Chapter 10 ~ Reunion
Mike saw it first. A river of emotion washed over Jess' face as he gripped Andy's hand. In a moment of clarity, Andy mumbled softly, "You have a wonderful ranch, Mr. Watson, and while we can't wait to explore it later this week, we'd really like to see your barn tonight." Jess shot a short, side-glance at Mike to see if he agreed, and then pivoted around and led them out of the room and toward one of the barns, to choked to speak.
In silence the trio walked into the barn and the boys watched Jess swing the door closed and reach for a match to light the lantern. His hands shook but neither Andy or Mike acknowledged the gesture. Jess moved some tools from the work bench for them to sit, while he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest.
"How did you find me?" He asked finally.
Andy decided that truth was the best option and so he answered, "We didn't know you were here." Jess seemed to accept that answer and went back to studying them. Andy noticed Mike was beginning to fidget. His right foot began to move up and down, something he always did when he was nervous. Suddenly, Jess strode from the wall and squared his shoulders as if he'd made up his mind about something.
"You've both grown up so much," he said thoughtfully. Andy grinned at him.
"I'm still your Tiger!" Mike hurled himself into Jess's arms and burst into tears. Jess wrapped his arms around his 'son' and held him close until he heard the sobs begin to subside. Andy handed each a hankerchief.
"We have a lot to talk about," Jess said after they had calmed down. "When do you have some free time?"
"I have a talk in the morning," Andy said, "but Mike is free all day."
"It's probably best that we talk as a family." Jess was thoughtful for a moment. "Tell you what, why don't we meet right here after lunch tomorrow, I'll get you some fine mounts and we'll talk and explore at the same time."
True to his word, Jess was waiting for them after lunch the next day. There were so many questions to ask that when the conversation first started they excitedly talked over each other. Jess told them that he had been bushwacked and lost all his papers. He told them that the O'Brien's had cared for him and after awhile he had become used to not knowing his real name. Although he was embarrassed, he explained why he had kept being an imposter because he thought that whoever stole his papers would go to the ranch looking for him. He regretted not writing Slim once he knew who he was but had felt that since so much time had passed that Slim had stopped looking for him.
After eating a snack Jess had provided, they talked about the S & S ranch.
"I named it after Slim, you know, " Jess said with a shy smile.
"We figured that," Andy said. 'It's the first time Jess has mentioned Slim, almost wistfully,' Mike thought.
"How is he?"
"Missing you."
"He was sick awhile back, wasn't he?"
"Yes," Andy told him."He wrote us about it." Jess rubbed his hands over his face and turned away, suddenly ashamed of his actions.
"Jess," Andy spoke up, "he never lost hope; he never took your name off the deed or your brand!"
"In fact," Mike chimed in, "if someone just refers to the Sherman Ranch he gets all upset and let's them know, in no uncertain terms that it's the Sherman-HARPER ranch!"
Jess' eyebrows shot up to his forehead and he faced his boys.
"You're still his friend," Mike spoke gently, resting his hand on Jess' forearm. "He still loves and needs you. The ranch door is still open." Mike looked like he was going to cry again but Andy took the moment to yawn and the tension broke.
"You both must be exhausted, let's talk again later."
The week was filled with many more conversations and by the end several doctors had decided to move west to Wyoming, Utah and Colorado. Their mission was a success.
For their part, Andy and Mike felt even more strongly that all Jess needed was a push and a pull to get his feet pointed towards Laramie. The only aspect that kept rearing its head was that the S & S ranch was very successful and Jess was extremely proud of his accomplishments.
Pete had sent the "YESl" telegram to Slim and they knew that he would receive it before they arrived home They both wished that they could be there when he opened the envelope.
Every night, when they went to bed, he and Mike compared their conversations and made notes of what they still needed to say to Jess. Andy lay in bed staring at the ceiling on the night before they were to leave. He turned over to study Mike's face. "Mike," he began, "we have to remember that Jess was born poor. He had several brothers and sisters and all except for his sister they all died in that fire." Andy continued, " Now, he's the owner, not a hired hand, of a ranch. It's successful. We know he named his ranch after Slim so he still has the connection to us." Andy sighed. He was so confused. "He might not want to leave it all behind," he said finally.
Mike turned to Andy. "Tell Jess to write Slim," he said forcefully. "We need to convince him to open his heart to the possibilities of his future and ours."
Jess was shaking hands at his door when the doctors were leaving. As Andy stepped up to him, he leaned over and said softly "if you write him, he'll write back." Jess looked surprised but then smiled. "Maybe I will," he said.
