Chapter 5

A few days later, Jake was strong enough to dress himself in sweatpants, a t-shirt, and a borrowed bathrobe. He walked to the dining room table and sat in the chair Madeline had ready for him. "Where's Jolene?"

"She had to go back to work. She said she'd call every night and see how you're doin'." Madeline set a plate before him and a cup filled with steaming coffee. "Why don't you try to work on that? You need to get your strength back."

She was right. He needed to get himself back together, because the meeting in Topeka was coming up soon. Unless he already missed it. A sick feeling hit him in the gut and he leaned over his plate. When he stayed that way too long, he felt her hand on his back. The place where he'd been burned was healing nicely, and it didn't hurt any more when someone touched him.

"You okay, Jake?"

"Madeline, what day is it?"

"It's Thursday." She smiled and sat down across from him with a cup of coffee.

"No, no, the date. What's the date?"

"It's June 27th. Why?"

Jake shook his head. "Never mind." He still had four days. If his current state didn't improve soon, he'd never make it to the meeting. He took a sip of the coffee and forced down a bite of hash browns. They were good, but his stomach didn't seem to be quite ready for them yet. "My truck. How's my truck?"

"I'm afraid that old thing was totaled in the accident," Madeline replied. She reached out and touched his hand. "It's okay, Jake. Since it was our bull that was in the road, we're gonna take care of you."

"I don't understand." Jake looked up at her.

"When you're up to it, Daniel will take you into town and get you a new truck. Maybe somethin' a little more up to date." She shook her head in astonishment. "He had your old truck towed into Alberta, and the mechanic said he wasn't sure how it was even running yet."

Jake let out a soft chuckle. "I put a lot of love into it."

"I'm sorry, but there was just no savin' that baby."

He nodded, resigned to the fact that the beater was gone. It was just as well. Changing vehicles now and then would help keep the CIA off his trail. If only Mike could figure out how to clear our names. Then we could all go home and things might go back to the way they were. Except there'd be no Anson to hassle us. Just the thought of seeing Elsa's beautiful face again caused his throat to constrict.

"Come on, Jake, try to eat! You're gettin' so thin!"

"Yes, Mom." Jake teased and dug his fork into the scrambled eggs flecked with green pepper and onion. It reminded him of home and his own mother's cooking, although Madeline was young enough that she could have been his wife. She looked nothing like his ex, although, he hadn't seen her in years. Who knew what she looked like now? For a brief second, he considered the idea of trying to locate her. The last he heard from Mac, she lived in Texas somewhere. Maybe that's why he headed this way to begin with, that a subconscious part of him wanted to find Amanda. It was crazy, because he didn't love her. If he did locate her, he would then be putting her life in danger as well. No, he couldn't do that, especially not after all this time with no contact.

"Penny for your thoughts."

Jake sighed, and his whole body seemed to deflate from the effort. "You don't wanna know, Madeline." He could never bring himself to call her Maddie, because all the old memories of home would come rushing back and choke him up again. "It's better for me to just keep it inside."

"Yes, like so many other things. I heard you at night when I watched over you. I couldn't understand most of what you said, but now and then something lucid came out." Her eyes crinkled at the alarm in his. "Relax, I couldn't make heads or tails out of any of it. I just assumed it was stuff you saw when you served."

"When I served?"

"Jolene did some digging on the origin of your tattoo. You were in the SEALs. That couldn't have been an easy life."

"No, it wasn't." He silently cursed that tattoo. He'd gotten it after a particularly hairy mission, when still pumped up from their success he and his team went out and got the same design. They were careful to get something that didn't scream Navy SEAL, but apparently, thanks to the internet, it wasn't hard to figure out. Now he regretted it with a vengeance, because some day it might be the one thing that got him into trouble and there'd be no SEAL team to rescue him.

Knowing how little time there was left before he had to make the meeting with his friends, Jake forced himself to eat and hoped that by getting his strength back, he would be fit enough to leave on Sunday.

"Madeline?"

"Yes?" She turned from the sink and smiled at the progress he made on his plate.

"Do you mind if I use your computer?"

"Go right ahead... as long as you clean that plate, Mister!"

Jake chuckled. "You drive a hard bargain." He looked up at her and realized she wasn't kidding, so he dug in and finished everything. A slightly unsettled stomach was a small price to pay for computer access.

He needed to figure out how far Topeka was, and how to get there. Jake was careful. Once he found the route, he memorized it and stowed it away in his head. He wiped the history and made sure there was absolutely no trace of what sites he used. Then he retreated to his room to rest and prepare himself for the trip.

Madeline observed enough of Jake's actions and heard enough of his nightmares to wonder about him. Was he on the run from the law? While he used her computer, she called a friend at the sheriff's office and asked her to do a check on Jake Baldwin. She gave her the number from his driver's license, and her friend was able to pull it up.

"I'm sorry, Maddie, this guy has a squeaky clean record. Not even a traffic ticket."

"Thanks. Is there any way I can find out anything else about him?"

"I have some connections. You want me to seriously pursue this? Why? Do you think he's trouble?"

"Honestly, I don't know what to think," Madeline replied. "Right now, he's a sick man trying to get well. He's very secretive. He seems to be afraid of something, and he's very eager to leave. I just wanna help him if I can."

"Okay, I'll let you know what I find."

After a couple days spent resting and eating three squares, Jake seemed to be doing better. Saturday morning after breakfast he went outside and sat in the shade at the back of the house, watching the horses romp around the pen. It was a hot one again, but he protected himself with the dark blue ball cap that someone found in the cab of his truck. Madeline looked out the kitchen window in an effort to keep an eye on him and make sure he was doing okay. She couldn't help but feel like a mother protecting her child. She got that way with people who needed help. And like a mother bird watching her babies take to flight, she observed as Jake stood and walked across the yard to the fence. He held out his hand, and Rafael, a white stallion, came up to nuzzle his fingers. He grinned and moved to caress the horse's snout and scratch his head.

"If you're thinkin' of ridin', he's the last one you wanna try," Billy Ray interrupted the sweet moment with his nasally twang. "Rafael's the wildest one in the bunch."

"If it were under better circumstances, I would take that as a challenge, but today, I'm just happy to hang out with the horses." Jake ran his hand along Rafael's neck and untangled his mane.

"You're lookin' better, Mister."

"Thanks. I'm starting to feel like myself again." Or, at least as much as I can, considering I'm not really myself right now! Jake stopped combing Rafael's mane with his fingers, turned to Billy Ray and asked, "Where's your dad?"

"He's in the barn. Why?"

"He's supposed to take me into town when I'm ready to pick out a new truck. I'm ready. I need to get out of here soon, and there's no way I'm going to do that without transportation."

Billy Ray nodded. "Gotcha. Well, come on, I'll show ya where he is."

The barn was large, and considering the number of pens, trucks, and trailers, Jake figured that this was a big ranch. The family didn't live like it was Southfork, but Daniel was definitely not hurting for cash. His host came out of a stall and focused on Jake and Billy Ray. He grinned at him.

"You're looking much better today, Jake!"

"Thanks. I... look, I don't want to knock your hospitality or anything, but I really need to get back on the road. I'd like to go into town, if you have time today, and get a truck."

"How about this afternoon?"

"That's fine. Thanks, Daniel." He glanced around. "Is there anything I can do to repay you for everything you've done?"

"Heck no! It was our steer that caused your accident, and well, with you bein' a vet'ran and all, we can't take anythin' from you, Jake! We owe you for protectin' our country!"

Jake blushed at the praise and dipped his head in self-consciousness. "Yeah, well, I was just doing what I signed up for."

"Thank you just the same. There are times when I feel ashamed that I didn't serve."

"You're welcome, and you know what? It's not for everybody, so don't feel bad."

Daniel nodded and cleared his throat. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I wanna finish up in here. Then we can go."

Jake felt like he'd somehow touched a nerve. Wordlessly, he nodded and left the barn.

Inside the house, Madeline was on the phone with her friend again. "Did you find anything?"

"When you mentioned he was in the Navy, I used that information and found one sailor named Jake Baldwin, but he's dead. Unless the records are sealed, there's nothing regarding your guy in the government records."

"Hmmm. He was a SEAL, would that make any difference?"

"It sure would! Those guys do classified stuff all the time, so his entire career could be under lock and key. Sorry, Maddie, I tried."

"That's okay."

"I was hoping to find something that would ease your mind. At least he wasn't in any of the FBI files!" She paused. "Then again, if I could get some fingerprints, I could do a more thorough search."

"No, that's okay. I've already taken too much of your work time. Oh, I have to go. He's coming!"

"Hey, maybe I can come around some time and meet him."

Madeline heard the smile in her friend's voice. "We'll see, Mina. Talk to you later. Bye, hon!" She hung up just as Jake entered the house and pulled off his cap.

The sunlight streaming into the kitchen caused highlights to flare off the strands of his hair, and she realized that he looked different than when he first arrived. When Jolene colored his hair, she had to use a different shade because he didn't know what he'd used before. This one looked more natural on him. It was darker, less red. And the fact that he was stronger and healthier helped. She sensed that he was leaving soon, and the mystery of who he was would go with him.

"Hi, Madeline. Is something wrong?"

Drat! Why can't I ever keep my thoughts from showing on my face? "Nothin' you need to concern yourself over. I was wondering, if there's anythin' you need from the store? I was gonna make a run into town."

"No, I'm good. Thanks for asking, though." He paused. "Maybe you could wait until later? Daniel said we'd go to town and pick out a truck this afternoon. Then I could drive the truck back here and y'all could go shopping."

She smiled at how he slipped into a little drawl. "That's a great idea!"

That afternoon the three got into Daniel's truck and went northwest to the next town. Alberta was large enough to have a small shopping center, as well as several car and truck dealerships. While Madeline went to the mall, the men worked a deal on a slightly used, grayish tan pickup. Once they came to an agreement, Daniel signed the check and Jake signed the papers. A natural lefty, he used his right hand, which only served to conceal his real identity even more. There was no way anyone could look at that paperwork and figure out that Jake Baldwin, or Sam Axe for that matter, signed it. He felt guilty taking such an expensive vehicle, but Daniel insisted and wouldn't even let him set foot in the area where the older used models sat.

"If you're gonna be doin' a lot of travelin', Jake, you need a good truck. This one'll get you some good mileage, and it won't break down. Just be careful out on those roads. We'll be prayin' for you to stay safe."

"Thanks, Daniel." If he only knew how much that was appreciated! Jake picked up the keys and papers and walked out to where the shiny truck sat. It had a temporary tag on the back, but he would be long gone before the permanent ones arrived at Daniel's ranch. This would make it easier for him when he moved on, but eventually he would have to get plates. He'd worry about that when the time came.

That night, Madeline made a special supper for Jake because he planned to be on the road at daybreak. The morning routine would just be starting, so there was no time for goodbyes. Jake preferred it that way, because he had no business getting close to these people, and now he had to make a clean break. Unless the red flag over his head disappeared, there was little to no chance that he'd ever see them again. That was the part about being a spy that he really hated, not getting close to people. It was a very lonely existence. He never understood how Michael could do it as well as he did for so many years.