CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

A Serious Threat

Jarrod waited awkwardly in the foyer.

"Sorry, Jarrod!" Heath said as he ran down the stairs. "I forgot I left you hangin' here."

"Quite all right, little brother." Jarrod held his hat. "If you don't need me for anything else, I'll head back to Sacramento and get on that morning train."

"You could catch it from here," Heath stated.

Jarrod shrugged. "I need to return this horse to the livery."

Heath offered his half-smile. "Thanks for seeing me home."

"Anytime, little brother. Anytime." Jarrod waved at JR and left.

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Heath joined JR in the library. He'd noticed JR wasn't wearing his gun belt, which made Heath wonder how seriously he'd taken the threat. He pulled the door tightly shut behind him.

JR's eyebrow rose.

"Do you mind if I get a drink?" Heath asked.

"Of course not. You never have to ask. You live here."

"Thanks." Heath poured himself a generous bourbon. "You want anything?"

"A scotch, please."

Heath poured an equally generous scotch for JR and took it to him. He sat down in the chair close to JR. "We had some trouble on the drive."

"What happened?"

"Friday night, we met Nick and the Barkley herd and all was well. We had a good meal and everything was how it was supposed to be. Nick and me were talking, and he noticed that three of our men—Sweeny, McConnell, and Diego—were drinking from a flask. Now, I never asked you what your policy is on that, but the Barkley policy is that there ain't no alcohol on a drive. So, I called 'em aside and was gonna fire 'em on the spot. But Nick likes to be in charge of everything, and he came over and started telling them they were fired. So, I yelled at Nick and told him to mind his own business, but then I felt like if I went ahead and fired the men, it would look like I was takin' orders from Nick. So, instead of firing 'em, I chewed 'em out and told 'em they were on probation for six months and would be fired if there were any further issues."

Heath expelled a breath and took a long drink.

"Did you tell them previous to that about your alcohol policy?" JR asked quietly.

"I did. I told 'em earlier in the week and again, before we left here, I told 'em to leave any flasks or bottles behind."

JR nodded.

"So, everybody went to sleep early, and we woke up to a good breakfast. The men were all happy. We took our herd to the station first and were done by nine-thirty. I paid our men and told them to report back here by Monday morning. I stayed and helped Nick get his herd taken care of, and we weren't done until almost six o'clock. I went into Sacramento with Nick and Sam, and we got hotel rooms and cleaned up, then had dinner, and then went over to one of the bars. It wasn't busy, so we played cards and had a couple of drinks." Heath took a long breath and then a drink. "Then Sweeny, O'Connell, and Diego came in. I had my back to the door, so I didn't see 'em right away. They took the table directly behind me, and Sweeny started loudly talkin' about Margaret. Nasty crap. I sat there and tried to keep my temper under control, but then he said that he could see into her bedroom, and he watched her undress every night." Heath closed his eyes tightly for a moment. "Then he got really vulgar and said he was gonna have his way with her, and the others were welcome to come and listen to her screams."

Heath kept his eyes on his hands.

JR sat quietly.

"I couldn't sit there and not do anything, so I waylaid Sweeny. Sent him flying over a couple of tables. He was out cold, but I still hit him again. Nick and Sam were both trying to hold me back, but then O'Connell and Diego got into the fray. Nick and Sam may have punched O'Connell and Diego, but I'm not sure. I did get another good punch on Sweeny. No one else was hurt more than a bruise." Heath drew in his breath. "So the barkeep shot off a rifle and within a minute or two, the sheriff was there. The barkeep said only me, Nick, and Sam had thrown punches, which, as far as I know, was likely true, so he took the three of us to jail." Heath avoided JR's eyes and took another sip from his drink instead.

"The sheriff wouldn't let us send a telegram, so Nick was hollering at him. One of the Barkley hands seen us being taken away and came to the outside window to see if we needed anything. Nick asked him to send a telegram to Jarrod and to you. I was so worried they would come back here and try to take advantage of Margaret." His tormented eyes finally looked up and met JR's. "I was frantic because I couldn't do anything to protect her, which is why I asked them to send the telegram to you. And I didn't know how long I'd be in there. The sheriff told us Sweeny might not make it through the night. If he died, I'd be up on murder charges, but if he was all right, he might want to file assault charges against me." Heath dared a glance at JR.

JR still sat there quietly, his poker face in place.

"Anyway, around noon today, Jarrod got there. He got Nick and Sam released immediately, but he had to go see Sweeny before they would release me. Sweeny said he would have me prosecuted to the fullest. A little later, I guess the sheriff, the DA, and Jarrod talked to Sweeny, and he'd changed his mind. He said he didn't wanna file charges no more and he woulda done the same thing I did." Heath tapped his fingers on the desk.

"Jarrod pay him off?" JR asked.

Heath grunted. "That was the first question I asked, too, but Jarrod told me he hadn't, and Jarrod wouldn't lie to me."

JR nodded. "Go on."

"Me and Jarrod both think the three of 'em are up to somethin', and I still think someone needs to be guarding Margaret round the clock." He again looked into JR's eyes. "If Nick can get away this week, he's gonna come here to help us protect her." Heath emptied his drink, got up and refilled it, and returned to his seat.

"You're pretty shook by this, aren't you?"

"Yes, sir. I'm fairly good at discerning idle threats from serious ones, and I truly think they mean to do Margaret harm."

JR nodded thoughtfully. "I'll switch rooms with her. That way, she won't be on that back corner, and if they break into her room and find me instead, they'll get a surprise."

"I'm sorry this whole mess happened." He shook his head. "If me and Nick hadn't argued, then I would've fired 'em on the spot, and they would've been out of there. I'm sorry."

"What will you do if they show up tomorrow for work?"

"I doubt they will, but if they do, I'll run 'em off the ranch. No way am I gonna let 'em be near Margaret."

"I appreciate you telling me the whole story and for sending the telegram. I was in town when it came, but they brought it to me at the bar, so I came straight home and stayed with Margaret."

"Thank you." Heath met JR's eyes. "Does she have a pistol or anything to protect herself?"

JR's brow wrinkled. "No. Of course not."

"I think she should have something," Heath stated. "I'm willing to teach her to shoot."

"Do you really think that's necessary?" JR asked.

"Yes. I ain't gonna be here forever. If you go into town, Margaret is on her own. She's got to be able to protect herself."

JR scowled. "It's our job to protect the girl."

"But we can't be with her all the time," Heath repeated, exasperated. "She needs to be able to protect herself."

JR sighed. "Okay." He motioned for Heath to follow him to the gun corner. He looked over the handguns. "I don't think there's anything small enough for her."

Heath picked up a revolver and felt the weight in his hand. "She could handle this until we can take her to Sacramento and get her one."

"There's a .22 there that's a lot lighter than that one," JR said.

Heath nodded. "But that one will have almost twice the recoil of this one. If she has to fire a second shot, she'll aim better with a larger gun—and, a .22 may not stop a large man. This one will."

JR considered, then nodded. "You're right, as usual, Heath." He took the gun from Heath. "Can you teach her all the safety rules?"

"Absolutely. Before she touches a gun."

JR paced a few minutes, then swung around and faced Heath again. "She's my little girl, Heath."

"I know she is. That's why we need to make sure she stays safe."

"Does your sister shoot?"

Heath smiled. "She's a crack shot. And so is Mother." He shrugged. "And it's come in handy a few times. We can't always be with them."

JR studied him for a minute. "Would you really want your wife to shoot?"

"I would insist upon it."

"What about your daughter?"

"JR, if I had a daughter and if we lived in this area, I most certainly would teach her to handle a gun as soon as she was old enough to handle it."

JR shook his head as though a woman shooting was a foreign concept to him. Finally, he shrugged. "Okay, then. If you think that's the right gun for her and if you think she should learn, do it."

"Thank you." Heath hesitated. "Sir—JR—I think you should keep your gun belt on you until this situation resolves."

"Oh." JR's eyebrow crinkled. "Even in the house?"

"Yes, sir." Heath took a breath. "I think this is a serious threat. I do think they will try to come here and uh, harm Margaret."

A knock sounded at the library door. Heath released the safety on his gun. He made sure JR was out of the line of fire, then swung the door open.

"Excuse me for interrupting," Elwood said. "Dinner is ready, sir."

"Thank you, Elwood."

"I'll get Margaret." Heath ran up the stairs before JR could protest.

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