Chapter 11: Unlikely Help

Wayne shut the door behind him with a quiet thud but nearly fell into it as the young cowboy leapt at him.

"Hey, whoa, Jess. It's just me!"

"Yeah, don't you think I know that?" Jess' face was a dark shade of angry red, nearly causing Wayne to take a step back.

"What's the deal?"

"Whattya mean, 'what's the deal?'" Jess growled. "You saw me almost get killed the other day and didn't raise a finger to help. And you're supposed to be lookin' out for me. Maybe you want Fred to knock me off, so you can have Lucy—"

"Shut up, Jess! I'm trying to help you."

Jess paced the room, reminding Wayne of a lion he had once seen at a traveling circus. "Just how're you plannin' on doin' that? Did you know that old man Turner won't even let me send a telegraph to my friends in Laramie? They're gonna come lookin' for me, or think I'm dead or somethin'." He grabbed at the collar of his shirt, yanking it aside. "See this? Somebody took a shot at me."

Wayne took a step closer and saw a raw strip on the side of Jess' neck, like somebody had taken a finger dipped in red paint and swiped across the muscles there.

"You see who did it?"

Jess jerked the shirt the rest of the way off and cast it onto his bunk. He pulled out another shirt, probably his only other, as it too was dirty. "'Course not, but you don't need many guesses as to who tried it." He looked over his shoulder at Wayne. "You still got my gun?"

Wayne chose to ignore the question. "Listen, Jess, I didn't come all this way out here to talk to Lucy. I came out to talk to you."

Jess glared at Wayne. "Oh, yeah? What would you have to say that I'm interested in hearin'?"

"Two things, actually. Good news and bad. I ran into Mr. Turner today in town by the telegraph office. He just heard from his son: he's getting out of the army and should be on his way back here."

"I didn't even know he had a son."

"Well, he was a bit of a wild one, but he's been in the army since the War. He's finally calling it quits and wants to come home to quiet life."

"Quiet? Ha. What's this gotta do with me?"

"With his son around, Mr. Turner won't need you so bad, and can see things in a different light."

"Meanin' he'll just be willin' to give up his personal slave? Not likely."

"That's where the next bit comes in. Jess, things are real bad in town. There's somebody coming from the attorney general's office in Washington D.C."

"So?"

"So, news has been spreading that there has been some shady dealings going on around here in Wyoming. Since Judge Sanders is the judge in Cheyenne, the capitol of this territory, he's the first they're going to investigate."

This peaked Jess' attention, but he still looked confused. "What does this have to do with me?"

"You're one of his most recent cases, and let me admit, one of his most…odd. He'll have a hard time explaining this one to the higher-ups. I think he's finally realizing that he's jumped in over his head." Wayne scrubbed his rough stubble on his chin – he'd scarcely had time to sleep, let alone shave. "Jess, the judge sent me out here to bring you back in. He wants to send you to the fed pen to get you out of the way."

Jess leapt behind the table, hands scrabbling for a weapon. He seized a piece of firewood and held it before him like a club. "Over my dead body, he will."

"Now Jess, calm down."

"CALM DOWN? Are you crazy? Not likely! You ain't gonna take me back!"

"I'M NOT PLANNING ON IT! Now put down that chunk of pine and listen!"

Jess lowered his improvised weapon a notch. "Go ahead, but this stays put."

"Whatever, just hear me out. I know you never did any of those things the judge tried to pin on you. I know it was a scheme to get you away from his niece, and I know that Mr. Turner twisted Lucy's arm into admitting that you're her son's father. Because of this whole mess, plus other questionable dealings in the past, I've decided to quit the judge. I'm going to help you get out of here."

The change over the young cowboy was remarkable as he slowly laid the wood on the table. "You're goin' to help me? How?"

"I'll help you run, plain and simple."

"Wayne, that's mighty nice of you, but why do you want help me run? You'll end up in jail with me if I get caught. And what about Lucy? You just gonna leave her here in the same mess she was before?"

"You'll take her with you."

"Really." Jess' voice held sarcasm. "You think a woman and baby would help matters? She could go to jail too, you know."

"Jess, I heard everything that went between you and that Ames snake the other day. He's watching her. He's wanted her ever since he's known her. He's not hardly right in the head, he's so hung up on her. With you out of the picture, he'll see that as his chance to finally get her…maybe kill her… I can't take that chance, and I know you don't want to either. I hid a horse for Lucy and Jeremy out in the woods. Take her down the old trappers' trail that runs near the creek. It crosses the main road about seven miles out. Go on down to your friends' place. She'll be safer there."

Jess shook his head with a half-smile. "You're somethin' close to crazy, Wayne. I would ask you why you're doin' this for me, but we already know the answer to that."

Wayne returned the rue expression. "You aren't as dumb as you let on, Harper."

"Just one question," Jess put forth. "What's gonna happen to you? How you goin' to explain to the judge that you can't find me, conveniently hours after he sent you out here?"

"I couldn't find you anywhere, maybe? I spent time trying to track you down?"

"Hm, maybe. What're you goin' to be doin' while we're runnin' around in the woods?"

"Watching, waiting. Perhaps baiting the government official into looking into your case first."

Jess still looked doubtful. "What do we hope to gain from all this? What if the government man just decides to send me to prison for hurtin' Lucy?"

"Lucy can say she was under duress when she wrote that confession. After all, she was. Hopefully she'll finally admit who really did it so justice can be served properly."

"You know an awful lot about this stuff, Wayne."

The man shrugged with a quiet smile. "What can I say? I grew up with this."

Finally the dark-haired Texan gave in. "Okay, fine. I guess I'll trust you. Don't see as how I've got any choice. Let's go talk to Lucy."