A Love to Last Forever (34 page)

“Is Uncle Simon going to be all right?” Justin asked her. He sat perched at the top of the stairs.

“He’s doing very well, thanks to you.”

“What do you mean?”

Lacy sat down on the step beside him. “I mean, if you hadn’t gotten him home, he might not be all right.”

“I didn’t know how to get home, but the man who told the other men to tie Uncle Simon up said the horses would know and to just follow the trail. I was so scared.”

Lacy nodded. “I can imagine. It took real bravery to put aside that fear. Your father and mother will be so proud of you.”

Justin had said very little about the incident, and even Dave had struggled to get the boy to remember anything about the attack or the men who were behind it. Now it seemed in this casual moment, he was beginning to remember what had taken place.

“So there were three men?” Lacy asked, making it sound as if it weren’t important at all.

Justin nodded. “Yeah. Three. They all had guns, but the one who talked all the time, he had a rifle.”

Lacy kept her voice soft. “What did he talk about?”

Justin seemed to think about this for a moment. “He said Uncle Simon had to pay for his sins. Uncle Simon told him we didn’t have much money, but that they could have whatever he had so long as he didn’t hurt me.” The words tumbled out from the boy’s mouth. “The man said his problem wasn’t with me.”

Lacy stiffened. That meant the attack had been planned against Simon. It was personal and not just the random act of highwaymen. “Did the man say what kind of problem he had with Simon?”

Justin shook his head. “He just said Uncle Simon had to pay for his sins.” Justin frowned. “Then one of the other men told Uncle Simon to get off his horse. He did and the two men beat him up. One of them hit him with their revolver.” He looked up at her and the fear was in his eyes again. “I thought they killed him.”

Lacy put her arm around Justin. “But they didn’t. God was looking out for you.”

“But doesn’t God punish people for their sins?”

“If you’re thinking God had this happen to make Simon pay for his sins, then you’re wrong. Simon loves Jesus, and Jesus already died for your uncle’s sins. Those men were bad, evil people. They were upset with Simon for some other reason, and that was just their way of taking revenge on him. It had nothing to do with God.”

Justin leaned against her and allowed Lacy to hold him close. He said nothing more, and Lacy couldn’t help but wonder if he believed her. She thought again of how the men knew Simon personally. This had been a planned attack. Someone had known Simon was going to be on that road.

She thought of the reason Simon had gone to Bozeman in the first place. He was bringing back the deed papers for Hank and Rafe. But surely Rafe wouldn’t have wanted Simon harmed. He was glad to be getting the land. Would he have arranged something like this and risk losing the land? Lacy shook her head. It didn’t make sense, but maybe Dave would have some clearer thought on the matter. At the least, she fervently hoped he might be able to use this new information to catch the men at large.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

“So where’s my deed?” Rafe demanded as he sauntered into the store.

Hank looked up. “I have it,” he said, watching Rafe the whole time. “It’s blood-stained but still in one piece.”

Rafe looked at him oddly and shrugged. “So long as it’s legal.”

Hank crossed his arms. “You wouldn’t know anything about the attack that nearly killed Simon, would you?”

“Why should I?” His expression looked taunting.

“Someone has to know something, Rafe. I just figured you might have heard something at the saloon.”

Rafe leaned against a flour barrel and shook his head. “No one’s said a word to me about it. I didn’t even know Ellie was that bad off until Dave came over to talk to me. You can imagine my surprise when he said she might die.”

“Yes, I can well imagine.” Hank did nothing to hide his sarcasm. He’d dealt with enough liars to know the man was being deceptive, at least where Ellie was concerned.

“I didn’t figure Wyman did that much harm to her. She’s taken a worse beating from me.”

“Maybe she wasn’t expecting a child at the time.”

Rafe narrowed his eyes. “She’s pregnant?”

Hank nodded slowly. “She was. She lost the baby and nearly bled to death, thanks to Wyman.”

“Stupid girl. She knew better than to let herself get that way. It was probably Lassiter’s, and she thought they’d just go off and have a happy little family.”

“They might have, if not for you and Wyman,” Hank said angrily. He reached under the counter and produced the smudged deed. “Here. Take this and be done with it. Send Ellie’s things over to the house before nightfall. I’ll never let her step foot on your property again.”

“She doesn’t own anything. She came to me with nothing, and that’s the way she’ll leave,” Rafe said, taking the paper. He looked it over for a moment. “This better be completely legal.” He pulled Ellie’s contract out and handed it over to Hank. “I’m not going to be happy if you’ve found a way to cheat me.”

“You’re the only one who seems to favor that kind of business dealing,” Hank said, shaking his head. He began tearing up Ellie’s contract. “Just so you know, neither you nor Wyman are welcome in my store again. You want supplies, you can go elsewhere for them.”

Rafe looked at him in disbelief. “You can’t do that.”

“I can and have. I have the right to refuse you service, just as you have the right to refuse me service at the saloon.”

“But town’s too far away. That’s not fair. You don’t drink, so I’m not denying you anything. I need the things you offer here.”

“That’s too bad, Rafe. You should have thought about that a long time ago. You aren’t a good neighbor. I’d just as soon see you move on. I’d still be happy to buy you out.”

“Ha! That’ll never happen,” Rafe declared. He stomped off toward the door. “Mark my words, Bishop. I plan to create an entire empire here, and this will see to it.” He held up the deed. “You were a fool to trade the land for that worthless piece of trash, but it’s to my benefit.”

Hank continued to stare out the door long after Rafe had gone. He wondered if Rafe might be right. Maybe it had been foolish to give the land away so easily. On the other hand, Hank knew the day was coming—and probably sooner than his wife or her sisters would want to hear—that they would need to make a decision about leaving the area.

It was almost lunchtime, so Hank closed the store and headed to Gallatin House. He was nearly to the front steps when he caught sight of two people walking toward him from the direction of the Lassiters’. It was Beth and Nick. Dread washed over him at the thought of having to explain to the couple what all had transpired in their absence.

“Hello, Hank.” Beth crossed the distance and gave him a hug. “As you can see, we’re back.”

She possessed a glow that suggested their days camping in the mountains had agreed with Beth. Nick came forward and shook Hank’s hand. “I hope Justin didn’t cause anyone too much trouble.”

Hank frowned. “Look, some things happened while you were gone. It’d be best if you sat with me on the porch and let me explain.”

“What’s wrong?” Beth asked. “Is it Justin? My sisters?”

Hank put his arm around her and led her to the porch bench. “Everyone is fine . . . now. But there has been some trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?” Nick asked.

Hank explained in as few details as possible. Beth hurried inside as Hank concluded, desperate to see for herself that everyone was all right. Nick lingered, however.

“Do you have any idea who tried to kill Simon?” Anger flickered in his eyes.

“No. Justin said there were three men. They sounded to be the same highwaymen who’ve been attacking others on the road. Dave Shepard told me he thinks it’s more than just a few men. He believes there may be as many as eight who are working together. However, this particular trio seemed to single Simon out for some kind of revenge. I’m not sure exactly why. They told him, though, that he had to pay for his sins.”

“What sins?”

Hank shrugged. “I don’t know. Neither did Simon.”

Nick frowned. “We have to put a stop to this. They could have killed him—Justin too.”

“I know. And next time it could be one of the women.”

“How’s Ellie doing?”

“Well, it was hard for her to realize she’d lost the baby. She’s doing much better. In fact, she’s been eager to get up and tend to Simon’s needs. The doctor wants her in bed for a full two weeks, but I doubt we’ll keep her there.”

Nick smiled. “She sure loves him. I’m blessed by that.”

“And Simon loves her. When he finally became conscious, he asked about her and Justin right off.”

“How’s Justin handling all of this?”

“About as well as can be expected. He was traumatized by the robbery. There’s no doubt about that. Then those miserable no-accounts left him to find his way back here, thinking that Simon was dead. He has terrible dreams at night. He’s taken to sharing Lacy’s room for comfort, but he still wakes up screaming.”

“I should have been here,” Nick said glumly.

“Don’t beat yourself up over it. You had no way of knowing anything like this was going to happen. If I’d thought there was danger, I would never have let Simon head out, much less take Justin. We hadn’t had any trouble around here for some time, and we figured things might be getting back to normal.”

“You fellas going to come inside?” Lacy asked. “We’ve got lunch on the table.” She smiled at Nick. “Good to have you and Beth home.”

Nick got to his feet. “I’m glad to be back—though sorry to return to so many problems. If you don’t mind, I’ll grab a bite later. I want to see Simon and talk to him.”

“I kind of figured you would,” Hank replied. “He’s upstairs.”

Nick hadn’t known what to expect, but seeing Simon’s face still so bruised and swollen made his stomach knot. “Well, brother of mine, you sure seem to know how to have a good time.”

Simon smiled, revealing a hole where his tooth should have been. “I see . . . you finally decided to come home.” His upper lip had several stitches, making it difficult to talk.

“Looks like I got here a little late.” Nick pulled up a chair and took a seat. He noted the empty bed on the other side of Simon. “Where’s Ellie? I heard she wouldn’t leave your side.”

“The doc . . . took her off to the other room. Wanted to have . . . a private place . . . to examine her. She’ll be back . . . soon enough. She hasn’t left my side . . . for much . . . of any other reason.”

“So that gives us a minute to talk privately,” Nick said.

“What do you know about this attack?”

“Not much. There were three men.” He paused for a moment. “They started beating on me . . . after that . . . I don’t remember anything.” Simon drew a deep breath and grimaced. “I have two . . . broken ribs . . . maybe a fracture in my left arm. Doc splinted it. He . . . taped the ribs. My head took most of the damage . . . got stitches all over.”

“Well, that’s the hardest part of you,” Nick said with a laugh. “At least that’s what Ma used to say.”

Simon smiled and nodded. “Usually after I’d fallen . . . out of a tree or . . . from the barn loft.”

“Since I was bringing lunch up for Simon,” Hank said from the doorway, “I thought I’d bring you something, as well, Nick.” He came into the room with a large tray. Dave Shepard followed behind with two mugs of coffee.

“With Ellie busy elsewhere, I thought we might talk about your attack,” Dave said. He handed Nick his coffee and put Simon’s on the bedside table. “Let’s get you sitting up.”

Nick quickly set his coffee on the dresser and went to his brother’s left side, while Dave handled the right. They tried to be as gentle as possible, but it was clear their actions caused pain. Simon grunted thanks, then settled back against the pillows.

“I went out to the area where you were waylaid,” Dave said. “I looked it over for any evidence that might prove who robbed you. I didn’t find anything. I’ve talked to Justin, too, but he’s told me about as much as he can. There were three of them, they had their faces covered and wore black. They had guns and were larger than life.”