?"
"Oh yes." Jessie bit her lip. "I want all the details."
Langley let out a bark of laughter before pressing his mouth to hers.
***
"You're certain of this, Pritchett?" Benjamin Gray asked as he stood before the grand fireplace in his den and braced his hands on the gleaming dark wood of the mantle.
"Yes, I am," Pritchett replied, running his hands over his handlebar mustache. "Billy is dead. I'm certain of that because he would have contacted us by now if he were alive. I'm pretty sure I know who killed him and where we can find Jessie."
Benjamin let his gaze go to the ceiling, knowing his wife and children were sleeping soundly above their heads at this late hour. He would never speak so freely about any of this with his brother if they were around to hear. "Where is Jessie and how do you know?"
"Jessie and her traveling companion stopped in Two Finger Gulch. I have friends there that wired me word the moment they recognized her. Jessie Burke is easy to spot with that golden streaked hair and those violet eyes. One of my friends overheard a private conversation without their knowledge. They're coming for you, brother."
Benjamin's brown eyes widened and then he laughed. "Is that so? Well, isn't that convenient since I want that whore with me anyhow. Where exactly are they heading?"
Pritchett grinned. "The house in Bingham."
"And where are they now?"
"Camped in the gulley. I saw them with my own eyes and then nearly killed my horse to get here to tell you."
"How about we just save them the rest of their trip?" Benjamin sneered. "Who is traveling with her?"
"Langley Jacobs. He's Marston Jacobs' son."
"Well it's a good thing Marston is dead, isn't it? He'd be damned angry to learn I'm going to kill his son. Tell me... has that bastard touched my Jessie?"
Pritchett swallowed hard. "Yes sir. They shared a room in town and it's clear they're more than just friends." Pritchett shifted his feet. "Are you sure Marston is dead? He's an enemy I'd rather not have."
"Would you rather have me for your enemy?" Benjamin snapped, taking a step toward his trembling brother.
Pritchett shook his head in earnest. "No!" he assured his brother, knowing that Benjamin had a reputation for killing all who opposed him. The fact that they shared a mother would mean nothing to Benjamin if Pritchett made an enemy of him.
"Good. Langley Jacobs will die for touching what is mine. Jessie Burke is going to have a new home there in Bingham. I will have that whore. Her father promised her to me. Get the men saddled up and we'll head for the gulley. Hopefully they decided to stay a while and enjoy the scenery. If not then we'll just meet up with them along the way."
"Yes sir," Pritchett replied before scurrying from the den.
Benjamin walked to his desk and pulled out paper, pen and ink. He wrote a quick letter to his wife letting her know he'd been called away on emergency business and asking her to give their children a kiss from him.
Then he strapped on his gun, donned his hat and headed out the door to get the newest woman for his collection.
***
"Is that ham I smell?" Marston asked, breathing in the delicious aroma as he entered the kitchen.
"Papa!" Lucy exclaimed, leaping down from the chair she'd been standing in at the counter, kneading bread dough and running to him.
Marston dropped to his knee and scooped her up, breathing her in and loving his daughter with all his heart. "You're gonna get all dirty," he warned.
She shrugged and looked at his soot streaked face. "I don't care. I love you, papa."
Marston smiled and kissed her brow. "I love you too, nugget."
He sat her on her feet and stood straight. She stared up at him expectantly but Marston chuckled and pretended not to notice. He chuckled as he crossed the kitchen toward Rose. "And I love your mama," he added.
He pulled her into his arms and she held up her dough covered hands. "I'm going to get you doughy," she warned.
"I like dough," Marston assured her before licking a spot of it off her cheek.
"Papa stop licking mama the way Creed licks me! You're not a dog!" Lucy scolded. "Now don't you have something for me?" she added, crossing her arms over her chest and tapping her foot.
"Lucy..." Rose scolded half-heartedly. She knew it wouldn't do any good to say anything. Marston had the girl so spoiled rotten, she'd never find a man who could put up with her when she grew up.
"Why would I have anything for you?" Marston countered as he stared down his nose at his daughter.
She smiled sweetly and twirled one of her dark curls around her finger. "Because you love me and I'm your best girl."
Marston laughed and pulled a sack of candy from his pocket. "That you are."
"Thank you, papa!" Lucy exclaimed, snatching the candy and running away upstairs with it. Creed followed close on her heels.
"Marston, you can't give her candy before supper. You'll ruin her appetite," Rose scolded.
Marston shook his head. "She has my appetite. She'll be fine." He pulled Rose back into his arms and stared down into her blue eyes. "I know I spoil her and I know it bothers you but I came damn close to never knowing that girl and I just want to make sure that she knows her pa loves her....You know, just in case something happens to me or she hears stories..."
Rose sighed and kissed his jaw. "You're a great pa and I love you for it."
"I love you too," he replied, kissing her softly. "I got you something while I was in town."
"Did you get me candy?" she asked hopefully.
Marston's brow furrowed. "Nooo... was I supposed to?"
Rose sighed. "I've wanted peppermint candy all day for some reason."
Marston poked her nose. "Then tomorrow you'll have more than you know what to do with." He pulled away from her and slid an envelope from his pocket. "I think you'll like what I brought for you today even better."
"From Langley?" Rose exclaimed, happiness filling her features.
"Yep."
"You read it already!" Rose accused.
"I had to make sure it was good news," he replied, setting the envelope in her waiting palm.
Rose wasted no time before pulling the letter out and reading it herself. Marston was sure he saw one hundred pounds of worry simply vanish from her shoulders. "He's okay..." she whispered. "And he's having the adventures he wanted. Do you know the girl he's with?"
"Honey, there's too many people in this world for me to know them all by their first name," Marston assured her. "I guess she's special to him though if he's traveling with her and putting her in his letters."
"I wonder if he'll come home soon," Rose thought aloud as she carefully folded the letter and slid it in her pocket.
"I don't know."
Rose glanced out the window and nibbled her lip. "I wonder if Jeremiah is okay... I wonder if he knows that Langley is okay."
"I don't care where that no account jackass is or what he knows," Marston growled, striding across the kitchen and lifted the lid off the pot of boiling vegetables. His stomach rumbled and he let out a groan. "Is it gonna be done soon?"
"Yeah.. soon..." Rose closed her eyes and covered her stomach.
Marston was to her in a heartbeat. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I've not been feeling well the last few days. There is a stomach sickness going around and I believe I have a touch of it."
Marston nodded as he led her to the table and forced her to take a seat. "I'll talk to Kaitlyn tomorrow and get you something for it. For now, you rest and I'll finish supper."
"Are you sure?" Rose asked doubtfully. "You realize you spoil me just as badly as your daughter."
Marston smiled and kissed her brow. "Well, woman, I came damn close to never seeing you again too. Humor me."
Rose made a big show of sealing her lips and Marston chuckled as he went to the oven. She hoped she wasn't getting sick. Rose didn't have time for that nonsense.