Jake zeroed in on Prescott then. “Holt pointed that gun at Lloyd again, aiming to shoot him in the head and make sure he was dead, but I got there before he could pull the trigger. For a moment I considered holding him there like everyone thinks I should have done, but he pulled back the hammer of his gun to shoot Lloyd again. I grabbed his wrist and pushed up so he couldn’t shoot him. His gun went off and went through my left shoulder. I’ve been in a lot of gunfights, and you have to think lightning fast. I knew that if I fired while Holt was standing, my bullet could go through him and into a bystander, so I shoved him to the floor first. And yes, again I considered not pulling that trigger, but all I could think about was the hideous things he’d done to my daughter—and that he’d just shot my son and deserved to die…so I shot him because he’d taken my son from me.”
Randy watched Jake pause to take a deep breath. He swallowed and shifted restlessly, a sure sign he was trying to get through his testimony without going into a rage. She tried to tell him with her eyes to stay calm.
“In that moment it didn’t matter if I hung for shooting Holt. I pulled the trigger because I thought I didn’t have anything left to live for. Once I realized what I’d done, I knew I might be wanted at least for questioning, but my son-in-law had told me Lloyd was still alive. I couldn’t risk being carted off to jail because I knew Lloyd would need me in the worst way, which is why I threatened to shoot anyone who tried to take me away from him. All those years we rode together back in Oklahoma, I always had his back. This time I’d failed him, and I can hardly live with that.” He quickly wiped at his eyes and leaned back in the chair. “He went through so much pain we had to hold him down several times, and all I could think of was…it should have been me lying there. Me! I’m the old one. I’m the father. Sons aren’t supposed to…die…before the father. I’m the one who deserves to die like that…not my son.”
He cleared his throat and shifted in the chair yet again. He glanced at the judge.
“You know the rest. My family is my only reason for existing. I’ve protected them with my life for years. It’s who I am, and there is no changing it. And now all any of us wants is to get the hell out of Denver and back to the J&L and back to normal living…” He stared absently at his hands. “If anything can be called normal when you live with Jake Harkner.” He glanced at Lloyd. “It’s not an easy name to carry, but my son has brought a lot of pride and respect to the name.”
“You’ve done that yourself, Pa,” Lloyd told him.
The judge pounded his gavel again.
“Judge Carter, can I point out just two things before you make your decision?” Peter spoke up.
Carter took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair. For a moment there was nothing but silence in the room. “Make it quick,” he finally told Peter.
Peter rose. “Judge, in Guthrie, I managed to get over three hundred signatures on a petition asking a judge in St. Louis to shorten Jake’s original sentence to serve as a marshal in the most god-awful and dangerous country you can imagine. All three hundred of those people agreed Jake had done an excellent job of keeping the peace in the Guthrie area, and believe me, in a lawless place like Oklahoma was then, that wasn’t easy. He risked his life over and over, and it cost him and Lloyd a lot of time away from their families. They ended up making enemies that continue to hunt them and try to make trouble for them, which is just what Mike Holt was doing. The point is, three hundred people admired and respected Jake enough to help me petition the judge in St. Louis to shorten his sentence and let the man live in peace. That’s all Jake and his wife want—to live in peace now.” Peter stood there hesitantly, then finally sat down. “Thank you, Your Honor.”
The judge leaned forward then, pausing to weigh his words before finally speaking up. “Ladies and gentlemen, this has been the most unusual hearing I have ever held, unprecedented in some of the things that happened and were said here today, completely disorderly, at times humorous, and at times far from humorous. Through it all I’ve sat here and watched the love this man’s family has for him, and in return, I’ve sensed the devoted, passionate side of a man whose reputation defies all of that. I believe he is just a man who loves his family beyond measure, but he is also a man who needs to remember we live in a new era of law and order, and that we deal with justice in a different way from the kind Jake Harkner and his son dealt as marshals in Oklahoma. I am giving him the benefit of the doubt only because he grew up in different times…totally lawless times. He was raised knowing only brutality and the outlaw way. For a man to overcome a past like that says a lot about what really lies inside. He has shown himself to be a good family man, a devoted husband, a loving father and grandfather, and a friend to those who earn his respect and those who respect him in return.”