“Jake tells me everything.” Randy blinked back tears. “Please tell me you haven’t come here to tell me he’s dead.”
Dixie shook her head. “No, ma’am. I don’t know myself what has happened to him. I only came here to tell you about the kid out there…and I was hoping Jake was back by now so I’d know he’s okay.” Her own eyes filled with tears. “I care a lot about that man, Mrs. Harkner, and the last time I saw him he was a mess…a real dark, menacing, angry, starving, sleep-deprived mess.”
Randy covered her face. “My God,” she groaned.
“He’d just found out about your daughter, ma’am. He was headed to Guthrie to find out for sure, but somehow he already knew she’d been taken.” She shook her head. “I’ve never seen him like that, Mrs. Harkner, and I hope to never see it again. Never since I’ve known him has he scared me, but he scared me that day. And he was real upset over wanting to kill some…some loose woman up at Hell’s Nest who knew about Evie but didn’t tell him right away. She wanted…well, when he found out she knew and didn’t say anything, he told me that was the first time he wanted to hurt a woman, but he didn’t. He was just…my God, he had the darkest look in his eyes I’ve ever seen in a man, like Satan himself was boiling right up inside of him.”
“Dear God,” Randy whispered, putting a hand to her eyes. “I knew it would be bad. He needed me in the worst way.”
“I wasn’t sure if you’d be upset that he stopped at my place. I mean, he only stopped to change horses. I gave him some fresh food and made him promise to eat and try to sleep a little bit more. The man was killing himself trying to get to Guthrie. I came here hoping he was back and everything was okay. I’m just real worried maybe he rescued his daughter but got sick and died afterward from the way he was abusing himself. Then again, Jake’s a mighty tough man. He’s survived an awful lot in his life. And he had that son of yours with him. Still, I’m not sure which one of them was worse off. Poor Lloyd was beside himself too, thinking they’d taken his wife and son. I tried real hard to get them to stay a bit, maybe sleep for a while, but Jake wouldn’t have it. He insisted on going on.”
Randy turned. “Dixie, I’m sure you helped both of them as much as you could. I couldn’t be there for them, and I just ache over that. I know Jake sometimes stops at your place. He likes to tease me about it. You’re a good friend, and you are always welcome in this house.”
Dixie looked her over. “I saw you once in town. You probably don’t remember…”
“I do remember—your face, anyway. I didn’t know who you were, but I knew…well…”
“Yeah, we all have that look about us.” Dixie sighed. “I was so impressed by how beautiful and gracious you were. Jake said if I’d told you who I was, you probably would have invited me over, but he said he’d have a lot of explaining to do afterward.”
Randy managed a smile. “Jake is Jake, Dixie. Nothing you could tell me would upset me.”
“Well, then… I mean, you should probably know that he stopped by on the way to Hell’s Nest. That was before all of this other happened—before he knew about Evie. He was a real mess then too. He…I…he kind of broke down over you, thinking you could be dying. I held him half the night. I thought you should know. I swear to God it was just holding, that’s all. He needed someone to cry on, someone not close to him like family is. I think he just didn’t want anybody in the family to see that, especially not Lloyd. He was so damn scared for you. I’m glad to see you looking so well. And I hope you understand. He’ll probably tell you himself. I just want you to know nothing wrong happened.”
Randy turned away. “I understand him much better than you think, Dixie. I know how he was raised. And I know the kind of people he turns to in times like this. Don’t fret about it. I know Jake inside and out. I believe you.” Her eyes teared at how much she loved him, how she missed him. “He teases me constantly about stopping there,” she added. “It’s kind of a running joke with us. He can be so exasperating sometimes, goading me about things like that. I think part of what he loves about me is that I understand.”
Dixie smiled. “It’s easy for me to picture that. He teases me too. When Jake is in a good mood, he’s so handsome and likable and has that great sense of humor. He really cares about people. Really cares. You have no idea how much that means. I’m not just some prostitute who’s worth nothing more than—well, I’m a friend. Not many people, especially men, call me that.” She sighed. “Anyway, I hope he’s found your daughter and grandson by now. You just remember that this is Jake Harkner. If anybody can get them out of this and live through it, it’s Jake. I told him that to be strong and think straight he had to be the old Jake, the mean one, the one with no feelings. I said he couldn’t let feelings get in the way, and believe me, when he left, the feelings were buried way down deep and he was some other man I’d never met before.”