Upon hearing the news, Lou closed the store and sent Mark and Jenny to wait at the marshal's office, hoping that it would give them more privacy. Two hours passed without a word being spoken, Mark leaning against a wall and Jenny sitting at the desk, both struggling to process what they had seen. They looked up as the door suddenly opened, Micah and Lou stepping inside. Mark turned to Jenny, expecting her to speak first, but quickly realized that she was too distraught to say anything.
"…What happened?"
"The stage came across Jeffrey early this morning," Micah began. "…From the looks of things, he was ambushed on his way to Willow Springs."
"…You mean…" Jenny struggled to go on as she tried to swallow the lump in her throat. "…All night… he's been out there all… all night?"
The marshal solemnly nodded.
"Why? Who would… who would do such a thing?"
"…Joe said it looked like it might have been planned… could have been gun runners… renegades or outlaws looking for firearms."
"…Is he going to be alright?" Mark asked. "What did Doc say?" Micah stepped across the office, taking a seat beside his niece. Mark pushed himself off the wall as his heart started to beat faster. "Micah?!"
"…Mark, Jenny… I'm sorry… Doc did everything he could. Jeffrey was too far gone."
Mark stared at the marshal in shock as Jenny slowly shook her head back and forth. "No… no, NO! You're wrong!"
"Jenny…"
"He can't be dead, he can't!" Lou stepped forward to put a comforting hand on the young woman's shoulder as Micah pulled his niece into an embrace. "Please, tell me he isn't dead! He can't be dead!"
When Jenny began choking on her tears, Lou filled a glass with water, kneeling down as she offered it to her. "Breathe, Jenny," she gently whispered, taking the young woman's hand and resting it over her abdomen. "Tá a chroí istigh ionat."
Night had fallen over North Fork before the rider came to a stop in front of the jailhouse. Seeing that the marshal's office was dark, he dismounted and briefly looked to the similar scene at the general store before making his way to the hotel.
"Lou?"
She looked up from her desk, confusion filling her eyes. "…Lucas, what are ya doin' here? I thought ya'd be out with Micah and the others."
"Micah and the others? What happened?"
"…Mark didn't tell ya?"
"I haven't seen Mark since this morning; that's why I'm here. Do you know where he is?"
"…I assumed he went home when we took Jenny up to her room."
"Jenny? What's wrong with Jenny?"
"…Jeffrey Waller died this mornin'."
"Died?!"
Lou slowly nodded. "They brought him in on the stage… he was attacked on the way ta Willow Springs and left fer dead… there wasn't anythin' Doc could do."
Lucas stood speechless as the news sunk in.
"…Micah deputized a few men ta ride out this afternoon."
"…Do you have any idea where Mark might have gone?"
She shook her head. "…I came down after helpin' Jenny ta see Micah lock up his office and ride out with the posse. …I thought Mark went home ta tell ya what happened."
"You're sure Mark didn't follow the posse?"
"I can't imagine Mark tryin' ta keep up with 'em in his condition. Besides, he brought the buckboard inta town this mornin'."
"Jeffrey was one of his closest friends… I wouldn't put it past him."
Lucas left the hotel and checked behind the store to see that the buckboard and team were still there. He hurried down to the livery, calling for Nils as he entered.
"Lucas, what can I do for you?"
"Have you seen Mark today?"
"He was here for a while… asked if he could help with the horses. I think he just wanted to get his mind off of things so I left him to it… but that was a few hours ago."
"Do you know where he went? He didn't borrow a horse, did he?"
"No… did you check at the hotel? He might be with Miss Jenny."
"I just came from there, Lou hasn't seen him."
"Sorry I can't be more help… if I see him, I'll let him know you're looking for him."
"Thanks."
Lucas stepped out onto the street, assessing the quiet scene before walking back to his horse and mounting up. For what felt like hours, the rancher rode in search of his son, eventually finding himself on the dirt path that led to Miller's Pond. The lone figure finally came into view, Mark sitting on a fallen log as he stared out across the water. Lucas slowly walked up behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder as he sat down.
"…I'm sorry, Son."
Mark couldn't keep it in any longer. He buried his face in his hands, shaking his head as tears slipped down his cheeks. Lucas wrapped an arm around him, his heart taking on his son's pain.
"This was something you should have never had to experience."
"…It doesn't feel real." Mark's voice was tight as he went on. "…I… I keep hoping I'll wake up and find out it was all a horrible nightmare. …Pa… what they did to him… he… he looked…"
As Mark shook his head, Lucas struggled to control his temper. "…You mean to tell me Doc let you in there?"
"…Not exactly. I saw them pull him out of the stage, but… Pa, I didn't want that to be the last thing I remembered of him. Doc was distracted with the Wallers, and so I… I slipped back to where he was. …I wish I hadn't… there was so much more than… than what I had seen at a distance. …He was out there all night, all by himself. …It must have been pure torture."
The rancher found himself at a loss for words, unsure of how to comfort his son.
"…The last time we talked, Jeff came to me for help… and all I could do was yell at him for how stupid he was being. He needed a friend… and I… I was anything but that."
"…Sometimes it takes a friend to say the hard things. You were trying to save him and Jenny a lot of hurt."
"Except I didn't know the whole story."
"…And what would that have changed?"
Mark thought about the question, realizing the list of insults he would have been yelling had he known the whole truth. "…I guess not all that much… but I still wish that hadn't been our last conversation."
"…Regardless of what your last words may have been, Jeffrey knew that he did have a friend in you."
"…I hope so." Several moments passed as Mark tried to go on, his voice trembling as he spoke. "Pa… thank… thank you."
Lucas looked down at his son's tear-filled eyes, his brow furrowing in confusion. "For what?"
"For… for doing your job even when I got upset at you for it. …If… if I had taken that delivery job…"
Lucas closed his eyes as he again pulled Mark into an embrace, a wave of relief washing over him.
"…I never agreed with you… even after thinking it through like you asked… I… I couldn't imagine it being all that dangerous. …But you were right…" Mark couldn't help but sob as he repeated, "You were right…"
"…I wish I had been wrong."
The funeral for Jeffrey Peter Waller was held in conjunction with church services the following day. Lucas watched with great concern as Mark struggled to keep his composure, following his son outside when he left during the final prayer. Mark ran to the back of the building, sinking to the ground as he was overcome by grief.
"I'm sorry," he cried. "I can't…"
Lucas knelt down beside Mark, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. "You have nothing to apologize for."
"They didn't have to kill him… if they had just told him what to do… he would have never put up a fight…"
"They'll pay, Son. Micah will find them and they'll pay."
Mark shook his head. "They'll never be able to… they took something they could never even begin to pay for. No matter what the law says Jeff's life was worth… it'll never bring him back."
Lucas wrapped an arm around his son, sitting with him until the funeral procession started down the street. "…Ready?"
"…I can't."
"…Mark, I think it'll help you say goodbye."
Again, the young man shook his head. "…I'm not ready to say goodbye. Please… just go on without me."
"…Are you sure?"
"I think I'd like to be alone for a while."
Lucas hesitated before slowly nodding. "…Just make sure you're somewhere I can find you."
Mark sat alone behind the church for quite some time, finally returning inside. He walked part way up the aisle, surprised to see a small figure curled up on one of the pews.
"…Jenny?"
She sat up, wiping the tears from her face. "…Didn't you go to the… the burial?"
"…I think Jeff would have understood." He sat down beside her, studying the young woman's sunken eyes. "…A baby? That… that was why Jeff was gonna marry you all of a sudden?"
She nodded, more tears trickling down her cheeks.
"…I'm sorry."
"…We were old enough to know better… either one of us could have prevented it. But we didn't. …We were going to run away to Santa Fe for a year so no one would know." Her gaze dropped to the floor as she went on, "…You must think I'm disgusting."
"Of course I don't. …When people find out… there are gonna be rumors and stares and gossip and cruel assumptions. But the people who matter will know the truth. And the truth is that one mistake doesn't define who you are. It doesn't change that the love you and Jeff had for each other was real."
"…How am I supposed to stay here? His parents still don't know… Uncle Micah… Mark, he's going to kill me when he finds out…"
"How could you not stay here? Micah might be upset, but he loves you, Jenny. The Wallers… Jeff was their only surviving son… that baby is as much a part of him as you… would you really want to take away their chance of seeing Jeff live on? …Besides that, where else would you go? You're going to need help, whether you like it or not."
Jenny shook her head, covering her face with her hands. "…Mark, you don't understand… Jeff was terrified of his parents finding out… he said his ma wouldn't accept it… that she'd do everything she could to keep us apart. What if she doesn't believe me when I tell them that Jeff was the father?"
"You're not in this alone, Jenny. …If you want, I can be there when you tell them… at the very least for support… if necessary, to back up your story. Jeff as much as told me what happened before he left for Willow Springs… I just wasn't smart enough to put two and two together."
"…What if they still don't want anything to do with me or the baby?"
"Then you'll still have me, and Lou, and Micah."
"If he doesn't disown me…"
"Micah wouldn't ever-"
"Why do you think my folks moved all the way out to Iowa? It certainly wasn't for the weather!"
"…Isn't that where your pa's family is from?"
Jenny shook her head. "They grew up together not far from here in an old mining town. …I was born a few months after they got married."
"…Micah's obviously moved on."
"Didn't it strike you odd that he had to introduce himself the first time I came to visit? He moved on alright… after twelve years!"
"…I'm sorry."
"…I didn't mean to yell. Mark… I'm scared. Uncle Micah's really the only family I have left… I… if I lose him…"
"You're not going to lose him, I promise."
"…You can't make a promise on someone else's behalf."
"No… I can't. But what I can promise is that no matter what happens, I'm going to be here for you and your baby. What I can promise is that there is nothing I won't do to see that you two have everything you need."
"Howdy, Lucas."
The rancher stepped from the porch as he greeted Doc Burrage with a wave.
"How's Mark?"
"…He's taking it hard… he and Jeffrey have been through a lot together."
The doctor nodded in agreement as he stepped down from his carriage. "Is Mark around? I wouldn't disturb him for anything else, but I found a note for him in Jeffrey's pocket. I meant to give it to him after the funeral, but you two left town before I had a chance."
Lucas nodded, pointing to the barn. "He's with BlueBoy."
"Thank you." Doc crossed the yard and entered the outbuilding, having to step quite a ways inside the barn before he saw the boy sitting in his horse's stall.
"Doc Burrage?" Mark stood, wiping the remnants of tears from his face. "Something I can do for you?"
The doctor shook his head, pulling a blood-stained piece of paper from his pocket. "…I found this with Jeffrey. …I didn't mean to pry, but I did read it. …Based on that note, I'm assuming you know about Jennifer?"
Mark slowly nodded.
"…If you can, try to put aside how you feel about what they did. …That girl's going to need all the friends she can get… and after folks start finding out… you may be the only one she has left."
"…I know. …Doc, how far along is she?"
"About four weeks."
"…You're sure? There… there couldn't be a mistake?"
Doc hesitated, unsure if Lucas would approve of the conversation they were having. "…I suppose you're old enough to understand how these things come to be. Her courses are three weeks overdue and with the timeline she gave me… that's the most plausible explanation. She's started having some other mild symptoms over the last few days as well."
"…Do you think her age is going to be an issue?"
"…On the contrary, her youth should work in her favor. But I'll still be watching her closely… the first one tends to be the most revealing."
"If there's anything I can do, please let me know."
"I will. …Mark, if you need anything, my door is always open."
"Thanks, Doc."
As Burrage turned to leave, Mark slid back down the stall partition, opening the note he had been given. Tears again welled in his eyes as he saw his friend's distressed handwriting, Jeff's struggle to keep the pencil to paper becoming more apparent the farther he read.
Mark
I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. I never wanted to hurt her. I never wanted to hurt you. I never wanted things to be this way. But what we did has consequences.
I was going to marry her, and watch our baby grow up with her, and try to be the father and husband I needed to be, even if I couldn't do everything perfect. But I don't think that can happen any more. I think I'm gonna die.
Our families still don't know about the baby and I'm scared for Jenny. I don't think my folks are gonna take care of her. Even if Marshal Torrence does just because he's her uncle, I'm scared he might hold what I did against her and the baby.
I know if tonight had never happened, you'd have a number of words for me. And I know you'd be right to say them. But things change.
Because of the friendship we had, and because I know you care about Jenny, and because our baby had no choice in this, I'm asking you to make sure that they are looked after. To try to protect them from the hurt our families might cause. To stand up for them, and to make sure they know I loved them. To say the words I won't be there to say.
You can't put on what you've taken off, but you can start over. Please help her start over.
Lucas looked up as his son walked out of the barn. Mark slowly made his way across the yard, taking a seat on the porch steps as he looked out into the horizon.
"…Pa, I think we need to talk."
The rancher sat down beside his son, putting out the cigar in his hand as he waited for Mark to go on.
"…I know what your first reaction is gonna be, but I need you to hear me through before you just say no. …Maybe it's not ideal… but Jeff wasn't supposed to die."
"…I'm listening."
"…A lady's honor is something folks take seriously… and I understand why. …I think now, more than ever, I understand why the bonds of marriage are so important… they're there as a matter of protection."
Lucas nodded in agreement.
"…But when someone steps around that… folks treat them as dirty… as lesser than. Even when they don't know the full story… even when the opportunity to rectify what they did is taken away. They're… it's like they're branded for the rest of their lives… and there's no way to remove it."
"…Your point?"
"…There are certain people that are going to know the truth. There are certain people who need to know the truth. …But I don't want Jenny to have to live with that brand."
"…Son, what are you talking about?"
"Jenny's gonna have Jeff's baby. And I want to marry her."