Chapter 4

The train arrived in Sacramento in a bit over four hours, and Jarrod got off there. Danny had told him how to reach the Jennings farm. Jarrod got a room at a hotel and went there long enough to leave his bag and clean up a little. He took off his tie and jacket and rode out the Jennings farm in his shirtsleeves. He just thought showing up in a suit would be a little startling to Libby; she had never seen him like that.

As he rode, he remembered his time with her. He had long ago forgiven her for not telling him she had found out who he was, even though it had nearly resulted in him killing the two brothers he didn't recognize. She had helped him a lot more than she had hurt him.

The truth was, he liked the time he spent with her and Danny. He felt comfortable, despite the dangerous trouble they were battling. They were battling it together. And even though he was so focused on finding out who he was that he never fell in love with her, he knew now that he could have. If he had never found out who he was, he could have spent a happy life with her and Danny.

He thought about his late wife, Beth. It sure would have been a lot better for her if he had spent his life with Libby. She never would have met Jarrod Barkley, and she'd be alive now in Denver.

He shook those thoughts away when the Jennings house came into view. It was a clean, two-story home, with flowers in front of the porch and chickens running around the yard. There were large fields of crops on the property, too. By all appearances, Libby had found the home and husband she deserved.

Jarrod rode up to the door to hitch his horse to the hitching post there. Chickens clucked and fled as he dismounted, and a dog hiding beside the house barked a warning. Libby came out of the front door.

Jarrod was immediately struck by how beautiful she looked. She wasn't dressed that much differently than she dressed when he knew her – this was a farm, after all – but there was a radiance to her face that hadn't been there before. She was clearly comfortable now, and content. He took his hat off and stepped up onto the porch.

She looked at him curiously at first, but then, as she recognized him, she looked startled. "Dakota! I mean, Mr. Barkley!"

Jarrod smiled. "Dakota will do just fine. How are you, Libby?"

"I'm – fine, but what are you doing here? How in the world did you ever find me?"

"May I come in? I need to talk to you about Danny."

"Danny? Oh, yes, please, come on in."

She led the way back through the front door and into a large living room with comfortable furniture. A big kitchen was off to the left, and a solid stairway led up to the second floor. Next to the stairway was a hall that led to a back door, and as a cat ran up the stairs, a man came in through that door.

"Oh, Dakota, this is my husband, Michael Jennings," Libby said.

"Mr. Jennings," Jarrod said in greeting.

Michael was in work clothes and his hands were dirty. "Sorry, I've been out in the cornfield," he said. "Forgive me while I wash my hands."

"Certainly," Jarrod said as Michael went into the kitchen to wash up. Then quietly, to Libby, he said, "You may want to speak to me alone. It's about Scott."

"Scott?" she said, and looked like she was going to faint. "Scott is dead!"

Jarrod shook his head.

Libby turned toward the kitchen and said so Michael could hear, "Michael – Dakota is here about Scott."

"Your first husband?" Michael said as he came back into the living room. "I thought he was dead."

"So did I, but Dakota says he isn't," Libby said, and she sank into an armchair.

It was clear to Jarrod that these people had a comfortable and happy marriage, and that he was going to ruin it. "May I sit down?" he asked.

Michael motioned to another armchair.

Jarrod sat. "Danny came to me yesterday and said a man claiming to be his father had come to him at school. He said he told the man to leave him alone, but he kept following him everywhere. He followed Danny to Stockton, to my office. Danny asked for my help in sorting this out."

"Where is Danny?" Libby asked quickly.

"He's safe, with my family," Jarrod said. "Scott didn't follow Danny there and didn't follow me here. He's still in Stockton, as far as I know."

"Are you sure this man really is who he says he is?" Michael asked and stayed standing beside Libby.

"He has the proper papers, but I'm having him checked out by a private investigator. Libby, I don't like to be the bearer of bad news, but if he checks out, if he is Scott, then he is still legally your husband."

"Oh, my God," Libby moaned.

"You mean, we wouldn't be legally married?" Michael asked.

Jarrod nodded. "That's what it means."

"Where in heaven has he been?!" Libby suddenly exploded. "It's been four years without a word! If this is Scott, why didn't he come home? Why didn't he write to us? How could he have just abandoned us for four years?"

Jarrod reached for her hand and took it. "He says he fell in with the wrong kind in New York while he was trying to get backers for the gold mine. He says he was jailed and spent all this time trying to get released. When he finally was released, he came out here and somehow found out about the school where Danny was."

"Does he know where I am?"

"No. He doesn't know that. Libby, this can all be set right legally if you get a divorce, but I have to tell you, I've talked to the man, and he doesn't seem inclined to give you or Danny up. He's very intent on getting you back."

Libby leaned back in the chair, her hand on her forehead. Her world was spinning around.

Michael put his hand on her shoulder, and Jarrod withdrew his hand out of politeness.

"Libby, we'll work this out," Michael said.

"I don't want Scott to come here," Libby said. "I want to go to Stockton to talk to him."

"Then we'll go to Stockton," Michael said.

Jarrod said, "The next train isn't until tomorrow."

"We'll be on it," Michael said.

"You can't leave the farm," Libby said. "We have animals to feed and eggs to collect and a cow to milk –"

"Libby, if you still trust me, you can come back to Stockton and to Danny and both of you can stay with my family while we clear this up," Jarrod said.

"Wait just a minute," Michael said. "I don't know anything about you, Mister – whoever you are. Libby seems to know you, but all I know is the name Dakota and you don't look like a man with that kind of name to me. Who the heck are you?"

"He's a friend, a very good friend," Libby said. "His name isn't Dakota - that just the name Danny gave him because he found him at Dakota Flats, on our property near Rockville."

"What is your name?" Michael asked.

"Jarrod Barkley," Jarrod said. "I'm an – "

"You're an attorney," Michael said. "I've seen your name in the papers. You've done things with the government in town."

Jarrod nodded.

"How do you come to know Libby and Danny?"

"Two years ago I went to Rockville to talk to Libby about a land dispute. We didn't know each other. I had an accident on the way in, on her property. Hit my head, knocked me out, and I woke up not remembering a thing about myself. Libby took me in. I worked for her, Danny and I worked together, and since I didn't know my name, Danny named me Dakota. He still calls me that."

Libby smiled a little. "That's who you'll always be to us, I guess."

"And that's fine by me," Jarrod said. Then he looked at Michael, then back at Libby. "And I think the two of you need time to talk about this privately, so I'll go."

"Where can we reach you?" Michael asked.

Jarrod stood up. "I'm at the Capitol House in Sacramento. Will you contact me there first thing tomorrow morning, before the train is scheduled to leave if you can?"

Michael nodded. "What time is that?"

Jarrod said, "The train leaves at nine-twenty. If you need longer to decide, take it. I'm ready to stay here for a few days if need be. Libby, I'm sorry to have to come to you with this, but it needs to be settled."

Libby looked up. "Is Scott dangerous?"

Jarrod said, "I don't think so, but honestly, I don't know. But if you decide to come to Stockton with me, I promise that you and Danny will be well protected and taken care of."

"That's going to cost money, isn't it?" Michael asked.

Jarrod shook his head. "Two years ago, your wife and stepson saved my life. They took me in and gave me a name and a life when I didn't have anything. I'll take care of protecting Libby and Danny, and I'll take care of having this man investigated. I have the means, and I'll take care of them."

"I'll know it's him or not the minute I look at him," Libby said.

"Let's talk about that," Michael said.

Jarrod nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow."

XXXXXXX

Jarrod spent the evening at one of the saloons he liked in town. He ate a decent dinner, but then mostly he just sat at a table alone, drinking scotch and thinking too much. The more he drank, the deeper he thought, and that was no good.

He thought about Rockville and then he thought about his wife Beth and Rimfire. When his memory put those together, his thoughts went to a place they'd only gone once or twice since Rimfire – he thought of the priest in Rockville, where he'd gone searching for his name when he couldn't remember what it was. He remembered telling the priest he needed to know what he was, as well as who he was. He remembered telling him that he needed to know if he belonged in a church or in jail.

And now he knew. How many charges could they – and should they – have brought against him in Rimfire? Attempted murder? Assault? Assault with a deadly weapon? Aggravated assault? Bribing a public official? He belonged in San Quentin, and it was only by the grace of the Rimfire sheriff that he wasn't there.

That led him straight to that dark, terrible place where his anger and his shame combined and sent him spinning out of control. He looked at his hands, and thought too much about what they'd done. But then he stopped. He at least had the sobriety to realize that he had been drinking too much and would only get into trouble if he stayed here in a saloon.

He went back to his room, and thought about Beth and Libby and all the ways his life could have gone differently. He fell asleep wishing Beth were beside him again, wishing he could just dream that she was. But he didn't.