Chapter 12

Jason woke from a sound sleep in the middle of the night. He called out and Maggie came in to see what the matter was.

"Maggie, what happened to Burt?" Jason asked breathing heavily. She looked at him and then said:

"I think he died during the shooting, why do you ask, did you have a dream about him?"

"No, more like a nightmare!" He sat up with help from Maggie and she brought him a cup of water. He took it, drank it, and just sat there staring at the wall.

"Maggie, who was Burt?" Jason asked as he took another sip of water. She looked at him and wondered why he asked her.

"Well, he was my cousin at least that is what he said, but Merle, wasn't he just a two-bit thief, that lived off of Burt and me." Jason thought about that and then asked:

"When did he show up in your life?"

"Well, I think it was shortly after Tommy went missing. I was all alone in the cabin and one day, he stepped up to the door and said he was my cousin and that he was just dropping by to check on me. Said he had heard my mother and father passed away. He didn't ask about Tommy though, so, I am not sure if he had known I had a brother." She told Jason and then sat on the edge of the bed wondering about Burt. Jason did some more thinking and asked her to tell him more about Burt and Merle.

"Well, he would disappear in the spring and show up at around this time of the year. Sometimes they would have some money and he would buy some food or a gift for me. They would stay a week or maybe a month in the winter and then leave. Burt never touched me, but he let Merle have his way. I would just keep on farming and growing vegetables, I would go into town once or twice a month in the good weather for supplies, usually, October was when I would stay up here by myself."

"How did you support yourself; did you get married?" Jason asked She looked at Jason and a little embarrassed she said:

"After Merle had taken me, Burt would bring in 'clients' they would pay Burt but not me. Although Burt would leave me with money for food or anything that was needed. However, he set up a 'business.' I didn't feel as if I could not say anything about it. After all, he did keep me from having to go into town and work with other ladies! The men would stop by during the winter and have dinner and if they wanted some sport, well, let's say, they had paid Burt or so they said. The first couple of years I did not understand what was happening but when I finally figured it out, I told Burt he had to have a special code word because I think that some of those men took advantage of the 'hospitality' that was offered. Burt agreed and said that if I wanted more from them, I could ask but had to tell him how much when he showed up. At first, I did so, however, I decided that I should have my own money, so I started to put some away. He never asked if I was telling the truth, he would be satisfied with what I gave him. She said and walked away from the bed. She felt that Jason was different than those others and felt embarrassed and wondered if he too wouldn't think to take advantage of her as well. She thought about telling Tommy, but she had not told him yet about how she got along without him and their parents. She went to the door and said,

"I need to go now. Can you straighten yourself up or do you still need some help?" she said hoping he would say no. But he said yes, and she sighed, well, here we go again, she gritted her teeth and went to help him lie down in bed and was ready for when he would pull her into bed with him.
Jason did not pull her into bed, he was grateful that she was around to help him. Once he was settled, he did not lift a finger to touch her. He did not ask her for a kiss or anything else. She was surprised at this!

"What is wrong with you?" She said he looked at her not understanding why she asked him such a question.

"Why do you ask that?" he said as he seemed to relax lying on his back.

"Well, usually if a man has been in bed for quite a while and he hasn't been able to, do anything, well," Her voice dropped, and she just let that hang there for a moment. Jason caught on to what she was hinting at and said to her:
"Miss Maggie Martel, I am not that kind of a man! I do not owe you nor do I feel that you owe me anything. I was asking about Burt not for the reasons you thought of, but for other reasons, he worked for me and caused such chaos, that I had no choice but to fire him!" Jason said loudly. She stopped when he had spoken in a loud voice, and it sounded like he was angry at her. She was not sure what to do. She ran out the door and to the room she slept in and started to cry. Jason was beside himself; he did not want to hurt her. He thought about what she had said and realized that she had never known love or family. This Burt was a con artist and he had taken advantage of her. Jason was angry at that.

He slowly got out of his bed. He stood up for a little while first to be sure he could balance. He did not want to fall and have to be in bed longer. He walked out the door in his long johns since getting dressed was a four-handed affair, he was slow but went to her room and saw her door was open, he stood there and listened to her crying. His lawyer was just coming in to check on them and to be sure that Jason was okay. When he saw Jason standing in his long johns at her door, he almost broke out in a laugh, Jason was himself embarrassed and wanted to forget the whole thing.

"Mr. Bolt, I am sure you know that standing in the hall in your long johns will not get you very far!" He said snickering. Jason was about to say something when Maggie came to the door and looked at her brother, looked at Jason, and slammed the door shut. Earl/Tommy helped Jason back to his room and they had a long talk about Maggie. Jason did not tell him everything she told Jason, but he did hint at what she had to do, to stay alive.

"Well, that is something to learn about my sister. When we get some time, I hope she will tell me more. But as Burt is a cousin, I am not so sure. I don't remember Ma or Pa saying anything about cousins, but then I was a lot younger than Maggie, so maybe she heard more than I ever did!"

Jason wanted to say more but felt it was better for them to work it out rather than to give his opinion right away. Earl was thoughtful and asked Jason:

"What did he look like?" he asked Jason

"Well, when he worked for me, he had rather long straight hair, a mustache dark eyes a weathered look about him. When I met him again, we were at Maggie's place and he still had the long straight hair, it was kind of stringy then, like he needed a bath, his eyes looked a bit more tired, but the weathered look seemed to still be there." Jason said and then asked:

"What are you thinking?" Earl looked up and said:

"He's the one! his name isn't Burt, he is no cousin of ours. He works for Crimpers and other unscrupulous people from time to time. He is the reason I ended up out to sea! Did she say when he showed up?"

I think she said a year later. But you may have to ask her." Jason said, then he yawned, then said:

"I think I need to get some sleep. I will see you in the morning." Jason said as he slowly pulled the covers up over him and fell asleep instantly. Earl, on the other hand, decided to pay a visit to his sister and see what she had to say.

The night was over, and Jason had a good sleep, but he was worried, when he next had a chance to talk to Maggie, she was not as friendly as she had been. Jason wanted to repair the damage so that they could at least be friends.

"Miss Maggie, wait, I want to talk to you!"

"Mr. Bolt, I have nothing to say to you!" she said as she started to walk out with his breakfast tray.

"Miss Maggie, I want to apologize to you for sounding like I was angry with you. I wasn't angry with you I was angry at Burt! I was angry because of how he had taken advantage of you. Please stay and tell me more?" Jason said. She looked at him and said.

"I am going to take the tray; I will come back soon." When she did come back, she brought her brother, and she sat him down next to Jason in the room. She stood up and started to tell what had happened between her parents dying, her brother getting kidnapped, and now. She did not leave anything out, except since they were men, she only hinted at some of the things that happened, She felt they did not need the details. When she finished, it was quiet. Earl went over to her and hugged her, Jason was sitting in a chair and reached out his hand to her and squeezed it. She felt like she had two brothers now and was crying happy tears.

Jason and Earl talked after she had left and had made a plan that as soon as Jason was well enough and the business was going better, they would find out what happened to Burt. If he was dead that wouldn't be a problem, but if he was still alive, they would have to protect Maggie.