Chapter Twenty-Five
Langley traveled alone for weeks. A little more than two weeks after leaving Jessie at Grimms Cross, he was nearly through the Colorado Territory. He'd been lucky, he supposed. There had been no Indians, no gangs, no snakes and no danger.
It had been a long, boring and uneventful trip—maybe he wasn't so lucky.
He'd had plenty of time to think. Plenty of time to look to his right and miss the sight of Jessie riding beside him. Her gold-streaked hair would be shimmering in the sun and she'd have that teasing smile on her face as she goaded him about his love of reading, or his politeness.
That woman had ripped his poor heart clean out of his chest and stomped it into the ground. Langley knew good and well that he'd never get it put back together as good as it had been before Jessie had come along. He'd never be over her.
Langley was running low on faith, hope, food and daylight one cool late September evening when he saw chimney smoke in the distance. He hoped it was a homestead, and he hoped even more than whoever lived there would allow him to sleep in the barn and leave with a full stomach.
He'd been living off jerked beef, hardtack and the occasional rabbit for a while and he was ready for some real food.
Langley rode over a small rise and saw a house and barn come into view. It was little more than a rundown shack and the barn was a bit rickety but Langley liked it. It reminded him of the home he and his mama had shared in Louisiana. There was a garden plot behind the house and while it had already been harvested, Langley thought it looked like they'd grown quite a bit. It made him wonder how the wheat and barley crops had done back home.
He rode toward the house and was within calling distance when a woman stepped onto the porch with a broom in her hands. She was tall for a woman and large bodied beneath her worn pale blue gingham dress and white apron. She had pale skin and her brown hair was pulled back tightly in a bun.
From this distance, she appeared to be around his pa or Uncle Jeremiah's age. Thinking about Jeremiah put a sour taste in Jeremiah's stomach so he quickly dismissed those thoughts.
"Hello ma'am," Langley called out.
The woman looked up with surprise. "Well, hello sir. How can I help you?" she asked, leaning against her broom.
Langley got down from his horse and put his hat in his hands. "My name is Langley, ma'am. I've been traveling for a couple of weeks on my way home to the Dakota's. I sure could use a barn for my horse and I to sleep in and a good meal if you can spare it."
"Of course, I have both," she assured him, smiling warmly as her silver eyes sparkled. "But there is a town only about an hour away in that direction and they'll have nicer accommodations."
Langley sighed. "If it's all the same to you, ma'am, I'm not feeling up to a trip to town just now. I've got money and I'd pay you for your hospitality."
The woman waved his hand to dismiss his words even as he spoke. "Nonsense. Go put your horse in the barn and then come on in the house and we'll scrounge you up something to eat."
Langley watched her disappear into the house. He led his gelding to the barn and got the horse comfortable for the night, giving him fresh hay and feed.
Langley walked back out into the late afternoon sun. Days were getting shorter and the nights cooler as October neared. Langley stepped onto the porch and knocked on the door.
"Come on in, honey. Surely you don't plan on standing on that porch all night," the woman called.
Langley stepped inside and took in the sight of the cozy one room cabin. There were plenty of feminine touches with the colorful afghans and quilts draped over the worn furniture.
Langley's eyes were drawn to set of saddlebags beside the fireplace. They were black leather with a silver double revolver design sewn into them. They looked damn near identical to his Uncle Jeremiah's saddlebags..... had the man died and gotten them stolen?
"Those are my husbands," the woman said, following his gaze. "He's in town getting supplies just now but he'll be back soon."
Langley instantly knew those couldn't be Jeremiah saddlebags—unless of course the man really had gotten killed.
"I have some fried chicken and potatoes with some fresh garden vegetables. Will that suit you?"
"Yes ma'am," Langley replied, drool forming in his mouth as his stomach rumbled.
She placed a heaping plate of food in front of him as well as a tall glass of lemonade. "Thank you, ma'am."
"My name is Delilah," she said as she sat down across from him. "The way you're digging into that food tells me it's been a while since you've had a good meal."
Langley flushed and slow down a bit. "A long while," he agreed.
"You look awfully young to be out traveling by yourself," she noted, tilting her head to the side.
"I'm seventeen," he replied. "And I'm done wandering, ma'am. I'm on my way home. I believe I've had my fill."
He looked up from the chicken leg he was gnawing on and realized Delilah was watching him with interest. "Langley isn't a very common name."
"My actual name is Langston," he replied, swiping his arm over his mouth. "When I was a kid everyone just called me Langley and I guess it stuck."
Delilah folded her hands in her lap. "I wonder if maybe you know my husband. He's spent a lot of time up in the Dakotas."
Langley shrugged. "It's pretty big country up there but I might. What's his name?"
The sound of a cart approaching outside reached their ears. Delilah smiled as she stood up. "I'll do you one better than that, Langley. I'll introduce you."
Langley heard boot steps pounding onto the porch just before the door was thrown open. Langley was sure his jaw must have hit the floor. There stood his uncle Jeremiah with his gun drawn.
"Jeremiah, put that gun away," Delilah scolded gently. "You'll ruin the poor boy's appetite."
On command, the gun was holstered and Jeremiah stared at the nephew he hadn't seen in months. The nephew he had once sworn he never wanted to see again.
"Langley?" he managed to mutter.
"Uncle Jeremiah?" Langley replied, not quite understanding how the man could be here—or how any woman could be calling him husband.
Without warning, Jeremiah crossed the room, limping heavily. He was at Langley in three long strides and he pulled him into his arms. Crushing him in a hug and patting his back forcefully. "It's darn good to see you again, Langley."
Suddenly Langley forgot why he'd ever been angry with the man. Sure, Jeremiah had abandoned him and caused him to end up in jail but jail had been good for Langley. And if not for it, he never would have met Jessie—despite the pain that the woman had caused him, Langley would never regret the time he'd spent with her.
"It's good to see you too, Uncle Jeremiah."
Jeremiah pulled away and looked up at his nephew. "You've changed!" he stated. "You grew muscles."
Langley flushed and nodded as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I guess I did."
Jeremiah's eyes suddenly took on a more serious glow. "I'm real sorry about everything that happened, Langley. I've done quite a bit of changing myself and I am bone deep ashamed of what I did to you. No hard feelings?"
Langley shook his head. "No hard feelings."
Jeremiah moved away from Langley and if his jaw had hit the floor when Jeremiah had come into the cabin, it crashed straight through when his whore-hopping, never-catch-the-crazy uncle, walked to Delilah, tenderly kissed her brow and then laid money in her hand.
"I got those supplies in the cart. I had to order the fabric you wanted and Harry said it would probably be a week, maybe two, before it gets here."
Delilah smiled and kissed his whiskered cheek. "Thank you. Now sit down and visit with your nephew! I'll make you a plate."
Jeremiah nodded and took a seat. "Uncle Jeremiah?" Langley frowned and rubbed at his jaw. "Are you really married?"
"Yep. That's what happens when you catch the crazy."
Langley winced as he focused on his plate. That wasn't always what happened when you caught the crazy. Sometimes the woman you catch the crazy for turns out to be a lying, stubborn, pig-headed witch that breaks your heart without any second thoughts.
"It just didn't seem like the kind of thing you'd ever do," Langley admitted. "You always swore you'd never catch the crazy."
Langley took a large bit of potatoes as Delilah sat a plate in front of Jeremiah. Langley saw the way his uncle gazed at the woman as if she were made of pure gold. While it was nearly impossible for Langley to wrap his head around, there was no denying that his brother was in love.
"Like I said before, I've changed a bit," Jeremiah replied. "I never want to be who I was before and Delilah here keeps me on the straight and narrow."
"I try," Delilah replied, sitting down beside her husband. "But he does have a bit of a limp."
"Dammit, woman, I've been real good!" Jeremiah blustered.
Delilah fixed him with a pointed glare. "Did you just curse? And call me woman?" she demanded. "And what about getting drunk just the other night? And the saloon girl who came looking for you worried that you had died because she hadn't seen you in a while?"
Jeremiah glared over at Langley as he threw his head back and laughed, smacking his thigh. He hadn't laughed that way in weeks and damn it felt good. He swiped at his eye as Jeremiah let out a grunt and threw himself back in his chair.
"I hardly ever curse anymore," he insisted. "And I might have gotten drunk but I did so right here at home so I wasn't out doing nothing bad. And I reckon you took care of that saloon girl just fine, remember?"
Delilah's cheeks flamed red. "I am ashamed of how I treated that girl. I never should have treated her so poorly. It was wrong of me to....."
"Whack her with the broom?" Jeremiah offered when it seemed she was at a loss for words. "More than once?" he added.
Delilah's flush deepened and she remained speechless. Jeremiah sat up a bit straighter. "So, Langley, where have you been and what are you doing up here in Colorado? The last time I saw you was down in Texas."
Langley picked at his greens and shrugged. "Yeah, well, I finished my jail sentence but I wasn't ready to go home so I decided to head over to Harper for old times sake. I talked to Hattie and I learned some interesting things..."
He met his uncle's gaze and Jeremiah nodded. "I'm sure you did," he replied. "I did what I thought needed to be done, Langley. I regret killing her the way I did but, at the time, all I kept thinking about was the fact that she killed my brother. I kept seeing the sadness that you, Rose and Kaitlyn were feeling and I wanted her to pay for that. I was helping out in the only way I knew how."
Langley spared a glance at Delilah but Jeremiah smiled. "I don't have any secrets from her. She knows all about my past and yet she accepts me anyhow. It would seem that she caught the crazy too."
"I'm happy for you," Langley forced himself to mutter as he stared down at his chicken.
"So what else happed in Harper?" Jeremiah asked.
Langley sighed. "I caught the crazy."
Jeremiah's eyes widened. "With who!? Where the hell.. I mean heck.. is she?"
Langley stabbed at his greens. "It was Jessie Burke and I don't know."
"Jessie Burke?" Jeremiah shook his head and shoved his plate away. "I warned you about her! Her mama and her pa didn't raise her to be the kind of woman a man falls in love with. She's...."
"Be careful what you say, Uncle Jeremiah," Langley warned. "We're just making peace, you and I, and I'd hate to have to punch you in the mouth."
Jeremiah held up his hands. "So what happened?"
Langley put down his fork and launched into the story. He'd always loved to talk and he had a talent for telling a story. By the time he finished, Delilah and Jeremiah were both giving him their full attention.
"You did all that?" Jeremiah muttered with awe. "It would seem you have quite a bit of your pa, me and your Uncle Duke in you."
"I'll pray the girl comes to her senses," Delilah added. "You seem like a good young man and the kind of man that any woman should be proud to have."
Langley's ears glowed. "Thank you, ma'am."
"So where are you going now?" Jeremiah asked.
"Home. I miss mama and pa and Lucy and Kaitlyn. I miss the gun shop and I miss mama's ham..."
Jeremiah nodded. "Your mama does make one heck of a ham."
"Why don't and Delilah come with me?" Langley asked suddenly. He was desperate to end the loneliness of traveling solo. Having two more people would help keep that pain and coldness at bay.
Jeremiah shook his head. "No."
Langley thought he'd answered too quickly. "Why? Did something happen?"
Jeremiah face twisted with pain. "Your pa let me know real quick that I ain't welcome there any longer. Duke said pretty much the same. I don't blame either one of them. Not now that I've sobered up and looked back on my actions with a clear mind."
Langley chuckled. "What are you talking about? You and pa fight all the time. One of you shoots the other one or you throw some punches and then we all go in and eat supper together."
"Not when I turn my back on brother's son," Jeremiah's voice was heavy. "The rules change then."
Langley's eyes widened and his stomach flopped. "You told them!? Thanks a lot! Now they'll be mad at me for lying to them. I really didn't want my mama knowing in was in jail!"
Jeremiah snorted. "Don't worry about it. They don't blame you. They blame me for putting you in that situation."
"Well then that's all the more reason for you to come back with me—even if just for a visit! If pa sees you and me together and knows that I forgive you for your part in what happened and sees that I'm fine, then he'll come around and forgive you too."
Jeremiah raised a brow. "Are we talking about the same Marston Jacobs?"
Langley nodded. "Besides, you know all you have to do is earn mama's forgiveness, which is easy. Once you have that, she'll work her magic on pa."
Jeremiah chuckled. "Yeah, he's a regular old whipped pup when it comes to Rose."
"Jeremiah, why don't you go out and unload those supplies before it gets dark?" Delilah asked.
Without hesitation, Jeremiah stood from his chair, kissed her brown hair and nodded. He headed for the door and Langley's eyes followed the way he limped as he walked out of the cabin.
"What happened to him?" Langley asked.
"He was shot," Delilah replied. "I found him on the roadside, full of holes and with more whiskey in his veins than blood. I nursed him back to help and along the way he realized the wrong in the man he was and he truly has changed for the better."
"I can tell," Langley admitted. "I certainly never would have thought that my uncle would catch the crazy."
Delilah's light laughter filled the cabin. "He never thought he would either." She reached across the table and laid a tender hand on Langley's arm. "Don't worry about anything. I'll talk to him and we'll go to Windfall with you. You see, I had a dream the other night and the Lord spoke to me. He told me that big changes were heading my way and I needed to embrace them because they would lead me on the path that He wanted."
"Right." Langley suddenly feared for the woman's sanity. He pushed back his chair and forced a smile. "Thank you for dinner, ma'am. My stomach sure needed the food. I better go help Uncle Jeremiah before he thinks I've gotten lazy."
Langley made an escape from the cabin and found his uncle carrying a sack of feed to the barn. "Uncle Jeremiah?" he asked cautiously.
"What?" Jeremiah grunted.
"Delilah said something awfully interesting after you walked out."
Jeremiah tossed the sack of feed down inside the barn and turned to his nephew. "What did she say?"
Langley plucked at a loose button on his shirt and shrugged one shoulder. "She said that the Lord speaks to her in dreams."
Jeremiah nodded. "He does."
Langley's brow quirked skyward. "You honestly believe that?"
Jeremiah swiped his sleeve across his brow. "If she says it's true than it's true. The woman's never given me a reason to doubt her."
"Wow," Langley's voice was flat. "You really did catch it bad."
Jeremiah patted him on the back. "And you did too, didn't you?"
Langley kicked at the dirt. "Yes. I know you tried to warn me but I really thought she was the one. I would have done anything for that woman."
Jeremiah spit in the dirt. "There's plenty more out there, Langley. But until you meet the right one, there's plenty of things you can help me carry so get to work."