“You were taken by surprise. And I’m the one who failed to protect her, Brian. I took it for granted you would all be safe if you stayed in town. And you have protected her, your whole married life. You’ve sheltered her from everything mean and ugly out there, loved her with gentleness and respect. You’ve given her a good life. She’s never known a raised voice or a physical threat, and you have the kind of job that lets you be with her almost constantly. That’s the kind of husband she needed. She wouldn’t have been strong enough to be married to some gruff, gun-toting lawman or hunter or blacksmith, or some man who likes to drink in taverns. Hell, you don’t even smoke.” He put an arm around Brian’s shoulders.
“You’re more of a man than I am in a lot of ways, Brian. You care about people and you save lives. I take lives.” He took a deep breath, fighting another urge to vomit over the thought of men abusing Evie. “If you’d ever hurt Evie, I probably would have thrashed you within an inch of your life and kicked you out. But never once have I seen Evie upset or unhappy. She’s always…smiling…and I can see the love in her eyes. I thank you for that.”
Brian breathed deeply for self-control. “Hell, I can’t take a whole lot of credit, because she’s so easy to love. I take hope in the fact that she’s her father’s daughter, which means she has a silent, inner strength that I don’t think even you are aware of, Jake. I’ve seen it, mostly when you were still in prison and she was as stubborn as Randy about refusing to be told she couldn’t visit you or that I couldn’t give you a doctor’s attention when you were dying in there. She has helped me with surgeries, and she can handle blood and guts just fine for someone so soft and innocent in other ways. Don’t underestimate her strength, Jake. And Little Jake—God knows how stubborn he can be. He’s probably making all those men nervous, babbling about how ‘Gampa’ will come and hurt them with his guns.”
Jake managed a faint smile. He decided not to voice his fear that they would hurt Little Jake just to be mean. Brian had enough to grieve over. He sighed and rose. “Brian, I need you to promise me something.”
“Anything.”
“If I don’t survive tomorrow, and if Lloyd doesn’t either, there’s a little eight-year-old boy at a brothel called Dixie’s Place, a bit northwest of Guthrie. I left him there with a promise I’d come back for him. I need you to promise you’ll go and get him and welcome him into your home or see that the Donavans get him.”
Brian shook his head. “Only you would leave a homeless eight-year-old boy at a whorehouse to be cared for.”
Jake came and sat down beside him again. “Hell, I was raised in whorehouses, and look how I turned out.”
Brian managed a smile. “That doesn’t give that kid much hope.”
“Yeah, well, that kid is the reason for this wound on my face. We found him on our way to a crappy settlement I call Hell’s Nest. His father was beating him with a belt.”
Brian closed his eyes. “Good God. I can just imagine your reaction.”
Jake cleared his throat. “No imagination required there. As I was lighting into his father, I hit my face on the edge of a shovel tied to the side of the man’s wagon. I took that belt from him and used it on him until Lloyd managed to stop me from beating him to death. I made him sign a paper to give up the boy—actually, he signed voluntarily, like the kid was nothing more than a pet dog. I kept him with us and promised him a good home. If the Donavans don’t take him, I’ll damn well raise him myself, because he’s me, Brian. He’s me. So if I don’t live through tomorrow, I need you to go and get him for me. The woman who runs the place has a good heart…a good heart. A lot of those women have good hearts, and women like that raised me, so it doesn’t bother me at all leaving Ben there. Don’t ever think less of them, especially Dixie. She’s good people.”
Brian nodded. “I’ll go and get him.”
“I’d appreciate it. And I want a couple more things from you.”
Brian sniffed and wiped at his eyes. “What?”
“I don’t want you using that rifle, for one thing. Have you ever fired a gun in your life?”
Brian swallowed. “No, but I sure as hell can pick one up and aim it.”
“Maybe so, but you’re a man born to save lives, not take them, and I can’t afford to have bullets flying in the wrong directions, especially if Lloyd and I are down there in the thick of it and not knowing where Little Jake is—and they’ll probably have Evie right out front as a way to keep us from shooting at them. You stay at the top of the ridge and use that rifle only if one of those bastards is coming toward you. Wait till he’s close and then shoot him, and don’t think twice about it. We’ll likely need you more as a doctor than a shooter, so keep yourself healthy.”