Do Not Forsake Me(121)
“No, ma’am. It just happened yesterday. A posse went after them, but they all got away, and Sheriff Sparks was shot. He’s alive, but not in good enough shape to go after them. Jake wasn’t there. I’m sure if he was, he might have stopped it all. He was out looking for Bryant and his men.”
“Brian! What about Evie’s husband, Brian?”
“I’m told he got knocked unconscious, but he’ll be all right. More men want to try looking for Evie and the kid again, but they need someone to lead the way—someone like Jake who knows how to find men like that. But no one is sure how to find him, and he hasn’t sent any wires.”
“He knows. Jake knows!” Randy clung to Peter. “He’ll be there soon, I’m sure of it. Somehow he found out and he’ll find Evie.” Randy wilted against Peter. “Oh my God. My God! Evie! Poor Evie! Jake will go mad!” She collapsed into sobs. “I’ll never see him again. I’ll never see Jake or my daughter again! And Little Jake! He’s just an innocent child!”
“Randy, Jake will go after them and—”
“They want him, Peter. They want Jake. He’ll do anything for Evie—anything! He’ll offer himself up like a lamb to slaughter to get her back. They’ll kill him, Peter! They’ll kill him for sure this time. They might even kill Evie and Little Jake. They’re ruthless, Peter!”
Marshal Graham pushed back his hat. “I’m so sorry for this terrible news, Mrs. Harkner. But, ma’am, if I may say so, you ought to know better than most that Jake doesn’t go down easy, and if he can find a way out of this and still get your daughter back, he’ll do it. Didn’t he take on the Kennedy gang all by himself back in California? That’s how I heard it, anyway.”
Randy dug her fingers into Peter’s arm. “Yes.” She closed her eyes at the awful memory. “I was there.” She looked at Graham. “What about Lloyd’s wife, Katie? And my grandson Stephen?”
“Far as I know, they’re okay. And, ma’am, remember that Lloyd rides with Jake now. He’s a real able man too. I’m thinking they’ll be all right. Those two together are quite a force. And I’m sure Jake will be smart enough to take a few more men with him. He’s not alone this time, Mrs. Harkner. You ought to take hope in that, and in the fact that…well…like I said, this is Jake Harkner we’re talking about, and those men took his little girl. Personally, I wouldn’t want to be a part of that gang right now…not with Jake Harkner after me.”
Randy straightened a little, but Peter kept hold of her. “I know all that, Marshal, but you have no idea how much Jake loves his daughter. He’ll give himself over to them even if it means being tortured to death. He’ll do anything for her.”
“Well, maybe he won’t have to, ma’am. Maybe he won’t have to.”
“The man is right, Randy,” Peter encouraged. “This is Jake we’re talking about. And Lloyd is with him. Your son is just as good as his father with those guns. If they round up a few extra men—”
“Oh, Peter, I have to go home. I have to go home! I have to be there for Evie if she lives through this. Let Dr. Rogers take my stitches out. Please, please, take me home. If you don’t take me, I’ll get dressed and go by myself, I swear it! I should be with Katie and Stephen too. Poor Katie must be beside herself, and Stephen is probably scared to death he’ll lose his father and his grandfather.”
“Katie’s parents are with them, Randy.”
“Is there some kind of message you want me to send to Guthrie, Mrs. Harkner?” Marshal Graham asked.
“Just that I’m coming home right away.” She pulled away from Peter and covered her face, leaning against a wall. “What will be left of my family when I get there, Peter? I could lose Evie and Little Jake and Lloyd and Jake…all four of them! And Evie is pregnant. Oh my God, poor Brian. Poor Brian!”
“Ma’am, you won’t be much good to any of them if you get sicker instead of better,” Graham told her. “You need to trust in your husband now. If anybody can get them back, he can.”
“He’s right, Randy,” Peter told her, pulling her back into his arms. “Jake will damn well get her back.”
She wept against his chest. “But at what price, Peter? At what price? They will want a trade…Evie and Little Jake…for Jake. They might even make Lloyd part of the bargain, and both of them will give their lives for Evie in a minute. Lloyd will never allow his father to face this alone.”