Chapter 9

At the breakfast table the next morning, Victoria asked if Dakota would accompany her and Audra to town. She did not bring up the bank issue, but secretly she was hoping that Dakota would bring it up when they got to town and he saw the place. Maybe that was too much to hope for, but maybe not.

"And we have to run by the orphanage, take them some cornmeal and apples," Audra said. "They need the first and they love the second, and I'd love for the children to meet you, Dakota. There are several – " She stopped. She nearly said there were several who weren't there before Jarrod went away, but somehow she thought that might bother Dakota.

Dakota wasn't curious why she stopped. Before he could say anything, Nick said, "Mother, we ran into Harold James last night. Maybe it would be a better idea if Heath or I went with you instead."

Victoria's eyes flashed. "You ran into James?"

"Played poker with him," Dakota said. "Heath and I won a lot of his money."

"He never said a word about who he was," Heath said, "and Nick and I never saw him before, so we didn't know. The sheriff came in and told us after he left."

"And there was no trouble at all with him," Dakota said. "I think we'll be all right in town today, Nick."

"So do I," Victoria said. "No man is going to go after another when two women are present. It's too – unmanly."

"Unmanly?" Nick said as Heath and Audra smirked. "Mother, if a man is out to get you, he won't care much if your mother is around."

"Why don't we check in with the sheriff when we get there and he can keep an eye on us," Dakota said. "James won't make a move if he thinks the law is watching."

Audra said, "Dakota has a point there."

"All right," Nick said with a sigh. "I'm out voted. But Dakota – you watch out for James, too, all right?"

"I will," Dakota said. "When do you want to leave, Mother?"

Dakota calling Victoria "Mother" surprised his siblings. He hadn't done that in front of them before. Audra smiled. Nick and Heath looked at each other before they smiled, too.

"About eight or so," Victoria said.

Dakota nodded. "I'll be ready."

XXXXXX

Victoria drove the wagon for herself and Audra, while Dakota went along beside them on horseback. He was riding the horse he originally had bought in town when he first arrived, not the cutting horse or the new stallion he had just broken. He thought idly that at some point he might sell this horse back to the livery, but that just danced around the edges of his mind. For now, he needed this horse.

When they stopped in front of the mercantile, Dakota tethered his horse, then helped his Mother and sister down off the wagon after tethering it. He took them inside the mercantile, but then said he'd go see the sheriff to let them know they were in town.

"We should be here for half an hour or so," Victoria said. "You'll be back before then, won't you?"

"I plan to be," Dakota said and went outside.

The sheriff's office wasn't very far away. It took Dakota only a couple minutes before he walked in there and found the sheriff at his desk. "Morning, Sheriff," Dakota said.

"Morning, Dakota," Sheriff Madden said. "I didn't expect to see you again so soon."

"My mother and sister are shopping and then plan to visit the orphans," Dakota said. "They asked me to come along, and Nick asked me to check in with you so you could keep an eye out for Harold James, make sure he doesn't give us any trouble."

Sheriff Madden nodded. "I'll watch for him, but chances are, if he goes for you, it won't be in town. I'd watch out when you're alone out in the country."

Dakota nodded. "I was careful coming in. I'll be careful going home, too."

The sheriff smiled, a funny smile.

"What?" Dakota asked.

"That's the first time you've called it home, around me, anyway," Sheriff Madden said. "You might not be getting your memory back, but maybe something is beginning to click for you."

Dakota chuckled a little. "Maybe you're right – Fred."

The sheriff smiled wider.

XXXXXXX

Their visit to town was uneventful, except for Dakota being surrounded by a score of little orphans he did not remember but who made him smile with their blunt but often funny questions about amnesia. As they were leaving, Dakota looked across the street and spotted the man he met as "Hal" the night before. He didn't say anything to Victoria or Audra, even though James spotted him, too. Dakota just made sure James saw that he was looking at him. He'd found in other situations that just knowing he'd been seen could keep a troublemaker under control.

Dakota hung back behind the wagon as they made their way home. He kept watch all around, especially when they came to a place that might create cover for someone who might want to ambush them. He watched for movement, for the glint of sunlight on metal, and he listened for the sound of a horse or even the sneeze or cough of a man. Nothing was happening. After they passed the sign for the Barkley ranch, Dakota relaxed a bit.

He felt safe. He felt like he was home. He remembered what the sheriff had said, and he knew it wasn't that he was remembering this was his home. He was making it his home all over again.

They arrived at the house, and Ciego took care of the horses and the wagon while another couple ranch hands helped unload the wagon. Dakota escorted his mother and sister into the house.

It wasn't until they were inside that Dakota realized that no one had mentioned the bank to him while they were in town. He had been so focused on Harold James that he just hadn't thought about it, but now, for some reason he did. Maybe because he'd just begun to notice he felt like this was his home. Maybe he was just beginning to believe that he wanted to stay.

They had taken lunch in town, so Dakota decided he ought to go check in with Nick and Heath out where the herd was being pastured. "All right," Victoria said. "Just be careful."

Dakota knew she was just showing concern because he'd be alone, but he didn't think James would bother him on Barkley property. It was too risky. "Don't worry," he said. "I will be."

He reclaimed his horse from Ciego and headed for the summer pasture, where he knew Nick and Heath were keeping the main herd. He didn't realize the route would take him near the edge of Barkley property. He didn't even think he wasn't safe until someone took a shot at him.

He heard the shot, and he was startled to find himself on the ground, watching his horse run away from him. He was even more startled to find blood on his left side, just above the belt. Then he was aware as fast as he could be. He rolled over into a ditch alongside the road, and he drew his gun. He looked. There were no trees close by, no rocks. Somebody had fired at him from a hillside off to the left. From a quick examination of his wound, he knew that somebody had to be ahead of him, too.

With only the ditch for cover and his horse disappearing into the distance, Dakota took a chance and fired his gun off three times. That would summon help - if there was anyone around to hear it - and it might just frighten his assailant away. He hunkered down in the ditch, and he started to hurt. He looked and he waited.

Not that far away, just over a ridge overlooking the herd, Heath turned toward Nick. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Nick asked. His hearing wasn't as good as Heath's, owing to spending more time near the artillery during the war.

"Three shots," Heath said, and he looked back toward home. "Somebody's in trouble."

Heath took off back the way the sound came from, Nick following, and as soon as they crested the hill, they saw Dakota's horse, down in the road slowing to a stop to graze. Dakota was not with it. They hurried down and secured it, then looked around.

"His horse was coming from the house," Nick said. "We better have a look."

They rode back in that direction, Heath trailing Dakota's horse along, and it wasn't long before they came across their older brother, face down in the ditch. He was still, but holding his gun in his hand.

"Jarrod!" Nick yelled as they jumped down to him and turned him over.

There was a big blood stain on the left side of his shirt.

"Dakota?" Nick tried, but Dakota did not stir.

"Let's get him up on your saddle in front of you," Heath said. "You head home. I'll get the doc."

"Yeah," Nick said.