Do Not Forsake Me(74)

“Thanks for your concern,” Jake answered, a hint of sarcasm in the remark. “Little Jake is apparently aptly named. He’s stubborn and determined.” Jake turned to Jeff. “Peter, this is Jeff Trubridge,” he added, “the reporter from Chicago.”

Peter put out his hand and Jeff shook it.

“Actually, I met Jeff right after the shooting,” Peter told Jake. He looked Jake over. “I didn’t come on the scene until after the fact, but I saw a tremendous amount of blood still in the street.”

Jake removed his hat. “Yeah, well, of all the wounds I’ve experienced, this one really put me down. It was the loss of blood that nearly did me in this time.”

Peter glanced at Randy again. “I think it nearly did your wife in too.”

Jake shifted, and Jeff suspected he was holding back an urge to tell Peter Brown not to be so concerned about his wife. “I’m aware of what it did to my wife,” he answered. “That’s part of the reason I’m here, but we’ll get to that later. Right now I want to discuss the book this kid here wants to write. In the short time I’ve known him, I’ve grown to like him a lot. I think he’ll try to do an honest job of it, which is why I’m letting him follow me around like a damn shadow. This book needs to be from hands-on experience and personal stories, not hearsay. The only way to do that is to let Jeff talk to me and my family. I’m even taking him along the next time Lloyd and I ride out on our rounds.”

Peter glanced at Jeff. “Well now, Jeff, that will likely be an experience you won’t forget. I hope you know how to ride a horse and shoot a gun. You seem like more of a city kid to me. We’re both from Chicago, and I know not many men from there ride horseback and carry guns anymore.”

Jeff loosened the top button of his shirt. “I am a city kid, but I do know how to ride. As far as a gun—well, you saw me the day of the shooting holding Jake’s guns. That’s the first time I’ve even touched one. I’m sure Jake can teach me a few things when we head out.”

Peter laughed lightly. “Well now, that’s an understatement, isn’t it?” He glanced at Jake. “You couldn’t ask for a better teacher, Jeff, when it comes to using firearms.”

“No, sir,” Jeff told him, watching the hint of challenge between Jake and Peter. He thought about what a powerful presence Jake was, the way he just filled up a room the minute he stepped into it. A commanding aura seemed to hover around the man. He knew Peter felt it too.

Peter surprised Jeff then with his next statement. “Jake is the best there is when it comes to using those guns.” He glanced at Jeff again. “And he’s a good man, Jeff, despite some of the things you hear. If he wasn’t, you’d see it in his wife’s eyes, and she undoubtedly has eyes for only one man. If Jake was all the things others say he is, I doubt an educated, intelligent woman like Randy would still be with him.” He’d moved his gaze to Randy on that remark, then looked at Jake. “Put that in your book, Jeff,” he said, his eyes still holding Jake’s gaze.

Jeff felt perspiration on his forehead. “I’ve already taken note of that, Mr. Brown. Mrs. Harkner is the strongest, most devoted woman I’ve ever met.”

Peter took up a legal pad and an ink pen. “That she is,” he commented, scribbling something on the pad.

“And both of you are embarrassing me,” Randy put in, reaching over and grasping Jake’s hand.

Jeff wondered if she was afraid Jake would explode into words he shouldn’t, but he said nothing. He just kept watching Peter Brown carefully.

“Well now, let’s get down to why you’re here,” Peter told them. “Jake and Randy, you want some kind of agreement with Jeff that indicates you have the last say in whether this book even gets published, right?”

“That’s right,” Jake told him. He shifted again, wincing with pain. Jeff suspected he was really struggling to keep his mouth shut in front of Randy. “I want to make sure he doesn’t exaggerate like they do in those damn dime novels. I’m just a man, like any other, who’s a federal marshal because a judge forced him into it. Anything is better than prison, which is where I’d still be otherwise.”

Peter kept writing. “You underestimate yourself, Jake.”

Jake rubbed at his eyes. “I guess that’s something for others to decide after I’m long gone, which I expect will happen sooner than later, with guns blazing.”

Peter kept his attention on the tablet. “I’m sure you want this book to justify why you did some of the things you did—”