PART I – Leah
May 1881

Chapter 4
Endings and Beginnings

Jenkins snapped awake and hurried to look out the window. "How many you reckon?"

"I'm not sure, but about 40 or so. We can't hold them all off, not the two of us. Probably not the three of us, but we've got a better chance."

The first slivers of morning light was showing across the horizon in hues of pink and purple as the men, some of them so completely drunk they could hardly stand, but other's half drunk, but sober enough to be a real threat, stopped in front of the sheriff's office, torches in hand. Leading them was Billy Beardsley, his brother bringing up the rear.

"All right Jenkins!" Billy called out. "You open up and let us have that Barkley horse thief, and we won't hurt you, but if you don't, we'll shoot and burn our way in there."

Jenkins had picked up the keys. "Go let him out and give him a rifle," he told O'Leary who hurried to do as he bid. He didn't remember when he had made the decision that O'Leary was right, but he had. The Barkley moved into the room and took up a position at the farthest end, O'Leary on the other side and Jenkins in the middle at the door.

"Billy, you and the rest move on and we'll not have to have bloodshed today, but if you continue to threaten, I'll have to do what I must."

But just at that moment one of the drunken ones fired the first shot. It just nicked Jenkins's hand as he fired the second shot, the blonde cowboy got the drunk, and Jenkins could hear O'Leary's rifle blasting. "I'm out of rounds," Barkley said as O'Leary tossed him the box of extra ammunition while bullets blasted along the front.

A few of the men in the street bolted, having decided that it was not really worth the risk of their lives, but there were other's who'd taken cover and were still pelting them with fire. Jenkins focused on them one at a time, hoping that he wasn't leaving himself open to others who might have a better vantage point of him. He saw Billy's body sprawled on the ground out there, as well as Brady's. The man had better sense than to get mixed up with the Beardsleys, or at least Jenkins had always thought so.

He realized he was letting his mind wonder away from what he should have been focusing on, and almost as soon as the thought left him a bullet whizzed past him and lodged in his shoulder. Pain shot through him like an arrow as he fell back from the force of impact. The cowboy darted next to him and pulled him away from the door, taking over his position as O'Leary crawled from his window and began tending the wound.

"I can still shoot," Jenkins said gathering his strength and taking over Barkley's position. O'Leary frantically rushed back to his window, but at the same moment a fury of bullets flying caught the man and he crumpled to the floor, blood spilling from a wound in his head. Barkley glanced at him before turning back to the fire fight going on in the street.

Jenkins fired toward the direction the bullet that had caught O'Leary had to come from. Just at that moment, he realized that their firings were not the only ones towards the mob that had gathered, some of them were coming from beyond.

After a few moments the few who remained had thrown down their weapons and come out of hiding as two riders came galloping into view, one of them a tall, dark cowboy wearing spurs and a big brimmed hat, the other a man Jenkins recognized as the marshal.

"It's Nick," Barkley exclaimed.

"And Marshal Davis," Jenkins added, standing up from the place he'd been crouching.

"Where's Leah?" Heath asked no one in particular as he glanced sadly at O'Leary.

"She's not going to take it well," Jenkins shook his head, a grim look on his face. "But at least Davis will treat you fair and listen to your story, Barkley."

The third rider just then galloped into view. She beat Nick and the marshal to the hitching post and ran inside. "Are y'all all right?" she demanded as Nick and Davis stepped onto the porch.

Heath tried to block her from entering, but she was inside and had caught sight of the still form before he could think. She saw him there, lying so lifeless and slowly crossed the room to him. She stared down at him, O'Leary, clean shaven and a little cleaner looking that the last time she'd seen him.

Silently she bent over him and pulled his head into her lap, heedless of the blood. Silently she wept.

"I'm sorry Leah," Heath said squatting down next to her after several moments passed. He helped her up and Jenkins covered him with a blanket.

The skies were dark and grey as a slight drizzle dampened the ground. Only six people surrounded the open grave sight where a body was being laid to rest that morning. It was sad to think that only five people and a preacher were the only ones to mourn and remember one man, but each of them had their reasons for being there.

Eb Lawson had long since felt the guilt of his treatment towards Leah and, though he'd never really liked O'Leary felt that she needed his support in this time of great sorrow. Jenkins respected the man for his last change of heart, his own little redemption. Heath was there because the man was important to Leah and because he too, had found the man respectable in his last hours. Nick, having never known David O'Leary could not go on the man's character, except that he had aided in keeping his little brother safe and he was, for all practical purposes, Leah's father.

And Leah. Well, Leah was there, because he was her father, the only man she'd ever thought of in that way, a man that, despite his faults, had taken care of her as if she were his own and who she could not simply forget or despise because of a year of misery. She had decided on this spot for a very particular reason. He would be buried next to Ellen. She knew he would have been happy in that choice.

The preacher was there simply because he was necessary. But that didn't mean that he didn't feel some portion of sympathy for the mourner, because while not as open and understanding as he might have been, did not fault the person for the circumstances of her birth.

It was this somber party that walked out of the grave yard and towards the main street as another stranger rode up and dismounted. From beneath his hat he looked curiously at the approaching party, parts of which were beginning to break up. Eb had returned to his livery, Jenkins had said his good byes and headed for the jail where Marshal Davis was watching Jasper Beardsley, who had confessed to stealing Platt's horses and killing Ellen as well as other crimes, and the marshal was about to transport them back to Reno.

"Well, I see that the two of you seem to have survived and have matters well in hand," he responded as they approached.

"You see," Nick replied. "We can get along with out you Pappy."

"I see," he responded with mock offense. "But who is your new friend?"

"Leah O'Leary, meet my brother Jarrod."

"How do you do?" she nodded.

"I hope you don't mind an extra rider going back with us to Stockton?" Nick asked. "We thought we might could get her a respectable job somewhere."

"We might at that, Miss O'Leary," Jarrod nodded to her.

"I'll be much obliged," she took the reins of her horse. "Your brothers have been very kind to me and I hope I'll not be a burden to you on your trip."

"Not at all."

And with that the foursome began their journey to Stockton, California. And Leah to new horizons that were well beyond her reach just a few days before.

(To be continued…)

With Part II. A year has passed, a new rancher comes to Stockton whose disgruntled employee goes on a shooting spree and Leah tries to discover why Heath seems to be avoiding her!