Resolutions – Part 2
Chapter 9
"Alright Jack, I think I've got everything we need for tonight."
Rifles
Binoculars
Cell phone charger
Two coffee thermoses
"Tim, we need to be smart about this in case whoever's responsible for butchering our cows didn't fall for your little plan but suspects a trap. We need to be in place on the ridge tonight so we're there first. And what about sleeping bags? I don't plan on freezing my butt off all night. Also, bring the tarps and sleeping mats. The ground is going to be hard."
"Are we there to sleep or to watch? I'll stay in my comfortable bed at Big River if its sleep."
"That's a thought," Jack volleyed back, his voice laced with sarcasm. "Don't you think we'll be better off if we're not freezing our butts off?"
"Alright old man, I'll get them. You sure you don't want me to bring your heating pad?"
Choosing this time to ignore Tim's retort, Jack continued, "Also, bring the night scopes for the rifles. If, they fall for our ruse and try again tonight, they won't be dumb enough to do it in broad daylight; they'll attempt it at night. Also, it's likely we won't have cell coverage out there so we'll need Walkie Talkie's. Bring the Kenwood's; they have the longest range. I'll make sure Lisa has hers as well."
"Lisa! I thought we agreed to keep this to just us."
"I tried to talk her out of it Tim, but you know Lisa. She would have nothing of it. It was hard enough to convince her not to be up on the ridge with us. Besides, the more I think about it, having her close by might not be a bad idea. What if one of us was to get hurt? She could be there in 5 minutes to help. Plus, she'll have her rifle too just in case. I don't know if you're aware, but Lisa can shoot. I've seen her in action."
"Ok, ok; where will she be?"
"She's going to bring her All Terrain Jeep to the edge of the woods where we will enter on the horses."
"And one more thing Tim, bring a couple of extra battery packs for the Kenwood's. I don't want to be speaking into a dead unit."
"Got it; anything else."
"Probably, but I can't think of anything right now. Why don't you stay at Heartland tonight? We need to leave by 11:00 so we'll be in place on the ridge by midnight. It will be easier if we both leave from here.
"Alright, where will I sleep? I'm not sharing a bed with you."
"No chance of that. I'd rather have the dog with me."
"Sounds like the voice of experience."
"You can stay in Georgie's room. I heard her talking to Lou about being at Jade's tonight."
"And Tim, let's make sure we bring blankets for the horses. It's supposed to get cold tonight."
"Jeez Jack. Leave at 11; spend the night on the hard ground in the cold listening to you snore. What a picnic this is turning out to be."
"It was your idea genius; remember? And what about me? I get to listen to you complain about your shoulder all night long."
"What about you moaning about your arthritis?"
And so the Jack & Tim adolescent 2-Step rolled on.
"Amy, what are you doing here, a surprised but happy Lisa inquired? How are you feeling?"
"Better every day I think. Lisa, can I talk to you?"
"Of course honey, come on in. I'll put on some tea."
Following Lisa inside, Amy never ceased to marvel at how big Fairfield was. Unlike Briar Ridge, Lisa's home retained the charm and comfort of a Bed & Breakfast whereas Brian Ridge came across as more of a high-end furniture showroom rather than a place where actually people lived.
I guess the homes follow the personalities of their owners, mused Amy.
"Sit down Amy," said Lisa motioning to the kitchen chair across from her. What did you want to talk to me about?"
Deciding to not mince words, Amy looked intently at Lisa and said, "Lisa, do you know where Ty is?"
Lisa regarded Amy for several seconds adjusting to her unexpected directness.
"Why do you ask me that?"
"You do, don't you? You do know where he is?"
Contemplating her response, Lisa took a moment to study her step-granddaughter. Amy appeared much healthier than when she her saw her last a week ago. The color had returned to her face and she seemed less agitated then she had been in weeks. Her agitation however had been replaced by a noticeable sense of urgency which no doubt had spurred her visit.
Choosing to match Amy's directness, Lisa replied, "Ty did contact me and told me where he is but I promised I wouldn't reveal it to anyone."
"Ordinarily, I would never ask you to betray Ty's confidence, but Lisa this isn't an ordinary time. I need to see him. Please Lisa, Amy pleaded."
"Amy, he asked me to keep his whereabouts a secret because he believes you no longer want to be with him; that you moved on to another; Davis Maxwell to be specific. Is that true? I need to be honest with you. If it is, I will honor my promise to Ty. He's been through enough over the last month and I won't be the cause of him going through more!"
Noting the steely tone to Lisa voice, tears began to form in Amy's eyes and a look of defeat ascended on her face.
"Lisa, Ty has every right to feel that way after the way I treated him. So do you. And I did make it clear I didn't want him around anymore. But Lisa, you've got to believe me; I wasn't myself. It was my thyroid condition and the hormone imbalance that literally changed who I was during that time. Now that my hormone levels are returning back to normal, I'm seeing things clearly again. Including Ty and me."
Pausing to look at Lisa for a moment hoping her step Grandmother would see how sincere she was, Amy continued.
"Lisa, I love him! I always have. I've got to find him so I can tell him. Tell him I want him back. I need him Lisa."
With her last words, Amy's voice broke and tears began to cascade down her face.
"And Maxwell, Lisa asked?"
"I won't lie to you. I had feelings for him…and maybe I still do to an extent. But I'm not in love with him. I know in my heart the feelings I have for him were built on the weak foundation of the person I was during my illness. The clearer my thinking becomes as my health returns to normal, the clearer my love for Ty is along with diminishing feelings for Davis."
Lisa remained silent choosing not to immediately reply to Amy's request as she carefully weighed her step Granddaughter's request against her promise to Ty. She noted the desperation in Amy's face and something else – honesty. That and knowing Amy's heart, convinced Lisa that in good conscience, she could break her promise to Ty.
"Amy, I love you. I have from that day so many years ago when you and Scott showed up at Fairfield to look at my mare Promise. But I love Ty too; he's like a son to me…like the son I never had. I would do everything within my power to keep him from pain."
"I know Lisa. I know how you feel about Ty. He's told me how he feels about you. How he wished his mother had been like you. I promise you Lisa, I don't want to hurt Ty any further than I already have. I want to heal the wounds I've caused. I want to tell him how sorry I am; that I'm well now; that I love him."
"Alright Amy, I'll tell you. I'll tell you because of my love for you both. I know in my heart you two were meant to be together."
"Thank you Lisa," Amy cried jumping from her chair to embrace the woman more like her mother than anyone else she had ever known.
"Jonas, I want you, Kurt and Cullen with me tonight when we hit the Bartlett cows again."
The head rancher silently nodded agreement at Helen's directive. He never questioned Helen's orders.
"But I want you go ahead and leave now for the spot we discussed. I want you in place before they show up as I believe they will. If you're able to detect and locate Bartlett or Fleming, contact me immediately. And be ready for my signal if I give it."
"Yes, I'll be there Ms. Maxwell and I'll be waiting for your signal. Kurt and Cullen are ready when you give the word to leave. Signal me again when they are approaching the pen."
Helen nodded. With his highly trained skills in the woods along with the rifle scope, Jonas should see Bartlett & Fleming without them detecting him.
"I've always been able to count on you Jonas. And know as I have in the past, you will be rewarded for your loyalty and efforts."
"Thank you as always Ms. Maxwell. You've always treated me well since you took me in those many long years ago."
"Make sure your unit is on vibrate. You know how sound tends to carry out in the woods."
"Already checked; it's on vibrate."
"Fleming and Bartlett must think I'm an idiot. As soon as I heard about them telling folks at Maggies they planned on moving cows to one of their pens today, I saw through their ruse. They're trying to set a trap. Well, two can play this game. We've scanned the area where the cows will be very closely. The most likely place Bartlett and Fleming will be is up on the ridge where they will have a good vantage point looking down on the holding pen. That's where they will be waiting for us.
"They will expect us to go to the pen and kill the cows like we did before. And that's what we will do but they won't know about you. We are going to draw their attention to the pen, and then…"
Stepping out of her jeep, Lisa walked over to where Jack and Tim were about to enter the woods on horseback. A shrouding dread had overtaken her.
This is too risky. If Helen Maxwell is behind the killing of the cows like I suspect, she'll have something planned to enable her to avoid being caught. I know she must be behind the deaths of her parents and likely Maxwell's wife. She's already proven she's smart enough to avoid being charged for these crimes.
"Jack, please be careful, Lisa pleaded. Remember, you promised me."
"I will Lis. Tonight is probably just a waste of time. I doubt if anyone will actually show up."
But Lisa wasn't buying Jack's casual act. She knew he was aching to catch whoever was responsible for killing his cows and to retaliate.
"I'll be right here in the jeep with my rifle. If anything happens, call me right away on the Walkie Talkie and I'll be there in a minute."
"I will; love you."
"I love you too Jack."
Resting in their sleeping bags, rifles at their sides, Jack and Tim sipped black coffee out of their thermoses trying to keep warm.
"Man it's cold out here Jack. I hope we don't have to spend all night here with nothing to show for it."
"We haven't been out here 30 minutes and you're already whining. What were you expecting, an easy chair and cable TV?"
"Alright, that's enough old man. Are you trying to tell me you're not cold?"
"Of course I am. I'm just not complaining about it like some pre-pubescent little boy."
"Very funny Jack; at your age, not being able to feel your feet is something you're probably used to anyway."
"Ok Tim; let's get serious. We're here to catch those killing our cows. Tell you what, let's take shifts. One of us will watch for two hours while the other sleeps."
"I'm good with that Jack. Since I'm normally a night owl, I'll take the first watch."
"Fine; now remember, our voices may tend to carry out here so let's keep it down. We don't want to give away our presence in case someone does show up."
Jonas smiled inwardly as the two men's voices revealed their exact location a mere 75 yards away. Easy targets for one as skilled with a rifle as he. He had already communicated to Helen that Bartlett and Fleming had arrived. Now he could tell her he knew exactly where they are and that he had a line of sight.
Used to physical hardship, Jonas had little doubt he would endure the cold night better and be the fresher and more alert of three come the early morning when the rising sunlight would be making its way through the forest trees. This is what Helen had hoped for he thought; to detect the position of Bartlett and Fleming while his location remained concealed. Being older men, their joints would be stiff and their movements slow at such an early hour after an uncomfortable night on the cold ground – especially Bartlett. That would be the time for him to strike. Until then, he would remain hunkered down behind the semi-rotted fallen log patiently biding his time.
Voices roused Jonas out of his light sleep fully alert. It was early dawn and the morning light was beginning to illuminate the valley floor below him. Pulling his mini binoculars from his pocket and up to his eyes, he could see Bartlett and Fleming beginning to move about their hiding , he removed his rifle from inside of his sleeping bag where he had kept it all night so the firing actions would not stiffen up.
The boys should be making their way to the pen any time now. Things are falling into place even better than Helen had hoped for. Nosooner had Jonas finished his thought when his phone buzzed.
"The boys will be at the pen in a minute or two," Jonas read.
"Jack, I'm going to gather some wood for a fire so we can make some coffee; I'm freezing."
"No Tim, we can't. Fire could give away our position. We can't risk it."
"No one's showing up Jack. We spent a miserable night out here in the cold for…" Suddenly, Jack and Tim's attention was diverted by hushed voices coming from the direction of the pen.
"Jack, I think someone's here."
"No kidding."
Their attention now completely fixed on the cow pen, Jack and Tim saw two men emerge from the woods and make their way to the pen. Before they could act to stop them, one of the shadowy figures climbed over the fence, approach a cow, pull something from his belt, and stab it into the neck of the cow. A howling bellow emitted from the cow who staggered for several steps before collapsing.
"Those murdering Sons of Bitches," Tim cried as Jack reached for his rifle.
As Jack cocked his rifle and began to bring the barrel up, Jonas drew bead on Jack with his own rifle.
"Jack, watch out! screamed a voice from the woods to Jonas's left."
His attention diverted, Jack turned quickly towards the voice. A split second later, the Boom of a gunshot rang out knocking him to the ground. Before Jonas could turn his rifle on Tim, another shot from the direction of the voice thundered through the woods hitting the fallen tree in front of Jonas' face showering him with flying wood bark and splinters. Rolling away on the ground to more substantial cover, Jonas heard a second and third bullet hit a tree inches from his face followed by the echoing sounds of the shots.
"Who the hell is that?" Jonas thought as he finally reached heavy cover.
"Jack, are you alright, yelled Tim?"
Hurrying to Jack's side, Tim heard Jack groan and immediately saw the blood.
"Jack, you've been shot!"
