Sheriff Gil Turner pulled out his pocket watch to check the time. Noon, thank God, the morning had seemed to crawl by. He removed his feet from the top of his desk sitting all four legs of his chair on the floor then grabbed his hat and headed for the door. He hadn't taken two steps when he saw Sheriff Andy Helms and several other men pull up in front of his office.
"Can we borrow a few minutes of your time?" A young man asked as they all began to dismount. Turner nodded and headed back into his office.
"What can I do for you boys today?" The sheriff asked with a calm voice and a friendly smile on his face.
The same young man that had asked to talk with him stepped forward. "I'm US Marshall John Henson." Then he nodded towards his partner and continued the introductions. "This here is US Marshall Jinx Mahoney."
Fear gripped his insides, it was all he could do to stay calm. He smiled again and did his best to keep his voice level. "It must be something pretty serious to bring the Marshall's out." Gill drew his brows together as he continued to look at the Marshall he now knew to be John Henson. "You look familiar, you from around these parts?"
"As a matter of fact I am. I worked for Faith Matthew's on the Second Chance until about a year ago." John watched the other man like a hawk. He'd learned a lot this past year and he could easily see that the good Sheriff Turner was shaking in his boots, and with good reason.
Small beads of perspiration began to appear on Turner's forehead as he shifted uncomfortably. "Oh, well what brings you to the fair town of Woodland?" He was dying to wipe his forehead but knew it would be a dead giveaway.
"A murderer." Andy said calmly.
Turner's eyebrows shot up. "A murderer. Who are you looking for and I'll do my best to help you find him" He wanted to turn and run out the back door. He could feel the walls were closing in on him, and the collar of his shirt felt like it was choking him.
"We're looking for you." John said calmly. "Gil Turner, you're under arrest for the murder of Bartholomew Hurst."
"Wh – what the hell?" Turner sputtered taking a couple of steps back. His heart stopped and his ears began to ring. "I'm a sheriff! I protect people from killers like Cade Jacobs, or have you forgotten?" Turner sneered. If that stupid bitch had been more concerned about her reputation, none of this would be happening right now. Jacobs would have hung for killing Bart and he would no one would have ever questioned him about it. But no, she had to open her damn mouth to save the bastard and then he left her! So she ruined herself for nothing. And now he had to deal with this! Turner's eyes darted around the room. There was no way he was going to make it out the front door, at least not alive. No, he had to have a plan, think Turner, think!
"You may have sworn to protect this town but I have witnesses that will testify that you were the one the town needed to be protected against. Now are you going to come quietly or are you going to make this difficult?" John asked as he slowly moved his hand toward his pistol as he watched the other man like a hawk.
Sweat trickled down the side of Gil's face, soaking into the collar of his dingy white shirt. God it was hot! "And just who are these witnesses you have that are going to call me, a man that has dedicated his life to protecting innocent people, a murderer? They must be very upstanding citizens."
"You'll find out at your trial, if you make it that long." Andy said, not even bothering to hide his disgust with the man.
"You're wasting time, let's go." John took a step toward him. "You can't run! There are six of us, don't be stupid." A wild eyed look of fear crept into Turner's eyes as he realized that he was cornered. He attempted to take advantage of John's tender years and inexperience as the marshall let his guard down for just a second, and that's all it took.
Gil put his head down as if in defeat and began walking toward John. At the same time John took a step forward, taking his eyes off of Turner's gun. Gil, seeing the small opportunity, jumped forward pulling his gun. There was no room for the rest of the men to shoot the sheriff without shooting John as well. Turner knew he was going to die because there was no way in hell he was going to let them take him alive! "If I'm going down, I'm taking as many of you bastards with me as I can!"
A deafening boom filled the room followed by two more in quick succession. The windows rattled in their panes and a gray sulfuric smoke filled the tiny office, stinging their eyes and noses. Sheriff Gil Turner fell to his knees then to the floor with a thud. The sound of someone gasping for breath behind them brought everyone's attention to John, who had backed up against the far wall of the office. A crimson stain bloomed on his chest as he began to slide down the wall leaving a trail of smeared blood behind him.
"John!" Jinx called out running over to his friend.
A grim faced man walked outside, shutting the door quietly behind him. Four pairs of eyes looked up expectantly. "Is he going to make it Doc?" Jinx voiced the question all the men wanted to ask.
"Well, I'm going to be real honest with you. The bullet went completely through his shoulder and he lost a lot of blood but he's young and healthy. I'd say as long as fever and infection don't set in, I think he'll make a full recovery. We'll know within the next day or two for sure. I'll keep him here and sedated. Once I know there's no infection or that he won't pull his stitches, he can go home and rest for a couple of weeks. Why don't you boys go get something to eat at the diner, you all look like hell." Doc smiled and went back inside to tend his patient.
His shoulder felt like someone had shoved a hot poker through it, John thought to himself as he fought to keep from groaning in pain. Maybe he should have listened to Doc and stayed another couple of days instead of insisting on leaving today. It was taking twice as long to get to the Second Chance because he had to ride so slowly. Dammit! He felt as weak as a newborn kitten! Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the ranch came into view.
"Pull up at the house, I'll take care of your horse." Jinx told his friend. He'd been watching him and to be honest, he was more than a little relieved to be at the Second Chance. He just wasn't sure how much more his friend would have been able to take. They were pulling up to the house when the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen came flying out the door, letting the screen slam behind her.
"John!" Faith called out as she ran out to greet him. Levi had told her everything that had happened this morning when he'd come by and she had been beside herself with worry. It honestly never occurred to her that he could get hurt by being a US Marshall, until now.
"Faith!" John watched as she grabbed her skirts with both hands exposing trim ankles as she ran down the front steps. He hadn't been back to see her since he left a year ago. God he'd missed her, but he made himself stay away, knowing it was the only way to get over her. John threw his leg over the back of his horse and stepped down as easily as possible. The last thing he wanted to do was jar his shoulder more.
"Look at you! I can't believe how much you've changed!" Faith threw her arms around his waist, careful not to hurt him. "My goodness you had to have gotten at least three inches taller!"
Jinx got down off of his own horse and moved to stand beside his friend then cleared his throat. The blush creeping up John's face or the change in his demeanor was not lost on him, his eagle sharp eyes caught everything. "Faith, this is my partner Jinx Barrett. Jinx this is Miss," John glanced up at Faith as she slowly raised a single dark eye brow, "Uh, Mrs. Jacob's."
"It's a pleasure to meet you ma'am." Jinx said removing his hat and dipping his head.
"It's a pleasure to meet you as well."
"If you don't mind ma'am, I'll go put the horses in the barn."
"No, of course not! Please come inside when you're finished. I've got dinner warming on the stove." Faith said to Jinx, then turned to John. "Come on, let's get you inside and into bed. You're white as a sheet."
The two of them walked into the house and down the short hall to the spare bedroom. "I've got fresh sheets on the bed, I'll go fix a tray for you while you settle in." Faith closed the door behind her, then made her way to the kitchen.
John wanted to argue but he knew she was right. It was all he could do to remove his clothes and climb into bed. He was almost asleep when Faith knocked on the door a few minutes later. "Thank you for letting me come here to rest. I really didn't want to go my ma's, she has enough to take care of with the babies."
"I would have been terribly upset if you hadn't come here." Faith sat the tray across his lap then pulled a chair from the corner and sat beside him.
John looked down at the savory stew, thin and crispy fried corn bread patties slathered with sweet butter, and a steaming cup of black coffee. "You remembered." He said as he took his first bite of his favorite dish. Closing his eyes, he let the flavors caress his tongue as he slowly chewed.
"Of course I remembered your favorite dish. How could I forget? You haven't been gone that long." The two of them talked about his adventures from this past year. He had been so homesick at first but after his first arrest, the homesickness vanished. The thrill of knowing he was making a difference in peoples' lives was all the comfort he needed. Faith could see the excitement in his eyes and how much he loved his job when he talked to her.
She had cleaned and changed his bandage, then left him to rest. John had tried hard to hide it but she could clearly see it was all he could do to feed himself. Faith sat on her front porch swing with Cayson in her lap. Her son looked up at her with pale green eyes and smiled showing off two new bottom teeth. He looked more and more like his father every day.
"Am I interrupting?"
"Oh, no Marshall Barrett, please have a seat." Faith pointed to several rockers on the porch.
"Please, call me Jinx." He walked over and sat down in the rocker closest to her. "How old is he?"
Faith gave Cayson a slight hug and a kiss on his dark downy soft head. "He just turned a year old."
"He's a good looking boy." John had told him all about her and Cade on the way here from Woodland. What he left out was how he felt for the woman. It was clear as day that John was in love with the woman. Of course, Jinx would never let his partner know that he knew. Everybody had their own secrets.
"Thank you, he looks just like his father. I hope you don't think I'm being rude, but I really need to change this little fellow and get him ready for bed. Please feel free to stay here as long as you like. Any friend of John's is a friend of mine. There's plenty of room in the bunk house. Good evening Mar, uh Jinx."
"Evening, Ma'am." Jinx dipped his head.
Two weeks later Faith was sitting in one of the arm chairs beside the fireplace. An unusually late cold front had moved in making it necessary to have a fire in the evenings. John sat on the opposite side of the fireplace holding Cayson. He had been bouncing the little boy on his knee but now the baby was laying with his head on John's shoulder as John patted him softly on the back.
"You'll be a great father one day." Faith said smiling. Her heart broke a little, it should be Cade holding his son and loving on him, not John.
"I'm leaving in the morning."
"What? I had hoped that you would change your mind and stay." She had so loved having her best friend back.
"A replacement sheriff was finally hired for Woodland, so Jinx will be coming back to the Second Chance this evening. He said he hated filling in as temporary sheriff but I know he secretly loved it. I wouldn't be surprised if he settled down in a few years, if that long. Jinx loves sleeping in a bed and being able to have a good hot meal from a diner every day."
"Are you sure you can't stay a little longer?" She was unable to hide the disappointment in her voice.
"There's only one way that I can stay and you know it." John looked up at her as he continued to rock and pat Cayson's back.
"John, I – I can't."
"You still love him that much? He doesn't deserve you or your love!"
She sighed. "That may be, but I love him just the same and we have a son together."
"A son he doesn't even know about, a son that I love and would raise as my own."
"John, please. I don't want to go down this road again."
"You're right, I'm sorry. I can't believe that Cayson took his first steps by himself with me here."
"I have a feeling that he's going to be into everything now."
"Well, I'm going to put this little guy down for the night, then turn in myself. I'll see you in the morning. He got up and put Cayson down, then went to his own room. He didn't really want to go but he knew it was the only way. Deep down he had always know that Faith would never be more than what she was right now, a good friend. He had to stop and just accept what she offered before he lost her treasured friendship. His shoulder was still a little tight, but healed well enough to travel and that was all that mattered.