Searching For Jeremy Bolt Chapter Three
Jeremy slept fitfully. The severe emotional pain he was in was reflected in his dreams that night. He dreamed about when he was a little boy standing by his mother's grave trying to say Amen.
Jason had read the closing prayer. Everyone except him had said Amen. Jeremy tried to say the word. His mouth moved but no words came out.
"Jeremy, say Amen." Jason leaned down and whispered.
Jeremy tried again. Still, no words came out of his mouth. The young boy tugged on his oldest brother's pants leg. Jason bent down.
Jeremy opened his mouth, pointed inside and shook his head no.
"You can't speak?" Jason whispered.
The child shook his head again. Jason whispered to Dad something that the boy couldn't hear.
Dad crouched down next to his youngest son. "Jeremy, try one more time to say Amen."
Jeremy nodded. "A-A-A, Am-Am-Am…" The heartbroken child sobbed.
"It's alright, sweet boy, it's alright." Dad picked up his wee barin as he motioned to the two oldest boys. The four of them headed home.
Jeremy's stuttering continued. He was so unhappy about not being able to talk right that he stopped talking at all.
Johnathan Bolt and his sons were crushed over the loss of their wife and their mother. Jeremy's refusal to try to speak was a sad reminder of their pain.
Jason read book after book to his baby brother. He acted out parts in the stories in an effort to make Jeremy laugh and talk. Even Joshua who thought his brother's books were for babies joined in on the acting to try to make Jeremy feel like talking.
Dad rocked Jeremy in the rocking chair whispering gentle words to him when he cried and when it was time for bed.
Nothing worked. The youngest Bolt still refused to try to speak. Weeks went by.
One night, Johnathan Bolt felt the loss of his beloved Maggie especially keen. He had a bit too much to drink.
At supper, Dad was determined that Jeremy was going to speak or at least try. He encouraged and coaxed the boy, nicely, he thought. The child saw an angry slurring drunk, and he refused to talk.
Johnny Bolt had had enough. "Alright! All my petting and sweet talk hasn't worked. I know how to make you talk! "
Dad stood up and took off his belt. He grabbed Jeremy by the front of his shirt. Jeremy's eyes were wide with fear, and he began crying.
Jason jumped up from his seat and put his fist in front of Dad's face.
"Turn Jeremy loose, Dad! Or you are gonna be missing some teeth!"
Dad was so stunned that he let go of the youngest boy. Jeremy ran to Joshua and hid behind him.
Johnathan Bolt glared at his eldest son. "You dare to put your fist in my face and threaten me? I will not have it in my house!"
"And I will not have you threatening to beat my five-year-old grieving brother!" Jason glared back at his father.
"Showing your asses is not the way to help Jeremy." Joshua said from across the room. The youngest brother was still hiding behind him.
"What did you say, boy?" Dad asked sternly.
Joshua spoke firmly. "I said showing your asses is not going to help Jeremy."
"Well," Dad replied in a calmer tone. "One son is crying and afraid of me, another son is saying that I'm showing my ass, and my oldest son is threatening to knock my teeth out. I wonder what your mother would say about all of this."
"She w-w-would say s-s-stop s-s-showing yo-yo-ur ass!" Jeremy answered stepping out from behind Joshua.
Jeremy's father and his two brothers looked at him in shocked disbelief. Then the three of them roared with laughter.
When the laughter ended, apologies were offered and accepted all around. Forgiveness was requested and received as well.
Late that night, Johnathan Bolt and his boys camped out in front of the fireplace. It was pouring rain and freezing cold so they couldn't camp outside. They cooked steaks which were a gift from Lottie on the fire and told ghost stories.
Dad, Jason, and Joshua drifted off to sleep on the quilt on the floor to the sound of Jeremy softly singing Amazing Grace. The youngest Bolt was lying on his father's chest with his brothers' arms across him.
Grown up Jeremy continued to toss and turn in his sleep. His dream changed to the night that he and Candy spent in this cave. That night came at the end of the most frightening day of their lives.
There was a terrible storm with thunder, lightning, and pouring rain. That was the reason they couldn't return to Seattle until tomorrow.
"Jeremy, are you sure you feel alright? I'm worried about you having that bullet in your leg." Candy told him.
"I'm okay, Candy. You cleaned the wound good with some whiskey and bandaged it well. The whiskey that I'm drinking is helping me too. I have to get those rocks out of your feet. I can't believe, well, I take that back, I can believe that Holiday took your shoes away from you to imprison you even more." Jeremy told her.
Jeremy reached in his pants pocket for his pocketknife. "Please hold the blade in the fire for about three minutes to make sure it is clean. Then I will get those rocks out of your pretty little feet."
"That's going to hurt, Jeremy." Candy winced as she took the knife from him.
"Yes, it will hurt some, but you can't leave the rocks in the bottom of your feet. They will cause infection and make you sick. I couldn't bear for you to be sick, Candy. The past twenty-four hours almost drove me crazy. Thinking of that jackass off with you somewhere doing God knows what! I'm sorry, sweetheart. I didn't mean to say that." He apologized.
"But you have been thinking about it. I'm not offended by your wondering. That's only natural when a man kidnaps a woman, and they are alone overnight." Candy replied as she held the knife blade in the fire.
"Oh, sweetheart, did he hurt you? You can tell me. If something happened, it makes no difference in how I feel about you. I will always love you no matter what." Jeremy sobbed.
Candy put the pocketknife on a clean towel on a crate. She went and sat down next to her fiancé on the sofa.
"Jeremy." She whispered putting her arms around him. He buried his face in her shoulder as his body was racked with sobs.
"Nothing happened, sweetheart. I promise you. He didn't hurt me…. like that." Candy held him tightly. "I love you, Jeremy."
"I love you, C-C-Candy." Jeremy looked into her eyes. "I was terrified that he would kill you because I knew that you would fight him if he tried to hurt you. I kept imagining finding you dying and not being able to save you. Candy, I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't be telling you all of this. I know you were pretty scared being up here with him." Jeremy shuddered.
"Yes, I was scared because he kept talking about me and him being happy together and how I had better hope for your sake that you didn't look for me." Candy told him.
Jeremy stopped crying; he drank another shot of whiskey. Candy went back to the crate and picked up the knife. She held it in the fire for a few minutes.
"Come sit down next to me, Candy and I can hold your feet in my lap while I remove those rocks." Jeremy spoke.
Candy hesitated for a moment and then sat down next to her fiancé. Jeremy smiled at her as he took the pocketknife from her. He poured some of the whiskey on a cloth and rubbed the bottom of her foot with it.
"I will remove the easiest ones first. Even those will hurt some. Are you ready?" He asked.
"Yes, I'm ready. I love you, Jeremy. Holiday didn't care if I got rocks imbedded in my feet. Of course, his plan was for me to stay in this cave forever. And here you are with a bullet wound in your leg and you are more concerned about pebbles in my feet." Candy smiled.
"I love you, Candy. Holiday wanted to own you like a possession. He thought of you like this stuff in here that he stole. Well, he stole you too." Jeremy continued to remove the rocks from the bottom of her foot.
After a few minutes, all of the stones had been removed but the one that was imbedded the deepest in Candy's foot.
"This is the worst one. Get ready, Candy, honey, it is-"
"NO! NO! Don't call me that! I warned you! I told you I would kill you!" Candy screamed in a blind rage.
She grabbed the knife from Jeremy's hand and got up. He was leaning back as far as he could against the back of the sofa. He was right next to the arm of the sofa so there was no place to move in that direction. When Jeremy moved toward the empty part of the couch, Candy moved in that direction too preventing him from getting up.
Now Candy was standing over him with the knife in her hand. She raised her arm high ready to plunge the knife into his chest.
"CANDY! CANDY!" Jeremy screamed. "It's me! It's Jeremy!"
As Candy was bringing the knife down to stab him, Jeremy was able to roll on his side. The knife grazed his elbow.
"Ouch! Damn that hurts!" Jeremy shouted.
"Jeremy? What happened? How did you cut your elbow with the knife?" Candy asked.
"I didn't cut my elbow with the knife." Jeremy gazed at her.
Candy was puzzled for a minute. Then she realized what had occurred.
"Oh, Jeremy! Why did I cut you with the knife? I'm so very sorry, sweetheart. Please forgive me." Candy frowned.
"I'm not sure but I think it had to do with me calling you Candy h-o-n-e-y. "Jeremy answered. "I forgive you, sweet girl. We have been through hell the past two days."
"I could have killed you, sweetheart! I'm so sorry. This situation has upset me a lot more than I realized. Holiday talked so much about killing you. Right before I ran down the hill to you, he said that you weren't going to quit so he had to kill you. Jeremy, I was scared out of my mind. All I could think was if I can't save Jeremy, I'm going to die with him. I'm not going to stay here with Holiday. The thought of losing you was too much Jeremy just too much. I was horrified that I was going to have to watch you die just like you thought about me." Candy rambled.
Jeremy reached for the handle of his pocketknife. He placed the knife on the crate which was in front of the sofa.
"Holiday called me Candy h-o-n-e-y. I told him I would kill him if he called me that again. He mocked me and said that I could never kill a man. I tried to get away from him, but I couldn't." Candy explained.
Jeremy leaned forward and kissed her softly on the lips. "I love you, Candy. It was a terrifying experience, but we are alright now. Please sit down and let me get that rock out of your foot. Then we can go to sleep."
Candy sat down next to him. Jeremy cleaned the knife blade with some whiskey.
He held Candy's foot in his hand. "I'll be as careful as I can. It is going to hurt though, I'm sorry, sweet girl. You can yell if you want to. You can even cuss, I won't tell anybody." Jeremy winked at her.
"Jeremy! A lady does not curse no matter, oh hell!" Candy blushed. "Well, it does hurt a lot and I'm tired."
Jeremy smiled and caressed her cheek with his hand.
"The rock is out now and that's the last one. I'm gonna wipe your feet with some whiskey so it's gonna burn some." He told her.
After Jeremy finished taking care of her feet, Candy doctored the cut on his elbow.
"Jeremy, I want to ask you something and I don't want you to misunderstand me. I want to sleep with you tonight, but really sleep not make love. I don't mean that I don't want to with you, it's just that I don't mean, oh! This is sounding worse than I thought it would!" Candy buried her face in her hands.
Jeremy stood up and winced from the pain of his bullet wound. He put his arms around her.
"I know what you mean, sweetheart. You want us to sleep in the same bed and hold each other, but not make love." He hugged her close and rested his chin on top of her head.
"Yes, darling, that's exactly what I want." She held him tightly.
The thunder boomed and the rain poured outside the cave. Jeremy glanced up at the ceiling. "I hope Jason and Aaron found shelter for tonight. Josh sure doesn't need to get wet. He could get seriously sick."
"What happened to Joshua? Was it something involving Holiday? Jeremy, please tell me." Candy implored.
Jeremy told her how Joshua was stabbed by means of the booby trap that Rafe Holiday set. Candy was worried about Joshua and blamed herself for everything Rafe did because she had talked to him about the importance of a home and a family before they knew how sinister he was. Jeremy assured her that Joshua was going to be fine and that she was not at fault..
The young couple went into the bedroom area of the cave. There was a double bed made up with nice sheets and blankets and pillows. Jeremy figured that Holiday brought the parts of the bed up there on a wagon and put it together in the cave.
Candy went behind a screen and undressed to her pantaloons. Jeremy undressed to his longjohns by the bed.
When Candy walked from behind the screen, Jeremy gasped.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" She asked anxiously.
"Your arms! You have bruises and fingerprints all over your arms!" shouted Jeremy.
"Oh! I didn't mean for you to see them, Jeremy! I was so looking forward to having you hold me and trying to settle my nerves that I forgot all about the marks and bruises." Candy explained.
"Do you have any other marks or bruises from that bastard touching you?" Jeremy's eyes flashed fire.
"No, Jeremy, please don't be angry. I'm sorry I forgot. I should have told you. Please, Jeremy, I need you to be calm so you can help me be calm. Because to be absolutely truthful with you, even though it's over now, I could still go stark raving mad! When Rafe was firing his shotgun at you before you started running trying to get up here. I was scared then too. But before when he was first shooting at you, I just knew that one of those bullets was going to strike you in your heart and you would fall dead on the ground! Hold me, Jeremy! Don't be angry, just hold me! Please!" Candy sobbed and crumpled to the floor.
Jeremy moved as fast as he could to lift her from the floor. He carried her to the bed and laid her down gently.
He laid down right beside her and enfolded her in his arms. Candy clung to him burying her face in his chest.
"Hold me as tight as you can. Never let go of me. I was so scared. So scared. I love you, Jeremy." She sighed.
"Candy, I'm sorry I let you down. I didn't protect you from being kidnapped and he hurt you and he could have easily killed you." Jeremy cried.
"Jeremy, you risked your life to save me. You ran through gunfire and then you got in front of me when it looked like he was going to shoot and kill us. How can you think you didn't protect me?" She whispered in his ear. "You aren't to blame for Rafe kidnapping me. He lied to the whole town and all of us believed him."
"You are right, sweetheart. I'm still upset too, I guess. Thank you for saving me. You risked your life for me. You are a brave girl." Jeremy nuzzled her neck.
"I love you, Jeremy." Candy sighed resting her head on his chest.
"Jeremy! Jeremy! Can you hear me, Jeremy?! Please wake up, JEREMY!"
He opened his eyes and wondered if he was still dreaming. Candy was sitting on the side of the bed. She was holding his hand and peering into his face.
"Am I awake? Candy, are you really here?" Jeremy asked.
"Yes, you are awake, and I am here. Your brothers and Aaron are here too." Candy motioned toward the entrance to the bedroom.
Jeremy looked and saw Jason, Joshua, and Aaron standing inside the doorway.
"Hello, Jeremy! We didn't want to overwhelm you with lots of people right in your face, so we waited back here." Jason said.
"Hello, Jason. Hi, Joshua. Hi, Aaron." Jeremy spoke.
Joshua and Aaron waved briefly.
"Candy, how did you find me?" Jeremy inquired.
"I suddenly remembered when you and I spent the night here and you talked about what a good hiding place this is. I'm sorry it took me so long to think of it. I suppose since I tried so hard to forget what happened with Rafe, I forgot that as well." Candy explained. "How are you feeling, sweetheart. We know about the things that upset you so much last week. We are very sorry, Jeremy. I am especially sorry that you thought I had another man. That's not true. I could never love anyone else, Jeremy. Please forgive me for hurting you." Candy spoke.
"I forgive you, Candy. Please forgive me for leaving like I did. I was overwhelmed with all the pain; I just didn't know what else to do." Jeremy said.
"Of course, I forgive you. Will you come home with us, please? Your brothers have missed you terribly." Candy asked.
"Yes, I will. I have missed you and them too." Jeremy smiled. "Let me get dressed and then we can leave."
"I will go in the other room while you put on your clothes. I don't think your brothers can wait any longer to speak to you." She replied.
Jeremy looked over at Jason and Joshua. Both of them were frowning.
"Come on, brothers!" Jeremy called to them.
Jason and Joshua rushed over as Candy left. The three brothers hugged.
"I'm sorry." Jeremy choked.
"We are sorry too, Jeremy." Joshua said. "We are sorry that you were in so much pain and we didn't notice."
"Brothers let's talk about this at home. Jeremy, get your pants on so we can get going." Jason advised as he gave Jeremy another tight squeeze.
Jeremy got dressed fast and soon the group was on the way to Seattle. Jason and Joshua had brought the buckboard. Candy and Jeremy were in the back. Jason drove the wagon. Aaron rode his horse and Joshua rode Brownie.
"Jeremy, I packed a picnic basket. Please eat something." Candy told him.
"Thanks, Candy, but I'm not hungry. Maybe later." He replied.
"Jeremy, you need to eat. When was the last time you ate? Can you even remember?" Candy worried. "Please, sweetheart."
Jeremy smiled. "Okay, what are my choices?"
Candy laughed. "You know what it is. Fried chicken."
Jeremy ate a drumstick and a biscuit. He drank almost a whole canteen of water.
When they were almost in Seattle, Jeremy asked Jason and Joshua if they could stay at Lottie's for a few days. Jason told him that all of them except Aaron had been at Lottie's for several days. The two older brothers agreed that they could stay there for a while longer. Candy told him that she and Biddie would keep their room at the boarding house for a few more days.
Lottie locked her arms around Jeremy as soon as he walked into the saloon. She asked him to sit down at a table with her for a few minutes. He agreed and they sat down.
"Jeremy, I have missed you so much. Sweetheart, when you are hurt or upset, you can always talk to me. I'm serious, Jeremy, please don't try to deal with your pain all alone. Let people help you. I love you." Lottie told him.
"I'm sorry I worried you, Lottie. I didn't know what to do that day. Everywhere I turned someone was laughing at me or rejecting me. Leaving was all I could think of to do." Jeremy cried.
Lottie got up and went over to Jeremy's chair on the other side of the table. Jeremy stood up and wrapped his arms around her.
"They hurt me so much, Lottie. Maybe they didn't mean to but they did and now look at me. A grown man crying like a kid." Jeremy sobbed.
"It doesn't matter how old you are when you are in pain, sweetheart. You just let it all out, Jeremy. You're my sweet boy. Yes, you are." She whispered in his ear. "I love you."
"I love you too, Lottie. That's why I want to stay here for a few days. I need you to talk to." Jeremy took a ragged breath.
Candy had come downstairs after preparing her fiancé's room. She stood back while Lottie was consoling him.
When Lottie and Jeremy broke their embrace, they saw Candy close by. Lottie and Candy helped Jeremy upstairs to his room.
They helped him undress down to his longjohns and helped him get in the bed.
"I had bad dreams last night, so I didn't sleep too good." He told the ladies.
"And he hasn't been eating," Candy looked at Lottie.
"I can see that. You look like a good wind would blow you away, Jeremy. We can't have that, so you have got to eat. After your nap, you can have more of Candy's fried chicken." Lottie kissed his cheek.
"Okay, Lottie. You will stay here while I'm asleep, won't you, please, Lottie?" His big blue eyes were pleading.
Lottie brushed his bangs back gently with her fingers. "Of course, I will be here, Jeremy. I will be downstairs, or do you want me to stay here in the room with you for awhile? I can do that, sweetheart, if you want."
"That would be great, Lottie. Thank you. Is it alright for me to ask you or Candy to go get Jason and Joshua, please? I want them and you too, Candy to stay here with me for awhile." Jeremy asked.
Candy and Lottie looked worriedly at each other. Candy sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Jeremy, is there something else bothering you? I will be glad to get your brothers. I'm concerned that you seem upset about something that you haven't told us about." Candy placed her hand lightly on his chest.
Jeremy gazed deeply into her eyes. He took a deep breath. "This might sound crazy, but for the past few days, I have had an awful sense of dread. Something bad and I'm not talking about a bad day or bad weather, it's not that kind of bad, but something horrible is going to happen to someone I love. Someone is going to die."
Candy gasped and put her hand over her mouth.
"Oh, my God! I'll go get Jason and Joshua." Lottie exclaimed as she left the room.
"I'm sorry I scared you and Lottie, Candy. I thought maybe if I told all of you, you could be extra careful. It's probably nothing. I haven't been eating and sleeping right for awhile. That's probably where this feeling is coming from." Jeremy smiled.
"I guess so, sweetheart." Candy was pale. She moved from the bed to one of the chairs close by.
Lottie returned with Jason and Joshua. She had told them about their brother's foreboding.
Jason and Joshua sat down in chairs close to the bed. They glanced at each other and shook their heads. Jeremy frowned.
"Jeremy, has anyone threatened you recently? "Jason watched him closely.
"No, Jason, I haven't gotten any threats lately. Why are you asking? What are you and Joshua not telling me?" Jeremy looked his brother in the eye.
Jason looked at Joshua. Then he put his face in his hands.
"You need to tell him, Jason." Joshua urged.
Jason moved from the chair to the side of the bed. He told Jeremy about the body that was found on the mountain, about the telegram, and about Candy's friend, Willard.
"So, my sense of dread is about me. Well, at least it's not about any of you. I'd rather I was the one who died than one of you." Jeremy spoke.
"Well, we don't want you to get killed, Jeremy! We love you like you love us!" Joshua shouted.
"Take it easy, Josh. We are going to do all we can to protect Jeremy." Jason spoke quietly. "Don't worry, Jeremy. Someone will have to put up a hell of a fight to try to get past me and Josh to get to you."
"Yeah, Jeremy. We aren't going to let it happen." Joshua told him.
"Brother, you get some sleep. All of us will be right here with you." Jason smiled.
Jeremy was exhausted. "Okay, thanks, everybody. I love all of you." He closed his eyes and went to sleep.
Jeremy slept until supper. He went downstairs and ate with his brothers and Candy. Lottie was pleased at how much he ate. Biddie made a chocolate cake for him, and he enjoyed a large piece of the dessert.
After supper, the Bolt brothers played poker. Joshua won as usual. During the game, many of the loggers in the saloon came over to the Bolt table. They apologized to Jeremy for talking about him and laughing at him. Jeremy gladly accepted their apologies and assured them that all was forgiven.
When Lottie closed for the night, she and the brothers had some Irish coffee. Candy and Biddie had hot milk and Brandy.
Jeremy grinned at his fiancée. "No longer a tea totaler, Miss Pruitt?"
"Alright, Jeremy Bolt!" Candy laughed.
After they finished their drinks, everyone went to bed. Lottie and Candy slept in their rooms. Jason and Joshua put cots in Jeremy's room.
In the early hours of the morning before sunrise, Aaron Stempel was awakened by the sounds of shouting and a horse galloping.
"JASON BOLT! JASON BOLT! I must talk to Jason Bolt!" A female voice yelled.
Aaron hurried from his bed and put on his pants fast. He ran downstairs and out his front door.
He saw a young woman slumped in the saddle on her horse in front of his house. Aaron ran to her. He gasped when he saw that the woman had been shot.
"Are you Jason Bolt? I must speak to him before I die. I don't have long." The young woman gasped in pain.
"No, ma'am, I'm not Jason Bolt but I can take you to him. Is it alright for me to get on your horse with you?" Aaron asked.
"Yes, it's fine." She replied.
Aaron got on the horse positioning himself behind her in the saddle. He took the reins. "Yah!"
They arrived at the saloon quickly. Aaron brought the horse to a halt and jumped down.
"I'll be right back." Aaron ran to Lottie's door. "BOLT! JASON BOLT! HURRY! BOLT!"
Upstairs in the saloon, the three brothers woke up. Jason got up and pulled his pants on in two seconds.
"Josh, you stay here with Jeremy!" Jason ran out the door and down the stairs.
He unlocked the door and opened it. Jason was stunned when he saw the wounded woman on the horse.
Aaron and Jason carefully lifted her from the saddle and placed her gently on the ground. Jason supported her head with his arm.
"She needs to talk to you, Jason." Aaron said softly.
The young woman looked into Jason's eyes. "You are Jason Bolt?"
"Yes, ma'am, I'm Jason Bolt. Aaron, go get Doctor Wright, please." He gazed at the young woman.
"No, it is too late for me. The doctor cannot help me. I must tell you. Protect your brothers. They are coming for them. They will murder them to cause you unbearable pain. My husband shot me to try to keep me from getting away from him and warning you. I only found out last evening or I would have warned you sooner. They know how much you love Joshua and Jeremy. They are coming soon." The young woman closed her eyes.
"Who are they? What are their names or just tell me your husband's name and your name, please!" Jason asked.
"Joshua, Jeremy, so precious to you. Guard them with your life." She murmured. "Camelia."
Jason Bolt had tears streaming down his face. "Camelia is dead, Aaron."
TBC